Wasteland: I Awakened A Plant System-Chapter 29: Trade Food For Soil

The moment the purchase was completed, a faint blue seed wrapped in soft glowing threads appeared in Vikram’s palm.

It felt neither warm nor cold, only strangely alive.

Without hesitation, he returned inside the Treehouse and followed the system’s prompt, pressing the Warmheart Ember Moss seed gently against the inner bark of the central trunk.

For a brief second, nothing happened.

Then the seed melted.

It dissolved like liquid light and seeped into the wood. Thin luminous veins immediately began spreading outward from the contact point, crawling silently along the walls, across the ceiling, and beneath the wooden floor.

At first, the change was almost imperceptible.

A faint warmth, like sunlight filtered through winter clouds, slowly filled the air.

The biting chill that had lingered inside the Treehouse began to retreat step by step. Frost that had quietly formed along the window frame softened and vanished into droplets of moisture before evaporating completely.

Within minutes, the previously cold interior grew noticeably more comfortable.

Vikram exhaled slowly. The white mist that had been forming with each breath was now gone.

He flexed his stiff fingers and realized the numbness had disappeared. Even the wooden furniture seemed less icy to the touch.

Above him, the Lightfly Vine dimmed slightly on its own, as if sensing that the Treehouse no longer required as much energy to maintain habitability. The gentle golden glow combined with the newly born warmth created an unexpectedly cozy atmosphere.

Guardian Sprout, who had been standing near the entrance like a silent sentinel, tilted its leafy head.

It stepped forward curiously and touched the trunk with its shield arm.

A faint ripple of green light spread across its body, and its posture visibly relaxed.

Warrior Sprout also moved closer, lowering its blade slightly as if instinctively recognizing that the territory had become safer and more stable.

Even Pinku, who had been perched near the nest, fluttered down and circled twice before settling comfortably near Vikram’s bed, letting out a satisfied cluck.

Standing at the center of the room, Vikram slowly turned around, observing the subtle glow hidden within the bark patterns.

"This... finally feels like a real home," he murmured.

Outside, the wind continued to howl through the hills. But inside the Treehouse, winter had been pushed back.

Vikram then began thinking about planting something on his farmland.

Although he had already cleared and prepared the land, he had not sown anything yet.

Before heading out, he opened the chat channel and started searching for seeds. At the same time, a thought crossed his mind.

"Weren’t those guys in the trade market always trying to fool people, trading sand and soil for real supplies?"

"Then today... I’ll be the fool." He also wants to change the soil of his farmland with fertile land.

Entering the trade interface, he was disappointed to find that most current trades involved stones or wood being exchanged for food and basic necessities.

It was worth mentioning that the value of stones, which Vikram had once used to trade for multiple blueprints, had now sharply declined.

Nearly thirty percent of Survivors had already crafted iron pickaxes, making stone much easier to obtain.

Trades like 20 stones for a no-grade bread from a white treasure chest were now common in the market.

Wood, needless to say, could hardly be exchanged even for bread anymore.

Switching his view back to the trade listings, he found that no one was selling soil. Left with no other option, Vikram decided to post his own offer.

[Trader: Vikram, Item for Trade: Rare-grade Food ×1 kg, Item Needed: Fertile Soil ×1 ton]

As soon as the listing appeared, the regional chat channel erupted in discussion.

["Holy crap, which big shot is this? Trading graded food for soil?"]

["He must be crazy. If he wants soil, he can just dig it himself. Why waste food?"]

["Is this real or fake? He’s not trolling us, is he?"]

["Probably real. I’ve seen this ID before. I traded stones with him during the acid rain period."]

["Forget talking — first come, first served. I’m going to trade!"]

["I advise everyone not to trade with Vikram. He’s worse than a pig or a dog. Last time I traded a blueprint with him for food, and what I got was pig intestines with half a kilo of filth still inside!"]

A familiar ID appeared in the chat channel, filled with righteous indignation.

Vikram narrowed his eyes slightly and began scrolling through his friends list.

Sure enough, he found Arjun’s name on his list, but he had already been blacklisted by Arjun Malhotra.

Looking through their past chat records, Vikram realized this had been his very first trading partner.

At that time, during the trade for the drainage ditch blueprint, Vikram had felt that he was being taken advantage of. Wanting to get even, he had deliberately played a small trick on the other party, never expecting Arjun to remember it until now.

He immediately typed into the chat channel:

["Brother Arjun, that’s not very fair of you. I clearly remember asking you whether rare-grade food being pig intestines was acceptable."]

["You even told me you loved the smell of pig intestines the most, so I specially left half a kilo extra filling inside for you. How can you blacklist me now?"]

A wave of laughter instantly swept through the channel.

["Hahaha! So you wanted to eat it yourself, and now you’re blaming the seller?"]

["Exactly. Sounds like you were just trying to scam free food."]

["Buy one kilo, get half a kilo free — you should be grateful!"]

It wasn’t that Vikram suddenly had many supporters. He didn’t know any of these people. Most of them were simply enjoying the drama.

Seeing the situation spiral out of control and realizing that he had become the butt of the joke instead, Arjun Malhotra nearly exploded with anger.

Back when he first traded with Vikram, he had been secretly pleased, believing he had gained a small advantage. But when he finally took out the pig intestines, he was completely dumbfounded.

At that time, everyone had just been transported into the Wasteland World. Resources were scarce, and even clean water was precious. There had been no proper way for him to wash the filthy intestines.

In the end, he had no choice but to roughly process them and force himself to eat them, filling and all.

It was the most humiliating experience of his life.

From that day on, he swore he would never forget Vikram’s ID.

Now that he had finally found an opportunity to retaliate, he was instead mocked by countless strangers.

Inside his Shelter, Arjun Malhotra clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His eyes burned with rage as he slammed his fist into the stone wall, ignoring the blood that began to drip from his hand.

Humiliation, fury, and the crushing pressure of the apocalypse stirred a dark murderous intent deep within him...

Vikram, of course, realized he had completely offended Arjun Malhotra.

But he didn’t care.

With natural disasters descending and social order collapsing, everything was being reshuffled.

At a time like this, choosing to behave like a meek lamb would be the greatest stupidity.

He would never go out of his way to provoke trouble — but if someone dared to provoke him first, he would not show mercy.

["Fertile soil for food — first come, first served! Trade closes after fifty kilos of food are sold!"]

---

["How about it? Did any of you manage to trade soil for food?"]

["I did, but not much — only half a kilo."]

["Is Vikram really that untrustworthy? Why only half a kilo?"]

["No. He doesn’t accept ordinary sand that can be picked up anywhere. He specifically wants fertile soil. I only had half a ton, so I only got half a kilo of food."]

["So the trade really was for rare-grade food, right?"]

["Mm."]

A photo of a pig’s hind leg was then sent into the channel.

Originally, the Survivor who had completed the trade did not intend to tell others the truth. After all, the total quota was only fifty kilos of food.

However, Vikram had privately contacted him, promising that if he posted proof of the traded meat in the public channel, he would receive an extra half-kilo of meat as a reward.

Since the Survivor had no more fertile soil left anyway, he chose to make one last quick profit.

The moment the picture appeared, Vikram’s friend requests exploded — 99+ notifications flooding his interface.

To avoid wasting time, he immediately rejected all pending requests and then posted a message in the regional channel:

["Rare-grade food is limited to fifty kilos in total. I only need fertile soil. Please check your backpack descriptions before adding me. If you don’t have fertile soil, don’t waste your time sending requests. Thank you for your cooperation."]

Although the backpack’s item descriptions were not as detailed as the Plant Life System’s scans, they were still sufficient to distinguish basic soil quality.

After this reminder, only a dozen or so Survivors added him again.

It still took a while to negotiate and complete each trade, but eventually Vikram successfully collected fifty tons of fertile soil.

In doing so, he not only secured the farmland materials he needed but also managed to clear out a large portion of meat that was beginning to spoil.

Just as he was about to announce that the quota had been filled, a private message suddenly popped up.

[Divya: Why do you need so much soil? Are you planning to farm?]

[Vikram: What’s wrong with that? Not allowed?]

Seeing that he did not deny it, she continued:

[Divya: Do you still need fertile soil? Can I use it to trade back my necklace?]

[Vikram: Dream on. That necklace is pure gold. You think you can exchange dirt for it?]

[Vikram: The necklace is non-negotiable. But if you want to trade soil for food, I can offer you a better rate.]

[Vikram: One and a half kilos of food for one ton of fertile soil. Deal?]

After teasing her the previous time, Vikram had gradually realized that Divya’s temperament was actually quite straightforward — a bit proud, a bit impulsive.

Especially after Divya had given him the medical kit, he felt genuinely touched.

[Divya: Really?]

In truth, Divya herself did not have much hope of getting her necklace back. Coming to Vikram this time was mainly out of the intention to trade for some food.

Hearing his words, she felt a surge of joy, but it was quickly followed by suspicion. She couldn’t help wondering whether this fellow was planning to trick her again.

[Divya: Nothing else? Fertile soil alone is enough?]

[Vikram: If you’re willing to let me see your outfit, I’d be even happier.]

Divya directly ignored that sentence, worried that Vikram might suddenly change his mind.

[Divya: How much do you need? I’ll go dig right now.]

[Vikram: I’ll take as much as you can bring. Just dig.]

This wasn’t because Vikram was infatuated with her or trying to curry favor. The fifty tons of soil he had collected earlier were merely the calculated amount required for cultivating land at a depth of about twenty centimeters.