4 More Material Boxes

Liu Xue gritted his teeth and turned to the dense green jungle.

Shivers ran up his spine as he stared into the dark crevices of the trees. Something was staring back. The vines that hung from the canopy swung, proving his point. The rustle of the leaves and the hum of the forest—if he blocked out the crashes of the ocean tides—grew tenser the harder he concentrated.

"There is a whole day to survive, then tomorrow, then a week, then a month. I can't just idle around."

"If I lag behind today, who knows, maybe I'll be at death's doors, desperate for survival tomorrow. I'm all familiar with the feeling of regret."

"That's it."

"We will go for the roof overhead."

Liu Xue patted the automatic fishing rod swiveling around before he clenched his fists and slowly made way to the edge of the jungle rainforest. His steps grew shallower the closer he made it to the trees. The bright yellow sand of the beach slowly transformed into a dark green, as leaves, bushes and tall, rustling grass became the new environment.

He could not help but flinch and look around as he brushed a hanging vine that dropped out of nowhere. He glanced left and right, front and back, but never directly into the abyss that was the shadows of the jungle. Then, he drew in a deep breath, raised his arms and fist, and in true teenage gamer fashion, threw a punch with all his might into the nearby tree.

"AUGH! It hurts, it hurts," Liu Xue groaned, making the jungle rustle all over.

He decisively shut the hell up and took to deal with the pain in his knuckles silently, shaking and blowing his fingers all over.

"Hah, just because there's game elements, doesn't mean it's truly a game. Or maybe I didn't punch hard enough?" he quipped silently.

***

"Who am I kidding? It's good to humor oneself sometimes, dspecially when you're alone on an isolated island that's sinking because of carbon emissions and there is a scary jungle on that island and sharks!"

"God, I hope I don't go crazy here!"

Seeing the painful state of his hands, Liu Xue felt unjustified. "All that resolve, for nothing? Even if it's for survival, this is much too anti-climatic!"

Thankfully, a system prompt sweetened his sour mood.

[Received: Material Box x2]

Liu Xue's eyes brightened. "You can receive multiple material boxes?! This is too good!"

Though he could have opened the material boxes then and there, he did not spare a moment of hesitation to run back to the automatic fishing rod; the jungle was too oppressing. If he received something good from the box, he was certain it's gloominess and aura would kill the mood.

He tapped the system interface again and again, pulling the waterproof tape off. He got down to his knees and prayed in the direction of the sun.

"Goddess of luck, four years ago, whilst studying, I asked for your blessing, but that was for my grades and for some selfish shots of hope. This time, I need your blessing for these loot crates. For survival purposes! Just spare an inch and I'll give you a mile. When I can cook food, I'll give you all some burnt offerings!"

After a few minutes, apart from an unusually large wave that crashed and splashed water all over his lower body, there were no other reaction. Though his prayer went unanswered, he did not mind, not even the wetness on his pants. He was feeling great, like a blessed believer, a carrier of a prophecy, and directly sucked in a deep breath, opening the two boxes at once.

The flurry of system prompts almost blinded him.

[Received: Water Purifier Blueprint (Grade B) x1, Grilled Pollock x7 (Grade C)]

[Received: Apple (Grade C) x7, Common Wooden House Blueprint x1, Stone Shovel (Grade C) x1]

From his prostrating position, Liu Xue's mouth hung all the way down to the two open boxes in the sand. Without another word and with a quick swing of his hand, seven pieces of fragrant grilled fish skewered appeared in his hand. He put one in his mouth, five back into the storage and removed the wooden skewer of the last.

Liu Xue chewed twice before throwing the lone fish into the sea.

As the waves swallowed the grilled fish, he focused on consuming his fair share. With each bite, tears threatened to fall from his eyes; his mouth already crying with saliva.

"The sweetness from the fish, the saltiness from the seasoning, and the grill marks, mhm!~ These rewards from the goddess of luck were simply ... godly! Too much! The water purifier will let me grab the market from the foot! A complete monopoly for all those resources! This simply came at the perfect time!"

Liu Xue chewed with a tad too much enthusiasm. The flavor of grilled fish was too delectable for him who lived on freshly-frozen foods, instant noodles, and such processed fodder. It was so delectable that it masked the prickling pain on his tongue and gums. He had a moment of realization and spent a few moments removing the little bones before directing his attention to the rest of the haul he 'fished'.

[Stone Shovel x1 - Grade: C-level ]

[A common, but lower than average quality shovel - a flat stone blade, upturned sides with a long handle for all the digging and lifting you need].

"Good shovel. Finally, a proper tool. Though I can only dig up sand and dirt, it's better than nothing! Worse comes to worse, I can swing it around like a banshee to fight!"

Liu Xue picked up and stroked its handle. His eyes gleamed as he glanced down at the rest of his haul.

[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]

"Shovel, water purifier, and there's even a blueprint to build a house!"

He did not hesitate to directly head into [Construction], but found the option to build the Grade B water purifier was dim.