"My Lord, this is the Card it dropped." After the others had left, Du Yu secretly slipped a Card into Qin Ziwen’s palm.

Qin Ziwen glanced at the Card.

[Building Card] Level 1 Leather Armor Workshop.

After Qin Ziwen quietly put the Card away, Du Yu walked over to the Raptor’s corpse and used his knife to chop off its claws one by one.

These jet-black, sharp claws were natural daggers.

They were extremely hard and sharp.

Next was its hide. After being dragged all this way, it was already damaged to some extent, but fortunately, the flesh underneath was preserved.

A corpse this large would take too long for one person to handle, so Qin Ziwen called everyone over to help butcher it. They all worked with great enthusiasm.

The commotion attracted the attention of onlookers. At this stage, dinosaur meat was a rarity. Although many had seen it, very few had actually eaten it.

From behind and to the side, a figure approached. Urged on by his teammates, Zheng Yuan came forward and asked sheepishly, "Chairman Qin, is this meat for sale?"

Qin Ziwen looked up with a smile. "Long time no see. The meat’s not for sale, but since we’re friends, I can give you a couple of pounds."

Zheng Yuan looked a little ashamed. "Chairman Qin, I couldn’t..."

Ever since his failed attempt to recruit Qin Ziwen to his team, he hadn’t seen him again.

The ten-building Gated Community wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t exactly small either.

The only two times they had met were during the last Giant Hyena Group attack, and now.

Zheng Yuan said, "I appreciate the kind offer. I’ll bring you some sugar cane later. Don’t refuse. If you really consider me a friend, then it has to be a two-way street."

"Haha, alright then. It’s been a while since I’ve had sugar cane anyway," Qin Ziwen said with a laugh.

"I got lucky and received a Sugar Cane Forest Resource Card during the settlement," Zheng Yuan chuckled. "The yield isn’t huge, but it’s enough for a sweet treat now and then."

As the two talked, they became a bit more familiar with each other again.

Zheng Yuan couldn’t help but remark with some emotion, "You’ve changed a lot. I haven’t seen you for a bit, and now you’re the chairman of the Qin Alliance. I saw you guys hunting that Flesh-Splitting Beast earlier. It was impressive. Your teamwork is excellent, and your weapons are great too."

As he said this, Zheng Yuan looked a bit envious.

He had only joined the Alliance Association after it grew powerful, forced by the circumstances. His timing was late, and with so many Hunting Teams in the association, his own group hadn’t made much progress. Fortunately, they had discovered an altar and obtained a few Cards. Adding in what they got from the Home settlement after the second transmigration, they weren’t at the top, but they were doing better than most.

Qin Ziwen smiled and shook his head. "You’re exaggerating. By the way, Brother Zheng, your beard is getting longer and longer."

Hearing this, Zheng Yuan stroked his thick, full beard and said helplessly, "My beard has always grown in thick. It makes me look older. Back in high school, elementary school kids used to call me ’uncle’."

Qin Ziwen was amused. "Hey, that’s pretty good. People called you ’uncle’ in high school, and they still call you ’uncle’ after graduation. You’re basically an ageless dreamboat."

"Get outta here."

Just as the two were chatting, the sound of a bicycle reached their ears.

The sound grew closer.

A red mountain bike, making the distinctive sound of turning gears, sped past the two of them and stopped in front of Luo Gang.

The young man squeezed the brakes and put his left foot on the ground to steady the bike. "Teacher Luo!" he said breathlessly. "A merchant caravan has arrived! This group is huge—twenty people! And they even have ox-carts and horse-drawn carriages."

"First, drink some water. Speak slowly, don’t rush." Luo Gang took a cup of water from a nearby table and handed it to the young man.

The young man took a couple of sips of water, moistening his dry throat. After catching his breath, his voice regained its strength. "Zhou Xiaqing has them waiting for now. The caravan is quite interested in some of the items we showed them and agreed to wait for half a day."

Luo Gang praised, "You all did very well."

The young man gripped the handlebars and asked, "Teacher Luo, are we heading back now? I can give you a ride on my bike."

"Wait a moment." Luo Gang gestured for the young man to sit down first.

Then he found Qin Ziwen and Zou Jianghe and told them about the matter.

Qin Ziwen was also a little curious about these traveling merchants. "Alright, let’s head back. It’s getting dark."

Zou Jianghe glanced at the sky and said, "Agreed. It’s getting late."

The few of them made their decision, then gathered everyone to prepare to head back.

Watching everyone pack up, Luo Gang glanced back at the pool of water.

His original plan had been to establish a simple outpost here today. He’d hoped to station people to completely secure this water source, using it as a base for hunting wild beasts and establishing a second forward base.

But after today’s on-site activities, he realized the plan was too hasty.

At night, the temperature would drop and the Gobi Desert would come alive. Leaving people here was still too dangerous.

After packing up, the long column of two hundred people headed back the way they came.

It was already seven in the evening by the time they returned to the Gated Community.

Qin Ziwen had Du Yu mount Red Hare and take the Beaked Eagle to the southern altar to retrieve the Cards that had spawned today. He then found Jia Liangcai to ask how the preparations for the trade materials were coming along.

Jia Liangcai said, "Reporting to My Lord, they are all prepared."

Jia Liangcai led him to an open area around a corner. It had been cleared out during renovations and was now filled with a large pile of metal and parts stripped from cars.

According to him, Li Tieshan had already picked through most of it, leaving behind only the "scrap metal" that was too difficult to reprocess or wasn’t worth the effort.

In addition, there were two pieces of roughly processed leather.

"I recall that tanned leather is contraband in Great Yong, right?" Qin Ziwen said, pointing to the leather.

Jia Liangcai gave a slight smile and looked at his lord. "The more forbidden something is, the more valuable it becomes. However, we can’t sell this openly. There are too many prying eyes among the merchants; it must be traded privately."

Qin Ziwen understood. The two of them exchanged a knowing smile.

With Jia Liangcai, a former native official of Great Yong, on his side, Qin Ziwen felt quite at ease.

He called over some members of the Qin Alliance to help move the goods to the school building.

Nearly three-quarters of the students from the school building had already migrated into the Gated Community.

The remaining hundred-plus people stayed in the building.

This was because the building contained eight Homes, and almost all the Cards obtained from the previous world were stored inside. They couldn’t bear to abandon them, so those who remained behind were mostly the male students.

Seeing Qin Ziwen arrive with his people, these young men enthusiastically came forward to help carry the goods up to Classroom 305 on the third floor.

The classroom had been converted into a reception room. Inside was a simple teahouse built with a bamboo and wood frame—the physical manifestation of the Traveler’s Tea House.

Inside the reception room, five traveling merchants were seated.

Their postures were relaxed and their attitudes casual. As they listened to Luo Gang’s price quotes, they whispered among themselves, constantly trying to haggle the price down.

The door opened, and Qin Ziwen walked in. Jia Liangcai followed, his back hunched and head lowered, looking for all the world like an ordinary old man.

Jia Liangcai discreetly sized up the five men, his gaze finally settling on the merchant on the far left, who was dressed in a long, blue silk robe. From this man, Jia Liangcai sensed a familiar aura.

...

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