Lingering?
If it were a mutant being blocked, it would surely try every possible way to force its way in, so that was unlikely. Could it be an Evolver? But the farm was located in a place where one almost never saw even a passerby. Why would an Evolver specifically come to linger nearby?
After thinking it over, Ye Mian didn’t ignore it. Instead, she went to find Lu Ning. When she mentioned the situation and expressed her desire to check it out, Lu Ning immediately put down her work. “Alright, I’ll drive.”
“Wait, let me make some preparations.”
After a few trips up and down the stairs, Ye Mian walked out to the fields to meet Lu Ning, who had already turned the car around. Once she was settled in her seat, she heard Lu Ning’s guess. “Could it be those people from yesterday?”
Ye Mian pulled her seatbelt across and buckled it. “Not sure. We’ll know once we see them.”
Although the farm’s range had expanded quite a bit, the new off-road vehicle made the distances feel shorter. Ye Mian only had time to check her system warehouse twice before she looked up and saw several figures watching from a distance.
“It really is them,” Lu Ning said with slight surprise. “How did they find this place?”
Ye Mian wasn’t too surprised. “Just as we guessed they would stay in the village for a while, they likely guessed we weren’t far away either.”
Besides, she had left fresh crops behind. Instead of searching for tracks along the highway, it made more sense for them to search this wilderness. She just wondered if the purpose of their trip was what she had in mind.
At the same time, Xie Yi and his group outside the farm had been planning to withdraw. Hearing the approach of the car, they instinctively gathered together and looked at the off-road vehicle they had seen coming out of the mountains yesterday.
“Is it them?”
“Seems like it… Yi, is this their skill?”
They had just discovered they were blocked by an invisible, wide-reaching wall. They had initially thought it was another strange mutation, but seeing that the car could pass through it unhindered, they knew it was man-made.
Xie Yi said, “Probably not. After all, using skills consumes an Evolver’s physical and mental energy.”
Maintaining such a massive skill permanently seemed impossible. The others knew this too. Now that he had confirmed it, they looked at each other, feeling both amazed and conflicted. If they could have such a wall for protection, they wouldn’t have to endure the hardship of day and night shifts, nor would they have to live in constant fear.
“Chen Jia is in there too, right…?”
Hearing that murmur, the group’s expressions became even more complex. Yesterday they were worried about Chen Jia being tricked; today they wished they were the ones following those two.
Xie Yi didn’t speak, his eyes slightly lowered in thought. When the vehicle stopped nearby and someone stepped out, he snapped out of it and looked over. Seeing it was indeed Ye Mian and Lu Ning, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“You all…” Ye Mian stopped a few paces away from Xie Yi’s group, her eyes briefly scanning them. “Are you looking for us specifically?”
There weren’t many people. Aside from Xie Yi, the others were combat-ready. It was a reasonable arrangement; they had come here based on a guess, so they had to ensure their safety on the road.
“Yes,” Xie Yi nodded. Then, without beating around the bush, he reached out and opened his palm toward Ye Mian. “We wanted to ask if you need this.”
Resting in his palm was a Shuoshi.
Ye Mian was somewhat surprised. “Just to ask an uncertain question, you came all this way knowing the road could be dangerous?”
“Yes, just to ask that.”
Not only was Xie Yi’s reply calm and composed, but the people beside him didn’t show a hint of doubt. It seemed that after dealing with the potentially problematic mutant yesterday, they had become even more united and trusted Xie Yi even more. They no longer felt rejection or suspicion toward Ye Mian and Lu Ning.
She had thought it would take a few more encounters before they lowered their guard completely. Seeing Ye Mian not immediately responding, Xie Yi added quickly, “It’s because you don’t seem to lack supplies, but this stone seems unusual. Maybe it has a special use.”
Ye Mian nodded slightly. “Yes. So, you want to use this to trade for supplies?”
“Yes, if possible.” As Xie Yi spoke, a nearly imperceptible trace of anticipation flashed in his eyes.
Whether his eyes were open or closed yesterday, he couldn’t stop thinking about the corn and sweet potatoes Ye Mian had left. After thinking it over all night, he decided to take a gamble. There was nothing to lose if it failed, but if it succeeded, it meant a much better chance at survival!
“It’s not impossible,” Ye Mian mused. “But what we trade and how we trade will be decided by us. Can you accept that?”
Although Xie Yi wanted to specify corn and sweet potatoes, he knew he should be satisfied with achieving the goal. He couldn’t be greedy. He nodded firmly. “We accept.”
“Alright. How many of these stones do you have? Let me see them.”
As they started reaching into their pockets, Ye Mian signaled Lu Ning to come closer and whispered, “Play along with me in a moment.”
Lu Ning guessed she was going to “get” things from the car again and gave a soft hum. She felt a bit of warmth and security; Ye Mian wasn’t as defenseless toward everyone as Xue Kai thought. She was only like this with the few of them. It meant she trusted them completely.
Xie Yi had come prepared to gamble, so he wasn’t scrambling at the last minute. He pulled out a pile, contained in a large cloth bag. There were dozens, maybe a hundred. However, they varied in size and quality. Some had minor flaws, likely removed without full knowledge or interrupted during their semi-solidified state.
With Xie Yi’s permission, Ye Mian picked out a few stones of different shapes and sizes to weigh them, getting a rough idea of their value. Although there were many, not all Shuoshi were worth a hundred points.
Xie Yi looked at her. “There are ninety-two in total. Smaller ones can be worth less, or just given as extras. Is that okay?”
Ye Mian didn’t answer directly. Instead, she sat down cross-legged. “Pour them all out first. Let me organize them.”
Xie Yi was stunned, as were his companions. They couldn’t help but look worried. But in the end, they said nothing and did as Ye Mian said, pouring the stones onto the ground.
Lu Ning watched Ye Mian’s sorting method for a moment, then sat down to help categorize the stones by size and quality. Soon, the ninety-two stones were divided into three piles. The first pile was clearly the best in shape and color. The second pile was slightly inferior. The third pile consisted of small, flawed fragments. The third pile was the largest, likely coming from mutants that had only recently turned.
“One of these can be exchanged for a bag of rice or flour,” Ye Mian said, pointing to the first pile, then the second. “These can be exchanged for corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and vegetables. As for the small ones, no need to give them as extras. They can be exchanged for the first two types in sets, with a minimum of ten stones.”
“There’s rice and flour too!?”
“We can really trade for everything! That’s great!”
“Yi was right to come here!!!”
The group immediately cast their worries aside, their faces filled with excitement and agitation. They almost grabbed Xie Yi’s arm to urge him to trade. Even Xie Yi lost some of his usual composure, a hint of joy in his eyes. “Alright, we’ll do as you say.”
“Then discuss what you’d like to trade for.”
They called it a discussion, but the others clearly followed Xie Yi’s lead. Results came quickly: a little bit of everything available. As for the third pile of flawed stones, they were all exchanged for sweet potatoes at a rate of ten per bag.
This arrangement suited Ye Mian perfectly. In its early stages, the farm had a bit of everything, and she needed to be prepared for potential future trades with those two young people.
“Wait a moment.”
Ye Mian and Lu Ning exchanged a look, stood up together, and walked to the back of the car to open the gate.
“Good thing we prepared in advance, saves us a trip back.”
Lu Ning was briefly startled, then realized as Ye Mian began pulling bags out one by one. “So you were preparing these just now.” No wonder she could name the exchange rates without thinking.
Ye Mian smiled. “Actually, half the credit goes to Xue Kai. He wanted to store them in separate packaging, so I just used them.”
Lu Ning silently gave him a thumbs up. “Typical of him.”
“But can those stones be forged into metal? Or do they have another use?” Lu Ning asked while trying to hang more bags on herself, only to see Ye Mian pull out a very familiar supermarket shopping cart.
“…”
“Both, probably. They might be very useful later,” Ye Mian said, loading the bags into the cart. “The biggest use right now is to convert them into points, which can then be used for seeds. In short, it’s always good to save up.”
“Hm, and the ones from before…?”
Ye Mian gestured toward the system panel that Lu Ning couldn’t see. “All saved up.”
“That’s good.”
When the two finished loading and pushed the shopping cart over, Xie Yi and his group were stunned. It took a moment for their joy to take over—it really was fresh grain and vegetables, and each bag was quite full!
While taking in their reactions, Ye Mian looked at the contents of the cart. Rice and flour not only required labor for harvesting but were also difficult to process. Even a small bag was worth a hundred points. Other bags were basically the yield of one seed, and fifty seeds could be bought for a hundred points.
Well… no need to tell them that.
After the trade was complete, Ye Mian remembered something. “By the way, try to keep these packaging bags in good condition. Return them to us next time so we can reuse them.”
“There’s a next time!?”
The group couldn’t help but exclaim, the joy on their faces plain to see. Xie Yi was also a bit excited, his voice slightly raised. “Don’t worry, we will!”
“Good. Safe travels, then.”
After a polite nod, Ye Mian and Lu Ning turned back toward the farm, sweeping the stones into the system warehouse as they went.
Just as she saw that the stones in the second pile could also be exchanged for a hundred points, marveling at her own talent as a capitalist, a surprise text box suddenly popped up.
[Achieved First Trade, Points +100, and Seed Store successfully unlocked!]