Chapter 18 Windfall Profits
Qin Zhen tapped the lower-right corner and saw that the player count had changed to 76,809 / 100,000.
It was only the third day of the official game, yet nearly a quarter of the players had already died.
Qin Zhen felt a chill run through her.
She opened the Trading Zone.
She hadn't checked it in a few days, and the number of listed items had grown considerably.
[Wooden Tub ×1: Trade for 1 kg of water]
[Wooden Bucket ×1: Trade for 1 kg of water or 500 g of food]
[Water Spirit Bead ×1: Trade for Earth Spirit Bead ×1]
[Ice Spirit Bead ×3: Trade for Wood Spirit Bead ×3]
[Light Spirit Bead ×1: Trade for Fire Spirit Bead ×1]
Huh — Qin Zhen recalled that she had four Fire Spirit Beads lying around.
She had no use for them anyway, so she might as well swap them for Light Spirit Beads.
Qin Zhen consumed the Light Spirit Beads on the spot. Light Affinity +3.
While she was at it, she used four bottles of Mineral Water to claim the Wooden Tub and Wooden Bucket as well.
She kept scrolling down.
[Wood ×10: Trade for water or food]
[Stone ×10: Trade for 500 g or more of water or food]
[Refined Iron ×10: Trade for 1 kg or more of water or food]
[......]
Qin Zhen couldn't help but frown. It was a little puzzling — it was already the third day of the official game, and people were still this short on water and food?
[Host, you're a well-fed person who can't imagine what it's like to go hungry. Many Players still have no weapons at all. They can't defeat monsters, so they're surviving on the meager supplies they fish out of Treasure Chests.]
"Are weapons really that hard to come by?"
Qin Zhen was genuinely surprised. She herself had an axe, the Starlight Staff, and the Lianyue Crossbow, plus quite a few other pieces of equipment.
[That's because your Luck is high. On the third day of the Beginner Protection Period you fished up a Black Iron Chest and pulled an Axe Blueprint from it.]
Right — now that she thought about it, that was exactly how it had gone.
Because she had drawn the Axe Blueprint, she had gone on to craft the Iron Axe.
The Iron Axe had higher Attack Power than the Stone Axe, and it was precisely because she had the Iron Axe that she had been able to kill that Tier 1 Bamboo Pit Viper.
That kill had yielded the Black Iron Chest dropped by the bamboo pit viper, plus an additional Black Iron Chest as a System reward.
From those she had drawn the Lianyue Crossbow, the Ice Affinity Skill Book, and other equipment.
And it was only because she had all that equipment that she could keep hunting monsters and accumulating more supplies.
Players who hadn't drawn a weapon right from the start had fallen behind at the very first step.
One step behind, and you fall further behind with every step after that.
The gap would only grow more pronounced.
Take Qin Zhen — she could now handle both Common Monsters and Tier 1 Monsters with ease, and her Equipment Slots were only a few items away from being completely filled.
Meanwhile, those other Players couldn't even meet their basic needs for food and water.
Qin Zhen let out a quiet sigh. This was essentially a vicious cycle.
She was grateful that on the third day of the Beginner Protection Period, when she had come face to face with that Tier 1 Bamboo Pit Viper, she hadn't backed down.
If she had, she might be no better off than those Players right now.
But — if Players were so desperately short on weapons, she could sell Iron Axes!
One Iron Axe required Refined Iron ×6 and Stone ×3.
She could charge a higher price, satisfying the Players' demand while also securing the large quantities of Refined Iron and Stone she needed for herself.
She'd sell each Iron Axe for Refined Iron ×12 and Stone ×6 — exactly double the crafting cost.
Of course, Iron Axes crafted with monster teeth, scales, and other materials — White-grade and above — would be priced differently.
Qin Zhen checked her current stock of Refined Iron and Stone.
She had Refined Iron ×65 and Stone ×90.
Just enough to craft ten Iron Axes.
Qin Zhen spent Refined Iron ×60 and Stone ×30 to craft ten ordinary Iron Axes.
Then she listed them in the Trading Zone.
[Iron Axe ×1: Trade for Refined Iron ×12, Stone ×6] ×10
She had known weapons were scarce, but the speed at which the Iron Axes sold out still caught her off guard.
Qin Zhen received Refined Iron ×120 and Stone ×60.
Holy — this was pure windfall profit.
Qin Zhen wasted no time and used the freshly acquired Refined Iron and Stone to craft twenty more axes.
While she waited, she flipped through the Chat Channel.
[The Golden House Within Books: Oh my god, some big shot just listed Iron Axes in the Trading Zone! The Attack Power and Durability are both higher than a Stone Axe. Lucky me for camping the Trading Zone every day — I actually managed to snag one! Hahaha, I finally have a weapon!]
[Swifttail: I grabbed one too. So lucky!]
[Caterpillar: Wait wait wait — Iron Axes? And more than one?]
[The Golden House Within Books: Yes! Attack Power is 15 and Durability is 150. Best of all, the price is super reasonable — just Refined Iron ×12 and Stone ×6. What a saint.]
Reasonable? She had literally doubled the crafting cost. And this person thought it was cheap? Were they out of their mind?
[Caterpillar: No way, that's insanely cheap. Yesterday I saw a Stone Axe in the Trading Zone with only 70 Durability left listed for 5 kg or more of food or water. Absolutely unhinged......]
[Goldleaf: Same — a couple days ago I saw someone asking for Stone ×100 in exchange for a Cleaver.]
Qin Zhen: "......"
She had been too conservative after all.
Still, she felt the price she'd set was fair enough. She didn't want to exploit these Players excessively.
She wasn't a saint, but she wasn't heartless either.
[The Golden House Within Books: The thing is, weapons are just so scarce... But this big shot dropped ten Iron Axes in one go — what a move!]
[Caterpillar: Ahhhh, this big shot must have drawn a Blueprint and crafted them themselves. When are they listing more?! I want one so badly, please~]
[Goldleaf: Me too!!!]
[YouMustBeStarving: If they drew a Blueprint, they'll probably list more. Everyone just sit tight and wait.]
[......]
Qin Zhen smiled helplessly and listed all twenty finished Iron Axes.
[Caterpillar: AHHHH, I got one! The big shot just listed twenty more Iron Axes... Oh my god... I am absolutely shook...]
[Goldleaf: I got one too hahaha! Everyone hurry up and grab one — first come, first served!]
[Fivevenom: I saw your messages and ran straight to the Trading Zone — not a single one left, sob sob sob......]
[Caterpillar: Don't worry, the big shot will definitely list more. Just wait.]
[......]
The twenty Iron Axes she had just sold brought in Refined Iron ×240 and Stone ×120.
She turned those into forty more Iron Axes and listed them in the Trading Zone.
That earned her Refined Iron ×480 and Stone ×240.
Qin Zhen ignored the fresh wave of excitement she had stirred up in the Chat Channel and stopped crafting Iron Axes for the night — crafting did take time, after all.
Previously, each Iron Axe had taken about ten minutes to make. Now, with her improved Constitution, she could finish one in just five minutes.
Even so, crafting seventy axes in total had consumed nearly six hours of her time.
It was already 10:30 at night.
She had to get up early tomorrow and head out — it was going to be physically demanding work, so she needed a full night's sleep.
The grand enterprise of selling Iron Axes could wait until after dark tomorrow.