Fresh Fruit Island is littered with supplies—they’re everywhere you look. But Nan Liujing didn’t rush in to collect them recklessly. His stamina and backpack slots are limited; if he picked up everything he saw, wouldn’t he be in trouble if he came across something better later on?

Besides, he had a full 10 hours to explore. He could easily take a quick tour of the island first to see what supplies were available before making any decisions.

“There are coconuts on the beach, along with a few palm trees. I can collect coconuts and palm fronds.” As for the coconut crabs, Nan Liujing ignored them—crabs don’t keep well, and he didn’t want to make canned crab meat again.

Walking past the beach and into the grassy area, he startled two sparrows into flight. Nan Liujing’s gaze followed the plump little sparrows toward the woods, where he first spotted a large expanse of tall shrubs.

These bushes stood over a person’s height, laden with red berries. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were raspberries.

Nan Liujing frowned: “If the rule is that picking one berry costs 1 stamina point, then picking berries isn’t worth it at all. Why is the game set up this way?”

“If both cost 1 stamina point—a coconut and a berry—anyone with half a brain knows which one to pick.”

Nan Liujing was somewhat skeptical; he simply couldn’t understand the point of the game’s design and couldn’t resist reaching out to pluck two raspberries. Under the effect of the 【Hoarder】 talent, all his stamina consumption was halved, and since stamina values didn’t display decimals, this was the only way to gauge his stamina usage.

However, after picking the two raspberries and opening his inventory, Nan Liujing was surprised to find that his stamina remained at 【150/150】—no change at all.

“What’s going on? Does exploring the Resource Island not consume stamina?” That couldn’t be possible.

Nan Liujing had a vague hunch. After thinking for a moment, he continued picking raspberries while keeping a close eye on the stamina bar on his tablet.

The raspberries in the bushes were plentiful and bright red. Only a small portion had been eaten by small animals; many more were hidden beneath the leaves, having evaded the attacks of birds but not the human eye. Nan Liujing easily picked a large handful, yet the stamina bar remained unchanged. So he picked a second handful.

At that moment, his stamina finally flickered, changing to 【149/150】.

He placed both handfuls of raspberries into his backpack. Unlike other items, they weren’t displayed individually; instead, a small pile of raspberries appeared in the inventory slot, with a tiny “x2” in the bottom right corner.

Nan Liujing took out one portion, weighed it in his hand, and estimated it to be about 100g.

【Raspberry☆】

【Category: Ingredients】

【A sweet-and-sour red berry that restores 1 HP when eaten.】

【Suggested Price: 80 Sol】

【Condition: Fresh】

“I see. So in this game, the real unit of measurement isn’t the number of items, but the portion size.” For a plank of wood, one piece is one unit, but for berries, 100g is one unit.

Where’s the distinction? Weight? Size? But nails are also counted by the piece.

The line between them is truly mysterious.

But looking at it this way, picking berries isn’t just a losing proposition—99 units of berries actually add up to a decent haul.

After confirming this, Nan Liujing stopped picking berries. Since he was close to the dock, he decided to explore deeper into the woods first; if he still had space left in his backpack when he returned, he could always collect more then.

He continued walking deeper into the woods.

Along the way, he saw many trees, the vast majority of which were fruit trees, and they were of wide varieties—not just apple trees. Unfortunately, some of these fruit trees were in full bloom, while others had only green leaves; none were currently bearing fruit.

When he finally came across a deciduous tree that didn’t bear fruit, Nan Liujing didn’t hesitate; he stopped immediately and began chopping it down.

He understood the principle of not draining the pond to catch all the fish; regardless of whether they bore fruit or not, fruit trees were definitely off-limits. But these ordinary trees were another matter. His island was severely short on wooden planks. While other supplies were uncertain, he was definitely going to cut down a few extra trees to take with him.

Thud!

The makeshift axe struck the tree trunk with a heavy thud, leaving only a shallow mark. Nan Liujing’s mouth twitched slightly as he took a slow, deep breath:

“…This is going to be a huge undertaking.”

He set the axe down for a moment, rolled up both sleeves, planted his feet firmly in a wide stance, then gripped the axe once more. Drawing his breath deep into his lower abdomen, he used his waist to drive his arms forward and swung the axe with all his might—

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Ten minutes later, a small tree as thick as a bowl was severed clean through the middle. As it crashed to the ground, all its branches and leaves were stripped away, leaving only several sections of log scattered on the ground.

Nan Liujing took a couple of deep breaths, then stepped forward and delivered a few more sharp blows, splitting the log into planks.

One small tree yielded 5 planks—a decent efficiency, far better than scavenging on the beach. He checked his tablet and saw his stamina had dropped by 10 points.

“Chopping down trees consumes more stamina than gathering… For an average player, a single small tree would cost 20 stamina points, yielding only 5 planks. Even if they spent all their stamina, they’d only end up with 30 planks—that’s a total rip-off.”

With the dual benefits of his talent and the “High Stamina” effect, he could actually net 19 planks.

But the math doesn’t work out that way. You have to remember that when your stamina drops below 30, and you’re in a state of severe exhaustion, even just walking causes stamina to slowly drain away. If your stamina hits zero, you’ll pass out immediately. So it’s simply impossible to use up a full bar of stamina completely.

Nan Liujing confirmed once again that the game was using this method to indirectly restrict their progress. Damn it.

Muttering a curse under his breath, Nan Liujing stowed the wooden plank and pressed on.

As he walked and fought his way through, his stamina soon dropped below 50. A familiar sense of fatigue washed over him, but Nan Liujing had long since grown accustomed to it. Unfazed, he pressed on without slowing his pace even slightly.

By now, he had ventured deep into the woods, and the surroundings were gradually growing silent. The sound of the waves was a distant memory, and the rustling noises that had occasionally come from above—where he could catch a glimpse of the culprit’s fleeing silhouette, wagging a fluffy tail—had ceased. It must have been a small animal, like a squirrel. Birds used to hop from branch to branch, chattering away incessantly. Now even those sounds had vanished.

For some reason, the quieter it became, the more uneasy Nan Liujing felt. His heart pounded, and he had a sense that a storm was brewing. Unconsciously, he gripped the axe in his hand tighter, while his other hand reached behind his waist to grasp the hilt of the boning knife tucked into his belt. He slowed his breathing, lightened his footsteps, and moved forward step by step.

Ahead lay a grove of wild oak trees. Their straight, sturdy trunks were covered in mistletoe, and the canopy formed a continuous canopy. Acorns were scattered across the grass. Nan Liujing’s heartbeat grew louder. His instinct told him not to stop and chop wood right away, nor to bend down to pick up the acorns.

Instead, he stared straight ahead at the grove of oak trees, beyond which thickets of shrubs wove a green wall.

After a moment’s hesitation, he let go of the boning knife and pulled a wooden spear from his backpack. He crept forward silently, extending the long shaft to gently part a branch, peering through the gap it revealed.

Beyond the green wall lay a clearing.

The oak trees stood silently around the clearing like silent sentinels. The lush green meadow was strewn with boulders; the largest was as big as three millstones. A tiger with a mottled coat lay comfortably sprawled upon it, its belly rising and falling steadily, its two round ears twitching, and its thick, long tail swaying leisurely from side to side.

Sunlight filtered through the tree canopy, bathing the tiger’s orange-yellow fur in a warm golden glow. The entire scene was incredibly sacred.

“……”

Nan Liujing felt like an atheist who had wandered into a church by mistake. The moment he opened his eyes, he had inadvertently witnessed the miracle of an angel’s descent, leaving him so stunned that his mind went blank and his breath caught in his throat.

A few seconds later, a burning, aching sensation in his lungs forced him to breathe again. Nan Liujing silently sheathed his wooden spear and slowly backed away.

One step, two steps… Just as he was about to step out of the oak grove, he suddenly spun around and bolted like the devil was on his heels.

Holy shit.

At that very moment, those two words echoed through his completely blank mind. Holy shit!!!

What the hell? Isn’t this Fresh Fruit Island? Shouldn’t the whole island be covered in all kinds of fruit trees? How the hell is there a tiger here!!

Didn’t the Harvest Association just finish organizing a fruit-picking event here? Were their staff able to complete their work while facing the threat of tigers? Who the hell are those people? Are they all Wu Song reincarnated!?

They should’ve told us there were tigers on the island beforehand!

Thud!

Nan Liujing tripped, and in the next second, the world spun. He crashed heavily to the ground, the pain making his vision go black. Just then, a rustling sound suddenly came from behind him.

Is the tiger chasing after him?!

With no time to think, Nan Liujing gritted his teeth, drew his sword with a backhand motion, and spun around violently.

I’ll fight you to the death—

The next second, he watched in disbelief as a furry little creature tumbled out of the bushes. It was covered in snow-white fur, its feather duster-like tail sprawled on the ground, and its four stubby little legs spread out, looking completely dazed and confused.

Its two large, pointed ears were pinned back, and its palm-sized face was set with two big, black, grape-like eyes, glistening with moisture. After a moment, it stuck out its pink tongue and licked its little black nose.

Nan Liujing froze, his grip on the knife loosening involuntarily.

The little creature recovered, shakily stood up, and looked around. Not seeing any familiar surroundings, its first reaction wasn’t to tuck its tail and run away, but to tilt its head back and let out a pitiful, aggrieved whimper at Nan Liujing—a two-legged creature that must have looked as tall as a giant in its eyes.

“…Damn.” Nan Liujing was completely relaxed, plopping back down onto the ground, only to discover, as he’d expected, that his knife-wielding hand was trembling slightly.

“That was way too intense.” Although the tiger was most likely asleep and hadn’t noticed him, Nan Liujing still felt a sense of relief and gratitude for having escaped the jaws of death.

Without a second thought, Nan Liujing pulled out a handful of raspberries and stuffed them all into his mouth at once. The raspberries on this island weren’t quite ripe yet; when he bit into them, the sour juice made him flinch, but his mind cleared instantly.

A handful of raspberries could only restore 1 point of stamina, but Nan Liujing wasn’t after stamina right now—he needed to regain his ability to think clearly.

The fact that there was a top-tier predator at the apex of the food chain on the island meant its ecosystem was far more complex. After all, sparrows and squirrels alone couldn’t possibly fill a tiger’s belly; there were bound to be medium-sized and large beasts occupying the middle tiers of the food chain.

These beasts are food for the tiger, but they pose a significant threat to Nan Liujing. He must proceed with even greater caution in his future explorations… Perhaps rather than leisurely exploring the entire island, it would be better to secure the supplies available right now and leave the island as soon as possible.

“Ugh, I was being way too naive before.” Nan Liujing ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, furrowed his brow, plucked a small beetle from his hair, and flicked it away.

He’d taken a hard fall just now, and now he was covered in dirt and grass.

Just as he was brushing the dirt off his body with disgust, a small white creature shakily made its way over.

“Wah… wah-wah…”

The little creature looked barely bigger than a small puppy, its body covered in fur, resembling a long-legged plush slipper. Its large tail was timidly tucked between its legs, yet it still managed to drag itself over to Nan Liujing’s feet, shivering as it nuzzled his ankle.

Nan Liujing looked down and saw it perk up its ears and tilt its head back, its little furry face displaying a lively, spirited mix of hurt and pleading—a sight that tugged at his heartstrings.

Although Nan Liujing knew little about wildlife, he could tell this wasn’t a dog, but a half-grown fox cub.

He silently locked eyes with the cub for two seconds, then instantly fell under the spell of its big, watery eyes. Sighing helplessly, he said, “Ah, I question King Zhou, yet I understand King Zhou.”

The little fox cub continued to nuzzle his ankles cautiously, whimpering in a high-pitched voice while its stomach growled. It even licked its lips from time to time, sending a very clear hint his way.

“I get it, I get it. You’re not just lost—you’re hungry too.” Nan Liujing reached out, gently cupping the little fox’s belly to lift it up, then pulled himself up from the ground and looked around.

He’d been so panicked while fleeing that he’d run without thinking, and now he had no idea where he was. There was no way he’d find his way back to the pier anytime soon.

“I don’t know the way either. Nothing to be done—let’s just wander around for a bit.”

A warmth spread across his fingertip. Nan Liujing looked down and saw the little fox licking his finger. He pulled his finger away and pulled out a raspberry to feed it.

“I thought foxes were omnivores… You must be weaned by now, right?”

The little fox cub whimpered and nuzzled his hand, snatching the berry into its mouth in one go and swallowing it in two bites.

“Mmm!”