Black Spirit
While everyone else was lamenting for that person, Kyron was stunned. He saw that the name of the ore was "Black Spirit"!
One Black Spirit could be traded for five stones, and that guy had more than a dozen Black Spirits. Kyron's heart raced uncontrollably.
Currently, humans could not communicate with the Undead faction, so naturally no one knew the use of Black Spirits except Kyron. His cabin was seized from the Undead, and the survival handbook originally belonged to them too.
Kyron noted the person's name was Crymson and sent him a private message: "Hi, I'm interested in that ore, can we discuss?"
Crymson was huddled in his small cabin, shivering violently from the cold. With no water, the corners of his mouth had cracked, and he was dazed, having given up hope and numbly resigned to his bitter fate.
Kyron's message went unanswered for a long time. Just as he was about to give up, a reply finally came:
"...Who...are you?"
Dazed, Crymson was surprised to receive a private message and typed a few words with trembling hands. He was cold, hungry, and most critically, had no water.
"Bring your cup, let me give you some water."
Crymson was stunned, hardly daring to believe that in his current state, someone would offer him water for no reason.
His will to survive rekindled, and he nervously grabbed his cup, hands shaking with trepidation. "This...can't be a prank to mess with me, right?"
The sound of flowing water appeared before his eyes as the cup filled up. So tense that he didn't grip it tightly, some spilled out.
He was ready to die.
Hurriedly lying on the ground, he stuck out his bottom to lick up the spilled water until the last drop had seeped into the soil. Only then did he sit back in front of the survival handbook with regret and cautiously reply, "Big bro, I got the water."
Seeing he wasn't dead, Kyron breathed a sigh of relief and quickly typed, "I'm interested in those little black balls of yours. You can just sell them to me later."
"Ah? Really?" Flustered, Crymson quickly responded, "Big bro, whatever you say, I'll give you all the little black balls right now. Can you spare me some food and wood? It's freezing and I'm starving, I can't hang on anymore."
Crymson frantically traded over the black balls.
He didn't believe Kyron because many people had checked and the little black balls were useless to humans. It was impossible for everyone to be liars, and no one was interested in them. He figured this big bro must have taken pity on his situation.
Unaware of the Black Spirits' value, he traded them all over thoughtlessly.
A starving man has near-zero intelligence.
Even if he knew they were useful, he could only do this now since no one but Kyron would take them.
Kyron found it amusing how flustered he was. Had he really been on the verge of freezing and starving to death earlier?
"You must have used up all the wood from your beginner box. Let me send you some wood and food first."
Crymson traded over 17 Black Spirits in total. Kyron sent him back 30 wood blocks and two strange tuber roots called "Cloud Yams" - an exotic produce of this world not found on Earth.
Crymson hurriedly accepted the resources, used the oil lamp in his room to light a piece of wood, and a blazing fire started burning, gradually dispelling the cold air.
Swallowing his saliva, he hugged the cloud yams and took big bites, chewing vigorously. They didn't have any special flavor, but eating them quickly relieved his hunger.
Eating too quickly, he almost choked and hastily washed it down with water.
"You can collect more of those little black balls tomorrow. How about I give two wood blocks for each one?" Kyron tentatively asked.
"Sure, absolutely, big bro. I'll do whatever you say, my life belongs to you now."
On his first day, inexperienced Crymson wasted a lot of time searching fruitlessly everywhere instead of just collecting the Black Spirits.
He regretted not gathering more Black Spirits in the first place instead of wandering the desert looking for scraps.
"Big...bro, you're my lifesaver. I'll...do anything you say."
"No need for that, it's just a normal trade transaction. I don't expect you to repay me, just collect more Black Spirits tomorrow."
"Understood, big bro, whatever you say."
Finally realizing, Crymson thought to himself, could it be that big bro really wants these little black balls? Do they actually have a use?
"Get some rest early. If you need anything, let me know. First priority is surviving this early stage."
"Yes, yes!"
Whether Kyron truly needed the little black balls or not, Crymson had no other choice at this point.
Kyron wasn't moved by Crymson's effusive gratitude. Human feelings are fickle - today he saved his life, so he can say whatever he wants.
Once he discovers Black Spirits are worth far more than two wood blocks, forget repaying kindness, it would be good if he doesn't turn hostile.
A trade is a trade, what he does later is none of my business.
Looking at the seventeen Black Spirits, Kyron felt a tinge of worry. These were like food for the Undead faction with good demand, but he remembered the huge uproar in their forum last time he traded some Black Spirits. He didn't want to become a celebrity among the Undead.
He also had an intuition that his current timing didn't seem quite right, so it was best not to let too many know about him.
Wrapping his head with a cloth and peering into a bucket of water, he still looked human, nothing like an Undead.
As he pondered, he suddenly thought of the card in his possession. An idea sparked.
He summoned the Skeleton Warrior.
The Skeleton Warrior stood there blankly as Kyron controlled it to sit in front of the survival handbook screen. He hid behind it, trying to avoid appearing on camera, and had the Skeleton Warrior trade with the Undead faction.
Quickly browsing through, he saw the Undead's prices were still stable at five stones per Black Spirit.
Kyron noticed this channel wasn't only the Undead faction, but they were definitely the dominant race with a few other races interspersed.
Moreover, the other races barely spoke, with the Undead doing most of the talking.
Kyron guessed they came from the same planet, one dominated by the Undead as the primary intelligent species but with a small presence of other intelligent races.
Sure enough, the Skeleton Warrior's appearance was perfectly normal and did not cause any commotion.
Kyron swiftly traded for 85 stones.
He then quickly closed the Undead faction's channel and stepped out from behind the Skeleton Warrior.