Chapter 20 Stone House
Back inside the Wooden Cabin, Qin Zhen started a fire first.
Same as always, she steamed 200g of Rice and 1kg of bamboo pit viper snake meat.
This was her last 200g of Rice.
After eating, her Constitution increased by 1.
Qin Zhen opened the Trading Zone. All fifty-four Iron Axes she had listed that morning had already sold.
She received Refined Iron ×540 and Stone ×540.
Qin Zhen checked her current stock of Refined Iron, Stone, Wood, and Glass.
She now had a total of: Refined Iron ×701, Stone ×678, Wood ×580, Glass ×15.
Qin Zhen looked at the upgrade requirements for the Shelter.
[Stone House: Level 4 (capable of defending against Tier 1 Monster attacks). Upgrade materials required: Stone ×500, Wood ×300, Glass ×60]
Once she upgraded the Shelter, her Stone and Wood would be nearly depleted — not to mention the warehouse and fence, both of which were massive resource sinks.
Sigh. There was still a long road ahead.
Qin Zhen spent the rest of her time crafting Iron Axes.
She used Refined Iron ×696 and Stone ×348 to produce 116 Iron Axes.
At this point, it took her about four minutes to craft a single Iron Axe.
The 116 Iron Axes took nearly seven and a half hours. By the time she finished, it was already eleven o'clock at night.
Then she listed all the Iron Axes in the Trading Zone.
This time, Qin Zhen changed her trade conditions again.
[Iron Axe ×1: Exchange for Refined Iron ×10, Stone ×10 — or — Glass ×10, Stone ×10]
She had actually wanted to trade for some Wood too, but figured that since everyone now knew Polar Night was approaching, no one would be willing to part with their Wood anymore.
After listing everything, Qin Zhen didn't even bother checking the Chat Channel and went straight to sleep. She was exhausted — though at least she didn't have to wake up early tomorrow.
The next day, Qin Zhen didn't wake up until past ten forty.
But outside, it was still dark.
Yesterday it had gotten light at ten o'clock — shouldn't today be around ten thirty?
"System, what's going on? Is there some rule governing when it gets light and dark?"
Qin Zhen couldn't help but ask the System.
[Host, I'm not sure about that either — it's all determined by the main system.]
"Then what do you actually know?"
[I only have detailed information about in-game skills, Shelters, equipment, supplies, and similar things. As for the overarching rules, I'm not clear on those.]
Qin Zhen: "...Fine."
Qin Zhen checked the Trading Zone. All 116 of her Iron Axes had sold.
She received Refined Iron ×700, Stone ×1160, Glass ×460.
She was a little surprised. She had assumed that after selling so many Iron Axes over the past few days, fewer people would be buying this time around.
[Host, you're wrong about that. Think about how many people are in this zone — and Iron Axes are consumables. Some people stockpile them.]
Qin Zhen thought about it and realized that was true. There were tens of thousands of people in this zone. If each person bought just one, that was already tens of thousands of axes — and most people bought more than one.
It seemed this business could keep going indefinitely.
She now had Refined Iron ×705, Stone ×1490, Wood ×580, Glass ×475.
Qin Zhen first spent Stone ×500, Wood ×300, and Glass ×60 to upgrade the Shelter.
The upgrade would take one hour.
She then spent Refined Iron ×100, Wood ×100, and Glass ×50 to build a warehouse.
She now had Refined Iron ×605, Stone ×990, Wood ×180, Glass ×365.
Wood was still running short.
At eleven o'clock, daylight finally arrived.
Compared to yesterday, sunrise had been pushed back by a full hour. Would tonight's sunset also come an hour earlier?
Yesterday it had gone dark at three o'clock — so today it might go dark at two!
Qin Zhen made up her mind: she absolutely had to be back at the Shelter before two o'clock today.
After taking care of breakfast, she headed back to the pine grove where she had been chopping trees the day before.
By one forty-five, Qin Zhen had gathered a total of [Wood ×180, Pine Resin ×36, Pine Nuts 500g ×36, EXP +180].
Today she hadn't encountered any monster attacks.
She returned to the Shelter.
The Shelter had already finished upgrading.
[Congratulations, Player Qiyezhenzhen has upgraded the Shelter to Level 4. EXP +100]
The upgrade requirements for the Level 5 Shelter were:
[Two-Story Building: Level 5 (capable of defending against attacks from monsters below Tier 3). Upgrade materials required: Brick ×2000, Cement ×1000, Refined Iron ×1000, Wood ×300, Glass ×100]
Qin Zhen drew a sharp breath. The materials needed to upgrade to Level 5 were absolutely staggering.
And she had never even heard of Brick or Cement before.
Still, since the System had listed these requirements, it meant these materials would eventually appear — she didn't need to worry too much about it.
With that thought settled, Qin Zhen turned to look at her new Shelter.
It was no longer the cramped little Wooden Cabin of about twenty square meters from before. It had transformed into a one-bedroom, one-living-room, one-bathroom layout.
The total area was probably around forty square meters.
Stepping into the Stone House, you entered the living room first. The living room was a decent size, with windows and a proper stove.
Not the makeshift stove Qin Zhen had cobbled together before — this was a fully built, complete stove.
There was even a pot.
Beyond the living room was the bedroom. It wasn't large — only about ten square meters — but it had a window.
Inside, her Mattress, blanket, and Pillow had all been placed there.
It seemed she'd need to check the Trading Market to see if there were any beds for sale.
To the right was the bathroom, which also had a window. Her toilet from before was in there too.
Qin Zhen was thoroughly satisfied with the layout of the Stone House. All those resources had been well worth it.
Before, she could only say she was surviving. Now, she could truly say she was living.
Night fell. Qin Zhen took out her Flashlight, walked to the entrance of the Stone House, and stood ready with her Starlight Staff and Lianyue Crossbow in hand.
She spent about ten minutes dealing with the monsters that came to attack tonight.
Tonight's attackers were five Phoenixtail Fireturkeys — one Tier 1 and four ordinary ones.
The Phoenixtail Fireturkeys had sleek, flame-red plumage all over their bodies.
Their tails were nothing like a traditional chicken's tail — instead, they displayed seven distinct colors, every feather strikingly beautiful and vivid.
As they walked, they held their heads high with an air of proud arrogance.
[Phoenixtail Fireturkey: Tier 1 Monster. Attack Power: 40; targets struck have a chance of entering Scorched status, losing 5 HP per second; Defense: 30; HP: 250.]
The Phoenixtail Fireturkey's stats were fairly average. The only nuisance was that it attacked from range.
But that was all.
After dismantling the Tier 1 Phoenixtail Fireturkey, she received [Tier 1 Phoenixtail Fireturkey Meat 1kg ×5, Tier 1 Phoenixtail Fireturkey Feather ×10, Tier 1 Phoenixtail Fireturkey Claw ×2, Fire Spirit Bead ×3, Black Iron Chest ×1, EXP +50].
After dismantling the four ordinary Phoenixtail Fireturkeys, she received [Phoenixtail Fireturkey Meat 1kg ×8, Phoenixtail Fireturkey Feather ×40, Phoenixtail Fireturkey Claw ×8, Fire Spirit Bead ×2, Wooden Chest ×3, EXP +120].
Opening the Wooden Chests yielded [Mineral Water 500ml ×5, Bread 200g ×5, Wooden Rack ×1, Dish Soap ×1, Toiletry Gift Set ×1].
Opening the Black Iron Chest yielded [Fire Affinity Skill Book ×1, Tang Dao (Green) ×1, Attribute Orb ×5, Inventory Expansion Card ×5].
[Fire Affinity Skill Book: Fireball — Upon casting, conjures a fireball. Attack Power: 30; each cast consumes 30 MP.]
[Tang Dao (Green): Attack Power: 40; Durability: 200/200]