Chapter 22: The Sinclair Family’s Heirloom

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: The Sinclair Family’s Heirloom

I knew it.

A system that considers polyester fiber to be cloth couldn’t possibly reject lenses as glass!

Soon, a lantern pieced together from Metal Fragments and wood appeared before Seraphina Sinclair.

The thing was tiny, so it was no wonder that small amount of glass was enough.

The lantern’s surface was covered in scuff marks, and its body was crooked, looking as if it might fall apart at any second. Yet, it inexplicably radiated a strange sense of stability.

’As long as it works.’ Seraphina Sinclair was never picky. She immediately checked its stats.

[Black Fog Crystal Energy Storage Lamp (F+)]

[Description: A device that imprisons sunshine using a forbidden method. The way those points of light scream in the black fog... truly fascinating, isn’t it?]

Seraphina Sinclair: "???"

’What kind of twisted mind came up with this?’

She frowned and placed the lamp by the window, but it didn’t activate. She figured it would only start working in the afternoon when the sun came out, around two o’clock.

Seraphina Sinclair wasn’t in a rush. She opened the regional channel and was surprised to see ’Handsome Young Man’ praising her.

[Handsome Young Man]: I used an F+ blueprint to buy intel on the Black Mist Catfish from Blacktiger Ford. I have to say, Master Blacktiger Ford is a really great guy. He didn’t hold anything back and told me everything! Five-star review!

Seraphina Sinclair blinked. She read it again, and once she confirmed that the guy was genuinely praising her, she couldn’t stop herself from covering her face with her hand.

’I thought he’d badmouth me out of disappointment.’

’Who would have thought.’

Beneath his message, however, was a chorus of skepticism.

"Heh, are you a shill? Intel on an E+ Level ingredient for just one F+ blueprint? You think he’d sell it to you for that little?"

"You must have thrown in something extra and are just too embarrassed to admit it, right?"

"Why make it sound so cheap? Trying to trick us all into trading with him? You really think everyone has E-level items like you?!"

’Hmm...’

’If simply knowing the information guaranteed a catch, then it definitely wouldn’t be worth that price.’

But Seraphina Sinclair had only sold a few bits of intel. When she really thought about it, she was the one who’d come out ahead.

"@Handsome Young Man, give us the deets! What exactly was the intel? He didn’t just tell you there are fish in the water, did he?"

"If you want to freeload, just say so. Your scheming is so obvious it’s practically slapping me in the face."

Seraphina Sinclair was chuckling at the exchange when she suddenly spotted a familiar ID.

[Happysleepwalker]: I traded an E-level material for it. It was really comprehensive, just a little different from what I expected.

"Dude, how was it different? Tell us!"

"What is it? You already paid, so just share it with us, why don’t you? You’ve already given him the materials, so just tell us and do everyone a favor!"

"The guy who just posted is a repeat offender. He was one of the ones trying to guilt-trip Blacktiger Ford before, and now he’s at it again! That’s it, I’m blocking you. If I don’t, I’m an idiot!"

"I was wondering why that comment felt so off. So he’s a repeat offender!"

"Blocked him too!"

Seraphina Sinclair blocked the ID as well and kept scrolling.

"Actually, those trades are perfectly reasonable! What are you all even questioning? Master Blacktiger is selling intel on an E+ ingredient, not the ingredient itself! Of course it’s going to be cheaper! You’re the ones who are out of touch. If any of you got your hands on E+ ingredient intel, you’d probably jack up the price to demand S-Class materials!"

"Well said, sis! I’ve been wanting to say that for a while but was too scared of getting flamed."

"What’s there to be afraid of? You have to speak up! It’s because so many idiots are running their mouths that people start to think the whole world is full of them! Normal people need to talk more."

’Well said.’

Seraphina Sinclair gave her a mental thumbs-up. Seeing nothing else of interest, she closed the regional channel.

Unfortunately, despite the positive publicity from ’Happysleepwalker’ and ’Handsome Young Man,’ no one else came asking to buy her intel on the Black Mist Catfish.

Someone on the regional channel had a point: most people still didn’t have any E-level items.

Of course, many more were simply unwilling to part with them.

’Take her, for example. If she were asked to trade the glowing fish swim bladder for a piece of intel...’

’She couldn’t do it. No way.’

Her glowing fish swim bladder was now a Sinclair Family heirloom. Effective immediately.

Seraphina Sinclair had a habit of planning ahead, so she started thinking about her afternoon tasks.

’First, use the water filter to collect rainwater. Then, let the lantern soak up some sunshine...’

’That was about it.’

However... Seraphina Sinclair glanced at the water filter that produced drinkable water. It still needed a container. A water bottle or something similar would be ideal—convenient and practical.

She opened the trade channel and searched for a bit. She only found two people selling water bottles. They were both large, practical five-liter bottles.

Neither seller had listed what they wanted in exchange, however, so Seraphina Sinclair had to private message them one by one.

The seller with the ID ’Are You Happy?’ replied quickly: "The bottle? Bring me something E-level or higher for it."

Seraphina Sinclair immediately closed the chat. ’An E-level item for a stupid water bottle?’

’Is this guy out of his mind?’

’It’s a five-liter bottle, not five liters of *water*!’

The second seller’s ID was ’Pretty Guardian.’ Clearly a young person.

Seraphina Sinclair kept her message brief. "What for the bottle?"

The reply was quick. "What do you have?"

’An open-ended question like that was the best starting point for a negotiation.’

Instead of showing her cards, Seraphina Sinclair countered, "What do you need? Food? Materials? Tools?"

[Pretty Guardian]: Food is preferred, but drinks are fine too! I’m not really short on anything else.

Seraphina Sinclair’s eyes lit up. She immediately thought of the can of cola, which was expendable to her.

[Blacktiger Ford]: How about a can of coke? 330ml.

The chat window showed the other user typing, then stopping, then typing again, several times over.

Seraphina Sinclair knew they were hesitating and decided to add some pressure. "I have other sellers waiting. If you don’t want to trade, never mind."

They finally replied. "Two cans!"

’Two cans was out of the question.’

But Seraphina Sinclair made a concession. "I’ll throw in two compressed biscuits. That’s my final offer."

[Pretty Guardian]: Ugh... fine! Since you’re being so sincere. But honestly, nobody really needs compressed biscuits, you know.

Seraphina Sinclair ignored their chatter and pulled up the system’s trade interface. She skillfully set the terms and, as a courtesy, notified the other party.

[Blacktiger Ford]: I’m putting up one can of coke and two compressed biscuits. You put up the water bottle. The system will verify both items and complete the trade simultaneously. No one can cheat.

The other party put up the water bottle without comment, clearly not appreciating the ’help.’

[Pretty Guardian]: I know. You don’t need to teach me.

Seraphina Sinclair carefully examined the water bottle’s Attributes:

[Military Folding Water Bottle]

[Capacity: 5L]

[Description: A military-grade water container with a foldable design. It is heat-resistant, provides slight insulation, and is a reliable companion for wilderness survival.]

’It even has some insulation?’

’Nice.’

[Trade Complete]

[Acquired: Military Folding Water Bottle ×1]

[Lost: Coke x1, Compressed Biscuits x2]