However, there were rumors that Boss Water had taken the money and run away, as the chemical ingredients they mixed were almost used up. Due to the disaster, it became difficult to produce those chemicals again, which is why beverages disappeared from the market.

The truthfulness of the news on the market is uncertain, and no one knows the specific situation, but the disappearance of those beverages is an undeniable fact.

With no alternatives available, older survivors began to miss the fruits of the past even more.

Strangely enough, although natural disasters are ravaging the earth now, the theoretical lifespan of survivors has been continuously extended due to the resurgence of Spirit Energy and their beginning with Cultivation.

Even ordinary people who do not engage in Cultivation have seen a significant improvement in their physical fitness due to the nourishment of Spirit Energy omnipresent in the air, greatly enhancing their resistance to disease and disaster.

At this time, there are not many survivors who live to the natural limits of their lifespan and die of natural causes; the majority of survivors end up dying from abnormal accidents.

This has led to an issue, similar to those nostalgic internet-famous snacks that suddenly became popular before the disaster. Setting aside whether those snacks were actually tasty,

these snacks bore the purest memories of the childhoods of those born in the ’80s and ’90s. Back then, they had no money and could only buy snacks from the small shops around their schools with the little pocket money they occasionally begged from their parents.

Even if they managed to get some pocket money from their parents to buy snacks, many times, they didn’t go alone but went with a group of friends. After buying the snacks, they didn’t enjoy them alone but shared them with their companions.

Because everyone only got a small share, they treasured the bought snacks even more, and the reason they felt nostalgic about those childhood snacks was actually the nostalgia for the pure friendships back then.

At this time, fruits are like those pre-disaster internet-famous snacks, with not only the young and middle-aged buying them, but the elderly and children joining in as well.

If young and middle-aged people buy fruits mainly to reminisce about the happy life before the disaster,

then when the elderly buy fruits, in addition to reminiscing about past life, there is also a social and show-off aspect.

Before the disaster, people lived in communities, and because of their busy lives, they might not even be familiar with their neighbors next door. But now, after everyone has moved to the Water Base,

the status of the survivors living on the same floor is almost equal, and with virtually no conflicts of interest, coupled with no other entertainment activities available,

communication among the elderly becomes very frequent. Because they often gather to chat, aside from national affairs and personal gossip, most of the topics revolve around their children.

However, since they all live on the same floor, there’s not much to talk about regarding their children’s achievements, as they are basically on par with each other.

Since there’s not much to discuss about the achievements of their children, that leaves only two topics: the cultivation of the grandchildren generation and whether their children are filial.

Because Martial Cultivation greatly extends human lifespans, like the higher races in novels, the higher the Cultivation Level, the less desire to marry and have children.

After excluding the topic of grandchildren, that leaves only the topic of filial piety, but filial piety is extremely difficult to prove in a tangible way.

So, buying fruits for one’s parents not only reflects whether the children are filial but also verifies whether they have connections and capability.

There’s even less to say about children. For those born after the disaster, let alone tasting fruits, many have not even seen the actual fruits, only able to look at pictures in textbooks or imagine the taste from the descriptions in books.

If someone in a class gets to eat fruits, they will definitely become the center of attention in the class for several days, like a star surrounded by fans.

Now, fruits carry the hopes of the elderly, the memories of the middle-aged, and the fantasies of children, which is why you wouldn’t see fruits on the market at all.

Some of the Hunting Groups that have broken through the Mysterious Ship and merged with ordinary vessels do obtain some fruits, but after distributing them among their members, the leftovers never make it to the market, having long been taken by specific people who liaise with those Hunting Groups.

Even if some fruits do appear on the market by accident, they disappear at an astonishing speed before others have time to react.

This shows just how high the status of fruit is now.

When Ethan Harris heard Dong Tianyu could provide so many kinds of fruits, even though Dong Tianyu had already made it clear that the prices were very high, he couldn’t help but ask, "Brother, how much for the fruits?"

"All are theoretical exchanges, watermelons are five to one, apples, pears, strawberries one to one, grapes one to three per berry."

Although he had braced himself, Ethan was still shocked upon hearing Dong Tianyu’s prices.

Obviously, the five to one mentioned by Dong Tianyu wasn’t five watermelons for one Mysterious Core, but rather five Mysterious Cores for one watermelon.

You see, Dong Tianyu could accept about a hundred jin of meat for one Mysterious Core just now, and now the asking price for a watermelon is five Mysterious Cores, equivalent to five hundred jin of meat, a ratio that is explosively high in any era.

Seeing the expression on Ethan’s face, Dong Tianyu guessed what was on his mind, and although it wasn’t really necessary, Dong Tianyu still kindly explained:

"You might not believe what I’m about to say, but the fruits I provide are not the ordinary varieties from before the disaster; they are fruits that have been specially improved after the disaster."

"These fruits not only taste much stronger than those before the disaster, but also far exceed the previous fruits in nutritional value."

"Have you read novels before? You should know about the miraculous treasures often mentioned in them. Although the effects of the fruits I provide are not as exaggerated as in novels, they still have certain benefits for the body."

"If you eat these fruits regularly, an obvious gap will emerge between you and the ordinary person who has never had them."

Upon hearing Dong Tianyu’s explanation, Ethan didn’t believe it at all, and even thought to himself, "The people who can afford to eat such fruits indeed have a very large gap with ordinary people!"

After all, those who can afford these fruits must be very wealthy, and at this time, ordinary people in the early stages of Cultivation might not even be able to meet their nutritional needs.

Those who can afford these expensive fruits have enough to eat just as a base, and when they Cultivate, they certainly have access to all sorts of supporting Potions.

Even if they don’t eat the fruits you provide, these people can still create a significant gap with ordinary people during Cultivation."

Dong Tianyu had no idea of Ethan’s thoughts, and if he had known, he would definitely have explained that the "ordinary people" he referred to had nothing to do with wealth, but rather the difference in their Cultivation talent.

Seeing the skeptical look on Ethan’s face, Dong Tianyu simply took out a box of strawberries from his backpack, picked two strawberries, and handed one to Ethan.

Ethan looked at the strawberry in Dong Tianyu’s hand that was almost as big as his own fist, and even before tasting it, he could tell from its appearance that this strawberry was extraordinary.

Smelling the fragrance released by the strawberry as soon as it came out of the box, Ethan’s deep-seated memories were awakened. He suddenly realized he hadn’t eaten strawberries, or even tasted strawberry-flavored food, since the disaster struck.

Looking at the strawberry in his hand, although his body instinctively wanted to gobble it up, Ethan still took out a small knife from his waist carefully and cut off a small piece, then savored it in his mouth.