The temperature plummeted suddenly. Sea winds rose, biting through every layer of clothing the players could wrap themselves in. No matter what they wore—traditional padded coats or sat huddled by braziers—nothing could keep out that bone-deep chill.
Everything you used to keep warm was now more expensive. The price of braziers, for instance, had shot sky-high: from 10 steel bars and 3 pieces of coal to 15 steel and 5 coal. Before there was time for the market to settle, prices leaped again: 20 steel, 25 steel… at its peak, 40 steel bars for a single brazier. Suspecting nothing, those who had once scoffed at paying just 3 steel bars now regretted it to their very marrow.
If they’d known things would end up like this, they’d have begged for the so-called expensive braziers sold by Ye Shu—hell, now the joke was on them. They were forced to plead for a brazier at ten times the original price, and even so, the quality was nothing compared to Ye Shu’s wares.
"Cough, cough… This smoke is killing me," someone wheezed.
"Damn it, this brazier is from that Sang Biao's crew—the smoke’s so thick, you can’t even keep your eyes open, let alone warm. It’s all those rookie D-Star players’ fault! They didn’t appreciate Ye Shu’s quality. Now us old-timers are suffering for it!"
"If only we could find those little scumbags out here, I’d let them have it. Idiots!"
The seasoned players cursed the situation bitterly.
Their anger burned even hotter when they learned that the leaderboard’s top player had once bought a fine-quality brazier from Ye Shu for only 3 steel bars. If only they could get their hands on those local players, they’d crush them in an instant.
Three steel bars—a top-notch brazier! It could burn for ten whole hours!
But as the temperature kept dropping, the wind and waves battered their vessels, and swarms of carnivorous fish gnawed at their hulls relentlessly. Even if they survived, they'd pay dearly for it. In the face of such deprivation, no one blamed Ye Shu for refusing to sell anymore.
Aboard her iron ship, Ye Shu sneezed several times in quick succession. She rubbed her nose and cast her fishing line again.
There were still treasure chests to be found. Better to stock up while she could. The way the game was structured, she suspected the supply of chests would dwindle sharply later on. In the end, there might be none at all.
"Chou Bagua, what’s my luck today?" she called, glancing at the gaudy clownfish splashing in a stainless-steel basin.
Chou Bagua considered before speaking in an oddly gentle tone: "Puff, puff… Little fairy master, your luck is rotten—awful, super awful! There’ll be no treasure chests today…"
Just as it finished, Ye Shu’s fishing rod dipped sharply.
She reeled it in.
[You fished up: Human-faced Starfish ×1.]
Rotten luck, indeed. Even with a fine-quality rod, she couldn’t snag a single black iron chest.
"Meow, meow… What about my luck?" Da Piaoliang asked excitedly.
Compared to Ye Shu, its luck always seemed just a little better.
Since Chou Bagua couldn’t understand the eerie language, Ye Shu acted as interpreter: "Da Piaoliang’s luck?"
Chou Bagua dropped its gentle act at once, rolling its dead fish eyes scornfully, "Ugly cat, ugly cat! Rotten luck, nothing but scrap iron—junk and trash!"
At that moment, Chou Bagua spotted something novel. He snorted with derision: "Huh? That ugly cat… a chest? A black one? Trash, rubbish! Useless cat!"
Da Piaoliang: "…" It badly wanted to strangle the obnoxious fish. To think, something so hideous would dare call it ugly!
Fu Jingchuan and Fu Shiyi weren’t faring much better; their luck had hit rock bottom. As for Pang Pangzi, good fortune seemed to ride his shoulder—every cast brought in a treasure chest: silver, bronze, gold—not a single black iron one in the lot. As for the rest…
Ye Shu’s rod only snagged misshapen sea monsters; Fu Shiyi managed a few bronze chests by sheer effort; but Fu Jingchuan’s luck was abysmal—ten casts, seven blanks. Of the three remaining, one dragged in a shark, one nothing but trash, and the last, a common finger-sized fish.
The difference in fortune was plain as daylight.
"Third Bro… your luck is truly atrocious! Don’t worry, I’ve got your back this round!"
If the man before him weren’t his own brother, Fu Shiyi would’ve burst out laughing.
Fu Jingchuan shot him a murderous glare. "…"
Dread prickled up Fu Shiyi’s spine. Sheepishly, he added, "I mean—since you’ve got your brother here, you never need to fret over supplies. Plus, don’t forget—we’ve got the strongest cheat in the game! There’s nothing to worry about."
Ye Shu tossed an ugly tangerine into the brazier.
Within minutes came the warm aroma of baked citrus. She popped a juicy segment into her mouth. Sweet and sour flavor exploded on her tongue; it was so delicious it made her want to swallow her own tongue.
One orange wasn’t enough—Ye Shu took out a strawberry confection next.
Chou Bagua drooled horribly and stammered, "Little fairy master… please…"
Da Piaoliang and Xiaobai rolled their eyes. As expected of a level-0 beast—couldn’t even control its appetite. No wonder it could be bribed with just a sweet potato by its master. Not like them—they’d only submitted when they truly had no other choice…
…
By noon, the weather grew colder still, dropping below freezing.
Grievances and curses filled the chatroom. Players controlling the brazier market hiked prices yet again.
The population—once eight billion—began to plummet.
[50 steel bars… I’ve got nothing left to say. I could die fishing and never pull in that much steel.]
[All we want is to live. Do those people want us dead?!]
[50 steel bars… They could just rob us, but at least they sell, even if the quality is crap. Some mercy, eh?]
[I, Zhang San, speak for all players: please, Ye Shu, return to the market as our savior! Please!]
[Me too…]
[……]
Zhang Yingying scrolled through the panic and complaints in the chat, inwardly grateful to have aligned herself with Ye Shu. She looked at the few ordinary braziers on her ship and felt hugely content. She placed two on the exchange platform—airmail for her family thousands of miles away.
She’d been lucky enough to reach her parents yesterday. They were alive—barely. Supplies were so scarce, they survived on seafish; even water had to be strictly rationed.
But with Ye Shu by her side, she’d managed to get water, food, and braziers more easily than anyone else—enough to give her hope amidst these harrowing days adrift at sea.
On the iron steamer, Fu Shiyi’s luck finally turned; he fished up a bronze chest, and inside—unbelievably—a blueprint for a basic brazier.
At the same moment, Da Piaoliang, just as Chou Bagua had taunted, pulled up a jet-black chest from the depths.