"Hm?"
Lan Qingyou had just stood up when she saw Mickey Hayek's message in the channel. She froze.
Protect yourself?
Was he actually threatening her outright?
Mana Potions were consumables—or rather, alchemical products were basically all consumables, and very useful ones at that.
In that situation, anyone with even a little ambition would want to control the person who could make them.
Lan Qingyou had understood that clearly ever since she started selling her Crude Magic Potions.
That was especially true after learning that District 666, where she was, was a "Valley of Villains" full of criminals.
After all, the odds of finding ambitious people among criminals were much higher.
That was why she did everything she could to avoid meeting anyone.
As long as nobody could find the location of her shelter, she would be completely safe.
Fortunately, now that she had Alchemy and this little trick of trading Potions for herbs, she could gather large quantities of basic units and supplies without even going outside.
In that situation, she couldn't imagine how she might expose herself.
"Heh! Mickey Hayek, was it? If you can find me, then by all means, come and get me."
With a cold laugh, Lan Qingyou flew out of the shelter.
An hour later, she returned, then headed out again.
She didn't stop going out until her third trip back. Seeing that it was nearly midnight, she decided not to go out again.
Mickey Hayek's threatening words had made her feel more urgently aware of her situation.
After all, knowing something was one thing; having a plan to deal with it was another.
That was why she had gone out so many times today: to stock up on more food and open more things.
But after opening more than thirty chests, all Lan Qingyou got was food and water. She hadn't found a single blueprint.
She couldn't tell whether that was good luck or bad.
Could it be that she kept getting nothing because she always did ten-pulls? Did she really have to draw one at a time for a miracle to happen?
There was nothing Lan Qingyou could do about getting nothing, so in the end, she could only pin her hopes on the Trading Post.
Lan Qingyou had already made up her mind. From now on, she'd go out less and stay holed up in her shelter making Potions every day. She wasn't going anywhere.
Judging by how popular Apprentice-Grade Mana Potions were right now, she'd have gathered the supplies she needed for a Level 3 Shelter by tomorrow.
But that wasn't enough. She also needed something to save her life and protect herself.
Her output was extremely limited, though. Four hundred Potions a day was already her limit, dictated by time.
Unless... she increased the dosage?
Thinking it over, Lan Qingyou decided to run an experiment first.
She opened the friends channel and entered Li Huai's name.
Li Huai: "Need something?"
He accepted her friend request almost instantly.
So this guy was lurking in the channel too.
But that made sense. The Green Ghost had been appearing more frequently tonight, leaving everyone in the Regional Channel on edge.
Lan Qingyou: "Can you make wooden planks and stone slabs?"
That was right. She'd found this guy, who seemed to have a high combat talent, because she wanted him to make things for her.
Li Huai: "Sure. What sizes do you need?"
Lan Qingyou: "Squares, 10 centimeters, 20 centimeters, 30 centimeters, and 50 centimeters. Each at least one centimeter thick."
Li Huai: "Give me a moment. I'll go out and get some."
Wait, Gomen, you dared to go out at night too?!
Li Huai's reply left Lan Qingyou dumbfounded.
Was he simply brave because he was so skilled? Or did Karim's nighttime restrictions not affect powerful fighters?
About two minutes later, Li Huai sent her a trade request.
Lan Qingyou took a look. Everything met her requirements, ten of each size. They even still felt warm to the touch. So she sent him an Apprentice-Grade Mana Potion in return.
They had both sent blank trade requests.
A blank request was a way to send someone goods that they could claim without being asked to exchange anything in return.
Lan Qingyou: "I'll test them first. If they work, I'll place an order. Will you take it?"
Li Huai: "Sure. We can discuss the price then."
Neither of them was one to beat around the bush. Once they'd settled things, Lan Qingyou immediately began experimenting with the Alchemical Array.
That was right.
Just as you might have guessed, Lan Qingyou wanted to use these wooden planks and stone slabs as bases for Alchemical Arrays.
After all, she didn't have any iron ingots to make an iron Alchemical Array Base.
So she had no choice but to settle for wooden planks and stone slabs.
Since she'd already successfully made an Alchemical Array once, Lan Qingyou was much more familiar with drawing one now.
After nearly an hour of experimenting, she figured out how it worked.
Wooden planks wouldn't do as bases. They were too fragile.
Stone slabs could be used as bases, but only once. As soon as she lit the array and then put it out, the slab shattered on the spot.
No wonder Apprentice-Grade Alchemical Array Bases were made of iron.
Lan Qingyou: "I want stone slabs. 10 cm * 100:1, 20 cm * 50:1, 30 cm * 20:1, 50 cm * 10:1."
Lan Qingyou: "I need 1,000 of the 10 cm ones, 500 of the 20 cm ones, 200 of the 30 cm ones, and 100 of the 50 cm ones."
Lan Qingyou: "If that works, we can trade tomorrow. If you don't like the price, send me your offer."
Once she'd figured things out, Lan Qingyou yawned and messaged Li Huai.
After that, she went to the Trading Post and bought all the containers, big and small, that she'd noticed there earlier.
A 1.25-liter enamel mug, bought.
A 3.6-liter double-layer stainless-steel steamer, bought.
A 21-liter stainless-steel stockpot for hotel use, bought.
A 20-liter heavy-duty iron bucket, bought...
She bought quite a lot of odds and ends. There were more than a hundred 1.25-liter enamel mugs alone. She'd bought them all to use as experimental vessels.
Once she'd finished shopping, Lan Qingyou took out the blueprints for the wardrobe and lantern that she'd bought earlier.
They were both disposable, too.
[Disposable Wardrobe Blueprint] [Materials: Wood * 100, Sand * 20] [Function: A place to store clothes.] [Description: Put all your pretty clothes inside.] [Disposable Lantern Blueprint (E)] [Materials: Iron Ore * 10, Sand * 10, Luminous Mushroom * 5] [Function: Lights the way for you in the dark.] [Description: No way, no way. Surely nobody really carries this outside at night.]
Hmm, it seemed furniture didn't have a grade.
She might as well make a lantern.
As it happened, she had several Luminous Mushrooms she'd swiped from Albert's Basement.
After rummaging through her things, Lan Qingyou finally found the few mushrooms that hadn't dried out.
She counted them. Six—enough to make one lantern.
So she didn't waste any time and made the lantern instantly.
[Magic Hurricane Lamp (E)] [Time Remaining: 10,080 minutes] [Function: Lights the way for you in the dark.] [Description: No way, no way. Surely nobody really carries this outside at night.]
Hmm!?
Something seemed off.
Why did the Magic Hurricane Lamp have a time limit?
10,080 minutes was 168 hours... seven days?
Seven days?!
Lan Qingyou abruptly looked up at the Magic Hurricane Lamp that had come with the shelter and hung on the wall.
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