Chapter 82: Adrift—Survival On the Open Sea, Part 4
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The second day of survival at sea dawned.
At 6:10 in the morning, the weather was clear. The ominous black fog that had draped the perimeter of the Safe Zone had vanished without a trace, and the sky was the purest blue. It was as if the terror of last night had only been a bad dream.
Ye Shu woke up feeling thoroughly refreshed. Numbers on the player counter had dropped by several hundred thousand overnight—despite the world boasting a staggering eight billion NPC players and still being within the novice safety window. Once that grace period was over… The game would simply become a massacre royale.
Big Beauty had spent the night expertly fishing up junk from the seabed with her rod.
Others saw garbage, but to Ye Shu, these were treasures, resources for survival.
She fished up half a rusted, blunt knife, chunks of rotting wood, and scraps of tattered sheepskin overgrown with algae. As her hand passed over these seemingly worthless relics, a flash of white lit up.
[Congratulations, player has acquired Sharp Dagger x1, Wood x2, Crafting Table Blueprint x1.]
[To synthesize Crafting Table Blueprint: Materials required—Wood x5, Steel x10, Nails x10. Do you wish to craft now?]
Curious about the crafting table and seeing that she had enough materials, Ye Shu didn’t hesitate.
[Crafting Table completed. Function: Any tool can be placed into the crafting table for synthesis—materials and blueprints required.]
A gray-black apparatus, looking rather like a makeshift stove, materialized on the screen. She didn’t even need to lift a finger; she simply selected an installation spot at the stern, and the crafting table appeared before her, glistening and real.
Ye Shu muttered, “Honestly, this game is way more convenient than any survival sim I’ve ever played.”
The so-called 'Survival Game System,' which watched her every move, remained silent, its feelings hurt by implication.
Ye Shu spent the whole morning keeping vigil over her fishing rod. Not a nibble.
No matter how patient she was, her enthusiasm invariably wavered.
Suddenly, Big Beauty began howling wildly, gesturing at a battered chest floating a couple dozen meters away on the glistening sea. Her wide, verdant eyes brimmed with excitement: “Awoooo! Mistress, there’s something over there!”
She’d waited all day—finally, a treasure chest!
Ye Shu cast her line; the hook landed perfectly atop the floating wooden box. She reeled the line in, inching closer, only to see: it was a decaying crate, reeking of brine, chained by a half-ruined lock, and mottled with dark brown fungus. No treasure chest, merely a rotten hunk of driftwood.
Ye Shu handled the line gingerly, terrified the chest would simply fall apart.
But the moment her palm brushed the ruined wood, the chest shed its stains, its rust, its algae. It transformed before her eyes.
A rotten box became a box of luminous green jade, large enough to fit a person inside. The entire structure was crafted from pure jade, dazzling with gemstones set in brilliant golden locks.
She lifted the lid.
[Advanced Jade Treasure Chest opened: Acquired—Calm Sea Compass x1, Pure Water Purifier Blueprint x1, Watermelon x1, Large Pack of Custard Pies (10 pcs), Strawberry Cream Tower x5.]
[Calm Sea Compass: Guides on the boundless ocean, prevents the boat from being devoured by unknown threats, increases vessel speed.]
[Pure Water Purifier: Filters seawater directly. To build: Nails x20, Cloth x3, Glass x2.]
Worthless trash? No, these were her precious children!
She installed the compass at the bow. Immediately, her Lv.1 canoe displayed a speed boost to five knots.
She was still missing ten nails, two cloth patches, and—crucially—glass to craft the purifier. She'd have to barter with other players.
After transferring her goods, the chest’s system-suggested prompt popped up.
[Jade Chest can be dismantled for: Advanced Jade x10, Gemstones x5, Brass x1.]
Still, no glass. That was the real prize.
‘ImYourDad’: "Exchange! First come, first served, don’t miss your window! Three custard pies for glass!"
‘ImYourDad’: "Come quickly—three custard pies for two glass. Nails and cloth also considered. DM me, Shu!"
"........."
Ye Shu’s trade messages soon dominated the Sea Survival chat.
Having been abruptly plunged into this game, everyone was just acclimating to the terror and hunger, gathering a scant handful of materials with fishing rods. Food was so scarce, hardly anyone dared to eat. Most were surviving on crackers and bread. Someone offering to trade custard pies? Unheard of.
Jiang Yu DM’ed Ye Shu without delay.
‘Jiang Jiang’: "Boss Dad, I’ve got glass. Trade for your custard pies? Could I also get a bottle of water, please—no, I’ll swap for it, too! Two pieces of cloth in exchange. I have nails as well!"
Jiang Yu’s eyes were clouded with hunger. Before being thrown into this nightmare, she’d been dieting—chicken breast and nothing but greens, and not even a sip of water that last day. She woke up starving on the rocking sea. A whole day’s fishing, and all she’d found was wood, nails, and glass—nothing to eat.
‘ImYourDad’: "Deal."
Ye Shu hadn’t expected such fortune. With just one Jiang Yu, she’d acquired every single material she needed.
On her boat, Jiang Yu clutched her pack of custard pies and a bottle of spring water, nearly breaking into tears.
How familiar the packaging, the aroma!
After only a day adrift, seeing these things again was like being reunited with lost kin.
Jiang Yu swore a new oath: From here on out, she, Jiang Yu, would never diet again.
……
Ye Shu placed the blueprint and all the materials on the crafting table.
Moments later, a small machine shaped like a funnel, its tail trailing a tube, materialized before her. Capable of drawing seawater and purifying it into fresh water automatically, the only thing left to do was prepare a container and wait.
[Pure Water Purifier crafted! 1000ml of seawater converts to 800ml of pure water. Max 100 liters processed per day. Zero side effects, no additional disinfection required.]
Wasn’t this absolute luxury?
If the ocean granted any blessing, it was its endless supply of seawater underfoot.
A smile danced across Ye Shu’s face. In the stern, all her scavenged plastic debris and bottles had found purpose.
She opened the chat again and began to broadcast: "One bottle of pure water for two pieces of wood! One bottle for five nails! One bottle for one cloth!"
"That 'ImYourDad' player again—how much stuff does she even have?"
"Isn't five nails for one water a rip-off? Three would be fairer."
"Seriously! There's water everywhere—we're drowning in it!"
"Am I the only one who noticed she’s offering pure water, not filtered? Saltwater has tons of sodium; drinking it dehydrates you—too much and you could get poisoned."
"Why didn’t anyone tell me sooner! The ten bottles of water she listed sold out instantly! Guess that explains my dizziness—dehydration poisoning!"
Some cursed Ye Shu as a profiteer, others lamented missing out on her fresh water and hurled public insults—only to be muted by the game system.
Ha! Fools, the lot of them. If only they’d realized its value—they might've been the lucky ones.
Jiang Yu hugged her bottles of pure water, laughing until her whole body shook.
Once, the heiress of the Jiang Group could wince at dropping billions on jewelry. Now? A few bottles of water made her grin like an idiot.
Ye Shu, meanwhile, was raking in riches.
With just twenty bottles of water, she’d gained fifty units of wood, three cloth patches, and twenty nails.