Slacking off in the Game of Survival

Chapter 28 Ten Square Metres Island(5)

There will always be a few men in the world who are ordinary in all aspects yet inexplicably confident.

Qian Yue chuckled twice and walked away with a push of the bamboo raft.

“Hey?!”

The man seemed disbelief that she actually left like that and took a few steps to try to hold onto the raft—

Qian Yue immediately got angry, “Are you done yet?”

She poked him with a pole, and he fell into the sea with a splash, and the world instantly became completely quiet again.

On the island.

Qian Yue put away the bamboo raft and sat cross-legged on the ground, examining her own character status.

Although she had won the farce just now, looking at her stat window with less than half of her stamina remaining, Qian Yue couldn’t feel happy.

Currently, her character status is displayed as follows:

Name: Qian Yue

Occupation: Beggar

Level: 3

Health: 120/130

Stamina: 48/125

Mental Points: 60/105

If Qian Yue was like this, one can imagine how miserable the data of others would be.

She couldn’t help but sigh, “So why did we have to fight? I didn’t want to fight either. Sigh…”

Qian Yue took out a piece of hard bread while speaking and endured the pain.

At first, she was relying on the idea of living off the sea, so she only prepared a little hard bread initially. Combined with the one she drew from the lottery, she only had six portions left.

However, even after eating all six portions, her stamina only recovered to 108, still a considerable distance from the full value.

“…” She felt inexplicably angry.

Her health hadn’t dropped much, so Qian Yue didn’t care. However, the rate at which her mental points were decreasing surprised her.

In the previous two instances, her consumption of mental points was almost negligible because Qian Yue either lay in the room all day or was prepared to lie down. Compared to other players who constantly worried about going crazy due to a lack of suppressants, Qian Yue had a large stock of suppressants in her bag, which were left to gather dust.

She didn’t expect it to be depleted so quickly this time.

“Could they have adjusted the data?”

Qian Yue recalled, but she didn’t see any similar messages in the patch notes.

After pondering for a moment, she got up and walked to the side of the reed field. “There is only one possibility left—”

Qian Yue was busy making the bamboo raft earlier and didn’t collect all the resources before leaving the island. Currently, the reed field still showed that fifty percent could be harvested.

Ten seconds later, the skill cooldown ended, and the reeds entered the growth phase, leaving Qian Yue with an additional twenty portions of reeds in her hands.

“Mental points decreased by thirteen points.”

Qian Yue turned and went to the bamboo forest. After using the skill twice, she obtained ten pieces of bamboo. The bamboo forest also started the countdown for growth.

—It’s worth mentioning that, to confuse the players, including the coconut trees that had just sprouted, the growth process of these plants was not reflected in their appearance.

In other words, whether they were in the mature stage or growth stage, or if they had matured but had been half-picked by someone, the appearance of these plants wouldn’t change.

Hence it caused that person earlier to have seen coconuts in the coconut grove but failed to collect them because they had just sprouted.

Qian Yue muttered, “It’s a pity I didn’t have the chance to dig bamboo shoots and eat them.”

She checked her mental value again and found that it had dropped by twenty points.

Qian Yue speculated, “So using the gathering skill randomly reduces the mental value?”

Realizing this, Qian Yue suddenly felt a pang of regret. She had thought that the mental suppressant wasn’t important and did not buy much of it.

Fortunately, she obtained three more from the airdrop, otherwise, it might not have been sufficient in this instance.

“It seems I should keep various items in stock in the future.” Qian Yue silently made a mental note.

After replenishing her state with two bottles of mental suppressant, she took stock of the resources she currently possessed.

The current inventory in Qian Yue’s backpack is as follows:

Secret recipe food x3, Vitamin C x12, Anti-inflammatory medicine x8, Mental Suppressant x6, Blueprints x4, Coconut x4, Bamboo raft x1, Bamboo x11, Reed x20, Flint x1, Seasoning x2, Bucket x1, Small knife x1, and Cotton masks x5.

Among them, the bucket, small knife, and the extra five cotton masks were obtained by Qian Yue in the previous instance.

According to the rules, they would automatically disappear after the current instance ends.

Qian Yue murmured to herself, “The bucket and small knife are very useful. I can buy more next time.”

As for the cotton masks…

When Qian Yue initially bought the masks, she never thought she would actually be able to make a gas mask in the end. So, to be on the safe side, she went all out and spent a lot of money on them.

After obtaining the gas mask in the last few days, the masks naturally became obsolete. Qian Yue knew there were leftovers, but she didn’t expect to have so many.

“Having so many masks in this instance is useless. It’s a bit of a waste to throw them away.”

Qian Yue paused for a moment, suddenly remembering that Yu Chengyi seemed to have mentioned before that besides buying items, it seemed possible to sell unwanted items to the item merchant.

However, the buying price offered by the item merchant would certainly be cheaper than what she paid before.

“It’s better than nothing. At least I can get some money back.”

Since the update of the item retention rules, Qian Yue keenly realized that her previous hoarding method probably wouldn’t work anymore.

Hoarding all those items would only last for two instances. It would be better to exchange all the unnecessary things for money and buy new items before the next instance starts.

In the end, money is the real stable currency.

But speaking of money, whether she should save more or less, that is a matter for later. For now, Qian Yue has two very important things to consider:

What to eat?

Where to stay?

Every time she enters an instance, Qian Yue makes it a habit to build a “house” first.

Fortunately, she has reeds and bamboo planted on her island, and both can be used to build a house, so Qian Yue isn’t particularly anxious.

However, the current raw materials are still insufficient, and she must wait for them to mature twice to gather more materials.

As for food…

Qian Yue held a coconut and began to ponder.

According to the previous instance settings, fruits and meat soup without seasoning could only restore 1 point of stamina—

How do you add seasoning to a coconut? Do you add sugar? The seasoning comes in a small bottle, and she can’t possibly pick out the sugar from inside, right?

“…Forget it, let’s open it and give it a try.”

Without any other tools around, Qian Yue could only hold the coconut and walk to the only large rock on the island. She smashed the coconut against the rock with force.

“Crack.”

After a moment, the coconut split open, and she obtained an edible coconut.

【Coconut (Edible)】: A crop cultivated on the island with special effects. It can restore 5 points of stamina.

Seeing the “5” points, Qian Yue breathed a sigh of relief.

“This is close enough.”

Qian Yue hesitated for a moment, then added some seasoning into it.

Surprisingly, the value actually changed to 15.

“…” Qian Yue’s expression instantly became subtle.

She took a bite and couldn’t describe the taste, but it unexpectedly tasted good.

“But this alone is not enough.”

Qian Yue’s own island doesn’t produce any food. Even if she stays on the deserted island every day, these few coconuts would probably not be enough to eat, let alone other players who might come to share.

She thought for a moment, then used a knife to split the remaining bamboo into strips and crafted two rough baskets with the bamboo strips.

This time, there was no prompt sound in her ears, indicating that other players had already made this item.

Qian Yue didn’t mind and used some reeds to weave a rope. She hung the bamboo baskets around her waist and headed straight to the water.

She planned to catch some fish and shrimp.

Although the entire island was only ten square meters in size, that referred only to the exposed part above the water surface.

Just like there is a continental shelf between the mainland and the ocean, there are also shallow banks connecting the island and the water.

The water depth in these shallow banks usually only reaches up to the thighs, but one must be very careful when walking because you never know when a pair of large pincers might extend from under the rocks at the bottom of the water.

“Ahh!”

Suddenly, a sharp scream came from beside her. Qian Yue instinctively turned her head and saw someone getting pinched by a crab while fishing.

“Oh my god, it hurts so much! I’m bleeding!”

That person crawled and rolled back to their own island in a miserable state.

Although the crab was only the size of a palm, those pincers were no joke.

Qian Yue lowered her gaze and thought, “Bleeding and getting wet, it’s probably going to get infected.”

As expected, not long after, that person started shouting at the top of their lungs, “Does anyone have anti-inflammatory medicine and bandages? I’ll trade for something!”

Someone responded, “I have some, what do you want to trade?”

The injured person was about to burst into tears, “Anything, as long as I have it, it’s fine!”

He didn’t pay attention to the patch notes when he entered the instance and mistakenly stocked up on the wrong items. Now he didn’t even have a single potion left.

At the moment, he was suffering from the negative status effects of “Inflammation” and “Bleeding,” and his health was rapidly decreasing.

The other person chuckled, “Alright, three bottles of suppressants.”

Damn!

This person was obviously asking for an exorbitant price!

The injured person was about to explode, but when he thought about his own situation, he could only grit his teeth and agree.

The other person was overjoyed and said, “Wait, I’ll bring it to you.” After speaking, the person plunged into the water happily.

There were originally a few other people around who were also fishing, but after seeing what happened to them, they hesitated.

“Forget it, the water is too dangerous. Let’s go ashore and think of another solution.”

“I don’t have any food on the shore either, and I’m worried…”

“I’m done. I’ve been fishing for half a day and haven’t caught anything substantial. The amount of meat is barely enough to fill a tooth gap.”

The person who spoke last walked angrily toward the shore. However, he accidentally stepped on something and slipped, falling into the water with a loud splash, losing his last bit of catch.

“Damn it! This instance is too difficult! I hope I won’t starve to death tomorrow.”

Upon hearing this, Qian Yue couldn’t help but look down at the bamboo basket around her waist. It was filled with crabs, conches, and shells, almost full.

She couldn’t help but feel a bit puzzled.

Is it… really that difficult?

When Qian Yue first arrived at Ninety-Nine Island, she didn’t know how to fish and was even afraid. After all, she had been sheltered all her life, never even played with mud, let alone flipped crabs in it.

But she had an astonishing adaptability and learned things quickly. It didn’t take long for her to become a well-known fish and shrimp killer among the local children.

For a long time, she and Qian Chi relied on this skill to make a living.

However, perhaps due to refresh limitations in the game, the
shallows near the island were quickly searched by Qian Yue.

“With just these things, it’s not enough to cook two pots…”

She thought for a moment, threw all those things into a water bucket, and then took out the bamboo raft again.

She paddled the bamboo raft towards several other islands, shouting, “I want to discuss something with you regarding your food—”

Before she could finish speaking, the people on the other islands suddenly had an expression change.

The next second, they quickly took out something from their bags and handed it over with both hands, in a synchronized motion!

“You can have these apples!”

“This bunch of bananas is my gift to you!”

“This one…”

The last person hesitated, feeling helpless. There was no food on his island either!

He paused for a second, then reluctantly took out a piece of hard bread from his bag and tremblingly handed it towards Qian Yue.

“You can take this piece of hard bread. I’ll think of something myself!”

Qian Yue, “…”

She just wanted to ask if these people who gave up fishing halfway still wanted to fish. She wanted to borrow a place!

After understanding Qian Yue’s intention, those people immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Qian Yue said, “I’ll take 80% of the fish and shrimp we catch. I’ll leave you with 20%, but you need to prepare your own containers.”

Most of these people had been beaten up by Qian Yue before.

When they saw her coming over, they thought she was going to use force to snatch things. Unexpectedly, Qian Yue voluntarily proposed to share with them as a rent for using the fishing spot.

Someone immediately said she could use it as she pleased.

“I don’t know how to fish either. I’m just fooling around. Instead of staying here, it’s better to go somewhere else before it gets dark.”

The first three days of the instance exists a system protection period. Except for the island owner, no one else can gather materials on the island. Therefore, the other person is not afraid of someone stealing materials and plans to go elsewhere to try their luck.

However, there are also people who are not very willing.

The resources are there, even though they don’t need them personally, they still belong to them in a sense. If they are handed over to someone else, they will instantly lose eighty percent!

“I…”

Qian Yue turned her head to look at him when she heard the voice.

She really just turned her head innocently, but she didn’t expect the other person to suddenly be startled, as if something had scared him, and he shivered instantly.

“I think it’s fine!”

Qian Yue said, “…Thank you, but next time you don’t have to speak so loudly. My ears are still pretty good.”

The person’s face immediately turned red, but only he knew the specific reason.

Qian Yue turned her head to look at the last person.

The person said, “…”

The last person was an unfamiliar girl. Although she didn’t participate in the first round of the deserted island raid, she remembered Qian Yue’s performance quite well.

So she readily agreed as well.

Qian Yue said, “Thanks.”

Surprisingly, Qian Yue was so easy to talk to, which caught the girl off guard. She paused for a moment and then gathered the courage to ask, “Um, my name is Xu Xiaogu… Can I ask you a question?”

Qian Yue asked, “Hmm?”

Xu Xiaogu asked, “Do you know how to use this thing?”

Qian Yue glanced over and found that the other person was referring to the Giant Lotus Leaf.

She did know about it.

However, instead of immediately answering, Qian Yue asked, “If I tell you its purpose, what will you give me?”

Xu Xiaogu thought for a moment and said, “If you tell me its purpose, I won’t ask for your fish and shrimp.”

Qian Yue added a condition, “And give me a specimen of this.”

Compared to the lotus leaves seen in daily life, those lotus leaves were indeed strangely shaped, with all the edges standing upright and turned inward, like a frying pan. They were almost as wide as
Qian Yue’s bamboo raft.

Xu Xiaogu felt that since this thing appeared, it must have a purpose. Qian Yue’s reaction just now made her even more convinced.

“I can give it to you now.” Xu Xiaogu immediately took out a Giant Lotus Leaf from her backpack and handed it to her.

Qian Yue was about to reach out and take it, but at that moment, someone suddenly shouted from the side, “Miss, you are too naive.
You’re just giving it to her like that? Be careful of being deceived!”

Qian Yue turned around at the sound and frowned.

Why was it this greasy bald man again?

After kicking him away before, Qian Yue hadn’t paid any attention to him. But somehow he managed to get a blueprint, and now he was sitting on a dugout canoe, looking quite proud.

Compared to Qian Yue’s bamboo raft, this wooden boat looked much more advanced. Even Xu Xiaogu’s eyes lit up.

Qian Yue remained silent for a moment and suddenly said, “Your boat is quite nice.”

The man heard this and instantly smiled proudly. He had come over specifically to show off, and he sneered, “Weren’t you looking down on me just now—”

Qian Yue calmly added, “But the person sitting on it is bald, ugly, and greasy.”

The bald man’s face instantly changed. Just as he was about to say something, Qian Yue beckoned him with her finger impatiently and said, “Stop blabbering over there. If you have the guts, come over and settle it.”

The bald man remained silent.

His face changed for a moment, and finally, he dryly tried to save face by saying, “A real man doesn’t fight with a woman—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Qian Yue directly picked up a hairy coconut and threw it at him!

“Sorry, it was meant for you.”

The dugout canoe was narrow and long, and if the direction and force were not controlled properly, it would easily capsize. Qian Yue’s coconut hit him directly in the chest, and the man, along with the boat, fell into the water!

“Splash—”

A huge splash of water erupted, causing everyone around to raise their eyebrows and silently mourn for him for three seconds.

Why doesn’t this person ever learn?

Qian Yue dusted off her hands and turned around to see Xu Xiaogu looking at her with a face full of admiration, her eyes shining like stars.

Qian Yue, “…”

She explained, “This is called the Giant Lotus Leaf. It’s no problem for children to sit on it normally. I guess you can pick it and use it as a boat in the instance.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaogu didn’t hesitate and climbed up to try it. Her eyes instantly lit up even more!

“You’re so amazing!”

Qian Yue said, “…Not really.”

Xu Xiaogu said, “No, really! You’re incredibly talented, knowledgeable, and good at fighting!”

Qian Yue felt that something was off but quickly dismissed the young girl with a few words. She then carried her small bamboo basket and busied herself for half an hour.

In the meantime, Qian Yue took the opportunity to go back and harvest some crops, as her backpack was full. She simply piled them up on the island since no one dared to mess with her.

During this process, the crops on the deserted island ripened once again, but this time, everyone refrained from rushing to harvest.

Instead, they subconsciously glanced at Qian Yue to see what she was doing.

They noticed that she was completely absorbed in fishing and showed no intention of landing on the island to collect resources. After realizing this, everyone excitedly rushed onto the island, eagerly rubbing their hands together.

Before the looting even began, a voice suddenly came from a distance.

“Don’t disturb my fish.”

Everyone, “…”

If players from other islands happened to pass by at this time, they would have noticed that there was no scene of intense fighting on this deserted island. Instead, every player was obediently queuing up, creating a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere.

It resembled a group of children sitting in a row, eating their fruits in kindergarten.