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When in doubt, ask the system.
Since the system chose her as its host, Yun Zhen figured it was obligated to help her solve problems. She got straight to the point: “After setting sail, how should the Lilliputians avoid super tsunamis and other natural disasters?”
System: [You can prepay 10,000 points to unlock a limited-time weather forecast feature. This will give you weather information three days in advance with 100% accuracy, but it only applies to the journey from Huacheng to Beidu.]
Yun Zhen was surprised: “You can predict the weather? Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
System: [You didn’t ask earlier.]
Yun Zhen puffed out her cheeks and asked, “Why is it limited? Can’t I unlock it permanently?”
System: [Your level and points are insufficient. Please level up to gain access.]
Well, there’s that hurdle again.
If you don’t level up, you get nothing; if you do, everything falls into place?
Yun Zhen decided to ignore the system’s cold attitude. Being able to get weather forecasts was already an unexpected bonus.
Of course, she wouldn’t admit that she had secretly hoped the system could grant her some kind of god-like power to calm tsunamis with a wave of her hand or stabilize earthquakes with a clap. That would be so cool—she’d undoubtedly be the undisputed “true god” of the Lilliputian Kingdom!
But this high-tech product from the stars is still so grounded in science. Not a hint of fantasy—how boring!
Yun Zhen didn’t tell the Lilliputians about the weather forecast. After all, it was a limited-time system service, and it might be gone once the journey was over. If the Lilliputians mistakenly thought she always had this ability, how could she explain not predicting the earthquake and thunderstorm earlier? And what if, after returning to Beidu, she couldn’t predict any future disasters? How would she cover that up?
She decided it would be better to warn them when a big disaster was imminent and then move all the ships to safety to avoid major losses.
With the weather forecast in hand, Yun Zhen could finally sleep peacefully, without worrying about being jolted awake by the system in the middle of the night.
Having found a solution to her problem, Yun Zhen felt at ease. She glanced at the Lilliputians and saw that everyone was preparing for the return journey in five days.
These five days were also the perfect time for Yun Zhen to focus on building up her backlog of written work. If any unforeseen events occurred during the journey, she might need to devote significant time to dealing with them.
Yun Zhen sat down at her computer and began drafting a detailed and productive daily schedule:
Goal: 6,000 words of backlog each day.
This schedule allowed for 8.5 hours of work each day, comparable to a regular job. Yun Zhen was very pleased with it, feeling that the intensity was just right. If it were any harder, it would be unsustainable in the long term; if it were easier, it would lead to laziness. Yun Zhen was confident she could stick to it, as she believed in her own self-discipline.
But how did things play out in reality?
On the first day, from 6 to 8 AM, Yun Zhen got up smoothly, washed, had breakfast, and fed the Lilliputians—everything went according to plan.
From 8 to 11 AM, she ended up chatting and wandering around with the Lilliputians, occasionally clearing the water routes in Huacheng to ensure the yacht could depart smoothly.
From 11 AM to 2 PM, she had lunch, fed the Lilliputians, and basked in their awe over the enormous and delicious food, feeling a sense of pride and satisfaction.
From 2 to 5:30 PM, she listened to the Lilliputians discuss the return route, which cities they would stop at for supplies, and which ports had their ships and goods. She didn’t write a single word.
From 5:30 to 8 PM, she had dinner, fed the Lilliputians, and suddenly realized she hadn’t written a single word all day. She frantically opened her computer to start writing.
From 8 to 10 PM, she managed to write 1,500 words, struggling the entire time.
From 10 PM to 12 AM, she washed up, reviewed her progress, and then stared in silence at her meager backlog before going to bed feeling slightly frustrated.
As she lay in bed, she had a sudden realization. What is a plan? It’s when, the moment you set it, you feel an odd sense of “mission accomplished,” a false sense of satisfaction. Then you push it to the back of your mind, breaking it day by day, never following through.
The next day, Yun Zhen resolved not to let things slide anymore. Today, she would stick to her schedule, work hard, and build up her backlog!
And then—
She ended up happily watching the Lilliputians all day again, only realizing at bedtime that she had only managed to write 4,000 words.
Yun Zhen: “…”
Well, at least there was some progress. She did write 1,000 more words than yesterday!
But after two days of slacking off, Yun Zhen worried she might develop a procrastination habit. To motivate herself, she decided to create something to keep her on track.
So, she opened a Word document, chose a favorite calligraphy-style font, and wrote down her personal motto:
“The Way of Online Novels: Updates are King. 4,000 words a day gets you nowhere, 6,000 gets you featured, 8,000 gets you flying, and 10,000 makes you a legend!”
With great enthusiasm, Yun Zhen printed out this motto, placed it in a glass frame, and hung it on the wall directly opposite her desk. It was about the size of two A4 sheets of paper, so she could easily see it while sitting at her computer.
This method turned out to be effective. It ensured Yun Zhen wrote at least 4,000 words every day, steadily increasing her backlog.
One day, her dad came in to call her for dinner and noticed the motto on the wall. He smiled approvingly and said, “It’s good for young people to be ambitious. Keep up this energy and drive. Quantity leads to quality, and your efforts will pay off.”
Yun Zhen nodded in agreement.
One day, Yun Zhen was deep into her writing, fully immersed in the creative process. To avoid distractions, she had set her phone to vibrate. After writing for three hours straight, she was at a critical point in her story, her brain working as hard as an overclocked CPU. Nothing around her could break her focus.
Suddenly, her phone on the desk started buzzing like an annoying bee. Yun Zhen glanced at it briefly and saw that her friend Yuxi Xi was calling. She decided to ignore it, planning to call back once she finished her work.
The call ended due to inactivity, but the phone buzzed again a few seconds later, repeating the process three times. Yun Zhen’s train of thought was completely derailed, and she reluctantly picked up the call.
In a mock serious tone, she answered, “The number you have dialed is not in service. Please check the number and dial again.”
On the other end, Yuxi Xi’s voice erupted in frustration: “Yun Zhen!!!”
Yun Zhen quickly tried to calm her down, “Alright, alright, I was just joking. No need to get all worked up. What’s up?”
Dreamy Land[Translator]
Hey everyone! I hope you're enjoying what I'm translating. As an unemployed adult with way too much time on my hands and a borderline unhealthy obsession with novels, I’m here to share one of my all-time favorites. So, sit back, relax, and let's dive into this story together—because I’ve got nothing better to do!