Jinbao continued, [Of course, if you encounter any natural treasures in the apocalypse, you can also sell them to the system. Such items usually fetch a high price.]
"If I had natural treasures, I'd keep them for myself. Why would I sell them to you?" Jiang Yuntan chuckled.
So this was how plane coins in the plane mall system came about. She had been wondering before: if everyone sold things to get plane coins, then where did the buyers get their plane coins? It turned out you could top up, but she didn't have any crystals to top up with now.
[Maybe you'll luck out and stumble upon a pile of treasures that you can't even finish using.]
Hearing this, Jiang Yuntan smiled. "I'll take your word for it. Jinbao, you sure know how to talk."
Jinbao replied with a hint of pride, [Not at all, not at all. It's all to encourage the host to work hard!]
Jiang Yuntan: ...Encourage? More like trickery, right?
She suddenly said, "Jinbao, stop calling me 'host.' That makes me feel like I have a parasite attached to me. Call me by my name or call me 'boss.'"
Jin.the parasite.bao: ...
[Alright, boss.]
A faint frequency fluctuation appeared on Jinbao's system page. It couldn't help silently complaining: She called it a parasite, so it wouldn't kindly use her name.
Unexpectedly, this one 'boss' made Jiang Yuntan happy.
"I never managed to become a boss before the apocalypse, but I did in the apocalypse."
Jiang Yuntan said cheerfully, "Jinbao, even though you call me boss, I won't consider us a superior-subordinate relationship. We're teammates fighting side by side. Let's work together to make the apocalyptic plane system bigger and stronger!"
"By the way, can I change the name of my Showcase? Just change it to 'Bigger and Stronger' for me!"
Jinbao, who had inexplicably become a subordinate, suddenly felt it had dug a pit for itself. Moreover, it felt a bit bloated. But how could a system feel that way?
[Alright, boss.] Jinbao finally helped change the name of the Showcase. Although it thought the name was really ugly...
[Boss, would you like to exchange the crystal in your hand for plane coins?]
Jiang Yuntan looked at the crystal in her hand, then glanced at the background of the plane system. She suddenly realized she already had 12 points, and exactly 20 plane coins. The dolls and scroll paintings worth 1 point each had sold for 10 total, plus two bottles of perfume sold. She had never intended to sell this crystal anyway; maybe it would be useful later. Now seeing that she already had income and even saved 12 points, there was even less reason to sell the crystal.
So Jiang Yuntan said, "No exchange. I want to upgrade to a first-level plane merchant now."
After saying that, she conveniently put the crystal into a small box and stored the box in the space of the plane system.
[Alright. Whenever you want to sell, feel free to sell.]
[Now upgrading you to a first-level plane merchant.]
In less than three seconds, Jinbao's voice sounded in her ear. [Apocalyptic plane merchant Jiang Yuntan, upgraded to first-level plane merchant. Plane merchant contacts unlocked.]
[Now randomly matching you with a first-level plane merchant.]
[Matched with ancient plane, refugee-settling plane, and 1960s plane. Please choose one plane to link.]
Jiang Yuntan was silent when she saw these three planes. The ancient plane was fine, but what about the other two? Short of food and clothing... What could the refugee-settling plane even trade with her?
Perhaps sensing the speechlessness behind Jiang Yuntan's silence, Jinbao explained, [If you want to match with more useful planes, work hard to upgrade, boss.]
Jiang Yuntan: ...You don't say.
She thought for a moment and said, "Match with the ancient plane."
[Alright, matching now. A link request has been sent to Mu Qingtang of the ancient plane. Please wait.]
Jiang Yuntan suddenly realized something and asked, "Do you mean that even if I initiate a matching request, the other party can refuse?"
[Yes.]
Jiang Yuntan asked again, "If the other party refuses my link request, can I still link to another plane? Or will I waste this linking opportunity from the upgrade?"
[If the other party refuses your matching request, you can choose another plane to match.]
Seeing that she had upgraded so quickly, Jinbao stated matter-of-factly, [Of course, our plane mall system also hopes for more trading opportunities between hosts of different planes.]
Jiang Yuntan casually asked, "So why does your plane mall system have such a function? It can't be just for charity, right?"
Jinbao said formally, [Our system naturally hopes for more exchange and mutual benefit between planes.]
Jiang Yuntan, hearing its evasive words, decided not to press further. For now, the system didn't seem to bring any negative effects.
As they spoke, Mu Qingtang of the ancient plane accepted her matching request.
After Jiang Yuntan agreed to the Video Call, a woman dressed in a red gold-thread embroidered ru-skirt appeared before her eyes. The skirt featured large vermillion crabapple blossoms that shimmered. Her jet-black hair was styled into a flying cloud bun, with a three-tailed phoenix hairpin carrying a string of pearl tassels, like a flower of worldly wealth.
The moment Jiang Yuntan saw her, she knew she had made the right bet. Mu Qingtang should be able to produce what she wanted.
She took the initiative and said, "Hello, I'm Jiang Yuntan from the apocalyptic plane."
Mu Qingtang looked at the person opposite her. She was as strikingly beautiful as herself but had an ethereal air, with bright eyes and white teeth, like sparkling jade. She immediately felt a favorable impression.
She responded, "I am Mu Qingtang from the ancient plane, also the Qinghe Commandery Princess of the Great Sheng Dynasty. Is there anything you desire?"
She had only recently obtained the plane mall system and had traded with others before. However, most of the time she was the one giving things away. Meeting was fate, and as a commandery princess, she didn't lack those things. Seeing others lacking food and clothing, they looked pitiful, so she gave freely without caring about what they gave her in return.
Jiang Yuntan took out the Blood Jade Bracelet given to her by Shen's father and showed it to Mu Qingtang. "Do you have a bracelet similar to this? If you do, tell me what you want, and I'll find it for you."
Mu Qingtang looked at it. "It looks a bit familiar. Wait a moment. Let me check my treasury."
With that, she stood up and walked toward her private treasury. As her figure moved, Jiang Yuntan also saw Mu Qingtang's environment—truly immensely wealthy yet tasteful.