Chapter Seven: Exchange Standards

Liang Yi turned her attention to the order for trading animal carcasses. To her surprise, there were over a dozen messages attached to it. Player 10002 had sent the most.

Upon opening the chat, Liang Yi found that not only had the player sent many text messages, but they had also attached two photos.

【Player 10002: I have animal carcasses here. How many do you need?】
【Player 10002: There are three pig carcasses right now. I can find more if you need them, but I’ll have to go looking.】
【Player 10002: [Image.jpg]】

The person had sent two photos in a row. Liang Yi opened them and couldn't help but frown. The three pigs were all rotting, with maggots clearly visible on their bodies. It was sickening to look at.

【Player 10002: Three pigs for two bottles of water and two packs of instant noodles, how about that?】
【Player 10002: If you think that’s too expensive, one bottle of water and one pack of noodles will do.】
【Player 10002: Or, you can set the price yourself.】

The player went on to explain that every stretch of the road he had driven along was punctuated by a foul-smelling slaughterhouse. Although he had found a few treasure chests, some were located beneath the corpses. Being somewhat of a germaphobe, he had no desire to touch them and had decisively stayed away. The only two chests he had managed to open were found elsewhere, yielding only a pig-slaughtering knife, a bottle of mineral water, and a lighter. As for food, he hadn't seen any at all.

To escape the stench, Player 10002 and the others had been driving at full speed, desperate to get away. He had already driven over forty kilometers and was about to reach a service area when he saw Liang Yi’s message. He had stopped immediately to contact her. In order to fill his stomach, he said he was willing to get his hands dirty.

【That’s fine.】
【You give me the three pig carcasses, and I’ll give you one bottle of water and one pack of instant noodles.】

She needed the carcasses to convert into points to provide for her family. As for Liang Yi herself, she planned to eat everything she had scavenged from the town during her evening rest.

The road had shifted from asphalt to dirt. Occasionally, passing vehicles would kick up large clouds of dust. Because of this, Liang Yi had to focus more on driving, and her replies became slower.

【Player 10002: Deal.】

The player replied quickly, and after Liang Yi modified the order, the transaction was completed. Liang Yi brought the car to a slow stop. Wu Can, sitting on his wiggle car, was prepared this time; he put his feet down to help the car decelerate. Feeling quite pleased with himself, he tucked his wiggle car under his arm and walked to the front, wanting to ask what was happening.

Just then, he heard three thuds as something hit the ground, followed by a cloud of dust. Not seeing clearly what it was, Wu Can immediately raised his arms to cover his eyes from the grit. When he opened them again, there was nothing there.

Confused, Wu Can thought he had been mistaken. "Sis, did you see anything here just now?" He began to wonder if what he had seen was an illusion.

Liang Yi didn't offer much of an explanation. She simply got back into the car and replied indifferently, "It looked like some kind of monkey-like creature. It’s already run off." With that, she got in.

Wu Can frowned, suspecting that Liang Yi was lying to him. But seeing that she had already started the car, he had no choice but to turn back, put down his wiggle car, and sit back on it. After all, he knew that to complete his mission on time, he had to rely on Liang Yi.

As the car continued to move steadily, Liang Yi checked her points interface. Just before trading with Player 10002, she had asked the game assistant if the wild boar meat could be converted directly into points. The assistant had replied that traded goods could only be stored in the vehicle or left in the outside world. Considering that the back of the car only held a one-meter tree stump, and each of the three pigs weighed over three hundred pounds, Liang Yi had no choice but to leave them outside.

She had initially been worried about how to explain it to Wu Can. Unexpectedly, the three wild boars had made quite a commotion when they hit the ground, kicking up enough dust that she was able to quickly store the meat into her inventory while Wu Can had his eyes closed.

She checked her points and was shocked to find she had only received nine. In the point shop, a single pack of instant noodles cost three points, and a five-hundred-milliliter bottle of mineral water cost two. Looking at the time, there was only about an hour left until 7:00 PM, and they still had over ten kilometers to go.

If it weren't for the time pressure, Liang Yi would have stopped the car to demand an explanation from the game assistant. Three thousand pounds of pork, and it only earned her a measly nine points? This was outrageous!

Liang Yi adjusted her mindset and touched base with Player 10002, feeling slightly relieved when he promised to trade with her again if he encountered more wild boars. Although she didn't stop the car, she began arguing with the game assistant.

【Game Assistant, come out here.】
【Isn't this going too far? Three whole wild boars, and you only give me this few points?】
【And your prices are set so high.】
【If you don't want me to save my family, just say so. You don't need to be so roundabout about it.】

The game assistant sensed Liang Yi's anger and began to explain.

【Player Liang Yi, please don't be upset.】
【The assessment of carcasses is determined by the game program based on the level of decay.】
【Furthermore, the point conversion criteria for animal carcasses and human remains are different.】
【Our game settings are absolutely fair and impartial.】
...

Liang Yi didn't want to hear any more excuses and continued to press.

【What are your criteria?】

If they didn't reveal the criteria, it meant they could change the conversion rates however they pleased.

【The game system assesses based on the degree of decay; the closer the carcass is to just bone, the more points it is worth,】 the assistant replied.

After all, they had promised Liang Yi that she could scavenge corpses for points to exchange for supplies for people in other game sectors, but they couldn't make it too easy. That would be unfair to the players in those other sectors.

Liang Yi frowned. Did this mean she would have to start skinning and deboning them herself?