Chapter 3 Upgrading the Shelter
By the time Qin Zhen returned to the Shelter, it was already five o'clock, and the sky had gone completely dark.
She first used Thatch ×2 and Wood ×1 along with the lighter to build a campfire, and the inside of the thatched hut brightened up at once.
Then, using Thatch ×30 and Wood ×10, she spent ten minutes upgrading the Dilapidated Thatched Hut into a Sturdy Thatched Hut. The difference was immediately apparent — it was still a thatched hut, but at least it no longer looked like it was falling apart.
[Congratulations, player Qiyezhenzhen! Your Shelter has been upgraded to Level 2. EXP +20]
Qin Zhen checked what materials would be needed for the next upgrade.
[Wooden Cabin: Level 3 (capable of withstanding a Common Monster's Attack). Upgrade materials required: Wood ×80, Stone ×30]
Common Monsters? So monsters would actually attack players? Qin Zhen had already suspected this world would be dangerous, but hearing it confirmed still sent a chill through her.
Gurgle.
Qin Zhen's stomach growled with hunger. She needed to eat something — she'd only had a bag of Bread and one Apple all day.
She grabbed the axe and split open a Coconut, quickly drank the Coconut water and ate the flesh, then used her Fruit Knife to poke two small holes in either side of the Coconut shell.
She threaded the leftover Vine through the holes to string the shell together, then poured half a bottle of Mineral Water into the Coconut shell and held it over the fire by the Vine, letting it heat up.
She planned to boil some hot water to make instant noodles, saving the remaining Bread and Apple for breakfast the next morning.
All she could say was that fire produced by the System was something else — the temperature was incredibly high, and the water came to a boil almost instantly.
Qin Zhen tore open a cup of Cup Noodles and added only half the seasoning packet; she didn't like things too salty, and the leftover seasoning could be saved to use as salt later.
The human body breaks down without a long-term intake of salt, after all.
The piping-hot noodles slid down and warmed Qin Zhen's stomach. As she slurped away, she took stock of her supplies.
Things looked decent enough on the surface, but Qin Zhen felt her food and water were still far too scarce.
She hadn't forgotten that this was still the Beginner Protection Period — once it ended, gathering supplies might not be nearly this easy.
So she would have to keep collecting resources tomorrow. After finishing her noodles, Qin Zhen had nothing to do; between the physical exhaustion of the day and the silence of her surroundings, she quickly drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Qin Zhen woke up at seven-thirty. She rinsed her mouth with a sip of Mineral Water, then ate a piece of Bread to fill her stomach as best she could.
She checked the weather.
[Today's Weather: Clear, 19–30°C]
The Treasure Chest hadn't refreshed yet. Qin Zhen suddenly grew curious about how the other players in her area were doing.
She opened the Chat Channel and saw that the regional tab already had 999+ messages — all from the night before.
[Yijinjing: How many chests did everyone fish up? I only got two.]
[Teddy: Same, just two — and they were all Plastic and Wood and stuff like that. I'm going to starve and die of thirst. Can anyone spare some food and water, please?]
[SpringRainDrizzle: Same as above +1]
[SwallowsFlySouth: Same as above +2]
[TrialsForgeSuccess: All I got was one loaf of Bread and one bottle of Mineral Water. That's nowhere near enough to live on...]
[Faraway: At least you have something to eat.]
[ImAnRNGGod: Wait, you guys got that little? I pulled five Self-Heating Mini Hot Pots, ten bottles of Mineral Water, and ten Apples. That should last me two days.]
Qin Zhen: !!! This person is insanely lucky — but was it really a good idea to openly announce having that much food?
Sure enough, the moment the Chat Channel saw ImAnRNGGod's message, it erupted.
[SwallowsFlySouth: Holy crap, this guy's a total RNG god!]
[Teddy: Big bro ImAnRNGGod, can you spare me a little food? I've got nothing, I'm begging you — I'll starve to death otherwise.]
[Faraway: Bro, I've got my parents with me — they're both in their fifties. Please give us something to eat. We'll pay you back once we get more supplies, I promise.]
ImAnRNGGod went quiet after that — he'd probably realized his earlier post hadn't been the smartest move.
[Teddy: @ImAnRNGGod, say something! You're not seriously going to just watch us die, are you?]
[Faraway: Exactly. With luck like yours, you'll definitely pull even more food tomorrow. What's the harm in sharing a little?]
[FaceOfJade: Right, we're all fellow citizens of Huaguo. In times of crisis, we should help each other out.]
[...]
[VastAsWater: Seriously? Where do you people get the nerve? Why should anyone hand over what they worked for?]
[YouMustBeStarving: Exactly. You reap what you sow — don't count on others. This is a survival game. Only the fittest survive!]
[ImAnRNGGod: Sure, I got lucky, but I'm no saint. Fair trades are fine; handouts are off the table!]
[Teddy: You guys... don't you have any sense of solidarity at all?]
[JustGoMarryAGuy: Whether we even survive is already a question. What solidarity? If you had food and someone came begging for it for free, would you give it away? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.]
[...]
Seeing more and more people pushing back against them, the freeloaders fell silent.
Qin Zhen wholeheartedly agreed with what ImAnRNGGod and the others had said. Trading supplies was fine, but if you wanted to freeload, forget it. Why should she hand over things she'd worked hard to gather? Who were these people to her?
Eight o'clock sharp.
Qin Zhen sat by the shore with eager anticipation, cast her hook into the sea, and waited for supplies.
Today she again pulled up four Wooden Chests, obtaining: Stone Pickaxe ×1, Refined Iron ×5, Plastic ×5, Glass ×5, Mineral Water 500ml ×3, Bread 200g ×3, Ham Sausage ×2.
[Stone Pickaxe — Attack Power: 10; Durability: 100; can be used to gather Stone]
Qin Zhen felt a little deflated — today's food haul was even smaller than yesterday's. She'd have to be more careful about rationing. Still, getting a new tool wasn't bad at all.
She broke down the Wooden Chests and obtained Wood ×24.
Qin Zhen's current inventory: Windproof Lighter ×1, Fruit Knife ×1, Stone Axe ×1 (Durability 85), Stone Pickaxe ×1, Refined Iron ×8, Wood ×86, Thatch ×4, Plastic ×10, Glass ×5, Mineral Water 500ml ×4, Bread 200g ×4, Apple ×1, Cup Noodles ×1, Coconut ×8, Ham Sausage ×2.
Back at the Shelter, Qin Zhen ate a bag of Bread and cracked open a Coconut, then decided that was enough — fortunately, her appetite wasn't too large.
She stored the supplies she wouldn't need outside inside the hut, then set out carrying only: Stone Axe ×1, Stone Pickaxe ×1, Mineral Water 500ml ×1, and — worried about going hungry in the afternoon — Ham Sausage ×1.
Today, Qin Zhen headed into the forest again, but not to the same spot as yesterday. Instead, she went to the forest beside where she had placed her Fish Trap, so she wouldn't have to make a separate trip back there in the afternoon.