Slacking off in the Game of Survival

Chapter 29 Ten Square Metres Island(6)

Soon, night fell.

Qian Yue had just finished building the bamboo house and went inside when the system’s voice rang out:

【A cold wave is approaching.】

【After nightfall, the temperature will drop, and character mobility will be affected. Players, please pay attention to keeping warm.】

At the same time, the wind suddenly picked up outside.

Due to the limited time, Qian Yue only managed to put two rows of bamboo together to form a triangular shape on the ground for the house, without any additional reinforcements.

The reeds serving as curtains on both sides were blowing in the wind, and Qian Yue couldn’t help but open the curtains and look outside. Suddenly, a chill rushed in.

Under the moonlight, the once-calm sea was stirred by the wind, and waves continuously crashed against the shore. The sound of waves became the only noise heard on this dark night.

The sea, which was blue during the day, was now pitch black like ink. It seemed as if staring into an abyss, and the mysterious darkness inexplicably made one feel a bit fearful.

Qian Yue walked to the shore and frowned.

“The water level has risen.”

The island was originally only ten square meters in size, and now there would be even less usable land after the water level rose.

Although tides were a normal occurrence, for some reason, Qian Yue instinctively felt that something was not quite right once she entered the instance. She pondered for a moment and inserted a piece of bamboo strip at the water’s edge as a marker.

She murmured, “Since it’s a survival instance, the strong winds and rising water are definitely not coincidental.”

“In the coming days, the wind is likely to get stronger. I must reinforce the bamboo house tomorrow.”

The next day, 00:05:00.

Supplies were delivered on time, and Qian Yue had a bandage spawn on that day.

She walked out of the bamboo house and could clearly feel that today’s temperature drop from yesterday.

The sunny weather was gone, replaced by a lingering thin mist. The distant sea was shrouded in mist, and one could vaguely see silhouettes moving on the deserted island.

Considering the time, this was the exact moment when the new batch of crops would mature. Those people probably went to the island before dawn, squatting there and waiting for the first harvest.

Qian Yue, “…quite persistent.”

But she had no intention of joining the commotion.

If she went over now, those people on the island might jump into the water and not even bother about the supplies. She quickly ran back to her own island—after all, she should at least leave them with a way out, right?

Qian Yue collected the crops on the island, then walked to the spot where she had inserted the bamboo strip last night and took a look. She found that the water level had dropped again.

On the exposed shallow beach, there were many good things, all of which Qian Yue collected in a bamboo basket.

However, as she collected, Qian Yue felt that something was not quite right.

“The water level…”

Qian Yue stopped and observed carefully. She had an intuition that today’s water level seemed to be slightly higher than yesterday’s.

Unfortunately, there were no suitable reference points nearby, so it was difficult to determine whether there had been a change in a short period of time.

But the more Qian Yue looked, the more uneasy she felt in her heart.

This subtle intuition had saved her countless times in the wilderness, and her expression instantly became serious.

Originally, she had planned to lay a foundation within the day and secure the bamboo house on the island, but now she instantly changed her mind.

“Now it’s just some preliminary signs, but it’s very likely that the water level will continue to rise in the next few days. The terrain of this island is too flat and prone to flooding. It would be too risky to fix the bamboo house on the island.”

With these thoughts in mind, Qian Yue lost interest in continuing to gather seafood and returned to the bamboo house with half a basket of seafood.

Due to a lack of space in her backpack, she had piled up most of the materials she had harvested next to the house, forming a small mountain.

Among them, there were about forty reeds and twenty-five bamboo shoots.

Although it seemed like there were more reeds than bamboo shoots, both were actually counted by the root. Even with forty reeds, it was still just a small bundle that wouldn’t burn for more than a minute.

“What a pity. It would be great if there were more reeds.”

Qian Yue said as she took out the bamboo raft from her backpack.

She had used it several times yesterday, and the durability of the raft was now 16/20. However, Qian Yue didn’t have any more materials at the moment, so she could only use it as the “foundation” for her house.

Yes, the foundation.

Qian Yue gave up on the idea of settling on the island and decided to build a floating house.

She pondered, “Since the draft of the bamboo raft is not enough, the house on top should be as lightweight as possible. The fewer tools used, the better.”

“This bamboo raft won’t last long, and it will probably be scrapped in a few days. It’s best to make the house on top removable.”

Having figured out the general direction, Qian Yue wasted no time and got to work.

The bamboo shed she made yesterday was just perfect for her plan.

She only needed to connect the bamboo shed and the bamboo raft together and secure them with reeds.

However, when it came down to it, Qian Yue preferred reeds over the bamboo raft.

She thought to herself, “If I could use reeds as the support for the hull, it would be much better than the bamboo raft.”

Despite being thin and lightweight, once tightly bound, reeds were much more useful than bamboo rafts. Qian Yue had even seen floating islands made of reeds.

The locals on reed island were building houses and schools, just like on the mainland, without any difference.

Apart from reeds, rubber tires were also great. Whether directly made into tire boats or tied under wooden planks or bamboo rafts, they were very useful.

Qian Yue happened to have three sets of tire blueprints in her hand, which she opened from an airdrop package yesterday. Unfortunately, there were no rubber trees on the nearby small islands, so she couldn’t produce them due to a lack of rubber.

For most of the day, Qian Yue stayed on her island building the boat, which relieved the people on the nearby islands. However, when it came time for the supplies to refresh on the uninhabited island, everyone remained well-behaved, as if they were afraid of disturbing
Qian Yue, even though her island was actually several hundred meters away from the uninhabited island.

Initially, it was because of Qian Yue’s intimidation, but later, the people formed an unspoken agreement. They would rush to the island and line up when it was time for the supplies to refresh, and once the crops were ripe, they would take turns picking them in the order of the queue. No one could stay for a long time or repeat the queue.

Over time, everyone seemed to realize that things were not so bad, and they gradually adapted. During the waiting process, they even started to engage in transactions with a friendly demeanor.

“Miss, I’ve come to bring you coconuts~”

Just as Qian Yue finished fixing the last part, she suddenly heard a girl’s voice. She turned around and saw Xu Xiaogu sitting on a giant lotus leaf nearby, smiling sweetly at her.

Xu Xiaogu, “Can I come up?”

Qian Yue nodded.

Xu Xiaogu, who was unsteady yesterday, jumped down from the lotus leaf with ease. She didn’t approach Qian Yue, but as soon as she landed, she took out several large coconuts from her backpack and placed them on the island.

Qian Yue was confused, “?”

Xu Xiaogu smiled and said, “When I was practicing paddling lotus leaves this morning, I accidentally drifted far away. As a result, many people came with supplies to exchange for lotus leaves.

Everyone on our islands is now using the giant lotus leaf as transportation.”

She blinked, “But don’t worry, I didn’t sell any to that bald guy.”

Paddling lotus leaves…

Qian Yue silently mocked this term in her mind. When she turned her head, she realized that at some point, there were many people coming and going in the nearby waters.

Some were paddling boats, some were sitting on lotus leaves, and there were even people lying on floating logs. Most of them were unfamiliar faces to Qian Yue.

However, they were mostly active near the uninhabited island and didn’t approach the private small island, so Qian Yue hadn’t noticed them before.

Seeing Qian Yue looking over, Xu Xiaogu explained, “Those people are here for trading. It’s more convenient on the uninhabited island.”

Qian Yue raised an eyebrow, “Aren’t you afraid they’ll come and steal supplies?”

Xu Xiaogu pursed her lips and smiled, “They wouldn’t dare.”

As for why those people wouldn’t dare… Xu Xiaogu glanced at Qian Yue secretly and didn’t go into further explanation.

She said, “I heard someone say that you didn’t leave the small island today, so I brought something over.”

Qian Yue was somewhat surprised, “No need.”

No pain no gain. Although she often liked to “extort” others, Qian Yue was very clear about what she could take and what she couldn’t.

The fees she collected from those people before were considered tuition, so she felt justified. But for someone like Xu Xiaogu, she didn’t want to owe any favors.

Xu Xiaogu insisted, “If you hadn’t told me about the use of the giant lotus leaf, I wouldn’t have been able to make so many trades.
Consider it as a reward.”

Qian Yue replied without hesitation, “A fair exchange is no robbery. You already paid the reward yesterday.”

Xu Xiaogu, “…”

Perhaps she didn’t expect Qian Yue to be so resolute. Xu Xiaogu stood there in embarrassment, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Some people nearby were looking in their direction. Qian Yue was sensitive to gazes and instinctively turned her head, startling the onlookers.

At this moment, Xu Xiaogu suddenly shouted, “Boss! This is today’s protection fee!”

Of course, the protection fee was fake, and Qian Yue couldn’t engage in such activities prohibited by the rules. Xu Xiaogu shouted like that because a few outsiders were peering in their direction.

She looked embarrassed and said, “Those people were suspicious and seemed to be together. We were afraid they would cause trouble, so we wanted to scare them off.”

The fact that players were queuing on a deserted island was already unusual, and outsiders naturally assumed that everyone here was weak. So it was normal for them to be targeted.

At that time, they only wanted to deter outsiders and protect the resources of their uninhabited island. They didn’t expect the rumors about their leader to spread so quickly.

In addition, Qian Yue hadn’t left the island all day and appeared completely unconcerned about their survival, which further confirmed the speculations in those people’s minds.

Qian Yue was puzzled, “So why me?”

Xu Xiaogu avoided her gaze and said, “Well…”

Among the others, there were indeed some who wanted to be the leader, but they had to be able to beat Qian Yue to gain everyone’s support!

From another perspective, if anyone else had been the center of attention, the players on the island wouldn’t have cared about their thoughts. The rumors would have spread and served their purpose.

But unfortunately, Qian Yue became the target of the rumors. When the news really spread, the players panicked belatedly.

— Why did we mention her?

— We didn’t think that much at the time! We just told the truth! Has anyone here not been beaten by her?!

— I have a feeling that if she finds out, we’ll be beaten again…

…

But the incident had already happened, and it was too late to say anything now.

After much consideration, the players decided to send Xu Xiaogu, the only one who hadn’t been beaten, to sound her out.

Qian Yue, “…”

She couldn’t help but feel one thing after hearing the whole story—

Is this the image you all have of me? Do I really go around beating people for no reason? Well, it’s not beating, it’s the education of love!

“Anyway, I’m really sorry… Take these things as our apology!”

Xu Xiaogu said nervously, leaving the pile of coconuts behind and hastily jumping onto the large lotus leaf, running away as if afraid of being caught by her.

“…” Qian Yue was at a loss for words.

She looked at the bamboo boat she had just put down and then at the coconuts on the shore, feeling somewhat bewildered.

It was like the feeling of a pot falling from the sky while you were at home. That pretty much summed it up.

On the second night, as the cold wave intensified, Qian Yue filled the gaps in the bamboo raft wall with the reeds she collected during the day. She ate a seafood stew cooked in coconut shells and seriously pondered how she would start a fire on the bamboo boat if the island sank.

This portable storage system provided by the game was great in every aspect except for its small size. Even the food placed inside remained fresh and hot.

But the problem was, she needed a place to make a fire and cook.
Bamboo was hollow, and bamboo tubes were prone to exploding when exposed to fire. So it would be risky to start a fire directly on the bamboo raft.

On the other hand, the fuel might not be enough once they left the island.

Without rice, it’s hard to make a meal. Despite facing numerous harsh environments, Qian Yue had to admit that some things became quite difficult without any tools.

Qian Yue rested her hands on her head and leaned on the reed cushion. “Thinking about it, this game seems to have some difficulty.”

Perhaps by tomorrow, she would need to go out and see if there were any good materials to trade…

On the third day of the game, just as dawn broke, Qian Yue went to check the water level again and unfortunately discovered that it had indeed risen.

And it wasn’t just a slight increase.

Qian Yue, “This is trouble.”

After realizing that the water level was not right yesterday, she used new strips of bamboo as markers during the day.

After nightfall, she inserted a third strip of bamboo to mark the water level after the second night’s high tide.

According to the normal rules of tidal rise and fall, there would normally be a slight discrepancy in the water levels between the two days due to various factors.

Qian Yue muttered to herself, “But this is definitely not normal.”

The three strips of bamboo in front of Qian Yue not only showed some slight discrepancies, but the differences were significant.

They were even located in different positions, roughly a tiger’s mouth apart from each other.

The highest strip of bamboo marked the highest water level after the second night’s high tide, while the one sandwiched in the middle indicated the highest water level after the first night’s high tide.

The last strip of bamboo represented the water level after the tide receded yesterday during the day, but it was now submerged in water.

Coincidentally, the new water level had just reached the middle strip of bamboo. This meant that the water level after the tide receded was at the same level as the water level after the first night’s high tide.

In other words, in just two days and two nights, the sea had risen at least twenty centimeters.

At first glance, this number may not seem significant.

But the problem lies in the fact that the small island where Qian Yue was located was not at a high elevation.

Currently, it was only a cold wave, but if there were strong winds and storms in the following days… Qian Yue’s expression suddenly became grave as her mind raced.

“Five days, at the latest the fifth day.”

She had to hold on until at least the fifth day of the game, not only for her island, or perhaps not just her island.

Qian Yue’s gaze swept across the surroundings, and her judgment was already formed in her mind.

At the very latest, there were only two more days. It was not just her island, but all the islands in this area would not escape their impending fate of sinking.