Chapter 45: Have the Wasteland Wanderers Been Increasing Lately?

Finally.

With a crisp “pa,” Qiu Dao snapped the suspicious list shut.

He closed his eyes, suppressing the turmoil within.

The other party really didn’t treat him as an outsider!

These things made it clear that the Watchers’ main base was nearby!

And it was still under construction!

Having such a neighbor was far more dangerous than the occasional low-level Monsters wandering out of the Giant Oak Forest!

Qiu Dao opened his eyes, gritting his teeth.

“Stone Pickaxe and Iron Hoe, I have, but Iron Sword… and all the tools after that—I don’t have any of them!”

His tone carried both helplessness and resolve.

There was no room for negotiation.

Although the weapons on the list were nothing compared to the strength of Watcher members themselves.

They couldn’t even be called weapons, just sharper pieces of iron.

But the church didn’t see it that way.

If they actually traded these with Edgar, it would be like boarding the Watchers’ pirate ship.

That was simply asking for death!

No, even if it meant angering the other side, Qiu Dao couldn’t agree!

Disappointment flickered in Edgar’s eyes.

But considering the other’s situation, he understood.

The amount of supplies he wanted wasn’t small.

Qiu Dao alone couldn’t provide them all—he’d have to get the nearby Farmers involved.

That was also why he sought out this local bigwig.

If the Farmers had plenty of supplies, they wouldn’t have ended up as Refugees on the wasteland.

Having spare clothing and tools to trade was already a blessing.

He couldn’t hope for a complete set of items in the deal.

Edgar pondered for a moment, then compromised.

“What about the Triangular Ruler? We can forgo the rest, but the Triangular Ruler is essential!”

The Triangular Ruler was one of the basic materials Leaf Zhi had insisted he purchase before leaving.

There were still no surveying tools for building houses in Sweetwater Town.

Building by instinct alone would make the structures dangerously unstable!

The Triangular Ruler was indispensable.

Other less urgent tools, Leaf Zhi said, could be left to the Players’ creativity.

“And Grasscloth Garments—we need at least six sets!”

Qiu Dao closed his eyes and took a deep breath, telling himself not to get angry.

The other party wasn’t easy to deal with!

Even if the intel said the Fallen Sword was seriously injured and almost powerless, it was still not someone he could provoke!

“Truly sorry—”

He didn’t finish.

A sudden heavy thud cut him off.

“Bang!”

Edgar turned, pulling a bamboo basket up to his thigh from the Storage Space.

Inside, it was full of red wild fruits, each the size of a baby’s fist.

They were the same wild fruits he’d offered Players for lunch yesterday.

The moment they appeared, the sweet aroma filled the entire room.

“Are these Sweetfruits enough to exchange for all the supplies I asked for?”

Edgar spoke.

Sweetfruit Trees were common in the Giant Oak Forest.

Their taste was sweet and sour, filling, bore fruit year-round, and produced abundantly.

They were the staple food for many Monsters in the forest.

For peripheral Monsters, they were simple enough for Edgar to collect.

This basket of Sweetfruit was a free resource.

Qiu Dao’s gaze was instantly drawn to the basket’s bounty, a flash of greed and delight crossing his eyes.

He hurriedly agreed:

“Enough! Of course it’s enough! The Triangular Ruler and Grasscloth Garments, right? I’ll prepare them for you right away!”

Without fearing Edgar would tamper with the room, he bolted out the door.

As he left, he also pinched out the oil lamp’s wick.

Edgar: “…”

With his abilities, he could see perfectly well without the oil lamp.

But Qiu Dao’s snuffing of the lamp was so decisive and matter-of-fact, it was hard not to notice!

He looked around.

At the empty house, nearly devoid of people and things.

After a long moment, he exhaled slowly, murmuring.

“Leaf, you really guessed right.”

Before coming, he’d suspected Qiu Dao wouldn’t want Red Sun Coins anymore.

So he’d prepared a magical life-saving item for the trade.

But the basket of Sweetfruit had been stuffed into his hands by Leaf Zhi before leaving.

Saying food was a harder currency than magical items.

He’d been skeptical.

But now, the results were unexpectedly good!

He’d saved himself a lot of argument.

Thinking of this, confusion flickered in Edgar’s eyes.

“It’s the middle of summer—while it’s not harvest time yet, food shouldn’t be as scarce as in winter.”

“Did something happen outside?”

The Triangular Ruler held a different meaning from the previous tools.

Edgar could clearly see that the other side didn’t want to help at first.

But for a basket of Sweetfruit, Qiu Dao changed his mind immediately.

It showed just how important food was.

Although Sweetfruit was filling, its storage life was limited.

So many Sweetfruits—Qiu Dao couldn’t possibly eat them all himself.

It must mean other Farmers had the same need.

“Are there really that many Farmers near the Giant Oak Forest?”

Edgar murmured.

When he arrived two days ago, the Farmers spent an entire afternoon just to gather ten Grasscloth Garments.

Now he’d asked for six more, and Qiu Dao agreed without hesitation!

The difference was striking.

About half an hour passed.

After a faint creak, Qiu Dao slipped in with the door, looking like a thief.

He carried a large, bulging sack that could have swallowed him whole.

As soon as the door closed, he dropped the sack onto the floor with a clatter of “dingling clangs.”

“Here, everything’s in there.”

Qiu Dao supported his waist, dropping onto the three-legged stool.

He leaned against the table, gasping for breath.

“Aiyo~ Carrying so much at once, these old bones of mine are spent.”

“…..”

Edgar placed his hand on the basket.

The Sweetfruit that had been level with the rim now formed a mound above it.

“Is this enough?”

Looking at the basket, nearly overflowing, Qiu Dao sat up at once, a yellowed tooth showing in his grin.

“Enough, enough! This old man’s not tired at all now!”

“Luckily, the two new Refugees were once tailors—they brought plenty of Grasscloth and Grasscloth Garments with them.”

“The extras are a little token from the Farmers of Stop Slope—consider them a gift!”

Edgar stepped forward, carefully checking the sack’s contents one by one.

The other items on the list matched in number.

The processed Grasscloth and Grasscloth Garments filled half the sack.

Enough for thirty or forty garments.

Edgar found the gift quite useful.

He quickly retied the sack and stored it in his personal Storage Space.

Then, as promised, he pushed the basket of Sweetfruit over.

Qiu Dao’s face broke into a wide smile as he pulled the basket into his arms.

He busied himself counting the Sweetfruit inside.

As Qiu Dao counted, Edgar spoke casually:

“Lately, there seem to be more Refugees on the wasteland?”

The smile on Qiu Dao’s face froze, but quickly returned.

He continued counting Sweetfruit, sounding relaxed.

“Nothing special, really—just that the number of Refugees this old man’s seen is several times higher than the most he’s seen in any of the past five years!”

“Hehe, the wastelands are being overrun!”