Chapter 4
◎ Novice Protection Period ◎
There were still six uses left for the All-Purpose Fishing Rod, and six hours until the uses refreshed at midnight.
Yu Chi didn’t want to waste a single opportunity and could only hope that the bites would come faster. Fortunately, things went as she wished, and she successfully used up all six chances before midnight.
The fifth time, she fished up a pair of pure cotton socks. They looked quite thick, so Yu Chi put them on right then and there.
The sixth time, she fished up a small floral umbrella. It might come in handy later, so she set it aside on the raft for the time being.
The seventh time, she fished up a box of spicy strips. After opening it, she found ten packs of a common brand. Hmm, she’d save them to cleanse her palate later.
The eighth time, she fished up an entire set of Five-Year Gaokao, Three-Year Simulation… Okay, maybe it could be used as kindling in the future.
The ninth time, she fished up an electric cooking pot that didn’t need to be plugged in. It heated up automatically at the press of a switch—very nice, her instant noodles now had a home.
The last time… Yu Chi calculated the time and found it was already nearly 11 PM. She breathed a sigh of relief and slowly reeled in the hook.
Every time she got a bite, it was a black chest, and she wouldn’t know what was inside until she touched it. Yu Chi opened the chest and found a pencil case inside. Inside the pencil case were ten brand-new water-based pens.
Yu Chi: “…”
Doesn’t this make a complete set with the “Five-Year Gaokao, Three-Year Simulation”? I’d rather not joke around when I’m trying to survive, you know. So what’s the use of these pens and this set of books?
…Whatever, at least she had them. Maybe some sucker would be willing to trade for them?
Trading came in two forms: auction and ordinary trade.
An ordinary trade was like the cola and beer she had sold earlier—set a price, and any player who found it suitable could choose to buy it. A clean transaction.
An auction was where buyers chose to participate, and there would be a bidding page. After a bid was placed, the system would send the offer to the seller. If the seller found it acceptable, they could agree to the trade.
Bids were only visible to the seller, not to other players.
Out of the ten times Yu Chi used the All-Purpose Fishing Rod, she had mostly fished up useful items. She thought for a moment and put the Five-Year Gaokao, Three-Year Simulation and the pencil case on the auction interface.
These things took up a lot of space, and putting them on the auction interface was another form of independent storage.
Hmm? Yu Chi raised an eyebrow and immediately put her electric cooking pot on the auction interface as well.
Each player could have five items up for auction simultaneously. The advantage of an auction was that no matter what others offered, the trade wouldn’t go through as long as you didn’t agree.
This meant that players essentially had five extra storage slots out of thin air.
After stuffing the box of spicy strips into her backpack, all her backpack space was full. And the raft, piled with materials of all sizes and a water purifier, was getting difficult to walk on.
So clever, Yu Chi praised herself.
After she listed her auctions, the Five-Year Gaokao, Three-Year Simulation received no interest, but people were constantly raising their bids for the electric cooking pot. Yu Chi glanced at it for a moment before closing the trade interface.
Aside from the All-Purpose Fishing Rod and the water purifier, the electric cooking pot was currently her most valuable item. With a source of heat, her food options would surely become more varied in the future.
【MostBrutalBoss】: Does peeing in the ocean pollute the environment?
【GrumpyBro】: …
【ILoveBlueSkies】: Peeing on the raft is just right.
【ChestClipCookie】: Sigh, what a heavy topic.
【FruitSis】: Why did DazedFish even get a Five-Year Gaokao, Three-Year Simulation? Is he a high school student? Was he doing practice questions before he came here??
【Visitor708】: I suspect he has a unique channel for obtaining supplies.
【Visitor708】: He might have a very powerful item in his hands.
【ColaFromAllDirections】: You say that as if you don’t have other channels for getting supplies yourself.
【FiveStarSurvivor】: Everyone has their own opportunities. We shouldn’t be suspecting our own compatriots right now!
【Visitor708】: Just a normal analysis. You two get to be the good guys, huh.
…
The channel was in a constant state of argument. Yu Chi guessed that she had been too high-profile, attracting the attention of others. But it couldn’t be helped. She needed more materials to upgrade her raft, so trading was unavoidable.
If she weren’t worried about being truly targeted, she would have even put her bandages and adhesive bandages on the trade section… She would surely get the materials to upgrade her raft very quickly.
A loss of a hundred million!
The time had already reached eleven at night. At exactly midnight, another wave of “marine debris” arrived. This time, Yu Chi chose not to enter the water, instead using her fishing rod to hook the materials. However, she obtained far less than before.
After drifting on the sea for a whole day, she was exhausted both physically and mentally. Yu Chi hugged her knees and couldn’t help but doze off for a while. She didn’t dare to waste time, waking up every hour to make a bandage and adhesive bandages.
Even in the dead of night, the chat channel was extremely lively, with discussions on all sorts of topics. Someone was even looking for a CP.
When Yu Chi opened her private messages, she found that quite a few people had sent her messages.
The normal ones were trying to probe where she got her supplies from. The not-so-normal ones, for example, were begging her for some food and water, demanding that she publicize her method of obtaining supplies, and even asking if she was a girl or a boy, and if she needed a man for company…
It seemed that without being able to play on their phones, everyone was bored out of their minds.
Yu Chi deleted all the private messages and, in a half-asleep state, welcomed the six AM marine debris tide.
She woke up, the fatigue in her body still preventing her from choosing to jump into the sea. She once again used her fishing rod to hook the materials directly.
The marine debris tide only provided basic materials, and these things had practically become the currency on the trade interface, making them easy to obtain. There was no need to risk her life for them.
Only two days left until the novice protection period ended. She had to figure out a way to deal with that shark monster within these two days. Yu Chi lowered her head. Otherwise, no matter how many supplies she had, she would be facing a dead end.
This game had life-skill players like her, who had an All-Purpose Fishing Rod and a medical skill and didn’t have to worry about survival resources or injuries. There must also be combat-type players, who might have some special weapons. If she could trade bandages and adhesive bandages for them…
Yu Chi slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and began to prepare today’s breakfast.
Yesterday, she had only eaten two loaves of bread and drunk one bottle of water. Perhaps it was due to the shock and fear of just arriving in this game, but her appetite was even smaller than usual. Now, however, she was so hungry she felt a little dizzy.
To reward herself, Yu Chi decided to have a luxurious grand meal!
She first took the electric cooking pot down from the auction interface, poured a bottle of mineral water into it, and pressed the switch. Once the water boiled, she opened a cup of braised beef noodles with a sense of reverence and poured the noodle cake and seasoning packets in.
Cooking instant noodles was also a special skill. Based on her past experience, noodles steeped in a cup were often not as delicious as those cooked in a pot.
Soon, the classic aroma began to waft through the air. Yu Chi swallowed hard, her eyes glued to the electric cooking pot.
Instant noodles were her favorite food as a child. As she grew up, she ate them less, and even on the rare occasion she did, she wouldn’t eat braised beef flavor, usually opting for various other brands and flavors.
It had been a long time since she had smelled this aroma. Was it always this fragrant?
Yu Chi used the noodle cup as a bowl, forked some noodles from the pot, and took a big, forceful slurp.
Ignoring the shark monster, Yu Chi felt as if she were on vacation, enjoying a grand meal while the gentle sea breeze blew… Instant noodles should count as a grand meal, right?
Translator’s Notes
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Gaokao, Three-Year Simulation (五年高考三年模拟): This is the title of an extremely famous and notoriously difficult series of exam preparation books in China for the Gaokao, the national university entrance exam. Mentioning it is a cultural reference that would be immediately understood by Chinese readers as something related to intense academic pressure.