Chapter 302: Escape the Desert

Besides, even though no one was standing by the merchant’s side, a steady stream of people had been asking for prices just moments before.

What did that mean?

It meant the fabrics weren’t without a market; people simply couldn’t afford them.

"Sir, how much for this cloth?" Perry Yates asked.

The merchant glanced up, saw it was just a young girl, and quickly looked away. "Ten gold coins a bolt, and the price is firm," he said in a cold voice.

Hearing this, Perry Yates glanced at the cloth behind the merchant. Ten bolts in total, which came to one hundred gold coins.

Perry Yates turned sideways to block the view of others, then pretended to reach into her pocket. A heavy bag of golden beans appeared in her hand.

"Will this be enough?"

The merchant took the bag from Perry Yates, weighed it in his hand, and nodded. "It’s enough. The cloth is yours."

He didn’t ask about Perry Yates’s identity or where she had gotten the gold.

The most important rule of doing business in the desert was to keep your mouth shut and not ask questions.

Perhaps seeing how generous Perry Yates was, he even threw in two garments made from Desert Spider Silk.

The fabric felt cool to the touch, truly different from ordinary cloth.

Perry Yates took all the cloth with her. Luckily, she had brought her camel along; otherwise, leaving alone while carrying ten bolts of cloth would have likely drawn a lot of attention. In that case, she wasn’t sure if the Silver Cross would still be effective.

She led the camel to a deserted corner to store the bolts of cloth, then returned to the market.

However, aside from the cloth, she didn’t find anything else she wanted.

She did buy some fruits she had never seen before, but they tasted wonderful.

The local method for preserving fruit was to encase it in mud. This seal reduced moisture loss and protected against insects. When it was time to eat, one simply had to break the mud casing open.

While shopping, Perry Yates ran into the group that had called out to her earlier.

Yara North was the first to spot Perry Yates. "What a coincidence. Are you here to buy supplies too?"

Perry Yates nodded. "The owner of the inn where I’m staying told me a merchant caravan had arrived with a full stock of supplies and suggested I come take a look."

She was very candid; she told them everything before they even had to ask.

"Oh, I see." Yara North glanced at the camel behind Perry Yates, a glint in her eyes. "The owner of your inn is quite nice, to even be willing to lend you a camel."

"It’s not borrowed; this camel is my own. By the way, for that caravan you all mentioned, if I bring my own camel, it should be a bit cheaper, right?"

Hearing Perry Yates say this, the expression on Yara North’s face stiffened. She seemed unable to believe Perry Yates had actually bought a camel.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t afford a camel, but the price was exorbitant, and you had to cover its food and water. They simply couldn’t afford the upkeep, which was why they had given up on the idea.

"We’re not too sure about that. By the way, you..."

"Oh, so it’s not? What a shame. Well, I won’t bother you anymore. See you tomorrow."

Perry Yates cut her off mid-sentence, turned, and left with her little camel.

Watching Perry Yates stroll away nonchalantly with her camel, Yara North stomped her foot in frustration.

But there was no need to get angry now. Once they were on the road, there would be plenty of time to teach her a lesson.

In their minds, once the journey began, their group would stick together. They were confident Perry Yates would eventually be forced to give in.

They didn’t believe she could possibly manage a journey of over ten days all by herself.

Meanwhile, Perry Yates bought two large baskets to hang on her camel’s sides, as well as a camel saddle.

After filling both baskets, just as Perry Yates was about to leave, she saw a small, thin figure in the distance leading a similarly small and thin camel, slowly making their way toward her.

Perry Yates noticed the baskets on the other camel looked empty, but her sharp eyes caught the glint of something golden inside.

Seeing this, Perry Yates immediately walked over.

"Hello, may I see what’s in your basket?"

The person seemed surprised that someone would approach them so eagerly.

However, she was confident in her treasures. These were items she had gone through great trouble to find in the desert.

The merchant opened the basket on the camel.

"These are all treasures I obtained from the deepest part of the desert."

Perry Yates looked inside and saw an assortment of lifelike ornaments.

There were budding flowers, butterflies with wings spread for flight, bees, dragonflies, and other insects, each one looking as if it were real.

In fact, they were real.

’The sap from the leaves of the Stan Tree can be dripped onto plants or insects, killing them instantly and preserving their bodies forever at the moment of death.’

Seeing this Identification result, Perry Yates instantly became wary.

Seeing her reaction, the merchant knew she was dealing with someone who knew her stuff.

"Don’t worry, the leaves of the Stan Tree are harmless to people. I didn’t originally intend to sell these here, but since you recognize their value, I’ll sell some to you.

You should know, these goods are very popular in the larger oases."

"I’ll take them all."

Perry Yates took out a gold brick and bought all of the merchant’s merchandise.

##

By noon, when the sun was at its most intense, the streets outside were nearly empty. Everyone was either hiding in the shade or had retreated to their rooms.

Thanks to the Cold Moon Guardian, Perry Yates didn’t feel the heat too much.

Still, watching the air itself begin to distort from the sun baking the ground, one could only imagine the temperature of the surface.

At such a high temperature, if you cracked an egg on the ground, it would definitely fry.

’Suddenly, I’m really craving an egg.’

Just then, the aroma of grilling meat wafted over from nearby.

Following the scent, Perry Yates arrived at a barbecue stall.

Just a moment ago, Perry Yates had been thinking the temperature was high enough to fry an egg, and now she saw someone who had set up a rack on a few stones close to the ground and was grilling meat without even lighting a fire.

A crowd had already gathered around.

Seeing how crowded it was, Perry Yates didn’t wait like the others. Instead, she bought a large number of marinated raw meat skewers, planning to save them to eat slowly on the road.

「Day five of the game.」

Perry Yates got up early, checked out of her room, and went to the agreed-upon meeting place.

A number of people had already gathered there. Besides the previous group of six, another five people had shown up, bringing the total to twelve, including her.