Chapter 142: Transaction

Chapter 142: Chapter 142: Transaction

The leader was none other than the player "N"—Ni Tao, the one who had previously traded a Teleportation Gate for the Healing Spring.

She remembered that Ni Tao’s passive skill was the Mind Reading Technique.

"100 iron for 210 bottles of water. Deal?"

"Contentment Brings Happiness: Two water for one iron. Non-negotiable."

The other party replied quickly: "You’re willing to trade so much water for iron, which proves you desperately need it. Ten extra bottles is nothing to you. You probably don’t want other players knowing you’re short on iron, right?"

Shi Zhile had to laugh.

’I used to think he was smart. I can’t believe he’d say something so brainless.’

Was she the type to be easily threatened?

The persona she’d cultivated among the other players wasn’t that of a saint. And since she wasn’t a saint, why would she be doing good deeds?

During the extreme heat, her offer of two bottles of water for one piece of iron made it obvious to anyone with eyes that she was short on iron. The only reason no one called her out on it was because they were truly desperate for water. Besides, given the extreme heat disaster, her price was indeed fair.

No one knew when the extreme heat would end, so it was best to be prepared. Players who were short on water naturally had to hoard it. Those who weren’t might not have cared about the water itself, but they cared about the favor.

Shi Zhile didn’t bother replying. She just blocked him.

A short while later, a video call came in from Jiang Jing. However, the person on the other end wasn’t Jiang Jing, but a slightly older man.

"Hello, Shi Zhile. I’m Wen Changming, the vice-leader of Huaxia Base. I heard from Jiang Jing that you’re looking to trade water for iron, so I’m here to discuss a business proposal on behalf of the base."

Shi Zhile: "What proposal?"

’She wasn’t short on water. If she weren’t so desperate for iron, she would’ve been willing to give Huaxia Base a better deal.’

"Currently, our base has over 2,700 players. While we have enough grain, our drinking water supply has become a major issue. We’re short on water at the base, and we’d like to trade an iron mine for a supply of it."

"You’re sure? You want to trade an iron *mine*? Not iron *ore*?"

Wen Changming nodded. "An iron mine, and a sizable one at that. But I need to know how much water you have, Shi Zhile. How much can you provide us with each day?"

Shi Zhile leisurely walked downstairs and into the courtyard.

Mr. Wen was still sitting under the fan, scribbling away, so focused it was hard to tell what he was working on.

Shi Zhile’s gaze fell on the freshwater lake to the east. She went to collect some water. No matter how much she loaded into her infinite backpack, the water level didn’t drop in the slightest.

Once she was certain, she sat down beside the fan.

"A standard backpack can hold a stack of 99 items. I can provide three backpacks’ worth of fresh water per day."

Wen Changming frowned. "Three backpacks’ worth? We’ve only ever filled bottles with water to put in our backpacks, never filled one directly. How many milliliters would that be?"

’Shi Zhile hadn’t calculated it either; she always used her infinite backpack to store water.’

She mentally summoned the system. After it gave her the exact answer, she relayed the information.

"One backpack can hold nearly a ton of water. Three backpacks... so I’ll give you three tons of water, and it’ll be at least that much, if not more.

I’m a little curious, though. Filtered seawater is also usable. The fact that the base has been able to grow suggests you don’t lack filters.

Even if you are short on water, you can’t be so desperate as to trade an entire iron mine for it, can you?"

’Trading an iron mine for water was a terrible deal. As long as they had enough seawater filters, their supply of fresh water would be endless.’

’Instead of trading for water directly, they should be making more filters. Only by controlling the source of the water could they avoid being at someone else’s mercy.’

’It was a simple principle that not only Zhile understood, but the higher-ups at the base surely did as well.’

’They didn’t just want water in exchange for the iron mine. There had to be something else.’

When Shi Zhile voiced her doubts, Wen Changming gave a bitter laugh, his eyes filled with a deep, unshakeable sorrow and helplessness.

"You’re right. The base is short on water, but not so much that we’d trade an iron mine for it. What we truly want isn’t just the water, but also half of the farmland in your Planting Space.

The soil on this island is too barren. Combined with the extreme heat, all the seeds we’ve planted have withered and died. It’s a problem that water alone can’t solve."

Jiang Jing’s head popped out from the side. "Zhile, we’re really struggling!"

Shi Zhile: "So you sold me out?"

Jiang Jing quickly explained, "The base has known about your space from the very beginning! Besides that, I only told the base leader that you were on your way to Huaxia Base.

As for the most important information... I think it’s better to discuss it after you’ve arrived at the base. After all, you know more about it than I do."

The "important information" he mentioned was related to the game. The base’s security wasn’t very high at the moment, and he felt it would be safer to discuss such matters inside her space.

Shi Zhile considered Wen Changming’s request. An entire iron mine in exchange for fifty square meters of farmland and a supply of fresh water—it wasn’t a bad deal for her.

’The tricky part, however, was that letting the base use her space meant that people from the base would need to enter it frequently.’

’She didn’t have anyone she trusted completely, and even fewer people she knew well.’

"The iron mine is at your base. If I agree, how can I guarantee its security? How will the base ensure that no players use my mine without permission?"

Wen Changming: "We’ll use the system to teleport the mine to your island.

The base doesn’t have much farmable soil at the moment. For any soil we acquire in the future, we’ll give you half of it, free of charge, to upgrade your Planting Space.

The base’s only condition is that no matter how much your Planting Space expands, we get the usage rights to half of the land.

Of course, we guarantee that we won’t damage anything inside the space. If you agree, we can put all of this into a formal agreement."

Shi Zhile: "I agree. We’ll set the freshwater supply at three tons per day."

’Giving them too much fresh water at once would attract unwanted attention. She wasn’t afraid of it, but she had to be mindful of the future.’

’Once her island was parked near the base and the players there knew she wasn’t short on water, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t get any funny ideas.’

Wen Changming immediately drafted and sent over the agreement. After confirming there were no issues, Shi Zhile formally signed it.

Whenever Huaxia Base was short on water, Shi Zhile would send the water from her backpack directly to Jiang Jing.

After ending the video call, Shi Zhile sifted through her private messages and traded for more iron with a few dozen other players.

As dusk settled, Mr. Wen put down his pen and paper and flexed his wrist for a moment.

"This planting operation is a serious matter. I’ll tell the base that I’ll be in charge of their food cultivation. That way, we can ensure the secrecy of the space."

"Regarding the matter with Chuyi, when do you plan on telling the base? For now, the fewer people who know, the better. If word gets out, someone might get desperate and do something reckless. That’s when things will get ugly."

Shi Zhile got up from her lounge chair, stretching. "Jiang Jing won’t keep completely silent. The people smart enough to build a base are a cut above the rest. They have more people, so they’ll think things through more comprehensively than we can.

What we need to think about now is... what’s for dinner?"

Mr. Wen: "..."