Wang Yixin was busy with something and still had not accepted Li Qinglang's friend request.
Huang Zhiteng, however, accepted it instantly, as if he had been deliberately waiting for the information.
“Congratulations, congratulations! Congratulations on upgrading to a Level-Two Shelter, Brother Li. We can trade now, right?”
As the saying went, one did not strike someone wearing a smiling face. Besides, Li Qinglang was also extremely eager to get the Mist-Piercing Glasses, so he immediately replied:
“Hahaha, no problem. But after the trade, don't forget to tell me why you are so eager for spring water.”
“Don't worry. This is only my guess. Whether it succeeds or not, I will tell you.”
After saying that, Li Qinglang initiated a trade request and placed 200 milliliters of spring water in a coconut shell.
After the other party placed the Mist-Piercing Glasses on the trade panel, he chose to confirm the trade.
The spring water in his hand disappeared, replaced by a pair of glasses resembling frog sunglasses.
Li Qinglang eagerly put them on, opened the window, and looked into the distance.
“All right, it's pitch-black. I can't see a thing.”
He closed the window and fiddled with the glasses. “Can this thing really see through the mist? It doesn't look very special.”
Like a child who had received a new toy, Li Qinglang even looked forward to daybreak.
“Bzzz~ bzzz~ bzzz~”
The Communicator issued a reminder. It was a message from Huang Zhiteng:
“Hahaha, brother, you really saved my life!”
Li Qinglang raised an eyebrow and replied:
“Oh? What do you mean? It seems the spring water really is very useful?”
“Yes, it is extremely useful. To tell you the truth, my body was damaged, and I was only healed because of your spring water!”
Huang Zhiteng's words were beyond Li Qinglang's expectations.
Li Qinglang had drunk the spring water himself as well, and its effects were indeed miraculous. After drinking it, his entire body felt tingly, and even his strength had increased considerably!
However, it had shown no obvious effect on healing. The clearest example was that the minor bruises Li Qinglang had suffered while climbing the coconut tree had not healed.
“If you were injured, why didn't you trade for a Healing Potion? Someone in the chat channel obtained a scroll for a potion specifically meant for healing. You couldn't have missed it, right?”
“Of course I saw it. I even traded 30 stone and 50 wood for a bottle, but it had no effect.”
Before Li Qinglang could ask, the other party continued with a statement that shocked him:
“I wasn't ordinarily injured. I was eroded by the mist!”
“The mist eroded you?”
“Yes! Relying on my Mist-Piercing Glasses, I entered the Dense Fog Zone to explore. I discovered that the greatest danger wasn't anything else—it was the mist itself!
After advancing through the Dense Fog Zone for about one minute, I began to feel chest tightness and difficulty breathing. But at the time, I thought it was only my imagination, so I paid no attention.
Later, the Dense Fog Zone reward I mentioned before appeared, delaying me for two or three minutes, and the difficulty breathing became even more severe!
By then, I had realized that the problem might be the mist, so I quickly left the Dense Fog Zone.
The instant I reached the Light Mist Zone, I felt as if I had come back to life. If I had been one minute later, I would have suffocated in the mist!”
At this point, Li Qinglang could not help interrupting:
“Since you left the mist safely, why did you still need healing?”
“Because I was horrified to discover that a mass of mist had remained inside my body!
I could even feel it inside my chest, and it had begun slowly spreading through my body.
It was like a big hand gripping my throat. As time passed, that invisible hand squeezed harder and harder.
I formed the Survivor Association because I wanted to see whether there were any items that could solve the problem. I used all three of today's trading opportunities to exchange for healing items, but they had very little effect.
That was until I saw the spring water you posted. Its effect of regulating the body gave me hope!
Yes, I wasn't injured at all, so healing items were useless. What I truly needed was an item that could regulate the body!”
Even through the Communicator's screen, Li Qinglang could sense that the other party seemed to let out a long breath.
“You know what happened next. I didn't tell you before because I was afraid you would refuse to trade after hearing this information. I am extremely sorry!”
To be honest, Li Qinglang could understand why the other party had concealed the information before the trade. If he had been in that situation, he definitely would not have said anything either. After all, it concerned his own life!
However, understanding was one thing. If Huang Zhiteng had not brought it up himself, Li Qinglang would not have had much contact with him in the future.
Failing to disclose it before the trade was forced by the circumstances. After all, one could not afford to be a Saintly Mother.
But if he refused to acknowledge it after the trade, that would be a matter of character.
“It's all right. I understand.”
“Thank you, brother! Also, let me remind you: your spring water should be a renewable Resource, right? So tomorrow, you will most likely enter the Dense Fog Zone to obtain the reward.
But even with spring water, don't stay in the Dense Fog Zone for long. Take the reward and leave immediately.
Spring water isn't an elixir. I had to drink all 200 milliliters of spring water to flush out the remaining mist.
And I stayed in the mist for less than five minutes!”
Huang Zhiteng's words indeed served as a warning to Li Qinglang. He had originally intended to rely on having spring water and explore the Dense Fog Zone for a while longer.
But the mist was not his own backyard. It was filled with the unknown.
“Thanks for the warning. I understand.”
“Mm-hmm. I won't say more. You are a smart person. I look forward to our next cooperation.”
“All right.”
After ending his conversation with Huang Zhiteng, Li Qinglang turned and plunged into the Exchange.
He wanted to use his remaining two trading opportunities before midnight.
Now that he had tools for logging and mining stone, Li Qinglang wanted to exchange for some items for self-defense, preparing for tomorrow's entry into the Dense Fog Zone.
There were no coconuts left, and only about 50 milliliters of spring water remained. He still had quite a lot of fine quality seawater, but apart from that, he had only 60 wood and 10 stone.
“Sigh, after upgrading the Shelter, it feels like I have returned to square one overnight.”
As Li Qinglang browsed the Exchange and calculated what he could use for trading, he could not help sighing. Upgrading the Shelter really consumed a great deal of supplies. He had originally felt fairly wealthy, but now that he looked at things, he was still far too poor.
What he did not know was that, at this point in time, more than 95 percent of Survivors were still living in Level-One dilapidated log cabins, and the best items they possessed were merely Fine or even ordinary.
As he browsed the trading market, the more he looked, the more speechless he became:
There were disposable underwear, socks, towels, and ballpoint pens.
Those were still considered good.
Li Qinglang even saw someone put toothpicks up for trade.
One toothpick for one piece of wood. What were they thinking?
The trading market formed by eight billion people was truly chaotic. Of course, there were also good things, but Li Qinglang guessed that these people were basically all aiming to upgrade their Shelters.
The materials required for relatively practical fine-grade items ranged from 30 to 50 stone, while wood cost three times as much.
Ordinary fine items were generally priced at around 15 to 35 stone.
Li Qinglang tried Private Chat with several sellers, asking whether they could exchange items for Fine-grade purified seawater.
But the replies he received were basically that they currently only exchanged for Shelter Upgrade Material, and that they would contact Li Qinglang to exchange for seawater when they needed it later.
It was now half past ten at night. There was still an hour and a half until the midnight mission deadline. Most people were making their final efforts, hoping to exchange for upgrade materials and make one last push.
“It seems my actual trading partners are only that small group of people who have already upgraded their Shelters. I can only call out in the World Chat Channel.”