Yun Luohe carried the illustrated manual and took a long, winding route before finally returning to where Mu Zitang had been resting.Mu Zitang was lying in the same position as before, motionless, but his complexion looked better—not as deathly pale as it had been earlier.When he saw Yun Luohe return, he perked up a bit. After all, lying there without moving was painfully boring, and now he could at least speak again.“Yun-jie, you're back. How did it go?” he asked.Yun Luohe shook her head. “The place is full of venomous insects and bees. They attack on sight. I barely made it out. Qin Sisi and I got separated, but she should be fine—she messaged me just now.”Mu Zitang said, “That’s good... is Sisi-jie coming back soon?”“She should be. I already told her I was heading back. She knows the way out.”Logically speaking, Qin Sisi would be more anxious than her, since she had to hurry home to her child.Yun Luohe, on the other hand, was in no rush—as long as they left before dark, it would be fine.She helped Mu Zitang sit up. “Try to see if you can walk on your own.”He managed a few shaky steps, clearly still needing support. His injuries were still too serious.He gave her a bitter smile.“I’ll help you walk, or carry you if needed,” Yun Luohe offered, thinking to herself that she had enough strength anyway.Mu Zitang quickly said, “Walking’s fine.”Getting carried on her back would be way too humiliating.The two of them waited a while longer. Yun Luohe dug up a few more chunks of clay nearby, but Qin Sisi still had not arrived.Mu Zitang checked the time and could not help but worry. “Did something happen to Sisi-jie on the way?”“I’ll message her and see,” Yun Luohe replied.But the message she sent received no response.They looked at each other, at a loss.It was out of the question to go looking for her—no one had any idea where she was right now. With the poisonous insects and bees in the forest, even Yun Luohe could barely defend herself, let alone Mu Zitang.They could only wait for her to return on her own.Time ticked by.The sky was beginning to darken. Even if they set off now, they would not reach the coast until seven o’clock. Yun Luohe was unsure whether they should leave or keep waiting.Fortunately, just then, Qin Sisi finally replied:“I’m almost there.”Yun Luohe let out a breath of relief. If she had not answered, it would have been an incredibly difficult choice—leaving her behind would have felt deeply wrong, not knowing if she was alive or dead.Besides, the three of them had made plans to travel together to a new island tomorrow.When Qin Sisi finally appeared, Yun Luohe and Mu Zitang were both stunned.Her face was swollen like a pig’s head. If she were not wearing the same outfit as earlier, they would never have recognized her—her bloated face and sausage-like lips looked nothing like the sharp and elegant woman from before.“You… what happened…”Qin Sisi barely moved her mouth—it seemed even speaking was painful.She shook her head and only said three words, faint and clipped:“Let’s go.”Indeed, it was late. Better to head out now and talk about everything later.—After more than forty minutes of trekking, the three of them finally reached another section of coastline. Yun Luohe took out her sailboat, and the three boarded to head back to the reef.Along the way, no one spoke. There was an unspoken agreement to remain silent.Only at the end did Qin Sisi say, “We’ll talk later.”When Yun Luohe saw the familiar reef, her expression finally relaxed. She smiled as she spotted Ròubāo busily scraping seaweed off the rocks.The moment Ròubāo spotted her, it dashed over and raised a paw.“Meow meow!”“You poor thing. Your paws are worn out. I brought something tasty back. I’ll cook something good for you later.”“Meow!~~”Who knew if it even understood her.Back inside the wooden cabin, Yun Luohe removed the tools from the workbench and replaced them with new materials to continue crafting. She refused to let the workbench sit idle.She sank into the sofa to rest and sorted through the day’s haul.[Wood ×88, Fiber ×288, Grass Seeds ×20, Peat Moss ×82, Mushrooms ×4, Crocodile Meat ×400, Crocodile Hide ×15, Gold-Quality Crocodile Hide Backpack ×1, Swamp Strangewood Roots ×3, Clay ×10, Resin ×5, Pinecones ×7, Pine Wood ×48, Two Crates of Meadow Soil, Main Islands of the Four Seasons: Spring Volume]The biggest haul by volume was clearly the crocodile meat and hide, but the most valuable, in Yun Luohe’s opinion, was the illustrated manual.She pulled out the grill and began roasting some of the crocodile meat immediately.After rubbing a bit of salt on the meat, she began roasting it to full doneness.As it sizzled, Yun Luohe opened the chat channel to check for any new developments.She had been on the island all day and had no time to catch up. She needed to know what had been happening—otherwise, she would fall behind.Sure enough, the moment she opened it, she saw many people talking about island entries.A lot of players had drawn Island Entry Tokens from their clams. It seemed the system was planning to give a large number of players a chance to visit the islands—not just the leaderboard players anymore.However, the timing was staggered, and fewer tokens would be issued in later waves.First come, first served. If you were too late, someone else might have already looted everything—like the manual Yun Luohe had found.What interested Yun Luohe the most was the rule that players could only use an Island Token to revisit an island they had already been to.She was actually interested in returning to Swamp Island. She wanted to figure out how to deal with those poisonous insects and the Parasitic Vine.The manual had described it in such an enigmatic way—it had stirred her curiosity.But she did not know the original owner of the manual. For all she knew, it could be some twisted prank. The Parasitic Vine might be incredibly dangerous, and there might be no reward at all for defeating it. That was entirely possible.In any case, that would be something to plan for later. She still had no means of dealing with the venomous swarm right now.And besides, she still did not know what exactly had happened to Qin Sisi yesterday to make her return in that state. Would she even tell her?Yun Luohe considered for a moment and sent Qin Sisi a message, asking if she would still be able to depart tomorrow.The crocodile meat was sizzling loudly now, the fat under the skin crisping up and turning glossy. The surface of the meat was golden and caramelized, and the rich aroma filled the entire cabin.Even Yun Luohe’s own stomach began to growl.Ròubāo, waiting nearby, was practically drooling with hunger. It stared hungrily at the grilling meat, as if it wanted to swipe a piece immediately.Yun Luohe sniffed the air. It really did smell incredible. They said crocodile meat tasted like a mix of fish and chicken.It certainly looked dense and meaty.She had four hundred portions of crocodile meat. Roasting them all would take a lot of time. Even grilling non-stop day and night would take three or four days. Selling it raw might be easier—but grilled meat would surely sell for more.Still, she was torn.Roasted meat had more value, but required time and effort. At most, she could roast a bit while cooking for herself. Even then, the yield would mostly be for personal use, not for sale.But selling the raw meat directly might not fetch a high price.She decided to try listing both and see what happened. She would price the raw crocodile meat higher and see if anyone would bite.Her grill could only handle two pieces at a time. Each portion was two catties—large, thick cuts that the grill could barely hold.And it took twenty minutes per batch.Once the first two pieces were ready, Yun Luohe eagerly checked the result.Even though the grilled meat was only Gold-quality, its effect was astonishing.[Grilled Crocodile Meat (Gold)]Restores 50 Stamina PointsIncreases Strength by 20 PointsChance to enhance physical attributes with continued consumptionWith a buff like that, she really had to think carefully about the price.With such powerful stamina and strength boosts, one piece of grilled crocodile meat should sell for at least 120 Wood.After all, she had been able to sell grilled fish meat for 80 Wood before.Yun Luohe ate one piece of the grilled crocodile meat and handed the other to Ròubāo.Ròubāo grabbed it without hesitation, not even flinching at the heat, and devoured it in just under two minutes.It still looked hungry, staring up at Yun Luohe with pleading eyes—clearly wanting ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) more.“One huge piece still not enough for you? No more for now,” Yun Luohe scolded. “Get back to work. You can have a late-night snack later.”That piece of meat was not cheap.Yun Luohe kept grilling. She planned to cook two more pieces for trade and list raw crocodile meat for sale, but only in exchange for Shells.After all, her stockpile of Shells was still small.Upgrading required a hefty amount of Shells.Selling raw crocodile meat for 20 Shells per piece seemed… too cheap.By now—on Day 11—most players would have around 30 Shells, unless they had already spent some.So she raised the price to 25 Shells. If no one bought it, she would just keep the meat and grill it for herself at a slower pace.She also planned to list the grilled meat with its effect shown—once people saw the stats, the demand for raw crocodile meat would definitely rise.Then she noticed someone in the chat selling a Ceramic Blueprint, but the seller only accepted high-grade food in exchange—preferably something that restored a large amount of stamina.Perfect.Yun Luohe definitely needed a ceramic formula. She had more crocodile meat than she knew what to do with, and trading it for a blueprint seemed like a fair deal.She quickly sent the seller a friend request with a message: “I happen to have food that restores a lot of stamina.”The friend request was accepted almost instantly.Lu Yao: “Hi, can I take a look at the food you mentioned?”Yun Luohe sent a screenshot of the grilled crocodile meat’s item description.As expected, the other party was impressed.Lu Yao: “This works!”“You have more of it? I can trade you for other stuff too.”Yun Luohe: “What do you have?”If it was a blueprint or formula, or even upgrade materials she needed, she would definitely consider it.Lu Yao: “How about Clay? I can trade 20 Clay for one piece of that grilled crocodile meat.”Twenty pieces of Clay… that was not bad. Yun Luohe currently had close to 100 Clay. She did not have any problems with upgrading, but she would need more soon for crafting a biogas pit and a toilet—both of which required a lot of Clay.For someone to offer that much Clay in one go, they probably obtained it directly on an island.They did not want the Ceramic Blueprint and had plenty of Clay. They were trading for stamina-restoring food. That meant… they were likely preparing for an island expedition.Yun Luohe’s first thought was the Lucky Club.Five members from the Lucky Club were already on the leaderboard. They had Team-Up Cards and would definitely invite others from the same faction to join expeditions.This person had probably already been to an island several times.Still, since they had just met, Yun Luohe did not want to pry. She agreed to the trade right away.“Deal.”She also asked Lu Yao if she had Wood. One hundred Wood or 25 Shells could be traded for raw crocodile meat.Lu Yao: “Why not just cook it yourself?”Yun Luohe kept her guard up. “It doesn’t always turn out the same. I’m not the one who grilled this batch.”Lu Yao: “Ah, I see. Well, if you’re getting others to cook it for you, I’d rather pay more for pre-cooked, guaranteed-quality food.”Yun Luohe: “I would too, but people are too busy, and they ask for a lot in return.”It was true—she herself was also too busy. Selling raw meat was more convenient. Plus, giving high-stamina food to expedition players helped them gather more resources… which might leave her in the dust.Lu Yao: “Well, let me know. If possible, I’ll add 40 Wood on top for one piece.”That sounded like a great deal to Yun Luohe.She was extremely short on Wood right now.She had barely cut down any trees during her last island trip.And it was already Day 11—yet she had just barely 1,000 Wood. Upgrading required 3,000.She accepted the offer and said she would contact her later.After closing the chat, Yun Luohe opened the trading hub. She did not list the cooked crocodile meat after all—she had changed her mind.This stamina-boosting meat was too valuable to just post on the trading board.Instead, she listed 10 portions of raw crocodile meat, each priced at 25 Shells, and began aggressively buying Sea Stones and Wood.She had to upgrade before those Lucky Club players beat her to it.Tomorrow’s island entry was her best chance to gather the remaining upgrade materials. If she was still missing anything after that, she could use her current materials for trades—even if it meant a slight loss—just to complete her upgrades by tomorrow night.During her chat with Lu Yao, she had a gut feeling: with so many Lucky Club players going on expeditions and having insanely high Luck stats, the materials they could obtain would be unimaginable. And since they shared supplies among themselves, their upgrades would be far easier than hers.Even if she could not claim first place, she needed to push into the top ten this time!Fueled by determination, Yun Luohe cleared out all the Sea Stones and Wood from the trading board—and also bought a large quantity of Iron Ore.If she lacked the materials others wanted, she would offer the goods she had brought back from Swamp Island.Things like Peat Moss and Peat were rare and useful, perfect for exchanging with others for base materials. No one would say no.After a flurry of trades, her inventory was noticeably lighter.But she had acquired:Sea Stone ×497, Wood ×760, Iron Ore ×39She was thrilled to consolidate all the supplies.She had almost enough Sea Stone now—what she was still missing was mostly Wood and Iron Ore.If she could just use her current materials to finish making Glass and Lime, she would be ready.She checked the recipes.Glass: requires Sand and ShellsLime: requires Shells or Stone, refined by burningShe wondered if anyone was selling Stone.She had been focusing so much on Shells that she had forgotten Stone could also be used.After all, both contain calcium carbonate.She searched the trade board—and bingo.Someone had listed 10 Giant Stones.Yun Luohe was stunned.That was a huge amount.But she quickly realized why someone would post that many Giant Stones at once.They could not be broken down with regular pickaxes. You needed a high-grade Steel Pickaxe made at the Forging Table.Luckily, she still had some Refined Steel left—just enough to make one.Perfect.With those stones, she would never need to worry about Lime again.Ten Giant Stones would yield at least seventy to eighty Small Stones. Even if it was not quite enough, it would be close. Combined with the Shells she had, she would definitely be covered.Then she looked at the seller’s asking price.They wanted 2 Crystal Stones.Now that was a problem.Crystal Stones were used to craft Hollow Stones—they were incredibly rare. And she only had one.Yun Luohe tried contacting the seller to see if they would accept another item in trade.They rejected her outright.She glanced at the seller’s name.Lin Zhu.Was that not the third-ranked player on the composite leaderboard?Also a member of the Lucky Club.If Lin Zhu was collecting Crystal Stones… did he already have the Hollow Stone recipe?Yun Luohe’s heart skipped—but she calmed herself quickly.So what if he had the recipe? Crystal Stones were extremely hard to get. She only had one, and no one else seemed to be listing them on the board either.Sure, those Lucky Club players might have more, but if Lin Zhu was still looking to trade, it meant he did not have enough either.She messaged him again.“Do you want anything else?”She really did not want to miss out on those stones.

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