"Flesh Essence" could be obtained through other means, so there was no need to choose the "Beast-Trapping Flower."
The remaining three options were equally difficult to choose from.
The "Warm-in-Winter Cool-in-Summer Tree" had an incredible effect, which would be very helpful against the upcoming cold wave.
The Sunflower was also excellent, almost guaranteeing the healthy growth of all other plants.
And the Crystal Rice, needless to say, was a long-term food source that could also improve physical constitution.
After much deliberation, Qi Yuan gritted his teeth and chose the "Crystal Rice."
Qi Yuan had to consider what to do if there was no food in the future!
The "Crystal Rice" was definitely the most reliable choice!
With the selection of plant items complete, five natural items appeared.
They were all of Excellent-grade as well.
[Miniature Fire Copper Vein]: A copper vein with temperature, easy to mold. It covers 5 square meters and automatically restores 5% Fire Copper daily.
[Miniature Spirit Mine]: Contains a small amount of Spirit Stone Ore, about 500 pieces.
[Hot Spring Pool]: A hot spring rich in minerals.
[Spring Source]: Produces 500 ml of energy-rich spring water daily, with certain body conditioning, antibacterial, and cleansing effects.
Every seven days, it produces a drop of energy-rich "Water Essence."
[Black Soil]: Soil rich in vitality, moderately enhances plant growth efficiency. (Requires nutrient supplementation, or it will degrade to common soil.)
This time, the choice was easier.
First, eliminate the Hot Spring!
Unfamiliar with Fire Copper and Spirit Mine, eliminate them!
That left only the "Clear Spirit Spring Source" and "Black Soil" to choose from.
After some mental struggle, Qi Yuan ultimately chose the "Spring Source."
Securing a stable, high-quality, and long-term water source had always been Qi Yuan's aspiration.
With the selection complete, the stone pillar before him vanished.
The "Crystal Rice" and "Spring Source" transformed into light spheres in Qi Yuan's hands.
Qi Yuan licked his lips with satisfaction, his gaze burning as he looked at the two light spheres in his hands.
Today's harvest had far exceeded his expectations.
It had firmly established his early advantage!
...
Qi Yuan didn't rush out to dig for stones. Instead, he returned home first.
There were still many things to do in the shelter.
For example, setting up a fence, planting the Crystal Rice, and placing the Guardian Thorn and Spring Source.
Upon returning, Qi Yuan first set up the fence.
The wooden cabin was a 5×6 rectangle, with the door facing south.
Qi Yuan fenced off a long strip on the side with the door, resembling a corridor.
The length was the same as the house, six meters, with a width of about 1.66 meters, and the fence height was 0.6 meters.
This way, he could enter the fenced area immediately upon exiting, and it would be convenient to access the fenced space at night.
The Spring Source occupied 0.25 square meters, relatively small in size.
Qi Yuan placed the Spring Source in the space enclosed by the fence.
The clear spring water gurgled into the small pool, producing a pleasant sound of flowing water.
The Spring Source already contained spring water, but it produced 500 ml of clear spring water daily. If overused, it would affect future production, potentially even drying up completely.
Currently, the Spring Source wasn't full yet; it would take until evening to have 500 ml of spring water.
Then Qi Yuan brought out the Guardian Thorn and planted it by the fence just outside the door.
With only one thorn, it naturally couldn't play its role yet.
Qi Yuan didn't have many plants around, so he gathered a bunch of grass to place at the thorn's roots, barely sustaining it.
As for the Crystal Rice, Qi Yuan didn't plan to plant it outside.
Instead, he placed it in the flower bed inside the house, intending to move it outside once it fully sprouted and grew.
The Crystal Rice Qi Yuan obtained was a complete, mature rice plant.
It was laden with dozens of crystal-clear grains, each about the size of half a fist.
Qi Yuan carefully counted them; there were 33 grains in total.
Without successful planting, Qi Yuan was naturally reluctant to eat them.
At least, he would wait until he could harvest them steadily before consuming them.
He dug up a pile of soil from the grass outside to fill the flower bed.
This was the only option for now, as he could only use the most common soil.
This made Qi Yuan think longingly of the Black Soil in the Mystic Realm, feeling a pang of envy. New chapters come out on g.com first.
If only he could have it all!
Qi Yuan picked all the Crystal Rice grains, planted five in the flower bed, and watered them.
He dared not use river water for irrigation, so Qi Yuan generously used mineral water.
The flower bed was 1 meter long and 0.5 meters wide.
So Qi Yuan arranged the five seeds in a long row.
After tidying everything up, Qi Yuan looked at the completely renewed wooden cabin and felt very satisfied.
...
Half an hour of daylight had passed, and it was time to head out for work.
Qi Yuan didn't plan to chop trees, firstly because the stone axe was inefficient.
Secondly, stones were more valuable.
Currently, many people didn't have pickaxes, so stones were more valuable.
He could easily trade stones for more wood in the Trading Market.
Qi Yuan planned to dig stones for four hours today, then explore the west and south of the shelter.
Understanding the surroundings of the shelter was very necessary.
...
"Ding ding ding"
The sound of the iron pickaxe striking stone echoed pleasantly from the north of the shelter.
Four hours later.
Qi Yuan sat sweating profusely beside a pile of stones, panting heavily.
In four hours, he had mined a total of 186 stones.
This time, Qi Yuan also brought an empty Resource Chest to transport the stones.
"Ah, if only I had a small cart! It would make transportation much easier!"
Qi Yuan looked at the pile of stones behind him, feeling both happy and despairing.
Thinking about moving 186 stones back, he felt a wave of back pain.
Considering the remaining daylight was indeed limited.
Qi Yuan forced his tired body to start transporting.
After nearly half an hour, he finally moved all the stones back home.
This time, he didn't put the stones in the wooden cabin but placed them outside in the fenced area.
Currently, inside the fence.
The Spring Source was on the far left, the thorn on the far right.
And in the middle were the piled stones.
All were placed against the shelter wall, leaving a walkway outside.
Qi Yuan checked the Spring Source and found the spring water had increased significantly.
He checked the Crystal Rice and thorn, finding them healthy with no significant changes.
Not wasting time, Qi Yuan headed west.
After upgrading to a Level 2 Shelter, the Clear Zone expanded to 500 meters, and the Light Mist Zone expanded to 5 kilometers.
Qi Yuan still didn't plan to venture deep into the Light Mist Zone.
At most, he would explore two to three kilometers in.
Qi Yuan walked in the western Light Mist Zone for over ten minutes without any discoveries.
The path was all chaotic grassland.
And the nearby soil didn't look fertile.
Although overgrown with weeds, they appeared withered and yellow.
At a glance, there was a sense of desolation and decay.
But fortunately, the sunlight provided great warmth to this land.
Qi Yuan walked counterclockwise around the wooden cabin towards the south.
When he reached the southwest direction, Qi Yuan saw several berry bushes.
Small, red berries the size of fingernails hung on the branches.
Qi Yuan approached and picked the berries, revealing their information.
[Name: Berry (Common)
Effect: Slightly quenches thirst and satisfies hunger.
Description: If there's really no food, just make do with it!]
These were very common food items, but Qi Yuan didn't mind.
He picked all the mature, intact berries.
It showed a total of 521 grams, a very endearing number.
Putting the berries in his pocket, Qi Yuan tightened his clothes and quickly walked south.
If there was a water source nearby, it was likely in the east or south.
The greatest possibility was the south!
The trees in the east were still relatively sparse, unable to form a forest.
Now, the trees in the south before him were clearly more vigorous.
And there were many other types of plants.
The southern forest was about 600 meters from the shelter's wooden cabin, just within the Light Mist Zone.
Qi Yuan didn't enter, only observing from the perimeter, hearing animal sounds from within.
Clear bird calls and rustling activity sounds indicated the vibrant life of this forest.
Qi Yuan couldn't help but sigh, wishing this place was closer to the wooden cabin.
Then the Guardian Thorn wouldn't have to worry about nutrients.
Now, just "eating" grass wasn't sustainable; sooner or later, he had to gather some nutrient-rich plants to feed the thorn.
Surveying the forest, Qi Yuan was quite satisfied.
But overall, it was somewhat disappointing.
Around the wooden cabin, there were only stones and trees.
There were no other more precious resources.
Not even food, except for 500g of berries.
Without the task rewards and food from the Resource Chest.
Qi Yuan would likely have to spend a lot of time and resources on food.
The overall development trend would also slow down significantly.
Qi Yuan took out the Mist Survival Manual and found there was still an hour left.
Qi Yuan planned to chop some trees, not mainly for wood, but to collect some tree roots.
Tree roots were essential materials for making Healing Potions.
Moreover, since tree roots could be used to make Life Potions, they must be rich in life energy.
They could surely be used for the growth of the Guardian Thorn.
Qi Yuan began harvesting in the southern forest.
Since he wasn't aiming for wood, Qi Yuan chose smaller trees, increasing efficiency significantly.
After chopping down the tree trunks, he dug out the remaining roots.
Without a shovel, he had to use the iron pickaxe as a substitute, reducing efficiency.
Once the tree roots were roughly excavated, a small green root would appear on the ground, without needing to dig out the entire root.
It was only about the size of a finger.
After spending 40 minutes, Qi Yuan dug out 5 tree roots and 23 pieces of wood.
Because the chosen trees were small, the wood yield was relatively low.
With the last ten minutes remaining, Qi Yuan packed up the tree roots and wood and hurried back to the wooden cabin.
The sky darkened quickly, and the sunlight faded rapidly in those ten minutes.
Thick clouds spread across the sky, and mist gradually thickened, permeating every corner of the Mist World.
Survivors returned to their shelter cabins one after another!
Mysterious and ferocious creatures began to occupy this land.
Qi Yuan ran all the way back to the wooden cabin, covering the 600 meters quickly.
...
He placed the wood outside in the fence, alongside the stones.
As the sky turned completely dark, the candlelight inside the wooden cabin seemed even brighter.
Sitting cross-legged on the grass mat, Qi Yuan opened a bottle of mineral water and drank it down.
Then he took out two pieces of bread for today's lunch.
The bread was small, only palm-sized, insufficient to satisfy an adult's appetite.
Food was too scarce now, only meeting basic needs.
The cherished compressed biscuits were still saved, as food was not abundant and needed to be conserved.
"How long will these days of hunger and cold last?!" Qi Yuan worriedly rubbed his stomach.
Returning to Earth was impossible; he could only strive for a better life in the Mist World.
Qi Yuan looked at the plump Crystal Rice, feeling a strong urge.
How wonderful it would be to have a bite of hot rice now!
But for future development, Qi Yuan resolutely looked away.
At this moment, the Mist Survival Manual glowed faintly, emitting a "beep beep beep" sound.
This was the notification for a World Announcement in the Mist World!