Chapter 9 System Update
Qin Zhen consumed the Attribute Orb directly, gaining Defense +3, Intelligence +3, and Luck +3.
Holy crap — Luck +3? The Luck stat that had never increased through leveling up had finally, finally gone up!
Qin Zhen used the Inventory Expansion Card right away as well. Her backpack now had eighteen slots.
Right — she still hadn't equipped the gear that had dropped from the bamboo pit viper earlier.
Qin Zhen equipped the Lianyue Crossbow (Blue), the Fleet Boots (Green), and the Starlight Staff (Green) all at once.
She was immediately informed that only one weapon could be equipped at a time.
"......"
Of course she had to equip the Starlight Staff — after all, she couldn't use any skills without it. Did she even have a choice?
Qin Zhen smiled a dead smile.
She took stock of her supplies and sorted everything out one by one.
Only then did she remember she still had 495 Bamboo Tubes of water. But looking around, everyone seemed well-supplied today, so she decided to wait and sell them once people started running short.
Qin Zhen took out two Bamboo Tubes, used the Fruit Knife to carve two holes in each just as she had before, then threaded a Vine through them and tied a knot, holding one Bamboo Tube in each hand and heating them over the fire.
She hadn't bathed in three days. Living by the sea, she constantly felt like she was coated in a salty, sour stench — she simply couldn't stand it anymore.
Today she had gotten a decent amount of water, so she was absolutely going to bathe. The only problem was that she had no towel or bucket, which made things a bit inconvenient.
Oh — she could check the Trading Market! Everyone had more supplies today, so maybe someone was selling those things there?
Qin Zhen opened the Trading Market and searched for towels and wooden buckets. Sure enough, there were listings — and the asking prices weren't high, accepting food or water.
She traded 500ml Mineral Water ×1 for a towel, and 500ml Mineral Water ×3 for a Wooden Bucket.
As for why she didn't use Bamboo Tube water — Bamboo Tube water was raw water, after all. Drinking it directly might expose someone to bacteria, and Qin Zhen was worried that whoever received it might not have the means to boil it and could fall ill.
Not that she actually cared about anyone else's health, of course. She just didn't want the hassle of being blamed.
She boiled the contents of twenty Bamboo Tubes in total, and pouring it all into the Wooden Bucket filled it more than halfway.
Qin Zhen enjoyed a thoroughly satisfying hot bath, then changed into fresh underwear and a women's autumn outfit.
The autumn set was a three-piece ensemble: trousers, a jacket, and a long-sleeved shirt underneath.
Although the daytime temperature wasn't low, mornings and evenings by the sea were still quite chilly, so the jacket was perfectly wearable.
Using the bathwater, she gave her dirty clothes a first scrub, then took out ten more Bamboo Tubes of water to rinse them through again.
Qin Zhen draped the freshly washed clothes over the Wooden Bucket, planning to take them out to dry in the sun tomorrow.
Clean from head to toe and dressed in fresh clothes, Qin Zhen felt wonderful. She then took out the Mattress and Cashmere Blanket she had gotten from the morning's crate opening.
She laid the Mattress directly on the ground, spread the Cashmere Blanket over it, and just like that, a simple bed was complete.
Qin Zhen threw herself onto the bed, hugged the blanket, and rolled around — so soft, so comfortable!
Only she knew how hard it had been sleeping on Thatch these past two days. Her bones still ached a little even now!
Suddenly she bolted upright like a carp leaping from water — Qin Zhen remembered she had brought back a bunch of Vines that morning and stashed them in the crate, planning to weave Fish Traps tonight. She had almost forgotten.
"Ugh..."
Qin Zhen could only reluctantly drag herself away from her beloved bed and focus on her great Fish Trap enterprise.
She kept weaving until around ten o'clock, when she couldn't hold out any longer. She had gotten up far too early that morning and was utterly exhausted. Still, tonight's output was respectable — she had woven ten Fish Traps in total.
Tomorrow she would set these Fish Traps out in the shallow sea area first, and weave the rest slowly over the following evenings.
With that thought, Qin Zhen set down the Vines, flopped face-first onto the bed, and drifted into an exhausted sleep.
[System updating. Please wait, Player.]
The next morning at five-thirty, Qin Zhen was woken as usual by her alarm.
[Today's weather: Cloudy, 15–23°C]
[System update complete.]
[The Beginner Protection Period has ended.
Welcome, Player, to the official game world.
The Magic World and Leaderboard functions are now unlocked.
Players who possess a Magic Attribute may learn one skill every 10 levels, for a total of ten skills by level 100.
The Leaderboard settles every seven days; players ranked in the top 100 server-wide will receive rewards.]
[Death in the game is permanent death!]
[Death in the game is permanent death!]
[Death in the game is permanent death!]
[Dear Player Qiyezhenzhen, the System is at your service!]
A System update? So the voice she had half-heard last night while drifting off to sleep was real — she had thought she was just hearing things.
The official game world? Did that mean everything before had only been a simplified version?
Players with a Magic Attribute could learn one skill every ten levels — but she had two Magic Attributes, which meant she could learn twenty skills in total, right?
The Magic World and Leaderboard functions...
Oh right — she could now learn from that Ice Affinity Skill Book. But what exactly was this Leaderboard?
[Yes. The Beginner Protection Period was only a simplified version of the game world, with many features locked. Now that the update is complete, this is the official game world.]
As if it had heard Qin Zhen's thoughts, a mechanical voice rang out inside her mind.
What the heck?!
"?" Qin Zhen ventured aloud, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly. The number reminded her of a popular sitcom that had taken Huaguo by storm.
[Host, it's me! Feel free to ask me anything~]
"Does everyone have a System, or is it just me?"
[Host, every player has a System to answer their questions!]
"I see. I also want to ask — my Magic Attributes are Ice Affinity and Light Affinity. Does that mean I can learn twenty skills in total?"
Qin Zhen asked eagerly. She had so many questions, and now she finally had something like a search engine at her disposal!
[Yes.]
"Then what is the Leaderboard exactly?"
[Host, you can open your Wrist Computer — yes, tap the Leaderboard button in the lower right corner of that Wristwatch — to take a look.]
Qin Zhen tapped her Wristwatch and found that in addition to the Chat Channel, Trading Zone, and Friends List that had been there before, a new Leaderboard had indeed appeared in the lower right corner.
She opened the Leaderboard — and discovered that her ID was sitting in first place on the very first ranking.