Chapter 157: A Player Lands on the Island

Chapter 157: Chapter 157: A Player Lands on the Island

"The rainstorm’s here. Looks like it’s going to be a long one. Let’s just hope this storm is a blessing, not a curse."

Jiang Yuxing lowered his binoculars. "The rainstorm ends the extreme heat. In my opinion, it’s a blessing, not a curse. After such a long drought, the island could use some welcome rain."

The others chimed in one after another, their discussion centered on the rainstorm.

In the middle of their discussion, Shi Zhile sniffed the air. "Wait a second. I think I smell something burning."

Shi Zhiyi whipped her head around and slapped Wen Bai on the shoulder. "It’s the hairy crabs!"

The bad news: the water in the pot had boiled away, and it was indeed the hairy crabs that were burning.

The good news: the burnt smell was coming from the shells. The meat was still edible, and the pot wasn’t ruined.

Wen Bai took the hairy crabs out of the pot, refilled it with water, and started steaming the oysters.

Shi Zhile took out a handful of chili peppers and garlic, tossed them to Jiang Yuxing and Wang Peng, and had the two chop them up.

After lunch, Mr. Wen dove back into the Planting Space, dragging Wen Bai along to pull weeds.

Shi Zhiyi steered the island onward. Seeing Jiang Yuxing and Wang Peng with nothing to do, Shi Zhile put them to good use, taking both of them into the Breeding Space to work.

The rainstorm lasted for three days without any sign of stopping.

As the rain fell harder and heavier, many players began to panic.

During the extreme heat, they could at least go out fishing at night. But now, with the rain pouring down day and night, players couldn’t even leave their shelters, let alone go out to sea.

In the chat channel, the voices that had been eagerly awaiting the rain gradually faded, replaced by pleas for resources.

By the tenth day of the downpour, the players who had been clamoring about the water shortage in the chat went completely silent. Many started @ing Wei Zhan, asking when the rain would stop.

Meanwhile, at Huaxia Base, everyone was frantically busy.

Before the rainstorm arrived, the search and rescue teams had brought back a group of players, along with a shipment of emergency food supplies.

After the rains began, they were busy digging reservoirs on the island, mining for gold, and reinforcing their shelters.

On the eleventh day of the storm, the players finally received a message from Wei Zhan.

[Wei Zhan: According to the base’s experts, this rainstorm is the latest natural disaster. Its duration is currently unknown.

However, we’ve observed that the temperature is slowly dropping. There will be a period of low temperatures after the rainstorm. To prevent seawater from getting trapped in your shelters, please clear out any accumulated rainwater as soon as possible.

Player deaths increased during the period of extreme heat. There are currently fewer than 200,000 players in this region. The arrival of this new disaster may be a prelude to a server merge.

Players currently traveling on the open sea, please find a nearby island for shelter as soon as possible. After the rain stops, you may proceed to Huaxia Base on your own.

Huaxia needs everyone, and the base needs you. In these special times, we hope everyone will unite and overcome this challenge together.]

Many players were panicked by the first part of the message, but when they read the final words of encouragement, their fear inexplicably vanished.

Many players echoed the sentiment in the chat, encouraging one another.

Amidst the uplifting voices, it was inevitable that a couple of troublemakers would chime in.

Among a flood of "We can do it!" and "Long live Huaxia!" comments, a long-winded post by Wei Hui stood out.

[Wei Hui: @Contentment Brings Happiness, the officials told everyone to unite. As the person at the top of the resource leaderboard, shouldn’t you be handing out some benefits to everyone? When you were short on iron blocks, we all helped you out quite a bit.]

[Ma Guangrong: @Contentment Brings Happiness, everyone is trapped by the rain right now. We can’t go out to forage from the sea, and we have no source of resources. As the top player, you must give half of your resources to everyone. Otherwise, you’re a disgrace to Huaxia.]

[+1]

[+2]

...

[+10086]

The voices of agreement grew louder and louder, as if Shi Zhile would be a heinous criminal if she didn’t hand over her resources.

She had to laugh.

She decisively posted her location: [Come and get it, you cowards. Any player who has the guts to make it to my island right now without dying, I’ll provide you with two full meals a day.]

Visibility was extremely low in the storm. Any player who could travel in this weather and survive had unquestionable courage.

People like that either had to be killed or controlled. And right now, what Huaxia needed were courageous players.

Provocation aside, after sending the message, Shi Zhile decisively sent a batch of chicken and duck eggs and vegetables to Huaxia Base, then posted a screenshot in the chat channel.

[My, Shi Zhile’s, resources are only for the base. Players who don’t want to starve can go to Huaxia Base themselves after the rain stops.]

[@Wei Zhan @Jiang Jing, some of these chicken and duck eggs might be fertilized. If you find any, note the quantity and send them back. I can help incubate them. The hatching rate is 100%, and the chick survival rate is over 80%.]

The message was posted in the public chat channel, so a huge number of players saw it. A few accused her of just putting on a show.

But more players followed Shi Zhile’s lead and @ed Jiang Jing and Wei Zhan. They wanted to know if it was true. If Shi Zhile had really sent resources to Huaxia Base, they would definitely head for the base after the rain stopped.

Before, they had assumed that with so many people at the base, the resources would be spread thin. But with the top-ranked player personally guaranteeing supplies, it was enough to prove that you could get enough to eat at the base. At the very least, the base was safer than their own islands.

Jiang Jing received the resources and immediately got Wei Zhan and a few others to thank Shi Zhile in the chat, giving everyone a definitive, positive answer.

Public opinion reversed in an instant, and the demanding voices vanished. Wei Hui and his cronies tried to stir up more trouble, but their messages were drowned out by the continuous flood of new posts.

In the afternoon, Shi Zhile entered the Planting Space.

The peaches, pears, and apples in the orchard had ripened.

There weren’t many ripe peaches or apples—only about twenty-odd fruits per tree on average. But this time, there was an exceptional number of pears. As far as the eye could see, the pear trees were practically laden with them.

She casually picked a peach, washed it in the spring water, and took a bite. A moment later, one of her stats increased by a point.

After finishing the peach, she picked an apple. This time, a stat also increased by one point.

’Looks like my guess was right. Any fruit can increase stats.’

Mr. Wen finished watering the ground and walked over. Shi Zhile casually picked a pear and handed it to him.

Mr. Wen took a bite, swallowing it skin and all. "This pear is good. Just like the strawberries, it can increase stats."

Shi Zhile asked, "Elder Wen, which stat did you choose to increase?"

Mr. Wen continued eating. "I chose Constitution."

"So you really can choose. It’s not just the pears that can increase stats; the peach and apple I just ate can too.

Including the strawberries, I’m guessing all the fruits that appear in this game can increase stats. But aside from the pears, the stat increase from the other fruits is random."

Mr. Wen was silent for a moment before speaking slowly. "This is a good thing, but it’s also not a good thing.

You’re at the top of the leaderboards. Once the news that fruit can increase stats and that you have fruit trees gets out, players will come in an endless stream to kill you for your treasure."

The words had barely left his mouth when Shi Zhile received a video call from Shi Zhiyi.

"Lele, come out, quick! A player has landed on the island."