8: Chapter 8 Moonbirch Spirit Wood and Refined Iron

The transaction was completed. 10 Spirit Crystals, still carrying a faint warmth of energy, were deducted from Lin Tian's account in exchange for 10 heavy pieces of Refined Iron with a dull metallic luster.

Looking at the decreased Spirit Crystals in his inventory, although Lin Tian felt a bit of a sting, he was more filled with anticipation: "I hope it's worth the price. Tomorrow, I'll give the Iron Armored Soldier brothers a 'treat' and see!"

In front of a rugged yet brightly lit stone house built against a mountain wall, a stocky middle-aged man with a thick beard and broad, powerful hands, Master Blacksmith Li Zhenguo, exhaled a long sigh of relief as he looked at the 10 Spirit Crystals that had just arrived. A look of relief appeared on his bronze-colored face.

"Finally enough!" He wiped the sweat from his forehead caused by the furnace's heat and looked with burning eyes at the [Basic Forging Room Blueprint] shimmering on the Trading Platform. Behind him, several equally short and stout Dwarf Soldiers, their beards braided, were "clanging" away as they hammered red-hot iron blocks, sending sparks flying. The air was filled with the distinct smell of coal and heated metal.

Lin Tian's straightforward transaction and his recognition of his "craftsmanship" gave Master Blacksmith Li Zhenguo a good first impression of this "Brother Lin Tian" whom he had never met.

"He's an honest man, no nonsense," he muttered, unhesitatingly trading for the blueprint he had been eyeing for a long time, spending the Spirit Crystals he had just received. The blueprint turned into a stream of light and merged into the lord core. He immediately immersed himself in the construction interface, his eyes obsessed, as if he could already see the more vigorous furnace fires and more exquisite works in the future forging room.

Lin Tian continued browsing the platform. Good things appeared one after another: various functional building blueprints (Arrow Towers, Stone Walls, even toilets, kitchens, etc.), item blueprints (wooden beds, Water Purifiers, stoves, wooden barrels, etc.), rare materials, and various scrolls with magical powers... But most were priced in Spirit Crystals, so he could only window shop. Suddenly, an item caught his eye: "Selling Spirit Wood · moon birch spirit wood, contains faint moonlight spiritual energy, pre-order quickly."

"Spirit Wood? wood with attributes?" This piqued Lin Tian's interest. Perhaps it would have a miraculous effect on an Archer? He sent another friend request, and the other party quickly accepted. The name was Lord Su Wan, and the avatar was a beautiful, mature woman.

[Lin Tian]: Hello, Miss Su. I'm inquiring about the moon birch spirit wood. How do we trade?

[Lord Su Wan]: You can use food or other equivalent resources, depending on what you have.

[Lin Tian]: For food, I have Wild Boar Meat and Leopard Meat. What's the exchange rate?

[Lord Su Wan]: 3 units of meat for 1 unit of moon birch spirit wood.

Lin Tian thought for a moment and then replied to Lord Su Wan. Sigh! Save where you can, let's bargain!

[Lin Tian]: This ratio is a bit high, Miss Su. 3 units of meat can be exchanged for quite a few basic materials on the market. If I buy more, how about 2 units of meat for 1 unit of Spirit Wood?

[Lord Su Wan]: Then how much do you plan to buy?

[Lin Tian]: If I may ask, is this moon birch wood sustainably produced?

[Lord Su Wan]: Yes, it can be supplied steadily. Whenever you need it, you can come to trade with me.

[Lin Tian]: How about this, Miss Su? I'll trade for 1 unit of moon birch wood at the 3:1 ratio first to check the quality. If it's suitable, I'll buy another 20 units from you tomorrow, and we can discuss the price then. What do you think?

[Lord Su Wan]: ...Alright.

A small transaction was completed. 1 unit of Leopard Meat was exchanged for a piece of moon birch spirit wood about half a meter long. It was cool to the touch, with a fine wood texture and natural silver patterns, faintly shimmering with a soft luster.

"It really is something!" Lin Tian felt the faint spirituality in the wood and nodded with satisfaction. Caution was not stinginess; inspecting the goods before investing was his consistent style.

At this moment, in a forest clearing shrouded in soft moonlight where many strange silver trees grew, an exquisite treehouse was built against a tree.

A young woman with a gentle and quiet temperament, wearing a simple but clean linen long dress, was gently stroking a birch tree emitting a faint lunar halo. She looked at Lin Tian's message on the trading panel, tilted her head slightly, and a hint of doubt and a faint smile flashed in her clear eyes.

"This person... is so strange," Lord Su Wan whispered to herself, her voice like a forest spring. "He wants to buy but won't buy it all at once, and even wants to buy one first to 'see'... Does he think I'm selling fake goods?" The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, with a bit of indignation from being underestimated and a touch of playfulness.

Her territory talent seemed to be related to plants, and her troop type was also nature-oriented elves. Their combat power was not strong, but they were good at cultivation and gathering. This moon birch wood was one of her territory's specialties. She was kind and gentle, disliked conflict, and preferred to develop slowly through trading and cultivation.

But being gentle did not mean being weak. She had her own persistence and principles in her heart, soft on the outside but firm on the inside. Lin Tian's cautious approach of "inspecting the goods first" seemed a bit too careful to her, but she didn't dislike it; instead, she felt he was a serious person.

"Alright, then I'll let you 'inspect the goods'." She took out a high-quality piece of moon birch spirit wood and sent it through the Trading Platform.

Moonlight spilled over her and the surrounding silver forest, quiet and beautiful.

She thought that if this "Lin Tian" really came to buy in bulk tomorrow, perhaps she could give him a slightly better price. After all, stable customers were worth maintaining, and the Spirit Wood she cultivated didn't seem to sell very well; too few people used it at this stage.

Toying with the newly acquired moon birch spirit wood and Refined Iron, he was full of anticipation for tomorrow's Fusion experiment. "Brother Li is honest, and Miss Su... is quite interesting." He smiled and closed the panel. Resources were circulating, and connections were being built. This survival path on the Eternal Continent seemed to have some different flavors besides fighting.

Time passed quietly in the torrent of information, and before he knew it, it was nearly midnight. The Regional Chat Channel was still scrolling with dense text, like an eternal bonfire, reflecting the restlessness and unease of nearly ten thousand survivors on their first night.

Lin Tian leaned against the hard board bed, watching with great interest, as if he had returned to the days of scrolling through short videos on his phone, except that every piece of information sliding past his fingertips now could be a matter of life and death.

These few hours of information "surfing" were not entirely without gain. Amidst a large amount of banter, pointless complaining, and hard-to-distinguish boasting, he also captured some scattered but precious fragments of knowledge, like panning for gold in the sand.

About special resources that different terrains might produce, about the weaknesses and habits of certain specific monsters, and even about some hidden triggers for changes in troop loyalty... All of these made his understanding of this Eternal Continent a bit clearer.

"Sure enough, working in isolation is a no-go," Lin Tian nodded to himself. "The wisdom of the masses (and their unlucky experiences) is infinite."

At the moment when the three numbers of hours, minutes, and seconds simultaneously jumped to "00:00:00"—

That grand, cold, emotionless voice, yet one that seemed to sound directly in the depths of the soul, suddenly descended into the minds of all Lords again, dispelling all sleepiness and the noise of idle chatter: