Chapter 64: Cooling Potion

The original sailboat had been a mere five meters long with a narrow hull and highly limited space. Now, after the upgrade, it stretched to ten meters and had widened significantly. It even featured a small cabin. Though the area wasn’t large, it came fully equipped with everything one could need, exuding a distinctly modern vibe.

"Not bad at all."

Lily Rhodes took a lap around the deck, extremely satisfied with the changes.

Aside from the green crystal stones, she had also picked up seventeen pieces of Dog Head Gold today. She only needed eighty-three more to upgrade the sailboat again.

As this thought crossed her mind, Lily glanced toward the sea. She knew Shelly had arrived.

She didn’t want Shelly exposed to the public eye, so she slipped into the water first to retrieve the beehive. Only after the Bee King led the other bees into their new home and settled the pupae did she return to Shelly’s back.

Once back, Lily took out all the loot she had collected on this trip. Small and large planter boxes made up the bulk of it.

She then sent all the honey she gathered today to the seasoning workshop to be processed.

This was pure wild honey, rich in nutrients.

She temporarily stored the small and large planter boxes in the warehouse, planning to sell them a few days later once she officially left Rugged Isle.

Next, she checked The Supreme Shop’s daily revenue. The Crystal Cores went straight into storage as usual, while the blueprints and items required registration before being warehoused.

Fortunately, she could now handle all of this using Crystal Cores. If Lily had to do everything manually, she probably would have thrown in the towel long ago.

Today’s seed collection included two new varieties: sesame and cocoa.

The former could be used to make sesame paste and oil, while the latter could produce chocolate.

As for the surplus seeds, she used to plant them directly into the soil. Now, however, she had changed her mind.

She held back a few of the large planter boxes meant for the warehouse and used them to sow these seeds instead.

After finishing all this, Lily turned her attention to the three owl eggs.

"What should I do with these eggs?"

The owl had been massive, and its eggs were equally enormous. It would be great if they could hatch, but... could they really?

After all, these eggs hadn’t been laid naturally; they were the byproducts of her dismantling Skill.

"Whatever, I’ll give it a try. Just in case."

If it failed, they would just turn into rotten eggs at worst.

Lily scavenged some materials, crafted a makeshift nest for the three eggs, and placed it in the living room. She then turned her head and spotted a half-finished bottle nearby—a three-in-one mixture of Healing Water, Purifying Water, and cooling water. She thought to herself that this was premium stuff and couldn’t be wasted.

She casually poured the remaining water over one of the eggs and walked away.

What she failed to see was the water lingering on the shell’s surface being rapidly absorbed until not a single drop remained.

After taking a shower and changing into clean clothes, Lily headed to the potion lab.

Lately, she had been researching a cooling potion. Once consumed, it would rapidly drop the body’s surface temperature and maintain it at a highly refreshing level. It wasn’t just an illusion tricking the brain; it was a physical change. And now, she was on the verge of success.

Currently, the effects of the cooling potion lasted for about ten minutes before wearing off. She wasn’t satisfied with this duration.

Lily tinkered around in the lab, constantly adjusting the ratios of cooling water, mint, pothos, and other plants. Finally, she managed to extend the potion’s effect to roughly an hour.

As a finalized formula for the cooling potion materialized, Lily knew it was ready for mass production.

Seeing this, she set down her tools, stretched deeply, and yawned as she walked out of the lab.

Time to sleep. She still had to explore the island tomorrow.

She slept soundly until six o’clock the next morning, when the alarm jolted her awake.

Lily rolled over in bed, then suddenly froze. As if remembering something, her eyes snapped open. She scrambled out of bed, yawned her way through her morning routine, and headed downstairs for breakfast.

At six o’clock, the sun wasn’t too harsh yet. She needed to get on the island early and strive to upgrade her sailboat to Level 4 within the next couple of days.

After breakfast, Lily returned to the open sea.

"It actually has an autopilot."

Lily had originally planned to use her Skills to propel the sailboat like before, but to her surprise, the upgraded vessel now featured an automated driving function. However, it required burning Crystal Cores for Energy.

Without hesitation, she pulled out a Crystal Core and set her destination. The sailboat promptly turned around and sped toward Rugged Isle.

Meanwhile, Baby Orca hovered around Lily, shamelessly freeloading food and drinks.

Yesterday, while Lily was having lunch on the island, she had fed Baby Orca a bite of a jam-filled bun. Who would have thought that a single bite would make the little creature fall in love with the taste? Just to get a few more bites of snacks, it had practically stopped eating proper food.

Seeing Baby Orca’s cheeky demeanor, Lily couldn’t help but laugh. "Is it really that good? By the way, Mother Orca has been gone for so long. Aren’t you worried at all?"

Baby Orca happily swallowed the bun whole and smacked its lips, wanting more. "Mom said she had important things to do. She told me to be good and stay with you."

Hearing this, Lily sighed. "Alright then."

She was treating her place like a daycare center.

Lily had already braced herself for the possibility that Mother Orca might never return.

Without the Bee King to lead the way this time, Lily didn’t bother finding a new landing spot. Instead, she anchored at the exact location she had departed from yesterday.

The two wooden rafts she had spotted last night were still there, and the distance between them had closed significantly.

It seemed those two had formed a partnership yesterday.

After a brief glance, Lily withdrew her gaze. She packed away her sailboat, tucked a Bronze Treasure Chest under her arm, and headed deep into the forest.

Along the way, she noticed numerous freshly chopped trees and a mess of overlapping footprints muddying the ground. Noting this, Lily moved with heightened caution.

She relocated the same stream from yesterday.

From a distance, Lily spotted a figure bent over, groping around in the water for something. Judging by the silhouette, it appeared to be a woman.

Seeing this, Lily avoided getting too close, not wanting to trigger the stranger’s guard and spark an unnecessary conflict.

Though the stream wasn’t wide, it stretched on for quite a distance. Besides, she had already searched the exact spot where that person was currently standing yesterday.

Lily hiked a fair distance upstream before stepping into the water. She bent over and began to comb through the creek inch by inch.

"Baby Orca, help me keep an eye on our surroundings. I’ll give you two buns when we get back."

"Three," Baby Orca negotiated, flicking its tail.

"Fine, three it is. Let me know immediately if you spot anything off," Lily agreed briskly.