Xia Qiu nearly choked back a sob as she retrieved the two Wooden Planks and four pieces of Long Wood from the trade interface.
Though she hadn’t performed any real physical labor, her Hunger had been plummeting. While crafting, she had kept a close eye on the stat, only wolfing down a piece of dry rations when it neared 30, and even then, she had nearly choked. The experience was bizarrely real and unreal at the same time. The dizziness and burning sensation in her stomach from the dropping Hunger felt utterly authentic, yet crafting the fence was deceptively simple—it required only a waiting period, no hands-on work at all.
Xia Qiu felt as if everything around her was an absurd nightmare. Unfortunately, slapping herself a couple of times didn’t wake her up; it only lowered her Health.
Once her Hunger had recovered sufficiently, she selected the option to craft the Basic Workbench. The crafting time was half an hour, suggesting that more complex items would take even longer. While waiting, Xia Qiu glanced at the world channel again. Amidst a sea of unfamiliar IDs, a few familiar names occasionally popped up—clearly belonging to people who were either avid gamers or just very social. Xia Qiu, on the other hand, was the type who avoided the world channel even in massive multiplayer games unless it was absolutely necessary.
[One Star: I finally unlocked a new area! Where is everyone? This place is so desolate, there are barely any useful resources.]
[Xue Zihang: Starry, what’s your new map called? What kind of resources does it have? Wanna add each other as friends?]
[One Star: You again? Stop with the questions. And who said you could call me Starry?]
[Bo Gaoxing: Take it to private messages. Don’t clog the public channel. Selling a Crude Meat-Drying Rack, DM with offers.]
There were others with different professions, just like Day Day Up. Since not all the blueprints people found were for their own craft, they traded what they could and sold the rest at a high price.
By the time the sun began its descent, Xia Qiu’s Basic Workbench was finally complete. She placed it on a flat patch of ground she had picked out earlier and selected "View Details."
[Basic Workbench: An essential platform for crafting simple tools and the birthplace of countless ingenious inventions.]
Below the description was an option to view recipes. The list included the Refined Stone Hammer she desperately needed, as well as the now-unlocked Small Furnace.
Seeing this, Xia Qiu couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. She hadn’t looked closely before. It turned out she needed a Basic Workbench to craft a Small Furnace. And here she was, having had the audacity to tell Yan Chi she could make one for him. It was a good thing he didn’t need it or press the issue; otherwise, wouldn’t that have made her a fraud?
Further down, there were two more options.
[Input] [Pickup]
The "Input" option was lit, likely the slot for placing materials. "Pickup" was grayed out, which probably meant it would only become active after an item was successfully crafted.
Xia Qiu circled the workbench several times, a sense of joy gradually creeping into her expression. A gray-tier, basic creation, and it had no durability! Moreover, the second half of the description seemed to imply that besides the blueprints she had already unlocked, she could also use the materials she had on hand to invent new things.
That, however, was a project for another day. The top priority was to get her fence installed.
Once the hammer was done, Xia Qiu stuffed another piece of dry ration into her mouth and installed the entire fence in one go. Thankfully, she didn’t have to actually swing the hammer with any real CLANGING or banging. During installation, the system blurred the scene before her. As long as she remained within a certain range, the process continued. If she moved too far away, it would pause, resuming only when she returned.
After the installation was complete, Xia Qiu discovered a rather awkward problem.
She reached out and touched the fence, and two lines of text popped up.
[A humble private territory. Unauthorized entry is prohibited without an invitation from the owner: Xia Qiu]
[Wooden Fence: Marks out one’s territory and effectively deters small to medium-sized animals, keeping intruders out. Consumes 50 durability per day. Consumption doubles during extreme weather or when under malicious attack. Must be rebuilt when durability reaches 0. (Durability: 9000/9000)]
It all sounded wonderfully secure, but her fence had no gate. What was the system thinking? It had failed to mention that the fence would not only keep others out but also prevent her from getting in.
Fortunately, the fence only came up to her waist. She gave it a try and found she could climb over it.
Time had slipped by, and it was already five in the afternoon. Yesterday, the sun had set at five-thirty; by all rights, it would be even earlier today.