Chapter 153: Increasing Attributes

Chapter 153: Chapter 153: Increasing Attributes

He paused for a moment before continuing:

"I found two exits in the shelter. The south gate is heavy-duty; the average player and monster won’t be able to open it easily. But the small door on the west side isn’t very sturdy and needs to be reinforced.

Additionally, it would be best to create an escape tunnel. It would make it easier to flee the island if necessary.

Of course, abandoning the island is the absolute last resort. It’s an option we hope not to take, but we must have it."

The two of them each shared their opinions, and Shi Zhile readily agreed to everything.

She had thought of digging a tunnel long ago but hadn’t been able to start due to a lack of time.

Right now, her cousin was the most trustworthy person she had. As long as someone shared the burden, digging the tunnel could be put on the schedule.

Shi Zhile yawned. Suddenly remembering her agreement with Jiang Yuxing, she quickly said, "A Golden Island has spawned near Jiang Yuxing’s island. I agreed to go with him to search for supplies there tonight. Do you two want to come along?"

Thinking about how Jiang Yuxing and Wang Peng had suddenly disappeared after fending off the monsters, Shi Zhiyi couldn’t help but furrow her brow.

"Is it close to Jiang Yuxing’s island? Wen Bai and I only have one Summon Order between the two of us. It would be a waste to use it just to explore an island."

Shi Zhile tapped her panel and displayed the Teleportation Gate. "I don’t know if it’s close or not, but the two islands have opened a Teleportation Gate between them. You don’t need a Summon Order; you can get to his island through the gate."

She yawned again, her eyelids growing heavier. After closing the Teleportation Gate, she slowly made her way downstairs.

"I’m so tired. You two think about it first and let me know when you’ve decided. I’m going back to my room to sleep for a bit."

「A deep sleep later, Shi Zhile was woken by the afternoon heat.」

The hot sun beat down on the window, its heat continuously seeping into the room. The wooden window was near the north stone wall, which kept the room relatively cool, but it wasn’t enough to stop the temperature from steadily rising.

She quickly washed up, then entered the Breeding Space to feed the chickens, ducks, cows, and rabbits.

The calf had grown exceptionally sturdy. Before she knew it, the mother cow’s belly had become round again.

The pregnant doe had given birth to another litter. Shi Zhile counted eight kits this time, each one pink and tender, looking like little mice.

Next to the rabbit hutch was the quail coop. These quails had never been in the Planting Space, so their growth was very slow.

Although they hadn’t laid any quail eggs yet, they were all plump and round, cheerfully pecking at the cornmeal on the ground.

There were over ten new chicken and duck eggs in the coops. After collecting them all, she added more spring water to the water basin.

After leaving the Breeding Space, she entered the Planting Space again.

Thanks to Mr. Wen’s care, the crops in the Planting Space were growing exceptionally lush.

The cherry tomatoes grew crop after crop. The beanstalks in the far corner had begun to sprout like crazy. She found some branches to build a trellis, then wound the vines that were trailing on the ground onto the frame, letting them grow rapidly.

Remembering they were having hot pot for dinner, Shi Zhile picked some more green vegetables.

This time, she didn’t pull them up by the roots. Instead, she pinched off the most tender green parts from the heart of the vegetables and placed them in her basket.

Before she knew it, the basket was stuffed to the brim. She watered the soil with spring water one last time before exiting the Planting Space.

Two or three in the afternoon was the hottest time of day. In the courtyard, the areas without a roof for shade were especially scorching. The fenced garden on the west side had already been covered with a sunshade net, and Mr. Wen was lying in a cool, shady spot, fanning himself.

Seeing Shi Zhile come out, Mr. Wen brought out a bowl of strawberries with a joyful expression. It was a small bowl, holding only three or four of them.

But these strawberries were exceptionally large—each one was the size of a fist. Their surfaces were coated in a thin layer of water droplets, making them look especially tempting.

"Have a taste. See how the strawberries grown from the Primitive Forest’s Strawberry Seedlings differ from the ones in our real world."

The world outside the game had no shortage of strawberries, and certainly no shortage of Strawberry Seedlings. During cultivation, the seedlings were constantly sprayed with pesticides and ripening agents, long having lost their original fruity fragrance.

Often, the bigger the strawberry, the hollower its center and the fainter its fragrance.

Shi Zhile took out a lounge chair and sat down next to Mr. Wen. She casually picked up a strawberry and took a bite. Instantly, her Constitution attribute increased by one point.

Her eyes instantly lit up.

"This strawberry is sweeter, with a hint of tartness in the sweetness. It’s very fragrant, and most importantly, it can increase attributes!"

She hadn’t held out much hope, but to her surprise, she was actually eating the most delicious strawberry she’d ever had.

She finished the strawberry in a few quick bites, then picked up another and began to eat it slowly.

This time, her Strength attribute also increased by one point.

"One strawberry can increase an attribute by one point. The attribute is likely chosen at random, but the daily limit for each attribute increase should be one point, just like with the pears.

Elder Wen, how many strawberries does one Strawberry Seedling produce? Are there enough for us to eat?"

Mr. Wen sighed and shook his head with a hint of disappointment. "One seedling only produced four fruits. Strawberries aren’t exactly filling, so to save space, I only dug up four Strawberry Seedlings back then.

Although the Strawberry Seedlings will propagate, at the current rate, it’s impossible to have enough for everyone."

Shi Zhile looked at the strawberry in her hand. "These strawberries weren’t grown in the Planting Space, were they?"

"That’s right, they weren’t. But the soil they were planted in was the black earth from the space.

Of the four Strawberry Seedlings, one was planted entirely in the black earth. For the other three, the amount of black earth in each pot was successively halved. So far, only two have produced strawberries. The remaining two seedlings couldn’t adapt to the climate and soil, and they’ve already withered and died."

Mr. Wen sighed again. ’If I had known that strawberries from the Primitive Forest’s Strawberry Seedlings could increase attributes,’ he thought, ’I would have dug up more seedlings no matter what.’

’Even if I hadn’t dug up more, I definitely wouldn’t have planted them outside the space, just to let them go to waste for nothing.’

Shi Zhile took a bite of another strawberry. After increasing her last attribute, agility, by one point, she stood up and clapped her hands.

"Stop sighing. Let’s go! I’m taking you to the Primitive Forest to harvest strawberries."

Mr. Wen was taken aback. "Go to the Primitive Forest? The instance has already closed. How can we go?"

With a thought from Shi Zhile, the Teleportation Gate appeared before their eyes.

"I got a Teleportation Gate from a treasure chest. Thinking the Primitive Forest was rich in resources, I left one of them there. And now, it’s come in handy."

Mr. Wen scrambled to his feet, his speed no less than Shi Zhile’s.

"Let’s go, let’s go, hurry! We can’t let the bugs and birds on the island ruin the strawberries." ℯ

They stepped through the Teleportation Gate and, in the blink of an eye, arrived in the lushly vegetated Primitive Forest.

After the tsunami, some time had passed, and the Primitive Forest had come back to life. It was even more full of the songs of birds and the scent of flowers than before.

Without alerting the primitive tribespeople, the two of them searched the forest with weapons in hand for a while, but they only found a few very small Strawberry Seedlings.

The time reached 5 PM. Before leaving, Shi Zhile made a trip to the tribe and, in front of most of the tribespeople, released a small pile of sea fish.

As cheers rose one after another, Shi Zhile, her mission accomplished, stepped into the Teleportation Gate and vanished before the tribespeople’s eyes.