Chapter 70: Harvesting a Battery

Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Harvesting a Battery

With ten treasure chests in hand, Shi Zhile opened them one by one.

[Acquired: Solar Panel x1, Battery x1.]

[Acquired: Soil x5, Wood x20.]

...

[Acquired: Hot Pot Base x2, Mushroom Set x1.]

None of the ten treasure chests were empty. Shi Zhile first took out the solar panel and the battery.

This was the first time she’d gotten these two items. As soon as she had them in hand, their descriptions appeared.

[Solar Panel: Converts solar energy into electrical energy. Can be used to charge batteries, power lights, and all other electrical appliances. Comes with 60% charge. (So hungry~ so hungry~ If you don’t let me eat some sunlight, I’ll self-destruct just for you~)

Note 1: To better maintain the solar panel, please charge it in the sun regularly. Please maintain a charge level of no less than 10%.

Note 2: During overcast or rainy weather, the solar panel’s conversion rate is zero. Using the solar panel outside the shelter at this time can easily cause irreversible damage to it (Damage Value: -10/1 hour. Current Damage Value: 0/100).]

[Battery: Used to store electrical energy. Can be directly connected to power all kinds of small appliances, like lamps, electric carts, and electric fans.

The battery is a newly unlocked resource and comes with an 80% charge. It must be recharged as soon as possible when the charge falls below 10%, or it risks being damaged.

Special Note: The battery may explode from being over-drained or overcharged. Therefore, players must supervise the battery while it is charging.]

Shi Zhile studied the solar panel while eating instant noodles.

’The battery could easily explode if overcharged. If the solar panel charges the battery while simultaneously absorbing light, would the battery’s explosion trigger a chain reaction?’

’Would the blast radius be wider? Bigger?’

These two items were the only ones of their kind she had. She had an idea, but she didn’t dare to test it lightly.

If this idea was viable, she would have one more ace up her sleeve for future group battles.

There was no sun today, so Shi Zhile stored both items in her backpack.

Thinking of the solar panel she’d gotten from Jiang Yuxing last time, she decided to shamelessly hold onto it.

Jiang Yuxing had accepted the beef instant noodles she sent. She thought for a moment, then sent him a private message: [Come over for hot pot tonight.]

After washing the bowl and chopsticks, Shi Zhile found some wood, crafted a target, and continued her archery practice in the yard.

She hadn’t practiced for two days, and she’d completely lost her touch. Other than her stance being correct, her first three arrows all hovered around the third ring.

She had plenty of time in the afternoon. Aside from taking bathroom breaks and adding water to the bone broth, she practiced nonstop.

She practiced like this for several hours.

A rich aroma drifted into her nose. She sniffed the air as she fired her last arrow, and her stomach finally couldn’t help but let out a RUMBLE.

"Wild beef is on another level. It smells amazing."

She eagerly lifted the pot lid. After simmering all afternoon, the meat and tendons on the beef bones were completely tender. The bone broth, with nothing else added, was crystal clear.

She found a bowl and chopsticks, ladled out half a bowl of broth, and took a sip.

"It needs a little more salt, but it’s so fragrant. Using such a good broth for a hot pot base would be a bit of a waste. I’ll just start a new pot to cook the beef slices."

She took a large cut of beef from her backpack and sliced it for later.

She had to admit, aside from its small capacity, the backpack was perfect in every other way. The beef, which had been stored for several days, was still warm to the touch. If you looked closely, you could even see the fascia twitching slightly.

She also had plenty of beef ribs and pork chops. She planned to chop them into small pieces, blanch them, and then add them to the hot pot to cook.

Wild boar meat was tough. Without the right ingredients, it was terrible whether steamed, boiled, pan-fried, or deep-fried. But the Chongqing hot pot base she’d gotten today was both numbing and spicy, perfect for cooking gamy meats like this.

The bok choy she picked this morning wasn’t enough, so she went back to her space and pinched off some sweet potato leaves, washing them together with the bok choy.

The mushroom set from the treasure chest was especially plentiful. She took them all out, washed them, and set them aside.

After bustling about for an hour, just as she was about to light the fire, she remembered her only pot was being used to simmer the beef bones.

She hurriedly started a video call with Jiang Yuxing.

The other end of the call was steamy, and the background wall faintly revealed a technological aesthetic that didn’t belong in a treehouse.

Her brow furrowed slightly as she observed in silence.

She had only ever seen that kind of cold, metallic wall in movies.

Too little was visible; besides a small section of the wall, she couldn’t see anything else.

"Jiang Yuxing, where did you run off to? Don’t tell me you got eaten by some dungeon again!"

A wet arm reached out from the side and grabbed a neatly folded white bath towel.

"I didn’t get eaten. I’m taking a shower. What’s up?"

Shi Zhile could tell he was in a good mood. "Are you not mad anymore?"

Jiang Yuxing fell silent.

After a moment, he asked, "Did you video call me just to ask that?"

’She said she was making hot pot tonight, so he’d specially done his hair and taken a shower, and now she’d forgotten again?’

Shi Zhile shook her head. "Of course not. I’ve got all the ingredients ready, but I don’t have a pot."

Jiang Yuxing dried his body with the towel, then slipped on a white bathrobe.

Looking at Shi Zhile on the screen, he paused, pulled the collar of his bathrobe open a little wider, and casually flicked some water droplets onto his chest.

He turned the camera back to himself and said nonchalantly while drying his hair, "I have a pot here. Why don’t you come get it?"

The Teleportation Gate’s fixed destination was right next to the Island Master. If she went over, she would immediately appear in his bathroom.

His intentions were crystal clear. Shi Zhile rejected him outright.

"I don’t have time. Just bring it when you come. That’s all. Bye."

After hanging up, Shi Zhile carefully thought back on Jiang Yuxing’s strange behavior.

’Ever since they met in the dungeon, Jiang Yuxing had treated her like a friend he’d known for years—the kind of good friend you could trust with your whole heart.’

’Whether it was trading resources or fighting the python, he had shown her 100% trust.’

’That was something she, from start to finish, knew she couldn’t do herself.’

’Once she was prejudiced by the idea that Jiang Yuxing was deliberately seducing her, everything he had done before would be endlessly magnified.’

’There were too many mysteries surrounding Jiang Yuxing, so many that she wanted to stay away from him. And yet, his resources and his calm, rational way of handling things made it impossible for her to do so.’

’It was better to have one more friend than one more enemy. He was too smart, which meant she could only be on good terms with him, never on bad terms.’

’But if it meant getting together with Jiang Yuxing, she wasn’t willing to do that either, because she couldn’t see through him.’

As the sky darkened, Shi Zhile moved all the food to the window on the south wall and installed the solar lamp there.

It was warmer here, near the furnace, and it also offered a better view of the outside. She wanted to see if those Sea Monsters would continue their siege.

Before Jiang Yuxing arrived, something else did: a video from Wang Dacheng of him eating eggs.

In the chat channel, Wang Dacheng posted two videos in a row.

The first was a close-up of chicken and duck eggs.

The plump, round eggshells were spotless. He carefully peeled one open, revealing the tender white. As he broke the egg in half, a golden, jammy yolk was exposed.

The video was punctuated by the sound of someone gulping, which only served to whet the appetite.