Chapter 46: Desert Dungeon

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Desert Dungeon

Jiang Jing was silent for a moment. "The beef sinew is my own material. I can give it to you unconditionally. I want to know how to get the hybrid rice and its planting conditions."

Shi Zhile: "No problem."

She omitted the source of her information, simply explaining that she received it as a reward for upgrading her Planting Space.

As for the planting conditions, she would have to get her hands on the rice first to find out.

Afraid he wouldn’t believe her, she switched her location and appeared inside the Planting Space.

Wheat and corn seedlings stood behind her. She gestured to them. "Growing pretty well, huh? I planted them myself."

"The Planting Space and the Breeding Space are rewards from the system, but the condition to unlock them was to sign a contract. I used my own lifespan to alter one of the clauses, binding myself to them in a pact of mutual existence. As long as I live, the spaces exist. If I die, they dissipate."

’The art of persuasion lies in mixing truth with lies. Sometimes, whether it’s true or not doesn’t even matter, because they wouldn’t dare to bet against it!’

’With both spaces in her possession, and with no way for them to verify her claims, anyone who coveted her spaces wouldn’t dare to make a move against her. In fact, they would even have to find ways to protect her.’

She looked earnest and sincere. "Jiang Jing, I need protection."

Jiang Jing was speechless. ’This is an open conspiracy!’

’She wants protection, but she also wants to use them to help her upgrade the spaces.’

’This is the typical MO of a scheming, greedy little punk—eating what’s in her bowl while eyeing what’s in the pot, and then wanting to pack up the leftovers to take home.’

He hung up the video call immediately. After fuming for a moment, he sent the beef sinew over, adding a short message: "Understood."

Shi Zhile collected the beef sinew and went off happily to craft her bow and arrows.

’As long as I master the bow,’ she thought, ’I won’t need anyone’s protection.’

The moment she held the newly crafted bow and arrow in her hands, she took back her previous thought.

’Hitting a target with an arrow is a lot harder than throwing an axe.’

She stood in her yard and practiced on a homemade target for the entire day. Finally, just before nightfall, she managed to hit it.

「The next day, the instance began.」

[Survival Tip: The Desert Island instance has officially begun.]

[Due to the large number of players, the system will deploy multiple instances. 100,000 players will be entering the Desert Island instance. The remaining players will be randomly assigned to other instances. Good luck to all players!]

[Task: Survive, and find him!]

[Survival Time: 3 days.]

[Clear Conditions: 1. Survive for three days.]

[2. Kill any one of the top ten players on the leaderboard.]

[3. Find the Medicine Lake, drink its water, and make a wish.]

[Special Task for Top 100 Players: Failure: Death!]

Shi Zhile finished putting on her padded winter clothes, and in the next instant, she appeared on a field of snow.

"Why is it a snowfield?"

"Half of the supplies in my backpack are gone."

"Look, isn’t that Contentment Brings Happiness? I saw her face during the multi-person video call last time."

There were many people around. Some were wrapped in blankets, others wore down jackets, but most looked utterly haggard.

The freezing blizzard had kept them from going outside, leaving the players desperately short on food and water. Very few of them looked energetic.

As the person at the top of the materials leaderboard, the moment the crowd recognized Shi Zhile, their eyes glinted with avarice.

They were waiting, biding their time for the moment she let her guard down to strike.

But there was only one prey. While they stared at Shi Zhile, they were also wary of one another, afraid someone else would seize the opportunity first.

Shi Zhile took out her axe and swung it at the man blocking her way.

The man cursed and dodged, but in the next instant, his chest was pierced by an Arrow Fletching. The man collapsed, unmoving. Shi Zhile strode forward and pulled the Arrow Fletching out, her expression blank.

[Player "Contentment Brings Happiness" has completed the instance’s first kill. Reward: Healing Spring ×1. The reward has been sent to your backpack.]

The system announcement was pinned at the top of their panels; every player, whether they were there or not, saw it.

They wanted her reward, they wanted all her supplies. But she had attacked and killed without a moment’s hesitation, leaving the onlookers stunned.

Shi Zhile held her axe in her left hand and twirled the Arrow Fletching in her right. Her gaze swept across the crowd, and any player she looked at felt a cold dread creep into their heart.

’Better wait. We’re not that desperate for supplies yet. Let the ones who have nothing make the first move. At the very least, they’ll wear her down before we strike.’

Avoiding the crowd, Shi Zhile collected the thin layer of snow from the ground. Underneath the snow was yellow sand—a raw material for crafting glass—which she also put into her backpack.

’The yellow sand meant that this instance was, in fact, a desert after all.’

She had landed on the island at night, so her view had been unclear. As a result, she only knew the general direction of the Medicine Lake.

The sea was to the south. To the north, large patches of yellow sand were emerging from the snow. The Medicine Lake was in the center of the desert. If she wanted to get there as quickly as possible, her best bet was to shake off the players who were watching her like vultures.

Without pausing, she walked toward the sea. The players following her only stopped in their tracks after her 12-square-meter raft hit the water.

On the shore, Jiang Yaozu, who was hiding in the crowd, spat. He tried to incite a burly man beside him. "Hey, big guy, that bitch is all alone. The other players are too scared to go after her, so why don’t we team up and take her out?"

The scruffy, bearded man looked ferocious. Without a word, he deployed a simple raft. "Fine, we’ll team up. But I get seventy percent of the supplies."

Jiang Yaozu’s eyes darted. "Deal!"

The two of them boarded the raft and pushed off from the shore.

Seeing someone take the lead, the hesitant crowd on the shore also gave chase without a second thought.

Only after sailing away from the island could Shi Zhile see its full form.

From a distance, it was an island of nothing but yellow sand. It looked even more desolate than Stone Island.

The hot sun beat down, melting the snow on the sand with incredible speed. The temperature also seemed to be on the rise.

At the same time, she noticed the long tail of followers behind her.

Jiang Yaozu and his partner’s raft was in close pursuit. She recognized the yellow-toothed Jiang Yaozu instantly.

He was the first person she had ever killed, so he had left a particularly strong impression on her.

’Did you really think I didn’t see you? I only held back on shore because I was worried you’d all team up to attack me. Now that you’ve followed me, you’ll have to face me without your backup.’

She took out her bow, nocked an arrow, drew the string, and fired at Jiang Yaozu.

Because her aim was poor, the Arrow Fletching merely grazed the back of their raft.

This terrified both Jiang Yaozu and the burly man.

"You bitch! If you know what’s good for you, stop the raft!"

Shi Zhile fired another arrow. This time, it missed Jiang Yaozu’s calf by less than a foot.

Her 12-square-meter raft was much faster than a Level One raft could ever be, yet the two vessels remained about a hundred meters apart.

After she fired three arrows in a row, the burly man finally realized something was off.

He stopped the raft and slapped the babbling Jiang Yaozu across the face.

"Chase, my ass! Can’t you see that bitch is just toying with us? She’s using us for target practice!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a bow of his own. It was a crude thing, made from a piece of fire-bent bamboo.

He nocked an arrow and fired. The distance was too great; his first shot landed in the sea.

He steered the raft to close the distance and kept shooting.

A slight smile touched Shi Zhile’s lips. She steered her raft into a sharp turn, and as the two vessels drew close, she swung her axe and cut down the burly man who was taking aim at her.

As the burly man fell into the water, his raft tilted. Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Yaozu lunged and leaped onto Shi Zhile’s raft.