Liao Ruili said, "So, these ores of mine cannot even cover the transportation costs? You must know these are high-purity gold ores. In mechanical transmission, these gold ores can be used to manufacture excellent transmission parts."
Hearing this, Ye Fan was startled. These seemingly ordinary rocks were actually gold ores?
Ye Fan's expression remained calm as he picked up a piece of ore and examined it. Indeed, within the ore, there was a...
Chu Shi said, "That's right. Even transporting a single drop of water requires an immense amount of iron ore. Your ores cannot cover the transportation fees either."
Liao Ruili asked, "Is there truly no way?"
Chu Shi replied, "There's certainly no way through that. However, we still have some water reserves. We have some stored water in the small cosmic battleships we descended to the surface in. We can exchange that surplus water with you. Of course, the exchange rate will not be on such terms."
Hope immediately flickered in Liao Ruili's eyes. He said, "That would be wonderful. Let's proceed with the trade immediately then. How many tons of clean water can this pile of ores trade for?"
Chu Shi stated directly, "One hundred kilograms. Only one hundred kilograms."
Ye Fan, standing nearby, was quite shocked by this price. Over ten tons of ore could only be exchanged for a hundred kilograms of water. If that was the case, it was far too exploitative.
But Liao Ruili did not think so. Liao Ruili said, "Since that's the case, let's trade immediately."
Chu Shi, however, shook his head and said, "No, we cannot trade now. We also need to use water. We can only trade after we complete our mission. If we have surplus water left afterwards, we can use that surplus water to trade with you. But if too much time passes and the surplus water becomes too little, then we won't be able to trade with you."
Liao Ruili said, "Oh. So you're looking for someone. I had forgotten. Who exactly are you looking for? If we can help you find them quickly, can we get a reward?"
Chu Shi replied, "Your water resources are insufficient even to leave this place."
Chu Shi did not elaborate further, but his meaning was clear. He implied that they couldn't even venture far from their current location, let alone search for someone.
Liao Ruili, not giving up, said, "Tell us first. Perhaps we have information about the person you're looking for. We can use that information as a form of payment for the trade."
Chu Shi shook his head and said, "Regarding these matters, you should discuss them with Unit 0. However, I don't hold out much hope for it."
Liao Ruili said helplessly, "If that's the case, then we have no bargaining chips."
Chu Shi said, "Wait, let us see your water collection site. Let me see what your water collection site is like. Why are you so desperate for water?"
Liao Ruili refused, "No, that place is very important to us. We cannot take you there."
Chu Shi named his price, "Five kilograms of clean water."
Liao Ruili immediately said, "Deal."
The Tatajiao tribesmen beside Liao Ruili no longer objected upon hearing about five kilograms of clean water.
Liao Ruili led Chu Shi further down. After descending about three hundred meters, they finally saw their water collection site.
From a sharp point of a rock extending from above, water droplets were slowly dripping down.
Chu Shi observed the size and frequency of the water droplets. He estimated that it would take about five hours to collect one liter of water. Furthermore, this was the deepest point; they could not explore any further down.
One liter of water every five hours. These Tatajiao tribesmen relied on such meager water sources for their survival. It was truly just enough to survive.
Seeing that he had brought them this far, Liao Ruili said directly, "This is where we collect our water. When the Four-Handed Xi people were destroying our planet, they also polluted all of our planet's water sources. If we needed to purify these water sources, it would require a vast amount of resources. These clean water droplets are what our Tatajiao tribesmen use to sustain our lives. We process these tiny amounts of water into our food and then consume it."
As Liao Ruili spoke, he led Chu Shi and Ye Fan back. At a point one hundred meters from the surface, Liao Ruili pointed to a pile of stored black powder and said, "This is our stored food. If this food is depleted, then our Tatajiao tribe will face doomsday."
Chu Shi looked at the black powder. It resembled starch.
Upon returning to the cave entrance, Chu Shi recounted everything he had seen below to Su Han.
Su Han asked, "Liao Ruili, I didn't expect you to show us so much. You've revealed your bottom line to us. Aren't you afraid we'll do something untoward?"
A look of despair crossed Liao Ruili's face. He said, "We are in a state of water scarcity every day. And our food reserves are not much. In a short time, we will starve to death. Therefore, we are of no value, and there's no reason for you to deal with us."
Su Han said, "Well, Unit 1 mentioned that you wish to cooperate with us. But do you truly have no information about the person we are looking for?"
From Chu Shi's description, Su Han understood that the Tatajiao tribesmen here were truly at their limit.
At this moment, upon hearing this, Liao Ruili's disappointment deepened. He finally made a decision.
Liao Ruili said, "Unit 0, please wait a moment. I need to discuss this with my tribesmen."
Liao Ruili led his Tatajiao tribesmen to a place where Su Han and the others could not hear them and began to confer.
Su Han and the other seven observed Liao Ruili and his tribesmen engage in a heated discussion.
In the end, Liao Ruili managed to persuade all of his Tatajiao tribesmen.
Then, Liao Ruili, along with all of his Tatajiao tribesmen, totaling fifteen individuals, including himself, approached.
Liao Ruili said, "Unit 0, please accept us!"
Su Han asked, "Accept you? Accept you for what?"
Liao Ruili replied, "Accept us as your subordinates. We will do whatever you ask us to do."
Su Han's face broke into a smile. "I can't offer high wages here, you know."
Liao Ruili said, "We dare not ask for wages now. As long as we have enough food, that will suffice."
In this situation, Liao Ruili did not say "as long as we have something to eat." He clearly stated that as long as the food was sufficient.