Chapter 8
◎ Novice Protection Period ◎
It was currently 10 AM at sea. Yu Chi had no idea what had gotten into this Brother Lang, to be this hungry.
However, he was always active in the channel, so it was strange that she hadn’t seen him speak since she came online.
【DazedFish】: What do you need so much fish meat for?
Originally, Yu Chi hadn’t planned on asking. She had no interest in the buyer’s personal privacy. But times had changed. As a life-skill player (self-proclaimed), she needed to find good investment targets in advance, preferably ones she could build a relationship with early on.
She didn’t believe this game would keep players in separate spaces forever. Sooner or later, they would interact, and sooner or later, she would face threats from other players.
【SurfingTheSea】: Got injured a bit, want to replenish my nutrients.
It had only been a day since the Sea Survival game began. Many people hadn’t even figured out the rules, and for food, they ate whatever the system gave them. How could they get meat like Yu Chi?
Fish meat was still meat, and its protein content was solid.
Upon hearing this, Yu Chi’s expression became strange.
She had just been thinking about how lucky she was. Just as she was thinking of selling her bandages and adhesive bandages, a candidate was delivered right to her.
She wasn’t sure about [SurfingTheSea]’s character, but you have to give some to get some. Since she had chosen to invest, this was a risk she could afford to take.
【DazedFish】: I have items that can increase HP, it’s just…
A message immediately came from the other side.
【SurfingTheSea】: Price is not a problem.
This guy really gets it. Yu Chi’s eyes curved. She loved dealing with rich people.
She sent the information for the adhesive bandages and bandages over, letting him choose for himself.
[SurfingTheSea] didn’t make her wait long. After reading the information, he immediately replied, asking how many she had.
How was she supposed to answer that? Yu Chi thought. A total of 24 hours had passed since yesterday. She had accumulated 24 bandages and 48 adhesive bandages. Adding the ones from the medicine box, she had a total of 34 bandages and 58 adhesive bandages.
But she definitely couldn’t sell all of them to the same person.
Firstly, the risk was too great. Secondly, you can’t shear all the wool from one sheep. And with more customers, people’s attention would shift from targeting her to targeting the bandages.
【DazedFish】: 10 bandages and 10 adhesive bandages each.
【SurfingTheSea】: Deal.
The two of them settled the deal without even discussing the price, as if they both knew the other could afford it.
One stone for one adhesive bandage, two stones for one bandage. [SurfingTheSea] directly sent her 30 stones without a moment’s hesitation.
Yu Chi: …So he was lying yesterday when he said he didn’t have enough stone.
【SurfingTheSea】: I hope we can continue to trade in the future. Let me know if you’re short on any materials.
The other party cheerfully sent her a final message. Yu Chi glanced at it and didn’t reply. She couldn’t help it; she was now a noble “healer,” and she had to put on airs first.
…Just kidding. Yu Chi coolly replied with an “okay.”
Yu Chi continued to fish. However, after fishing up the medicine box, her luck seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. All she got afterward was a pack of sanitary pads and a roll of tissues. The other three times yielded useless items.
For example, [Mr. Wang’s Smelly Shoes], [A Watermelon Rind Thrown by a Human], and [A Pack of Men’s Underwear]… Okay, the men’s underwear couldn’t be said to be useless, it just wasn’t very useful to her.
Yu Chi held it up against herself and regretfully concluded that she couldn’t wear it at all.
With one last chance to fish left, Yu Chi baited the hook and cast it, catching a fresh Big Dumb Fish. She then took the opportunity to sort through her private messages.
Although most of the private messages were just harassment, there were also some serious inquiries. Yu Chi planned to look for other sheep… other customers.
【GrumpyBro】: Any fish meat left?
A somewhat familiar ID caught her attention. Yu Chi thought for a moment and replied with a “yes.”
She suddenly felt a bit emotional. Being high-profile on the forum did have its uses. For instance, so many people had asked her about fish meat, but she had casually skipped over most of them. But for a familiar ID like this, she would subconsciously pay more attention, and naturally, there would be more opportunities.
She looked at the time the other party had sent the private message. It was three in the morning last night, and seven or eight hours had already passed.
“Fuck! Did I poke a monster’s nest or something? I can’t kill them all!” A man with a buzz cut cursed, holding a long spear in his hand—a talent item he had gotten from his novice resource chest.
One shot, one kill. He skewered all the small monsters that climbed onto his small boat. The novice protection was completely useless for him. Ever since he got this spear, there had been no shortage of monsters trying to climb onto his raft.
They were all just level one or two monsters. The higher-level ones were blocked by the novice protection.
There were differences between monsters too. Some were small fry, with no attack power at all, yet they still came to join the fun. Others were more ferocious, taking seven or eight points of his HP with a single bite.
[GrumpyBro] glanced at his HP and saw that it had already dropped by half. His mood became even more irritable.
Although he had collected a lot of materials, his food was limited to what was in his novice resource chest and the resource chests he found at sea. From yesterday to today, his food and water had long been depleted.
He sat cross-legged on the boat, put the long spear in his hand into his backpack. The monsters that had been trying hard to climb onto the boat suddenly stopped and fell back into the sea.
The backpack could block his aura, but it only worked for an hour. After taking it out, he would have to wait three hours before putting it back in for the effect to work again.
This meant he could rest for one hour, then had to fight for three hours. Even a robot couldn’t withstand such consumption, right?
The man’s mouth twitched. After disassembling all the monster corpses on the boat, he wracked his brains for a way to get food. He used to trade on the trade interface, but not many people were trading food. He was constantly in battle and had no time to compete with others.
He had heard that someone was selling normal fish meat on the trade page, but by the time he went to look, it had already been snatched up. He sent a private message to the person but received no reply, which made him so frustrated that he went to the chat interface and cursed at a lot of people.
He was done. There were so many idiots. During his one-hour break, he spent almost the entire time arguing with others.
…Although sometimes, he would curse even when others weren’t saying anything stupid.
[GrumpyBro] opened the chat interface, wanting to see if there were any lucky ones. To his surprise, he found a [Friend] icon next to his private chat interface.
Hmm? The man raised an eyebrow. The fish seller had replied.
Yu Chi only received a reply 20 minutes later.
【GrumpyBro】: I want it. How much do you have?
【DazedFish】: Two pieces. Only trading for stone.
【GrumpyBro】: How many stones for one piece of fish meat?
【DazedFish】: 5.
The other party immediately sent a trade request for 10 stones. Yu Chi put the two pieces of fish meat up, and the system showed the trade was successful.
Another rich person. Yu Chi sighed twice and added this [GrumpyBro] to her list of potential long-term customers.
She had already discovered in the channel that, apart from herself, no one else on the market could sell normal creatures. However, even after knowing she was the only one, Yu Chi had no other thoughts.
Fishing was just a pastime for her. The only cost was a bit of bread. Selling it at a normal price was already a huge profit for her. There was no need to make a fortune this way.
…Besides, the amount of fish meat she could provide was limited, enough for only a few people. She couldn’t make much money anyway.
This [GrumpyBro] was even more nonchalant in his trading than [SurfingTheSea]. Yu Chi guessed that he was also a formidable person, so she sent a probing message.
【DazedFish】: I have bandages and adhesive bandages that can restore HP. Do you need them?
The reply was almost instantaneous.
【GrumpyBro】: I do. How much? How many do you have? I’ll take them all.
After selling to Brother Lang, she had 24 bandages and 48 adhesive bandages left.
【DazedFish】: One stone for one adhesive bandage, two stones for one bandage.
【DazedFish】: I have 10 of each.
Yu Chi instantly got 30 stones. She thought happily to herself, it’s better to be a support. No need to fight desperately, and I can have supplies delivered right to me. The only worry is how to level up. My EXP is still 0!
But at this rate, upgrading her small boat was just a matter of time.
【GrumpyBro】: Will you have these tomorrow? I want to pre-order.
【DazedFish】: Not sure.
【GrumpyBro】: If there are any materials you want, you can tell me directly. I can help you get them. I hope you’ll save some fish meat and recovery medicine for me when you have them.
Anyone could imagine how precious a stable supplier of food and medicine was in an apocalypse.
Yu Chi was already deeply aware of her popularity. After all, the two big shots she had contacted so far had both made the bold statement of “just tell me what you want.”
She knew she couldn’t hide her healing-type skill, nor did she intend to hide it from these truly powerful players. So she pointed at the materials on her boat.
[Wood x5, Rope x10, Nail x26, Plastic x37, Stone x64, Iron Ore x2, Metal Scrap x18, Wood Plank x16]
The upgrade requirements were Wood x80, Stone x30, Nail x30. She had enough stone, but now she needed wood.
80 units of wood were equivalent to 800 wood planks, and the market price was twenty wood planks for one stone.
【DazedFish】: I have 10 more adhesive bandages. How about trading for 200 wood planks?
【GrumpyBro】: Thank you.
【DazedFish】: Can I ask a question?
【GrumpyBro】: Go ahead.
【DazedFish】: Is there any other way to level up besides grinding monsters?
【GrumpyBro】: Yes. Life skills among the special skills don’t require combat. You can gain EXP by using them, but it’s slower than combat.
【GrumpyBro】: I have a skill related to cooking. I can get EXP based on my cooking level.
It’s just that I don’t have many opportunities to use it, the man thought, staring at the system screen. He had been gnawing on bread every day. He finally got a chest, and all it had was a cup of instant noodles.
He endured his hunger and spent ten minutes preparing it seriously, only to be judged by the system as “having no technical content, EXP +0.1.”
He almost flipped the noodle cup… just kidding. He couldn’t blame the food for the system’s fault. He cherished the noodles and ate them all.
【DazedFish】: Thank you. You can trade with me for bandages and adhesive bandages anytime during the novice protection period. I’ll save at least 5 for you. If you come early, I can sell them all to you at the same price as today.
【GrumpyBro】: You won’t trade after the novice protection period?
【DazedFish】: Not sure yet.
Not many people would get injured during the novice protection period, so saving some for him wouldn’t affect her. But after the novice protection period, she herself might get injured. She had to be cautious with life-saving items.
Yu Chi stared at the reply from the other party, a thoughtful expression on her face. She didn’t gain any EXP after creating bandages and adhesive bandages. Could it be that she would only gain EXP when they were used by someone?