Chapter 7: The Deal With Master Ed
Editor: Henyee Translations
Ye Jun resumed his fishing.
At the moment, food was the most scarce item among humans.
Ye Jun wasn't exactly short on food for the time being, but it was essential for him to gather more food that he could use to barter.
More importantly, killing fish gave him EXP; this was the only way he had to level up quickly at the moment.
He didn't know how long he would be adrift at sea yet, and it wouldn't hurt to improve his strength.
This time, the bait Ye Jun used wasn't bread, but the fish innards left behind from the previous snapper kill.
Ye Jun hung a few fish guts on the hook and cast out the line.
He let the fishing reel turn and the line kept sinking, drifting with the waves…
Meanwhile, Ye Jun opened the channel interface and started browsing through the messages.
The vast majority of messages on the world chat channel were still insubstantial.
"I'm out of bread. It's only three loaves, not even enough for the day!"
"I ran out of bread yesterday. How can I have the strength to starve unless I'm full!"
"I'm hungry too, anyone… Got any food? Give me some!"
"I have so many wild fruits and mushrooms here, can someone teach me how to distinguish them? I can send you some mushrooms!"
There was a message that caused a lot of discussions.
The picture included in the message displayed a forest with colorful mushrooms everywhere.
There was no shortage of plant experts pointing things out in the comments…
"Look at that mushroom, it's big and round!"
"Pick a mushroom, look at it; if it looks good, it tastes good! Try at least once!"
…
Ye Jun left a message below, "Mushrooms, wood ear can be exchanged with me. One catty of grilled fish for two catties of mushrooms!"
"It's the death mode big shot Ye Jun. The big shot even has fish? Does your family run a fish farm?"
"Long nights, lonely in the wilderness. Big shot, do you do online dating? I sound like a loli…"
"Disgusting. Man, get lost."
"Big shot, can you send me two grilled fish? I can send you nudes!"
Ye Jun had turned into a celebrity on the world channel; he was just as famous as Master Ed and Master Bear.
Even more, his death mode background made others pay more attention to him.
Ye Jun didn't pay attention to that group of dabblers who didn't look for food day after day and only knew how to skew the conversation. Serves you right if you starve to death!
Ye Jun turned to the trading channel and wrote a message, "Trading grilled fish, freshly caught and grilled, pre-orders also supported. Can exchange for food as well as other living materials, or useful materials!"
After thinking about it, Ye Jun added another line after that, "Bulk acquisition of game materials or game equipment. Private chat available."
Ye Jun had thoroughly integrated into the game ever since killing the snapper and getting the copper coins. Although he didn't know what use the copper coins had for the time being, collecting more of them would come in handy in the future.
Apart from Ye Jun, there were quite a few players who had put up trading messages one after the other on the trading channel.
That world had a large population, so, there was naturally no shortage of survival gods like Master Bear and Master Ed.
Some of the luckier ones found an abundance of food and fresh water which enabled them to put up deals.
Ye Jun searched the trading channel for supplies that he could use.
Suddenly, Ye Jun saw a familiar ID.
Ed: Seeking materials for making bows and arrows.
Ye Jun was a bit incredulous at first, seeing that a big survivalist like Master Ed would still need to purchase supplies.
However, anyone who had ever watched Master Ed's Marooned knew the old saying: 'You'll skip nine meals in three days if you follow Master Ed.'
Why else would people call him Starving Ed?
Compared with Master Bear, Master Ed's hunting skills were indeed quite poor.
He required hunting tools.
But he only had a hammer in his hands at the moment, so he couldn't hunt.
It would be fine to starve for a few days if it was just a wilderness survival program.
But that was a real life game.
The ability to hunt animals was related to being able to level up.
Master Ed was a smart man and knew that leveling up and improving your strength in this environment was the surest way to survive.
But it was only the second day of the game; who could gather the supplies to make a bow and arrow? And even if some player was lucky enough to get a bow and arrow, no one would be willing to trade it for a hammer with Master Ed!
However…
Ye Jun took a glance at the mountain of trash on the raft and immediately sent a message to Master Ed.
"I have raw materials to make a bow and arrow."
Tens of thousands of kilometers away in the wilderness, a white man covered by a grass skirt gritted his teeth in anger as he watched the traps he had worked so hard to set up being destroyed by porcupines.
More importantly, the porcupines didn't flee after destroying the trap and eating the bait; they strutted around a short distance away, further setting the man in a seething rage.
Just then, a message alert caught the man's attention.
"Player Ye Jun (death mode) requests to trade with you."
The name Ye Jun was well-known in the world channel those days.
Although Master Ed had always started naked, it was all with support team in place back then. He was still extremely impressed by that player who dared to choose death mode in such a veritable life-or-death game.
"Oh, dear Mr. Ye, you have a bow and arrow? What do you want to exchange? I have bread and water…" Master Ed opened the video channel and very enthusiastically took out the bread and pure water that he couldn't bear to eat or drink.
Ye Jun looked at the untouched bread, and thought, Did Master Ed starve over these two days?
It was possible. Master Ed was absolutely unbeatable when it came to starving himself. After all, he was the one who could starve and skip nine whole meals in three days, while only less than two days had passed.
But I'm not short on food; I don't need any.
It worked!
What Ye Jun wanted was the construction hammer in Master Ed's hand.
It was the only bronze-grade equipment available at the moment.
Master Bear's bronze armor wasn't useful for Ye Jun right then; after all, he didn't have the need to go out hunting. But, the construction hammer was different; Ye Jun's raft was too fragile. He could improve its stability by ten percent if he used the construction hammer, greatly improving its ability to drift on the sea.
Master Ed immediately felt a bit awkward.
After all, it was the first piece of equipment he had obtained, a memorable milestone in the game.
However, compared to that, it was still a little more tempting to hunt.
If he could hunt successfully, he might be able to get equipment again, just as Master Bear did.
On the other hand, the construction hammer didn't quite serve a practical purpose for the current Master Ed, except for its commemorative significance.
"I need to see your bow and arrow!"
Ye Jun pointed his camera at the mountain of debris and trash on the raft, then took a picture and sent it over.
"Oh, my god. Are you sure you're in death mode? Why were you able to gather that many supplies?"
Every piece of junk in Ye Jun's eyes was a precious material in Master Ed's eyes.
"This is all the ocean trash I've collected." Ye Jun took a picture again, surrounded by an endless sea. However, Ye Jun didn't include the raft beneath his feet; preserving secrets was essential to survival.
Master Ed was completely shocked. He exclaimed, "You have fishing nets, fishing rods, and you're by the sea, just like a relaxing vacation. Can I quit the game and choose death mode…?"
Ye Jun laughed. "According to my past gaming experience, players can delete their accounts and restart after dying. You can try!"
Master Ed immediately wimped out!
Finally, after some bargaining, Ye Jun sold Master Ed half a bicycle wheel, along with a worn-out umbrella and a few fishing lines.
That's right, half a wheel.
Those materials were enough for Master Ed to make a bow and arrow!
Ye Jun planned to use the remaining half to make another bow and arrow, all to exchange for some supplies.
He was making the best use of things.
-- Gift
received