Ye Jun had wondered if only players who completed some kind of quest for the first time could get the reward.
It didn't seem to be the case as things stood.
It was a game and not fundamentally different from the games he had played in the past. The biggest difference was that this game, a live game, could kill people.
The first one to complete the quest and get the first clear would get more rewards.
The player named Ellen—who was the second to light a flame—didn't get an upgrade and only gained 5 points in Flame Affinity plus 10 points in Strength.
That meant that other players could also receive rewards for completing the quest, but the further down the line they were, the less they would receive.
The news of Ellen's success spurred more players into action.
A lot of players started to increase their offers for a while.
The player named Yang Tianxing was even more direct. "Fifteen loaves of bread, unlimited drinking water, plus ten catties of nuts. If you have any other requests, brother, we'll try our best to meet them."
Ten catties of nuts!
Good lord, this is a great harvest! Did they stumble upon a fruit grove?
After thinking about it, Ye Jun felt no need to add on to the food.
No matter how much food there was, it would be useless if it couldn't be preserved.
And, since he was currently drifting at sea, the most important thing was safety.
At the same time, on top of a deserted island near the Arctic Circle, there were five anxious and apprehensive people staring deadpan at the chat channel with the direct chat log, which was the chat with Ye Jun.
"Brother Tian, I think we should forget about it. It's no big deal to drill wood for a fire," a tall, thin young man complained.
"Yeah. Brother Tian, the offer is too high, and we only found thirty catties of nuts in total!" the other man complained.
The other two were young women, one of whom was a short-haired girl wearing camouflage who was silently trying to start a fire by drilling wood, but it was clear that it wasn't an easy task. She had not seen a single spark of fire despite trying for more than an hour and blistering her hands.
The other young woman was a bespectacled sixteen or seventeen-year-old, with long hair like a waterfall which she had tied up with a strand of grass.
The latter analyzed seriously, "It wouldn't matter if we couldn't light a fire for a while if we would have been assigned to an ordinary deserted island. But not now. You see, the sun has already set, which means it'll be dark soon. It gets dark so early here… I suspect this is the edge of the polar regions—the temperature will definitely plummet at night, even to below zero. We can't make do without a fire. We will all get frostbite and get sick. Sickness means death in this environment.
"The more crucial point is, didn't you guys hear the game announcement that we can also get a reward and become Mages if we light a fire? So what's a little food compared to that?"
"I'll reply to him now then!"
"So, let's raise the offer then—big deal, give him all the food!" the tall, thin man gritted his teeth and said, "Big deal, we'll starve for a day! We'll find food tomorrow."
"You can't just raise the bar randomly. People are greedy; the more you give, the more he'll ask for."
The girl pushed up her glasses and said to the man who was their leader, "This player named Ye Jun chose death mode, and he chose to light a fire at the beginning, so he should be in a severely cold area, lighting a fire to keep warm. If it's called death mode, I reckon that it's either the Antarctic or the Arctic. Whether it's the North or South Pole, there's a lack of fuel. Food is not a priority for the people in death mode. We can start bargaining with this point. More importantly, we're not going to get a 'first clear'; our reward is going to be much less than what he got—your reply has to show that we're losing on this deal!"
"OK! Chengcheng, we'll do as you say!"
Soon, Ye Jun received a message again.
After seeing the message, Ye Jun frowned, thinking that the other party had guessed the difficulties he was currently experiencing.
No, the other side is saying that they think I'm taking advantage of them, and they're taking a loss?
Hehe…
Playing this game with me?
Ye Jun smiled lightly and replied, "I don't really like to take advantage of others, and since you guys feel at a disadvantage, let's call this off. I'll find someone else. By the way, you guys made a good point; the further down you rank in completing the quest, the fewer the rewards. But likewise, the further ahead you rank, the more the rewards."
The same phrase; one meaning, but two ways of saying it.
You guys think it's not the first clear, and the reward is too little. Then, when you succeed in drilling wood to start a fire, it'll be hard to say whether you can still get the reward!
Ye Jun's dry and decisive reply caused Yang Tianxing's squad to fall silent.
Yang Chengcheng lowered her head and said, "Brother, it was a miscalculation on my part."
"I don't blame you. You still think in terms of normal society, a profit mentality. However, you've overlooked the current environment and the lighter, which only the other side has—the only one in the world. We have to get it no matter what!"
"Brother, just say that if he needs it, we can help him search for supplies. This includes firewood, materials for building shelters, and so on. We can work together for a long time!" Yang Chengcheng presented a final remedy. "We have enough food so we can spend time helping him search for materials. That is our advantage!"
Ye Jun looked at the other side's reply and frowned.
Honestly, he didn't like those who took twists and turns; he preferred a one-word answer.
But there wasn't a better deal at the moment!
Ye Jun said, "Fifteen loaves of bread, fifteen days of water, ten catties of nuts, some timber, some vines, and some flat stones!"
"Yeah! It worked!"
"Ms. Chengcheng is impressive as expected, seeing into the hearts of people and guessing the other party's needs right away!" the tall, thin man licked her boots.
"I almost screwed up the deal by being smart about it!" Yang Chengcheng shook her head. "This is a person with an extremely decisive character, a bit extreme even; otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen the death mode. It's better not to try schemes against him if we want to strike deals with him in the future. Just be straightforward."
"Wang Yunzhi, cut the crap, hurry up and search for supplies before it gets dark!" The other man seemed to be somewhat dissatisfied with the tall man purposely currying favor with Yang Chengcheng.
Yang Tianxing coughed lightly and said, "Chengcheng, you and Yanzi, go to the beach to collect rocks. I will go with Wang Yunzhi and Yang Yiming to find firewood."
It became dark after an hour or so, and the north wind was blowing so hard that they shivered.
A pile of rocks and firewood had been stacked in front of the five people.
There were plenty of dead branches and trees on the deserted island; it was easy to collect a large pile.
"All right, let's start trading!" Yang Tianxing loaded the supplies into his Inventory first and then requested to initiate a trade.
Soon, the supplies in his backpack disappeared! A lighter appeared right after.
"Got it!"
Yang Tianxing held the lighter, and their eyes glowed with excitement.