Chapter 33: Upgrading the Workbench

“Deal! What do you want to trade for?” Mo Yubai replied immediately.

“The temperature is too low right now. Can I trade with you, boss, for some wood, antidote, disinfectant, and cotton coats?”

Yang Yangyang asked tentatively. Both he and Tian Cai were running low on wood, and Tian Cai was also poisoned. The main issue was that antidotes were hard to come by; otherwise, he could have traded water for just wood and cotton coats on his own.

Furthermore, the campfire beside him was gradually dying down. If it went out tonight, he would not only have to face the freezing cold but also deal with the monsters that had been kept at bay by their fear of the fire.

Mo Yubai stared at the message and thought for a moment. Although the requested items were a bit miscellaneous, they were all basic materials, so she could agree. Besides, she had traded with Yang Yangyang many times before, and he seemed like a decent person.

“Right now, I can give you Wood x40, Cotton Coat x1, Antidote x1, and Disinfectant x2.”

Yang Yangyang stared at the message. After struggling with himself for a moment, he still asked, “Boss, my friend doesn’t have a cotton coat either. Can I trade Wood x10 for another cotton coat?”

Mo Yubai sighed. Oh well, we’ve traded so many times. I’ll just consider it building some goodwill.

“Don’t bother trading wood for it. I’ll throw in another cotton coat. Just make sure you survive.”

Yang Yangyang hadn’t uttered a single complaint despite suffering so much, but looking at the message now, tears streamed down his face. With trembling hands, he sent over the Intermediate Workbench blueprint.

Unaware of his current state, Mo Yubai accepted the blueprint in a good mood and sent over the Wood x40, Cotton Coat x2, Antidote x1, and Disinfectant x2.

She tapped the blueprint to view its details.

Intermediate Workbench Blueprint: Stone x200, Iron Block x40, Nail x60, Magic Source Stone x1, Space Stone x6, Sand of Time x2.

Having sufficient materials, she took out the basic workbench, placed the blueprint and materials inside, and clicked upgrade.

Almost instantly, the basic workbench burst with a dazzling purple light, illuminating the inside of the tent as bright as day.

Mo Yubai nodded in satisfaction as she looked at the upgraded Intermediate Workbench. It indeed looked much higher-grade than the basic one, with a finer texture and even a faint purple glow surrounding it.

Two more drawers had been added, allowing her to run two tasks simultaneously. The blueprint storage function was also unlocked; from now on, any blueprint she used could be saved, meaning she wouldn’t have to consume blueprints again to make those items in the future.

She opened the one-click identification system and scanned the Intermediate Workbench.

Intermediate Workbench: An indispensable tool for alchemists on the Elven Continent. Can record used blueprints, perform dual forging, offers moderate work efficiency, and has moderate resource consumption.

Mo Yubai joyfully caressed the workbench in front of her, took out the remaining cotton coat blueprint from her backpack, and clicked to use it.

Sure enough, while the basic workbench had shown the requirements for the cotton coat as Cotton x5, Linen x3, and Cotton Cloth x1 this morning, the Intermediate Workbench now showed it only required Cotton x3 and Linen x2. Furthermore, there was no limit on the production quantity, and a single cotton coat took only one minute to make!

It was a pity she had run out of materials, but she could go to the chat channel to trade water for some materials, or do some processing work to earn extra resources.

After all, on one hand, she had 119 stone vats alone, along with 408 bottles of mineral water. Plus, she planned to start the “Internet Celebrity Milk Tea Shop” minigame tomorrow, so she would have no shortage of water.

On the other hand, she also hoped to save more people. After all, judging from the system’s reward announcements, there were seven districts in the entire server. If there was a war between districts in the future, with her in District Seven, they would naturally have to strive for first place. Thus, she couldn’t let their population drop too much.

She opened the chat channel and sent a message.

“Trading bottled water and finished cotton coats for cotton, linen, various blueprints, and rare materials. Also offering cotton coat processing services: processing one cotton coat costs Cotton x15, Linen x9, Cotton Cloth x3, and Iron Block x8 or Rubber x6.”

Since everyone was anxious right now, her message quickly received a flood of responses.

“Oh my god, it’s Boss Mo! We’re saved!”

“Please, is there any kind soul who can save me? I need an antidote! I’ll trade all my resources for one!”

“I’m freezing to death. I didn’t appreciate the sunny days during the novice period. Now it’s scorching hot during the day and freezing cold at night. This is pure torture.”

“According to middle school geography, a large temperature difference between day and night is good for sugar accumulation. It’ll make us sweeter and juicier.”

“If you want to eat me, do it quickly. I’ve wanted to die for a long time anyway!”

“Cotton coats are so expensive. Can you make them cheaper? You already have so many resources, can’t you show some social responsibility?”

“The Player Survival Assistance Group has been established! We welcome all struggling players to join our group chat. There are plenty of benefits and surprises in the group. Once you hand over your resources, you’ll get three meals a day. Let’s work together to survive!”

“Mo Yubai, stop disrupting the market! Are you running a charity? I charge Cotton x30, Linen x20, Cotton Cloth x15, Bottled Water x3, or any blueprint x1 for a single cotton coat, and even I think that’s too cheap. How dare you slash the price so much?”

“Zhao Facai, you profiteer! Give me back my resources, I’m not trading with you anymore. I’m going to Boss Mo!”

“Boss Mo, don’t listen to Zhao Facai’s nonsense. I’m coming to trade with you right away.”

Mo Yubai frowned as she read the messages in the chat channel. Zhao Facai’s prices were indeed brutal. Compared to him, her own price of three times the basic workbench materials seemed incredibly generous!

However, Mo Yubai couldn’t be bothered to deal with him. She could charge whatever she wanted. She hadn’t even settled the score with him for using her reputation to scam resources last time, and now he dared to clamor?

Still, he had done her a favor. His shouting not only increased her orders but also made some players think she was kind-hearted. And in this world, being kind-hearted meant being an easy target. How wonderful!

Previously, she had used a show of force because she was afraid they would band together to besiege her. But now that she had come out of the training room, she sincerely prayed that those fools would deliver themselves right to her doorstep!

Soon, looking at the endless stream of materials, Mo Yubai had no time for idle thoughts. She quickly called Xiao Ling over to help, but as things got busier, she ended up dumping all the work onto Xiao Ling.

Watching the little yellow ball working at breakneck speed, Mo Yubai guiltily looked away to escape her inner conscience.

The weapon on the forging table was already finished. Picking up the sword, which gleamed with a chilling light, Mo Yubai excitedly walked out of the tent to slay some monsters.

A short while later, Mo Yubai crawled back into the tent, devoid of interest. She lay down in her sleeping bag and sighed in frustration.

Sure enough, killing a man in ten paces and leaving no trace for a thousand miles^[1] was not something an ordinary person could pull off. Using a sword wasn’t nearly as satisfying as throwing knives; instead, it made her feel clumsy and restricted, completely stripping away her speed advantage.

By now, it was already two-thirty in the morning. Having worked busily all night, Master Ling was finally finished. Exhausted, it collapsed next to Mo Yubai’s sleeping bag, its round body trembling slightly.

Mo Yubai guiltily showered it with praise, then thoughtfully took out the embroidered handkerchief from the hotel to wrap around half of the ball’s body.

Looking at the sleeping Xiao Ling, Mo Yubai’s eyes softened and a smile played on her lips. What a great beast of burden^[2], and I don’t even have to pay it.

Taking stock of tonight’s harvest, Mo Yubai was pleasantly surprised to find that she had acquired many new blueprints! There was even a greatsword forging blueprint among them!