“I almost forgot I’m a girl now; good thing I reacted quickly.”

Bai Cheng complained, a bit speechless, “But it’s really uncomfortable without toilet paper.”

She pulled up her skirt, feeling a bit embarrassed, and only after confirming there was no danger around did she walk towards the green treasure chest and pick it up.

The process was smooth.

Perhaps because it was a treasure chest from Silent Night, the beasts guarding it had disappeared with the arrival of dawn.

Back on the railcar, Bai Cheng immediately opened it eagerly.

She clasped her hands together, continuously praying: “condenser, condenser....”

“Opened a Fine Treasure Chest: Obtained Hunter’s Wooden Bow Blueprint *1, Beast Repellent Powder *1, Beast Attractant Powder *1, Scrap Iron *2, Salt *1.”

“Is that all?” Bai Cheng raised an eyebrow slightly, clearly not very satisfied with the contents.

But it wasn’t too bad either; at least it was much better than a common treasure chest.

It’s just... why is there still no condenser?!

Bai Cheng took out the 500g bag of salt, which had no packaging, from the treasure chest, “This should be the only good thing.”

After all, all living things need to ingest salt, and this is also an extremely important strategic material.

“A whole pound, that’s enough to eat for a long time. It’ll be super fragrant next time I roast meat and add some.”

As she said this, Bai Cheng’s stomach began to rumble.

She looked at the box; she had no food left. Last night, Tang Yan had directly traded all her hyena meat for water.

Bai Cheng’s original best plan was to trade half for water and half for compressed biscuits.

“Damn protagonist dog, why does he get to have a condenser?!”

Besides this, she couldn't guess why he would have so much water.

However, Bai Cheng wasn't flustered. At this stage, water was more valuable than food; she could even trade for more food than she originally had.

But she didn't plan to trade for food yet; she just ate two chocolate bars to fill her stomach.

“Beast Repellent Powder and Beast Attractant Powder?” Bai Cheng picked up the two packets of powder from the treasure chest that looked like desiccant.

Just by looking at the names, their functions were already clear.

“Beast Repellent Powder: After use, no creatures will approach within a ten-meter radius for 5 minutes.”

“Beast Attractant Powder: After use, all nearby unknown beasts will be attracted for 2 minutes.”

“Hiss, these are not bad either. One can be used to repel beasts and get treasure chests, and the other can be used to gather beasts to get food and employee cards.”

Bai Cheng had already begun to ponder how to maximize the utility of these two items.

As for the last Hunter’s Wooden Bow Blueprint, Bai Cheng first checked its crafting materials.

“Name: Hunter’s Wooden Bow (Blueprint)”

“Required Materials: Fine Wood *4, Leather *2, Deer Tendon/Cow Tendon *1”

“Description: A simple wooden bow. You can use it for hunting. After use, the crafting method for wooden arrows will be automatically unlocked.”

“Rating: Although the range is very short, it is at least a ranged weapon.”

Bai Cheng bit her finger: “Feels like the cost-effectiveness isn’t high.”

A wooden bow paired with wooden arrows, plus her lack of any hunting skills and insufficient strength, could she really use it to hunt?

“The key is these cow tendons and deer tendons, where am I supposed to get those?”

Encountering these two animals relied entirely on luck, and even if she did encounter them, whether she could kill them was another matter.

After all, they don’t need to eat meat like carnivores, and even if provoked, they won’t relentlessly pursue prey.

No matter how she looked at it, this thing wasn't even a fraction as good as her Blade of Certain Death.

After comprehensive consideration, Bai Cheng still decided to trade it away.

“Later on, I might rely on employees. Strengthening myself isn’t very useful.”

Bai Cheng put down the blueprint and turned to the screen.

Only then did the persistent private message notifications make her realize she had been ignoring the sender all along.

“Who is it?” Bai Cheng curiously clicked it open, and what appeared was that familiar and handsome headshot, with the name Tang Yan clearly written beside it.

Bai Cheng’s face immediately darkened: “Why is this old bastard protagonist looking for me?”

She could say she had absolutely no good feelings towards him.

Tang Yan: “What do you need, food or fresh water? I need wood.”

Bai Cheng was startled; she hadn’t expected this guy to come looking for her to trade.

The message’s send time was over three hours ago, which was probably just when dawn broke.

Bai Cheng sneered, this was karma.

Bai: “Employee card.”

Tang: “You still want an employee card?”

Tang: “Okay, I’ll give it to you cheaper this time, how about 180?”

Bai Cheng smiled and replied directly.

Bai: “50, take it or leave it!”

Tang: “Are you kidding me?”

Bai Cheng’s approach was the same as his last time: she simply chose not to reply.

It was clear that Tang Yan seemed very surprised by her continued demand for an employee card.

But there was some unpleasantness between them, and their relationship wasn’t good enough for casual chat.

This time, he replied within a few minutes.

Tang: “Deal!”

Closing the chat, Bai Cheng immediately revealed a slight smile.

“Let you scam me, you old bastard.”

Collecting 50 pieces of wood was incredibly fast.

But Bai Cheng didn’t immediately start chopping trees; instead, she opened the trade interface and kept scrolling through it.

The result was a great disappointment; no one else had listed an employee card.

However, there was a girl ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) named Lin Qiuyue who was massively selling fresh water.

Bai Cheng roughly looked at it, and at least ten of the orders were initiated by her, trading fresh water for other materials, but the prices were ridiculously high.

“Trader: Lin Qiuyue”

“Trading Item: 500ml Fresh Water”

“Demand: Carnivore Employee Card, Empty Bottle *1 / Compressed Biscuits *6, Empty Bottle *1....”

Almost every demand had the additional requirement of an empty mineral water bottle.

“Another one getting rich, how annoying.” Bai Cheng casually opened the channel and found that everyone was currently cursing Lin Qiuyue as a profiteer, while she didn’t forget to self-promote.

“Everyone, I’ve found a pond. I won’t be staying here for too long; first come, first served. Those who need fresh water, trade quickly!”

“Damn profiteer, why don’t you just rob us?!”

“Exactly! How can you be sure this water is drinkable? Don’t trust her, everyone! Stagnant water is definitely dirty; drinking it could kill people!”

“Why aren’t you replying to my private messages? Can’t my signature overalls be exchanged for a bottle of water?”

Although everyone was verbally cursing Lin Qiuyue as a profiteer, their bodies were very honest; in reality, her fresh water was selling incredibly fast.

Bai Cheng stopped paying attention to the channel and also listed her Hunter’s Wooden Bow Blueprint.

As for the demand, of course, it was an employee card.

Bai Cheng didn’t care for other things at all, and this place was completely different from the novels and games she had read and played before. Materials were not only limited but also impossible to hoard.

The only relatively humane feature was the ability to pre-deliver train upgrade materials.

Bai Cheng picked up her iron axe and excitedly got off the train to chop trees.

“Another busy day.”

And when Bai Cheng swung her iron axe at these not-so-thick saplings, it immediately left a huge gash, and the entire tree began to totter.

Bai Cheng was startled. She swung two more axes consecutively, and the tree trunk suddenly broke.

“Durability -1”

She was shocked: “Three axes for one tree?!”

And the durability actually decreased!

Wouldn’t chopping trees during the day greatly accelerate the iron axe’s upgrade progress?

Bai Cheng went completely crazy, and soon there wasn't a single standing sapling in front of her.

At the same time, her iron axe instantly flashed with a blue light.