The chatroom was still in an uproar.
There were still plenty of voices everywhere begging others to list materials on the Trading Platform, and even more private messages arrived in Ye Qiyan's inbox.
Ye Qiyan listed another batch, but this time, he only earned three Train Coins.
It wasn't that the market was saturated. There were simply very few people who had Train Coins.
Treasure chests weren't that easy to find.
Thinking about it carefully, if he hadn't had WALL-E, wouldn't the only treasure chest Ye Qiyan had found himself have been that first one in the Armory?
Without treasure chests, there were no Train Coins.
Without Train Coins, they couldn't buy the resources needed to upgrade, and when the next night survival round came, they could only wait to die.
But that had little to do with Ye Qiyan.
He couldn't possibly help everyone. He was only willing to list the materials to rake in some Train Coins.
Besides, anyone who couldn't even manage their first upgrade after six stops really wasn't suited to this world.
He scanned the private messages asking to exchange supplies for resources. They hadn't even considered proving themselves worth helping when they begged others for help.
Pang Wenxuan: ["Please, this blueprint is all I have left. I need 30 kilograms of metal to upgrade my train. Please help me!"]
Only one of the private messages caught Ye Qiyan's attention.
A blueprint?
Worth a look.
But shouldn't a blueprint fetch more resources from someone else? No matter how lousy it is, a blueprint is still a blueprint. Strange.
["What blueprint?"]
Receiving a reply, Pang Wenxuan, who was curled up in a corner of his train trembling, was instantly overjoyed.
["This one! Please help me!"]
[Wooden Bow Blueprint] (Level 1) [Requires: 3 kilograms of wood]
"..."
All right, I take that back.
No wonder he couldn't sell it. How many modern people knew how to use a bow? Compared to guns and crossbows, which only required aiming and pulling a trigger, bows were far too difficult to use.
Besides, this was only a bow, without any arrows to go with it.
Still, it was a blueprint, after all.
It might be useless to others, but not necessarily to him.
["All right. Let's trade."]
The instant he saw Ye Qiyan agree, Pang Wenxuan cried tears of joy.
He had thought Ye Qiyan would refuse like everyone else. He truly hadn't expected this.
["Thank you! You're a good person! I'll definitely repay you!"]
A good person? Ye Qiyan scratched his head.
"These days, being called a good person always feels like being insulted."
He paid no attention to the promised repayment. After all, this might very well be their last conversation.
He had barely managed to reach level 2 after six stops. What about next time? Could he really keep up with the ever-increasing pace?
The trade was complete.
Then.
"Ascension."
Yes, this was why Ye Qiyan had agreed.
A lousy level 1 blueprint could reach level 2 after Ascension. He could craft the item, then use Ascension again to bring it up to level 3.
He hadn't considered using Ascension on blueprints before simply because he hadn't wanted to end up unable to gather suitable crafting materials after upgrading them.
Come to think of it, this was his first time using Ascension on a blueprint.
[Spirit: 120 → 115] [Black Hardwood Bow] (Level 2) [Requires: 10 kilograms of wood, 0.5 kilograms of fiber]
He had all the materials, so he crafted it right away.
Then he used Ascension again.
[Spirit: 115 → 105] [Flower Dawn Enchanting Wooden Bow] [Consumes spirit to create Flower Dawn Arrows. Accuracy can be adjusted slightly after firing.]
Its potential was exhausted.
He held a wooden bow adorned with floral patterns.
He consumed one point of spirit and drew the bow. A pale pink energy arrow appeared out of thin air.
He fired into the distance, and the arrow pierced a monster's body.
Its power was decent, about on par with the Blacklight Pistol with its armor-piercing effect activated, and it also had a slight auto-aim ability.
But Ye Qiyan still preferred guns. Still, this level 3 bow was sure to fetch a good price.
[Clear all]
All the private messages from strangers were cleared. Other people's pleas for help had nothing to do with him.
Ultimately, charging one Train Coin for 30 kilograms of resources already showed that he wasn't exactly a good person.
One message remained in his private messages. It had been sent by a friend, so it wouldn't be cleared.
Shangguan Yingxue: ["Do you have any more bullets for sale? I can trade gunpowder for them."]
It was her, the trading partner with plenty of water and a very pleasant personality.
Gunpowder was exactly what he needed. What perfect timing.
Ye Qiyan: ["500 grams of gunpowder for ten level 3 bullets. I won't charge you extra for the metal used in crafting."]
["Deal. I want a hundred."]
["?"]
["Is there a problem?"]
["No, I'm just curious how you managed to get so much gunpowder."]
Ye Qiyan couldn't stop smiling.
500 grams of gunpowder could make a hundred bullets. The price he was charging Shangguan Yingxue was ten times the cost.
And this rich woman wanted a hundred rounds in one go, meaning she would provide Ye Qiyan with enough gunpowder to make a thousand bullets.
"Trading with her really is a pleasure."
The trade was quickly completed.
A hundred bullets had fetched the raw materials for a thousand. Ye Qiyan immediately took out the blueprint and started crafting at the workbench.
Ye Qiyan, who had been worried about whether his ammunition would last until he left this platform, was now completely reassured. He allocated all the freshly made bullets to the sentries, bringing his sense of security to the maximum.
The snake meat sizzled with fat over the flames. He sprinkled on a little salt and flipped it over.
His fingers tapped against the light screen.
["By the way, I was unconscious all day yesterday. What was that shaking you mentioned? Could you tell me?"]
["Unconscious?"]
Shangguan Yingxue, who was sorting her supplies, paused when she saw that.
["Yeah, I was seriously injured on the platform. I nearly didn't make it."]
["Sorry... I thought I'd bothered you too much and you didn't want to talk to me anymore. That was supposed to be my last message."]
["No need to apologize. So what exactly was that shaking?"]
He still wanted to get to the bottom of this.
["I don't know. It suddenly started around 5:50 yesterday afternoon. That shaking filled me with an inexplicable fear, as if something were raging."]
5:50 in the afternoon...
Wasn't that when I left Miling Town?
["Thanks for explaining. By the way, how did your last stop go? Did you get anything good? Mind showing me?"]
Shangguan Yingxue hesitated for a while. Remembering that she had misunderstood him, she sent over a screenshot.
[Ice Condensation Stone] (Level 2) [Place inside a container to lower the temperature of the liquid within until it reaches freezing point.]
["I got it from a treasure chest. If you need it, I can sell it to you for 60 bullets, or two Train Coins."]
Before you continue