Chapter 75: Region Merge Notification

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Region Merge Notification

Shi Zhile immediately contacted Jiang Yu. The video call connected, and Jiang Yu was still sitting in front of her workbench like an NPC.

She got straight to the point. "Jiang Yu, did you trade away that whip blueprint?"

Jiang Yu’s expression was cool. "No. The sinew isn’t easy to get, and all the required materials are rare. I remember it needs the tail of a Level Five Sea Monster. If you need it, I can just give it to you."

If Shi Zhile hadn’t hinted at Jiang Jing’s true identity, she would have always thought of her brother as a vile villain.

It was all thanks to her that she and her brother were able to reconcile.

She wasn’t good with words, so she could only express her gratitude through actions.

Shi Zhile didn’t refuse. "Then I’ll gladly accept. I’ll treat you to hotpot next time we’re in a dungeon."

Jiang Yu nodded faintly. "Okay."

Just before she hung up, Jiang Yuxing held a piece of grilled beef to her lips. "How does it taste?"

Shi Zhile took a bite. "Not bad, but it needs a little more salt."

"Alright, I’ll add some more salt."

Jiang Yu paused for a moment before hanging up.

Staring at the workbench in front of her, Jiang Yu hesitated for a moment, typing and deleting a few times before sending Shi Zhile a short message.

[Stay safe. Take precautions.]

Shi Zhile: "?"

This time, Jiang Yu sent a long explanation: [I know you and Jiang Yuxing aren’t short on supplies, but there are too many dangers in this game. The attack power of both players and monsters will only get stronger from now on. So, do you get what I’m saying?]

Shi Zhile thought for a moment: [I get it. I’ll watch out for monsters and other players.]

Jiang Yu sighed and said bluntly: [I meant you should take precautions so you don’t get pregnant. The island is dangerous. A miscarriage or giving birth would be like losing half your life.]

Shi Zhile: "..."

This time, she understood.

’First, I found those birth control supplies, and now Jiang Yu is getting the wrong idea. It makes me sound so desperate.’

She sent a photo of Wang Peng and Jiang Yuxing together: [Is it possible that they’re the ones sharing a bed?]

Jiang Yu sent the blueprint and went silent out of embarrassment.

[Your friend Jiang Yu has sent you Blueprint x1. Accept?]

"Yes, accept."

The moment Shi Zhile received the blueprint, the list of craftable items on her workbench panel updated.

She didn’t rush to craft it. Instead, she went to the trading interface, picked through the listings, and exchanged for some materials, getting mostly seeds.

After dinner, Shi Zhile washed up and lay down in bed.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, she remembered she hadn’t fed the cows, chickens, and rabbits today.

She quickly entered her Breeding Space to feed them.

As usual, she herded the chicks and ducklings into the Planting Space to find their own food. The two large black cows each got a portion of grass and corn kernels.

The remaining two little rabbits were even easier to feed. A handful of grass was enough.

In just two days, the newborn calf had grown much sturdier.

Seeing Shi Zhile approach, the calf, which had been nursing under its mother, looked up. It curiously let go of the teat and trotted toward Shi Zhile.

Shi Zhile reached out, held its head, and after giving it a couple of pets, she eyed its food source.

’Those udders are so big, you can’t possibly finish all that milk. Since you can’t finish it, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to share a little with me, right?’

’Not at all. After all, I’m the one who delivered you.’

’It’s too late tonight. The milk wouldn’t stay fresh overnight, so I’ll get up early tomorrow to do it.’

「The next morning」

Shi Zhile entered the Breeding Space again. She fed the chicks, rabbits, and black cows as usual.

Then she reached for the cow’s udders.

Half an hour later, Shi Zhile emerged from the Breeding Space smelling faintly of milk.

In the courtyard, rice porridge was cooking on the stove. Jiang Yuxing and Wang Peng were practicing their punches. Shi Zhile set down the milk and joined them, holding a horse stance for half an hour.

After their workout, Jiang Yuxing took the milk.

"The milk is cold. Did you just get this today?"

Shi Zhile was brushing her teeth. Hearing him, she nodded and spat out the Foam in her mouth. "I just got it. I wiped the cow’s teats several times, so there’s definitely no calf slobber on them."

Wang Peng’s eyes lit up. "A calf? Is it in your Breeding Space? Quick, send me in to see it!"

He loved furry little animals. Before the calf grew into a big, stinky cow, he could still treat it like a pet and cuddle it.

Shi Zhile said, "Sure. Just shout when you want to come out, and I’ll hear you. Or how about you go in after we eat? You can check out the Planting Space too and pull some weeds to feed the cows."

Wang Peng: "Deal. But I’m only going to be your temporary worker after I’ve had my fill of petting the calf."

"No problem."

The three of them ate their fill of rice porridge, paired with the pickled mustard greens Wang Peng had brought out.

Wang Peng entered the Breeding Space, Jiang Yuxing returned to his own island, and Shi Zhile took out her bow and arrow to continue practicing.

She hadn’t practiced for long, but she had grasped the important fundamentals, so almost every arrow hit the seventh, eighth, or ninth ring.

Trouble often brews when things are calm, and this time, the trouble came from another server merge.

[Server Merge Notice: The current population for the merged Regions 1-3 is 149,999. The current population for the merged Regions 3-7 is 139,689. The current population for the merged Regions 8-10 is 187,365.]

[Because the populations of the Region 1-3 and Region 3-7 groups are both below 150,000, the system will perform an emergency merge of these two groups. This is an announcement. All players, please prepare for the region merge.]

[Special Note: The more regions that are merged together, the more severe the natural disasters that area will suffer.]

[(e.g., The 1-7 region group is a merge of 7 total servers. The 156-168 region group is a merge of 13 total servers. The latter group, due to merging too many regions, will have its acid rain disaster upgraded to the highest Level, Level Three, meaning: fifteen days of continuous, large-scale acid rain.)]

A chill ran down Shi Zhile’s spine, but at the same time, she was relieved. At least their merged region wasn’t at the bottom of the barrel.

She quickly pulled Wang Peng out of the space, and Jiang Yuxing appeared before her a moment later.

"Did you see the announcement? The system is merging servers again. With seven regions merged together, it’s going to be an even bigger mess."

"Merging too many regions upgrades the natural disasters. Based on the rule that low-population regions get merged, our own survival now depends on ensuring as many players in our region stay alive as possible."

Shi Zhile said, "It’s a contradiction."

Jiang Yuxing wasn’t surprised at all by her sharpness.

Wang Peng was confused. "What’s a contradiction?"

Shi Zhile pointed at the panel. "The system’s dungeon quests are always designed to make players kill each other. But now, by telling us that more server merges mean more danger, it’s indirectly telling us we need to protect other players."

"No, that’s not right. The system is trying to restrict ranked players from hunting other players. The conflict between the top players and everyone else is still there. It’s telling us this to make us hesitate before we start killing people. At the very least, we can’t carry out massacres like we used to."

Jiang Yuxing took out a lounge chair and lay down. "It’s a pointless effort. Humans are just like animals—it’s always survival of the fittest. There’s no rule that says the strong must protect the weak."

"The more severe the disaster, the more players will die. And the more players that die, the safer it will be for those who manage to survive until the very end."