Chapter 11: Contract Manufacturing

[Announcement: Bronze Chest Reward x1 Granted]

As a bronze chest dropped beside the kerosene lamp, Su Liu felt a tinge of dissatisfaction—it was only for the entire region, not the whole server. Then, reflecting on it, Su Liu realized how luck had clouded their judgment. With so many people worldwide, including numerous soldiers from various countries, there would surely be many who had already seized great opportunities or possessed formidable strength.

It was time to shift perspective: focus on living a modest, quality life within the game and steadily improving their own abilities. Who knew what other pleasant surprises might still lie ahead?

Su Liu opened the bronze chest and obtained: Water Condenser Blueprint Fragment (1/5) x1, Stone x5, Glass x3, and a Self-Heating Hotpot x1.

With little Dumpling in tow, Su Liu returned to their personal space to rest. Before settling down, they reviewed the evening’s first cooperative battle with the fox. The coordination still lacked subtle harmony.

Looking over their combat stats, Su Liu found them rather low. Relying solely on experience from the previous game was insufficient. Defense was alarmingly weak—vulnerable even to a single touch from a wraith. Strength and agility were decent, but the psychic energy attribute remained a mystery, its purpose unknown.

Considering Dumpling’s traits, personal stats, and weaponry, Su Liu decided to develop toward an assassin’s path. The road to leveling up was long and arduous, but since it was only the first day, there was no rush.

Lying in bed, just about to sleep, Su Liu suddenly remembered the supplies listed in the trading hall. Opening it, they found many players eager to trade. After filtering out absurd and blatantly opportunistic offers, Su Liu exchanged a tent and sleeping bag for a solid wood cabinet featuring a stasis grid function, then stowed all their food inside.

Next, after careful selection, Su Liu traded various evolution stone fragments for three wind-element fragments—just enough to synthesize a complete wind evolution stone.

To advance Dumpling to level three, beyond five spatial evolution stones, five wind evolution stones, and 500 experience points, additional materials were required: one primary core (legendary) x1, fibergrass x10, and bone meal x5.

Fibergrass was easy to gather; in the grasslands, any item marked with glowing dots along the path was collectible with some attention. Bone meal, however, required defeating wraiths. Su Liu and Dumpling had recently slain a level-two soul herder and a pack of level-one ravenous moss, acquiring bone meal x2 and level-one bloodlust powder x7. Once a potion crafting station was available, bloodlust powder could be used to brew a level-one “Bloodlust Potion,” temporarily boosting strength and agility dramatically.

But that was for later. Primary cores dropped only from level-three wraiths, and their quality varied.

Su Liu hesitated over trading the water evolution stone. Two players offered generous trades: “Dreamer on the Keyboard” proposed three vehicle fragments, five glass, and three stones, while “Geometric Reverie” requested two attribute enhancement pills and a weapon upgrade card.

An attribute enhancement pill allowed the player to increase one of defense, strength, or agility by three points—a rare item mostly gained through dungeon rewards or leaderboards. Personal attribute improvements were otherwise limited to titles, professions, or consuming food and medicine—none easily obtained.

After much thought, even though the offered materials were useful, Su Liu prioritized self-improvement and chose to trade with “Geometric Reverie.”

After the trade, Su Liu received a private message from “Geometric Reverie”:

“Master Rogue, may I ask for some information? Payment offered—a fever-reducing potion.”

“Why is it that even with enough fragments, I can’t synthesize a complete item? The system gives no hint.”

The system alerted Su Liu: [You have received a gift from “Geometric Reverie.”]

Upon acceptance, Su Liu found it was indeed a fever-reducing potion and replied:

“To synthesize items, players must first obtain a crafting bench and possess the required materials.”

“Geometric Reverie” responded: “Ah, that explains why I couldn’t craft despite having enough fragments. Thanks so much, Master Rogue!”

“Do you have a crafting bench? I won’t freeload—I can pay you to synthesize three water evolution stone fragments. How about two pieces of wood as a processing fee?”

Reading this, Su Liu’s mind sparked with an idea. Having acquired a crafting bench early meant they could earn extra materials through commissioned processing.

However, if that was the case, “Geometric Reverie” had essentially spent a fever-reducing potion for nothing, despite providing a business opportunity.

So Su Liu replied: “How about I return the fever-reducing potion? I plan to take on some commissioned processing and don’t want to freeload your potion.”

At that moment, “Geometric Reverie” felt surprised—expecting a ruthless profiteer, they hadn’t anticipated such consideration. They quickly answered:

“No need, no need. If you really feel bad, just send me some food. The kid’s a bit short on meals.”

Su Liu considered and agreed, gifting “Geometric Reverie” a self-heating hotpot and a bottle of mineral water.

Don’t ask—just accept that the fever-reducing potion was worth that much.

In this beast-taming survival game, medicine was a scarce commodity. Early on, it wasn’t obvious as everyone struggled just to meet basic needs. But illness was inevitable; without timely medicine, travel could be hindered or one might be easily killed by wraiths.

Later, the two also completed the water evolution stone commission via the game’s trading platform.

After the trade, Su Liu carefully pondered and decided to post a long-term service announcement in the trading hall:

“Any fragment or blueprint requires a crafting bench to synthesize or craft. Accepting commissioned material synthesis and processing; processing fee negotiable, no material restrictions, but no freeloading allowed.”

Su Liu then shared this long-term listing in the chat hall.

“Cotton Club” remarked, “Feels like Master Rogue’s progress is way ahead. Compared to that, I’m barely scraping by.”

“I Hate Calculus” chimed in, “You’re not alone.”

“Cilantro” said, “Master Rogue is amazing! No wonder they’re a pro. Since they’re so great, they probably don’t even care about little players like us or our tiny materials. Maybe they shouldn’t charge processing fees—could harm the relationship between them and regular players.”

“Commander Springwater” replied, “Thanks so much for sharing this info, Master Rogue. @Cilantro, you have a great mindset. As a pro, Master Rogue has the dignity to act generously. Surely they don’t need the little supplies from players struggling to survive. Processing doesn’t consume much, so charging fees might be a bit too much.”