Chapter 45: Jiang Yuxing Goes Missing

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Jiang Yuxing Goes Missing

The third condition wasn’t met. Shi Zhile wasn’t foolish enough to think that finding the Medicine Lake meant she could leave the instance early.

On the contrary, finding the Medicine Lake meant finding a new danger.

’But who could the "him" in the quest "Find him" be?’

Her video call to Jiang Yuxing went unanswered. She tried calling again, but this time, the other end was just a cold, automated voice.

[This player is not in the game!]

’Not in the game?!!’

Her first thought was that Jiang Yuxing had died!

But his avatar hadn’t turned black.

Before she could think, Wang Peng initiated a group call.

Jiang Yu and Chuyi were both on the call. Of the five of them, only Jiang Yuxing was missing.

Chuyi’s expression was grim. "Shi Zhile, can you get in touch with Brother Nan?"

Shi Zhile replied, "I can’t. I suspect the instance pulled him in early.

Don’t forget, the Desert Island spawned near his island, and you all killed the players on it.

The instance notification appeared right when I was video calling Jiang Yuxing. It started when the three of you landed on the island and ended when he and I left it. Jiang Yuxing was present for all three landings. He’s been targeted by the Medicine Lake."

She suddenly recalled the Medicine Lake’s self-introduction.

_A tiger wanted its broken legs to heal, so it drank from me. I cured its legs, but it became blind. A loach said it loved damp soil, so I conjured mud for it to use, but it offered its legs to me. And you, friend? What is it you desire?_

’Jiang Yuxing said he’d taken water from the Medicine Lake. Could he have been pulled in because he drank it?’

She looked at Wang Peng. "Did you take any water from the Medicine Lake?"

Wang Peng nodded. "We did, but yesterday Brother Nan took my portion."

He paused, then his voice suddenly rose. "The Medicine Lake works by trade! Brother Nan drank its water, so it must have taken him!"

Chuyi gave Shi Zhile a complicated look and sighed. "What’s your quest objective?"

Jiang Yu and Wang Peng spoke at the same time: "Kill the Lake Guardian."

Shi Zhile said, "Find him."

Chuyi hummed in acknowledgment. "Get some rest. We’ll meet up in the instance tomorrow and look for Brother Nan together."

After the call ended, Shi Zhile contacted Chuyi privately.

[Why do you and Wang Peng call Jiang Yuxing ’Brother Nan’?]

The name "Nan" was so familiar. She felt like she knew someone with "Nan" in their name, but it had been too long, and she couldn’t recall.

Chuyi replied: [His name is Xi Nan. Sound familiar?]

Shi Zhile repeated the name to herself twice. In her mind, the name gradually merged with Jiang Yuxing’s face.

She didn’t reply. She had a feeling that ever since Jiang Yuxing disappeared, Chuyi had started to resent her.

Whatever the reason, Shi Zhile had no intention of teaming up with him.

She didn’t like leaving loose ends that could become threats. Since she couldn’t kill Chuyi now, her only option was to distance herself and wait for an opportunity.

She had too many supplies to take everything with her, but anything she left behind she might need later.

Her backpack space was limited, and the sailboat was already piled high with goods. The only solution was to upgrade the boat.

She had a massive amount of wood from the threefold refund after building her shelter. She opened the Task Hall and looked for a suitable upgrade.

[Sailboat Upgrade to Small Schooner. Required Materials: Wood x5000. Reward: Plant Growth Factor x1 Bottle.]

The high wood requirement meant the boat would be larger, and a larger area meant she could store more supplies.

Without hesitation, Shi Zhile clicked "Upgrade."

[Upgrade Complete. Current Raft Level: Small Schooner. Length: 19 meters, Width: 6 meters.]

Her yard was too small to hold the ship. While estimating its size, Shi Zhile moved the supplies from her shelter onto the schooner.

Soon, all the supplies from the shelter were loaded onto the schooner.

With the three districts merged, the instance would be packed with players. As the top-ranked player, even more people would be trying to kill her. A single axe was nowhere near enough for self-defense.

She needed more ways to protect herself.

She remembered the Unlimited Cow Tendon Bow and Arrow Diagram she had received and took it out.

’Required materials: cow tendon, iron ingots, wood, and an upgraded tool bench.’

She didn’t have enough materials. She opened the chat channel and posted a message: [Buying cow tendon. Trading an axe.]

With the instance about to start, even the rarest food wasn’t as practical as a weapon. An axe, a prime melee weapon, could be used for both defense and offense, making it a must-have for any player without a weapon.

She had crafted a Level One Axe before just to activate her Passive Skills. That thing would shatter on impact with a Level Two Axe, so giving one away was no great loss to her.

Her mortal enemy, Jiang Yaozu, also known as "Big Plane," sent her a rare private message.

This time, his tone was surprisingly polite.

[Big Plane: Miss Shi, I have cow tendon, but I want more than just an axe. I want food, too.]

Shi Zhile replied: [Just one axe. Take it or leave it.]

Far away on Snow Mountain Island, Jiang Yaozu scoffed. Unwilling to give up, he continued to haggle: [I don’t want much. Just throw in a pack of instant noodles.]

It was a world of ice and snow outside. He ate nothing but fish, day in and day out. God only knew how long it had been since he’d eaten a proper staple food.

He had watched the video of Wang Dacheng eating instant noodles over and over. The more he watched, the more he craved it, and the more he craved it, the more he watched, until now he was absolutely determined to get some for himself.

He had the cow tendon. All he needed was an axe and some instant noodles.

Once he got the axe, the first thing he would do upon entering the instance was kill Contentment Brings Happiness.

He would make that bitch wish for a death that would never come.

’How should I kill her, though?’

’First, I’ll turn her into a human swine!’

He let out a pair of sinister laughs.

Meanwhile, Shi Zhile received a video call from Jiang Jing.

She accepted the call, and another handsome face appeared on the screen. Just as she’d suspected, Jiang Jing had the face of a total player.

She was immune to good looks by now. "Is this really you?"

Jiang Jing smiled. "I know I’m handsome, but you don’t have to feel insecure. After all, not many guys are blessed with looks like mine."

Shi Zhile remained expressionless. "If that’s all, I’m hanging up."

"Whoa, hold on! I’m here to bring you supplies. I have cow tendon, but we don’t want an axe. We want food."

An axe was pretty useless to them; food was far more valuable.

"Deal."

Jiang Jing was taken aback. "A... deal? You’re not even going to ask what kind of food we want?"

Shi Zhile shook her head. "No need to ask. I have something that you and everyone backing you will be unable to refuse."

"The Planting Space?"

Shi Zhile shook her head again. "Hybrid rice."

Ever since she started acquiring seeds, she’d found that while wheat and corn were rare, they did exist. Hybrid rice, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found.

She had used the Wish Drifting Bottle to check: the game’s only set of hybrid rice seeds was a reward from the Planting Space.

As soon as the Planting Space’s area was expanded to fifty square meters, the system would issue them as a reward.

Rice had a higher yield than wheat, and corn had a higher yield than rice. But ultimately, you couldn’t live on corn as your only staple food.

District Two was full of collectivists. They wouldn’t attack anyone unless they were forced to. On the contrary, they tried to help as many people as possible survive.

Shi Zhile was banking on exactly that, which was why she dared to state her terms.

If she had the chance to understand them better, perhaps a long-term cooperation was possible.