Back on the Train, Mu Bai collapsed onto the bed, completely exhausted.
“How did you buy so many ingredients?”
Ye Yuan asked, looking through the bags of food and seeds with a hint of confusion.
She understood the purpose of the seeds, but the fruits, vegetables, and two bags of fresh meat were unusual. They weren’t exactly lacking food.
‘Could it be… because of [Cooking Expert]?’
“I bought those two Dodos for one Train Coin, and the owner gave me the rest for free… Oh, and the Compound Crossbow and Weapon Strike Fist manual sold for six Train Coins. I have five left now. What about you? Did you find any handgun ammunition?”
Mu Bai recounted her actions before asking.
“Yes. It cost two Train Coins for 150 rounds and a new magazine for faster reloading,” Ye Yuan reported, indicating that everything had gone smoothly.
“Ha… I’m going to rest for a bit, then I’ll handle the Dodo meat. My [Cooking Expert] talent reacted. This kind of ingredient can permanently increase physical stats, so I want to test the talent’s effect.”
Mu Bai had grown used to her current physical stamina.
She had fully accepted her circumstances and no longer secretly complained about her body.
‘This is a kind of progress…’
“Do you need my help?”
“Collect some upgrade resources from the Trading Market, then gather more water to sell. After that, put all our effort into getting Iron,” Mu Bai said without hesitation.
She had already planned their future development in her mind.
They had almost gathered enough materials for the construction of the third carriage over the past few days.
Although they still lacked the components for the Cultivation Device, the amount of Iron needed for upgrades was constantly increasing, so the priority of the device had slipped.
In the future, Iron would likely become even scarcer.
The value of wooden boards, rubber, and plastic was only temporary; only Iron was a hard currency.
“All right.”
***
At noon.
Mu Bai cut the fresh meat, cleaned it, and blanched it.
She had intended to check the market to see if there were any spices, and to her surprise, she found not only spices for stewing meat but also mushrooms.
Combined with the carrots the shopkeeper had given her and the seasonings she obtained from the Zombie Apocalypse Station, she had everything she needed for a perfect pot of stew.
Mu Bai used to live alone and had some cooking experience.
With the addition of [Cooking Expert], her culinary skills had reached a professional level.
She was confident that with this method, no meat would taste bad.
She had never stewed a Dodo before, but had she never stewed a chicken?
To ensure the meat was tender, Mu Bai set the timer for a little longer.
The pressure cooker hissed with steam.
When the time was up, it let out a sharp ding.
As she opened the lid, the fragrance hit her.
She served a portion for herself and Ye Yuan to eat with rice.
Although the conditions were limited and a pressure cooker wasn’t as good as a proper stove, the results were still satisfying.
Since the Survival Game began, they hadn’t eaten such a proper, steaming hot meal.
Their previous hot meals had all been instant foods.
Mu Bai put a piece of meat into her mouth, chewing slowly before swallowing.
Her talent had notified her that Dodo meat could increase Constitution and Strength.
Mu Bai had originally intended to check the specific values, but the moment the meat touched her tongue, she forgot all about opening the System Interface.
She was immersed in the pleasure of fresh meat and focused entirely on the meal.
Ye Yuan, however, opened her [Personal Panel] first.
She checked the dynamic effects on the screen while she ate.
Every time she swallowed a piece of meat, the panel displayed [Constitution +0.1] or [Strength +0.1].
This continued until the latter half of the meal, when both stats had increased by a full point.
At that point, the growth stopped.
Only then did Ye Yuan close the panel to enjoy the rest of lunch.
After finishing her meal, Mu Bai checked her own data.
Seeing her Constitution had risen to 4 and her Strength to 3, she felt a wave of emotion.
It hadn’t been easy.
If this continued, her physical stats would eventually reach the level of a normal person.
‘I didn’t expect [Cooking Expert], which I thought was useless, to have such a high ceiling. I really misjudged you!’
Eating more Dodo meat wouldn’t have any further effect, but there were surely many types of high-quality ingredients out there.
Her physical stats could continue to grow!
The only problem was the difficulty of obtaining them…
A whole Dodo was quite large.
Mu Bai and Ye Yuan had only finished half of the stew, so the remaining half could be used for something else.
Mu Bai: [Master Tang, are you there? I have something good that increases Constitution and Strength. Do you want it?]
Tang Shifu: [How much does it increase? Give me a price!]
Mu Bai: [Only one point each, but I only want one Train Coin. That’s reasonable, right? qwq]
Tang Shifu: [Can you tell me what kind of item it is and how you got it?]
Mu Bai: [A pot of stew. I made it with a special ingredient that boosts stats. As for where the ingredient came from… that’s a separate price.]
Tang Shifu: [That… I don’t have many Train Coins left, so never mind. I’ll just take the stew.]
Mu Bai: [All right then, deal.]
Tang Shifu: [Thanks! Remember to find me next time you have something good. OvO]
Mu Bai poured the stew from the pressure cooker into an extra pot and traded it over, receiving one Train Coin in return.
She had already made her money back.
Doing business was surprisingly simple.
If she ever had enough money to enter the Trading Station again, she could totally use her charms to act cute and buy goods at a low price, then sell them for a profit on the Trading Market.
Hmm… however, most Players were living pretty miserable lives right now.
Even among the survivors, those who had upgraded their trains were in the minority.
It was likely that few people would be able to afford her goods in the future.
With one Dodo left, Mu Bai decided to stew it now and sell half of it on the Trading Market.
If someone bought it, they could upgrade the train faster.
If not, they would keep it for dinner and a late-night snack.
This was fresh stew with special effects, after all.
There was no way it wouldn’t sell…
***
At 5:00 PM, Mu Bai looked at the touchscreen with a look of helplessness.
She hadn’t expected it to actually fail to sell.
She stored half the pot in the Trading Market and kept the other half for dinner.
The two of them finished their meal and washed the dishes early, waiting for the next station.
This was a lesson they had learned over the past few days.
While exercising vigorously right after dinner was bad for the body, staying at a station for too long without enough energy to work or deal with danger was worse.
Between two evils, they chose the lesser.
When the time came, the station announcement broadcast rang out as expected.
[The train is arriving at the station. The destination is a Trial Station.]
[Station Type: Game (Special)]
[Difficulty Level: 4]
[Stop Duration: ??]
[Trial Mission: Survive and find the exit of the Labyrinth. The statue will guide your path.]
Mu Bai’s heart sank.
A Trial Station with a difficulty of Level 4…
The only good news was that it wasn’t the dreaded Weirdness or Doomsday type.
A “Game” type likely referred to the Labyrinth itself, which was easy enough to understand.
She hoped the Players they encountered would be as friendly as Master Tang and her group.
Actually, it would be better if they didn’t run into other Players at all.
Before they arrived at the station, Mu Bai proactively gathered her gear and packed it into her bag.
With everything ready, the little white-haired girl took the black-haired girl’s hand.
“Yuan, let’s come back in one piece this time, too.”
“Yeah, definitely.”