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8:00 a.m. sharp.

The waves receded right on time, leaving only a few scattered items on the beach. As far as the eye could see, there were only two wet planks of wood, a tattered fishing net, and a wooden crate.

And right on top of that wooden crate, a translucent jellyfish was lying. Not counting its tentacles, this jellyfish was as big as a millstone, completely enveloping the wooden crate. If it weren’t for the fact that its body was colorless, no one would have been able to spot the treasure chest beneath it.

Nan Liujing stood silently on the shore, seemingly having lost all strength and means.

Is this all the resources the first low tide after the tutorial day has to offer?

“No, no. Maybe supplies are just scarce here; the real bounty lies elsewhere,” Nan Liujing muttered to himself, trying to reassure himself. After all, he had a stretch of beach that circled half the island; there were surely more supplies beyond the reach of his eyes.

With that thought, he hurried along the boundary between the land and the beach, quickly reaching the easternmost point—the edge where the beach met the reef area. As he walked, he scanned the area and spotted a few empty plastic bottles scattered on the sand, along with a fragment of canvas.

Nan Liujing frowned, turned around, and walked to the westernmost edge, where he spotted a conch shell about the size of that jellyfish. After carefully scanning the entire beach with his eyes, he was even more disappointed.

“Surely I can’t be the only one having this problem?” Nan Liujing pulled out his tablet, half-convinced, and found the forum was also flooded with complaints about the sudden drop in resources. Some players even reported that giant crabs had washed up on their beaches and were frantically asking how to deal with them.

Seeing this, Nan Liujing realized he wasn’t just unlucky—in fact, he was actually one of the luckier ones. After all, although two giant marine creatures had washed up on his island, fortunately neither had legs. The jellyfish had sprouted tens of thousands of tentacles, but not a single one could support it on land. The conch could move, but it had no means of attack and lacked the terrifying claws of a crab.

Nan Liujing let out a long sigh: “Heartbreaking, truly heartbreaking…” He hadn’t expected the normal drop rates for supplies in this game to be so low. 

Thinking of the drop rates, he quickly glanced back at the reef area. Alas, it hadn’t been refreshed yet. The oysters and purple mussels he’d cleared away probably grow back for at least ten days or half a month.

Back on the beach, the giant jellyfish looked a bit wilted. This thing simply couldn’t survive out of water; once beached, it could only lie motionless, waiting to die or for the tide to return and carry it away. Calling this pathetic, lifeless state “voluntary landing” was a gross exaggeration; “forced stranding” was more accurate.

Given that, Nan Liujing didn’t pay it much mind. He went down to the beach to gather the remaining supplies, sweeping from one end to the other, and in the end, he only managed to collect 2 planks, 1 piece of canvas, 1 torn fishing net, and 8 empty bottles.

The scarcity of resources was enough to bring a tear to one’s eye.

The only wooden crate, however, was pinned beneath the jellyfish. Nan Liujing stood at a distance, not too close nor too far, his eyes fixed on the crate as he stroked his chin lightly: “What am I going to do about this…”

The jellyfish lay motionless, showing no reaction whatsoever, as if dead. But Nan Liujing didn’t dare approach it recklessly.

He had common sense and knew that most jellyfish in the ocean were poisonous, some even carrying terrifying neurotoxins. Not only would an accidental sting be excruciatingly painful, but it could also be life-threatening.

On this deserted island, where would he find a hospital or a doctor to save him?

That’s why, when he went to gather supplies earlier, he had carefully circled around this giant jellyfish on his way back and forth.

“I can’t just leave it here like this.”

Low tide only lasts an hour—who knows whether death or the incoming tide would strike first? If the tide came first, the giant jellyfish would be swept away along with the wooden crate.

No way. Nan Liujing’s haul this morning was already meager enough; he absolutely can’t afford to lose another crate. Shaking his head, Nan Liujing had no choice but to scramble at the last minute and head to the trading zone to search by keyword.

He needed a long tool that would let him remove the creature without touching the jellyfish. Or, changing his approach, buying a full-body protective suit wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Which one to buy would depend on which was cheaper. Nan Liujing wasn’t picky. After a quick search, he soon narrowed it down to three items.

【Wooden Spear: Requires 2 Wooden Planks and 1 random basic material. Lowest price available; the 2 Wooden Planks are included in the cost.】

【Clothesline pole, washed ashore by the sea, approx. 1m long, exchange for any basic material x1.】

【Disposable Protective Suit: Has a palm-sized tear on the back; front is undamaged. Exchanges for food with a long shelf life, at least 200g.】

The damaged protective suit that requires food in exchange was the first to be ruled out. The remaining two serve similar purposes, but one mandates 2 wooden planks, while the other has no restrictions.

Faced with the task of building a makeshift shelter, Nan Liujing naturally didn’t want to use up his wooden planks, but the clothesline was a bit too short for him; trying to use it to push the jellyfish aside still carried the risk of accidentally touching it.

After thinking it over, Nan Liujing accessed the trade information for wooden spears and sent a private message to the seller.

Unknown Island – Nan Liujing: Hello, how long is the wooden spear?

The reply came quickly.

【Wind Fire Island – Li Zhen: How should I know? I don’t have a tape measure on hand. But it’s definitely over two meters.】

【Wind Fire Island – Li Zhen: 【Photo of a middle-aged man with a wooden spear】 I’m 1.8 meters tall, and this spear is at least two heads taller than me!】

Nan Liujing opened the photo and saw that this Li Zhen had a rather long face. If his height wasn’t exaggerated, the spear must be at least 350 cm.

That’s plenty.

“Now I’ll have to use up some wooden planks.” Nan Liujing felt a twinge of regret, but compared to the planks, he needed the chest more. Not only might it contain useful blueprints and supplies, but once he dismantled the wooden crate, the planks he’d spent would be returned, along with two iron nails.

Regardless of the profit, he certainly wouldn’t lose out.

Exchanging two planks and a canvas scrap for a wooden spear, Nan Liujing felt its weight in his hands. He weighed it in his palms a couple of times and made a few upward thrusting motions in the air, finding it a bit unwieldy.

That was only natural; he’d never used a spear before, and he hadn’t been on the javelin team in school either.

But no one was asking him to fight anyone with this wooden spear anyway. If it didn’t feel right, so be it—as long as it was serviceable.

Nan Liujing turned to the giant jellyfish. After a moment’s thought, he pointed the spearhead toward himself and instead used the blunt, rounded shaft to nudge the jellyfish.

Jellyfish are such fragile creatures; they’re easily torn by sharp objects. Since he was going to spear it anyway, Nan Liujing decided to go the extra mile and just toss it back into the sea. That way, when he went foraging later, he wouldn’t have such a large, venomous creature lying limp beside him, where a simple misstep could lead to an accident.

As for keeping it for himself? Nan Liujing had actually considered it, but ultimately decided against it.

On Earth, there are roughly 200 species of jellyfish worldwide, but only about 10 of them are edible to humans. Even those 10 require complex processing and preparation before consumption; otherwise, a single misstep could lead to poisoning or bacterial infection.

Nan Liujing couldn’t confirm whether this jellyfish was edible, nor did he have the means to process it. Most importantly, even if it were processed jellyfish—or sea jelly—he had no intention of stockpiling it. This ingredient was absurdly low in calories, completely at odds with the high-fat, high-salt, high-calorie “apocalyptic aesthetic,” making it a terrible investment for stockpiling.

All things considered, this thing was a complete waste of space; it would be best to return it to the sea as soon as possible.

He thrust the wooden handle into the gap between the sand and the jellyfish, driving it all the way to the center. Nan Liujing gathered his strength, exerting force with both his arm and wrist simultaneously, and finally managed to lift the entire jellyfish out of the sand, its tentacles limping on the ground. The creature was massive; though it had hardly any meat, it was filled with seawater and was surprisingly heavy.

Nan Liujing’s arms trembled slightly, and he held his breath until his face turned red. Daring not to delay for a moment, he hurried a few steps toward the shore, engaged his core, used his hips to drive his thighs, and with a powerful twist of his body, successfully flung the jellyfish back into the sea.

With a loud splash, the limp jellyfish on the shore immediately unfurled all its tentacles the moment it touched the seawater. After a few waves, and the jellyfish swam out into the deep sea, disappearing from sight.

【Saved 1 marine creature. The ocean remembers your kindness. Ocean Friendliness: 1.】

Nan Liujing was taken aback: “What? Is that even possible?”

What is this “Ocean Friendliness” setting, and what does it do?

Putting these questions aside for now, Nan Liujing hurriedly packed up the treasure chest and began today’s tide-pooling.

He couldn’t count on the reef area; now, the twice-daily low-tide periods were his most crucial window for gathering food, and he couldn’t afford to waste a single second.

As for the giant conch on the western beach—heavy, shelled, and still moving—Nan Liujing couldn’t think of a way to handle it, so he simply gave up and walked around it. Let it stay there; the waves would carry it away in an hour anyway.

After digging feverishly for over forty minutes, the tide began to rise. Nan Liujing ran back to shore before the water reached his ankles and took stock of his haul.

Clams x85, cat’s eye snails x4—enough to cook up with what he’d dug up last night for a combined breakfast-lunch. Kelp x3—as usual, he’d boil it and then dry it in the sun.

Wooden crate x1. Nan Liujing had long since lost his reverence for the occult, so he opened it without hesitation. A flash of blue light caught his eye, and his eyes widened.

“Could it be a rare drop? If the quantity’s lacking, maybe the quality makes up for it?” He immediately rushed to the chest and spotted the parchment scroll inside at a glance. Blueprints!

【Basic Farmhouse Construction Blueprint】

【A Basic Farmhouse construction blueprint detailing how to construct a Basic Farmhouse. Please tear it open to use.】

【Basic Farmhouse】

【Category: Architecture】

【A small farmhouse with an all-wooden structure, with fabric stuffed into the gaps to provide some insulation and wind protection.】

【This building is an agriculture-specialized shelter. Upon construction, the user gains the “Small Harvest” and “Animal Friend” effects.】 

【Small Harvest: Crop growth speed is slightly increased, and the quantity of crops harvested is slightly increased.】

【Friend of Animals: Domesticated animals become more affectionate toward you, and the probability of obtaining high-quality products increases slightly.】

【Crafting Materials: Wooden Planks x80, Canvas Scraps x30, Palm Leaves x50, Iron Nails x50.】

“Basic Farmhouse… This looks like an upgraded version of the Simple Shelter.” Nan Liujing pondered for a moment, then quickly dismissed the idea. “No, wait. Literally speaking, the upgraded version of the Simple Shelter should be the Basic Shelter. Plus, this blueprint clearly states that this is an agriculture-specialized shelter, so is this… a hidden variant?”

“In any case, the Basic Farmhouse is definitely better than the Simple Shelter.”

Setting aside those two special effects, just looking at the description, the structure itself seems far superior to a Basic Shelter. On the other hand, the materials required to craft a Basic Farmhouse are truly extensive.

Holding the blueprint, Nan Liujing found himself torn: “Should I start with the Simple Shelter and upgrade step by step, or build the Basic Farmhouse right away and get it done in one go?”

Both options had their pros and cons.

If he chose the Simple Shelter, Nan Liujing was confident he could finish building it today and move in comfortably tonight without worrying about the wave of marine creatures that would attack at night.

But if he chose the basic farmhouse, Nan Liujing likely wouldn’t be able to gather all the materials within a day or two, forcing him to sleep out in the open for a few more nights. If, during that time, he happened to run into marine creatures like giant crabs or lobsters coming ashore, he’d be in deep trouble.

From this perspective, choosing the Simple Shelter is clearly the safer and more stable option. However, Nan Liujing couldn’t help but think, “But…”

After the tutorial day, gathering supplies becomes much harder. If he chose the Simple Shelter, who knows how long it would take to gather all the materials for the Basic Farmhouse. Having a high-level blueprint in his hands but being unable to use it for so long—that feeling was driving Nan Liujing crazy.

Moreover, building the Basic Farmhouse right away would save him the materials needed for a Simple Shelter. And for a long time afterward, he wouldn’t have to worry about the shelter’s safety.

“Or maybe I should take a chance?” Tearing open the blueprint, Nan Liujing said to himself, “I’ll focus on building a basic farmhouse first and gather as many materials as I can. Then I’ll see what kind of sea creatures appear on the beach when the tide goes out tonight.”

If high-risk creatures like giant crabs appeared, he would immediately build a Simple Shelter; otherwise, he would wait a little longer.

“If no high-risk marine creatures show up today, tomorrow, or the day after, then fate must be telling me to just go ahead and build the Basic Farmhouse.”

“Come to think of it, first I snagged poor-quality farmland for free, and now a Basic Farmhouse. Is fate trying to tell me something?”

Hinting at what? *Crossing Over: Farming for Survival in a Game*?