Yun Luohe fell silent for a moment, her eyes narrowing slightly as she stared at the screen.Lin Zhu’s message did not exactly surprise her.After all, this sort of thing would come to light sooner or later. She just preferred to keep a low profile while she was still not firmly established.She understood all too well the principle that "tall trees catch more wind."She was not particularly powerful, nor was her Luck stat anything impressive. If she drew too much attention, it would not be a good thing.Right now, most players were operating solo, with few instances of cooperation. But what if things changed down the line?What if, someday, players could attack each other? Could invade or occupy each other’s reefs?Would she not become a prime target?Capable of producing high-grade cooking, with decent resources but not much combat strength, and no remarkable luck—she would be the perfect target for those top-tier players.Yun Luohe had always been the type to plan ahead.And most of the time, her caution paid off.Still, Lin Zhu’s words caused her mindset to shift just a little.If secrecy could not be maintained, then perhaps, when it was absolutely safe to do so, she could leverage her advantages to grow rapidly—develop her strength as quickly as possible and become one of the strongest.Once she reached that level, she would no longer fear anyone. Everything would be under her control.Perhaps excessive caution was actually holding her back.Maybe it was because she had taken too long to respond.Lin Zhu sent another message:"I was only guessing. If I was wrong, I take it back.""Let’s work together."Yun Luohe replied crisply with just three words: “Let’s cooperate.”Even though they had only exchanged a few messages, she felt that Lin Zhu was quite similar to her. He seemed like a promising partner.Seeing Yun Luohe’s reply, Lin Zhu smiled and immediately sent over a bundle of supplies.[White Sugar ×1, Salt ×1, Honey ×1, Garlic ×1, Cabbage ×1, Pumpkin ×1, Milk ×1, Flour ×1, Rice ×1, Wild Boar Meat ×2]These were not low-value items.Yun Luohe had not expected him to be so straightforward—he did not even ask her to trade anything in return."These are for you first. When you finish cooking something, send me a bit. I’ll need it tomorrow."Yun Luohe: "OK.""Alright, then give me two servings of Sweet Glazed Roasted Meat for one Phosphorescent Pearl."Crafting a Phosphorescent Pearl was not simple. It involved collecting phosphorescent powder from Butterfly Island butterflies, then combining it with pearls from pearl oysters.Pearl oysters were not rare, but the one Lin Zhu had was special. Ordinary ones produced very small pearls.His, however, was a giant pearl oyster, capable of producing pearls the size of a baby’s fist.The pearl he used for the phosphorescent pearl was not that big, but it was still the size of a ping-pong ball.Considering how rare butterfly phosphor was, the Phosphorescent Pearl was one-of-a-kind in Zone 2.Trading it for two servings of meat was actually a slight loss for him.Originally, he had wanted to trade for a Gas Mask—a much more practical item.But since that was not an option, Stamina-boosting food was also worthwhile. Currently, the Emperor’s Luck Association only had one player with a cooking skill. That player had become highly sought-after, but their food only gave moderate Stamina boosts, and they only released ten servings a day for trade—not nearly enough for everyone.Thinking that they were now partners, Yun Luohe casually asked, “Do you happen to have any obsidian?”Lin Zhu paused for a moment. He had not expected Yun Luohe to be looking for that too.Obsidian had been a hot topic in the Emperor’s Luck Association lately.Both Wu Jing and Du Ruan-tian had drawn high-grade blueprints recently and needed obsidian.But no one in the entire region had found any.So, Yun Luohe must have gotten a high-grade blueprint as well.“No.”After a moment’s thought, Lin Zhu added, “Even if I had it, I wouldn’t trade it to you.”Yun Luohe did not ask why—she could already guess what he meant.“Fair enough. Then, can I ask what you’re collecting Crystal Stones for?”Lin Zhu did not hide it. “To craft Space Stones. I have the blueprint.”Of course!If she never obtained a Space Stone Blueprint herself, she would have to rely on Lin Zhu for crafting them in the future.—It was late at night, but Yun Luohe was still busy cooking.She intended to use up all the leftover fish meat from earlier.She was heading out again tomorrow, which meant she could not leave raw fish in her backpack all day. It had already been sitting around since the previous morning—any longer, and it would spoil.Some she pan-fried in a skillet, some she roasted on the grill, and some she steamed in a pot.She had three stoves going at once. The efficiency was excellent, but the heat made her sweat profusely. As her Stamina Points dropped, she kept eating small bits of food to recover.She was determined to get her Cooking Skill to Level 3 tonight.So while she cooked, she kept an eye on her personal stats—her experience bar was steadily rising.Just as the system had explained: as long as she kept performing skill-related actions, she would gain EXP.She was almost there—just 10 more points to go.At that point, it would be impossible to sleep if she did not hit the level-up.She decided to get creative and start throwing together various combinations using all her available ingredients...First, she organized her supplies.Not counting what she had just received from Lin Zhu, she already had quite a bit stocked in her crates:[Various Fish Meats, Ginger, Salt, Wild Scallions, Crocodile Meat, Eel, Several Types of Mushrooms, Oranges, Coconuts, Pumpkin, Flour, Hoisin Sauce, Soy Sauce, Tofu, Century Eggs, Tea Leaves, Milk Powder, Walnuts, Sweet Sauce]She could make quite a few dishes.She listed out some common ones: stir-fried mushrooms, century egg tofu, scallion pancakes, pumpkin soup, meat patties...But those all felt too ordinary.She decided to experiment. Maybe by mixing things up, she could trigger something unexpected…As long as it was edible—and preferably delicious.White sugar, pumpkin, and milk—she made a Honey Pumpkin Porridge. Nutritious and sweet.Eel, honey, and rice—she made Glazed Eel Rice. She brushed honey over grilled eel to give it a caramelized finish, then served it over cooked rice—a modified version of sweet eel rice.Eel and tofu—she turned them into Eel Tofu Soup, with ginger and wild scallions for flavor.Pork, garlic, wild scallions, flour—she made Meat Patties, adding mushrooms inside.Then she juiced all the fruits she had and added milk powder…That one leaned toward the “cursed food” category—but... worth a try.With her new recipes decided, Yun Luohe went all in.[Congratulations, Player has successfully crafted a Luck Dish: Lucky Eel Rice][Reward: Chef’s Soup Pot ×1][Congratulations, Player has successfully crafted a Dark Dish: Weird Fruit Juice][Reward: Fruit Soda ×1][Congratulations, Player has crafted a Strength Dish: Power Boost Meat Patty][Reward: Stamina Boost Giant Meat Patty ×1][Cooking Skill Leveled Up — Lv.3][Reward: Refrigerator ×1]Yun Luohe was both shocked and thrilled.A full 30 points of experience, just like that!Apparently, completing special skill behaviors granted +10 EXP each. And since she was still a low level, there were many possible special actions—meaning high probability of success. It would likely get harder in the future.But no matter. She had leveled up—and that was what mattered.From now on, she needed to experiment more with food. Try everything.The Refrigerator reward nearly made her squeal with joy.Now she could store her ingredients without worrying about spoilage—it would extend their freshness for at least three to seven days.She opened the other rewards to take a look:[Chef’s Soup Pot: Used for cooking a variety of delicious soups.][Fruit Soda: Speed +1, Luck +1, lasts 10 minutes.][Stamina Boost Giant Meat Patty: Instantly restores full Stamina Points.]Yun Luohe was grinning ear to ear, completely wide awake now. It was already 1:30 in the morning.She picked up the other two dishes she had made and checked their effects.Also excellent.[Honey Pumpkin Porridge: Sweet and fragrant with rich pumpkin aroma. +15 Stamina, +1 Gathering, lasts 15 minutes][Eel Tofu Soup: A light, nutritious soup. +20 Stamina]Suddenly, Yun Luohe felt a renewed sense of confidence for tomorrow’s island expedition.If something went wrong, she would just eat like crazy!The thought of that scene almost made her laugh—should she ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ eat first or fight first? That was the question...Before going to bed, she set up the Oyster Farming Nets.Their main function was to keep young oysters anchored so they would not be swept away by waves, and also to protect them from harm.Inside these nets, the oysters would not be eaten by fish beasts.It also made feeding and harvesting the oysters far more convenient.At the moment, Yun Luohe had a total of 45 oysters, plus a bunch of oyster eggs.She distributed and secured them all around the edge of the reef.Whenever it rained, the seaweed grew like crazy—extremely fast.Tomorrow, she expected a big new batch.Even though Ròubāo harvested seaweed every day, the seaweed on the reef never seemed to decrease.Yun Luohe already had more than 700 seaweed stored in her crates.When she got back tomorrow, she planned to dump all the seaweed into the trash can and convert it.Combined with tomorrow’s haul of garbage, the trash can should be ready to upgrade by tomorrow night.The thought made her mood even better.—Survival: Day Twelve.When Yun Luohe woke up, the sun was already blazing. It was a bright, cloudless day. Even though it had rained all night, by 8:00 a.m. the reef was bone dry—there was no trace of rainwater left.She checked the crops. The sprinkler system was functioning normally.The Bupleurum was ready to harvest.Before collecting it, Yun Luohe glanced at her Gathering Skill experience bar.Then she went to harvest the Bupleurum. As soon as she picked it, she gained 1 EXP.Each plant yielded one portion of medicinal Bupleurum.[Bupleurum: Key ingredient in making Cold-Expelling Granules and Bupleurum Ginger Soup]The harvested Bupleurum looked different from the still-growing plant—one was an herbal item, the other a crop.She figured she would need to learn the Alchemy Skill and use an Alchemy Table to actually make anything with it.She remembered that Qin Sisi had learned alchemy.It was almost time to depart. Lin Zhu had already messaged in the group chat.Lin Zhu: “I’m ready. Departing in five minutes.”Yun Luohe quickly called for Ròubāo, left it enough food—five servings of last night’s grilled meat—and told it to trim more seaweed, especially to keep it from growing too close to the wooden house.“If the fishing net moves, try to help me haul it up and throw it back. You’ve seen how I do it.”She was not sure Ròubāo could manage, but she wanted it to try. The food she left it could boost its strength, and Ròubāo was already pretty strong to begin with.—Soon, the three of them gathered on the sailboat.Yun Luohe and Qin Sisi had met before, but both of them were seeing Lin Zhu for the first time, so their attention naturally turned to him the moment he came aboard.Lin Zhu looked lean and tall, with no visible expression. His features were sharp and cold, like sculpted stone, but his gaze was calm and composed.“Even though we’re meeting in person for the first time, we already covered introductions in the group yesterday. Let’s finalize plans after we land.”Qin Sisi glanced at Yun Luohe. She remembered that it had been Yun Luohe doing all the talking yesterday—today it was Lin Zhu.Seemed like both of them were assertive types. She wondered whether Yun Luohe would feel annoyed by that shift.But Yun Luohe did not mind. She could lead if necessary, but she had no problem playing a solid teammate either—as long as the person taking charge earned her trust.For now, she would wait and observe—see what Lin Zhu could do.Lin Zhu asked, “If I may—how many times have you both landed on islands? And which islands?”It was a bold question, but if he was asking, it meant he wanted honest answers.Yun Luohe held up two fingers.So did Qin Sisi.“Then we’re all even,” Lin Zhu said. “This will be our third time landing, so no one here has significantly more experience. I suggest we coordinate and make decisions together. Resources are split individually—everyone should aim to leave satisfied. But I’ll say this up front: if we run into danger, help if you can. If not, every man for himself.”What he said was reasonable—just not very pleasant to hear. It was putting the ugly truth on the table.Yun Luohe’s expression remained unchanged, but Qin Sisi’s face looked a little uneasy.After yesterday, she already knew Yun Luohe had high combat strength. And judging from Lin Zhu’s demeanor, he was probably a capable fighter too. That meant she was the weakest link.Yun Luohe said, “We’ve arrived.”All three turned to face the approaching island.It was shrouded in thick fog.The mist clung low to the terrain, immediately setting them all on edge.They leapt from the boat one after another and stepped into the boundary of the island.[Welcome to Spider Island…]Even the name Spider Island made one think of masses of spiders and sticky webs.“Did you bring anything that counters spiders?” Lin Zhu suddenly asked.Qin Sisi said, “I have insect repellent potion.”Lin Zhu nodded. “Might be useful.”He looked at Yun Luohe. “Your gas mask might be crucial here.”He was referring to the pale purple mist that hung in the air. It looked anything but safe.“What about you?” Yun Luohe asked. She and Qin Sisi both had gas masks—he did not.Lin Zhu thought back to last night when he had felt uneasy and made additional preparations.“I bought a Resin Gas Mask.”Yun Luohe nodded—her impression of Lin Zhu rose again.“Let’s go. Once it gets dark, we will not be able to stay in this forest. We need to explore quickly while the sun is still out.”Yun Luohe silently drew her dagger and gripped it in her hand.Since this was a spider-themed island, bows and arrows might be less useful for now.Qin Sisi wondered whether her Animal Affinity Trait might have any effect on this island.—The moment they stepped into the forest, all three of them felt a distinct discomfort.The entire forest was filled with massive trees, each one towering up into the clouds. The canopies were connected by silvery spiderwebs that shimmered faintly under the sunlight.The ground was covered in thick fallen leaves. Yun Luohe used an arrow to lift them and found the soil beneath was densely packed with mycelium.Snow-white fungal threads, thick and sprawling—it was as if the entire forest floor was laced with them.Though the treetops blocked most sunlight, dappled rays still fell through the gaps, casting brilliant patches of light. Combined with the faint purple fog, the place felt surreal—dreamlike and eerie.Lin Zhu took the lead. Yun Luohe brought up the rear, placing Qin Sisi in the middle.Qin Sisi glanced gratefully back at Yun Luohe.Both she and Yun Luohe wore gas masks—lightweight, with only their eyes visible. Lin Zhu, however, had a heavy Resin Gas Mask that covered his entire face like a helmet.Qin Sisi murmured, “These trees could be cut down, right?”“No point wasting energy on this wood,” Lin Zhu replied.Yun Luohe agreed. Even though she needed wood, this forest was clearly dangerous. Chopping trees would burn Stamina with minimal return—not worth it.“I plan to collect some of the mycelium,” she said.That was far easier than chopping trees.[Mycelium: A material that counteracts poisonous fog. Can be processed into fuel with special effects.]Yun Luohe’s expression shifted—this was valuable stuff.“You two should gather some as well,” she said. “I have a feeling it will come in handy.”Qin Sisi and Lin Zhu immediately knelt down to collect some.“It counteracts the poison and acts as fuel—maybe we can burn it to clear the fog.”“So this mist really is toxic,” Lin Zhu said. He focused on his status panel—then his face darkened.“Our Stamina Points and HP are steadily dropping.”They had only been inside for half an hour.They had not done anything, yet Lin Zhu had already lost 2 HP and 4 Stamina Points.If they stayed too long at this rate, they could die without encountering a single threat.Right now, 100 HP would last 25 hours—but who knew whether the toxicity would build over time? In a few hours, the rate might increase sharply.And if they got into a fight, every lost HP would matter.If anyone got wounded and their skin was exposed to the fog, the poisoning would accelerate.Even just breathing hard after exertion could draw in more of the gas.Worse yet, the deeper they went, the thicker the fog. It was light purple now, but further in it could become dense enough to drain 10 HP per hour.In short—extremely dangerous.There had to be a countermeasure. And it seemed to be the mycelium at their feet.Natural balance: where poison grows, its antidote grows alongside it.Lin Zhu quickly ran through all possible scenarios in his head.He shared his thoughts with the others.Yun Luohe had already been thinking along the same lines. She stared down at the mycelium in her hands, deep in thought.Qin Sisi asked, “But how do we make fuel out of this? We don’t have a blueprint or recipe.”Just then, footsteps echoed behind them.“Someone else is coming!”

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