Chapter 69: Focusing on attracting wealth and treasures, but not on work...
"That's really expensive," Shen Dixin complained. "Repairing a ship costs 8% of the upgrade materials!"
Although there is a protective shell, it will still wear off eventually due to durability issues. The protective shell can be repaired with white coins, costing thirty white coins each time, which is truly economical.
Two days ago, we collected over 300 white coins on the island. Ten times that should be enough to repair this disaster.
Currently at 3 PM, the ship's durability is 1126/2200, and the hull durability is 926/2000.
At this rate of durability loss, other players would have to repair their ships five times a day. However, ships don't require many materials before level four, so they can barely make ends meet.
Players who hadn't prepared a lot of materials in advance panicked, especially those who bought guides but didn't take them seriously.
Last time, it was the low-level players who were eliminated, but this time, many high-level players also couldn't make it through.
Only half a day has passed, and the slow, insidious nature of the Red Tide allows most players to survive. The number of players in the channel has only dropped by a few dozen, with 10,709 players online.
Chen Dixin kept receiving messages. Three mid-level players came in the middle of the day wanting to sign indentures. All of them had upgraded their ships before the disaster and ended up with only a pittance left.
She sighed and turned them down one by one; there weren't that many supplies.
Hmm... but five times is still worth considering!
AAA Materials Wholesaler Lao Shen: Five times the repayment? You're not kidding, are you?
Qi Mu: Of course, I've calculated it, it's just a little bit short.
Qi Mu came to see her again. Shen Dixin silently looked at the long list that had been sent to her, which accounted for almost one-fifth of all her supplies.
"I won't lend it to you. What if you die?" she replied bluntly. That would be a huge loss; you wouldn't even get back a fraction of what you owed, let alone five times.
Qi Mu's persistent pleading and cajoling failed to sway her, but this incident made her wary, leading her to lower the loan amount.
Each person can only borrow repair fees twice, and the remaining supplies cannot be less than the amount she sets; otherwise, she will lose as much money as she borrows from those who are destitute!
...
In the end, Chen Dixin moved some crops from the coffee shop to take care of, in order to cultivate her mind and body!
As they spent more time together, Shen Dixin discovered that Yuanbao wasn't as docile as she had imagined. In fact, she was particularly persistent when it came to food; as long as she could eat, her energy and efficiency would be at their peak.
"Yuanbao! It's not fully grown yet, don't you dare bite it!"
The rock tortoise pretended not to hear, chewing away at the two pots of tomato seedlings. The tomatoes hadn't even formed yet, and the leaves had already been eaten away.
Shen Dixin has a headache; she's raised two gluttons! It's not like she hasn't fed them enough, yet they insist on gnawing on tender shoots, saying that newly grown ones are the best.
Just as I was about to give it a good beating, seeing that I was angry, Yuanbao immediately shrank back into its shell. I couldn't really break its shell, so I was so angry that my teeth itched.
Fortunately, Zhusha had a way to deal with it. As the elder brother who was two levels higher than it, Zhusha stretched its tentacles along the tortoise shell and Yuanbao became obedient. After a few times, Yuanbao completely submitted to Zhusha's tyranny and became its mount.
However, wanting to eat tender shoots is not a big deal. Seeing that Yuanbao stopped making a fuss, Chen Dixin specially grew five pots of tomatoes for him to eat.
Crops that survive at sea grow quickly; tomatoes grow from planting to harvest in just 12 hours, and the nibbled buds grow back in two hours.
The strategy of giving a slap on the wrist and then a sweet treat worked, and Yuanbao's favorability rating soared to 65, passing the passing mark.
With the Red Tide as an experience booster, Cinnabar's experience can even exceed the limit!
It turns out that the experience gained beyond the limit doesn't disappear completely, but is calculated at a very low rate.
After soaking in water for a day, Zhu Sha gained over 800 experience points, equivalent to two or three days' worth of experience. He leveled up to level four early the next morning.
[Race: Candle Jellyfish]
[Level: 4]
Experience Points: 5000 (Daily cap 400)
[HP: 250/250]
Stamina: 92/130
【Attributes: Constitution 7 (1), Strength 11 (1), Agility 13 (1)】
[Skills: Strike, Intimidation]
[Talent: Concentration: Under the glow of the Candle Jellyfish, stamina recovery speed increases by 5%.]
Loyalty: 91 (It will stand by you through thick and thin, even in life and death.)
Shen Dixin gave it a thumbs up; Zhu Sha's potential is now no less than that of the purple pet!
...
Cook your own crops. After filling the potted plants with pots, Shen Dixin asked Lu Mingang for a pot and made a big vegetable stew!
I stewed it all and fed it to Yuanbao, since it's not picky.
The vegetables in the pot were bubbling away, almost turning into a dark green color just like the sea. Lu Mingang glanced at them by chance and a big question mark popped into his head.
It has such a unique texture that it can actually turn vegetables into a paste.
"Dixin, your vegetables seem... to be melting."
"They're here, they're here."
Shen Dixin hurriedly took the pot off the stove. Before it had even cooled down, Yuanbao came over and ate it in big mouthfuls, not caring at all about the appearance. As for the taste, no human dared to try it for the time being.
There are many people like her who work part-time as farmers and cooks, so they can't last a day before they have to give up both jobs, one lacking seeds and water, and the other lacking ingredients.
The coffee shop has a purple seed-making machine that can produce 3 to 6 sets of seeds from one crop, which is barely enough to meet the planting needs of its own people.
Seed prices have skyrocketed, and coffee has switched from growing all the vegetables to using seeds. Everyone seems to be out of their minds, willing to exchange the price of one crop for two portions of seeds.
You have to understand that farming is not just about burying seeds in the soil and waiting for a harvest. With the water consumed, you can hardly make any profit!
The guide to "Calming the Heart" emphasizes the importance of stockpiling water, so players have made good preparations in this regard. At least there are still people selling water, and the price is less than double.
It's not that they're not smart to do something that loses money; the players are just too aware of the consequences of being idle for a long time, so they'd rather be slaves than stay idle.
Shen Dixin also wanted to get a seed-making machine. This thing might be a loss normally, but now it's a money-printing machine. Unfortunately, it can only be obtained from the farmer's occupational item box.
In the midst of my busy schedule, I received a message from a friend.
Feng Sheng Shui Qi: I encountered a dwarf here, shop owner, do you need a purchasing agent?
Perfect timing! It seems Feng Sheng Shui Qi goes to Dwarf Island frequently, twice in the last two weeks.
She's hoarded a bunch of pearls, but hasn't had a chance to use them yet!
Shen Dixin readily accepted this time and immediately issued an employment contract.
Subsequently, Feng Shengshui received a huge sum of money—more than eighty pearls and more than twenty gemstones of various kinds.
His hand trembled slightly as he clicked to receive the gift; the gems he had painstakingly collected were only a fraction of what he had earned! The difference between people is truly greater than the difference between people and pigs.
Soon, the catalog arrived, and the dwarf, as always, displayed five ornaments: one worth 200,000, one worth 20,000, one worth 5,000, and two worth 2,500 points each.
Feng Sheng Shui Qi is a major customer of the dwarves; he already has the highest-level diamond membership card, which gives him a 6% discount.
According to industry practice, the discounts from membership cards are considered part of the purchasing fee. Because the amount was large, he offered a discount, only charging a 3% commission.
Besides the jewelry, the equipment and minerals that the dwarves brought each time were different. After Shen Dixin bought the jewelry worth 20,000, she also bought a lot of rare minerals and even discovered equipment with special buffs!
【Item Name: Curry's Miner's Helmet】
Item Quality: Blue
【Durability: 500/500】
[Equipment Attributes: Constitution 2; when worn, Strength increases by 10%, Agility decreases by 50%.]
[Equipment Effect: Focus (Increases item crafting success rate by 3%)]
[Item Description: As you know, once you start working, a constant stream of brilliant ideas floods your mind, making it difficult to concentrate, especially when you're doing repetitive physical labor in a dark place.]
A 3% success rate may not seem like much of a boost, but based on the progress reports from Xingtu Wanli from time to time, she estimated that this guy's success rate in making even the simplest accessories was no more than 10%, so this was a significant help.
As expected, when Shen Dixin sent the message, Xingtu Wanli was very excited and said that he would never let down his benefactor's expectations!
Shen Dixin chuckled and teased him.
"You have to pay this back. It's five thousand points. I'll put it on your tab first. Go and work for me now."
The 20,000-point accessory is a bracelet made of yellow agate and tiger's eye. Chen Dixin temporarily removed her Power 2 earrings.
【Item Name: Pixiu Bracelet】
Item Quality: Purple
[Equipment Attributes: Health 60, Strength 2, Constitution 1, Agility 1]
[Equipment Special Effect: Fortune (Receive a 5% discount when trading with "Merchants".)]
[Item Description: Brings in wealth and prosperity, but never lets it out.]
These bracelets, made from simply polished raw stones, seem difficult to produce. Shen Dixin has noticed that they are at least purple grade.
Shen Dixing's demand for jewelry is now nearing saturation, and it's estimated that it will be difficult for her to find a piece that suits her taste in less than ten days to half a month.
All the discarded items, as well as the "cheap" accessories that occasionally produced a few attribute points from the Star Map, were used by Shen Dixin to arm her companions.
Lu Mingang was already wearing a full set of accessories, and the sisters who joined later were also given two pieces each.
Chen Dixin pondered whether he should find a place to systematically train in combat skills. Not to mention the other three, even he himself was a self-taught amateur, confirming that the team was truly a makeshift operation.
Oh, right!
She ran back to her room and rummaged through a wooden box containing valuables, finding a token with a moon-white invitation attached to it.
Chen Dixin placed the token on the bracelet, and after a simple scan, a system prompt popped up.
[Whether the player will travel to Luze Island; estimated distance: three blocks.]
I should go see Yuebai; I hope I won't come back empty-handed.
The distance between the three blocks is not short, so we probably won't be able to get there today.
Before making a decision, Chen Dixin paused for a moment and decided to discuss it with his companions.
She used to acting alone and never thought about taking care of her teammates, which caught them off guard. Now she realizes that even if she had the final say, she should have at least symbolically asked for their opinions.
Unexpectedly, there was a pleasant surprise: the coffee shop posted the same token, which was the pathway to becoming a gardener.
A week has passed, and Coffee, who has been diligently completing his tasks, has just pushed the token to the final stage—going to the island to complete the test. Once he passes, he can change jobs.
The group agreed to accompany Coffee to change jobs first, and then go to Moonlight Island to take a look.
...
The seawater lapped against the boat, and before they knew it, they had reached the dividing line between the two colors.
On the left was a deep green, and on the right was a rippling purple. Lu Mingang stared at the purple sea and complained, "It's unbelievable that there are such colors."
“It’s illogical for us to come here,” Shen Dixin continued, her gaze seemingly trying to pierce through the water’s surface and into its depths.
The cinnabar has disappeared somewhere. Chen Dixin asked it, "How far has the red tide spread underwater?"
Surprisingly, only the top layer, about one or two meters, was affected.
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