Chapter 8

Just then, Li Feifei's message appeared in the private chat channel; Li Feifei proposed to trade the Tang Sword, and immediately opened the chat window with Li Feifei.

"I want to buy your Tang Sword; how much material do I need to exchange?" Li Feifei's message showed in the chat window.

Li Qingxuan pondered for a moment, then replied: "One Tang Sword can be exchanged for 50 units of iron block or equivalent basic materials."

Li Feifei's side was silent for a while, seemingly considering, then she typed: "I only have 40 units of iron block, plus 20 units of wood; will that work?"

Li Qingxuan thought it over, considering that making the Tang Sword and upgrading the wooden house both required wood, so he typed back: "Then let's trade."

Li Qingxuan quickly completed the trade; after these two trades and his usual chats, both sides had established a certain trust foundation, and the other party also had some strength.

Li Qingxuan again brought up the idea of building a camp with the other party, predictably being turned down again; Li Qingxuan also felt somewhat helpless: "Others I don't know, and I'm not sure of their strength; I finally found someone I thought suitable, but they still refused."

Shaking his head, thinking his current wood was enough to upgrade the wooden house, Li Qingxuan didn't intend to keep checking messages; he opened the control panel to prepare for an upgrade, and seeing he still had an expansion scroll in his backpack, he casually used it.

After the wooden house expanded, a twenty-square-meter room quietly appeared on the east side, separated from the original space by an ancient wooden door, dividing the wooden house into inner and outer rooms, making the layout more orderly.

Li Qingxuan went outside, opened the shelter interface, clicked upgrade, and saw the wooden house extend to both sides.

After the upgrade was completed, Li Qingxuan slowly stepped into the wooden house; his view suddenly opened up—the wooden house was divided into three independent spaces, the floor laid with warm solid wood planks, which made a slight footstep sound when stepped on.

The entrance was a fifty-square-meter hall; the original narrow wooden door was replaced by a two-and-a-half-meter-wide solid wood door, with a thick bolt across the inside, and a wooden window on each side letting in soft light.

The areas of the east and west rooms remained unchanged, but the interior of the wooden house had been completely renewed, its structure became more solid, and the wood grain on the outer walls glistened with a warm sheen in the sunlight, appearing especially elegant.

Li Qingxuan was very satisfied, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and then his gaze fell on the materials needed for the wooden house upgrade shown on the control panel.

【Shelter: Wooden House】

【Bound Person: Li Qingxuan】

【Level: 2】

【Area: 120 square】

【Protection Value: 200/200】

【Upgrade Conditions: Stone Material 500, Iron Block 100】

【Upgrade Effects: Protection Value *2, Area +30】

【Description: A sturdy wooden house that can be upgraded and repaired with materials】

Li Qingxuan noticed the upgrade conditions had changed to stone material, and secretly speculated that the wooden house's next upgrade might turn it into a stone house; henceforth, when trading, the exchange ratio for wood would have to be lowered.

Opening the chat channel again, Li Qingxuan saw the number of pending replies had surged to 99+; the corners of his mouth twitched upward, he let out a soft laugh, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly: it turned out that at times, wealth could also become a trouble.

Li Qingxuan replied to each message, indicating that the Tang Sword was limited and trades would go to the highest bidder.

Li Qingxuan naturally understood the principle that rarity increases value; seeing these people's bids one-upping each other outrageously, he couldn't help but inwardly click his tongue.

【Item: Backpack Expansion Scroll】

【Effect: Backpack slots +10】

【Description: Can expand the backpack to gain more slots】

Seeing someone use a backpack expansion scroll to exchange for three Tang swords made Li Qingxuan's heart flutter; then seeing others trade various blueprints, he realized that everyone had just arrived in this world, fallen from the top of the food chain, and the preciousness of weapons far surpassed that of other items.

After a period of communication, examining each person's offer one by one, Li Qingxuan selected the top 28 buyers who had bid the highest.

Soon, the trade of 28 Tang swords was completed; Li Qingxuan obtained a backpack expansion scroll, 700 units of stone material, 300 units of iron block, 50 units of filter cotton, 50 units of activated carbon, 50 units of plastic, and 300 units of wood.

With these materials, still because wood wasn't in high demand, he only picked a few large‑quantity traders for the exchange; otherwise the amounts would have been even greater.

Li Qingxuan successfully completed the trade, secretly pleased with his shrewd decision, and without hesitation used the backpack expansion scroll.

Using the manufacturing table, he continued to craft Tang swords and water purifiers; he then listed another 60 Tang swords and 10 water purifiers for sale, posting the trade information in the trading center.

However, this time the trading speed was obviously much slower; only a few people who hadn't traded before offered prices that suited Li Qingxuan's mind, and in the end only 20 Tang swords and 2 water purifiers were traded, earning him 500 units of stone material, 200 units of iron block, 40 units of filter cotton, 40 units of activated carbon, and 40 units of plastic.

Seeing that there were no suitable trading partners, Li Qingxuan wasn't in a hurry; he knew that the amount of supplies he could gather in two days was limited, and after two more days there would definitely be a large number of people coming to trade with him.

While Li Qingxuan was leisurely browsing the trading center, he noticed someone selling water; curiously clicking in, he found that the water being sold was unfiltered river water.

Although the trade ratio was quite high, there were still people willing to buy; Li Qingxuan didn't mind, after all his core merchandise were water purifiers and weapons.

Li Qingxuan continued to carefully browse the trading center; suddenly, a piece of information about a city wall blueprint caught his eye, instantly making his eyes light up with excitement.

【Blueprint: City Wall】

【Construction Conditions: Manufacturing Table, Stone Material 1000】

【Description: Can construct a section 5 meters long, 4 meters wide, 12 meters high, with a protection value of 1000】

Li Qingxuan looked at the person's name—Zhang Hao—clicked the avatar, chatted a few sentences, and the other party proposed to exchange using Tang swords and water purifiers.

"How do you plan to exchange?" Li Qingxuan replied.

Zhang Hao quickly replied: "One city wall blueprint for ten Tang swords plus two water purifiers—how about that?"

Li Qingxuan silently calculated: this city wall blueprint was of extraordinary significance to him—not only could it provide a safer environment, but it could also greatly enhance the defensive power around the wooden house; he was determined to obtain it.

But thinking about the harsh construction conditions of the city wall, even though he had acquired many materials through trade, Li Qingxuan couldn't help but feel a headache.

Li Qingxuan felt that although he had quite a number of Tang Swords and water purifiers in his hand, he also could not so easily agree to the other party's conditions.

After his thoughts became clear, Li Qingxuan replied: "The City Wall indeed matches my wishes, but this construction condition probably few people have the ability to build, so I can at most offer six Tang Swords plus one water purifier."

Zhang Hao seemed somewhat hesitant, and only after a while did he reply: "Deal."

Li Qingxuan felt delighted, immediately completed the transaction with the other party and added Zhang Hao as a friend.

After obtaining the City Wall Blueprint, he eagerly went to the Manufacturing Table, recorded the blueprint into the manufacturing table; although he cannot build it now, it will definitely be useful later.

At the same time, Li Qingxuan also did not forget to continue making items; he used the remaining materials to make another 8 water purifiers, listed them on the Trading Center, waiting for more traders to come purchase.

While waiting for transactions, Li Qingxuan planned to first use the obtained Stone Material to upgrade the Wooden House to level 3, to improve his living environment and safety; after all, in this strange world, safety comes first.

Li Qingxuan walked out of the Wooden House again, unable to hide his excitement: "Upgrading two levels in one night—who else could do that?"

He lightly tapped the upgrade button on the Shelter page; instantly, the walls of the Wooden House were replaced by hard stone blocks, with a faint gray glow flowing across the surface.

Li Qingxuan entered the central hall, only to see that the original wooden floorboards were replaced by integrated bluish stone slabs, the door also replaced by a heavy and sturdy solid Iron Gate, equipped with a sturdy iron lock and bolt, forming a Barrier for the Wooden House.

The left and right sides expanded into two rooms each of the same 30 square meter size, and the door frames were replaced by stone arches.

All wooden windows were replaced with solid iron windows; although when tightly closed it is hard to peek outside, their protective capability has undergone a qualitative leap.

Li Qingxuan tapped the stone wall of the Shelter with his fingers; the dull echo had a metallic feel, and the smile on his face never faded.

Behind the Stone House a third room appeared; Li Qingxuan pushed open the wooden door and entered, finding inside a twenty-square-meter sealed space.

The empty four walls echoed with footsteps; Li Qingxuan looked around, and this newly added twenty-square-meter sealed space was bare—he couldn't immediately think of a use for the room.

Then Li Qingxuan recalled the forgotten Storage Room, went back to his room, moved the bed aside, descended to the Storage Room, and saw that its walls had also turned from wood to stone; the smile on his face appeared again.

Li Qingxuan put the remaining 34 Tang Swords, 15 water purifiers, water, food, and some materials into the Storage Room, leaving only a few bottles of Mineral Water in his Backpack.

Li Qingxuan glanced at the newly upgraded Shelter, then at the Tang Swords, water purifiers, and assorted materials inside the Storage Room, and his need for materials grew even stronger.

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