Chapter 56: An Undercurrent Emerges

Chapter 56: Chapter 56: An Undercurrent Emerges

The wheat and corn fields added up to less than ten square meters in total. Within half an hour, all the wheat and corn were harvested.

While they were shucking the corn, Shi Zhile tilled the black soil.

The sweet potatoes planted in the corners had already sprouted.

Seeing how harmoniously the five of them were working together, Shi Zhile didn’t go over. Instead, she found a pair of scissors, snipped off the sprouts, and set them aside for planting.

By the time Shi Zhile had finished planting all the sweet potato sprouts, the others had shucked nearly half of the corn.

It was now 9:00 AM, and everyone exited the Planting Space.

There were already over a dozen bottles of Plant Growth Liquid under the alchemy station. After putting the items away into the Planting Space, the group began searching for the exit again.

Jiang Yuxing had been here the longest. He had tried to swim back upstream from the Medicine Lake, but the surging undercurrents were far more than a human body could withstand.

At this crucial moment, Chuyi thought of diving equipment.

"Maybe we could try swimming back wearing diving suits."

The moment he said that, Jiang Yu was the first to object. "No, that won’t work. Never mind that we don’t have enough diving suits. Even if we did, how could we guarantee we wouldn’t freeze solid the instant we broke the surface?"

Wang Peng said, "We can share the diving suits. It’s better than having nothing. It’s daytime now, and the morning temperature is already twenty-nine degrees. It’ll be even hotter at noon. With this heat, we probably won’t be frozen into ice sculptures."

Shi Zhile thought back to the evening of her first day in the dungeon.

While building the wooden cabin, she had seen with her own eyes a player’s arm freeze solid just from touching the water.

But she clearly remembered that when it wasn’t snowing, players who touched the water hadn’t frozen.

Jiang Yuxing had also clearly stated that after coming into contact with the water of the Medicine Lake, one must not be exposed to snow. ’So, would exposure to the sun also make you freeze?’

There was only one way to find out.

Shi Zhile pulled out a set of diving gear and put it on. "I’ll go up first and check things out. If I start turning into an ice sculpture, I’ll immediately retreat into the Planting Space. If I don’t, I’ll send the gear to Jiang Jing, and you can all come up together."

Just as she was about to dive, Jiang Yuxing stopped her, quickly pulling out his own diving gear to put on. "I’m more familiar with the bottom of the lake than you are. I’ll go with you."

Before Shi Zhile could refuse, he took out an iron chain, clipped it to her waist, and tied the other end around his own.

"We’ll be tied together. That way, if there’s an emergency, it’ll be easy for you to follow the chain and pull me into the Planting Space."

Once he confirmed Shi Zhile was fully geared up, he dove straight into the water.

Yanked into the water, Shi Zhile gripped the chain for dear life. ’I’m going to chase him down and strangle him!’

They passed through dark rocks and swam against the current, floating upward one after the other. The sun shone on the lake’s surface, a sight clearly visible from the bottom.

Jiang Yuxing surfaced first. Only after confirming that he wasn’t freezing did he gesture for Shi Zhile to come ashore.

The edge of the lake was a muddy mess. Greenery had been trampled, and blood mixed with yellow sand clung to the plants.

At that moment, the only things visible on the shore were corpses and severed limbs. There were no living people in sight. The two of them scanned their surroundings, and only after confirming it was safe did they take off their diving suits and send a message to Jiang Jing and the others.

Jiang Yuxing sent his diving gear to Chuyi, then squatted down and began searching for herbs.

The moment Shi Zhile stepped ashore, the system panel automatically updated the dungeon’s progress bar.

[Dungeon Notification: Current progress is at ninety percent. Please continue your efforts, player.]

At the same time, a map of the entire island appeared before Shi Zhile’s eyes, clearly divided into countless small squares.

She could clearly see every player hiding on the island, and below each square was an icon shaped like a small sprout.

She reached out and tapped one. The square she selected expanded to its maximum size, and a description appeared on the sprout icon.

[Icon: Click to select a specific location and planting area. Each square on the map corresponds to a patch of sand on the island. One square requires one unit of Plant Growth Liquid and one packet of seeds.

You may choose whether to plant or not.

Special Note: The dungeon progress will only reach one hundred percent when the entire island is covered in greenery.

Completing the progress bar will award a one-time, material-free major upgrade for your shelter.]

’The game developers are finally being generous for once.’

Shi Zhile counted carefully. There were a total of one hundred squares on the panel.

’Not enough seeds, and not enough Plant Growth Liquid. It seems impossible to cover the whole island in green.’

She had nineteen units of Growth Liquid in her inventory, and fifty packets of corn harvested from the Planting Space.

’If I add the wheat, I’ll have just enough seeds.’

’But I still don’t have enough Plant Growth Liquid.’

She called Jiang Yuxing over and pointed to the panel, showing him the icon’s description. "We have a limited amount of Growth Liquid and seeds. We could pick one square to do a trial run, then harvest it to get more seeds and plant again."

After a moment of thought, Jiang Yuxing shook his head. "Harvesting seeds takes time. We don’t have that much time to plant and harvest one plot after another."

Shi Zhile kept thinking. ’The dungeon only says the island has to be covered in green for the progress bar to fill up. That means as long as they’re green, weeds and wildflowers should count.

Weeds grow in the black soil along with the crops, so that’s one source of greenery.

We can dilute the Growth Liquid with water so the seeds will sprout but won’t mature immediately. That should also count as greenery.’

Watching Shi Zhile rack her brain, Jiang Yuxing couldn’t help but laugh. "If you had green dye, would you just spray it over the whole island?"

Shi Zhile was at a loss for words. "You know, I’m starting to think you’re really..."

A splash sounded from the water behind them. They both turned to see Jiang Jing and the other three climbing onto the shore.

Jiang Yuxing looked back at her. "Really what?"

Shi Zhile snapped, "Annoying!"

Wang Peng leaned in, pointed at the map on the panel, and said in amazement, "Is that a player? They’re moving? Wait, how is your map updating by itself?"

"Probably because the dungeon likes me," Shi Zhile said dryly.

Shi Zhile zoomed the map out and tapped on a location near the group.

About a hundred meters from the edge of the Medicine Lake, a few players were hiding in the bushes, and they were looking directly toward Shi Zhile’s group.

’Looks like we’re being watched again.’

She took out the corn seeds and Plant Growth Liquid from her Planting Space. "The seeds are mine, and the space is mine. Since you all helped with the harvest, I’ll give each of you an extra ten eggs as a thank you gift.

Of course, I can’t guarantee if they’re fertilized or not.

And let me be clear about this: regardless of whether we complete the dungeon, I won’t be sharing my final reward.

If anyone has a problem with that, speak up now."

Wang Peng was the first to raise his hand. "Sister Zhile, I have no objections!"

Jiang Jing spoke up, "I have no objections either. If you need help with manual harvesting in the future, I can do it for free."

’His District Two was in desperate need of supplies. If he could trade labor for resources, he could file a report and request more people to come help.’

Jiang Yu shook her head, indicating she had no objections. ℯℯ𝑙.

Chuyi looked over at Jiang Yuxing. He had filled several bottles with lake water, pulled out a lounge chair, and was reclining next to the alchemy station as he prepared more Growth Liquid.