I remember the first time I tried to sneak up on a bandit in the Zone - let's just say it didn't end well. I'd spent twenty minutes crawling through radioactive mud, only to have the guy spin around and empty his Kalashnikov into my chest before I could even raise my knife. That experience taught me what the reference material perfectly captures: ammunition isn't just scarce, it's ridiculously expensive. When you're spending 500 rubles per bullet and only making 1,000 rubles for a successful mission, every shot literally costs you money. That's when I realized the true meaning of making "Jili money" - it's not about earning more, but spending less by using your environment intelligently.
The Zone operates on its own unpredictable logic, much like modern financial markets. Just last week, I watched two rival factions suddenly start fighting near an anomaly field. Instead of joining the fray, I positioned myself upwind and waited. The emission that rolled through five minutes later took out three heavily armed soldiers who would have required dozens of expensive rounds to defeat conventionally. That single moment of environmental awareness saved me approximately 4,500 rubles in ammunition costs - nearly half a week's earnings for most stalkers. These opportunities appear constantly if you're patient enough to watch the patterns.
Stealth approaches sound great in theory, but honestly? I've found knifing enemies to be about as reliable as trusting a random internet stock tip. The reference perfectly describes how eagle-eyed these bandits and mutants become - they'll spot you through foliage, in near-total darkness, even when you're certain you're completely hidden. I've counted seventeen separate attempts at stealth kills over my last three expeditions, and only two succeeded. The other fifteen cost me medical supplies and pride. What works better is using the Zone's natural hazards. I once led a pack of blind dogs into a military patrol simply by throwing a bolt in the right direction - zero bullets spent, free loot collected.
The beauty of this system is how it rewards creative thinking over brute force. Yesterday, I noticed an electrical anomaly sparking near where some mercenaries had set up camp. Rather than engaging them directly, I spent twenty minutes carefully luring one of their patrols toward the dancing energy bolts. When the first mercenary got zapped, his comrades rushed to help him, creating a chain reaction that took out their entire squad. The ammunition I saved by letting the environment do the work? Roughly 7,000 rubles worth, plus whatever I would have spent on medical supplies patching up the inevitable bullet wounds.
Some players swear by the stealth approach, but I've found it's like trying to time the stock market - sometimes you get lucky, but most attempts end in frustration. The unpredictability the reference mentions is both a blessing and curse. Yes, enemies don't follow boring scripted paths, but their random movements make consistent stealth nearly impossible. Instead, I focus on what I call "environmental banking" - using the Zone's natural features as my primary weapon. Anomalies aren't just obstacles, they're investment opportunities. A well-placed grenade in an anomaly field can create chain reactions worth thousands of rubles in saved ammunition.
My personal breakthrough came when I stopped thinking like a soldier and started thinking like a stalker. The difference? A soldier sees enemies as targets to eliminate, while a stalker sees them as expenses to minimize. That mental shift changed everything. Now when I plan my routes, I'm not looking for the fastest path, but the one that offers the most environmental advantages. I'll take a 30-minute detour through an anomaly field if it means I can use an emission to clear an enemy outpost rather than spending 2,000 rubles in ammunition. Over the course of a month, these savings compound dramatically.
The reference material's emphasis on knowledge of the Zone resonates deeply with my experience. I've started keeping what I call a "profit journal" - tracking not just what I earn from missions, but what I save through environmental tactics. Last month, my records show I saved approximately 45,000 rubles by using anomalies, emissions, and creature behaviors instead of bullets. That's the real "Jili money" - the currency you never have to spend. It's not glamorous work, watching from the shadows while anomalies do your fighting, but it's consistently profitable in ways that direct combat never is.
What most new stalkers fail to understand is that every bullet fired represents not just ammunition cost, but opportunity cost. That 500-ruble bullet could have been part of your next artifact detector purchase. The medical supplies used to patch up combat wounds could have funded better armor. By mastering your environment, you're not just saving rubles - you're accelerating your progression through the Zone. After six months of applying these principles, I've reached a point where I only use my firearm about 20% of the time I would have when I started. The other 80%? That's pure profit, courtesy of the Zone itself.
