Chapter 60: Space Expansion Card

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Space Expansion Card

[Shelter construction successful. Current Builder Level is Level Three.]

[Technology Level increased. Reward: Backpack Expansion Card ×1.]

Shi Zhile felt mentally drained and couldn’t muster any interest in anything.

She was exhausted—not physically, but from a profound mental fatigue. The shelter renovation panel had automatically vanished after the countdown ended.

Without the energy to check the changes from her level-up, she opened her character panel to see the new Spirit Value.

It was just past nine, and the character panel page indicated it was updating.

She then checked the complaint messages in the system’s back end. Customer service was highly efficient; overnight, they had sent two replies, both related to her complaint.

[Customer Support: We have received your complaint. The game’s central administration will launch a full investigation. The results and a detailed response will be sent to your player inbox tomorrow. Please check for it.]

That message had been sent at nine o’clock last night. The latest one had been received at eight this morning.

[Customer Support: After a full official investigation, the player’s claim that "the main system used the player’s dungeon completion as a pretext to upgrade the panel" has been validated. As compensation, we will issue the player one Space Expansion Card ×1.

The compensation has been sent to your backpack. Please claim it accordingly.]

Shi Zhile checked her backpack. After confirming the item had arrived, she took it out and used it immediately.

After the Backpack Expansion Card and the Shelter Expansion Card, now there was a Space Expansion Card.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out it was for expanding the Planting Space and the Breeding Space.

A second later, a panel popped up with a description.

[Space Expansion Card: Used to expand the Planting Space and Breeding Space. One card can expand a single space by fifteen square meters. (To use the Space Expansion Card, you must shout "Upgrade!" loudly!)]

She had figured it was for expanding the space, but she hadn’t expected it would expand by so much.

’And these damn instructions,’ she thought. ’I have to shout again.’

There weren’t many animals on the island, and the Breeding Space would expand on its own whenever new species were added. So, she decided to use this expansion opportunity on the Planting Space.

She entered the Planting Space, shooed the chickens that were laying eggs everywhere back into the Breeding Space, and immediately used the expansion card.

In an instant, the Planting Space nearly doubled in size.

She still had two Backpack Expansion Cards left, so she took them out and used them as well.

This brought her total number of special backpack slots to ten.

After quickly organizing her supplies, Shi Zhile went back to the basement to get the plantable seeds.

’I’m running low on corn seeds, but I still have plenty of corn to eat and a lot of harvested wheat. What should I plant?’

As she rummaged through her things, a small cloth bag fell from a corner, spilling golden millet all over the floor. She quickly crouched down to gather it up.

’I could plant millet,’ she mused. ’Millet congee, millet and pumpkin congee... this kind of simple cooking, just adding water and bringing it to a boil, is perfect for me.’

She then found some pumpkin and winter melon seeds among her vegetables and planted them in the Planting Space along with the millet.

She hadn’t gathered coconuts in three days, and nine of them had fallen and were scattered on the ground beneath the tree.

She picked up the fallen coconuts and placed them in the sailboat’s storage chest, keeping one for herself. Using an axe that had never been used on a person, she cracked it open and drank all the juice in one go. Not wasting any of it, she then scraped out the tender white flesh and ate that too.

After finishing the entire coconut, Shi Zhile’s mental energy finally felt restored.

’Looks like coconuts don’t just increase Life Value, but spiritual power as well.’

She began to inspect her shelter. Her first impression was that the courtyard felt more open and bright, and warmer too.

Looking up, she saw the thick layer of snow on the glass roof was gone. Now, as the snow continued to fall, it would automatically slide off whenever it reached a certain thickness.

The original wooden main gate now looked more substantial, and to the touch, it had the heavy, solid feel of an ancient castle gate.

The workbench and furnace were still by the window, only now the windowpane was larger and clearer.

The fireplace inside the cave was burning, and the temperature on the first and second floors soon began to rise.

’Supplies are stable, and I have a warm shelter. The next step is to improve my physical fitness and quality of life.’

Jiang Jing was out sea fishing, so she needed to find another player to teach her how to fight.

She didn’t know many people. Besides Jiang Yuxing’s group, she only really knew Wang Dacheng.

She opened a private message to him. "Do you know any retired soldiers or fighting instructors?"

Wang Dacheng replied almost instantly: "Yeah, Boss. A childhood friend of mine was a mercenary overseas. She’s got a nasty temper, though. The type who kills without batting an eye."

Shi Zhile’s eyes lit up.

’Killing without batting an eye is good,’ she thought. ’That’s the kind of person who either doesn’t make a move, or when they do, it’s a killing blow.’

’But someone like that surely isn’t short on supplies. Would she be willing to teach me?’

’Only one way to find out.’

Contentment Brings Happiness: "Man or woman? What district are they in? Ask if she’s willing to teach me a few things. I can pay for the lessons."

Wang Dacheng: "Huh? Boss, I don’t even know if she’s in the game! You just asked if I knew anyone. I know her, but I have no idea where she is!"

Shi Zhile: "..."

’He wasn’t wrong, but she still wanted to smack him.’

Wang Dacheng sent another message: "So you want to learn to fight, Boss? I met some players from District Two in the Ice River Dungeon. They protected me the whole time and were incredibly strong. I added them as friends before we left the dungeon. Want me to recommend them to you?"

’Players from District Two are mostly government-affiliated. They have missions both inside and outside of dungeons, which means their schedules are tight. They wouldn’t be a good fit for me.’

She replied, "No, thanks. I’ll find someone else. Do you have any treasure chests to trade?"

Old Man Le: "I do, Boss! I snagged thirteen treasure chests in the Ice River Dungeon. Five of them are frozen solid and need a furnace to thaw out. You want all of them, Boss?"

Of course she wanted all of them. In Shi Zhile’s eyes, Wang Dacheng was her personal treasure chest delivery service. To encourage their "business relationship," Shi Zhile decided to give him his pick of the trade goods.

"I’ll take them all. I have corn, chicken and duck eggs, beef, and pork. What do you want in exchange?"

Half of the beef had belonged to Jiang Jing, and she had sent him his share right after they left the dungeon.

They had killed five black bulls in total, which had yielded 125 portions of beef.

The moment Wang Dacheng heard he could pick his own goods, he immediately initiated a video call.

Shi Zhile, sitting by the window, positioned her camera before accepting the call.

The man on the screen was a picture of excitement. He was wrapped in a thick blanket, his messy hair obscuring his eyes, looking like a beggar.

"Boss! My dearest Boss! You’re a lifesaver! You actually have beef! It’s been half a month! I haven’t eaten any meat other than fish for a full half a month."

Wang Dacheng was on the verge of losing his mind. As a die-hard carnivore, having to survive on bread and compressed biscuits for so long was driving him insane.

Shi Zhile said, "So you want the beef? One portion for five treasure chests."

A single system-portioned cut of beef was quite large. Even though it would shrink when cooked, Wang Dacheng wouldn’t be getting a bad deal.

Treasure chests were a disaster in Wang Dacheng’s hands. Especially after other players had personally witnessed Shi Zhile open one of his chests only to find a snake inside, no one else dared to trade with him for them.

So, Wang Dacheng agreed without a moment’s hesitation.