Private Chat💬Marcus-Too low, man. At least eight portions each of food and water, right?-💬Anonymous PlayerClara BennettForget it, then. You should know how precious water is right now. That’s all I can offer. If not, I’ll look elsewhere.
Seeing she might walk, Marcus quickly replied.
Private Chat💬Marcus-Fine, fine, let’s do the price you said.-
He immediately sent a trade request. Soon the trade was completed. Marcus burst out laughing.
“Leo, your plan is really badass. She’ll never realize this is a trap.”
Beside him, a sultry woman in a tight leather jacket said flirtatiously,
“Just a woman. Even if she has some skill, how smart can she be? She’s putty in our hands.”
Leo smiled faintly.
“Trixie, this Big Red is extremely cautious. She thinks she traded 3 bottles of water and 3 loaves of bread for a blueprint and got a huge bargain. But she has no idea that Vehicle Modification Blueprint is the bait we threw out.”
Marcus cut in excitedly, “That’s right. Most people drive Santanas or SUVs. As long as her car’s rear has that extra bit sticking out, she can run to the ends of the earth, and we’ll recognize her at a glance. By then, all the supplies she worked so hard to gather will be ours.”
Leo looked out the window, a calculating glint in his eyes.
“No rush, Marcus. She’ll open crates for us, scavenge supplies for us, and draw other people’s fire for us. Right now she’s just a pig we’re fattening up. When she’s plump enough, it’ll be time to harvest.”
Marcus grunted. “Trixie and I will wait in this town. Leo, take a few guys and scout ahead.”
“Okay.”
Clara had no idea. She thought it was just a normal trade. After getting the blueprint, she chose to learn and craft it immediately. The materials weren’t much: 50 Iron Ingots, 20 Steel Ingots, and 15 Rubber. With a flash of light, the space that could barely fit her lying down was now big enough for her to stretch her legs, and even fit a small table.
Then her gaze fell on the pile of meat in her Storage Space. D-rank mutton had 159.8 pounds left, and C-rank leopard meat, 33.1 pounds.
“It’s so hot, and without any way to keep it fresh, this meat will spoil in a day or two. Besides, the Storage Space doesn’t have a preservation function.”
Clara frowned and muttered, “Too bad I still haven’t found the main material for a C-rank wooden refrigerator.”
D-rank meat held little energy. Its main value was filling her stomach, so she could sell it in bulk for basic materials and blueprints. C-rank meat had purer energy and would boost her more, so she couldn’t sell it easily. Cooked, it would keep longer, so she would save it for herself. Clara tossed all 33.1 pounds of C-rank leopard meat into a large iron pot, added water and seasoning, and kept it stewing over logs.
Then she opened the Trading Platform and started listing items in bulk. This time, her trade demands were more specific.
MerchantItemTradeStock🥩 Mutton 3.3 lbone blueprint of any kind or rare material. Private message to trade.—🥩 Mutton 7 ozIron Ingot, Steel Ingot, Copper Ingot, Animal Hide, etc. x6 each300🥩 Mutton 8.8 oz⛽ Gasoline 2.6 gal10
The moment the listings went up, the Chat Channel exploded.
Chat Channel💬Anonymous Player-Holy crap! The meat seller is here, and this time it’s over 110 pounds of meat?!-💬Anonymous Player-Damn, am I seeing things? 3.3 pounds of meat for a blueprint? I happen to have a C-rank blueprint I can’t use. Traded.-💬Anonymous Player-My God, this is basically a saint in the apocalypse.-💬Anonymous Player-Quit grabbing everything, damn it! Leave some for me!-
In just a few minutes, 300 portions of mutton were wiped out. She gained a huge amount of basic materials: 776 Iron Ingot, 467 Steel Ingot, 6 LEDs... and 26 gallons of gasoline. Clara watched the trade notifications keep popping up on her wristband, and a satisfied smile curved her lips. Then she started checking her private messages.
When she saw the blueprints those survivors were putting up, Clara clicked her tongue.
“These people are really loaded. This many permanent blueprints?”
She bought the permanent C-rank blueprints among them: Healing Salve, Blanket, Bloodthirst Longsword, Combat Vest. She traded for those four and spent 13 pounds of D-rank mutton. Finally, she saw the core she had been hunting for. When she contacted the seller, they stubbornly insisted on 22 pounds of D-rank mutton. Clara flatly offered 11 pounds, take it or leave it. The seller, afraid Clara would walk away, caved, and she traded 11 pounds of meat for the Ice Element Core. The source of this chapter is novelping . com.
She couldn’t wait to craft a C-rank Wooden Refrigerator. The materials were 50 wooden planks, 10 Copper Ingot, and 1 Ice Element Core. It slowed food spoilage and needed no electricity to run. Soon a brown wooden refrigerator appeared in the Storage Space. With a thought, a brown refrigerator about five feet tall appeared next to the A-rank Water Collector. Clara stuffed the vegetables and meat from her Storage Space into it.
With all that done, her gaze fell on another blueprint, Healing Salve, and her eyes burned just as hot.
Appraisal📐Healing Salve BlueprintPermanent blueprint. Materials:Clotting Herb x1, RegeneratingRubber Vine x1An ointment that quickly stopsbleeding, reduces swelling, andspeeds wound healing.
Totally worth it.
By now, some people were already starting to suspect her. If she kept selling milk, it would be easy for them to connect it to her talent. But this salve was different. She could sell it as a regular commodity, earning resources while hiding her own ability. And medicine in the apocalypse was always hard currency, on the same level as food and water.
With that in mind, she learned all the blueprints, then went to the Trading Platform to search for crafting materials. Clotting Herb and Regenerating Rubber Vine were both listed as “no such item.”
“As expected, it’s not that simple,” Clara murmured. “Otherwise they wouldn’t have sold it to me so cheap.”
Looks like crafting Healing Salve is going to be a long-term process.
She turned her attention to the other permanent blueprints.
AppraisalBlanketMaterials: ¦ Cloth x5Bloodthirst LongswordMaterials: ¦ Steel Ingot x40, Logsx2Combat VestMaterials: ¦ Cloth x20, AnimalHide x5, Steel Ingot x2
These materials were common, and she had them on hand, so she crafted them all right away. Looking at the few new pieces of equipment in her Storage Space, Clara thought for a moment. The Bloodthirst Longsword and Combat Vest boosted combat power, so she could not sell them. But this blanket could be sold. After all, the temperature swings here were huge and the nights were cold. Yesterday she had woken up from the cold several times. For people without warm clothes, this thing was an absolute necessity.
She took out a freshly crafted blanket. It felt soft and thick, but it also had a red heart mark stamped on it. Clara felt a headache coming on when she saw the pattern.
If she listed it on the Trading Platform, the survivors would know at a glance that Big Red was selling it. But she had no choice. That was how the rules of this world worked.