Chapter 57: Chapter 57: First Time on Someone Else’s Raft
After washing up, Faye changed into some normal warm clothes. Willow Yardley automatically took the dirty clothes to be washed. It was a mystery how she did it, but in no time, the clothes were spotless and even had a fresh scent.
Faye Yardley thought for a moment, then posted a buy order for Energy Stones on the trading market and sent a message in the group chat.
Faye Yardley: "Hey everyone, if you have any Energy Stones you aren’t using right now, you can trade them to me."
Bonnie Callahan: "Okay, Faye! I’ll send them your way as soon as I get any."
Wade Warren: "Energy Stones... I invited Gavin Donovan over to help kill a contaminated Sea Monster. We got one after killing it. I’ll trade it to you now."
Leo Sloan: "I’ll keep an eye out. The group leader posted a buy order. If I know anyone who gets one and wants to trade, I’ll tell them to come to you first."
Faye Yardley: "Okay, thanks, everyone. Let me know if any of you are short on food or water. Mr. Warren, let’s talk privately."
Wade Warren started a video call and got straight to the point. "Yardley, what are these Energy Stones used for?"
She simply showed him the blueprint, took a picture, and sent it over, saving herself a lot of explaining.
"Okay, thanks. I’ll send it to you first. Next time you get a similar blueprint, please consider me."
"Mr. Warren, don’t you want to ask what you’ll get in return? Or you can tell me what you need."
"I trust you, Yardley. Just give me whatever you think is fair," Wade Warren said, sending over a Red Envelope.
Looking at the Red Envelope, Faye Yardley felt an immense pressure for the first time. ’Seriously? Why trust a stranger like me so much? We don’t even know each other that well, do we?’
She checked her raw materials, saw she had plenty, and crafted an Arrow Tower to send him.
A message from Wade Warren followed immediately. "Yardley, aren’t you taking a loss here? Are you sure you’re giving me something like an Arrow Tower for just one Energy Stone?"
Faye Yardley smiled and replied, "We’re just trading for what we each need. Don’t worry about it, Mr. Warren."
’Whether it was worth it or not... I’ll only know for sure once I build the Energy Protection Tower and see its stats.’
The Energy Tower required five Energy Stones to build, so she couldn’t start yet. She just stored the Energy Stone in her warehouse for safekeeping.
"Willow, keep an eye on the trading market for me. I’m going out again. I’ll go a little farther this time. It would be best if I can spot Logan Langdon’s raft and get a sense of the distance between us."
"Okay, please be careful, miss. Should you change into the warm clothing set?"
Faye Yardley shook her head. She had a new understanding of her own body now. During the last fight, she had clearly felt the warm clothing set making her overheat, which was actually a disadvantage in combat.
So she didn’t need it now. Letting her body adapt to the cold might be more beneficial for increasing her Constitution.
"Miss, take some food and a hot drink with you," Willow Yardley said, handing her a burrito she had made herself and a warm milk tea from the wooden chest. "Someone on the regional channel is advertising that they’ve crafted iceboards for sale. Do you need one? It only costs one bottle of Pure Water."
"Mhm, thanks."
She left the raft again, this time choosing the opposite direction from where she had encountered Logan Langdon. She threw the iceboard down and began pushing off, speeding across the ice.
WHOOSH! She was fast. A single push sent her gliding a long way, and she could feel the wind resistance building.
’This is so much faster than walking.’
Perhaps she had chosen the wrong direction, but after gliding for ten minutes, she still hadn’t seen a single raft. Either she was going the wrong way, or Logan Langdon had already traveled a great distance.
Since she hadn’t spotted any treasure chests along the way, Faye Yardley didn’t change course and just kept going forward.
After gliding like this for another half an hour, the silhouette of a raft finally appeared in Faye Yardley’s line of sight.
’Is that Logan Langdon’s raft?’
Faye Yardley picked up her pace.
Just then, a person shot out from the right side of the raft and headed toward her, grinning. "Hey, Gorgeous Yardley. We meet again."
"So, is that your raft, Mr. Langdon?"
"It is. It doesn’t look as big as yours, Gorgeous Yardley. Want to come aboard for a bit?"
Faye Yardley found this amusing. ’Logan Langdon is clearly wary of me too. Why else would he rush out to greet me? Wouldn’t it have been easier to just wait until I was next to his raft and then invite me aboard?’
So, Faye Yardley gave him a brilliant smile. "Sure. Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Langdon."
Logan Langdon: "..."
He gave her a deep look. ’This girl is so unpredictable.’ But Logan Langdon’s smile remained unchanged as he stepped aside and gestured for her to come aboard. "Gorgeous Yardley, after you."
Because the raft’s owner, Logan Langdon, had given his permission, Faye Yardley was able to step smoothly onto his raft when she reached it.
"Your raft has so many structures, Mr. Langdon. Aside from the Wooden House, I don’t think I’ve seen any of the others before. Could you tell me about them?"
Faye Yardley was genuinely curious. Logan Langdon must have a Level Five Raft, but the layout was surprisingly compact. The casual fishing spot was probably the gazebo not far from the Wooden House. Between the Wooden House and the gazebo, planter boxes lined one of the walls. Despite the cold, she could already see small green sprouts.
Opposite the Wooden House was a large, unfamiliar steel structure.
Logan Langdon didn’t hide anything. He pointed to the building opposite the Wooden House and said, "That’s an automated workshop. It works on the same principle as a personal workbench, just more efficient."
Then he pointed to a white building next to the workshop. "That’s a breeding room. You can raise animals in there."
"You’re incredible, Mr. Langdon. To have so many structures, and all so powerful, in just ten days."
Seeing Faye Yardley’s sincere admiration, Logan Langdon was filled with a sense of satisfaction.
’Being genuinely praised by someone who’s just as strong as you... it feels amazing.’
He said modestly, "You’re too kind. From the looks of it, your raft is much larger than mine, Gorgeous Yardley. It’s a shame I haven’t had the chance to see it. Care to come inside for a bit?"
Faye Yardley shook her head. "The Wooden House is your private space, Mr. Langdon. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to go in. If you don’t mind, I can sit in your gazebo."
"Why would I mind? Please."
Faye Yardley took out two cups of hot milk tea and handed one over. "Mr. Langdon, please consider this milk tea a hostess gift for my visit."
"I should be the one hosting you," Logan Langdon said as he accepted the milk tea. He then took out a plate of small cookies and placed it on the round table in the middle of the gazebo.
"Mr. Langdon, you’ve been to Dungeon 1 and cleared it, right? Could you tell me about it? I can trade you information about Dungeon 3."
Logan Langdon smiled. "That would be wonderful."
The two exchanged information. Faye Yardley didn’t stand on ceremony and ate a few cookies, then took her leave after finishing her milk tea.
It turned out Dungeon 1 was also about killing zombies, but the area wasn’t as large as Dungeon 3. Logan Langdon had entered a hospital, and his movements were restricted to the hospital grounds.
’If it’s just killing zombies, then I have nothing to be afraid of.’
’As soon as I get back to my raft, I’ll go there first!’
As for whether Logan Langdon had withheld any key information, Faye Yardley didn’t really care.
After all, she hadn’t told him everything either, so she couldn’t expect him to be completely forthcoming.
