It was 8:00 p.m., and the rain still hadn’t stopped; it looked like it was going to rain all day. 

Nan Liujing put on the raincoat—essential for murder and disposing of bodies—and stepped out of the house with a flashlight to check the supplies on the beach.

His luck wasn’t bad tonight either—though there were no treasure chests, there weren’t any giant sea creatures either. Quite a few materials were scattered across the beach, including two pieces of damaged plastic items that could be used to make a makeshift water collector.

Yesterday, Nan Liujing had already posted a message in the trading area offering to trade for plastic items—after all, he had already obtained a voucher for substandard farmland.

After acquiring his second farm plot, he was using 2 liters of fresh water just for watering every day—which completely exceeded the collection capacity of a single makeshift water collector, leaving him short of water for his own consumption.

So he needed to make a few more water collectors.

So far, he has built three simple water collectors in one go. Combined with the ones he had previously, he can now consistently produce 8 liters of fresh water daily—enough to cover both his daily watering and general water needs.

No, the more of this, the better—Nan Liujing certainly doesn’t mind having plenty of fresh water. 

Day 8 of Survival, a peaceful day. 

When he heard the roar of the engine, Nan Liujing was crouched beside the farm field, lost in thought.

The crops in the first field had been growing for 72 hours; the lettuce with the shortest growth period had less than 24 hours left on its countdown, and Nan Liujing expected to harvest it tomorrow morning.

There was nothing strange about that. What truly shocked Nan Liujing was that, out of the five heads of lettuce he’d planted, only one had turned golden, reflecting a molten metallic sheen in the sunlight.

“What on earth is this…” Nan Liujing had never heard of lettuce turning into golden lettuce—doesn’t that mean Chinese cabbage could turn into jade cabbage??? And as luck would have it, the lettuce that had turned golden was the very one he’d fertilized yesterday.

“Is this the fertilizer’s effect? Or…” Suddenly remembering something, Nan Liujing pulled out his tablet and opened the Construction tab.

His Basic Farmhouse, an agriculture-specialized shelter, came with two special effects. One of them seemed to be called… Bountiful Harvest?

【Bountiful Harvest: Increases the likelihood of crop mutations and boosts the quantity of crops harvested.】

“Mutation?” Green leaves turning golden—isn’t that a mutation? But Nan Liujing’s concern was: with the lettuce mutated like this, is it still edible?

After thinking about it for a long time without coming to a conclusion, Nan Liujing decided to give up: “I’ll just wait until tomorrow when it’s all settled.” Just then, he heard the roar of an engine.

He looked up, and the moment he realized what he was seeing, Nan Liujing’s eyes widened in shock, and his jaw nearly hit the ground. It had rained all day yesterday, but this morning the rain had cleared, leaving the sky as blue as if it had been washed with water—not a cloud in sight, a breathtaking sight.

Against this azure sky, a ship was sailing through the wind, speeding rapidly toward him from the distance.

The ship was built entirely of wood and didn’t look particularly impressive, but three cylinders protruded from each side of the hull, spewing white streams of air that propelled it forward.

Holy crap, a steamship?? 

Nan Liujing’s mind went blank instantly, flooded with countless questions.

Is that even possible? What the hell is the tech tree like in this world??? Is this magic? Or technology? Nan Liujing was completely baffled.

As the airship drew near, suddenly a figure emerged from the deck, bracing one hand against the railing and leaning out to wave at Nan Liujing. “Hey!” 

The person was backlit, so Nan Liujing couldn’t make out his face, but he guessed it was the traveling merchant who’d sent the letter yesterday. He never would have dreamed in his wildest dreams that the other guy’s mode of transportation was a flying ship—how absurd.

Pulling himself together, Nan Liujing stood up and waved back, “Hello! Could you please dock at the pier? My island!”

“Of course!” the man replied readily. Before long, the spaceship descended with a rumbling sound, just like a helicopter. 

It splashed down on the sea with a thud, sending ripples that pushed Nan Liujing’s wooden boat far out to sea. Luckily, it was tied down with a hemp rope, so it didn’t end up drifting away. 

As soon as Nan Liujing reached the dock, he saw a tall figure leap over the ship’s rail and jump off. 

This guy was really tall. Nan Liujing himself was 186, yet the other man was actually half a head taller than him—and he had a much broader build, with broad shoulders and long legs. His upper body was bare except for a brown leather jacket that looked puffy, and underneath he wore a tight-fitting black turtleneck that clearly outlined his thick, toast-like pectorals and well-defined abs.

His long, straight legs were sheathed in jeans, and he wore short leather boots on his feet. 

The other guy took off his helmet, revealing a bit of messy, short black hair. He held the helmet in one hand while pushing his wide orange goggles up to the top of his head with the other, revealing his full facial features. 

Nan Liujing stopped in her tracks and gasped in astonishment: Holy shit, he’s super hot! 

The handsome guy’s blue eyes fluttered as he flashed Nan Liujing a hearty smile, extending his right hand—clad in a black glove—in a friendly gesture: “Hi, I’m the travelling merchant. I wrote you a letter earlier.”

“…Hello.” Liujing hesitated for a moment before shaking his hand, silently thanking his lucky stars that he’d shaved that morning—otherwise… 

What matters is what he’s selling!

“As long as what he’s selling is good enough, it doesn’t matter if the other person is an old geezer,” Nan Liujing thought to himself.

“I thought you came from the sea,” he said, quickly adjusting his mindset and exchanging a friendly smile with the merchant.

“Hmm? You mean this?” Victor turned around, patted the hull, and explained, “This is the Windrunner. An alchemist helped me modify it. Under certain conditions, it can fly for a short time, but most of the time, we still have to stick to drifting on the sea.” 

“Can alchemists even do this?” Nan Liujing knew that alchemists existed in this world; he often saw the Alchemists’ Guild making headlines in the newspapers, and he’d even come into contact with items crafted by alchemists—like the disposable spatial cards used as shipping packages. 

But a steamship?

That was beyond Nan Liujing’s wildest imagination. 

Victor raised an eyebrow. “Of course. There’s an old saying on the Impermanent Sea: ‘As long as you can afford it, an alchemist can make anything.’”

“But let’s put the matter of the Group of Magical Blacksmiths aside for now,” Victor said, pulling out a loose-leaf notebook from behind his back, handing it to Nan Liujing, and smiling. “This is what matters.” 

【Mysterious Peddler’s Catalog】

【Category: Miscellaneous】

【A catalog carried by the Mysterious Merchant; it is said that he adds or removes pages at will whenever he sets out on a journey.】

Of course, the traveling merchant had come here to do business. Nan Liujing took the catalog and began flipping through it carefully.

Victor hadn’t brought many items this time—only 30 at most, and most were subject to purchase limits. The first few entries were all kinds of blueprints and certificates.

Of course, the prices were all exorbitantly high, with countless zeros.

A license to build an automated mining machine, blueprints for an offshore aquaculture farm… Nan Liujing quickly flipped through a few pages, then suddenly stopped, his eyes fixed on one page.

Victor had been surveying the island. It was absurd—he could take it all in at a glance. There were only two buildings, one tree, and two fields; no other plants or animals. It seemed this trip wouldn’t yield much of a harvest. 

Hopefully, it would cover the cost of his fuel for this trip; otherwise, there’d be no point in coming back next time.

Just then, he suddenly noticed a change in the person beside him breathing. Victor turned to get a better look at the other person’s expression, but all he saw was a messy cowlick. 

So he leaned forward slightly, lifting his eyelids to look up at the other person from below—his movements and expression resembling those of a pedigree dog. 

Nan Liujing’s eyes were wide open, his pupils shrunk to a pinpoint, his breathing rapid, and his hands trembling slightly—as if he were utterly terrified or… excited? Victor raised an eyebrow in confusion, then glanced sideways at the product catalog. Nothing out of the ordinary, though.

What’s going on?

After a moment’s thought, he asked kindly, “Are you okay?”

“!” Nan Liujing suddenly snapped back to reality and broke into a smile. “What? I’m fine—actually, I’m great. Sorry, I was just spacing out for a moment. I’d like to take another look at the catalog—is that okay?”

Victor took two steps back and shrugged. “Go ahead. I’m not in a hurry today, so we can take our time.”

“That’s great…” Nan Liujing murmured, his eyes returning to the catalog, landing on a product description that had completely captivated him.

【Bathroom Construction Permit (One-Time)】 

【Category: Permit】

【This permit utilizes the legal construction of a wet/dry separated bathroom equipped with washing, toilet, and shower facilities, including 1 washbasin, 1 mirror cabinet, a flush toilet x1, a shower stall x1, a showerhead x1, a wall-mounted shelf x1, a ceiling light x1, and an exhaust fan x1.】

【Crafting Materials: Wood x20, Stone x20, Iron Ore x10, Copper Ore x2, Glass x3, Clay x15, Magic Crystal x1.】

【Price: 10,000 Sol.】

Bathroom! 

A bathroom with separate wet and dry zones—perfect for taking a shower!

At this very moment, no high-level blueprint could catch Nan Liujing’s eye—his eyes and heart were fixed solely on this adorable bathroom construction permit.

God only knows he hasn’t taken a single shower since entering this game, and he’s been using the restroom like a cat every day. 

This godforsaken island was his litter box; every day, he had to find a specific spot to dig a hole, relieve himself, and then bury it, wiping himself with torn pieces of canvas and palm leaves. This routine was a serious challenge to a modern person’s standards of hygiene and the very foundations of civilization. 

What does he see now? Aha, a modern bathroom!

No matter how much it costs, Nan Liujing would love to knock the merchant out with a club right now and snatch the license from him! 

No, wait—calm down. Nan Liujing pinched the bridge of his nose, forcing himself to abandon that extremely tempting thought and think rationally about the reality of the situation. Even if he managed to take out the merchant and search him for the permit, he wouldn’t be able to gather the materials needed to build a bathroom anytime soon.

These materials were way too high-end—Nan Liujing had never even heard of them, let alone seen them. Seriously, what on earth is a magic crystal?

Under these circumstances, it would definitely be unwise to rashly attack an NPC. Sigh, his bathroom… Nan Liujing let out a regretful sigh and, feeling disheartened, flipped back.

Victor suddenly shivered, glanced around for no apparent reason, and finally zipped up his leather jacket. 

After skimming through a few more blueprints that looked useful but for which he couldn’t possibly afford or gather the materials, Nan Liujing’s eyes froze once again.

【Proof of Dwarven Friendship】

【Category: Item】

【A gift from a dwarf to someone they take a liking to. With this item, you can summon a dwarf automaton, which can assist in combat or perform a dwarf’s traditional trade—civil engineering, I mean, construction.】 

【Note: Once summoned, a Dwarven Automaton can only complete one task. If you choose construction, no materials are required—this is a true token of the dwarves’ friendship.】

【Price: 10,000 Sol.】 

Even Nan Liujing couldn’t help but feel a bit speechless at that moment: How could someone sell a gift they’d been given to a merchant? This dwarf really has no eye for people.

Well, he supposed that works out in his favor.

Nan Liujing mentally calculated the price and glanced at the other items before handing the catalog back to Victor. He asked casually, “By the way, since you’re a merchant, do you buy goods here?”

Victor replied without a second thought, “As long as it’s valuable, I’ll take it all.”

So that means anything with a suggested retail price listed in the item description is fine, right? I’ve been waiting for you to say that!