EBE Chapter 29 An unassuming key!
Chapter 29 An unassuming key!
Chapter 29 An unassuming key!
"Friend, I also have saltpeter here, would you like some?"
Just then, a man from a nearby stall leaned over and said solicitously, "I have some too!"
"And me!"
In an instant, several stall owners around stood up, each holding a few saltpeter stones and walking over. They looked at Lin Xuan with admiration, as if he were a wealthy and powerful boss. In their eyes, exchanging two bottles of water for a saltpeter stone was like a windfall.
These broken stones, which are usually ignored, can be exchanged for precious drinking water, and even purified water.
Who wouldn't want a piece of the pie in such a good deal?
Lin Xuan paused, his gaze sweeping over the group that had gathered around him. "Okay!"
He said calmly, "I'll take whatever amount of saltpeter you have!"
"Really? You'll take them all?"
"I have six pieces here! Six pieces!"
"I have four here, all of which I recently got from treasure chests!"
'
""
Upon hearing Lin Xuan's words, the stall owners immediately surged forward, holding their saltpeter high as if afraid Lin Xuan wouldn't see them.
Lin Xuan raised his hand and pressed it down, signaling them to be quiet.
"Don't rush, take it one at a time."
"The rule is the same: two bottles of water for one piece of saltpeter."
In the early stages of the game, murky water was enough to meet the players' basic needs. Some players hadn't even found a water source and had to be self-sufficient. Now, what Lin Xuan was trading was not just murky water, but also extremely rare pure water, which would keep them from going crazy!
"Brother, can I trade you some saltpeter for some food?"
At this moment, an older stall owner stepped forward and asked, his face pale, clearly looking like he hadn't had a proper meal in a long time. "Sure, one piece of saltpeter, and I can exchange it for a chicken burger!"
Lin Xuan asked casually, "A chicken burger?"
The older stall owner was visibly taken aback. He'd come to this game and opened quite a few treasure chests along the way, but they only contained cheap hamburgers or compressed biscuits—no meat, not even a drop of oil. Yet this young man was willing to exchange his chicken hamburgers for his useless scrap stones. "Bro—brother, you're not kidding, are you?"
The older stall owner swallowed hard, his face pleading, "Is it really—a chicken burger?"
Lin Xuan didn't answer, but directly took out a chicken burger from his storage space.
The golden-brown bread dough, sandwiched with a thick chicken patty, looked as if it were freshly baked, emitting an enticing aroma that caused several players around to involuntarily swallow.
"This is----"
The stall owner's eyes widened, and his hand unconsciously reached out. He hadn't smelled this aroma in a long time.
"Chicken burger."
Lin Xuan handed over the hamburger. "One piece of saltpeter for one hamburger, want it or not?"
"Change! Change! Change!"
The older stall owner nodded repeatedly, hurriedly taking out a saltpeter from his storage space. When he took the hamburger, the rich aroma of meat became even stronger, and several players around couldn't help but move closer, sniffing it intently.
The stall owner took a bite, and his eyes instantly welled up with tears.
It doesn't have that chewy, waxy texture of cheap bread.
It was real chicken, and he ate it in big bites, not caring about his image at all. This scene ignited the enthusiasm of the others.
"Hey bro, I've got some saltpeter too! Three pieces! Let's trade them all for hamburgers!"
"Two pieces for me! I want a hamburger too!"
"Don't push, don't push, let me go first!"
"
—"
Lin Xuan frowned and took a step back.
"queue."
He spoke calmly.
Upon hearing this, the surrounding players immediately fell silent and obediently lined up in a row.
The transaction proceeded quickly. In no time, Lin Xuan had obtained forty saltpeter stones. Although he also exchanged nearly fifty bottles of purified water and twenty hamburgers, those were just a drop in the bucket compared to his existing resources!
On the contrary, having these saltpeter pieces would not only allow him to prepare for the later acquisition of firearms, but he could also sell them at a high price and make a fortune once the players had their own weapons. At this moment, another person stepped out from behind the crowd. He came to Lin Xuan's side, his gaze lingering on the people around him eating chicken burgers and drinking bottled water, and he couldn't help but swallow hard. Lin Xuan glanced at him and said calmly, "You're here to trade too? How many pieces of saltpeter do you have?"
Upon hearing Lin Xuan's words, the man's face flashed with embarrassment, and he whispered, "I—I don't have any saltpeter."
Lin Xuan frowned slightly, glancing at the man before him. The man was pale, with sunken eyes, clearly having gone without a proper meal for days. "If you don't have any saltpeter, then please leave!"
Lin Xuan casually remarked that in this dog-eat-dog world, compassion is the cheapest and most dangerous thing. If you give alms to one person today, ten more people will follow suit.
He is not a bad person, but he is not a good person either!
"Can I trade something else for it? Anything is fine, as long as—as long as I can get some food."
The man lowered his head and stammered. Lin Xuan was silent for two seconds before asking, "Okay, but I don't accept just anything!"
The man took a deep breath and casually opened the storage space.
Then he took out a key from inside and handed it to Lin Xuan, "This is it, can I exchange it?"
Lin Xuan took the key and examined it carefully. The key looked quite old, entirely of green brass with some blurry engravings. At that moment, a system notification appeared before his eyes: 【An unremarkable key】
"Um?"
Lin Xuan frowned slightly. In this game, most items have detailed descriptions and explanations, but this worn-out key only had these eight simple words.
"An unremarkable key."
It's either completely useless, or its purpose hasn't been realized yet.
"This is all I have."
The man swallowed hard and said nervously, "I got this from a treasure chest. I don't know what it's for, so I've kept it, thinking—thinking maybe I'll need it someday."
"But I'm so hungry, I haven't eaten for days. I can barely find water, but food—"
He didn't continue, but his meaning was already quite clear.
A man who had been starving for several days clearly didn't care whether the key would be useful in the future; all he needed now was a meal to fill his stomach.
Lin Xuan looked at the key in his hand and remained silent for a few seconds.
There are many strange things that can be found in treasure chests in this game, such as the treasure map he got before. This key may be a clue to unlocking an important place.
Let's take a gamble. "This thing doesn't seem to be of much use."
Lin Xuan raised his head and said calmly, "But I can accept it."
7
"But I can only give you a bottle of water and a chicken burger."