9 Night Two

Liu Xue quickly filled the empty water bottles around him with seawater and poured it into the basin of the water purifier.

Immediately, droplets began dripping down into the cylinder container, one by one. He heaved a sigh of relief.

"With this, I don't have to worry about drinking water, though only forty milliliters … a little over an ounce per hour. Not much. I can only take little sips at a time and sell the rest."

Liu Xue turned to gaze at the sun covered by the clouds, then at the jungle. "Water supply secured. Right now, my only food source is luck from material boxes, which obviously isn't reliable. And shelter is also a big priority. I don't want to sleep in the sand or sleep in front of a tiger again. Plus, the weather at sea won't always be this good."

He took a look at the blueprint of the house.

[Common Wooden House Blueprint x1]

[A common and simple wooden house. No amenities. At least it can provide a sense of security and shelter from the wind and rain.]

[Materials Required: Stone x4, Wooden Board x28, Nails x30, Metal Sheet x10]

"Even after converting it to wooden boards, I've still got more than enough wood. Actually, I've got enough wood in the jungle to last me for a lifetime, probably. However, all the metals will be hard to get."

He could only groan. He would have to rely on trading for the metal and nails, either freshwater from the water purifier, or some other goods from the material boxes and that meant waiting.

Liu Xue spent the next hour collecting stones. From the toolbelt, he pulled out a rusty iron pickaxe, and chipped away at the boulders he'd slept on the night before. It was no easy feat. After twenty or so swings, he broke off a small chunk, and the prompt finally appeared.

[Stone +1]

After taking a sip of water, he took the rest to trade. He did not know how the the trade was facilitated as the water simply disappeared from the cylinder container; he did not even need to package it in a water bottle or anything. However, the thirty-or-so milliliters of water landed him with four metal sheets immediately, so he did not bother with the questioning thoughts anymore.

When Liu Xue returned to sea to refill the water purifier, there was a material box floating in the distance. He quickly ran to the automatic fishing rod and patted it twice. Acknowledging his touch, the rod cast itself and reeled the material box back in. He took to [Storage] and opened it immediately.

[Material Box x1]

[Received: Bricks x10, Nails x2]

"Nothing too good. The bricks can probably be used later to build a better house, but the nails, it would be better if I got food or another bottle of water. I can trade for more that way."

Liu Xue walked back to the water purifier, poured more seawater into it, and continued hacking away at the boulder.

***

It was now the after-hours of sunset.

Liu Xue watched the once glowing sun, a crisp mahogany circle in the sky that had illuminated a quivering path across the sea and the wispy clouds a burning red slowly disappear into the night. He could feel nothing but serenity hearing the lapping of the meek waves, his steady breaths, and the touch of dusk's gentle breeze.

It had been a long time since he felt so relaxed and at peace.

"Ever since father's passing, it was all studying and cramming, and even after graduating, it was all about work. There really was no time to get a moment's rest, huh?" Liu Xue recalled, eyes glowing with wistfulness. "It feels good to just bathe in nature. Feels like the fields in the countryside with Granny and Gramps all over again, and I thought I had long forgot about that feeling."

"Maybe I should just take this survival-wilderness-game as an opportunity to unwind myself, too. I don't need to be so stiff and worrying about getting things done and whatnot."

Liu Xue took a deep breath. The air was salty, but a familiar kind. It was calming apart from the fact that his entire body was stressed and sore from hacking away at the boulder.

Right now, he laid on the other side of the boulder. With a little bit of handiwork, he made this half a tad more polished and comfortable to lay down on, but again, it took him all day to get through only half of the boulder, which made him a bit regretful. He wanted to do more, but he could not go on any longer. There were no graded apples today. The C-grade water did help to restore a little bit of vitality at times, but they were always in such small quantities it did not matter.

The automatic fishing rod hauled in two material boxes over the course of the day. He hoped for more graded food from each box, but there was nothing but a bunch of junk.

Liu Xue checked [Storage].

[Tattered Fishing Net]

[Broken Fishing Rod]

[Linen x3]

[Tablecloth x1]

[Wood x154]

[Wooden Boards x12]

[Stone x9]

[Metal Sheets x12]

[Nails x27]

Seeing the lack of food made his insides hurt, literally and figuratively. He placed a hand over his stomach and tried to calm its growling. Back in the office, it was normal for him to skip meals or compromise for cheap frozen meals. Since he had a taste of proper, cooked, graded food, and in such an environment, he could not go back to his old ways anymore.

"Just bear another night ... Starting tomorrow, I will make sure I have three meals everyday, and never go hungry again. I'll build the shelter and then look to go hunt tomorrow ..."

Another breeze passed by, arried with it a sleeping spell. Drowsiness struck, making Liu Xue closed his eyes and marking the end of his second night.