As he scavenged, Nan Liujing kept a mental tally, sorting the items into categories. A total of 13 supplies: 4 wooden crates, 2 oak barrels, 2 irregularly shaped pieces of canvas, 1 plastic basin, 3 planks of wood, and 1 small stainless steel basin. They filled the 5 slots in his backpack perfectly.

Every time he picked up an item, Nan Liujing could see its description, but he didn’t have time to read them all right now—collecting supplies was the priority.

It’s worth noting that the wooden crates and oak barrels—which clearly contained goods—were indeed the treasure chests mentioned on the forum. But Nan Liujing didn’t rush to open them. The low tide might not last long, and before the waves returned, he needed to collect those poor, stranded seafood creatures and find them a permanent home.

Like his stomach, for instance.

First were two tiny fish, barely longer than a finger, already gasping for breath as they flopped about on the sand. He couldn’t tell what kind they were—they certainly weren’t the same species—they took up two slots in his backpack.

Nan Liujing frowned. Two such tiny fish taking up two compartments? He might as well take out the plastic basin, scoop in half a basin of seawater, and then place the two little fish inside. This way, the fish’s lives were extended, Nan Liujing saved three compartments, and everyone was happy.

A win-win!

He held the plastic basin and continued searching for other seafood.

Scouring the entire beach for supplies took quite a while—enough time for any creature capable of burrowing into the sand to hide. Some of the quicker ones had already moved to several different burrows, leaving Nan Liujing with nothing but tiny breathing holes and the traces of their movements.

The trailing shape was definitely left by an octopus. This was relatively easy to find, as mollusks don’t dig very deep, making it easy to spot their tracks. Nan Liujing easily found three small octopuses and lifted them up by their round heads. Two of them fought back, squirting him with black ink, while the third was a fighter, swinging its eight tentacles to wrap around Nan Liujing’s arms—he couldn’t pry them loose no matter how hard he tried.

Nan Liujing wrestled with them for quite a while before finally managing to toss them into a plastic basin.

Next, Nan Liujing found two crabs. One was only as big as the tip of his little finger, so he tossed it straight back into the sea. The other was about the size of a fist, so he placed it in a small stainless steel basin.

He didn’t dare put it in the plastic basin, fearing a tragedy where “your ingredients end up eating each other.”

He also didn’t dare put them in his backpack, worried that the lack of air would suffocate the crabs. Crabs who’ve been dead for too long, after all, are inedible. He continued bending over to search, this time focusing specifically on breathing holes.

There’s a trick to spotting breathing holes: those with dot-like marks around the edges are likely left by water sprayed from shellfish hiding beneath, making it more likely there’s something underneath.

Nan Liujing had been binge-watching tide-pooling videos online and felt he’d “learned to sing even if he couldn’t compose poetry.” Full of confidence, he began digging. However, after digging up two in a row, they were both empty.

Nan Liujing reflected on his approach; this must be a problem with his equipment. Everyone else who goes shellfishing brings a small shovel and can dig right to the target in just a couple of strokes. He only had his bare hands, so no matter how hard he dug, he was slow. By the time he reached the bottom, the shellfish had already scurried away.

“This isn’t my fault!” Sighing, Nan Liujing got up from the ground, rubbed his knees, and patted his lower back.

Shellfishing was quite a grind—constantly bending over and kneeling to dig. Not only were his hands and pants covered in wet, muddy sand, but his whole body ached.

He pulled out his tablet to check. No wonder—his stamina had dropped to 80/100. Had he already lost 20 stamina points? He didn’t feel like he’d done much of anything yet.

He stood up to stretch, took a short break, and then, still feeling defiant, tackled two more breathing holes. This time, he managed to succeed with one, digging out a cat’s eye snail the size of his palm. The moment he pulled it out of the sand, it flared its mantle and sprayed a torrent of seawater, then slowly contracted it back into its shell.

“Not bad. At least I got something.”

He tossed the cat’s eye snail into a plastic basin and looked up—the waves were rolling back in.

The low tide lasted exactly one hour, from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m.—quite punctual. Nan Liujing noted these two times, then carried the two buckets up onto the shore.

He’d been pulled into the game by the system at six in the morning, so naturally, he hadn’t had breakfast yet. But for young people these days, skipping breakfast is pretty normal. Right now, Nan Liujing felt a bit hungry, but he could still manage.

Besides, he only had two basins of seafood on hand, and if he wanted a proper meal, he’d have to figure out how to start a fire. The option of rubbing sticks together to make fire was ruled out from the start—the planks that had washed ashore from the sea were completely soaked, so he couldn’t get a spark to ignite.

But he could worry about that later—right now was the fun part: opening the boxes! Bang, bang, bang, bang!

He pulled four wooden crates out of his backpack, one after another, setting them down on the ground, followed by two plump oak barrels.

Nan Liujing made a special trip to the beach to wash his hands, then ran back, stumbling along the way, and bowed reverently toward the tablet.

“May the System bless me and give me some good loot. Your game is just so much fun! I’ll give you a five-star review!” Nan Liujing said, spouting nonsense without batting an eye.

This man lies as naturally as he breathes.

He took a deep breath, gently cupped the lid of the wooden crate, and lifted it upward with all his strength. Open!

A flash of white light seemed to flicker before his eyes. Nan Liujing held his breath and hurriedly leaned in to look. Inside the wooden crate, three items lay quietly on display.

A pair of stainless steel chopsticks, wrapped in plastic. A bundle of hemp rope, miraculously untouched by water. A rolled-up parchment.

Without hesitation, Nan Liujing picked up the parchment first—this was bound to be something valuable. Unfolding it, he was proven right.

【Mailbox Construction Blueprint】

【A blueprint detailing how to construct a mailbox. Please tear it open to use.】

“Tear it? This is parchment, right?” Nan Liujing tore it half-heartedly, barely applying any force, yet the parchment split into two halves with incredible smoothness in his hands.

The torn parchment turned into a flash of white light and, without warning, shot straight into Nan Liujing’s eyes. Taken completely by surprise, Nan Liujing jerked his head back: “Holy crap!”

“That’s just rude—not even a heads-up? Just forcing it on me!”

After the white light vanished, Nan Liujing’s body showed no changes, nor did he experience a “sudden epiphany, understanding how to craft XX.” Instead, the tablet emitted a “ding.”

Picking up the tablet, Nan Liujing was unsurprised to find a blueprint already waiting in the 【Construction】 menu.

【Mailbox】

【Category: Architecture】

【A mailbox that can receive letters.】

【Crafting Materials: Wooden Planks x3, Iron Nails x4.】

Seeing this, Nan Liujing suddenly remembered something and hurriedly tapped on 【Backpack】, where he saw several supplies quietly resting in the slots. He had noticed this before—he could view item information—but at the time, he had been too busy gathering supplies to look closely.

For example, the wooden crate’s item description read:

【Wooden Crate】

【The most common driftwood chest found at sea; it may contain some useful items.】 The oak barrel is also classified as a treasure chest.

【Oak Barrel】

【A relatively common drifting treasure chest at sea. It’s well-sealed, and you can sometimes find well-preserved liquids inside.】 The same applies to other supplies.

【Wet Plank】

【The most common resource at sea, originating from shipwrecks. It is in relatively good condition and can be turned into planks after drying for 3 hours.】

【Plank】

【One of the most common basic materials at sea, used as a raw material for crafting.】

【Soaked Canvas Scraps】

【A relatively common resource at sea, sourced from shipwrecks. These fragments are in relatively good condition and can be turned into canvas scraps after 1.5 hours of drying.】

【Canvas Scraps】

【One of the most common basic materials at sea, used as a raw material for crafting.】

Nan Liujing took several items that needed drying out of his backpack and scattered them all over the floor with a clatter. The weather today was sunny and breezy, so it was a good day to try drying them out. Sure enough, small countdown timers appeared above each of them.

Seeing that this worked, Nan Liujing left them be and continued unpacking.

The second wooden crate contained a pair of thick cotton gloves, a pair of quick-dry pants, and a pair of rain boots. Nan Liujing immediately took off his soaked jeans and sneakers, put on the new pants, slipped into the rain boots, and tucked the pant legs into the boot shafts.

Now he looked more like a beachcomber.

Nan Liujing patted his pants with satisfaction, then moved on to the next one. When the third wooden crate was opened, Nan Liujing’s eyes lit up.

Two sealed packages of whole-wheat bread, a bottle of purified water, and a small knife.

“Oh, this is great.” Nan Liujing reached for the knife.

The knife’s handle was slightly longer than the blade. The short blade was triangular in shape, with a wide gap at the tip—it practically screamed “sharp” from every angle.

【stainless steel oyster knife】

【A small knife designed specifically for shellfish, making it easy to shuck oysters.】

“With this, plus the gloves I opened earlier, I can head to the reef area this afternoon to give it a try.”

Nan Liujing put the knife away with satisfaction and picked up the whole-wheat bread.

Each loaf weighed 400 grams, and there were two in the box. If he rationed them, they could last for two or three meals; if paired with other foods, they would go even further.

Carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and salt—a person needs all of these to live a healthy life. Especially in Nan Liujing’s current situation, he urgently needs these nutrients to replenish his strength.

Not to mention water—the source of life, after all.

Nan Liujing stowed the precious food and water supplies in his backpack; he wouldn’t feel at ease keeping them anywhere else.

With only one wooden crate left, Nan Liujing rubbed his hands together and opened it with great care.

Another flash of white light.

Nan Liujing slumped his shoulders in disappointment. As expected, even if he tried to curry favor with the game, he couldn’t get a guaranteed gold drop. 

Inside the box was a pack of disposable underwear, a T-shirt, and a stack of three canvas scraps.

“Well, at least I have a change of clothes.”

After changing into the fresh clothes, Nan Liujing transferred all the items into a wooden crate, then stared at the other three empty boxes: “Since this is a game, can these treasure chests be dismantled?”

Upon closer inspection, it turned out they could.

One wooden crate could be dismantled into 2 planks and 2 nails. Nan Liujing dismantled all three wooden crates in one go. “Now I have all the materials I need to build a mailbox.”

Although it seemed pretty useless—who would send mail to someone living on a deserted island?—Nan Liujing still decided to build the mailbox. After all, it was the first blueprint he’d obtained, and besides, he didn’t have anything else to do right now.

Besides, he was really curious about the game’s building features.

After stowing the materials in his backpack, the mailbox blueprint lit up in the crafting menu. Nan Liujing tapped it lightly, and a small window popped up.

【Do you want to craft the mailbox?】

【Yes】 【Let me think about it】

“What’s there to think about? Let’s do it!” Nan Liujing tapped it firmly. The next second, the corresponding materials vanished from his backpack, replaced by the silhouette of a mailbox appearing on the island map in the construction interface.

It was the simplest kind of mailbox: a long wooden pole standing on a base, topped with a square box. The front opened like a small door, used for sending and receiving letters.

The only thing worth noting was that its square top was painted a bright red, making it stand out.

【Please select a placement location.】

Nan Liujing moved the mailbox’s silhouette, casually placing it in the lower-right center of the island. If he were to obtain a house blueprint in the future, he planned to build the house right in the center of the island, which happened to be the highest point on the island.

In that case, the mailbox would naturally stand just to the right of the front door—a very logical layout.

That’s just how Nan Liujing plays games—he likes to think three steps ahead. If he can prepare in advance, he won’t have to scramble at the last minute. 

A flash of light, and a mailbox appeared on the island, looking exactly like the phantom.

Nan Liujing ran over and circled the mailbox, marveling at it for a moment. He opened the little door and peeked inside—sure enough, it was empty.

If things go as expected, this thing is just a decoration—probably something that boosts comfort or something like that, though Nan Liujing isn’t sure if the game even has that metric.

After finishing the mailbox, he had a total of 5 wooden planks, 5 canvas scraps, and 2 iron nails, including the materials he was holding and those still drying. Other supplies included 1 hemp rope, 1 oyster knife, 10 disposable underwear, 1 pair of stainless steel chopsticks, and 1 pair of cotton gloves.

Food and water supplies included 2 whole-grain loaves, 1 bottle of purified water, 2 small fish, 3 small octopuses, 1 crab, and 1 cat’s eye snail. He also had 1 dirty hoodie, 1 pair of soaked sweatpants, and 1 pair of soaked sneakers to replace.

These can be washed and used as spare clothes.

The only problem is that Nan Liujing currently has to wash clothes with seawater, which will significantly shorten their lifespan, and salt particles may remain after drying.

But in these extraordinary times, he’ll have to make do.

The inventory check is complete, but Nan Liujing still has two unopened oak barrels. Nan Liujing went to wash his hands again.