CHAPTER 255: CHAPTER 256 TRUST TRANSACTION

The wind flowed past his ears as Lin Yue ran with all his might, never glancing back even once to see what was happening behind him.

Tall and long-legged, Lin Yue did not lag behind an average person in running, let alone those lizardmen who, although upright, were not swift in their movements.

As the saying goes, people often unleash immense potential in the face of crisis, and Lin Yue firmly believed he was in such a phase now.

He had been running for what felt like tens of minutes by now, yet he didn’t feel tired; despite the sweat pouring down his body, his stamina did not seem depleted.

Lin Yue naturally attributed this to the great improvement his physical fitness had undergone over the past few days.

"Plop-plop!" Even the Little Ice Lizards were exhausted, one after another jumping onto Lin Yue, sticking out their tongues in tiredness.

"Shook them off?" Lin Yue asked his little companions, who, as if understanding, nodded constantly on his shoulders.

Yet, Lin Yue did not relax.

He ran another kilometer or so before finally stopping.

Looking back, he noticed wisps of black smoke rising at the far end of his vision, with no more movement from the lizardmen.

Was he completely safe now?

Lin Yue wasn’t sure how far he’d run yet, but he knew he had exceeded his own limits.

He placed a stone wall on the ground and sat heavily on it, gasping for breath.

At the moment his mind relaxed completely, it felt like all strength was drained from his body, his muscles sore, head dizzy, heart pounding.

He even lay back against the stone wall, letting the sweat drip all over freely.

Yet, only minutes later, he struggled to sit up again.

This wasn’t a good place to rest.

Aside from safety concerns, just the sun beating down made him feel quite uncomfortable.

Summoning the system panel and opening the area map, Lin Yue found that he had veered off course.

He had run quite a distance eastward, barely closing the distance to his shelter.

If he were to walk back...

Lin Yue reckoned it might take at least seven to eight hours, assuming he walked continuously without rest.

After some thought, he took out the High-Precision Research Workstation.

This thing was very useful, occupying minimal space and was handy to carry, whether in the Secret Realm or Underground Ruins or this Otherworld.

Since taking it to the Secret Realm last time, Lin Yue hadn’t really bothered to leave it at the shelter again.

After bringing out the sand buggy once more, Lin Yue took out his toolbox and removed the broken tire.

Decomposing the tire into a blueprint using the workstation, Lin Yue put everything away.

"Need rubber, alloy, stuff like that... better ask if anyone has it."

Honestly speaking, there wasn’t much in the Storage Space worthwhile for trading; nothing was good enough to exchange, and basically, all were important.

Alloy could possibly be substituted with steel, but rubber was hard to come by, leaving only solutions through the Secret Realm.

He contacted Xing Lingfeng immediately, but soon received a reply from the other side.

"Lin Yue, we don’t have that... but given some time, we can try our luck in the Secret Realm."

No luck... After politely responding, Lin Yue reached out to Xia Feihong.

Even after drinking a bottle of water, there was no reply from the other side.

Contacting everyone but Fei Yue resulted in either no response or a negative answer.

Indeed, rubber wasn’t easy to acquire.

Generally, although some are interested in cars, without professional tools or sufficient Storage Space, bringing a broken car back from the Secret Realm is virtually impossible.

Moreover, cars require parts, fuel, and even in disasters, where to place them is a concern.

Indeed, most shelters wouldn’t even consider them.

Lin Yue finally looked at Fei Yue’s avatar.

He really didn’t want to approach Fei Yue again, especially as he hadn’t responded to Fei Yue’s proposal from last time.

He was still contemplating the Domineering People matter, and contacting Fei Yue now might make them push him for a decision? After all, if they did have it, he’d owe a favor.

Darn Meng Yutang, the third master...

Lin Yue once again felt the gap between himself and true moguls.

Their wisdom and strategy were correlated with their age; he was still too inexperienced.

Perhaps in combat and survival, he could outshine these veterans, but in social interactions, experience, and wisdom, he fell far short; accept it or not, he had to.

"Fei Yue, do you have rubber or tires?"

Lin Yue knew that if he cared too much, fortune might elude him.

Standing up, after enough rest, he had to continue moving forward.

Lizardmen would not cease pursuit just because he ran far away.

Letting the Little Ice Lizards drink the remaining mineral water, and giving them some Snickers bars for a quick energy boost, Lin Yue now followed the area map’s direction toward his shelter.

Simultaneously, he didn’t close the system panel.

Very soon, the other party’s information arrived.

"Rubber? Tires, right? We have three tires, what’s the trade?" Unexpectedly, the other party didn’t ask him about his considerations but instead brought good news.

Three tires, sufficient for the sand buggy, but Lin Yue knew he didn’t have anything to trade that was worthwhile.

Taking a deep breath, he made a decision.

"I currently don’t have anything to trade with you, but I really need these three tires. If you agree, I’ll offer you something you want once I return to the shelter for the exchange."

Lin Yue understood, the other party didn’t present the expected "Domineering People" condition, but maybe now it was time.

After all, in this Otherworld, there were no pure "trusts," only differences in interests.

Saying he’d provide later, anyone in their position would consider it carefully.

How much does trust matter through a screen?

Even if possible, they might completely refuse to fulfill.

And even if guaranteed, what exactly to return, would the other demand exorbitant conditions?

That was also an issue.

This kind of verbal trade had no rules to bind it.

It carried considerable risks for both buyer and seller.

Being rejected, or the other party demanding a "Domineering People" condition, both were possible.

Lin Yue waited quietly for a reply; this was a multifaceted competition involving "trust," "human nature," "interests," etc.

He was prepared.

If it truly didn’t work out, he’d just agree.

"No worries, feel free to exchange with whatever you have, I’ve already listed it on the designated auction trade, and as for what we want... oh right, do you still have watermelon? Just one will do, our Refugee Village speaks highly of your watermelons, everyone says they can’t get enough, haha."

Fei Yue’s response left Lin Yue stunned.

Only one watermelon?

Without considering whether he’d return it later.

And no mention of the Domineering People proposal? Even hanging the tires directly on the trading board without hesitation...

Lin Yue suddenly felt like he might have been mistaken.