Chapter 20 Natural Disaster 8

Chapter 20 Natural Disasters: Part 8

On the other side, Su Han was very curious. "Why go through all this trouble just to get some wood?"

Zhong Rui shot back with a question. "And you, why do you want it?"

Su Han deliberately lowered her voice. "Of course, because I suspect they might come in handy in the next few days."

"Same," Zhong Rui said indifferently. "Speaking of natural disasters, the most common are snowstorms, storms, and high temperatures. Now that we have the chance, of course, we should stock up on some wood, just in case."

Su Han thought to herself, no wonder neither of them would give an inch—they had both considered this possibility.

The two of them put in a lot of effort to transport the wood back to the inn. When they returned, the other three were having a meal.

"You're back?" Cai Cheng greeted warmly. "Come over, there's lunch. Three buns each—you can choose from corn buns, white flour buns, or rye buns."

Su Han took a closer look and found that the buns were as big as an adult's fist; they looked hearty and filling.

Buns: Restores 20 satiety points when consumed.

Su Han walked over, casually picked three corn buns, and started munching. From morning till now, she had expended a lot of energy. Both her satiety and cleanliness had dropped by more than 30 points.

Beside her, Fan Wanyu chatted with Xiao Fang. "The transport ship hasn't come for ten days—it's downright bizarre. Who knows how much longer this mess will go on!"

"Who says it isn’t?" Xiao Fang sighed. "After this meal, who knows where the next one will come from."

"We might have to chop wood this afternoon," Fan Wanyu looked at her hands, suddenly feeling a pang of self-pity.

Su Han cleared her throat and proposed earnestly. "I say, how about we burn the trees this afternoon?"

Fan Wanyu gasped. "Have you lost your mind?!"

"The person in charge only told us to clear the trees, not how to do it," Su Han said calmly.

"Didn't he give us axes?" Xiao Fang questioned.

Su Han looked back innocently. "What if he wasn’t thinking clearly and didn't consider burning the trees as an option?"

Xiao Fang was at a loss for words.

Cai Cheng felt a bit uneasy. "What if it causes a big fire?"

Before Su Han could answer, Zhong Rui stepped in. "Get two people to stand by with hoses and keep an eye on things. If anything goes wrong, immediately put out the fire. Nothing will happen."

Some areas had already run out of water, but luckily, their area was unaffected and could still use water normally.

"Since there’s no rule against it, let’s give it a shot on one tree," Su Han was eager to try.

Cai Cheng was surprised to find himself actually convinced. He hesitated. "Well... should we give it a go?"

With three out of five already in agreement, Fan Wanyu and Xiao Fang lost their voting rights. And so, the great tree-burning experiment officially kicked off.

Zhong Rui scattered some kindling around the tree to aid the burning. Su Han pulled out a lighter and began setting fires all around. The other three stood by with hoses, ready to douse any flames at a moment’s notice.

As it turned out, burning the tree went a lot smoother than they’d anticipated. Surrounded by numerous flammable materials, the big tree easily caught fire. Every now and then, sparks would fly off nearby, and the fire-watchers would immediately spray them down.

Twenty minutes later, the tree was completely burned. The system announced, "Clearing progress +2%, current total progress 30.6%."

"It works," Su Han felt a surge of energy.

The supervisor appeared at the opportune moment. He had just begun to say, “Next…” when Zhong Rui cut him off abruptly.

Zhong Rui stated firmly, “Please leave the task of clearing the trees to us.”

Burning the trees was straightforward; all it required was some preparatory work, and then they could simply wait for the fire to burn out. Clearing the trees would significantly boost progress, so he wanted to take over the task of clearing them.

Considering the efficiency of the five-person team, the supervisor nodded in agreement.

So, the five of them started setting fires to burn the trees all over, and the progress increased rapidly.

“Clearing progress +2%, current total progress 37.9%.”

“Clearing progress +2%, current total progress 42.3%.”

“Clearing progress +2%, current total progress 48%.”

…

By 5 PM, all the obstructing trees had been cleared, and the total progress had just reached 60.1%. There was still a long way to go before reaching the 70% threshold to avoid triggering a debuff.

Su Han felt resigned, “Only by banding together do we stand a chance. Relying on just one or two people won’t make a difference.”

After all, no one is born to save the world.

Zhong Rui, on the other hand, took it in stride, “It’s just a minor debuff, nothing serious.”

Su Han considered it and agreed, so she let it go.

To her surprise, at exactly 9 AM the next day, the system's robotic voice announced, “Clearing progress 64.3%, triggering a low-level debuff—the island’s ecosystem has been compromised, all island residents lose 15 stamina points each day.”

Su Han was taken aback. A low-level debuff, and it takes away 15 stamina points every day! What would a moderate debuff look like?

Even though her stamina cap was 220, and 15 didn't seem like a lot, for most level-one players, their full stamina was just 100, meaning they'd only last 6 days. Not to mention other debuffs constantly sapping their stamina.

Su Han figured that if players didn't level up to level two soon, they wouldn’t make it.

The bad news kept coming. The system continued to announce, “On the 11th day, a cold wave hits, and the temperature plummets below zero. Those who are less hardy might get frostbite. (Those with stamina >80 will gain immunity.)”

Su Han, “…”

At this moment, her mood was on the verge of collapse.

When they first entered the instance, the island had a typical beach climate. Not only was the temperature comfortable, but there was also a gentle breeze, making short sleeves just right.

Now that the system announced a cold wave, she felt the indoor temperature drop instantly. She had originally changed to a camel wool blanket, worrying it might be too much, but now she only regretted not stocking up enough winter supplies!

Su Han thought, her face blank. She had expected just wind and rain with a sudden drop in temperature. She never expected the system to play such an unusual card, instantly dropping the temperature below zero!

As for level-one players with a full stamina of 100, losing 15 daily, unless they had stockpiled a lot of medicine, they couldn’t gain immunity or anything. She was too tired to complain. Everyone was on their own; in times of crisis, no one could look out for anyone else.

Su Han wrapped herself in the blanket and tried opening the window. Immediately, a biting cold wind blew through, instantly waking her up.

She shut the window quickly and faced the truth—in her current condition, going outside was out of the question.

There was a knock on the door.

Su Han armed herself, wrapped in the blanket, and went to open the door.

Opening the door, she saw it was Santa Claus. Zhong Rui had come to deliver gifts: quilts, snow boots, cotton pants, down jackets, scarves, hats, and gloves—everything they needed.

"Do you need them? I can give them to you for free," Zhong Rui said magnanimously.

"Why?" Although she was freezing, Su Han pursed her lips, reluctant to take them without a second thought. With sufficient medicine, she could survive alone, though it would be a struggle...

Zhong Rui explained carefully, "You should know that I scored a hefty haul from gold jewelry in the last instance. After entering the second instance, I cashed in the gold and got a lot of money. For me, these things are nothing."

At a rate of 200 shells per gram of pure gold, the total cost of these winter supplies was no more than 1,000 shells, or 5 grams of gold. In terms of the prices in the beginner instance, it was equivalent to a candle or a bottle of mineral water.

"To be honest, it might be nothing to you, but that's not a reason to give them to me for free," Su Han insisted.

Zhong Rui said seriously, "I hope you can become my teammate."

"Why?" Su Han was puzzled. She just wanted to play the game quietly by herself.

"As the game goes on, it becomes harder to survive alone. I'm not discriminating against anyone; it's just the reality. For example, if a group of robbers breaks in, no matter how strong you are, you can't fight them all off alone," Zhong Rui explained carefully.

"We haven't interacted much, but I can tell you're strong and trustworthy. With you as a teammate, I can trust you to watch my back without worrying about betrayal."

"These winter supplies are a token of goodwill. Whether to accept them or not is up to you."

Su Han rubbed the goosebumps on her arms and decided to give in. But she chose another way to repay him. "I don't know how the system matches players, so we might not meet again in the game. I can only promise that if we do, we won't end up on opposite sides. If you run into trouble, I'll do my best to help."

"I know you have money and supplies; you're not short on anything. But the information I have is valuable and should be enough to repay you."

Then, Su Han told Zhong Rui how to use the Portable Storage to expand the storage capacity.

After a long silence, Zhong Rui finally admitted, "That's a unique idea." It could be a huge help, as he was troubled by the variety of items he had to stockpile.

"There are also those who stockpile essentials," Su Han said, taking the winter gear without hesitation and quickly arming herself.

Without realizing it, the relationship between the two grew closer.

Zhong Rui suddenly said, "I know you can earn money by taking on jobs in the game, but it's not necessary. In the later stages of the game, you can exchange food and essentials for gold jewelry, gems, and currency. Then, at the start of the next instance, you can sell the jewelry and gems at a low price for quick cash and stock up on supplies."

Su Han had an epiphany. Gold and jewelry couldn't be eaten. In the later stages of the game, a bar of soap or a piece of rye bread could easily be exchanged for valuable items.

And in the early days of the next instance, the situation would be relatively stable. By cashing in valuable items, you could immediately have a lot of money.

But...

"Why are you telling me this?" Su Han asked with a hint of exasperation. This way, wasn't it like they were exchanging information? The winter supplies were still free.

Zhong Rui said solemnly, "Let's call it a favor for now. Maybe after owing you for a long time, you'll change your mind."

Without waiting for a refusal, he left on his own.

Su Han thought to herself, this guy was really cunning. For someone like her, owing a favor was scarier than being robbed.

Author's note: Zhong Rui (seriously): I can tell you're a good person and reliable.

Su Han (expressionless): But I don't trust you.

Zhong Rui: QAQ

**

In this survival game, trees can be chopped and burned.