There was still half an arrowhead left, so Ning Yu’an cut off another piece.
Time seemed to have stopped inside the space. The cut from before was still as fresh as ever.
She had only eaten a little arrowhead that morning, and Ning Yu’an did not bother making anything elaborate.
There was still one and a half pieces of dried sweet potato that the Hong siblings had given her. Although they were hard to chew, they were quite filling.
After tidying up, Ning Yu’an put on her basket and headed out.
Today, Ning Yu’an planned to visit the last green point in the currently unlocked area.
There had originally been three green points. Ning Yu’an had collected from one of them, while the other had disappeared when she checked that morning. She did not know whether someone else had collected it or its radiation level had increased.
There were still bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest, but Ning Yu’an was afraid that if she went there again today, the mother bamboo rat would track her scent and come after her for revenge.
This collection point was located toward the north, where there was little sunlight. There were many hidden dangers in shaded areas, so relatively few people came here.
After walking around for a while, Ning Yu’an spotted a patch of tender green peas.
A single pea pod was larger than her palm, each one plump and round.
Peas had to be tested individually. After testing several of them, Ning Yu’an decided to pick all the pods and sort out the edible ones after returning home.
While she was here, she would also look for some edible pea leaves.
This place really was a treasure trove.
By noon, Ning Yu’an had filled her entire basket with pea pods. She also collected seven Level 3 radiation pea leaves and two Level 2 radiation pea leaves.
Ning Yu’an rolled her neck and looked at the peas still hidden beneath the leaves.
She decided to rest for a while first.
After finishing a piece of dried sweet potato, Ning Yu’an began testing the peas.
“Beep. Level 4 radiation.”
“Beep. Level 5 radiation.”
“Beep. Level 3 radiation.”
“Beep. Level 4 radiation.”
…
In the end, only one-third of the full basket of pea pods turned out to be edible.
It might not seem like much, but in the wasteland, this was already an astonishing yield.
Ning Yu’an knew how to be content.
Looking at the green point on the map that had now turned blue, Ning Yu’an decided to move on.
There might still be plenty of edible food here, but Ning Yu’an had always been the kind of person who liked to leave something behind.
That one step back was for others, and for herself as well.
It was still early. All the areas she had already explored on the map were marked blue.
Ning Yu’an decided to head back.
Today, she planned to visit the market again. Now that she had accumulated a little food, she could no longer put off repairing her house.
By the time she reached the market, it was only a little after four.
There was no rush today, so Ning Yu’an walked through the entire market.
The miscellaneous goods were scattered around, but the building materials were concentrated in one area.
The building materials were not all displayed. Only samples were placed in front of the stalls.
The stall owner saw that Ning Yu’an was a young girl dressed rather ordinarily, so he did not have much hope that she would buy anything.
When she picked up a board to examine it, he simply gave her a brief explanation without showing much enthusiasm.
Ning Yu’an looked here and there.
Finally, her gaze settled on a somewhat blackened board.
Ning Yu’an crouched down and touched it.
It felt smooth and hard.
The stall owner was a burly, bearded man. He had a splint around one of his legs and appeared to be injured.
Seeing Ning Yu’an examining the board, the stall owner chuckled.
“Little girl, you have good taste. My boards have been treated with Industrial Energy Liquid. I guarantee they’re sturdy!”
A tall and thin stall owner nearby let out a disdainful scoff.
“Industrial Energy Liquid? Why don’t you just say you transported it from the inner city?”
The bearded stall owner glared at him before turning back to Ning Yu’an.
“Little girl, I’m Old Liu. I never lie. This board won’t break no matter how hard you kick it! Even a Level 3 Mutated Beast would have trouble breaking it!”
Hearing the bearded man’s words, Ning Yu’an instinctively looked at his leg.
The bearded man noticed her gaze and his old face reddened.
“I didn’t get injured from kicking it! But you can try it yourself, little girl. I guarantee it’s sturdy!”
After the owner repeatedly assured her, Ning Yu’an picked up the arm-length board.
“Boss, how much is this board?”
The tall and thin stall owner grew anxious.
“Little girl, don’t tell me you actually believe him! His boards are ridiculously expensive. Why don’t you take a look at mine? They’re made from Mutated Bamboo and even sturdier!”
The bearded man became anxious as well. He raised his crutch and glared at the other stall owner.
“You looking for a beating, kid?”
Seeing the bearded man’s intimidating appearance, the tall and thin stall owner trembled, turned his head away, and began muttering under his breath.
The bearded man lowered his crutch and looked at Ning Yu’an.
“My boards cost fifteen contribution points per square meter.”
It was indeed not cheap.
However, if Ning Yu’an had not mistaken it, the bearded man was probably telling the truth.
This board gave her a feeling similar to the Energy Stone she had picked up yesterday. The sensation was difficult to describe and very faint.
Ning Yu’an thought for a moment before asking, “Boss, can you process it directly?”
The bearded man paused.
“Little girl, what do you want it processed into?”
“A door!”
It was certainly unrealistic to use this material for the entire house.
However, she could at least replace the flimsy wooden door that kept out neither gentlemen nor thieves with something sturdier.
The bearded man pondered for a moment.
“Sure. No unnecessary designs. The processing fee is ten contribution points.”
Hearing the bearded man’s price, the tall and thin stall owner rolled his eyes again, but this time he did not interrupt.
Ning Yu’an also ordered some bamboo boards and waterproof rolls from him.
The door cost forty contribution points, the waterproof rolls cost thirty contribution points, and the bamboo boards cost forty contribution points.
That came to exactly one hundred contribution points.
Since she was buying so much, the bearded man agreed to throw in some other construction scraps and leftover boards.
Ironware was expensive, so he gave her two boxes of beast-bone nails instead.
After they settled everything, Ning Yu’an gave the bearded man the dimensions of the door and asked him to deliver it to her home.
There were too many things to carry back in her space. Doing so would attract too much attention.
It would be better to have them delivered directly.
The bearded man readily agreed.
However, they ran into a problem when it came time to finalize the transaction.
Ning Yu’an’s wristwatch did not have an add-friend function. She could not take him back to work today anyway, and the door would also take some time to make.
She had not found any workers yet.
After discussing it for a while, the bearded man gave Ning Yu’an his contact number.
She would first transfer thirty contribution points as a deposit, and once everything was ready, Ning Yu’an could contact him to have the materials delivered directly to her home.
Ning Yu’an agreed to the arrangement without hesitation.
Since the hall had not closed yet, Ning Yu’an first went to upgrade her wristwatch.
She had not expected the upgrade to be so expensive.
It cost forty-five contribution points.
After the upgrade, the wristwatch gained several new functions, including friends, photography, recording, and a radiation map.
There was also a very useful function that could display the names of plants already recorded in the system, along with toxin detection.
This made it easier to determine whether something was safe to eat.
There were many strange-looking plants in the wasteland that had mutated.
Afraid that they might be poisonous, Ning Yu’an only dared to look for plants that were familiar to her and test them.
After upgrading, Ning Yu’an added the bearded man as a friend.
A wristwatch was a symbol of identity for everyone, and friends were all registered under their real names.
The bearded man’s name was Liu Yuanxiao.
There was still some time after the upgrade, so Ning Yu’an bought a few small tools at the market, such as a wooden mallet and a saw.
She also bought an energy biscuit for eight contribution points and a nutrition drink for three contribution points.
They were expensive, but she had heard that they were extremely filling.
Ning Yu’an also discovered something rather interesting.
Hedgehog spines.
Each spine was nearly twenty centimeters long and extremely hard. They cost two contribution points each.
Ning Yu’an bought five.
She planned to use them for self-defense.
After buying everything, Ning Yu’an headed home.
The building materials cost 100 contribution points, the wristwatch upgrade cost 45, and the miscellaneous tools, food, and hedgehog spines cost another 36 contribution points.
She had spent a total of 181 contribution points today.
That left her with only 55 contribution points.