Chapter 29: Exiting the Dungeon

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Exiting the Dungeon

Her wood supply dwindled as a raft, three meters wide and four meters long, assembled itself beneath her.

[Obtained: Instant Noodles x1 (24 packs)]

Shi Zhile collapsed on the raft, stripping off her diving equipment.

Her close-fitting, short-sleeved shirt was stained with blood, clinging dryly to her skin.

She glanced around, and seeing no one, pulled out a clean long-sleeved shirt and changed into it.

The wound was on the back of her head. She gently parted her hair, rinsed the injury with spring water, and applied some golden sore medicine before simply bandaging it.

Just to be safe, she took two more anti-inflammatory pills.

Her Life Value stopped decreasing, and Shi Zhile finally had time to check her panel.

[...

Pet: Green Snake (Attribute: Immune to all snake attacks)

Life Value: 68/100 (Lightly Injured)

Physical Strength: 12/100

Body Temperature: 36.1

Raft: Luxurious Level 1 Raft

Island Shelter: A Reasonably Safe Level 2 Shelter

Location: Outskirts of Stone Island]

Rainforest Island was completely swallowed by the sea, and in the distance, a barren island came into view.

The vegetation wasn’t dense, and stones littered the ground. She wasn’t mistaken. It was her Stone Island.

Steering the raft, she finally made it back to the island about ten minutes later.

A new "Regional Chat" section had appeared on her panel’s chat interface. She opened the chat for Server 1, which had 56,987 people.

A single instance had a death rate as high as sixty percent.

The public chats had already merged, with a current population of 180,000.

[Heaven Spares No One: Please, I’m begging you, all you big shots, stop pushing so hard! Tens of thousands of people died in one instance. If another one starts, we’ll all be wiped out.]

[Lan Ting: Players from Server 1, tell us what the instance was like!]

[Big Plane: @Contentment Brings Happiness, didn’t expect this, did you? I’m alive. Everyone, Contentment Brings Happiness is a woman. She has a ton of supplies. The newcomers might not know, but she has a freshwater lake, and her raft has already been upgraded to a ship. I know the location of Stone Island. Anyone who needs it can message me privately.]

Many players were still short on water, and more tags mentioning her popped up. Shi Zhile closed the panel and returned to her shelter.

The shelter was the same as before. Under the coconut tree in the yard, twelve large coconuts lay on the ground.

She picked them up, took a photo, and posted it in the chat.

[PM me if you need them. Trading for rare materials takes priority.]

She looked at the shelter, which was enclosed by three stone walls. "This is too basic. The cave at the top needs to be bigger."

Remembering the Shelter Expansion Card she had gotten before, she rummaged through her treasure chest and pulled it out.

[Shelter Expansion Card (Can you even stretch your legs in your shelter? Can you fit a bed in your shelter?

No! You can’t! But watch me~ I can!)

Note: One Shelter Expansion Card expands the area by 10 square meters.]

Shi Zhile had three cards. She entered the cave and used one first.

[Use Shelter Expansion Card x1 for shelter construction?]

"Yes!"

[Construction successful. Current shelter is Level 2. Level Two Builder progress: 3/5.]

Looking at the twenty-square-meter cave, Shi Zhile was extremely satisfied.

Of the remaining two expansion cards, she used one on the room in front of the cave.

’The yard doesn’t need an expansion card. As long as I have enough stone, I can just keep building outwards.’

There were too many things in her backpack. She put them in the yard, sorted them by category, and then moved the non-perishable miscellaneous items into the room.

The lake from her backpack hadn’t been placed yet. She thought for a moment, her gaze landing on the east side of the yard.

"I can add a door to the east wall and build a separate yard just for the freshwater lake. There’s too little soil on Stone Island... I wonder if I can take out the soil from the Planting Space to use for planting."

’So far, my supplies are abundant but disorganized. While the other players are busy exploring the ocean, this is the perfect time to get my farming and husbandry set up.’

She opened the Mission Hall. There were already many tasks in the "Unlocked" section.

She scrolled down and happened to see "Expand Courtyard" among the unlocked missions.

[Courtyard Expansion Materials: Stone x300, Wood x100, Iron Nails x100. Choose free-form expansion? Completing the free-form expansion will award: Down Jacket x1, Cotton Shoes x2.]

’It doesn’t say how big the expansion is, but the reward is crucial. I’ve been getting more and more cold-weather gear lately, which probably means the next disaster is a cold snap.’

She clicked "Create." A white mist rose in the yard, dissipating a moment later to reveal the expanded space.

The yard’s length hadn’t changed, but its width had more than doubled.

Not only that, but the lake was now placed on the east side. On the west side, a large section of wooden fence had appeared, and in one corner of the fenced-off area was a small, one-square-meter patch of land.

She grabbed a handful. The soil was loose and soft, clearly mixed with swamp soil.

’Looks like the free-form expansion automatically incorporates existing materials into the construction.’

"System, I didn’t get a Wish Drifting Bottle for the four days I was in the instance. Shouldn’t you compensate me for them all at once now?"

[System hibernating...]

"Hey! Where’s the complaint button?"

[DING-DONG! Wish Drifting Bottle x4 have been placed in your inventory. Player 138138, please check.]

Shi Zhile: ...

"Where is the Planting Space?"

The system played dead, not even bothering with the perfunctory "hibernating" message.

She thought about the Planting Space, and in the next instant, the scene before her eyes changed.

The gravel under her feet turned into black soil. Beyond a ten-square-meter area was white mist. She scooped up a handful of soil, and a broadcast voice sounded.

[Black Soil: Plantable soil. Effect doubles when used with the Planting Space. (I’m thirsty! I’m thirsty! I’m still thirsty! If you don’t give me water, I’ll eat all the seeds!)

Note 1: When using Black Soil in the Planting Space, the maturation time for all plants is halved.

Note 2: Black Soil can be used for infinite planting regardless of season, provided there is sufficient moisture.]

[As the first player in the world to unlock the Planting Space, you may choose to make a world announcement. After the announcement, you will receive the following rewards: Wheat Seeds x2, Bok Choy Seeds x5, Pear Tree x1. Do you wish to make the announcement?]

’I’m already a thorn in everyone’s side. Keeping a low profile is pointless.’

"Yes!"

It was the same slick move as last time; the announcement was sent three times in a row.

She ignored the chat messages as the rewards were distributed.

[Announcement successful. Obtained: Wheat Seeds x2, Bok Choy Seeds x5, Pear Tree x1.]

[Courtyard expansion successful. Obtained: Down Jacket x1, Cotton Shoes x2. All materials have been sent to your inventory. Please check.]

Shi Zhile took out all her seeds. Current seeds: Tomato x5, Cotton x9, Wheat x2, Bok Choy x5.

The ten-square-meter space was divided into a vegetable area and a grain area, and she planted the seeds in their respective zones.

Remembering that the black soil needed a lot of water, she exited the Planting Space, filled two empty 15-liter buckets with fresh water, and irrigated the ground.

After several trips back and forth, she finally soaked the soil completely.

’The bok choy can be eaten as soon as it sprouts, but the tomatoes, wheat, and cotton will take over a hundred days to mature.’

’With the maturation time halved, that’s almost two months.’

’In another month, I’ll be able to eat fresh vegetables. I’ll keep enough of the first harvest for myself and sell the rest to the big shots on the leaderboards.’

The more she thought about it, the happier she became. Remembering the watermelon in her inventory, she took it out, cracked it open, and ate half.

The sweet, fresh juice of the melon burst in her mouth, so refreshing she couldn’t help but sigh in satisfaction.

"It’s great to be rich," she mused. "I wonder if Jiang Yuxing and Jiang Yu are dead yet?"

She opened a private message, took a picture of the cut-open watermelon, and sent it.

Along with the picture, she sent a question: [Are you dead yet?]