Night had fallen, yet the messages from Nie Yangguang continued to stream in, orders coming in a steady stream.

Yun Mianmian stood before the tool bench, busy at work. She placed the materials, worked on the orders, and handed them off to Nie Yangguang one after another.

She felt as if she were working on an assembly line.

She placed the holographic screen above the workbench’s display and minimized the chat window to a size just big enough to be seen. She could glance up to check messages, but she still missed some of the additional orders Nie Yangguang sent her.

Nie Yangguang was brimming with enthusiasm, patient and friendly to every customer, even though he wasn’t earning any materials for himself. Yun Mianmian couldn’t help but think that he had the potential to excel as a customer service representative.

As it neared 11 P.M., Yun Mianmian sent a message to Nie Yangguang.

“Might as well call it a day after this last order,” she said.

“All right,” Nie Yangguang responded.

At 11:30 P.M., Yun Mianmian’s chat box finally fell silent.

“Done with everything,” Nie Yangguang announced.

Yun Mianmian was also exhausted. “Thanks for all your hard work.”

From her backpack, Yun Mianmian took out a peach and offered it to Nie Yangguang.

She hadn’t had time to eat, so she had only had a steamed bun for dinner, which she also gave him one of.

Nie Yangguang’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the honey peach.

“Damn, Mianmian, you still have these in your inventory?”

“For you, of course.”

Nie Yangguang swallowed his drool and took a bite without restraint. The sweet fragrance of the honey peach was an aroma to be enjoyed, and a single bite bursted with juice both sweet and tart. The soft fruit flesh was delectable.

“This is delicious!”

“Wow, how come I feel like I’ve never eaten a peach before?”

Yun Mianmian also took a bite of the peach; it indeed was delicious, with a pleasant balance of sweet and sour, and plentiful juice.

She kept the pit, planning on planting it in the ground to see if she could grow a peach tree in the future.

After some calculations, Yun Mianmian determined that she had crafted a total of twenty-eight axes and ten machetes today. She spent only twenty-four iron blocks and thirty-eight wood, but she received ninety-six iron blocks and three hundred thirty wood.

With the doubled luck bonus…

She had one hundred ninety-two iron blocks and six hundred sixty wood.

Money! This was a massive sum.

Iron ingots could be smelted into iron nails, which could then be used as upgrade materials. With so many iron ingots, she’d have more than enough to reach level 4 nails!

Yun Mianmian glanced at the wood in her inventory—1,005 units, also enough. She only needed ten more units of glass.

Having earned so many resources, Yun Mianmian’s mood greatly improved, and she decided to make one more axe.

She had promised Nie Yangguang that she’d give him an axe and a knife after she completed her task, and she still remembered.

She still had some knives in reserve, and since making one axe gave her two, it worked out perfectly: one for Nie Yangguang and one for herself.

“Hahaha, I’m rich now,” Nie Yangguang said, “I’ve earned so much for free.”

In reality, Yun Mianmian was the one who had gotten rich.

She opened The Auspicious Clouds’ information screen.

【 Name: The Auspicious Clouds 】

【 Level: 3rd Level Wood Boat (Upgradeable) 】

【 Rating: 25 points 】

【 Upgrade Requirements: Wood x 1000, Iron Nails x 200, Glass x 10 】

Eh? It seemed to have increased by five points.

Yun Mianmian thought about it briefly and concluded it must have been because she had made the sofa bed, improving the living conditions on the ship.

Since her quality of life had improved, her rating had also increased.

Yun Mianmian glanced at the time displayed on the screen. There were ten minutes left in the three-day beginner protection period.

The surface of the ocean remained unchanged, a pitch-black void that concealed everything from view. The wind had picked up, chilling to the bone.

She wondered what would happen once the ten minutes were up.

All the players were waiting anxiously.

Yet Yun Mianmian suddenly remembered that she still had a bronze treasure chest unopened. She had caught it during the day, but she had been too busy making tools to bother opening it. Now, remembering, she decided to take advantage of the remaining time to open it while her luck was still doubled.

【 Obtained: 5 potatoes, 5 cotton fabrics, 2 cotton papers, 2 milks, a set of bear pajamas. 】

【 Double luck bonus activated! 】

【 Obtained: 10 potatoes, 10 cotton fabrics, 4 cotton papers, 4 milks, 2 sets of bear pajamas. 】

Not bad, all very useful.

As soon as she collected the items, she heard the System’s notification.

【 The beginner protection period has ended. The rainy season has arrived, and the temperature has dropped. Please take precautions against the cold and rain. The rainy season will last for one month, during which time marine life will appear more frequently. Please upgrade your wooden rafts promptly. Players whose wooden raft is not upgraded to level 3 within seven days will be eliminated. 】

As the voice finished speaking, lightning flashed in the sky, thunder boomed, and raindrops the size of beans started falling.

A fierce gale roared, and the downpour was heavy and relentless, catching everyone unprepared.

The temperature had dropped significantly once again; Yun Mianmian put on the fluffy bear pajamas, feeling considerably warmer almost instantly.

The rain was expected to last an entire night, so Yun Mianmian swiftly moved all her storage chests into the room.

“It’s raining! No way, will my ship take on water?”

“Good heavens, I still have a wooden raft. There’s no way I can upgrade two levels within seven days.”

“Being drenched in this freezing weather will definitely make me sick. This damn game is impossible.”

“Everyone can use wooden crates to block the rain while you upgrade your raft. If marine life shows up, the raft won’t be able to protect us.”

“It’s real. Something just floated up and bit my wooden raft; it almost fell apart, but thankfully I grabbed my axe and chopped it down, then got a piece of fish meat. I was scared to death.”

“Wow, the axe is that useful?”

“Quick, go to Nie Yangguang for your weapon!”

Nie Yangguang’s private messages exploded.

Unable to keep up with the influx, he asked Yun Mianmian if she was still interested in selling weapons.

Although the double buff period had ended, this business endeavor could still net him some profit.

Yun Mianmian decided to take ten orders before going to bed, though she didn’t want any more iron or wood.

She no longer lacked for iron; all she needed was glass to upgrade The Auspicious Clouds.

Alternatively, she could accept a blueprint.

“My friend said she’ll only take ten orders, first come, first served, but you must exchange either blueprints or glass.”

“But what about iron and wood? Why the sudden change?”

“It’s different now. The new player protection period has ended, so there are even more people who need weapons. You should’ve made your move earlier.”

“I have a blueprint, I’ve already sent you a private message, NIE YANGGUANG, please check!” Wen Yushi chimed in.

Wen Yushi had opened a treasure chest today and received a piece of glass. Her wooden raft was only level 2, and she didn’t know what use glass had, but seeing that it could be exchanged for a weapon, she quickly chimed in, “I have a piece of glass, and I want to exchange it for an axe.”

Nie Yangguang had too many private messages, and he couldn’t respond to them all, but upon seeing Wen Yushi’s name, he prioritized her message. Clearly, she was a girl, and her name complemented his. One was sunshine, the other rain.

“Sure, sure,” Nie Yangguang responded enthusiastically. “Glass can certainly be exchanged. Let me give you a number. What else would you like? I can exchange those with you as well.”

“I want some fishing line. Do you have any?” Wen Yushi replied.

Wen Yushi had managed to unlock the blueprint for the intermediate fishing rod, but she needed five pieces of fishing line to upgrade it, which she hadn’t yet collected. Therefore, for now, she could only catch one treasure chest per day. The items she received from these chests were just enough for her to subsist on, while the resources she needed to upgrade her raft were slowly accumulating.

“I have some fishing line.” Nie Yangguang checked his backpack. He had three left after the upgrade.

“How much do you want?” he asked.

“Three,” Wen Yushi replied.

Perfect.

Nie Yangguang pondered momentarily. “What items do you have to trade? Let me see if I need anything you have.”

Upon hearing that Nie Yangguang could provide the fishing line, Wen Yushi sent him a screenshot of her inventory without hesitation.

[Wood x65, iron nails x26, mineral water x2, mantou x2, cotton paper x2, floral pillow x1, bamboo x2, dirt x2]

Nie Yangguang actually found something he liked.

“How about this? You can trade me those two pieces of dirt for the fishing line.”

Dirt was something Wen Yushi couldn’t bear to part with.

She had a strange feeling that dirt would come in handy, even though she didn’t need it right now.

Dirt could be used to grow things.

Unfortunately, the watermelon she received last time was seedless, so she couldn’t plant it even if she wanted to.

“Is there anything else?” Wen Yushi hesitated slightly. “Can I trade you two pieces of cotton paper and two pieces of bamboo for the three fishing lines?”

Yun Mianmian crafted eight axes and two machetes. In exchange, she received five glass bottles, three blueprints, and two fragments of keys.

The key fragments were something she hadn’t thought to ask for, but after someone privately messaged Nie Yangguang asking if they could trade key fragments, Nie Yangguang had asked Yun Mianmian if it was okay.

She’d agreed, thinking that maybe she’d catch a treasure chest with a lock on it in the future.

The three blueprints were as follows:

1. Tar Lantern Blueprint
2. Furnace Blueprint
3. Single Person Chair Blueprint

The tar lantern could be used for lighting, starting fires, and even as a boat lantern. The furnace could be used to keep warm, cook food, and also light up. As for the chair, it was just an ordinary chair.

These were all good items, and Yun Mianmian happened to need them all.

【 Tar lanterns are single-use items; wind will accelerate their consumption. 】

【 Materials needed: Shell x 1, Tar x 1 】

【 Furnaces are used to maintain warmth and cook food. 】

【 Materials needed: Dirt x 1, Charcoal x 2, Ignition source 】

She didn’t have the materials for the tar lantern, so she could make a furnace first. She had a lighter, so she had an ignition source, and charcoal was simple; she only needed to light a piece of wood, let it burn, then collect the ashes.

Yun Mianmian was a little reluctant to part with the dirt; it was soil she had planned to use for planting. However, now that it was raining, she didn’t need to worry about not having water to water her seeds, at least for now.

Which was more important, the cabbage or the furnace? The furnace, probably, since it could both keep her warm and allow her to cook.

It was already late, but Yun Mianmian felt no fatigue. She decided to build the furnace first, then go to bed.

The furnace took a while to construct. First, she chopped the wood into small pieces with an axe, then lit a few sheets of paper and set the wood on fire. Once the wood burned down into charcoal, she could finally begin building.

As Yun Mianmian worked, she opened the chat window to glance at its contents. Recently, she’d noticed that sometimes good things appeared there, along with useful information, so she couldn’t pay it no heed; she had to check in from time to time.

But tonight, the chat window’s atmosphere was bleak. Because of the sudden downpour, everyone’s situation was dire.

“I can’t take this anymore. I’m freezing to death! I’m completely soaked—it’s excruciating.”

“Is this rain really going to last a month? I can’t stand it for another day.”

“Help! My ship’s flooded, and it’s sinking. Can anyone save me?”

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to wait for my parents to come, and I don’t know if my belongings can be passed on to them.”

“My wooden raft has been chewed apart by those strange fish; I’m going down soon.”

Yun Mianmian checked the number of online users; it had decreased by a few hundred.

At this rate, in a month’s time, District 3’s population could be halved.

Yun Mianmian sighed, having finished her stove. The clay furnace was sturdy, with red-hot coal inside that glowed bright and emitted a warm, toasty heat, perfect for warming the space and even cooking potatoes.

To prevent rainwater from seeping into the stove, Yun Mianmian constructed an iron frame to cover it, which could shield it against wind and rain.

With the furnace nearby, the chill was dispersed, warming her entire body.

Suddenly, she heard a noise by the side of the ship and walked over to take a look. As it turned out, there really were grotesque fish biting at her ship. However, since her upgrade, the surface of the ship was exceptionally smooth and the wood exceptionally sturdy, so ordinary fish couldn’t bite through it.

Yun Mianmian took out a machete and casually cut a few times, easily killing a fish.

【Obtained: Sailfish Meat x 1】

Yun Mianmian casually tossed it into her backpack. Tomorrow, she could have grilled fish meat.

She stood by the side of the ship for another ten minutes or so and killed three more, each yielding a palm-sized portion of fish meat.

No fish approached until Yun Mianmian replaced the bottle under the water purifier, after which she lay down to rest.

The bed was comfortable, the windows and doors shut tightly, keeping the wind out and the rain away. With a blanket covering her, Yun Mianmian wasn’t cold at all.