The blueprint that caught Nan Liujing’s eye made him feel like he could faintly smell the burnt scent of a fuse blowing in his brain.

What is this… a Slime Farm? Huh? Are there actually slimes in this world? Can those things even be raised? And they actually produce something???

Oh no, he’s actually starting to wonder what kind of output slimes might produce. 

“Wait, stop.” Nan Liujing promptly slapped his forehead to cut short his runaway imagination, swiftly tearing the two blueprints apart to use them and simultaneously assembling two wooden crates—a seamless, fluid sequence of actions.

He could explore the blueprints once he got home; right now, his top priority was racing against the clock to gather supplies.

Between tigers and zombies, Fresh Fruit Island had completely lost any credibility in Nan Liujing’s eyes.

Influenced by news reports, Nan Liujing had assumed Fresh Fruit Island was just an “ordinary resource island covered in apple trees.” But that illusion had been shattered one after another by two life-threatening dangers, shattering into a pile of glass shards.

If it weren’t for his reluctance to leave his backpack slots empty—fearing he might waste a precious nautical chart—Nan Liujing would have jumped on the boat and fled long ago.

No, he had to get his money’s worth! 

The ranger’s cabin was only about 20 square meters in total. There was hardly any proper furniture inside—just a bed, a nightstand, a table and chair, and a wardrobe. You could take it all in at a glance.

Dust covered the floor and the surfaces of the furniture, giving the place a dingy, grimy appearance. One dared not move a muscle inside; even the slightest movement would stir up a cloud of dust that would settle on one’s face.

Even so, this cabin was still far better than his basic farmhouse.

If only his backpack had enough space, Nan Liujing would have loved to move all of this furniture with him.

Since he couldn’t take the furniture now, Nan Liujing took a deep breath, imagined himself as a burglar breaking into a house, and began to tiptoe around, rummaging through the drawers and cabinets.

There was nothing of interest under or on the bed—just dust, insect remains, and trash like mouse droppings.

Inside the bedside cabinet was a copy of *The Ranger’s Diary*, half of which had been eaten by insects. The remaining pages were so tattered and illegible that, despite being as careful as possible, Nan Liujing could only flip through a few before the book fell apart, leaving him unable to piece together a single sentence.

He managed to make out only a few bits of information, whose usefulness was unclear: the forester who kept the diary was named Cole; his job required him to write a daily entry; his main duties consisted of patrolling the forest, counting how many apples grew on each tree, notifying the Harvest Association when the apples ripened, and writing his diary at night.

Oh, and Cole was also a fervent believer, possessing a pendant shaped like a “†.” Every night before bed, he would secretly clasp the pendant and pray to his god. Even while writing his work diary, he never failed to slip in a sermon, preaching the greatness of his faith to the colleague who would eventually take over this work diary.

Nan Liujing: …I think I know why the forest ranger was cursed to become a zombie.

Maybe it was this guy who did it.

Hard to say. Let’s wait and see.

Soon, he found the pendant in the pillow. Cole had carefully hidden it inside the pillowcase, nestled among a pile of cotton. If Nan Liujing hadn’t latched onto the keyword “bedtime prayer” and thoroughly searched the bed again, he might never have found it.

He pinched the thin cord between two fingers to lift the pendant and fell silent after just one glance.

No way, bro.

What do you call this thing?

It was a wooden pendant. The artisan had artistically carved out a… a… uh, a blob? In any case, it was some kind of unidentifiable thing.

Nan Liujing stared at it for a long time, counting 16 eyes and 21 tentacles—the design was abstract. 

I don’t really get it, but I guess that’s art.

【Evil Pendant】

【Category: Item】

【Devoutly worshipped by the forest ranger Cole, personally carved by him, prayed over day and night, infused with all the faith, heart, and soul of a fanatic. Carrying it increases Stamina by 100 points, reduces the Spirit attribute by 20 points, and carries a certain chance of inducing hallucinations, delirium, or madness.】

【Suggested Price: 1,000 Sol】

“Huh? So it’s not actually haunted?”

It’s not unusual for a pendant to have negative effects; given how bizarre it looks, it would be strange if it didn’t. But what Nan Liujing didn’t expect was that this pendant’s negative effect actually targets the Spirit attribute—which has absolutely nothing to do with the zombie the Ranger eventually turned into.

But in any case, there was no need to keep this thing.

The 100-point increase in stamina seemed like a lot, but he currently had no use for it. Plus, the debuff was way too powerful—Nan Liujing had no desire to go mad.

Still… it was an item, after all?

Nan Liujing thought it over, pulled out his tablet, and after a few taps, successfully listed the pendant in the trading zone. He didn’t set any specific items as payment; he simply wrote, “If interested in a trade, send a private message with your offer.”

There were no restrictions in the trading zone anyway, and it didn’t cost anything to list it, so why not?

His wardrobe contained only a few old clothes left behind by the forest rangers. The bag had no special attributes, yet Nan Liujing treated it like a treasure.

This was exactly what he needed right now! 

With this bag, he finally had a place to store all the odds and ends in his pockets.

Badges, Nan Liujing emptied every pocket on his body, and only then did he manage to fill the linen backpack about halfway.

“Strap on the bag,” he said, leaving the ranger’s cabin. 

Nian Gao was still lingering near the zombie, so Nan Liujing went over to retrieve the wooden spear, makeshift axe, and boning knife.

The boning knife was caked in the zombie’s black blood; it was now useless for preparing food.

No amount of washing would help—it was like dropping a pair of chopsticks into a cesspool. How could they possibly be used after that! 

Shaking the blood off the knife with disgust, Nan Liujing reluctantly sheathed the boning knife in its makeshift scabbard and set off in a random direction.

Four hours had passed since he landed on Fresh Fruit Island; he had to pick up the pace.

Twenty minutes later, Nan Liujing found a river.

The river flowed gently from north to south, about three meters wide, with a steady current. The soil along the banks was damp and soft, dotted with animal footprints.

This was likely the island’s most abundant source of fresh water; countless animals would come here to drink, but Nan Liujing didn’t approach it. Instead, he followed the sound of the water southward from a distance neither too close nor too far, stopping to chop down any fruitless trees he encountered.

The crude axe limited his effectiveness. To save time, Nan Liujing could only target small trees as thick as a bowl, hacking away nonstop as he went. He paused occasionally to drink a bottle of stamina potion, and finally made it out of the forest and reached the sandy beach near the sea.

At this point, his backpack contained just over a set of wooden planks. He had plenty of space and time left, but he didn’t plan to go back and look for more trees.

Earlier, Nan Liujing had done the math: if he wanted to build the fence, warehouse, and compost bin all at once, he would need a total of 214 wooden planks.

Based on the formula that chopping one tree consumes 10 stamina and yields 6 planks, he would need to expend a total of 357 stamina points, which would take up three backpack slots.

And even if he added 5 Stamina Potions and an entire jar of garlic-infused oysters to his total stamina, he’d only have 470 stamina points. It was extremely tight.

But after he’d used up stamina to gather two sets of apples, this calculation had turned into an impossible task—unless he chewed on apples to regain stamina while chopping down trees.

Based on the formula that he needs to eat two apples to chop down one tree, he would end up stuffing himself to death on this island.

So Nan Liujing wisely chose to give up.

He still had two nautical charts left; there was no need to pile all the pressure onto this single exploration. Compared to resources like trees—which are available on every island with some probability—the fruits on Fresh Fruit Island were the more valuable local specialties worth collecting.

Of course, he didn’t skimp on chopping trees either. He felled 21 saplings, including a few palm trees, which yielded 126 planks and 27 palm leaves.

Now, as long as he can trade for enough iron nails, he’ll be able to build the warehouse.

Nan Liujing had high hopes for the 40-slot warehouse that came with the Basic Farmhouse; he could even endure the severe fatigue that made his legs feel heavy and his head spin.

A mere case of severe fatigue? Down a bottle of stamina potion and back to work!

He didn’t waste the remaining time either. After finding the dock along the coastline, Nan Liujing easily located the berry bushes from before and, pushing through his fatigue, picked a whole batch of raspberries in one go.

With just one slot left in his backpack, Nan Liujing set his sights on the coconut trees growing on the beach.

【Coconut☆】

【Category: Food】

【The fruit of a coconut tree that hasn’t fully ripened. Once you crack open the hard shell, you’ll find sweet, refreshing juice inside. The white coconut meat is edible too! Restores 10 Stamina upon consumption.】

【Suggested Price: 120 Sol】

【Condition: Fresh】

Counting both those lying on the beach and those still hanging on the trees, Nan Liujing picked a total of 40 coconuts. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to pick more, but his stamina was dropping too quickly. He didn’t dare climb any more trees, afraid his legs might give out and he’d fall.

Calculating the remaining number of coconuts, it didn’t seem worth using another Stamina Potion.

At this point, all his backpack slots were filled. Nan Liujing had used a total of 3 Stamina Potions, plus an entire jar of garlic-infused oysters, leaving only an empty glass jar still taking up a slot.

He couldn’t just throw the glass jar away; he could wash it out and reuse it later.

Nan Liujing had less than 10 stamina points left and had once again fallen into a state of severe exhaustion. Moving with steps stiffer than a zombie’s, he staggered back onto the boat and collapsed on the deck.

Nian Gao hopped onto the boat right behind him, nuzzled up to Nan Liujing’s face, whimpered twice, and licked him several times with his little tongue.

“Don’t… lick me.” Nan Liujing reached out shakily, pushing the little fox away, then forced himself to get back up and slapped the nautical chart. “Sail! ”

The nautical chart flickered.

[Return Countdown: 3h:27min:38s.]

[Please wait patiently.]

Nan Liujing’s hands slowly slipped down: “…Damn.”

Mistake. The exploration time is fixed! He can’t end it early!

If he’d known, he would’ve brought a lighter or some toast—then he could’ve cooked a meal on the island.

But it’s too late now. Two apples and twenty oysters have stuffed his stomach so full he can’t eat a thing.

Nan Liujing was out of options. He was afraid that even the slightest movement would drain his stamina, so he could only slump on the boat and struggle to hold up his tablet.

With nothing else to do, he had no choice but to browse the forums. 

Nan Liujing wasn’t the only one eager to be the first to try something new; posts related to going out to sea had started popping up on the forum. The one bumped to the top was a live-streaming thread titled [Goodbye, Mom! I’m setting sail this morning—I can’t wait until tonight!]

He clicked in to check out the poster—he looked so familiar. It’s you again, the bed seller!

“Mom, I’ll Never Have to Work Again” Island – Li Shechu: Hey everyone, it’s me again! A new day, a new chance to post—I won’t miss it! Enough chit-chat, I’m heading out to sea today. I’ve had enough of this crappy little island. 

[Photo of a nautical chart] [Photo of a simple code] [Selfie of a slightly balding young man in a plaid shirt standing on the boat giving a peace sign]1

But the second reply of the post went off on a tangent.

2L: That shirt, that receding hairline… bro, are you a programmer?

Nan Liujing chuckled at the comment.

He exited that thread, scrolled down a few times on the homepage, and spotted another summary post.

[Summary: Intelligence on various islands. Feel free to share.]

The poster was also a semi-acquaintance—Xu Jia, a former game guide content creator who previously revealed a strategy for the main questline and possesses a talent for deep thinking.

Coral Island – Xu Jia: Hello everyone. As of Day 5, the game has progressed further. The Committee has launched a strong push with codes, offering players entirely new possibilities for future development. I believe that from this point on, the gameplay loop of obtaining a nautical chart—setting sail to explore islands—gathering resources—and building your own island will become the mainstream. I strongly recommend that all players join the Committee to obtain simple codes, small wooden boats, and exploration permits (this is not a shill).

That concludes the introduction. Now for the main purpose of this post: Players who have already set sail to explore know that the three options presented on the nautical chart are very broad—they only list island names with no other information. Players inevitably feel limited when making their choices.

Therefore, I suggest that after exploring, players share their findings to create a “map of islands.” This could help other players—and potentially even your future self.

I’m starting the ball rolling here.

The island I explored is called Flower Island. It’s a standard resource island under the Committee’s jurisdiction with a 6-hour exploration limit. I’ve now completed the exploration and returned home.

[Photo of Flower Island] 

[Photo of a short-haired woman in a sharp pantsuit holding a giant beehive]

Flower Island is a sea of flowers, and I discovered quite a few edible varieties. Additionally, the island is home to a large number of bees, including some highly aggressive species unique to this world—they likely do not exist on Blue Star.

[Photo of a bee carcass with two stingers] 

I collected some honey and several sets of bee pupae, which I have listed in the trading area along with some edible flowers. Friendly trades are welcome.

If other players haven’t selected Flower Island, I recommend bringing fire starters, protective gear, and antidotes.