Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Cornering the Market
After the validation, James was ecstatic, excitedly returning to his room, feeling even the chill in his body lessen a bit.
The significance of the upgrade scroll was immense!
Since the upgrade scroll worked on the Black Tiger Bees, it would certainly work on the Ironback Mountain Pigs.
All he had to do was wait for the young Ironback Mountain Pigs to be tamed in the pen, then he could use the scroll to quickly upgrade them to a good level.
This represented not just a formidable combat force, but a long-term development.
Having just one Ironback Mountain Pig would have been enough, but he had obtained two, a male and a female. Once they reached adulthood, they could mate and start breeding!
In essence, the value of this upgrade scroll exceeded dozens of good-level items.
This time, James had made a huge profit!
Lying back in bed, James's heart was still pounding with excitement.
After sharing the successful experiment news with Luke, James opened the "Mist Survival Handbook" and entered the trading market, curious to see if there were more scrolls like it.
He searched for "upgrade scroll."
Unexpectedly, there were quite a few for sale.
It seemed this item, though rare, was obtained by many, and it was not a non-tradeable item.
For many, its value wasn't significant.
It was just a reasonably good quality common item.
It paled in comparison to some top-notch items that were almost non-tradeable, like the "Shelter Shield," "Spring of Life," "Healing Potion Manufacturing Scroll," and Luke's "Beast Search Scroll."
These items were foundational for each survivor's development and the rapid growth of their shelters, marking their unique features.
If Luke lost his "Beast Search Scroll," his development efficiency would be greatly hindered.
Without springs and healing potions, James too would lose his rapid development momentum.
But the upgrade scroll was different from these items.
For most survivors, it was a somewhat mediocre item.
Of course, that was in the past!
Now, after James discovered the upgrade scroll's special effect on beasts, its true value was unearthed.
If other survivors also discovered this use, they could potentially use it as a foundation for their shelters, rapidly assembling a group of powerful beasts.
So, seizing the opportunity before others discovered this secret, James quickly made purchases.
Among the scrolls for sale, three sellers had set a low price, requiring just some food, within James's affordable range.
James easily exchanged all of them with compressed biscuits, bread, and some flour.
Thus, he acquired three more "upgrade scrolls."
As for the remaining ones, priced too high and exceeding their true value, James didn't play the fool.
But he didn't give up, instead offering each seller a standard-grade steak, testing their bottom line.
James was confident, knowing that for these people, the item wasn't precious.
It wasn't long before someone replied.
Given the cold spell, all survivors were in their shelters, likely browsing the "Mist Survival Handbook," and would see the message immediately.
"I have a good-level item here, and you want to buy it with just one steak?"
James: "How many steaks?"
"Ten!"
James: "Nice price! Wait for someone more interested."
"…"
"If you really want to buy, nine?"
"…"
"Hey? This is a great item, I don't even want to use it myself! Fine, eight for you!"
"…"
"Seven! Seven steaks! I give up, can't go lower!"
"…"
"Buddy, you're really leaving?"
"…"
"Hey, hey, hey? Big bro?!"
"…"
"Five then, okay?"
"Four?!"
"Bro, don't go, I was wrong, two steaks! Two will do!"
"Brother, using this scroll, you can turn ordinary-grade steaks into good-grade ones, definitely worth it! Really can't go any lower!"
James: "Deal."
Seeing the price drop, James decisively exchanged and got the fourth scroll.
Later, using a similar method, he spent a steak and a pound of flour for the fifth scroll.
He thought he could smoothly acquire all the remaining scrolls this way.
But reality struck hard.
In subsequent trades, sellers refused to lower their prices, unwilling to sell at a loss.
These sellers were probably well-off in terms of food and didn't fall for James's ploys.
In the trading market, the last four upgrade scrolls remained, each priced over five steaks, beyond James's reach.
However, James didn't stop there but shared this information with Luke.
Luke, likely having ample food, might be able to acquire a few scrolls.
After all, collecting such valuable items as much as possible was a good strategy.
Even if he couldn't negotiate a deal, it was worth leaving them to his ally.
Upon hearing the news, Luke responded without hesitation, ready to buy even at a higher price.
Hearing this, James couldn't help but imagine: Luke's food reserves must be unimaginably vast!
30 minutes later.
When James searched for "upgrade scroll" again, they were all gone.
It seemed Luke had indeed bought them all.
James calculated that Luke had probably spent over 20 standard-grade steaks, truly a display of wealth.
After acquiring these "upgrade scrolls," James didn't use them immediately, but kept them treasured.
Currently, the Black Tiger Bee swarm had just over a hundred in number. Having too many good-level Black Tiger Bees could lead to conflicts, detrimental to future development.
The safest approach was to wait until the swarm grew sufficiently, then gradually increase the proportion of good-level Black Tiger Bees.
Furthermore, with the cold spell at its peak and temperatures frighteningly low, even survival was a challenge for the bees, let alone growth and expansion.
So, these plans had to wait until the cold spell ended.
Checking the time, he found it was just past nine in the evening, three hours away from midnight.
He had to stay up tonight since there would be a system assessment at midnight with rewards.
Thus, almost all survivors chose not to sleep tonight.
Another reason was the cold spell, making it likely impossible to go out tomorrow, so there was no need for an early night.
"Still over three hours to go, should I find something to do?" James wondered, lying bored in bed.
"Never mind, I'll just open all the resource boxes, might as well see what resources and items I can get."
Initially, he planned to save the resource boxes, opening one when bored for a bit of excitement.
But after some thought, he decided to open them all.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone