Apocalypse Lord

Last time on Apocalypse Lord:

This chapter has been brought to you by me and Smash10101.

Chapter 67 – Eternal Night 3

After more than an hour, the fishing boats returned.

Opening the fishing nets and inventorying the gains, they were like below —

23 x Seaweed.

18 x Kelp.

9 x Eel.

12 x Yellow Croaker.

10 x Grouper.

8 x Cod.

26 x Sand Shrimp.

24 x Prawn.

18 x Red Shrimp.

15 x Swimming Crab.

17 x Blue Crab.

Looking at the pile of seafood, Yun Ling was overjoyed, and started to plan what to eat tonight.

**

Night came.

Yun Ling made seaweed and egg soup, cold kelp salad, steamed grouper, braised sand shrimp, boiled prawn, stir fried blue crab, and then waited.

“I am here.” You Qing Wen had been invited, and came with some pieces of osmanthus cake as a gift.

“Welcome.” Yun Ling came to greet her guest.

Moments later, the two sat down opposite each other, and started to eat.

The seaweed and egg soup was fragrant and delicate to the taste.

The kelp salad was refreshing and appetizing.

The grouper had fine meat and was very fresh.

The sand shrimp and prawns were very sweet and chewy.

The broth of the blue crab had been made by the chef and was poured on the cut up crab legs!

You Qing Wen’s chopsticks moved like they were flying, and she could not stop.

She said to herself countless times, I will stop after another bite. But then she took more and more bites without stopping……

Only when all six dishes were eaten did she wake up, and sadly put down her chopsticks.

“The fish, shrimp and crabs you made are so delicious.” You Qing Wen put her fist to her mouth and said covertly.

“As long as you like it.” Yun Ling said and pointed at the wood basin at the side, “The wharf was unlocked, and each day, I will get a lot of fresh seafood.”

“Some will be put into the warehouse, some in the restaurant to sell, and the rest I want to ask you to help and sell in the stalls.”

You Qing Wen realized. “Sell them at a lower price and fill the food baskets of the residents?”

Yun Ling nodded and added with a smile, “In the future, if everyone wants to eat seafood, they can eat seafood, and if they want to eat grains, they can eat grains. The territory will provide it all.”

Because of a good lord, the residents of the territory were all winners in life!

For some reason, this thought appeared in You Qing Wen’s mind and could not dissipate for a long time.

**

“Selling cod, fresh cod!”

“Selling seaweed, kelp, yellow croaker. Do not miss this when you walk by!”

“Selling prawns! Selling sand shrimp! Selling blue crab! Selling swimming crab!”

It appeared everyone had picked up fishing nets and started to fish as a side job. Countless little stalls started to sell seafood at the same time, and they all had different products.

The residents ran over excitedly. “There is sand shrimp? Give me ten.”

The stall owner happily said, “Okay, wait a moment.”

The player on the other side asked, “How are you selling the cod?”

The other stall owner answered, “10 copper coins each, no other price.”

10 copper each, a bit expensive.

But compared to the night vision, and the price at the restaurant, this was not much.

The player immediately slapped their leg. “I want it all!”

The stall owner was not willing. “Each person is allowed up to three pieces per day.”

The player, “……”

Why did this person use limits like the system shops?

There was no way about it. The cod was caught by others, and if they did not allow buying more, then it was not allowed.

The players could only agree. “Okay, okay, okay, 3 is fine, help me tie it up.”

Hearing this, the stall owner used a straw rope to loop the fish through the gills.

The player paid, and then happily left holding the cod.

Zheng Ming Yue observed, and slowly exhaled. “Luckily the members split up to open stalls. If they had gathered together, it would have been too conspicuous.”

“We do not need to worry about safety inside of Rising Cloud City.” You Qing Wen comforted.

Zheng Ming Yue said in disagreement, “Even in the safety area, we need to be careful all the time. Did you forget? In the past, someone made trouble in Rising Cloud City, and then a high level player kicked them out. We have to be on our guard!”

“Didn’t they say it was because of a special item?” You Qing Wen calmly analyzed. “Since it is a special item, there must not be many of them, and there is no need to waste them on minor people like us.”

As she was speaking, she thought, what was there to be afraid of? They had a patron! The lord of the Rising Cloud City was their greatest patron!

“Just in case.” Zheng Ming Yue sighed. “There is nothing bad about being cautious.”

You Qing Wen saw that she could not get to him, and just let it go.

But then Zheng Ming Yue turned and suddenly asked, “Right, where did you get all this seafood?”

You Qing Wen said nonsense with a straight face, “I had good luck, finished a special mission, and got the right to be a middleman to help the wharf sell the seafood, and take the price difference.”

“So lucky? Why do I not have any special missions to trigger?” Zheng Ming Yue muttered.

You Qing Wen looked at the sky.

Because from the start, you were working in the wrong direction!

**

S City, Basswood Town.

Zhou Xin En swung an axe and was chopping at a tree.

Bam bam bam.

After the chopping sounds occurred a dozen times, the pine tree fell down. The system notified, [You have received: 38 x Wood.]

“Just 38 pieces of wood?” Zhou Xin En was very disappointed. “This is not enough wood to use at all!”

But the pine and cypress trees that had been moved had all been cut down, and there were only a few left in their original spot.

He had to go to the market to buy wood.

When the thought rose, Zhou Xin En walked quickly to the market. He opened the window and quickly scrolled through, seeing the information —

[Territory Name: Locust Tree Town]

[Item For Sale: 5 x Wood]

[Price: 40 copper coins.]

[Inquiries: Guo Song Lin.]

Zhou Xin En remembered this person’s ID. This person often sold materials, and seemed to be a high level combat player.

But unlike normal players, this person’s prices were very expensive.

In the autumn, the same 5 x wood, other people would quote 10 copper coins, and he would quote 15 copper coins.

In the winter, for 5 x wood, others would quote 25 copper coins, and he would quote 40.

It seemed that he was always a bit more black hearted than the other people.

“Let’s see if there are any others,” Zhou Xin En thought, “If there are not, even if this is expensive, it is better than nothing.”

Thinking like this, he quickly scanned through the pages.

In the winter, wood material was always in short supply, especially with the eternal night.

Zhou Xin En searched for half an hour, and got nothing, becoming a bit discouraged.

Just as he was planning to surrender and buy at the inflated price, a posting entered his sight.

[Territory Name: Rising Cloud City]

[Item For Sale: 5 x Wood]

[Price: 15 copper coins.]

[Inquiries: Xiao Li.]

Zhou Xin En quickly bought it.

-15 copper coins.

+5 wood.

After the transaction, he had the mind to read closely.

When he saw the name ” Xiao Li”, Zhou Xin En stilled. If he did not remember incorrectly, among the people he knew was someone called Xiao Li who had talked about moving to Rising Cloud City to live, and had moved before the end of autumn.

The same name?

Or the same person?

Zhou Xin En did not know.

As he hesitated, the other sent a message first. “Old Zhou, it is you, long time no see.”

A familiar energy came at him.

Zhou Xin En knew that this was the right person and responded, “It seems that you are living well after moving, you have extra wood to sell for money.”

Xiao Li: “Hee-hee.”

Xiao Li: “Old Zhou, I will tell you the truth, moving here was the wisest decision I have ever made.”

Xiao Li: “Compared to other safety areas, Rising Cloud City is like heaven!”

Zhou Xin En did not believe him. “You are exaggerating. What is good about that place you praise it so?”

Xiao Li: “No words can express the excitement and joy in my heart.”

Boast, keep on boasting. He would not believe a word.

Zhou Xin En: “It is the day, how come you have started to drink already?”

Xiao Li: “……”

Xiao Li: “Can’t we talk happily?! We are familiar so I said a few honest things to you, forget it.”

Zhou Xin En gave in. “I will listen, you keep on speaking.”

He would listen and then see how credible this was.

Xiao Li: “Rising Cloud City’s greening has reached 30%, and the temperature difference between the outside and inside of the territory is great. This year’s winter is not very cold. Staying in the house, even without wearing winter clothing, I feel that I can get through.”

“Over here, the building “residences” have been unlocked, and all the families have their own private space. Without permission, other players cannot enter.”

“Other than this, there is the Woodworking Workshop, the Tailor Shop, the Defensive Shield, the Ice House, the Farmland, the Blacksmith Shop, the Market, the Wharf, this place has all the buildings that I like here, and all of them are useful!”

“Didn’t the eternal night mode happen after winter started? The territory guards built up bonfires and raised torches to illuminate the safety area, and the players do not have to worry at all.”

“What shocked me the most is that the restaurant has launched the winter foods “Steamed Cod” and “Cod Stewed With Tofu,” implying to the residents that cod can grant night vision.”

“You have been in Basswood Town for so long, have you ever seen the restaurant so smart? It was always the players making the discovery first, gathering materials, and then the restaurant would slowly produce the corresponding items.”

“But Rising Cloud City? It was earlier than the players, and the supply is sufficient. If you bear to spend money, every resident can go to the restaurant to get buff items, and get night vision for themselves.”

“This is the difference between earth and heaven, Basswood Town is greatly lacking!” In the end, Xiao Li sighed.

Zhou Xin En was frozen to his spot and dazed.

After a while, he asked, “You went near the end of autumn, and it was winter a few days later. You have adjusted?”

Xiao Li: “What is there to adjust to!?”

“Sell some equipment, get the funds to buy official resident status, buy a wood house, and you have a place to live. Then all you have to do is to fill your stomach.”

“Fish in the morning, cut wood in the afternoon. The territory defense relies on the system guards and the combat players. This life is very comfortable!”

“Right, there are residents here who raise livestock. I have bought a few pieces of pork, and I am trying to make braised pork. While I did it for the first time, the skill was not very good, but the materials were good and it was fragrant. I even thought of the New Year’s pig!”

“If you are early, you can also buy seaweed, kelp, prawn, sand shrimp, blue crabs, and swimming crabs. Tomorrow, I am planning to make a seaweed soup, cook boiled shrimp, then drink a little wine and eat some peanuts.”

“If you are interested, I can bring some to you.”

Zhou Xin En, “……”

He expressionlessly reminded, “You have gone to another safety area, not another game. Just look at what you have said, is this possible?!”

Xiao Li: “It is. I am living the life I have described, my cooking skill has improved. If you do not believe me, let me send some to you.”

Zhou Xin En looked at the window, as stiff as a statue.

After a long time, he said, “Seaweed, kelp, prawn, sand shrimp, blue crab, swimming crab, steamed cod, cod stewed with tofu, braised pork, and peanuts. Give me a portion of each and I will believe you.”

Xiao Li: “……”

You believed it a long time ago, right?

You pretended to not believe so you have an excuse to order food?

Editor’s ramblings: While editing this chapter I learned that there is a genus (and family) of crab named after Portunus, the Roman god of doors, locks, livestock, and ports. No, I don’t know what livestock has to do with doors, locks, and ports, nor do I know what that has to do with crabs. This has been your random educational rambling for the day. Tomorrow we’ll talk about how kelp are not actually plants.