Everything else aside, D-rank Monster Crystal Cores alone felt like sothing the current population simply couldn't obtain. Because it ant fighting D-rank monsters.
But right now, most people were capping out at around Level 3 or 4.
Many more were like her — lifeskill players since day one, never once fighting, still sitting comfortably at Lv.1.
Asking this crowd to take on D-rank monsters was clearly out of the question, right?
And more importantly — what even were D-rank monsters?
Every creature they'd encountered in the Abandoned Forest so far had been E-rank.
'Can't figure it out.'
Lan Qingyou shook her head, crafted the tray balance, then grabbed a bucket and flew out of the room.
So might argue she shouldn't have revealed the upgrade requirents, since it would drive up prices. But for Lan Qingyou, that wasn't even a concern.
If sothing couldn't be bought, it simply ant she wasn't offering enough potions.
As long as the volu was there, no material was out of reach.
Case in point — E-rank Monster Crystal Cores had been nowhere to be found before, and now they were everywhere.
Besides, the alchemy business was inherently obscenely profitable. The concept of "operating at a loss" simply didn't exist for her.
Lan Qingyou didn't bother with the regional channel. Right now, she was going all-out filling every large container she had — the water tanks, the crucible, the soup pot — with water.
Nobody knew exactly what the end of the Novice Protection Period would look like.
Maybe it'd be a beast horde, like in the novels. Maybe sothing else entirely.
Either way, Lan Qingyou had made up her mind to stay indoors for the foreseeable future — let everyone else stumble into the post-protection pitfalls first.
But holing up at ho with nothing but books to pass the ti would get dull, so she decided to stockpile water. That way, when reading got tiring, she could switch to brewing potions.
A nice balance of work and rest.
Once every container was brimming with creek water, Lan Qingyou made another trip to Albert's basent and harvested all the glowing mushrooms.
She also sprinkled so creek water over the roots left in the soil while she was at it.
Back at the shelter, she headed straight for the second floor.
She still hadn't decided what to do with the third floor, so for now she continued living on the second.
Beside the mattress on the second floor stood a bookshelf, built from the blueprint she'd acquired earlier.
Since she had no curtains, and sourcing cloth was too much hassle, she'd positioned the bookshelf at the head of the bed to serve as a screen against the morning sun.
Sure, it plunged the area behind it into pitch darkness — but at least she didn't have to worry about taking a solar flare to the face every sunrise.
Book in hand — "Basic Magic Circuitry" — she strolled out onto the terrace, settled into a reclining chair next to the drying trays of snakes, bugs, rats, and ants, and basked in the last rays of the Novice Protection Period's final sunset while she read.
The chair, too, was a blueprint creation. Perfectly suited to her needs.
As the sun dipped behind the mountains and its dying light set the horizon ablaze with fiery clouds, Lan Qingyou flew down to the first floor and sat at her desk.
She sent Gu Xiaobei a dinner order, along with 10 healing potions as paynt.
Don't question it.
Gu Xiaobei's food really was that expensive.
This was sothing Lan Qingyou had only learned this morning, after completing her trade with Shang Chuan.
Ever since yesterday, when Gu Xiaobei had started selling food in stone bowls, her dishes had beco a hit in District 666 — just like Lan Qingyou's potions.
The entire channel had been going crazy over it.
But unlike everyone else's obsession with power-boosting effects, Lan Qingyou just wanted to eat sothing delicious.
After yesterday's Silverfish Potato Noodles, she'd beco a true believer in Gu Xiaobei's culinary skills.
She'd even given Gu Xiaobei various kitchen-related items from her own stockpile — stears, a small double-eared clay pot, a soup ladle, a cleaver, and even so raw food ingredients that needed processing.
Including, of course, the enal mugs.
Gu Xiaobei had initially refused — after all, accepting gifts without rit felt wrong. But under Lan Qingyou's persuasion, she eventually caved.
In Lan Qingyou's own words, these were all things useless to her. All she needed to keep were chopsticks and a bowl.
She did hold onto her instant food, though.
All those nights spent roaming as the "green ghost" had built up enough ergency rations to last a full month.
Or more precisely — ergency provisions.
In a world this strange, anything could happen. Better safe than sorry.
Gu Xiaobei had actually sent over a homade al at noon, but since the midday ingredients weren't as good, she'd promised sothing better for dinner.
Despite her disclair, the afternoon's crossing-bridge rice noodles had been quite tasty.
Gu Xiaobei didn't keep Lan Qingyou waiting.
A few minutes later, a tray appeared on the Magic Desk, bearing a clay pot, a bowl of stead buns, and a small dish of chili powder.
Alongside those were a pair of chopsticks and a small soup spoon — two utensils she recognized. They were the ones she'd given Gu Xiaobei yesterday.
Gu Xiaobei: "From now on, I'll serve your orders in this clay pot. Just send it back when you're done and I'll wash it."
Of course Gu Xiaobei was aware of the healing potions. She'd just been busy at the stove when they went on sale, and by the ti she checked, they were gone.
She'd felt a twinge of regret.
But then Lan Qingyou casually dropped a healing potion as paynt for dinner, and Gu Xiaobei was over the moon.
As for the clay pot arrangent, Lan Qingyou was all for it.
It was a small one-liter pot — held about a kilogram of food. Perfect as a bowl.
After running a quick toxicity check on the Small Screen, she grabbed a towel and lifted the lid off the steaming clay pot.
Inside sat an entire, massive drumstick, surrounded by bamboo shoot slices, mushrooms, and ham sausage as garnish. The broth was clear, the steam hit her face, and the aroma spread in every direction. Lan Qingyou's appetite roared to life.
She grabbed a stead bun from the bowl in one hand and the chopsticks in the other, ready to dig in.
Except picking up an entire chicken leg with chopsticks was obviously a non-starter.
Fortunately, the at had been simred until fall-off-the-bone tender. A gentle nudge with the chopsticks tore off a strip, which she dipped in the chili powder — one bite of bun, one bite of at — absolute bliss.
Whenever a piece went down the wrong way, she'd take a sip of the herb-rich clear broth to reset her palate.
'Hmm, this broth was probably made with Insect Caltrop Grass, Heavenly Smooth Flowers, and Scattered Hemp Grass... and sothing else I can't identify.'
An expert could tell in a single taste.
She had no idea what monster the drumstick ca from, but as soone who worked with herbs all day, Lan Qingyou identified every herb in the broth from the first sip.
They were all ingredients used in healing potions — or close substitutes.
No wonder the Small Screen had rated it as food that restored 2 Health Points every 5 seconds for 10 minutes.
Used before a prolonged battle, that ant a sustained 240 Health Points of regeneration — a genuinely invaluable asset at this stage.
Gu Xiaobei: "This is Steam Pot Chicken made from a Colored Feather Chicken. It's an isekai-modified version, but it tastes pretty close to traditional steam pot chicken. I also added Yellow-Ringed Legless Bugs for blood circulation and Sli Mushrooms to round it out. The whole pot is not only delicious, but also gorgeous — perfect in color, aroma, and taste."
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