Profiteer!
Definitely a profiteer!
Yet, at the same time, Bai Cheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Not only had the other party not exposed her, but they also intended to stick to the original price to make a hefty profit.
"He must've realized that I can't handle that much scrap iron," Bai Cheng said with certainty.
After all, once she had collected 200 iron ingots, any additional storage would only add unnecessary weight.
No one would be foolish enough to do that before reaching Station One.
"This actually takes a lot of pressure off from me, and the remaining traded resources are more than enough."
Of course, if the scam was eventually exposed, the other party would also help divert some of the backlash from her.
But she dared to do it, so she didn't care.
At most, everyone was just strangers who knew each other online. Should she sacrifice her own gains to ensure that everyone else was well-fed and clothed?
Her gaze swept across the cramped space inside her small wooden cabin, and finally on the two wooden crates.
With two wooden crates, a table, a workbench, and a furnace already taking up most of the six-square-meter space, it was already overcrowded.
"Looks like I can only store about 500 to 600 units of supplies at most."
And that was under ideal conditions.
Bai Cheng was certain that iron ingots would be crucial later, but the most important resource right now was coal, the primary fuel for steam locomotives.
Seeing Lin Qiuyue's message on the screen, Bai Cheng ultimately chose to ignore it.
Although they weren't exactly friends, Lin Qiuyue had helped her before. Bai Cheng didn't want to cheat her, but she also didn't trust her enough to reveal the truth.
So, ignoring her was the best option.
Bai Cheng quietly accepted orders from other players. Sure enough, Lin Qiuyue sent another message shortly after.
Lin Qiuyue: "Sister, you probably haven't collected enough iron ingots for yourself yet, right? And you're still short on fuel. Don't worry about me, Xiao Ran has agreed to trade with me!"
Reading this, Bai Cheng relaxed. Well, if someone else scams you, that's not my problem!
Xiao Ran was the lucky one who had obtained the furnace. He hadn't been active in the trading post before, likely because he wasn't well-off.
But now that he had a furnace and could make a fortune, it was a smart move to establish a good relationship with Lin Qiuyue, the freshwater trader.
Bai Cheng even suspected that Xiao Ran had offered Lin Qiuyue a price below the market rate, under the guise of doing her a favor.
But she didn't care. Tonight, she would smelt all her scrap iron into ingots.
Any extra scrap could then be used luxuriously to either craft tools or trade for the last few employee cards.
"There are only two days left in the safety period. Most people should already have their own employees by now. Useless cards like rabbits or rats probably won't sell."
Bai Cheng hadn't seen anyone listing employee cards in the trading post. It seemed that even the sellers knew no one would want them.
"No need to waste beast-attracting powder. Better save it for nighttime to farm EXP."
She glanced out the window at the pitch-black night before returning to the tedious task at hand.
At night, the rail cart moved at a snail's pace. The main benefit was the five pieces of coal she obtained every half an hour from burning slimes.
Meanwhile, the furnace produced 10 iron ingots in the same time frame.
The night was long, long enough for Bai Cheng to smelt the remaining 190 iron ingots and still have time to rest.
The waiting was mind-numbingly dull. Staring at the screen, Bai Cheng muttered, "If only I could automate this…"
The hours dragged on. The rail cart advanced intermittently, stopping and starting without a clear pattern.
Finally, as the last batch of iron ingots finished smelting, Bai Cheng, who had been curled up in a corner, suddenly perked up.
She immediately submitted all the ingots.
[Train Advancement Requirements: 50/50 Fine Leather, 100/100 Processed Wood, 200/200 Iron Ingots, 0/1 Steam Engine.]
"Finally, all materials are gathered!" A surge of joy rushed through her.
She still had 10 iron ingots left in her inventory, which were reserved for future trades.
Any additional ingots she smelted from now on would be pure profit.
There was no need to rush now. Rest was more important than hoarding more supplies.
Although she didn't know the exact time, Bai Cheng estimated that it was around 2 a.m. based on the furnace cycles.
"After I wake up tomorrow, I'll hoard supplies while traveling!"
Bai Cheng made up her mind. She would collect all the remaining employee cards tomorrow and complete the upgrade.
"I'll reach Station One by tomorrow night!"
As for the fifth day of the safety period, it was completely unnecessary in Bai Cheng's eyes now.
She wasn't lacking any resources, and the fifth day would only bring greater dangers.
The supplies along the tracks were finite, and the distance between stations was fixed. No matter how wealthy someone was after five days, everyone would still be on roughly the same level.
The only way to truly pull ahead in this Infinite Train world was to push forward relentlessly.
Before sleeping, Bai Cheng lit the black sludge in front of her cart and glanced at the nearby white treasure chest. Then, she retreated into her cabin.
After refilling the furnace with scrap iron, she lay down on the floor and closed her eyes.
While Bai Cheng seized the chance to rest, others were still wide awake, busy with their own schemes.
Deep in the same eerie forest, Xiao Ran, had also built a small wooden cabin for his rail cart during the day's rainstorm.
At this moment, he stood before his screen, grinning as he negotiated with someone.
"Hahaha! Another deal! I'm rich!"
His smile had been plastered on his face all night, to the point where his cheeks were starting to cramp.
"Gotta admit, that Bai Cheng girl is sharp—charging triple the price right off the bat. Good thing I'm smart enough to not expose her!"
Now that he had a furnace, Xiao Ran considered himself part of the elite in the chat channel.
He looked down on almost everyone else, even the well-known players.
Bai Cheng? Just another furnace owner. What else did she have?
Tang Yan? A lousy meat seller. Who even needed food right now?
Lin Qiuyue? Well, she was acceptable. As a freshwater supplier with four days' worth of accumulated wealth, she was on his level.
"Too bad she's not that good-looking," Xiao Ran mused, smirking. "But trading with her at a low price got me plenty of freshwater. Gotta stay on her good side."
As he muttered to himself, his expression soured at a new message on the screen.
"Damn this Tang Yan. Who does he think he is, trying to lowball me?"
Tang Yan seemed convinced that the scrap-to-iron ratio wasn't 3:1 and was pushing for a lower price.
But then, Xiao Ran's eyes widened at the follow-up message.
"He wants to team up?"
Suddenly, an employee card materialized in front of him, with the image of a brown bear printed on the card.
Xiao Ran was startled, then his face lit up with excitement…