"Whoa! Over twenty people dead in a single day? Things out there must be pretty rough."
As night fell, Lan Qingyou finished portioning out a batch of potions, poured the ones meant for the potion bags and dagger into the wooden bucket, and then settled into her desk chair with Steel Wire Ball. Together, they munched on the food Gu Xiaobei had sent over while scrolling through the regional channel.
The moment she sat down, she noticed the district population had dropped by more than twenty.
Hence the remark.
Still, things were looking good on her end — her setup at home was now essentially self-sufficient.
Apart from heading out every night as the "Green Ghost" to collect supply crates, she had zero reason to leave.
So even if all-out war was raging outside, what did it have to do with a frail little alchemist like her?
Ding! Ding! Ding!
That was when Shang Chuan's message came in.
Shang Chuan: "Can you make bullets?"
Lan Qingyou: ?
Lan Qingyou was completely dumbfounded.
'What exactly do you take me for?'
'I'm an alchemist — I brew potions and elixirs! And you want me to make... hmm? Actually... it's not entirely impossible, is it?'
She'd never done it before, but wasn't an alchemist supposed to work with minerals and metals?
This was actually an entirely new research topic.
So Lan Qingyou replied: "I'd need the relevant knowledge, sample dimensions, and tools. And even then, there's no guarantee of success."
Shang Chuan: "What specifically do you need?"
Lan Qingyou: "'Basic Mineralogy,' measuring tools, and mineral samples."
Reading Lan Qingyou's response, Shang Chuan furrowed his brow slightly.
It seemed his expectations for this alchemist had been a tad too high.
But thinking about it, it made sense.
Judging by her demeanor, she clearly hadn't been the type to have any exposure to firearms back on Blue Star. Even having become an alchemist now, manufacturing bullets was bound to be somewhat challenging.
If he wanted her to make ammunition, naturally he'd have to provide everything she needed.
And Lan Qingyou was clearly angling for exactly that — getting all these materials for free.
'Fine. For the sake of the team, and for the sake of my own survival in this world, it's a necessary investment.'
Just like having Eluel assassinate Mickey.
Manel's desire to escape Mickey's control was certainly part of the equation.
But the bigger reason was that Mickey had extended his reach into Shang Chuan's own network.
That was something Shang Chuan absolutely could not tolerate.
Merchants valued their lives, especially in an unknown world like this. Self-preservation was the top priority above all else.
Shang Chuan: "I'll get everything together for you. Assuming you have all the materials, how many days until you can produce results?"
Lan Qingyou: "With sufficient materials, if it works, roughly three to five days. If it doesn't work, it probably means firearms just aren't compatible with this world."
Lan Qingyou was careful not to overpromise, leaving some room for both of them.
Shang Chuan: "Deal. Sit tight."
With Lan Qingyou's concrete answer in hand, Shang Chuan activated his network of contacts.
Meanwhile, Lan Qingyou sat happily at her desk, waiting.
Free stuff — who doesn't love it?
"Squee—"
As if sensing Lan Qingyou's good mood, Steel Wire Ball perked up right along with her.
"Oh, little one — finished that half a pound of meat already?"
Looking at Steel Wire Ball, whose squinted eyes made it look like a living emoji, Lan Qingyou scooped the creature up and nuzzled it against her face.
The soft, downy fur on Steel Wire Ball's body was incredibly pleasant to rub against.
And Steel Wire Ball seemed to enjoy it just as much, pressing its body against Lan Qingyou's cheek and snuggling in.
For a moment, it was impossible to tell who was nuzzling whom.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The notification chime rang out once more.
Assuming it was Shang Chuan, Lan Qingyou opened the message — only to find it was from Li Huai.
Li Huai: "Got the obsidian I promised you. Also a hundred jin of Flame Bellflower. Plus I found two books today."
That was all it said, with nothing more to follow.
Lan Qingyou didn't mind.
They had a business relationship, after all — no need for idle chit-chat.
She was, however, curious about the books he'd found.
So she accepted his trade request.
'Is this what it felt like to get paid upfront?'
When she saw the two books, a flicker of surprise crossed her face.
"Basic Herbology" and "Kalim Continent Magical Beast Compendium."
She already had "Herbology" — had even memorized it cover to cover — but the "Kalim Continent Magical Beast Compendium" was exactly what she needed right now.
She'd been racking her brain trying to figure out how to hatch the Elf Butterfly Chrysalis.
And here it was, falling right into her lap!
Lan Qingyou was so eager she didn't even glance at the Flame Bellflower she'd been dying to get her hands on, flipping the book open immediately and racing to the page on Elf Butterfly Chrysalises.
Ugh...
After reading the description, she was rendered speechless.
Setting aside all the flowery prose about beauty, gentleness, and being messengers of flowers — the single line that read "each Elf Butterfly Chrysalis requires a magic crystal for assisted incubation" was enough to make her want to tear her hair out.
She wanted one of those, too!
But neither the well-connected swindler nor the combat-obsessed brute had ever even seen one.
Under these circumstances, where was she supposed to find a magic crystal?
So.
Since she couldn't find one, she might as well shelve the matter for now.
Hatching this fairy butterfly chrysalis wasn't exactly an urgent task anyway.
"Maybe when the time is right, one will just show up on its own?"
Having already developed a basic understanding of this otherworld — and having concluded that it was extremely random and hilariously improvised — Lan Qingyou took the setback in stride.
She shifted her attention to the hundred jin of Flame Bellflower instead.
Although it was supposed to be a hundred jin, probably because Li Huai had been a little rough during collection, there was quite a bit of wild grass and water droplets mixed in.
Even though it had clearly been washed once already, there were still plenty of impurities.
But Lan Qingyou didn't complain.
This was essentially a freebie from Li Huai, so even if fifty of the hundred jin turned out to be weeds, she wouldn't say a word.
Free stuff — just enjoy it and move on.
Since it was still early, she figured she might as well wash it again herself. Besides, she was still waiting for Shang Chuan's reply.
So Lan Qingyou drew some Spring of Rest water, sat down on the floor, and started sorting through the herbs.
As she worked, she planned out tomorrow's schedule in her head.
The plan: brew Explosion Potions, Flame Potions, and Fire Resistance Potions — three types of combat potions that would turn her into a true one-woman bomber squad.
Just imagining herself finally being able to go out and fight monsters made her hands move thirty percent faster.
As for the Fire Resistance Potions... those were custom-made for Li Huai.
In her estimation, his shelter was probably situated in some kind of volcanic environment. How else could he have found so much Flame Bellflower?
Custom orders, naturally, would come at a premium.
She'd already worked out the pricing: two potions per jin of Flame Bellflower.
After all, she couldn't find this herb anywhere in the forest. Now that she had Li Huai as a source, it only made sense to stockpile as much as possible and ramp up production.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Just as Lan Qingyou was enjoying the show on the regional channel, Shang Chuan's message finally arrived.