Chapter 26: Just in Case, Preparing to Make Charcoal

After eating and drinking her fill, Lily Rhodes took advantage of the remaining daylight to take inventory of her harvest from the island today.

First were the coconuts. She pulled out the Bronze Treasure Chests containing them—there were a total of six. She planned to use some of the mature ones as seeds. Since she couldn’t eat all the remaining green coconuts, she could trade them for supplies; after all, every part of a coconut was valuable.

Next were the various fruits and wild berries. She had already transplanted them directly into the planting box and only needed to find time to plant them permanently.

Finally came the medicinal herbs. Although the Exploration Medal indicated that there were several types of medicinal herbs on the island, she had only found one.

[Golden Leaf: Boiling it in water and drinking it can treat symptoms such as fever and diarrhea.]

The Golden Leaf plants were fifty centimeters tall. There were over a dozen of them, and she had dug them all up and brought them back. She hadn’t found the other types of herbs yet, but it didn’t matter. She could continue her search tomorrow.

Once she finished taking inventory of everything, Lily reached for the mineral water bottle beside her and took a sip. Inside was the Healing Water she had bottled during the day just in case. Since she hadn’t needed it, she simply drank it as regular water.

As the Healing Water went down, a surge of vigorous vitality suddenly erupted from deep within her body. It rapidly spread through her limbs and bones. Wherever it passed, an indescribable sense of comfort washed over her, making it feel as if all her hidden ailments and injuries were instantly cured.

Only then did Lily realize that although she had obtained the Healing Water Stone days ago, she hadn’t actually drunk any of its water. Initially, she had been reluctant to use it because the Healing Water Stone produced so little. Later, she sold quite a bit of it, and since she hadn’t suffered any injuries herself, the thought of drinking it had entirely slipped her mind.

Although the Potential Seed could constantly push her limits to make her stronger and adapt to the current environment, it didn’t heal the hidden ailments and injuries caused by irregular habits and various other issues from her previous life on Azurea. These chronic problems might not be life-threatening, but they certainly existed.

Now, with all those hidden ailments and injuries completely vanished, Lily felt thoroughly rejuvenated from the inside out. It was an unprecedented sense of relaxation and comfort. She immediately regretted not doing this sooner; if she had known the Healing Water was this effective, she would have drunk it long ago.

She made a decision. From today onward, she would replace all her drinking water with Healing Water. After arriving in this dangerous and unfamiliar world, there was nothing wrong with treating herself a little better. Besides, as a Survivor, having a healthy body was incredibly important.

By now, the sky had turned completely dark. Lily surveyed her surroundings, thinking to herself that she needed to prepare some lighting equipment soon. Operating in the pitch black like this wasn’t a sustainable solution.

Just then, the Arrow Towers placed at the four corners suddenly sprang into action. Although it was too dark to see clearly outside, the firing frequency of the Arrow Towers made it obvious that the number of Sea Beasts tonight far exceeded the previous night’s. Lily guessed this was likely because Shelly hadn’t moved much today.

She walked over to the fence, holding a high-powered flashlight, and shined the beam outside. A single glance was enough to give her a fright. She previously thought being chased by over a dozen sharks was terrifying enough, but that paled in comparison to tonight. Outside, a dense swarm of various marine creatures scrambled over one another to lunge in her direction, looking like a horde of brainless monsters.

However, they stopped about half a meter away from Shelly. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to get closer; they were simply blocked by a golden protective barrier.

Seeing this, Lily couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Vehicle Level really was crucial. It seemed she needed to raise her Vehicle Level as soon as possible.

With that in mind, Lily evaluated the resources she currently had to upgrade Shelly: Biological Energy Clusters and Crystal Cores. She hadn’t found any other use for the Biological Energy Clusters yet, but as for the Crystal Cores...

She glanced at the Arrow Towers, which were raining down arrows as if they cost nothing, and temporarily dismissed the idea of using Crystal Cores to upgrade Shelly.

While Lily was calculating how her Biological Energy Clusters could be used for the upgrade, she was surprised to find that Shelly was actively preying on the Sea Beasts that got close. It swallowed them in single bites, eating with immense satisfaction. The Sea Beasts had absolutely no room to resist in front of Shelly.

"So you love eating squid," Lily remarked. After observing for a moment, she noticed that among the Sea Beasts, Shelly showed a particular preference for squids and octopuses.

Hearing her words, Shelly let out a cheerful cry, as if saying, "Delicious."

In fact, it wasn’t just Shelly. Sprout was also catching some of the smaller Sea Beasts that slipped through the cracks. With this supplementary food, Sprout’s growth speed increased once again. Lily was highly satisfied with this outcome. She wanted to turn this place into her own exclusive safe house, and now she was one step closer to that goal.

After thoroughly checking her surroundings and confirming there was no immediate danger, Lily still didn’t rest. Under these circumstances, she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep even if she tried. Rather than lying around wasting time, she might as well do something else.

She looked toward the Glass Workshop and the Charcoal Workshop. The Glass Workshop required sand to operate, and similarly, the Charcoal Workshop needed wood. She didn’t lack wood, but her current supply was a basic material. Using all of it to burn into charcoal was obviously out of the question. Moreover, even if she produced charcoal now, there would be no market for it.

After all, with the current weather, no one would use charcoal anyway. However, Lily’s greatest strength was her preparedness. Whether it was useful right now or not, she would stockpile it first and figure it out later. She firmly believed that hoarding a little more today meant an extra sliver of safety when facing danger tomorrow.

She couldn’t waste her current supply of wood. There were plenty of trees on the island she had just explored, which she could chop down and burn for charcoal. With that thought, she added logging to her upcoming plans. The Commons Workshop could produce axes, so tools wouldn’t be an issue.

"Should I pave a path?" Lily mused, looking down at the dirt staining her feet.

Right now, it was merely dirty, but if it rained, her entire living area would turn into a muddy mess. In case of an emergency, walking just a bit faster could easily cause a slip and fall.

Shelly’s Level was currently the highest among all the players, but infrastructure couldn’t be neglected either. Since she was alone, her standards weren’t high—as long as it was functional, it would be fine.