Chapter 144: One-Click Shelter Upgrade

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: One-Click Shelter Upgrade

There wasn’t much exposed iron ore. She gave it a light strike with her axe, and the outermost chunks immediately tumbled down.

She dodged out of the way with quick reflexes. Once she confirmed it wouldn’t collapse any further, she collected the fallen iron ore and put it in her backpack.

Night had completely fallen. Holding a torch, Shi Zhile walked along the shore, observing her surroundings as she went.

’The monsters from the sea haven’t come ashore in a long time. Not many people died during this instance, so going by the system’s usual tricks, the sea monsters won’t stay quiet for much longer.’

’They might come ashore at random, at any time of day or night.’

’I’ve seen the Level One sea lions, and I’ve killed a Level Five mermaid. With the Level Five Axe, the biggest threat to me now are monsters above Level Five.’

’The fact that the shelter hasn’t been upgraded further means monsters above Level Five probably won’t appear for the time being.’

’Killing a Level Five Monster can drop a mermaid tail and a Mermaid Heart. I don’t know what they’re for, but they’re resources all the same.’

’If Level Five Monsters drop loot, then monsters above Level Five definitely will too. As for whether Level One to Level Four monsters do, I’ll have to test it out.’ ℯℯ𝘭.

The mention of the mermaid reminded her that she still hadn’t opened the Strongman Gift Bag she’d received. She quickened her pace back to the shelter.

Her supplies were in a messy jumble, and Shi Zhile couldn’t remember which chest she’d stuffed the gift bag into.

She summoned her panel and said aloud, "Open the Strongman Gift Bag."

The items on her panel scrolled by quickly, and finally, a small chest slowly opened.

[Obtained Strongman Pill ×2.]

[Strongman Pill: After consumption, the player’s Strength increases by 20% from its base value. Each player may only consume one pill of the same attribute type.]

Shi Zhile muttered the description to herself.

"’You can only take one pill of the same attribute type’... Does that mean that besides Strength-type pills, there are also pills for agility and Constitution?"

"The Strongman Pill increases Strength by 20% from the base value, so the stronger I am to begin with, the more of a boost I’ll get."

Shi Zhile opened her character panel. Her current Strength value was 16.

’A 20% increase would still leave my Strength below 20. It would be a waste to use it now. But so far, the only things I’ve found that increase stats are the pears.’

The various fruit trees in her Planting Space had already begun to bear fruit. Time in the space passed three times faster than in the outside world, so by her calculations, the fruit would be ripe in a little over twenty days at most.

’Since pears can increase stats, other fruits probably can too.’

Taking advantage of the cool night air, she took the iron ore from her backpack and smelted it. The 31 units of iron ore yielded 15 iron ingots.

Including the iron ingots she’d traded for with other players that afternoon, she now had a total of 308. The goal of 5,000 ingots seemed impossibly far away.

The night passed quickly. The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window into her room. After washing up, Shi Zhile fed the chickens, ducks, cow, and rabbits.

More than a month had passed. The rabbits in her Breeding Space had produced a litter, and while the young kits were busy digging holes everywhere, the doe was already pregnant with another.

For breakfast, they had leftover rice porridge and tomato-braised beef brisket. After eating with Mr. Wen, he returned to his work of documenting the plants’ growth.

The black soil was showing signs of dehydration again. After irrigating it with spring water from her space, Shi Zhile exited.

The hot sun baked the island. Even indoors, there was no escaping the dry, scorching heat.

Standing on the second floor, she used her Spirit Value to guide the island forward.

Perhaps due to the extra weight of the iron ore, her Spirit Value was draining exceptionally fast, at an average of 5 points per hour. Moreover, her travel speed had decreased by 100 meters per hour.

’Thirty points of Spirit Value will only last for six hours of travel. At 400 meters per hour, I can only cover 2,400 meters a day.’

’That’s no different from a turtle’s crawl.’

The slow speed, however, would make it easier for Shi Zhiyi to catch up. While she guided the island forward, she opened her panel to continue trading for resources.

Half a month flew by. During that time, Shi Zhile finally gathered all 5,000 iron ingots.

By constantly consuming, depleting, and replenishing her Spirit Value, her maximum had risen to 44.

In the evening, a rare, cool breeze blew. With both windows open, the wind swept into the courtyard, bringing the day’s accumulated heat with it.

Shi Zhile lay on a lounge chair, rubbing her temples to soothe the headache caused by her depleted Spirit Value.

Beside her was a square table, upon which sat a running electric fan and a plate of chilled watermelon.

The fenced-off area on the west side of the courtyard was now filled with soil. After the Planting Space had been completely planted, Mr. Wen had shifted his focus there, practically wanting to live inside the enclosure 24/7.

Because the plants needed sunlight, the roof section above the fenced plot had been removed and replaced with a wooden frame.

During the hottest part of the day, the two of them would drape a sunshade net over the frame to shield the plants from the sun. In the evening, they would remove it, allowing the plants to experience the natural light and temperature.

Mr. Wen had divided the plot into two sections. He watered the southern side with fresh water from the courtyard and the northern side with spring water from the Planting Space.

After comparing them for half a month, Mr. Wen discovered that regardless of which water source was used, the wheat planted outside grew identically—unlike the plants inside the Planting Space. All their leaves turned yellow and withered, leaving them looking half-dead.

The discovery worried him so much that he suffered from sleepless nights.

Half an hour later, her Spirit Value had recovered by a point, and Shi Zhile finally felt a bit more energetic. She stood up and called out toward the fenced garden.

"Elder Wen, take a break! I’m going to upgrade the shelter."

When a shelter was upgrading, the cave would be sealed off, and no one could enter. All veteran players knew this.

Mr. Wen carefully finished watering the last wheat sprout, then straightened up and rubbed his lower back.

"Go ahead and upgrade. I don’t need to grab anything."

At the moment, nothing could distract him besides the wheat sprouts in the courtyard.

Shi Zhile rubbed her hands together, summoned her panel, and tapped "Instant Upgrade."

[Consume Stone ×100,000, Wood ×50,000, Iron Ingots ×5,000 to upgrade the shelter?]

"Yes!"

[Consumption successful. The shelter is now upgrading. Estimated time: 12 hours.]

White fog surged out from the cave, spreading to encompass the entire shelter in moments.

Shi Zhile felt a force pushing her, compelling her to walk out of the shelter. At the same time, Mr. Wen was also ejected through the main gate.

The two of them stood at the entrance, staring at each other in bewilderment. They could only watch as the white fog billowed out, growing larger and larger, even showing signs of spreading toward the sea.

The sky was growing dark, and a premonition told her that tonight would not be peaceful.

The white fog nudged them outward again, as if annoyed that they were in the way.

Shi Zhile said, "Let’s go to Jiang Yuxing’s island."

She still hadn’t figured out that shower cabin from last time. Over the past half-month, Jiang Yuxing and Wang Peng had rarely visited Stone Island, and likewise, Shi Zhile hadn’t gone to see them often either.

Shi Zhile opened a Teleportation Gate and led Mr. Wen through it.

A wave of hot, humid air washed over them. Beneath their feet, the deck planks swayed gently.

Jiang Yuxing and Wang Peng were sitting side-by-side, each quietly fishing.