Chapter 77: Attribute Increase

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Attribute Increase

After finishing watering and making sure the soil was completely soaked, another notification came from the Planting Space.

[Planting Space Notification: Pears detected to be fully ripe. Please harvest as soon as possible.]

Shi Zhile was delighted and quickly ran to the pear tree.

Many pear blossoms had bloomed initially, but very few had actually turned into fruit. She climbed up the trunk, counting carefully.

"One, two, three... twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three. A total of twenty-three pears. That’s too few. I’ll keep them for myself."

She plucked one from a nearby branch.

[Pear: A thirst-quenching snow pear with properties that soothe coughs, resolve phlegm, and moisten the lungs. Effect is enhanced when paired with goji berries and rock sugar. Water content: 80%.]

These were the standard effects of a snow pear. After confirming the system hadn’t added any weird properties, Shi Zhile picked two more for Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu had been coughing for several days. Giving her two pears would be a good way to repay the favor for the map she’d given her.

She picked another one, wiped it with her palm, and took a bite.

[Stat-increasing pear ×1 detected. You can currently increase either Stamina/Agility/Constitution by one point. Please select an attribute to increase.]

’??? ’

’It can increase stats?’

’Why didn’t it say that before!’

"Increase Constitution."

She had been practicing archery for half a month. Her Agility had increased, but her Constitution hadn’t gone up at all. She was afraid her leg might break again one day.

[Constitution +1. Current Constitution: 2 (Unqualified and unsociable. Even a toddler’s constitution is better than yours.)]

’Good, no personal attacks this time.’

She quickly finished one pear and reached out to pick and eat another.

[Stat-increasing pear ×1 detected. You can currently increase either Stamina/Agility by one point. Please select an attribute to increase.]

’I can’t increase my Constitution stat anymore today.’

It seemed each stat could only be increased once per day. Unsure if she could continue increasing stats tomorrow, Shi Zhile decided to eat one more and then stop.

"Increase Agility."

After finishing the second one, Shi Zhile was completely full. She picked another one and put it in her backpack, then sprinkled Growth Liquid on an unplanted area.

Weeds would grow on the black soil when no seeds were planted. Shi Zhile had intentionally left a patch of land unplanted for the express purpose of letting it fill with weeds.

Boosted by the Growth Liquid, the newly sprouted weeds grew wildly. Unlike crops, once mature, the weeds would reproduce and spread indefinitely without withering.

Shi Zhile took her sickle and harvested them quickly. She didn’t pull them out by the roots. After cutting down one wave, she sprinkled more Growth Liquid and continued harvesting.

「Half a day passed quietly.」

Shi Zhile pulled out a pear and started munching on it. Just then, a group video call from Wang Peng came in.

"There are three days left this week. Has everyone gone out to sea yet? It’s minus seventy degrees here on my volcano, and the sea is frozen over. I really don’t want to leave my shelter."

Jiang Yu coughed harshly. "The cold is one thing, but my lungs ache and I can’t stop coughing after breathing in the cold air. I’ve been taking medicine for a week and it hasn’t helped."

Chuyi and Jiang Jing both looked at her with concern. "Is it still that serious? Has your high fever gone down?"

"The fever’s gone, but the cough has gotten worse. It went from losing one point of Life Value per day to two."

Shi Zhile nibbled on her pear, casually tossing the core onto the ground.

"Didn’t I send you three pears? Add some goji berries and rock sugar, make some pear soup, and see if that helps."

A faint smile appeared on Jiang Yu’s face as she showed the small pot in front of her. "I’m cooking it right now. Zhile, thank you for the pears."

Shi Zhile: "You’re welcome. When you eat it, see if it increases any stats. I got a stat point from eating one directly. If making soup negates the stat increase, I suggest you just eat it raw. Don’t let it go to waste."

Hearing about a stat increase, Wang Peng’s and Jiang Jing’s eyes lit up instantly.

"Sister Zhile, hungy~"

"Zhile, wanna trade?"

Shi Zhile frowned in disgust. "Where’s Jiang Yuxing? Your good buddy not only corrupted our dear comrade Jiang Jing, he’s also making me want to puke."

Jiang Yuxing, who had just joined the call: "...So, what supplies of mine have you set your sights on this time?"

Last time, she had tattled on Chuyi and managed to swindle a roll of electrical wire and a lamp out of him.

Shi Zhile: "Didn’t you get two heat lamps last time? Just give me one as compensation."

Jiang Yuxing: "I knew you had your eye on them. Come and get it yourself later."

She couldn’t increase her stats anymore today. If it was still the same tomorrow, she would, of course, share the pears.

"There aren’t many pears on the tree. The five that ripened today are already gone. Whoever wants one, get your rare materials ready and wait in line."

She only said to wait, not that they would definitely get one.

If she could continue increasing her stats tomorrow, she wouldn’t share a single pear.

Wang Peng brought the conversation back on topic. "We definitely have to go out to sea. Do any of you have extra cold-weather clothing? I’m willing to trade."

Shi Zhile recalled what he said last time. "Minus seventy-something degrees sounds cold, but it actually isn’t. I do have some cold-weather clothes, but you wouldn’t be able to wear them."

She hadn’t expected that the clothes Jiang Yuxing had casually given her last time would have a temperature-locking effect.

The last two times she went out, she had only dared to leave after putting on thermal underwear, then soft armor, then a woman’s outfit, and finally a military greatcoat over it all.

Her body was warm, but the cold wind hitting her face and being inhaled into her lungs was just as excruciating.

The temperature had dropped even more sharply these past two days. Wood and lava had become the most valuable resources, while, in contrast, Shi Zhile couldn’t find anyone to trade her chicken and duck eggs with.

Fortunately, Shi Zhile wasn’t short on wood and didn’t need to compete with other players for it.

After hanging up the video call, Shi Zhile received another message from Jiang Yuxing.

[Let’s go to sea together this afternoon.]

Shi Zhile left the Planting Space and looked out the window. She could faintly see the sun’s reflection on the surface of the sea.

The sun was bright, but the sunlight was deceptive. Not only did it provide no warmth, but it also caused a continuous and slow decrease in one’s Spirit Value.

Shi Zhile’s Spirit Value was only twenty-one, meaning she could last at most seven hours in the sun. As far as she knew, most players only had a Spirit Value of twelve or thirteen.

A parasol couldn’t negate the damage from the sun. For players with low Spirit Value, splitting a five-hour trip to the sea into two or three shorter excursions was the best option.

But as the snow melted, the probability of Sea Monsters appearing increased significantly.

The number of Sea Monsters increased with the shelter’s Level. Most players would face certain death if they encountered a Level Two monster, further increasing the player death rate.

Servers 1 through 7 were still holding on; although the natural disasters were severe, they were changing slowly.

According to the world announcement, all players in two major regions had already died, including servers 156 through 168, which had been hit with fifteen consecutive days of acid rain.

She replied: [Okay. It gets dark early, so let’s go soon.]

It was eleven o’clock. ’Time to cook again.’

Shi Zhile took out the sliced beef, picked a handful of green onions from the Planting Space, and started to stir-fry them directly.

She had learned how to mix the batter for egg pancakes, but the taste of the finished product was beyond description.

Seeing the beef was about to burn, she gave up and added water and rice to cook it all into a porridge.

’It’s no wonder my Constitution is so low. Even with all these supplies, I can’t survive my own terrible cooking. But hey, at least I’m not constipated.’