He had spent two hours chopping trees that morning, gathering 140 units of wood.
That was enough for now. On his way back, he stopped by the farmland to check on the sunflowers. They were growing exceptionally well, much to his satisfaction.
Then he headed home.
Today, he intended to treat himself to a feast. Qiyu took stock of his supplies.
He currently had four kinds of edible game meat: barbarian fang boar meat, wild boar pork, gale rabbit meat, and gray-horned sheep meat. So far, he had only tried the barbarian fang boar meat. Cut into small pieces, threaded onto wooden skewers, and roasted until tender, it had given off an incredibly enticing aroma.
He couldn't decide which meat to eat. After pondering the matter for a moment, a realization suddenly struck him.
"I have so much meat. Why should I have to choose? I'll eat them all!"
He took a piece of each kind and cut them into thumb-sized chunks.
He remembered hearing the elders at the base say that the healthiest diet was one that balanced meat and vegetables.
As luck would have it, he had just received a 1,000-gram fruit and vegetable gift pack today.
Qiyu opened it to take a look. Inside were 500g of potatoes, 200g of cherry tomatoes, and 300g of green vegetables. He had never tried any of them before.
Qiyu picked up a potato and examined it carefully before cutting it into tiny cubes, just as he had done with the meat.
He cut the cherry tomatoes in half, then chopped the green vegetables into small pieces as well.
Next, he took out an iron pot, washed it, filled it with water, and set it to boil.
Once the water came to a boil, he added the meat, diced potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and green vegetables.
Gurgle, gurgle.
Qiyu stood beside the iron pot, watching it with eager anticipation.
Before long, a delicious aroma filled the air.
While waiting for the stew to cook, he went to check on the sunflowers again.
The system hadn't indicated that they needed watering, but he took the opportunity to practice his Waterball spell and gave them a thorough watering anyway. Afterward, he returned to the cabin and glanced at the pot.
He opened the survival panel and browsed the chat channel for a while. Two players were arguing over a trade.
He went back to check the pot.
The "01 survival squad" channel was quiet. Everyone was busy gathering supplies today.
Qiyu glanced at the pot yet again.
"The meat has changed color. It should be ready to eat," he muttered to himself.
He took the largest bowl from his set of tableware, filled it to the brim with stew, and ladled in a spoonful of broth. The gray-horned sheep meat was the most tender. Although it had a slightly gamey flavor, that did nothing to diminish its taste. Delicious.
Barbarian fang boar meat—delicious.
Gale rabbit meat had the firmest texture and a satisfying chew. Delicious.
The vegetable called a potato had a soft, fluffy, slightly powdery texture. Delicious!
The cherry tomatoes were a little sour, but still acceptable.
The green vegetable leaves had turned yellow after cooking, and their texture wasn't nearly as pleasant as the other ingredients. Eating them was almost like chewing on tree leaves.
Overall, it was an exceptionally delicious stew.
Qiyu ate his sumptuous lunch with an almost reverent expression, polishing off every last bite. 1
After lunch, he spent another two hours chopping trees, as usual. His luck was better this time than it had been in the morning. He landed several critical hits and harvested 190 units of wood.
His total wood harvest from chopping trees today came to 360 units. Adding the 40 units already in his backpack and the additional 20 units he had earned from processing orders for 【Tranquility Yields Transcendence】 and 【Dare Not Open My Eyes】, he now had 420 units of wood altogether.
Just then, a private message arrived from 【Civil Engineering Brother】.
He sent Qiyu 100 【Simple Trap – Ground Spikes】, along with some more good news.
【Civil Engineering Brother: Bro, quite a few people are interested in your weapon, but right now, no one is willing to trade away anything that can protect their shelter. I did manage to find a few decent items, though. What do you think?】
Unique Equipment 【Thorn Ring】: Increases HP by 10 when equipped.
【Berserk Potion】: An alchemical potion. Drinking it doubles the user's Attack stat for one hour. Once the effect wears off, the user enters a weakened state for three hours.
There were also 10 elementary magic scrolls and a set of magic scroll crafting notes.
【Elementary Magic Scroll: A single-use magical item capable of storing basic spells.】
Qiyu couldn't help but marvel at the selection. Adding Civil Engineering Brother as a friend had truly been a wise decision.
These weren't necessarily items he would ever come across on the trading page.
【Civil Engineering Brother: Bro, is there really nothing here you like?】
Civil Engineering Brother was puzzled. Why wasn't the big shot reacting? Every single one of these was a valuable item.
【I Love Survival Game: I like all of them.】
Civil Engineering Brother chuckled. Of course he did. Who wouldn't?
He knew 【I Love Survival Game】 was no ordinary player. There was no point in even showing him commonplace items.
All three offers were good, but Qiyu needed to consider them carefully.
The 【Thorn Ring】 only increased HP. Since he already had better jade equipment, he could afford to pass on it.
The 【Berserk Potion】, on the other hand, could save his life at a critical moment, and Qiyu was sorely tempted.
However, compared to the 【Berserk Potion】, he was even more interested in the final offer: elementary magic scrolls capable of storing basic spells.
He had come across a mention of them in the elementary introduction to magic.
Mages could store their spells in magic scrolls, allowing even ordinary people without any magical aptitude to cast spells. This made them highly sought-after magical items.
More importantly, the offer also included a set of magic scroll crafting notes. Those were even more valuable than the scrolls themselves.
【I Love Survival Game: I want the magic scrolls and the crafting notes.】
Civil Engineering Brother wasn't particularly surprised. After all, the mere mention of magic was enough to make the items sound extraordinary. Magic! It was just like something out of a novel.
However, drawing on his years of business experience, he suspected that an obviously valuable treasure being offered for trade must have some hidden drawback.
Otherwise, why wouldn't the owner keep such a good item for himself?
Civil Engineering Brother didn't want to lose a generous, easygoing client like Qiyu, so he offered a subtle warning.
Qiyu was taken aback. He already knew about 【Civil Engineering Brother】's talent, but he hadn't expected him to actually offer advice that might jeopardize the deal.
Wasn't he worried that Qiyu might take his warning to heart and back out of the trade?
【I Love Survival Game: It's fine. I'm interested in this.】
【Civil Engineering Brother: Alright, bro. If you're sure, I'll tell you what the other party is asking for.】
【Civil Engineering Brother: The seller says the magic scrolls are extremely valuable, and if he weren't desperately short on weapons, he wouldn't even consider trading them. So, in addition to your dagger, he wants a random blueprint, 100 units of wood, and 5 kg of food.】
Qiyu frowned.
Wood and food were essential resources at this stage, and both could easily be traded for other valuable supplies. Still, he knew how rare magic scrolls were, so he was willing to make the exchange.
【I Love Survival Game: I don't have any blueprints…】
He hadn't even finished typing when another message appeared.
【Civil Engineering Brother: What a rip-off! At current market prices, wood and food are already expensive enough, but he's demanding that much of both and a blueprint on top of it!】
【Civil Engineering Brother: Boss, if you trust me, let me negotiate with him.】
Qiyu：……
He silently deleted the message he had been typing.
【I Love Survival Game: Hmm.】
Civil Engineering Brother spent a full half hour haggling with the seller.
【Civil Engineering Brother: Brother, I finally managed to pry some information out of him. No wonder he's selling those magic scrolls. All ten of them are blank, and the magic scroll crafting notes require an extremely high level of mental power. Most people can't even read them.】
In other words, the items were completely useless to the seller.
【Civil Engineering Brother】 was a smart man. He didn't bother asking Qiyu whether he still wanted them.
【Civil Engineering Brother: Brother, he refuses to budge on the food, but I've gotten him to lower the wood requirement to 60 units and replace the blueprint with any piece of basic furniture.】
【I Love Survival Game: Alright.】
Civil Engineering Brother let out a low whistle, silently raising his estimation of Qiyu another notch.
In the end, Qiyu traded a green-quality short sword, 5 kg of barbarian fang boar meat, 60 units of wood, and a wooden bed for ten magic scrolls and the magic scroll crafting notes.
At the same time, he received a system notification. The high-quality wooden axe he had listed on the trading page had finally sold at his asking price, earning him 60 units of wood.
【Civil Engineering Brother: By the way, about the things you asked me to keep an eye out for—no one is offering cotton anymore, and there's still no news about the cashmere flowers. But I did manage to get two packets of seeds.】