As Fan Qing stared at her in awe, Shen Xin couldn’t bring herself to tell him Jing Yan had tossed the box aside.

She walked back to her original fishing spot and noticed Zhang Yunyun and Meng Xianping glancing in her direction, seemingly looking at the box in her arms.

Shen Xin pondered for a moment, then stuffed the box into her backpack, planning to open it once she returned home.

Zhang Yunyun and Meng Xianping wore disappointed faces.

No one else managed to catch a high-level treasure box after that, but Shen Xin’s impressive fishing skills earned her plenty of envious looks from Zhang Yunyun and Meng Xianping.

Sea fish were difficult to catch; sometimes, even if the fish bit the bait, it wouldn’t necessarily be reeled in.

After an entire afternoon of work, they’d only managed to catch thirteen or fourteen fish.

Shen Xin was different. She caught dozens of fish in a row without a single loss. She remained calm and collected, as if fishing posed no challenge to her.

After whispering a few words, Meng Xianping slowly sat down beside Shen Xin, offering his signature smile. “Hello, you seem awfully young. Are you a student?”

“No.”

“Ah? Why aren’t you in school?”

Combining her extraordinary skills, Meng Xianping’s imagination ran wild, painting a picture of an internet-addicted young girl who’d quit school to live at home. Just as he was about to put on an act of concern and advise her to focus on her studies, Shen Xin answered, “Because I graduated.”

Meng Xianping choked, speechless.

It was indeed the season for graduation.

“Then what was your major?” Meng Xianping tried to steer the conversation back to academics.

As long as they could find common ground, he was confident he could become acquainted with this big shot.

And once they were acquainted… many things would become easier.

Shen Xin replied, “Mechanical engineering and robotics. Why? Do you want to discuss it?”

Meng Xianping fell silent, realizing he couldn’t comprehend such a specialized field.

“Ahem.” Meng Xianping laughed awkwardly. “Wow, that’s impressive, but I’m sure it must be a very demanding major. What do you usually do for fun? Sports? Movies? Shopping?”

Most boys wouldn’t know much about these activities, but Meng Xianping was an actor, so he was quite adept at chatting about them.

Shen Xin: “I like to interact with machines in my room alone.”

Silence.

Fuck, this conversation is dead.

Meng Xianping fell into a pit of loneliness, but Zhang Yunyun knew she couldn’t count on him to carry the conversation. She stepped up herself, though Shen Xin had made a fool of her twice already, so she didn’t want to engage with her.

Instead, she turned to Fan Qing.

“Fan Qing…”

This was the first time Zhang Yunyun had called his name, surprising Fan Qing.

“H-what is it?”

“Oh… it’s nothing, just—” Just as Zhang Yunyun was about to ask her question, Shen Xin put away her fishing rod and announced to the group, “I’m going home.”

Fan Qing and Xiao-Jie’s attention immediately shifted to her.

“Ah? The big shot’s leaving? Wait, I’ll put mine away too!”

Without Shen Xin’s protection, the walk back to town would surely be filled with peril. Fan Qing and Xiao-Jie quickly packed their gear, afraid that Shen Xin wouldn’t wait for them.

Fan Qing tried to persuade Zhang Yunyun. “Yunyun, still fishing? Let it go; follow the big shot, or we’ll be stuck here!”

Fan Qing’s words were true, but Zhang Yunyun’s eyes rolled in anger at his response.

Fan Qing, what are you doing? Didn’t we agree that you’d be her loyal dog? How come you don’t even have the basic skills?

“Okay, I’ve stocked up on food, so I want to fish a bit more. You can leave now,” Zhang Yunyun said, half in anger and half in resentment.

Fan Qing wasn’t stupid; he knew this woman was saying the opposite of what she meant, but before he could try to persuade her otherwise, Xiao-Jie suddenly wedged himself between the two.

“Bro Fan! Let’s go, sis Zhang said so. Don’t disturb her anymore.”

Xiao-Jie dragged Fan Qing away, leaving Zhang Yunyun dumbfounded.

Damn, he really left?! And what’s with this “sis Zhang” nonsense? This brat has no manners!

“Hey!” Zhang Yunyun wanted to call out to him.

Shen Xin turned around, having walked deeper into the forest. “Are you coming?”

Zhang Yunyun’s anger surged once again, and she forced herself to smile. “No, you guys go ahead.”

“You’re sure? It’s dangerous on the way back.” Shen Xin’s concern was genuine.

“Ahaha, don’t worry, we’ll be fine.” Zhang Yunyun shot a menacing glare at Fan Qing, still smiling.

Fan Qing’s struggling paused, allowing Xiao-Jie to pull him away.

After being rejected twice, Shen Xin decided not to waste more time. After she disappeared with Fan Qing and Xiao-Jie into the forest, unease slowly crept into Zhang Yunyun’s mind.

Meng Xianping knew Zhang Yunyun well. He comforted her, “Don’t worry, there’s nothing to be afraid of. We’ve come all this way without encountering any monsters, right? You did the right thing. Now the two of us can enjoy the ocean all by ourselves.”

“That’s true,” Zhang Yunyun agreed, but her unease only grew stronger.

“Hm? Fan-ge!” After returning to the residential area, Xiao-Jie called out to Fan Qing, then handed him the survival guide, clearly delighted. “Look, my ranking went up to sixteen!”

Fan Qing opened the book, smiling. “Mine’s now seventeen. Once again, two unlucky souls have died—”

His heart skipped a beat.

Wait, no way! Could it be…

Zhang Yunyun and Meng Xianping, teleported back to their homes, and were dumbfounded for a long while before they couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out with a stream of curses.

“What’s the point of making the pain so realistic in this game?!”

“Ow, it hurts! I’m dropping out, I’m dropping out! Let me drop out!”

Upon opening the low-level and medium-level chests, Shen Xin obtained some wood and five copper ore.

“Medium chests can give out ore, but it’s not enough to smelt a single copper ingot…” Shen Xin looked at the copper ingot in her inventory with difficulty. She still needed six more to build the smelting furnace. At this rate, it would be ages before she could craft a steel hoe.

“Please, I’m begging you, Professors Chen, Ma, and Liu, please bless me!” Shen Xin took out the high-level chest, performed a simple consecration ceremony, and then… With a click, the chest transformed into data, leaving only a piece of paper in her hand.

Not a weapon…

Shen Xin opened the blueprint, disappointed.

【 Congratulations, player! Obtained [Chest Bait Blueprint]. 】

Chest bait?

Shen Xin pulled out the instruction manual and looked at the newly added crafted items:

[Chest Bait]: A lure that treasure chests adore. Attach it to a fishing rod, and there’s a fifty percent chance of converting live fish into a treasure chest.

Note: A single box of bait can only be used ten times before it degrades.

After reading the instructions, Shen Xin’s heart immediately surged with excitement.

What did it mean for something to suddenly turn from bleak to bright? Though she hadn’t managed to get a weapon from the premium treasure chest, she’d still hit the jackpot!

She was definitely going to craft this box of bait!

She promptly opened the recipe: Any metal ingot × 3, any gemstone × 1. (Effect upgrades with the quality of the metal ingot.)

Shen Xin was speechless.

How extravagant.

She only had four copper ingots, and she’d planned to use them for the smelting furnace… Now was the time to go all in for a gamble, or play it safe and develop slowly?

Shen Xin didn’t think too long, ultimately deciding to craft the box of bait.

Good steel was meant to be used on the edge of a blade.

Shen Xin refused to waste the ten uses on the small ditch before her house. She packed the box of bait away, planning to use it tomorrow at the beach.

On the fifteenth day of spring, garlic and rice matured.

Watching Shen Xin bend down to harvest rice, Jing Yan couldn’t help but feel the urge to help, though he knew he wasn’t allowed to.

【 My apologies, but these are not your crops. Please do not harvest other people’s property. 】

Shen Xin hadn’t realized there were protections in place for the crops in the fields; she had thought they would only be safe once harvested and placed in a container.

Unable to assist, Jing Yan could only stand to the side and urge Shen Xin, “Hey, hey, Boss, can we have rice today?! I want rice bowls! Pork fried rice bowls are my favorite!”

Shen Xin raised the garlic in her hand. “There’s no pork, but would you like garlic fried rice?”

“No, no, no!” Jing Yan shut his mouth, then added in a whisper, “I don’t want broccoli.”

“Okay, okay.”

To be honest, it was difficult to make rice dishes with only the spring harvest.

The only available vegetables were green beans, white radish, potato, and spinach, while everything else was either a fruit or a seasoning crop.

Rice bowls were much tastier with meat… It was about time she started raising some animals.

In the end, Jing Yan didn’t get his rice bowl.

The harvested rice couldn’t be cooked immediately and needed some sort of processing. Shen Xin traveled to the small town and saw a structure called “Crop Processing Room” among the old carpenter’s designs.

[Crops Processing Room]: Put rice, wheat, or sugarcane into the processing room to obtain primary products such as rice, flour, and sugar.

So I need to process the crops first? Makes sense.

However, today Shen Xin wasn’t there to fix the processing room. Instead, she made appointments with Xiao Feng and the old carpenter to reserve a small and large animal shelter, respectively.

Since she was taking care of the animals’ living quarters, she decided to swing by the animal shop to look at some animals.

The owner of the shop led her to the backyard, where fences separated a few enclosures containing animal chicks.

Each fence had a sign hanging at the gate:

[Chickens]: Require a small animal shelter. Each chick costs 30 silver coins. After 10 days, they mature, and every other day after that they lay an egg.

[Ducks]: Require a small animal shelter. Each duckling costs 50 silver coins. After 12 days, they mature, and every three days after that they lay a duck egg.

[Rabbits]: Require a small animal shelter. Each rabbit costs 60 silver coins. After 13 days, they mature and have no byproducts but are very cute.

[Pigs]: Require a large animal shelter. Each piglet costs 100 silver coins. After 15 days, they mature and have no byproducts but aren’t as cute as bunnies.

[Calves]: Require a large animal shelter. Each calf costs 100 silver coins. After 15 days, they mature, and you can milk them once a day.

【 Sheep Cub】: Large animal shelter required. Cost per head: 100 silver coins. Reach maturity after 15 days of feeding, and can be milked once daily.

Shen Xin was speechless. Why did this game insist on veering between nonsensical and suggestive? Putting aside the nonsensical descriptions of the rabbit and pig, the term “sheep cub” was wildly inappropriate! Don’t give in to obsessive-compulsive disorder at the expense of basic linguistic standards, okay?!

Incidentally, the animal cubs’ prices were absurdly low, to the point that Shen Xin was numb to it by now. No amount of money seemed to be enough on this island.

She wasn’t in a rush to build a shelter, especially since she couldn’t afford more than a couple of heads.

After circling around, she ended up back at the idea of fishing for money.

Shen Xin stood in the town square waiting for Fan Qing and Xiao-Jie, watching people pass by. Most of them were players who hadn’t managed to gather resources or catch fish.

Several groups of players muttered quietly to themselves, and from their hushed complaints, Shen Xin deduced that the ecological balance near the town had been severely disrupted. There were practically no fish left in the river.

She hadn’t expected the situation to be so dire for other players.

The shops no longer sold food, and even money couldn’t buy a bite to eat. What to do…

As Shen Xin contemplated this, she hit upon an idea.

Standing in the center of the plaza, she took a deep breath, then yelled, “Fish for sale! Who wants to buy fish?!”

Her cry drew the attention of many players and NPCs alike.

“How much are the fish?” A crowd of rich but unskilled players surrounded her first.

Shen Xin took out the carp and crucian carp. “Small fish, one silver coin each.”

The grouper and bass were medium-sized fish, two silver coins each.

The eel and flounder were large fish, four silver coins each.

“Uh… those are way too expensive. Before all this, one silver coin could buy five loaves of bread.”

Some wanted to buy fish but felt the price was too high.

Shen Xin countered, “As you said, that was before. Can you even buy food with two silver coins now?”

The player fell silent, conflicted for a moment, but ultimately abandoned the idea of buying fish.

The other players who gathered just asked for information; none actually purchased anything.

In contrast, the NPCs bought without hesitation, especially the shopkeepers, blacksmiths, carpenters, and others who had profited handsomely from the players.

Old He displayed his natural instincts as a businessman by asking Shen Xin, “Can you give me a discount?”

Mimicking his usual expression, Shen Xin said sternly, “This stall does not offer discounts.”

Upon hearing this, Old He’s face fell.

However, Shen Xin’s handbook rang. She took it out and glanced at the screen:

【 Congratulations, Player! Old He’s favor with you has broken through eight hearts. Unlocked achievement: “Kindred Spirits” 】

Shen Xin was speechless.

Fuck, what a masochist.