Chapter 8: Upgrading the Fishing Boat, Rewarded with a Protective Shield

After pondering for a moment, she clicked on “Upgrade Construction.”

【Please enter the expanded area for the fishing boat】

She then filled in 【100 square meters】 on the holographic screen.

【Materials required for the upgrade are as follows】

【Wood x500, Nails x150, Iron Ingots x150】

【Detected: 100 Moisture-Resistant Stones. Use 50 to reinforce the fishing boat? This will increase its durability】

Wen Mingyue decisively chose 【Yes】 and then continued to click 【Confirm Upgrade】

【Fishing boat upgrading…】

【Upgrade complete】

【Congratulations! You are the first player to expand a fishing boat to 100 square meters】

【Would you like to make a regional announcement?】

Absolutely 【Yes】

System 069 also immediately received an upgrade notification:

【Internship score +5. Current score: 35. Upgrade progress: 35%. Click here to view unlocked new functions】

Meanwhile, in the newly merged Greater China Zone 96, with a population of 100,000—

【Congratulations to player Wen Mingyue for being the first to upgrade their fishing boat. The following rewards have been granted】

【Wood x100】

【Iron Ingots x50】

【Fuel: 50 liters】

【Protective Shield x1】

The rewards for the Battle Royale on the Deserted Island are among the most generous, and they mark the beginning of the gap between players. Even so, today’s rewards were still great—especially the protective shield, which was her favorite.

Looking at her Level 4 protective shield, she felt a strong sense of security.

At the very least, during the newbie period, she didn’t have to worry about monsters invading her fishing boat.

And once again, the system broadcast naturally stirred up heated discussion among the gossip-hungry spectators.

Newbie Zhao Yue: “Whoa, who’s this boss-level player again?”

Gossip Group Leader: “You must be new here. That’s one of our region’s top players—the one who landed the first kills on both Level 2 and 3 monsters.”

“Bowing to the boss, may some luck rub off on me!”

“+1”

Gossip Group Leader: “Besides her, there’s another big shot many of you probably know.”

“Who is it, Group Leader?”

Gossip Group Leader: “Zhao Jinan, heir to the Zhao Corporation of Dragon Nation. He got the first kill on the Level 1 monster and also completed the previous deserted island task. Just this morning, he reconnected with his sister in the group.”

“Biological sister?”

Gossip Group Leader: “Don’t overthink it. Same parents—Zhao Lingxin. If you follow entertainment news, you’d know.”

Reading through the group chat, Wen Mingyue recalled how, in her past life, the first kills for Level 1, 2, and 3 monsters in the region had all belonged to that young heir.

Looks like this time, she’d snatched quite a few resources from him. But she didn’t feel guilty in the slightest.

After finishing the remaining large meat bun and downing most of a bottle of mineral water, she asked 069 to keep an eye out for treasure chests on the sea.

After the upgrade, 069’s treasure chest detection radius had expanded to 100 meters, so she had time to focus on other things without having to stare at the sea constantly.

The upgraded fishing boat was significantly larger, with a maximum height of 3 meters, looking far sturdier than before.

The control cabin had expanded to 8 square meters. In addition to the built-in leather seat, there was now room for a sofa to rest on.

The fish hold beneath the cabin had also expanded to 6 square meters. The sail system was upgraded as well—now divided into a main sail and rear sail, no longer just a flimsy little flag fluttering in the wind.

After admiring the upgraded fishing boat, Wen Mingyue studied the blueprints for fishing tools and kitchen equipment.

She used iron ingots to craft a crane with a net-lifting arm, a few ropes, and a large iron bucket.

Through the system panel, she installed two water purifiers side-by-side on one side of the control cabin. 069 helped bind the crane, purifiers, and control cabin together.

Wen Mingyue then continued operating through the system panel, pouring 50 liters of fuel into the boat’s fuel tank.

The starter fuel tank was just big enough for 50 liters, and its capacity would increase as the boat upgraded—no separate expansion card needed.

Now, with the upgraded fishing boat, the fuel tank could hold up to 200 liters.

Once fuel was added, the built-in power system in the control cabin kicked in, though the electricity only powered the cabin and the fish hold below.

It took her less than 10 minutes to get used to the control panel. She pressed one of the buttons, and the light bulb above her flickered on.

She nodded with satisfaction. The lighting was decent.

Next, she operated the crane, hooking the large iron bucket’s built-in latch. Her eyes remained fixed on the holographic display, making sure it was properly hooked before lowering the rope.

The control cabin’s display provided a visual range of 5 meters around the boat. Once she saw the iron bucket fully submerged in seawater, Wen Mingyue continued operating the crane, and soon, the water-filled iron bucket was hoisted back up.

It took four full rounds of hauling to collect enough seawater for the two water purifiers.

All she had to do was hoist the seawater up; the upgraded 069 could now automatically pour it into the purifiers.

With two purifiers, she could obtain 100 liters of purified water and 2 jin (1 kg) of salt per day. 069 would photograph the results, then store 50 liters of water and 500 grams of salt directly into the camera space.

The remaining 50 liters of water and 500 grams of salt would be put up for trade in the shop. Water was traded in 200ml portions, and salt in 10g packs. Most of the items she exchanged for were wood, iron ingots, vegetable and seasoning seeds, fruit trees, or other scarce resources.

069 would review the trade offers first, then present the selected options to Wen Mingyue.

The upgraded 069 was now far more capable, saving her a lot of time.

Based on her observations from her past life, few players managed to unlock farmland early on. She figured that quite a number of people would be willing to trade fruit trees and other essentials.

Especially fruit trees—after being obtained from chests, they had a planting window of 5 to 10 days. If not planted in time, they would wither and die.

Once added to the backpack, players could see the expiration time for all items.

The early stages of the game were a turning point. She needed to hoard resources aggressively before others caught on. So if people thought she was ruthless, well—so be it.

Wen Mingyue had grown up in the countryside. Her grandparents and parents were all expert farmers.

Up until high school, her family had always grown rice. Every summer, she would help harvest the crops with them.

After she entered high school, it was at her suggestion that her family switched to growing fruit trees instead.

Longan, lychee, plums, orange trees—they filled several hillsides.

It wasn’t until her junior year of college that her entire family moved to the city, buying a house near a resettlement area.

They had to sell their fruit trees to villagers, something her grandparents often sighed about, saying the countryside had been better.

The older generation always had a deep, almost spiritual attachment to the land.

Just as she was about to place down her plot of farmland, she suddenly heard 069’s excited voice in her mind.

Wen Mingyue also noticed that the upgraded system now sounded more human, no longer robotic and cold like before.

【Dear Host, a treasure chest has been spotted at the stern of the boat!】

Upon hearing this, she immediately dropped what she was doing and sprinted out of the control cabin, leaving behind a faint blur in the air as evidence of her speed.

She reached the stern and braced both hands on the edge of the boat. On the calm, blue sea, a wooden chest could be seen drifting toward her.

She took out her fishing rod from her backpack. It was equipped with a sharp hook designed specifically for retrieving treasure chests—one that could easily injure the user if not handled carefully.

In her previous life, she had once hooked her own arm with it and nearly died from infection.