NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9
When the three key fragments were put together, they formed a whole key.
【 Double the luck, double the joy—congratulations on obtaining a double buff! 】
Yun Mianmian's eyes curved as she smiled brightly. She took out the locked bronze treasure chest, feeling slightly nervous before opening it.
The key was inserted, and the chest opened.
【 Obtained: Oil-paper Umbrella Blueprint × 1, Bamboo × 10, Lighter × 1, Seafood Fried Rice × 1, Dirt × 1. 】
【 Double the luck! 】
【 Obtained: Oil-paper Umbrella Blueprint × 2, Bamboo × 20, Lighter × 2, Seafood Fried Rice × 2, Dirt × 2. 】
Not bad. Everything inside this locked chest was useful.
The oil-paper umbrella blueprint could be used to craft an oil-paper umbrella. With so much bamboo gathered today, it was likely meant for making umbrellas. The lighter could be used for starting fires, and the two pots of dirt were perfect for growing vegetables. On top of that, seafood fried rice would be tonight's dinner.
Yun Mianmian was ecstatic. After organizing her loot, she crafted two large chests using her workbench. Her backpack was now completely filled, and she couldn't leave valuable items scattered outside either. The chests she made were open-air containers with no lids, spacious enough to hold five to six times more than the wooden chests she'd fished up from the lake. Constructed from only five pieces of wood each, they were perfect for storage.
Stacking them together saved space and allowed her to carry more items.
After this round of organizing, her inventory had significantly increased.
Upgrade materials: [wood x 325, iron nails x 58]
Food: [mineral water x 5, mantou x 3, apple juice x 1, half a watermelon, a box of strawberries, watermelon x 4, seafood fried rice x 2, a barrel of drinking water]
Manufacturing materials: [cotton fabric x 4, iron ingots x 8, silk thread x 7, boiled tung oil x 2, bamboo x 30]
Miscellaneous: [lighters x 2, dirt x 2, towel x 1, quilt x 1, pillow x 1, throw pillow x 1, lumbar pillows x 2, plant cultivation guidebook, a packet of napa cabbage seeds, a set of thermal underwear, boarding pass x 1, machete x 1, key x 1, key fragment x 1, oil-paper umbrella patterns x 2, roses x 3]
This, in addition to the items she brought from the real world: a pack of tissues, a portable cell phone charger, cell phone, umbrella, pepper spray, lipstick, compact powder, keys, wallet, a pack of chewing gum, and a chocolate bar.
The wood, iron nails, bamboo, food, and roses were all stored in her backpack to keep them fresh and to save space. This filled ten inventory slots just perfectly.
The rest of the items were stored in the storage chest.
Now that she had soil, Yun Mianmian wanted to plant the cabbage seeds.
However, when she checked the planting guide, it stated that cabbages preferred a warm, moist environment and needed ample water and nutrients during their growing period to promote robust growth. If the weather was hot, the soil's water would evaporate quickly, requiring frequent watering, up to once a day.
But water wasn't plentiful right now; using it to grow vegetables would be far too extravagant. Many people didn't even have water to drink. Although Yun Mianmian had a water purifier, she also didn't have the means to use water as liberally as she liked.
She'd have to wait a little longer.
Perhaps if she waited, water wouldn't be so scarce.
After organizing her supplies, Yun Mianmian sat down and let out a breath.
Another box had been hooked.
Too busy for this.
This time, it was a wooden box. Yun Mianmian lifted it without any effort.
【 Obtained wooden treasure chest. 】
【 Obtained wood x 10, iron nails x 5, mineral water x 2, little yellow hat x 1. 】
【 Double fortune! 】
【 Obtained wood x 20, iron nails x 10, mineral water x 4, little yellow hat x 2. 】
Wood and iron nails weren't surprising finds, but they were necessary for leveling up—so the more, the better. Mineral water was also nice. As for the little yellow hat, Yun Mianmian wasn't sure if it had any special uses, but at least it could protect against the sun.
Recalling that she was now in a period of double luck, Yun Mianmian didn't dare rest for too long. She took away the bottle under the water purifier, filled it, and put an empty one in its place, then opened the chat window.
"Trading food and water for other goods. PM me if interested," Yun Mianmian announced.
Aside from the chat channel, she also sent messages to Hu Yuan, Cui Tao, Nie Yangguang, and Shi Nan City.
"Do you guys have anything you need? You can trade with me."
"Also, I can take requests to craft tools. Just provide the materials."
She didn't announce this last part in the chat channel, unsure as to why she didn't want others to know she had a workbench.
Nie Yangguang responded the fastest. "Last night, someone named Zhang Jincheng said he was the only person who had a workbench blueprint, and I trolled him because you'd already made a workbench. Even after you'd already made one, he was still bragging, saying that anyone who joined his team would get priority when it came to tool-making."
Yun Mianmian had slept last night and hadn't seen this exchange. "Really?"
"Oh, that's right, didn't you make a machete for my friend? Just now, I had my friend send me a screenshot, and I showed it to him in the chat."
"Now those guys are still going on about how my machete came from a loot box and not a workbench."
Yun Mianmian, who had only opened the chat channel to send a message before switching to private chat, decided to take a closer look upon hearing Nie Yangguang's words.
As expected, a few people were flooding the chat with their posts.
Zhang Jincheng: "The new player protection period is almost over, and there's a chance we'll be in danger once it ends. The creatures in the sea will attack players, so it's best to prepare our own weapons."
Jin Baoquan: "Yes, we should be wary of sharks and sea monsters attacking us."
Ge Hui: "Join us tonight, and you only need to contribute twenty pieces of wood and two iron ingots to get on the weapon-making queue. Spots are limited, so don't miss your chance."
Zhang Jincheng: "Once midnight hits, it'll be too late to make one. We're only accepting ten members this time, so if you're interested, send me a private message."
Someone asked, "After contributing twenty pieces of wood and two iron ingots, what about the materials needed to craft the weapon? Will you guys provide them?"
Jin Baoquan chimed in, "Of course not. The materials will have to be provided by you, but this is the membership fee to join our Jinyang Association, which will offer many perks in the future. Now is the best time to join; it'll cost much more than this later."
Nie Yangguang asked, "Did you finish building your workbench? You're recruiting people right here."
"Of course," Zhang Jincheng responded, and he sent a screenshot showing a workbench on his ship, which he had just upgraded this morning.
Jin Baoquan announced, "Our leader's ship has already been upgraded to level 2, and it'll soon be upgraded to level 3. He'll be the first person in District 3 to reach level 3!"
"I think, once the new players' protection period ends, who knows if there will be any dangers? Having a weapon for self-defense will bring us some peace of mind!"
"I'm in."
"Can you give us a discount? We have to pay the membership fee and then provide the raw materials. It's a bit too expensive."
Yun Mianmian wasn't interested in their recruitment efforts, but she was curious whether anyone would actually pay twenty pieces of wood and two pieces of iron just to reserve a weapon. Judging by the responses, quite a few people were interested.
If that was the case, she could help with the crafting, and it would earn her quite a sum.
Besides, she could easily make a profit by charging a small fee for her work, since she had a double buff today. The weapons she crafted would also have a doubled yield, and she could even resell them directly.
Yun Mianmian saw an enormous business opportunity. Even though she didn't want to expose herself, she couldn't stop her heart from leaping at the chance. The day was almost over, so she'd have to hurry up and craft the weapons before the double buff ended.
She immediately sent Nie Yangguang a private message.
"Can you help me spread the word? Your friend has opened up a workbench as well. Four iron blocks and five wood can be exchanged for a machete, and two iron blocks plus ten wood for an axe. No other materials are needed."
A machete required two iron blocks and one wood, while an axe required one iron block and two wood. Either way, Yun Mianmian was guaranteed a profit.
And on top of that, she had the double buff.
Nie Yangguang was stunned. "Are you trying to go against Zhang Jincheng?"
"No," Yun Mianmian replied. She had no such intentions; she just wanted to make money.
"Okay, I'll help you post it," Nie Yangguang said.
"Mm-hmm. I'll make you two weapons for your own use when I'm done," Yun Mianmian offered as compensation for his help.
"All right, all right."
Yun Mianmian pondered a bit, then sold Nie Yangguang a machete first.
"If someone comes looking for you, you can use this to trade with them."
She happened to have one ready-made.
"Okay!"
Nie Yangguang immediately went to the chat channel to advertise.
"Don't let Zhang Jincheng scam you! My friend has a workbench too, and his prices are way cheaper than Zhang Jincheng's. You can get a machete with four iron blocks and five wood, or you can get an axe with two iron blocks and ten wood. There's no membership fee!"
While Nie Yangguang advertised her in the chat, Yun Mianmian stood before her workbench and started crafting an axe.
The axe required fewer materials, and iron blocks were currently in short supply; not everyone could acquire them. Even Yun Mianmian herself didn't have much. She thus expected more people to come looking for her to craft axes compared to machetes. Only those who had money could afford to spend four iron blocks on a machete.
Jin Baoquan chimed in, "What do you mean, Nie Yangguang? How could you possibly have a workbench?"
Nie Yangguang responded gleefully, "Not me, my friend has one. Didn't I show it to you guys already? My friend has already crafted a machete."
He sent a screenshot of his backpack, but blurred everything except the machete. When others clicked on it, they would see only the machete, not the other items.
"If anyone needs one, come trade with me. I'll hand over the weapon as long as you give me the materials. I will never lie, unlike those guys. They want you to pay a membership fee first, and who knows if they'll scam you after."
"That's right—if we pay the fee, what if they don't deliver?"
"Comparatively, Nie Yangguang's prices are much more reasonable."
"I trust Nie Yangguang; he's a good guy. He was the one who told us that chests could be disassembled and urged us to upgrade our fishing rods."
Zhang Jincheng countered, "Don't trust him! He doesn't even have a workbench, so how could he make weapons?"
Ge Hui said, "His weapons must have been looted from chests, since no one else mentioned getting a workbench blueprint. Only our boss has one."
A few players had already messaged Zhang Jincheng privately for more information, and they stopped responding as soon as Nie Yangguang made his announcement.
Zhang Jincheng panicked as his potential customers vanished into thin air.
However, no matter what he and his lackeys said, more players continued to flock to Nie Yangguang.
"Trade with me, Nie Yangguang!"
Yun Mianmian didn't want to personally handle the transactions, so she could only send the weapon to Nie Yangguang first and then have him trade with others, sending the materials back to her.
The first reason was because she trusted Nie Yangguang, and the second was because she wouldn't lose anything in the process. She could get two axes for every one she crafted, and she'd just given Nie Yangguang an axe.
As soon as she sent the item, Nie Yangguang sent the materials back.
【 Receiving 2 iron blocks, 10 wood. 】
【 Double Luck! 】
【 Receiving 4 iron blocks, 20 wood. 】
The machete she'd previously given Nie Yangguang also sold.
【 Receiving 4 iron blocks, 5 wood. 】
【 Double Luck! 】
【 Receiving 8 iron blocks, 10 wood. 】
With this, Yun Mianmian's iron blocks and wood rapidly increased.
At first, some people were reluctant to jump the gun and observe the situation, refusing to order from Nie Yangguang.
But soon, many people began giving feedback in chat.
"I got my machete! +5 attack, and it can also chop wood."
"Nice, nice, this axe is pretty good."
"Everyone, hurry up and buy! Nie Yangguang's offer is real."
"I'm so screwed; I paid the membership fee to Zhang Jincheng, and he refuses to refund it."
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