【 Congratulations, player! Fishing level +1, treasure chest hook rate doubled. 】

【 Detected that your fishing level has risen to 5; received [Intermediate Fishing Pole Blueprint]. 】

【 Yesterday’s commission fees have been calculated. You have received the following items: 】

【 Handmade Cookies x 1 】

【 Copper Ore x 2 】

【 Small Health Potion x 1 】

【 2 silver coins, 12 copper coins 】

Shen Xin clicked to accept the items, and the payment was automatically added to his inventory and bank account.

“It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.”

As he noticed his fishing level had risen, Shen Xin felt as though it had been ages since he’d last received an upgrade.

Indeed, it would become increasingly difficult to level up as time went on.

Shen Xin opened the notification window.

【 Player Name: Shen Xin 】

【 Class: Farmer 】

【 Level: 4 】

【 Health: 250/250 】

【 Stamina: 250/250 】

【 Hygiene: 100/100 】

Scrolling down, he saw his fishing was level 5, cooking was level 3, and foraging was level 3. Further down, his account balance showed “341 silver coins, 74 copper coins,” a pleasing sight. Shen Xin flipped down off the bed like a fish and heard the patter of rain outside.

“You don’t need to water today.” Shen Xin came into the living room, having discovered a letter stuffed under the door when he went out to fetch water.

Dear Farmer Shen Xin:

Welcome to the island! We hope you’ve been enjoying your stay. Perhaps you’ve heard about Peach Blossom Island’s festivals? That’s right—the annual flower-viewing festival is coming.

Tomorrow at 9 a.m., all are welcome at the town square to participate in the event. Free breakfast and lunch will be provided, and this year’s Flower Queen will be crowned.

The letter is from Mayor Wang, and carries the official seal of Peach Blossom Town.

“Flower festival?” Shen Xin tucked the letter away and set about harvesting the spring wheat, spinach, and strawberries in his field after boiling the water.

Both wheat and rice were growing well; however, without processing facilities, he couldn’t cook any dishes with them. When Jing Yan heard about this, she offered to pay for an on-site mill, but Shen Xin’s carpenter friends were both busy building her barn, so they couldn’t take on extra work.

Shen Xin had made an appointment for the construction of the barn a few days ago, and it was supposed to be completed tomorrow afternoon.

Jing Yan held her tongue. It’s just one day. I can wait.

When Xiao Feng and the old carpenter arrived at 8 p.m., the old carpenter spoke with Shen Xin, “The animal shelter needs three days to be repaired, but I must attend the flower-viewing festival tomorrow, so the shelter won’t be finished until the nineteenth.”

Every NPC had to attend the flower-viewing festival, so Shen Xin understood, but Jing Yan did not.

“I want rice… I want noodles… Dammit, I’m gonna kill two extra stone monsters today just to vent this frustration.”

“If that’s the case, I think I’ll ask the carpenter to delay his work another two days.”

Stumpy’s hands trembled; he gave Shen Xin a pitiful look.

After receiving 76 copper ore, 35 iron ore, and 12 coal, Shen Xin satisfiedly patted him on the shoulder. “All right, all right, we’ll start building the processing room as soon as the animal shelter is fixed, and then we can have meat. Don’t tell me you don’t find the prospect of meaty rice and noodle bowls enticing!”

“Delicious!” For the sake of carbs and happiness, Jing Yan boldly ventured deeper into the mountains.

Meanwhile, Shen Xin crouched by the front door, constructing two simple smelting furnaces next to the original one. With practice comes efficiency: she had spent an entire morning building the first furnace, but this time she was able to construct two at once.

The copper ore was tossed into the fire to burn.

Shen Xin washed the dirt and ash off herself, then went to the town’s notice board to collect her daily mission.

Yun Yuwei, unaware of Shen Xin’s residence, had no choice but to wait in the shop for her to return, dreading the rain outside. Finally, he spotted her.

“Master!” He pushed the door open, stepping out, but without an umbrella, he could only greet her from beneath the eaves of the building.

Shen Xin stared at him, baffled. “Who’s your master?”

“You are!” Yun Yuwei gazed at her, pleading. “Teach me how to use a sword! After we get out of here, I’ll pay you a tutor’s fee.”

Shen Xin refused without hesitation, then accepted the mission and left, leaving Yun Yuwei flustered and running after her in the rain.

His wounds would worsen with exposure to the rain, so Yun Yuwei hoped to move Shen Xin with this sacrifice. Wasn’t this the same as those classic tales of devotion—like standing in the snow before Master Cheng’s gate, visiting Cao Cao’s residence three times, or even carrying one’s own thorns to beg for forgiveness?

Surely, after becoming like this, his shifu would feel his sincerity!

Shen Xin swiftly ran away, shedding this big headache.

Yun Yuwei stared after her, frustrated. Dammit, why isn’t she playing by the rules?!

Shen Xin had completed a few missions for the NPCs, but upon opening her journal, she realized that her favor rating with the fisherman had already reached five hearts!

“When did this happen?” Shen Xin had checked and it was four hearts yesterday—how had it jumped up to five without any warning?

But now that it had, it wasn’t worth worrying about how it happened; the next step was to go fetch the main quest.

By the seaside, a few members of the mutual aid squad were fishing at the pier.

Chen Xingyun, a capable fighter with high attack power and strong leadership skills, had already become the core member of the group and was elected captain by the others. Upon arriving at the beach today, he noticed that Uncle Li, who rarely went out, was also fishing.

The vice-captain, Nicholas, asked curiously, “Captain, have you ever seen Uncle Li go fishing before?”

Nicholas’s profession was chef, and his skill could increase food production, so his status within the group was second only to Chen Xingyun’s.

Chen Xingyun was also puzzled. Uncle Li was a fisherman, but ever since he gave the blueprint for a fishing rod to the players, he had spent every day repairing his broken-down boat or strolling around the pier. The old man had never even once gone fishing.

“Maybe there’s a special event today. Come with me, Nicholas, the rest of you keep fishing nearby.”

After assigning tasks to his teammates, Chen Xingyun walked up to Uncle Li with Nicholas.

Uncle Li was a short-tempered old man. He smoked a cigarette and ignored Chen Xingyun and Nicholas, occasionally only responding with small talk or boasting about his past deeds.

After several attempts, neither Chen Xingyun nor Nicholas received any useful information.

Nicholas mumbled, “Strange, could it be because we rarely come to the beach? Uncle Li fishes here every once in a while.”

Chen Xingyun agreed, “It seems we were overthinking.”

The entire morning, Uncle Li stood in the same spot casting and reeling, without moving an inch.

After confirming there were no more events, the small team returned to their fishing, quietly waiting for their next adventure.

This peace lasted until Shen Xin emerged from the forest.

“Shit! She’s alone?”

“Impossible, it’s too dangerous in the woods. There must be more of them!”

As soon as Fan Qing and Xiao-Jie saw Shen Xin, they proudly boasted to their teammates, “We know her. She can handle a dozen monsters at once with ease. Going to the beach by herself is just a piece of cake.”

“You two know her?” Chen Xingyun was shocked at first, then noticed Uncle Li, who had stood still all morning, reeling his fishing rod. Just as he assumed the old man was about to go home, Uncle Li walked straight toward Shen Xin.

“You’ve already reached Level 5 in fishing? How fast! Young people’s potential is truly limitless…”

Shen Xin nodded, forming a guess in his mind.

Could it be that Uncle Li’s favor was linked to one’s fishing level?

Uncle Li lit a cigarette, looking at Shen Xin with immense kindness in his eyes.

“You’ve noticed that this place isn’t an ordinary island, right?” Uncle Li leaned in to whisper, ensuring they were alone. “In the fishing community, there’s a legend.

“On this island, there are three hidden lakes, and within each lake lives a legendary fish.”

“In my youth, I once set out to be the first to catch these legendary fish. I searched every inch of Utopia Island, and I’m not just saying that—I’ve been everywhere on this island, more than once, yet I never found any hidden lakes, let alone those legendary fish. Ah…”

As he finished, Shen Xin’s screen prompted him with a choice:

【 Uncle Li’s favor has reached five hearts. He has asked you to find the legendary fish; do you accept this quest? 】

Shen Xin accepted the quest, and the main quest window was filled with text: “A Fisher’s Dream: Catch Three Legendary Fish for Uncle Li (0/3).”

“Find…fish?” Shen Xin stared at the screen, stunned.

Was this a main quest? Did it have anything to do with “Rebuild Utopia Island”?

“Actually, you can also think of it this way: constructing the shop was Old He’s dream, and finding the legendary fish is Uncle Li’s dream.” After some thought, Shen Xin redefined the meaning of “rebuilding Peach Blossom Town.”

In the past, she had assumed that “rebuilding” referred to the literal act of rebuilding structures, but after receiving Uncle Li’s quest, she realized that perhaps “rebuilding” referred not to the houses, but to the hearts of the townspeople.

Oh, how lofty her aspirations had suddenly become!

With a warm smile, Uncle Li patted Shen Xin on the shoulder. “Good luck, child.” He extinguished his cigarette, then slowly entered his home with his hands clasped behind his back.

“Mysterious lake…” Shen Xin unfolded the map, searching for bodies of water.

She quickly discovered a problem.

In the middle of Peach Blossom Island stood a large mountain surrounded by lower terrain. However, there were only two bodies of water large enough to be considered “lakes” on the map!

But Uncle Li had mentioned three lakes…

Wait.

Shen Xin thought of another inconsistency.

“Need any help?”

Her train of thought was interrupted by the man before her, who had invited her to join the community project yesterday.

“No thanks, I’m good,” Shen Xin shook her head and was about to walk away when Nicholas asked, “Beauty, Uncle Li has been standing here since early morning. Was he waiting for you?”

Shen Xin paused, then said, “I guess so.”

So NPCs would wait for players even after the requirements for a quest were fulfilled.

“Then what did he say?” Nicholas asked.

Shen Xin gave him a polite, distant smile.

“Come on, we’re all strangers here. No need to be so reserved with each other. Sharing information might even help you out.”

Nicholas tried to get closer to her, but Shen Xin took two silent steps back, her smile cooling along with it.

Chen Xingyun knew Nicholas had a bad habit of trying to get things cheap. Seeing that Shen Xin wasn’t interested, he stepped forward and said, “We can trade goods for information.”

He was too late.

In this game, everyone played by their own rules, and Shen Xin disliked nothing more than someone trying to get close to her for ulterior motives.

Not to mention, regardless of whether Shen Xin found Chen Xingyun’s goods appealing, if she shared the main quest’s strategy with others, they might complete it before she had a chance to play through it herself.

Shen Xin refused Chen Xingyun’s offer to trade information. She originally planned to search for the legendary lake, but as she glanced at the ocean, she thought to herself: I’ve already come all this way, and the drop rate for treasure chests is higher at the beach during rainy weather anyway. Might as well try my hand at fishing for chests before I go search for the lake.

Copper ore was rare enough as it was; rainy days were even rarer.

Shen Xin walked toward the pier, completely ignoring Nicholas’s unsolicited comments. “What’s with her attitude? There are still a couple of celebrities above us, and she thinks she can quietly complete the mission and take first place?”

Chen Xingyun also thought Shen Xin was a bit cold and aloof; she would definitely be a thorn in their side. But come to think of it, she seemed even more formidable than he had initially thought.

Chen Xingyun had taken second place in the qualifying round, and the million-yuan prize was certainly his goal for participating in the finals. After witnessing Shen Xin’s ability to traverse the forest solo and learning that she had mastered undiscovered strategies… she was not someone to be trifled with.

Chen Xingyun mentally added Shen Xin to his list of competitors, swearing to defeat her and the rest one by one.

“Wow! What did she catch?!” Nicholas’s sudden exclamation startled Chen Xingyun, who turned to see Shen Xin put the metal box into her backpack.

Chen Xingyun was stunned. He had caught a few chests as well, but only mid-level ones at most; the one Shen Xin had just caught was clearly more valuable. It was bad enough that she was good at the game, but now he found out she was also super lucky…

As Chen Xingyun stewed in envy, Shen Xin caught another six or seven chests in quick succession.

The surrounding players watched in disbelief.

Chen Xingyun remained speechless.

This isn’t just lucky, this is cheating!