Chapter 342: Transaction Fee

But many things can't just be endured with gritted teeth.

Those who formed a faction by following the trend, after discovering the truth about the faction, begin to regret it.

What's even more disgusting is that once a faction is established, there is literally no option to abandon it.

Once you become a leader, you must be a leader for life! Until you're killed by another player or another faction's leader, who then takes your place.

But none of this has anything to do with Cheng Shuili.

Black Feather's development is truly thriving.

Although all buildings have started upgrading, Cheng Shuili still has complaints.

Upgrading the warehouse only takes one hour and requires just 1,000 units of material. But why do the other buildings together need a full 60,000 units of material, and also a 12‑hour upgrade time!

And that's with the boost from the Multi‑Function Workshop.

She mutters, every word full of resentment toward the system.

Yu Bing crouches beside her, idly twiddling a wooden stick to draw circles on the ground.

The territory occasionally rains, even thunderstorms, but the ground is muddy; when it rains from above and you step on it, you leave shoe prints everywhere.

Cheng Shuili ponders how to solve this, comes up with a good idea, and is about to order someone to implement it when she notices the bored Yu Bing beside her.

This person's usual job is to assist Zhou Zhuxing; now Zhou Zhuxing isn't busy, so she naturally isn't either.

Then... it's you!

"Alright, tomorrow I'll find you some stones, all the same size and shape; gather a few people to pave the roads between these buildings."

"Huh? Okay, Lao Da."

Yu Bing agrees, but she is actually stunned.

She only came to keep Lao Da company because he was bored sitting here, never expecting to be assigned work.

Yu Bing glances at Cheng Shuili, sees she no longer watches her, and cautiously steps back.

Then steps back again, and again, until she disappears.

She swears she'll never hang around Lao Da again!

Cheng Shuili had, of course, noticed that retreating fellow early on, but compared with the reliable Zhou Zhuxing, Yu Bing is really like Ginger Candy and needs more training.

She is thinking when the building before her suddenly emits a soft white flash, followed by an inexplicable mist that envelops Cheng Shuili's view, completely covering the little shed warehouse.

Cheng Shuili opens the upgrade page, glances, and sees one minute left before the warehouse upgrade completes.

She waits patiently; the instant the countdown ends, the mist suddenly dissipates!

A brand‑new warehouse stands before her; the drafty little shed becomes a gray stone exterior, and on the wall facing Cheng Shuili a simple wooden door is installed.

Although it still doesn't look great, it's at least a decent building!

【Warehouse level increased to LV2!】

【Storage space greatly expanded!】

【New features: automatic resource sorting, exchange function activated!】

One level up adds two features?!

Big profit!

Cheng Shuili scans the two features; the former is easy to understand—previously Xinxue handled the warehouse organization, now her workload can finally be reduced.

And the latter...

Cheng Shuili tries out this new feature.

The so‑called feature is basically a shop; it doesn't have many items. Basic materials include wood, stone, iron ingots, silver ingots, and the like. Slightly higher tier items are low‑level energy cores.

Of course, this exchange shop also carries medium‑level and high‑level energy cores.

One could say all materials needed for buildings are here, and basic materials can be bought directly with them; energy cores can also be purchased directly with energy stones.

So... what's the point of this hassle?

Cheng Shuili attempts to buy 10 units of wood, and a panel instantly pops up.

【You need to spend ten units of basic vehicle materials to purchase wood, plus a transaction fee of 100 Game Coin!】

What?

Cheng Shuili looks at the 'transaction fee 100 Game Coin' notice, and her eye twitches sharply.

"What the heck? Robbery?"

She can't help but mutter softly.

Using ten units of basic material worth maybe less than 10 Game Coin to get ten units of wood, and still having to pay an extra 100 Game Coin transaction fee?

The system's merchant fraud level is downright outrageous!

But as Cheng Shuili knows, this is also the only way to obtain building materials!

The system once again puts its cruelty before players: want to build special structures? Want to save your basic materials? You can, but you have to exchange Game Coin.

Fortunately Cheng Shuili has a Taotie Furnace, so in the future even if she unlocks special blueprints she won't need to exchange materials with this swindler.

"Automatic sorting is fine, but this exchange feature... let's just pretend it doesn't exist for now."

She decisively closes the panel, deciding to ignore this money‑burning feature.

Cheng Shuili pushes open the wooden door and walks into the warehouse.

The interior is indeed much larger than before; the previously haphazard piles of material are now sorted into separate areas, neatly stacked, clearly visible at a glance, and quantities are obvious.

The problem that Xinxue and a few others used to spend a lot of time sorting is instantly solved.

"That's more like it."

Cheng Shuili nods satisfied, finally feeling those 1,000 units of material weren't wasted.

She exits the warehouse, her gaze again fixed on the five golden pillars still shooting skyward.

Twelve hours of waiting was indeed long, but thinking of the huge convenience these facilities will bring, the wait hardly seems like anything.

Cheng Shuili returned to the vehicle and noticed several disposable lunch boxes placed on the sofa.

She only then realized that it was already noon.

The reason there were so many lunch boxes, of course, was that she and Qi Wan Yi had mentioned that they should have a good lunch at noon.

With anticipation for the food, Cheng Shuili carefully lifted the lid of the lunch box.

A tempting aroma of the dishes rushed to her nose, instantly dispelling the lingering resentment Cheng Shuili felt toward the system.

In the first lunch box, neatly arranged, was a glossy, oily, enticing red‑braised pork, with alternating fat and lean, steaming hot. Next to it were fried eggplants, which Qi Wan Yi had specially coated with a layer of flour; they looked golden and crispy, yet not greasy. There were also sweet‑and‑sour spare ribs and twice‑cooked pork; these two portions seemed smaller, and Qi Wan Yi packed them together in one lunch box.

In the last box, of course, was a heaping serving of white rice, the grains plump and exuding the characteristic fresh fragrance of rice.

"Wan Yi's cooking… truly speaks for itself; we're in for a feast again."

Cheng Shuili's eyes lit up, and her stomach betrayed her with a rumble.

She had been busy for most of the day and was already famished.

Eagerly, she grabbed the chopsticks beside her, poured the rice and dishes into her golden rice bowl, and then lifted a piece of red‑braised pork, slowly bringing it to her mouth.