Chapter 28: Gathering Materials and Gaining a Ten-Day Transit Pass for Plane 0325

“The stones over here can be used too.”

Bai Xi pointed at the rocks by the mountain, but just as she spoke, she saw someone emerge from the mountain.

Or rather, they came out from a cave hidden by overgrown weeds.

It was a woman, dressed in tattered clothes with a mess of unkempt hair. Her frame was emaciated, clearly indicating she hadn’t eaten in a long time.

Bai Xi immediately backed away, standing next to Bai Yu and Bai Miao.

The woman was startled to see them, but her gaze was fixed on the meat in Bai Xi’s hand.

Bai Yu stepped forward to shield her two younger sisters.

“Is… is there no Magic Elements in your meat?”

Bai Yu glanced at the meat Bai Xi was holding, then looked back at the woman, without saying a word.

She couldn’t quite understand the woman’s words entirely, plus she was unfamiliar with the language of this Plane and feared that speaking might reveal they were not natives of this Plane.

“I don’t mean any harm, we haven’t had meat without Magic Elements for a long time, could you spare some? I beg you.”

The woman knelt down, kowtowing repeatedly.

Although Bai Yu still didn’t fully understand her, when Bai Miao pulled on her sleeve and paraphrased, Bai Yu grasped the woman’s meaning.

This woman wanted meat without Magic Elements.

The piece of meat Bai Xi held had had its Magic Elements absorbed by an Upgrade Card, making it free of Magic Elements.

It was easy to tell because the color was different.

However, giving it directly didn’t seem appropriate.

Bai Yu whispered to Bai Miao, instructing her to negotiate with the woman.

They wouldn’t give it for free, but would trade it, depending on whether the woman had something they needed.

As soon as she heard this, the woman quickly went back into the cave and soon returned with a pile of stones. The linkage lines for the Transit and Upgrade Cards were also connected to these stones.

Bai Yu glanced at Bai Xi.

Bai Xi saw the lines too and thought that since the meat had been picked up from the ground, they would only have a taste of it at most, with the rest intended to feed the fish. Trading it for this pile of stone that could extend the Transit Pass’s duration seemed worthwhile.

She stepped forward, handing the meat to the woman and accepting the pile of stones.

Elated with the meat, the woman knelt again to express her gratitude.

Bai Yu had Bai Miao tell her there was no need to thank them, and they didn’t linger further, turning to leave.

After walking a while, Bai Xi looked back, seeing the woman cut the meat into small pieces and throw it in a pot to cook. She curiously sidled up to Bai Yu, asking, “Sister, aren’t people in this Plane fond of meat with Magic Elements? Why was she so eager? Willing to trade magic-laden stones for non-magical meat?”

“Maybe she can’t eat meat with Magic Elements?” Bai Yu speculated. “When she saw the meat in your hand, her reaction was intense, not like someone simply lacking meat. After all, the market isn’t far. If they could eat it, they’d find a way to exchange for meat with Magic Elements there.”

“So you’re saying not everyone in this Plane can perform magic?”

“Remember when we first went out, how Qiqi’s mom looked at us with some pity after we came out of the Flammable Grass?”

Bai Xi pondered, “That’s right. I even said then that her gaze towards us was strange. So she probably thought we were pitiful because we didn’t have magic?”

“Mhm,” Bai Yu nodded, “So there are people without magic in this Plane. Though those with magic might pity them, their numbers might be considerable.”

Bai Xi frowned, feeling uncomfortable, “You can live without magic, like back home, where no one has magic.”

Bai Yu sighed, “But this is the Magic Plane, after all.”

As they talked, Bai Xi spotted new upgrade materials, quickly running over to collect them, soon putting the woman’s matter behind her.

They gathered quite a bit of material today, not only extending their time in the Magic Plane but bringing the Forest Plane’s time above the danger threshold, restoring the Forest Plane’s Transit Pass to its regular color.

This means from here on out, whether collecting materials or gathering firewood, they’ll have plenty of time.

After spending most of the day, the three sisters had wandered far from the market. Looking back, they realized they forgot the market’s direction and couldn’t find the village where Qiqi’s family lived.

“Let’s find a secluded spot to camp,” Bai Yu looked up, “There haven’t been any monsters around here lately. Maybe in a few days, things at the market will return to normal. Then, checking the Flying Carpet’s direction will help us locate the market.”

“That’s right,” Bai Xi also looked up. “The direction where all those flying carpets are going must be the market.”

As they talked, they began looking for a hidden spot, so the next time they came, they wouldn’t have to worry. They didn’t want to encounter strangers and expose the existence of their Transit Passes as soon as they arrived.

“Eldest Sister, there’s a small cave here,” Bai Xi said, pulling aside the weeds. “The cave isn’t big, but there’s no sign of anyone living here.”

“There are quite a few upgrade materials nearby,” Bai Yu said, carrying Bai Miao into the cave. “We won’t need to go far when we come to gather materials. We can just circle around here. As for the market, we don’t need to buy anything for the time being. Let’s build the houses on the island with the Upgrade Cards; they’ll be sturdier.”

“Sis, do you think this Plane also has materials for upgrading buildings?”

Bai Yu hadn’t considered this.

Bai Xi squatted in front of Miao Miao. “Miao Miao, let’s check the materials with other Upgrade Cards.”

Bai Miao opened a bag and took out several used Upgrade Cards to test them one by one.

As expected, except for the Transit Upgrade Card, the other Upgrade Cards also had material indicators here. And as the material lists on them changed due to the different Planes, the displayed materials began to vary as well.

Bai Yu and Bai Xi crouched down, watching the materials on the cards change.

“This is for tiles. What shows as tiles on the island appears here as a roof shell, meaning we can collect either one.”

There were many materials on the cards. Many were basic materials. Aside from the roof shell, which they recognized, they still couldn’t identify the rest.

What was certain was that the materials needed for upgrading buildings could change anytime, depending on the Plane.

Indeed, when they took the same cards to the Forest Plane, the materials on the cards changed again.

“What’s that noise?”

“A trap!”

The sound from the trap was particularly intense. Bai Yu immediately picked up Bai Miao and pulled Bai Xi to a spot where they could see the trap. They saw a wild boar bouncing around in the trap, struggling to jump out but falling back due to the high edges, only to be stabbed again by the sharp sticks inside, causing more wails.

In such a state, they dared not approach the wild boar, nor did they dare to stay there too long. If the boar managed to get free and charged at them, they wouldn’t have time to react.

Thinking quickly, Bai Yu instructed Bai Miao to press the Transit Pass.

In no time, the three were back on the deck.

Coming back to their senses, Bai Xi looked up. “When the wild boar is exhausted, can we pull it over here? Such a big pig, it would feed us for a long time.”

“It’s too big,” Bai Yu worried. “We’ve already made a lot of salted fish, and there’s not much salt left. If we get a wild boar that big, how long will it take us to eat it all?”

Bai Xi remembered the size of the wild boar she glanced at earlier. As she thought about it, she too began to worry. “Yeah, that big… just the three of us could eat it for a long time. But it’s pork.”

The sisters exchanged glances and sighed, troubled by the enormous wild boar that was not even in their possession yet.

…

“Mommy.”

“Are you still feeling unwell?” The woman picked up the child, looking seriously into her eyes. “Is there any discomfort?”

The child looked at her quietly, placing both hands on her belly. She thought for a long time before finally saying, “No pain.”

“No pain is good,” the woman sighed in relief, hugging the child. “There’s still a big piece of meat; it will last for several days. Don’t worry, you will be fine.”

The child leaned gently against her. “You eat too, Mommy. You hurt too.”

“Okay,” the woman nodded. “I will eat too.”

…

“If only we could use magic,” Bai Xi mused while eating, “then we could make the carpet fly on our own and go anywhere.”

Bai Yu followed her line of thought. “If we knew magic, we could fly directly over the sea back to the mainland from the island.”

“Yeah, then we could just whoosh and be home…” Bai Xi said, lowering her head as she held the bowl. “It seems our home is here now.”

“When we get a chance in the future, we must find Sister He and the others,” Bai Yu understood what Bai Xi meant. “Being together makes it feel like a real home, right?”

Bai Xi looked up. “Even though we used to live on the water, our ship would leave after a while, but as long as we were together, it felt like home. Living on the island is nice, too, though sometimes we think about the old days. But back then, it was just the three of us living alone as well.”

“You’re thinking about Sister He and the others occasionally, aren’t you?” Bai Yu said with a smile. After Bai Xi nodded, she continued, “I also think about them sometimes. Right now, I just hope they’re all living well. If we find them someday, we may not live together, but at least we’ll be able to see them whenever we want.”

“Exactly, that’s how I feel,” Bai Xi nodded repeatedly.

Life now is good, but when recalling the past, it wasn’t too bad either, so there are always moments of nostalgia.

But soon, they began considering their future life, not letting nostalgia take over for too long.

After eating, tidying up the dishes, the three of them headed down to the boat docked below.

Returning to the second-tier cabin that had only been upgraded a few days ago, they still felt excitement and happiness, their faces breaking into smiles.

They slept soundly through the night.

The next morning, as usual, Bai Miao took out the Shell to check-in.

[Check-in successful, acquired [Plane 0325 Ten-Day Transit Pass] * 1]