Chapter 41: Herbal Juice

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Herbal Juice

After stunning the other person into repeating a single word with just two sentences, Seraphina Sinclair swiftly blocked them.

’How strange...’

’It’s like some people have no brain at all.’

They knew perfectly well that Blacktiger Ford was ahead of the curve and had a lot of exclusive information.

And yet, even though this expert occasionally sold information on the trading channel, they were still eager to get on her bad side and be blocked.

Seraphina Sinclair truly didn’t understand their way of thinking. Wasn’t making life easier for oneself a good thing?

’Then again, it’s only natural I don’t get it. I’m just an ordinary person. How could I possibly understand a lunatic?’

Seraphina Sinclair yawned. Sunflower had woken her up last night, and after she’d fallen back asleep, she was plagued by dreams. She definitely hadn’t gotten a good night’s rest.

She patted her cheeks, forcing herself to wake up. She planned to use the waiting time to draw a few more runes.

Rune paper was far too useful. Whether for fighting monsters or for daily life, Seraphina Sinclair had already come to rely on it completely.

Her gaze fell upon the still-open private chat window. Just as she was about to close it, a new message suddenly popped up.

[Miller’s Hardware]: Expert, you mentioned before that you wanted herbs, or herbal liquid, right? Do you still need any?

Seraphina Sinclair’s eyes lit up. ’Yes! Of course I do!’

Seraphina Sinclair opened the private chat but didn’t reply right away.

She had mentioned needing this in the Zone channel, and she had just made a huge splash. Anyone coming to trade now would be tempted to ask for an exorbitant price.

Seraphina Sinclair hid her excitement and simply replied, "I could take a little more."

The wording was brilliant.

It implied that she had already acquired some and that his goods weren’t particularly scarce. If his price was too high, she’d simply pass.

The person on the other end was instantly disappointed. At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to sell what he had for a good price.

In truth, the best solution would be to find a different trading partner.

’Finding someone willing to pay a premium would be the simplest and best solution,’ Miller’s Hardware thought.

Unfortunately, besides Blacktiger Ford, absolutely no one else in the entire Zone needed herbal liquid!

If he wasn’t in a hurry, Miller’s Hardware could just hold onto it. He could wait for a more suitable buyer to appear, or wait until Blacktiger Ford ran out of her own supply and then sell his for a premium.

But the problem was, he couldn’t afford to wait.

He was sick and tired of those god-awful compressed biscuits and bread!

He wanted to trade for some real food!

[Miller’s Hardware]: I have a 100ml bottle of herbal liquid. Do you still need it? There’s nothing wrong with it; I didn’t make it myself. I found it just like this.

Along with the message, he sent the item details so Seraphina Sinclair could inspect it, a gesture showing his sincerity.

[Herbal Liquid]

[Description: A liquid produced by pounding over a dozen types of herbs with water in a special container. It has many uses and is considered one of the most basic intermediate-tier materials in The Black Mist World!]

’Great! The item is legit.’

’Now we can talk price.’

Seraphina Sinclair’s finger hovered over the virtual screen, but she didn’t reply right away.

She needed to let Miller’s Hardware sweat a little longer.

In a negotiation, the first one to lose their nerve loses.

[Blacktiger Ford]: 100ml is a bit on the low side. The last batch I bought started at 200ml.

Seraphina Sinclair was deliberately exaggerating. In reality, she didn’t have any herbal liquid at all.

The "typing..." indicator at the top of the chat window blinked on and off, on and off. Clearly, Miller’s Hardware was repeatedly editing his reply.

A slight smile touched Seraphina Sinclair’s lips. This was exactly the reaction she’d been hoping for.

[Miller’s Hardware]: Expert, this... 100ml is my entire stock. Do you think you could maybe...

Seraphina Sinclair decided to quit while she was ahead.

[Blacktiger Ford]: What do you want for it?

The other man seemed surprised by her directness, pausing for a few seconds before replying.

[Miller’s Hardware]: Food... not that disgusting stuff like compressed biscuits and bread. I want real food.

Seraphina Sinclair let out a soft snort.

’As expected. Food is always the ultimate currency.’

She thought for a moment and decided to offer a pack of instant noodles. It was a sincere offer on her part; whether he accepted it would depend on his own expectations.

[Blacktiger Ford]: One pack of instant noodles, with the flavor packet.

[Miller’s Hardware]: Expert, that’s... that’s too little, isn’t it? Someone in the Zone channel said you traded five packs of instant noodles for 200ml... so by that math, for my 100ml, shouldn’t I get at least two packs, if not two and a half? Besides, one pack isn’t even a full meal.

Seraphina Sinclair: "???"

Huh?

’Who started that rumor?’

For a moment, Seraphina Sinclair couldn’t tell if someone in the Zone channel was spreading rumors, or if the guy was just making things up to drive up the price.

But either way, one pack was Seraphina Sinclair’s final offer.

[Blacktiger Ford]: One pack is my final offer. As for that other trade you mentioned, this is the first I’m hearing of it.

[Miller’s Hardware]: Expert, how about this? One pack of instant noodles plus a bottle of water? This herbal liquid is really hard to come by, you know. It took me a lot of effort to get.

Seraphina Sinclair narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t short on water, but...

’The way he’s talking... it doesn’t sound like he got this from a mobile cabin, does it?’

[Blacktiger Ford]: I’ll add three bottles of water. In exchange, you tell me exactly where you got it.

Miller was stunned for a moment, then immediately straightened up. The tables had suddenly turned!

’Now I’m not the one begging Blacktiger Ford for a trade!’ He wouldn’t be greedy, but asking for two packs of instant noodles should be fine now, right?

[Miller’s Hardware]: In that case, forget the water. How about you just add one more pack of instant noodles, Expert?

Seraphina Sinclair declined.

Blood Stopping Talismans would certainly be used less often than Fire Drawing Runes. This 100ml of herbal liquid would be enough to last her for quite some time.

[Blacktiger Ford]: Then let’s go with your original offer. One pack of instant noodles and one bottle of water. I’ll initiate the trade.

Miller frowned. ’I didn’t think she’d just walk away from the deal like that!’

He suddenly slapped his forehead!

’Right, Blacktiger Ford has traded with other people. If she can get into special buildings, then other people must be able to as well!’

’If she thinks my information is too expensive, she can just go and ask someone else.’

’My information isn’t irreplaceable, which means I don’t have the absolute upper hand in this negotiation.’

Miller sighed. Since that was the case, he might as well do Blacktiger Ford a favor. She was a top player, and they were bound to cross paths again. It couldn’t hurt to be on good terms with her.

[Miller’s Hardware]: I’ll start the trade. Let’s do as you suggested: three bottles of water for my herbal liquid and the information on where I got it.

’He actually caved.’

Seraphina Sinclair nodded. When the trade request came through, she added two more bottles of mineral water to the deal, for a total of five.

After all, if there was anything she wasn’t short on right now, it was basic materials and mineral water.