After browsing for over an hour, James' eyes were tired and he hadn't made a single purchase, not for lack of good items, but because the prices were too high.
With no other option, he put up another 5 listings of 10 ml spring water, waiting for a potential trade. Just as he was about to check if there was any reply for the basement, he received a message from Luke.
Luke sent three common steaks and one good-quality honeycomb, along with a message: "Kid, do you have any healing potions?"
James's heart tightened, and he asked, "Brother, are you hurt again?"
Luke didn't say much but sent a selfie. His face was swollen, his eyes almost closed, looking utterly despondent.
James joked, "Brother, even an experienced hunter like you can have mishaps?"
Luke replied, "I had no choice. I was walking under a tree when a beehive fell right onto my face! I didn't even have time to run!"
James grimaced, imagining Luke's helplessness. Nobody could have predicted a beehive falling from a tree. The only one to blame might be the bees for not building their house sturdily.
James also reflected on his own encounter with a beehive today, feeling fortunate to have escaped unharmed.
He asked Luke if he still had any flesh essence, mentioning that he only had one healing potion left. Luke seemed a bit embarrassed and said he didn't have any, as good-quality beasts were rare and difficult for him to handle, often resulting in injuries. However, he mentioned having a good-quality Poison Bee Queen that might yield flesh essence.
Hearing this, James felt helpless but also realized the rarity of good-quality beasts. If there were many good-quality beasts near shelters, survivors wouldn't stand a chance.
But then, a thought struck James.
A good-quality Poison Bee Queen? Luke, with his strength, had to flee from a bee swarm, suggesting the swarm's formidable power. And a bee swarm could expand and strengthen its numbers through reproduction.
The more James thought about it, the brighter his eyes shone.
He asked Luke excitedly if he brought back the beehive and if there were any bees left.
Luke replied that he had already taken the honey from the beehive, which was now in his yard. James quickly requested the bee queen and the remaining swarm.
Although puzzled, Luke agreed.
James traded his healing potion for the bee queen and the swarm.
The beehive he received was badly damaged, and the bees were nearly dead, so there was no risk of being stung. These bees were black and larger than usual, with long stingers, appearing more formidable than the bees James had encountered.
Through the system, James learned these were called Black Tiger Bees.
The overall swarm was good-quality, like the Black Tiger Bee Queen, but the individual bees were of common quality. Black Tiger Bees were larger, with the ordinary ones the size of a baby's fist and the queen the size of an adult's. They were also highly poisonous and aggressive.
James took out the Beast Taming Scroll and used it on the Black Tiger Bee Queen.
"An 80% success rate, hopefully I'm not unlucky," he muttered, still somewhat worried despite the high probability of success.
Soon, a white light enveloped the bee queen, seemingly performing a ritual.
After a few breaths, James could feel a subtle, indescribable connection with the Black Tiger Bee Queen – he had succeeded!
Excitedly, he tried giving commands to the bee queen, which it seemed to understand. However, the queen was still of limited intelligence, only able to follow simple commands like attacking, not harming its master, gathering honey, reproducing, etc. It couldn't perform complex tasks like drawing, writing, or singing.
James was overjoyed, enthusiastically commanding the bee queen, but it soon lay motionless on the table, apparently exhausted. It seemed the queen had been severely injured before and now needed time to recuperate.
James thought, "Luke must have given them a hard time. He wouldn't have asked for a healing potion otherwise."
He felt a bit sorry, not for Luke, but for the loss of the Black Tiger Bee swarm's potential. If he had a whole swarm, he could imagine how strong it would be.
But that was just wishful thinking, as one couldn't capture the bee queen without defeating the swarm.
James instructed the bee queen to rest in the hive and try to preserve the undamaged bee eggs, planning to use them to quickly replenish the swarm.
He fed the swarm some spring water and prepared food, placing them near a window in the living room, unconcerned about the buzzing noise as the window was far from his bedroom.
Returning to his room, James checked the trading market again.
There were many offers for his spring water, but none of the items were appealing to him. After rejecting them all, he searched for stone materials, not just common ones, but good-quality stones like the White Pine Tree.
Fortunately, other survivors had discovered good-quality resources nearby. He found various types of stones:
- [Name: Blue Vein Stone (Good) Function: Extremely hard, blue-patterned mineral, suitable for construction.]
- [Name: Crimson Stone (Good) Function: Unique mineral from near a volcano, contains some volcanic energy, emits weak heat.]
- [Name: Fine Steel Ore (Good) Function: Rich in impurities, refined steel has good conductivity and hardness, suitable for making weapons!]
- [Name: Gold River Sandstone Function: …]
- […]
Each type of ore had its own extraordinary uses, which made James quite envious.
However, after considering practicality, he chose the Blue Vein Stone!
These ores were intended for constructing shelter facilities, making building materials more appropriate.
Moreover, the price of the Blue Vein Stone was quite reasonable, allowing for a one-to-one trade with the same quality wood or a ten-to-one purchase with common-grade materials.
However, James did not plan to trade using White Pine Wood, as he needed wood to produce charcoal, which was more valuable than the wood itself.
Therefore, he planned to trade directly using charcoal.