Yun Luohe barely slept the entire night, busy with mass-producing Waterproof Cloth and Acid-Resistant Bricks. At the same time, she had instructed Tianji Pavilion to publicly disclose that Anti-Acid Coating required Black Sludge from Swamp Island as the raw material.Any player who landed on Swamp Island could obtain the location of Black Sludge for free from Tianji Pavilion by presenting proof of landing.The entire Mutual Aid Association was also collecting Black Sludge to produce Anti-Acid Coating.This wave of actions from Tianji Pavilion earned them a good reputation. Even those trolls had quieted down recently, though it was likely because everyone was too busy dealing with the acid rain to stir up trouble.After a night had passed, the crops on Yun Luohe’s reef suffered little damage. She had implemented rather comprehensive protective measures. The Seaweed, however, had already overgrown, and many Oysters had died.But to Yun Luohe’s surprise, the acid rain had no effect on her body.She ran several experiments, all producing the same result. She even shared the discovery in the chat channel, and sure enough, other players like her reported no reaction when coming into contact with water residue from acid rain on Seaweed.It seemed acid rain posed little threat to animals.Even so, large numbers of players had suffered heavy losses. Their wooden houses had begun to leak, forcing them to urgently upgrade.Trading Center prices for upgrade materials were rising across the board.However, thanks to the Lucky Period, the resources players salvaged had increased significantly, so despite the price hikes, it was not too outrageous.Moreover, many people had gotten Diving Cards.“Guys, with a Diving Card, you can breathe underwater for three whole hours. I went diving, and there are tons of Sea Stone down there, free for the taking!”“I found two Shells at the seabed! You can open them for loot!”“Who gets it? Diving is so fun! The seawater, after being soaked by acid rain, is crystal clear, and there’s so much fish!”“Speechless, why didn’t I get a Diving Card? Did you all get one?”Yun Luohe had also ordered Ròubāo to fish for Shells early in the morning in hopes of getting a Diving Card.The result was predictable. Despite the increased luck, no Diving Card was found.She did not know whether Ròubāo’s luck was worse than hers or what.But Yun Luohe had no time to fish herself. She had been too busy at the Workbench, producing Anti-Acid Coating nonstop.—At this time, the Emperor’s Luck Association suddenly sent Du Ruan-tian as a representative to contact the Mutual Aid Association.They said they wanted to discuss a potential collaboration.Mu Zitang, as the person in charge of the Mutual Aid Association, reported to Yun Luohe first. After confirming with her, he added Du Ruan-tian as a friend.Mu Zitang maintained a cold attitude. After all, the Mutual Aid Association and the Emperor’s Luck Association had always been at odds.One side were unlucky players; the other side were the so-called “blessed by luck.” They were not the same kind of people and disliked each other by default.Mu Zitang: “What kind of collaboration are you talking about?”Du Ruan-tian: “We heard you have anti-acid rain materials. We want to discuss cooperation. Our association can provide large amounts of resources and material support in exchange for some of your anti-acid supplies.”Mu Zitang: “Like what, exactly?”Du Ruan-tian: “Can I see exactly what your anti-acid materials are?”Mu Zitang: “No. That’s confidential.”Du Ruan-tian: “At least let me see the effects. If we can provide the crafting materials, can we commission you to process them? We’ll pay. You can tell us what you want.”Mu Zitang: “There’s no shortage of people who need anti-acid materials. Even we don’t have enough. There’s no need to trade at all. And even if we needed materials, we don’t have the manpower to meet demand in the short term.”After all, currently, only Yun Luohe knew how to produce Anti-Acid Coating. Even if the Emperor’s Luck Association could supply vast amounts of raw materials, Yun Luohe had to have the time to process them.Right now, Yun Luohe had distributed coating material kits to five members of the Management Trainee Program, allowing each person to process five units of Waterproof Cloth and ten units of Anti-Acid Bricks per hour.Yun Luohe also realized the drainage ditches she made were highly effective, so she shared the method with Mu Zitang, telling him to post it in the association group. All members were to begin constructing drainage ditches with Anti-Acid Bricks at dawn. The ditches needed to be 1.5 meters wide to ensure all acid rain drained away, preventing corrosion of the reef surface and soil.The entire association was filled with motivation. Even the Management Trainee Program members decided to stay up all night to produce as many anti-acid items as possible.Everyone was united, determined to overcome the acid rain crisis.But the Emperor’s Luck Association only wanted to contribute some raw materials in exchange for their exclusive Anti-Acid Coating.Mu Zitang had no intention of agreeing.For once, their association had managed to surpass the Emperor’s Luck Association, and morale was high.“Let those so-called lucky players show off all they want. When acid rain falls, they still run into trouble and come begging for cooperation.”“What cooperation? We don’t need to trade with them. There are tons of players in this region—why bother with the Emperor’s Luck Association?”The group chat buzzed with discussion, but there were still a few voices supporting cooperation, suggesting they could benefit from the exchange.—Yun Luohe believed that cooperating with the Emperor’s Luck Association had both pros and cons. As for how to decide, both options were viable. Everyone was enduring this crisis together. If there were things worth trading, it was not impossible to cooperate.After all, if they could acquire valuable materials from those lucky players, it would also greatly benefit their side.Thus, Mu Zitang and Du Ruan-tian negotiated for an entire hour, both sides showing considerable sincerity.Du Ruan-tian presented a list of tradable resources.Twenty different types of equipment and ten types of materials.But in exchange, she demanded that Mu Zitang guarantee a stable supply of Anti-Acid Coating to meet the Emperor’s Luck Association’s needs.Mu Zitang immediately refused.“That won’t work. We can only prioritize our own members. Once we have enough, we’ll consider selling to you.”Du Ruan-tian: “Then let’s just split them evenly.”Mu Zitang: “Even split? You must be joking.”Du Ruan-tian stared at the screen, her face darkening with frustration.These people were stubborn as stone.She was already losing patience, but still continued negotiating—for herself, and for the benefit of her entire association.The acid rain had already destroyed many of their resources.Emperor’s Luck Association members’ crops were nearly wiped out. One player had an entire yard of vegetables, almost ready to harvest, only for it all to be ruined overnight by the acid rain.If this continued, their other reef facilities and buildings would also be destroyed. They could not delay any longer.Although some Emperor’s Luck Association players had obtained a recipe for an anti-acid potion, it required both an Alchemy Table and Alchemy Skill, and they lacked the materials.The only other option was crafting massive Obsidian anti-acid glass shields, but the cost was astronomical—not worth it.They also lacked enough Obsidian.The best course of action now was to cooperate with Tianji Pavilion, who already controlled the production of Anti-Acid Materials.They had learned this information thanks to Lu Yao, a member of Emperor’s Luck Association, who had a friend in the Mutual Aid Association.The friend had not revealed much, but in casual conversation, they had let it slip, showing off a little too much.Lu Yao immediately reported it to their group, and after some discussion, they decided to pursue cooperation as fast as possible.After another intense round of haggling—The two sides finally reached a consensus.The Mutual Aid Association would reserve one-fourth of every batch of Anti-Acid Materials they produced to sell to the Emperor’s Luck Association.The Emperor’s Luck Association would purchase those materials at a high price, and each time they would exchange different items, decided entirely by Mu Zitang.In other words, whatever Mu Zitang asked for, they had to provide. If they could meet the request, they could trade.If not, no deal.This put the Emperor’s Luck Association in a very passive position, but there was nothing they could do—they were the ones asking for help.Mu Zitang’s side was the one holding all the cards.The first cooperation trade was set for six o’clock this afternoon, arranged to happen before nightfall, giving the Emperor’s Luck Association time to prepare.By then, Yun Luohe and the Management Trainee Group should have produced a batch of materials.—Today, Yun Luohe switched the skill of the Trash Can to Scrap-for-Money, focusing entirely on collecting Wood, because the next upgrade required an enormous amount of Wood.Moreover, she simply had no time to sort garbage properly, so she dumped everything in at once to convert it into upgrade materials.She also had Mu Zitang arrange for association players to specifically collect acid rain disaster waste—corroded crops, fruit trees, rotted wood, and other ruined materials.Normally, those things were useless, but Yun Luohe could toss them into the Trash Can for recycling.Right now, Yun Luohe was receiving massive amounts of materials from the Mutual Aid Association every day—nearly five hundred units daily. Just dumping it all into the Trash Can took a lot of time. Sometimes, she simply tossed ten to twenty units at once.Occasionally, it even unlocked new items.For example, after dumping more than ten types of rotting crops all at once, she actually got a bottle of Pesticide.Throwing ten Glass Bottles in—She surprisingly received a Message in a Bottle, containing a slip of paper.[Message in a Bottle: May contain mysterious information.]Yun Luohe opened it to see that it was a Treasure Cave Map Fragment.She did not know which island it belonged to, but if she could gather more fragments, she might be able to piece together clues.However, after testing the same method three more times, she did not get another Message in a Bottle, likely due to low probability—or maybe there was a limit of one per day.During mealtime, she casually tossed in batches of duplicate or unrelated items.This triggered many new reactions.She threw in ten fish guts and scales—surprisingly yielding Fish Oil.[Fish Oil: Possesses antioxidant properties, helps preserve food freshness, apply to meat to extend shelf life.]It felt just like opening loot boxes. Yun Luohe thought it was great fun.If she were not so busy, she would love to stay by the Trash Can experimenting with different garbage combinations all day.But there was plenty of time ahead; she could conduct Trash Can experiments gradually later on.In the afternoon, she continued making Anti-Acid Coating, while also studying the Symbiotic Crystals obtained from Yang Mian.The Symbiotic Crystals she acquired were not all intact. Some were fragments. A complete Symbiotic Crystal was cube-shaped, glowing with a pink hue, seemingly containing immense energy. Holding it in her hand, she could feel the vibrant life force within.[Symbiotic Crystal: Contains mysterious power, extremely versatile, limitless potential.]Since the system claimed it had broad applications, there was no harm in trying to fuse it with various items.Yun Luohe recalled that she had collected plenty of rare materials.If Crystal and Obsidian were not so hard to obtain, she might have already experimented with fusing them with the Symbiotic Crystal.For now, better to start cautiously—experimenting with Symbiotic Crystal Fragments.She ground the fragments into powder, then took out a batch of Anti-Acid Coating, mixing in some powder. The Anti-Acid Coating visibly changed.[Anti-Acid Coating Liquid: Possesses enhanced acid resistance, self-repair functionality—corroded areas gradually restore themselves.]How incredible.Just a small amount of powder produced this effect. Using a complete Symbiotic Crystal might yield even greater results.But Yun Luohe could not continue experimenting indefinitely. She simply gave some Symbiotic Crystal Powder to Si Qi.As a biologist, Si Qi was undoubtedly fascinated by such a mysterious material. Perhaps she could discover new uses for it.Yun Luohe carefully stored the remaining Symbiotic Crystals along with her other rare items.When she contacted Si Qi, the latter happened to be studying the composition of acid rain.“I’m researching whether I can alter the pH of acid rain—turning it into a usable resource.”Yun Luohe was impressed. That sounded impressive.She handed over the Symbiotic Crystal Powder to Si Qi.“Take a look at this material—see what else it can do. I mixed it into the Anti-Acid Coating earlier and produced Anti-Acid Coating Liquid, an upgraded version with much better performance.”Si Qi: “This is interesting. Where did you get it?”Yun Luohe explained the source of the Symbiotic Crystals.Si Qi's interest deepened.“Alright, I’ll start studying it immediately.”“Do you need any help?” Yun Luohe asked.Si Qi: “I heard you’re raising earthworms. Can you give me some for experiments?”Earthworms?Yun Luohe had been so busy these days she had not checked on the earthworm farm. But giving Si Qi a few was no big deal.“No problem. How many do you need?”Si Qi: “Fifteen to start. I’ll ask for more if I need them.”Yun Luohe agreed readily, heading to the earthworm farm and digging some up.She remembered planting only a small amount originally. Now, the population had at least doubled.It seemed the farm was working well. She could consider expanding earthworm breeding.In a few days, she would make more earthworm farms, and have association players help raise them. Later, placing earthworms in their vegetable fields could improve reef soil quality. Even without much fertilizer, the soil would gradually improve.—Yun Luohe continued grinding Symbiotic Crystals into powder, producing more Anti-Acid Coating Liquid, turning it into an upgraded anti-acid material, then distributed complete sets of anti-acid equipment to the Management Trainee Group.She opened the chat channel, seeing everyone talking about Diving Cards.Many players had gone to the seabed, saying it was unlimited Sea Stone harvesting.With a Diving Card, you could stay underwater for three hours. Combined with the Lucky Period buff, a single dive could easily yield three hundred units of Sea Stone.If lucky, you could even find Shells while mining Sea Stone, though the probability was low.Many Emperor’s Luck Association players had found Shells, and if they were lucky enough to locate Coral, they could produce Lime.Usually, if you found Coral, there would be a large patch. Gathering it all and processing it in the Furnace could produce over a hundred units of Lime.Yun Luohe was tempted. Getting Lime used to be so difficult—trading everywhere just to gather enough. But now, the seabed made it easy.It was probably intentional system design. Early upgrades were extremely hard. But once the acid rain Lucky Period arrived, players could rapidly gather upgrade materials and rush to Level 5.The Emperor’s Luck Association had even formed a rescue organization, trading upgrade materials for blueprints.Basically, one blueprint could be exchanged for a hundred units of upgrade materials.Any player unable to upgrade due to a lack of materials could trade their blueprints.If you offered a Skill Book or Island Landing Permit, the exchange would be even better.As a result, many players brought out their blueprints for trade.But few were willing to trade Skill Books or Island Landing Permits.Still, it was not impossible. At such a critical time, those items were precious—but compared to upgrading, survival came first. If you failed to reach Level 5 within three days, your life was forfeit. What use was planning for the future?That said, most players still held out hope, trying to scrape together enough materials these two days. After all, the system had increased resource drops. As ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) long as you did not sit idle on your reef, you could always find something. Even harvesting Seaweed yielded tradable materials.Killing Giant Seaweed earned you High-Grade Seaweed Fertilizer, which could be exchanged for resources.—Seeing the Emperor’s Luck Association doing all this, Mu Zitang could not sit still. He proposed to Yun Luohe that they start doing the same.But Yun Luohe thought it unnecessary.First, they were different from the Emperor’s Luck Association. Their priority was helping association members level up. They did not have the extra capacity to aid unrelated players. Even within their own ranks, over half had not upgraded yet.It was better to organize everyone to dive together. Even without Diving Cards, once they crafted diving masks and diving suits, they could still reach the seabed. Though dive time would be shorter, requiring frequent resurfacing for air, gathering more materials was still worthwhile.There was no need to compete with the Emperor’s Luck Association for materials. They just needed to handle their own business.Yun Luohe: “If you really want those items, why not just get them from the Emperor’s Luck Association? We’re cooperating now, aren’t we?”Mu Zitang: “Right! We can trade Anti-Acid Coating Liquid for them directly!”

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.