Bai Cheng wasn't sure whether Lin Qiuyue and Tang Yan currently had a furnace or not.
Yet, they had never traded any products made from the furnace. Were they deliberately hiding the fact that scrap iron could be smelted into iron ingots from the other survivors?
Bai Cheng leaned more toward the idea that the two of them simply hadn't obtained a furnace yet.
Sure, they might have opened uncommon treasure chests, but could they really be that lucky?
Those two had enjoyed enough good fortune in the early stages!
So, she decided to reveal this information to everyone outright. After all, it was an unavoidable fact if she wanted to use the furnace to get rich.
"I'll take the gamble. I bet you two don't have a furnace!"
But Bai Cheng didn't act immediately. She was still calculating the time it would take for the furnace to smelt iron ingots.
At the same time, she hadn't traded for the four employee cards in Lin Qiuyue's possession yet.
"Twenty pieces of scrap iron… Why does it feel a bit expensive now?" Bai Cheng winced at the thought but still took the initiative to contact the other party.
Lin Qiuyue seemed surprised and replied curiously.
Lin Qiuyue: "It's already afternoon. I thought you weren't going to trade anymore."
Bai Cheng froze, then glanced out the window at the gloomy sky. "So it's already afternoon?"
Last night, she must have wasted a lot of time collecting wood. She probably hadn't gone to sleep until three or four in the morning.
And she had slept through the entire morning. If not for the rain, Bai Cheng had no idea how long she would have kept sleeping.
"Dammit, it's already the third day, and I haven't even started traveling yet." A sense of urgency suddenly gripped her.
Fortunately, she now had a furnace. At least she wouldn't have to exhaust herself chopping trees for resources anymore.
Bai Cheng sent over the twenty pieces of scrap iron first before replying.
Bai Cheng: "Sorry, something came up. I didn't have time until now."
Of course, she couldn't admit that she had slept all morning. That would be tantamount to telling the other party that she could chop trees in the Silent Night.
Lin Qiuyue: "Oh? Sister1, you also figured out that scrap iron can be smelted into iron ingots too?"
Lin Qiuyue: "After you bought up scrap iron at a high price with fine wood last night, you've become the big shot in many people's eyes. Though I bet a certain someone is absolutely furious. Hardly anyone is trading scrap iron for his food anymore."
As she spoke, Lin Qiuyue also approved Bai Cheng's trade.
Four employee cards, each depicting a different animal, appeared at the bottom of the screen, including the rhinoceros one.
Bai Cheng picked up the rhinoceros card and sighed. "You still ended up in my hands after all."
Lin Qiuyue's words made Bai Cheng feel a little awkward, as if she was being called out.
But since the other party had still traded with her, Bai Cheng could only apologize first.
Bai Cheng: "Sorry, I was just trying to gather materials. I didn't mean to steal your business…"
Lin Qiuyue: "Pfft, why apologize? If not for the rain, it wouldn't have affected me anyway. By the way, are you and Tang Yan friends?"
Bai Cheng: "No, I don't know him."
Lin Qiuyue: "Even better. That guy's a bit full of himself. I don't like him either."
Bai Cheng: "At this point, most survivors shouldn't be lacking food, right? His competitiveness really isn't great, and he's too black-hearted."
Lin Qiuyue: "Exactly! Unlike him, I'm pink2—uh, I mean, I'm not black-hearted, right?"
Bai Cheng: "Mhm."
At this point, Bai Cheng was ready to end the conversation. She still had to hurry and get back on the road.
She had initially planned to ignore Lin Qiuyue's subsequent messages, but the girl's words actually contained some useful information.
Lin Qiuyue: "By the way, what's your employee like, sister? You're so smart, you must've picked a mount too, right?"
Lin Qiuyue: "Tang Yan told me that the quality of the first employee can't be chosen, so it's best to prioritize functionality. Oxen and horses are the best. Like, isn't that obvious!?"
Lin Qiuyue: "He wants to cooperate with me but won't tell me anything I don't already know! Sure, he's good-looking, but he has zero sincerity. He's not even worth a single strand of your hair!"
Lin Qiuyue: "I was unlucky so I couldn't find an ox. Horses can pull carts too, but they're less efficient. Still, at least I can reach Station One within the safety period. It's manageable."
Bai Cheng, who had been about to start pedaling, froze when she read these messages.
Lin Qiuyue's words might have seemed like casual complaints, but they actually revealed a lot of previously unknown information.
"So oxen and horses3 literally meant oxen and horses… The first employee's role is to serve as both a mount and a cart-puller."
Now Bai Cheng truly understood the purpose of the first employee.
Indeed, if one had an ox or horse employee to help pull the cart, the travel speed would be incomparably faster than relying on human strength.
Bai Cheng suddenly felt like a clown for upgrading her pulley transmission system.
"Dammit, no wonder you guys are traveling so fast!"
If someone had been lucky enough to get an employee on the first day, assuming that they traveled nonstop, it was entirely possible that they could reach Station One within three days!
Of course, that was under ideal conditions.
Most people wouldn't rush from the very beginning, and factoring in the time spent gathering resources, it was impossible to be that fast.
"I'd guess that some people will reach Station One by tomorrow or the day after, before evening. Looks like defending it shouldn't be too hard."
Frowning in thought, Bai Cheng still sent a perfunctory reply to Lin Qiuyue.
Bai Cheng: "Exactly! That guy has no sincerity at all!"
"She's telling me all this because she assumes that I already have an employee, huh…" Bai Cheng's expression darkened. Little did Lin Qiuyue know, she was still all alone.
"I already have eight white employee cards, plus that green one. Six more to go."
Bai Cheng's gaze shifted to her furnace, her eyes firm.
"I still have the beast-attracting powder. Worst case, I'll trade iron ingots for more. I will complete the employee card upgrade before reaching the station!"
A legendary employee card should be far superior to ordinary ones, right?
Bai Cheng remained confident and wasn't jealous of the others' travel speed.
Seeing that Lin Qiuyue hadn't replied further and that the furnace in the corner was still smelting, Bai Cheng didn't even bother putting on proper clothes. She hopped onto the driving mechanism and began pedaling with all her might.
Outside, the wind howled and rain poured down. Combined with the wooden shelter she had built, the resistance was considerable.
But thankfully, Bai Cheng's physical attributes were now close to peak human levels. A little resistance meant nothing to her.
About half an hour later, a green light flashed from her pulley transmission system. It had finished upgrading.
[Pulley Transmission System: 0/30]
Since the furnace had also finished smelting, Bai Cheng decided to stop.
But when she examined the upgraded pulley transmission system, she raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this… exactly the same?"
She couldn't spot any visible changes!
With a sigh, Bai Cheng opened the detailed information.
[Name: Pulley Transmission System]
[Grade: Uncommon]
[Effect: Increased driving force, boosting the maximum speed by +10%.]
[Evaluation: It's better than nothing.]
"That's it?" Bai Cheng was thoroughly unimpressed.
But since it was just a side benefit of traveling, she supposed that it was indeed… better than nothing.
She turned around and picked up the iron ingots from the ground. The ten pieces of fuel she had added to the furnace earlier hadn't burned out yet, so she immediately tossed in more scrap iron.
"About half an hour to smelt ten pieces. Not bad." She now had a rough estimate of the speed.
The remaining coal should be more than enough, and she suspected that it wasn't the only possible fuel.
"Now that I have iron ingots as capital, it's time to start trading."
Without delay, Bai Cheng listed her offer.
[Trader: Bai Cheng]
[Item: Iron Ingot ×1 (Remaining: 10)]
[Request: Scrap Iron ×3]
The moment the trade offer went live, the entire chat channel erupted.