Chapter 21: Magical Seed

No wonder it was called the advanced materials trading group. The goods were indeed premium, and the people pulled into this group were far from simple.

The items they offered hadn’t even appeared in the trading zone yet. There were even Blue Crystals and Green Crystals that could directly enhance the body. Blue Crystals enhanced strength, while Green Crystals bolstered physical durability.

After a round of trading, Lily Rhodes used her Healing Water to exchange for two Skill Books from the other group members. They were Wind Blade and Wind Arrow, both wind-related Skills. She also acquired a blueprint that, once used, could open up a Mushroom field within the vehicle’s boundaries capable of automatically growing Mushroom Bombs.

The one who traded this blueprint was the group owner, Mr. Grant. He had opened it a long time ago. However, his vehicle was a special type that couldn’t grow anything, and a crucial requirement for placing the Mushroom field was soil.

The three Blue Crystals and three Green Crystals for bodily enhancement came from Mr. Cole in the group.

The remaining two people didn’t have anything Lily needed. Yet, they desperately needed Healing Water to survive the first night after the novice safety period ended. Left with no choice, the two directly offered up their hoarded Treasure Chests.

"This Golden Treasure Box is something I just fished up," Mr. Sharpe said. "It’s guaranteed to contain good stuff. Exchanging it for two liters of your Healing Water is an absolute steal."

"Two liters is too much," Mr. Rhodes replied. "I don’t have much Healing Water left either. I can give you a liter and a half at most."

"Deal," Mr. Sharpe agreed.

"I should have haggled more," Lily thought.

Next was Mr. Chandler. He didn’t have a Golden Treasure Box, but he had quite a few Bronze Treasure Chests. His vehicle was also a special type, possessing the ability to dive to the bottom of the sea. Therefore, searching for Bronze Treasure Chests was extremely convenient for him. He brought out eight of them in one breath and traded them with Lily for the Healing Water.

After completing the transactions, Lily gathered a lot of useful information from these people, including details about special vehicles.

Every special vehicle was unique and possessed advantages that ordinary vehicles lacked. The disadvantage was equally obvious: the difficulty of upgrading was extremely high. In addition, special vehicles more easily attracted the attention of marine creatures, making them more susceptible to attacks.

Lily looked at the information in the group chat and glanced at the turtle mark on her wrist. She had always thought it was a backpack gifted by the System. In reality, this was Shelly’s innate Skill. Everyone else was still using Bronze Treasure Chests as storage boxes.

After closing the chat group, Lily first stored the Treasure Chests and then learned the two Skill Books. Now she possessed three offensive Skills: Water Control Skill, Wind Blade, and Wind Arrow. Her basic self-defense capability was secured.

Next were the crystals that could enhance her body. Upon use, her physique received another round of strengthening. Finally, there were the Mutated Peach Tree and the Mushroom field.

After placing these two items properly, she went to check on the other vegetables and fruits. The cherry tomatoes, watermelons, strawberries, and cucumbers had already started bearing fruit. It likely wouldn’t be long before they ripened one after another.

At this thought, Lily couldn’t help but feel a surge of anticipation. Going without fresh vegetables and fruits for a long time on the open ocean was highly dangerous.

As the sky gradually darkened, Lily sat inside her tent. She figured it was about time to build a house. Living in a tent all the time was no long-term solution.

"I wonder if a wooden cabin blueprint will drop from all these Treasure Chests," she mused.

Because Shelly’s Level was high, she wasn’t actually too worried about tonight. Dozens of Treasure Chests were piled up in front of her, completely cramming the surrounding space. After opening all the Treasure Chests, a dazzling array of items appeared before her.

Steamed buns x10, bags of French rolls x8, Wuchang rice x10, 2.5-liter packs of purified drinking water x5, basic materials x500, cases of beer x5, bottles of red wine x12, bottles of Moutai liquor x20, packs of tea leaves x5, cartons of cigarettes x9, a 2x1.8 meter blanket, throw pillows x2, cases of instant noodles x20, cans of braised pork x50, cans of fruit x30, large water vats x5, Glass Workshop Blueprint x1, Coal Workshop Blueprint x1, and Fishbone Dagger Blueprint x1.

"To think three blueprints dropped in one go. Not bad at all," she said, nodding.

Lily looked at the items in front of her with great satisfaction, then categorized and stored them one by one. Based on the experience she had summed up over the past few days, wooden Treasure Chests mostly yielded various basic materials. Bronze Treasure Chests had a higher probability of dropping food, water, and minor props. Although they could also drop blueprints, the chances were relatively low.

Lastly came the Golden Treasure Box, which Lily had deliberately saved for the end. As the box popped open, a pea-sized seed lay quietly inside. Aside from that, there was absolutely nothing else.

Seeing this, Lily picked up the seed.

[Miraculous Seed: This is a miraculous seed. What it will become in the future depends entirely on your cultivation.]

After reading the Introduction, Lily stared at the seed in her hand. "It seems this is an item with a very high ceiling, but an equally low floor," she thought.

She immediately began to ponder what she should cultivate this seed into.

"A resource type? No, I’m not lacking food right now. Cultivating it like that would be a waste," Lily murmured softly, her eyes looking out at the pitch-black seascape.

"A healing type wouldn’t work either. After all, I already have the Healing Water Stone," she concluded.

After turning it over in her mind, Lily decided to cultivate the seed into an aggressive, carnivorous plant. They were on the ocean, where the last thing lacking was an abundance of food. Furthermore, even though Shelly’s Level was high, it didn’t mean they would be safe forever. Nurturing this plant properly would add another layer of security.

Having made up her mind, Lily turned on a high-powered flashlight and stepped outside. Near the fence, she used a tool to dig a hole about a meter deep. Digging such a large hole would have been impossible for her before, but now, it was a breeze.

With the hole dug, she first laid down the shark offal and meat she had butchered earlier at the bottom. She covered it with a layer of soil, planted the seed, and then placed some more shark meat around it. To prevent the plant from becoming a picky eater once it grew, she also added plenty of meat from other types of fish, ensuring a diverse diet.

The System had stated that the seed would grow into the envisioned form according to the cultivation method of the person who planted it. Lily was now highly anticipating what the seed would look like once it matured.

Just as she turned around to head back to the tent, the beam of her flashlight suddenly swept across the sea’s surface. The sight out on the water instantly gave her a fright.

Right behind Shelly, several sharks were trailing them in a relentless pursuit. Lily counted them; there were about seven or eight. Judging by the size of their fins, every single one of these sharks was vastly larger than the two she had encountered before.