Chapter 22: Frost Season, Eighty-Nine Days, Two Days in One
The eighth day of the Frost Period was not much different from the day before. He replenished arrows in the arrow tower, repaired the base's defense value with crystals, and replaced the torches in the traps in the snow and wind.
Then it was time for dinner. Having spent the entire day cooking yesterday, today's meal was all ready-made. Yu Luowei then shipped the braised meat to yesterday's buyers. Since everyone except Zhao Linlang had traded for other items, Yu Luowei withheld a portion and returned the meat once the ingredients arrived. This had been agreed upon yesterday, and the buyers all agreed, allowing Yu Luowei to successfully complete the transactions.
The only difference was the appearance of two level 5 snow monsters, which made it difficult for the arrow tower to deal with them. Yu Luowei used the skill "Lion Soul Flame Slash" while they were advancing under the rain of arrows, and finally killed them and obtained a supply treasure chest (orange).
After two days of constantly using her mental power to condense flaming arrows, Yu Luowei's mental power limit has also increased to 750. Her magic level had been upgraded too quickly before, and she could feel that it would take some time to reach level four. Now it would be good to increase her mental power by other means.
After removing the cherries from the planter box and replacing them with lettuce, Yu Luowei opened the manual. The frost season was about to end, so she only stocked up on down jackets, leaving her stock of flame cloaks unchanged. At eight o'clock in the evening, the system announced the official end of the "Blizzard Villa Event," though the temperature continued to drop at the same rate. Leaderboard rewards would be distributed on the settlement day. Yu Luowei glanced at the leaderboard. Everyone was anonymous, but the number of Yeti kills per rank was visible. Not only was she number one, she was number one by a wide margin, which pleased her immensely.
Suddenly, the sound of the howling wind disappeared, and Yu Luowei felt a little uncomfortable for a moment. This discomfort lasted until the next day.
At daybreak, he glanced out the window. No more Yetis were swarming, only the glowing loot. Luckily, there was no time limit on the loot. Yu Luowei hurried out to collect it. There were sixteen white supply chests, four green supply chests, and two blue supply chests. It looked like a lot, but it was actually the combined drops of six hundred or seven hundred Yetis over two days, so it seemed like very little.
Definitely going out exploring today, Yu Luowei didn't unpack the items right away, but instead placed them in the shelter. The temperature outside had already dropped to around -90 degrees Celsius, so Yu Luowei donned her most insulated outfit—a fall coat, sweater, hurricane suit, down jacket, and flame cloak. She also applied twice as many heat pads as usual. The system's heat pads were more effective than usual, and since the frost season was about to end, she could use up some of these supplies.
To prevent snow blindness, Yu Luowei spent one point on a pair of ordinary sunglasses from the Points Mall before setting off. Today's main goal was to go mining. Before leaving, Yu Luowei ate the last of his cloud pomelo fruit and wind feather grass for breakfast.
Although the wind and snow outside had stopped, the snow on the ground was still there. Yu Luowei had a hard time walking. In the end, he took out a torch and waved it on the ground to melt the snow while continuing to move forward. This efficiency was indeed faster, but it was also much slower than usual when he reached the cave.
Not daring to delay, Yu Luowei fixed the torch on the ground and started digging with a stone hoe as soon as he entered the cave.
The copper ore was mostly yellow, and despite the rather primitive mining methods, it looked similar to what you'd find in a chemistry textbook. Unsure how much installing the circuit would cost, Yu Luowei used up all the durability of his stone hoe in one go, digging 200 pieces and gaining a green treasure chest and some rocks.
On the way back, Yu Luowei felt less anxious and slowed down to admire the snowy scene. She was the only one in the area, and the snow was perfectly smooth. Feeling playful, she took off her cape, quickly laid down on the snow, and posed, leaving her mark. Then, she quickly put it back on. It was a shame she didn't have a phone or camera, or else she would have taken at least a few hundred photos.
The extreme weather meant there were almost no living animals or monsters around. Yu Luowei had hoped the deepest part of the stream wouldn't freeze, but she was disappointed. From shallow to deep, the water turned to ice. She had no choice but to leave the stream.
Although Yu Luowei was dressed warmly, she was still quite cold from this trip. She warmed herself by the blazing bonfire for a while before finally recovering. She threw the copper ore and charcoal into the furnace, changed into her indoor clothes, and first took a hot bath (the water had been boiled beforehand and placed by the bonfire to keep it warm) to warm her muscles before heading downstairs to unpack.
The orange box opened a Thunder Arrow Tower (orange), which is similar to the Flame Arrow Tower, and a trap: the Lightning Launcher (purple), which can be placed on the ground to attack passing monsters. In addition, there is an item upgrade card and 100 Thunder Crystals.
The two blue treasure chests contain electrical appliances, including five socket panels, solar panels, three light bulbs (including switches), a desk lamp and a water heater (including a shower head).
Besides water and various daily necessities, the green and white treasure chests contained, most importantly, a blueprint for copper pipes and wires. Made from copper ingots, they were essential for wiring the shelter. Yu Luowei suspected they came from the treasure chest unearthed from the copper mine. Additionally, there were 48-hour electricity and water cards and a blueprint for a blue-level weapon: the Moon Scythe.
After sorting through her belongings, she focused on the power and water cards. After installing the circuit, the power card could power up to ten appliances at once. The water in the water card was for consumption only, not drinking. There was also the Thunder Arrow Tower. A Flame Arrow Tower could be converted into a Thunder Arrow Tower using 20 Thunder Crystals. However, the arrows had different attributes, so her Flame Arrow couldn't be used in the Thunder Arrow Tower, so she held onto them for now.
After packing up, Yu Luowei took a look at the system's recommended circuit. She'd previously studied mathematics, and physics had always been her worst subject. She figured it would be best to stick with the system's recommendations, lest her own design might result in a short circuit. After a quick look, based on her common sense and her limited physics knowledge, the system's layout seemed reasonable. It required 30 copper pipes and 100 wires, so she decided to proceed accordingly.
One copper ore can be made into a copper pipe or two wires. These wires are buried in the wall and have a special system technology, so no insulation is required.
After learning this information, Yu Luowei ate while waiting for the copper ore to be smelted. Then he gathered the necessary materials, put the remaining copper ore into the bracelet, and began to install the circuit for the shelter.
Halfway through the circuit installation, a virtual blueprint of the shelter, complete with the circuitry, appeared in the manual. Yu Luowei could then choose where to install the socket panels and light bulbs. The socket panels didn't have a specific number of holes; each one was fixed and could connect five appliances simultaneously. Yu Luowei placed one each in the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and two living rooms. He placed two light bulbs on the first floor and one on the second floor, outside the toilet.
After everything was installed, two card slots were added to the shelter's door, labeled water and electricity. Yu Luowei placed the desk lamp next to the bed in her bedroom and also installed the water heater in the bathroom. This water heater was user-friendly, featuring not only a shower head but also a glass door, effectively separating wet and dry areas.
As for the solar panels, they were approximately four square meters in size and could convert solar energy into electricity for the card at a ratio of four hours to one hour per 24 hours. This name was likely simply to align with common sense on Blue Star, as here, the "sun" during the day doesn't rise or set, nor does its brightness vary; it's simply a source of light and warmth. Solar panels could only be attached to the walls of the shelter. Although Yu Luowei couldn't reach the rooftop herself, they could be installed using the shelter's virtual blueprints, so she placed them in a corner of the roof.
The induction cooker he had previously unpacked was also placed in the kitchen. Returning to the first-floor living room, Yu Luowei turned on the lights, and a bright glow instantly enveloped the entire room. Twelve days into the survival game, Yu Luowei finally had a light source besides the survivor's manual and the bonfire fireplace. He could clearly see the entire interior of the shelter at night. It felt like he had suddenly stepped from primitive society into modern society.
It was only eight o'clock, and Yu Luowei posted another message about food processing in the channel, this time including steamed buns.
There were more people who were genuinely looking for her today than yesterday. Yu Luowei finally finalized 12 orders, 8 for braised meat and 4 for steamed buns.
Jin Yu also came to find her, but not to ask her to process food. Instead, he said that a member of the mutual aid group tasted her braised meat yesterday and thought it was delicious, but did not place an order because he was worried that she was a scammer. Now he wants to "hire" her as a full-time mutual aid group chef, and the mutual aid group can provide her with all the ingredients.
Yu Luowei had no interest in the position of "chef", but she still replied to Jin Yu:
[Yu Luowei: Then what kind of compensation can I get? ]
Jin Yu: Since there are so many people in the mutual aid group, if you become one of us, you may be responsible for cooking all day, so we will provide you with unlimited ingredients and drinking water, as well as other props.
He knew that he had to work all day and the reward was still so insignificant. Yu Luowei didn't want to pay attention to him anymore and deleted the message directly.
Having read too many novels, Yu Luowei was worried that Jin Yu would find someone to place an order with her after she refused, and then falsely accuse her of replacing spoiled meat or stealing a small amount. She immediately contacted the eight customers from yesterday and asked about their dining experience. The manual doesn't allow for taking photos, but you can take screenshots of chat logs. You can only delete messages from your message list, not from your logs. The gift log also has a copy, so the image is still a relatively strong piece of evidence. Fortunately, these eight customers later posted positive reviews one after another. Although they were initially just for evidence, Yu Luowei felt a great sense of satisfaction from receiving so many positive reviews.
When Yu Luowei replied to Jin Yu, he had already started processing for the customer. After collecting evidence, Yu Luowei continued to work. When he got the manual again, he saw Fang Min's message:
Fang Min: Ah, Jin Yu is really going too far. Why is he making sarcastic remarks? If he had the guts, he could just do it himself!
Yu Luowei's heart skipped a beat: Did my idea come true so soon? She immediately flipped through Jin Yu's comments:
Jin Yu: Isn't this processing fee a bit too expensive? You can get so much food just by staying in the shelter for a while, so why risk going out? We risk our lives to get this food, and we don't know if it tastes good or if it's a scam. We should think carefully.
Many of the comments below echoed Jin Yu's sentiments, and some were quite insightful:
[Chen Yu: Did you try to get something for free but failed?]
[Majia: What nonsense are you talking about? Jin Yu is the organizer of our mutual aid group, how could he get it for free?]
Fang Min: I think what Shen said is quite right. How can you know what it's like if you haven't tried it? Sour grapes!
Zhao Linlang: I've eaten there. It's even better than a ten-star hotel on Blue Star. I think it's worth it.
Dozens of comments followed. Yu Luowei breathed a sigh of relief. She had known for a long time that Jin Yu wouldn't let this go. This was far better than accusing her of processing food that was poisonous. It was just that Zhao Linlang's praise was a bit too much. None of her twelve customers today had come to her for refunds or anything like that, so she didn't take Jin Yu's words to heart.
After comforting the irritated Fang Min, Yu Luowei shared her concerns with her. Fang Min was very proactive, saying that if Jin Yu really did something like that, she could help post pictures. After thanking Zhao Linlang again, Yu Luowei closed the manual.
Although she had showered when she returned that evening, Yu Luowei, now equipped with a water heater and new, more comprehensive cleaning supplies, used the water card to wash again. To determine the exact nature of the water's undrinkable nature, Yu Luowei scooped a handful of water to her mouth. The moment her hand touched her mouth, the water vanished. After several attempts, Yu Luowei determined that the undrinkability was merely conceptual, not related to contamination.
Yu Luowei unplugged the water card and glanced at the leaderboard before going to sleep. While her other rankings remained unchanged, her overall progress ranking had moved up two places, likely due to her installing the circuit. Anticipating the top-ranking reward, Yu Luowei spent the final night of the Frost Season.
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