Island Core

Ling Chu followed close behind as she slid down into the cave. The tunnel sloped downward, and its floor was covered in loose sand. It didn't look very deep, and a few seconds later, she slid to the bottom.

When she looked up, she found herself staring straight into Titch's eerie, green-glowing skull eyes.

The darkness all around them was a little creepy at first glance.

Titch grinned and held out a bony hand to help her up. Ling Chu waved him off and told him to scout ahead, then took a Fluorescent Starfish from her Ring to light the way.

The tunnel was just tall enough for someone to walk upright. With the light, Ling Chu spotted drag marks on the ground again. The floor was sandy, and dead branches covered the walls and ceiling. It seemed those branches were the only reason the sandy soil hadn't collapsed.

There was only one path through the tunnel, with no branches. It was unusually quiet, and the tunnel was clean; Ling Chu saw nothing resembling animal droppings.

She stayed alert and followed behind the Skeleton Henchman, continuing deeper into the tunnel.

After about a minute, a faint rustling came from the silent tunnel ahead. It sounded like wind brushing through leaves, or perhaps insects gnawing on them.

Ling Chu and Titch both slowed their steps, and just then, they reached the end of the tunnel.

The Fluorescent Starfish illuminated the end of the tunnel, revealing everything clearly. The sight before her made Ling Chu's eyes widen involuntarily.

The end of the cave was blocked by a wall of deadwood and thorns. Sanfuye's corpse hung from it, feet dangling above the ground and head drooping. He was unmistakably dead.

The dead branches coiled around his body, their sharp thorns burrowing into his flesh like mosquito proboscises. Those were the source of the strange rustling she'd heard.

The branches were feeding on his flesh and blood.

Sanfuye's cheeks were sunken, and his whole body seemed to have shrunk. In the short time he'd been missing, he'd been reduced to skin and bones.

"Rustle—"

Ling Chu had only just come to her senses when the dead branches seemed to notice their presence. Several shot toward them like tentacles and, in an instant, coiled around Titch, who was standing in front.

Titch was caught completely off guard. In the blink of an eye, the branches dragged him to the end of the cave and hoisted him up, his feet dangling just like Sanfuye's.

Ling Chu was standing farther away. After the bloodsucking branches wrapped around Titch, they didn't attack her again.

"Captain, help—"

Before Titch could finish calling for help, the sharp thorns covering the branches jabbed fiercely into him.

"Ahahaha, that tickles! Hahahaha... Stop, stop that!"

Titch's cries of alarm gradually turned into helpless laughter. The thorns pricked him all over, but couldn't find anywhere to sink in. It was like a swarm of mosquitoes trying to bite a fully armored warrior. Those fearsome thorns were useless, and instead they made Titch tremble and laugh uncontrollably.

"Hahahaha! What are these branches? They're so indecent! Captain, help—hahaha, help me!"

Seeing that he was fine, Ling Chu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

These branches fed on flesh and blood, but they'd run into Titch, a skeleton. He was their natural nemesis.

"Catch! Cut the branches."

Ling Chu quickly took out an Iron Dagger and tossed it to him.

Titch struggled to catch it, then bared his teeth in manic laughter as he swung the dagger at the branches wrapped around him. The branches were powerful attackers, but not very tough. The sharp blade chopped them into pieces that fell to the ground.

But as he cut through more and more of them, the branches replenished themselves more and more slowly.

At last, the dead branches seemed to have exhausted their strength. No new shoots grew, and Titch broke free from the pile of branches.

The dead branches wrapped around Sanfuye's body also went limp. His corpse fell to the ground, kicking up a faint cloud of sand.

"Damn branches. I almost became the first skeleton in history to laugh himself to death..."

Finally free, Titch let out a sigh of relief.

He crouched down and looked at Sanfuye's corpse, sucked dry until only a husk remained. Shaking his head, he sighed, "What a gruesome way to die. At least my own death was quick."

Titch raised his head absentmindedly, then suddenly exclaimed, "Huh? What's that?"

Ling Chu followed his gaze. Beneath the covering of branches and thorns was a glowing, spherical object. Now that so many branches had been cut away, it was fully exposed.

Her instincts told her that this was the Island Core.

Ling Chu walked over to the sphere and touched it, but nothing happened. She tried to put it into her Ring Space, only to find that it couldn't be stored either.

She thought of the scenes in novels where someone made a divine artifact recognize them as its master. She tried cutting her fingertip with the dagger and dripping a drop of her blood onto the sphere.

The next second, a crisp system notification sounded.

[You have obtained an Island Core (Level 1).]

[You have become the owner of this island. Please name it.]

It worked!

Ling Chu thought for a moment. There was a lot of Iron Ore on the island, so she decided to call it Iron Ore Island.

[Island named successfully.]

[Congratulations! You are the first player to own an island. You have received 1 System Blind Box and 10 Private Island Teleportation Cards. They will be air-dropped onto your raft shortly. Please collect them.]

[Iron Ore Island produces 500 pieces of Iron Ore, 300 pieces of wood, 50 jin of Sea Buckthorn Fruit, 30 coconuts, 10 Red-skinned Coconut Crabs, and 1 Ghost Thorn Seed every three days. (Resources are ripe and ready to collect.)]

[Time remaining before you must leave the island: 43 hours, 19 minutes, 48 seconds.]

[Friendly reminder: An island you have already visited cannot be visited again (unless it is your private island and another player has invaded it). Be sure not to leave anything behind when departing.]

Even after the island became hers, she still couldn't stay there.

That was probably the system's way of preventing players from settling on an island and never going back out to sea.

Ling Chu's attention settled on the words in parentheses. Unless another player invaded her private island? What did that mean? Could other players invade and seize her island in the future?

She opened the cards the system had given her.

[Private Island Teleportation Card: When used, the island owner and their vessel will be transported to the waters near the island. Can be used once per day.]

This was useful. She wouldn't have to worry about sailing too far from the island and coming back to find her home stolen. Ling Chu felt reassured. She had never been softhearted. Anyone who dared take what was hers would pay the price.

Ling Chu could feel the bloodsucking thorns in front of her slowly regaining their energy. The Island Core couldn't be taken away anyway, and it was perfectly safe here.

Ling Chu then looked at Sanfuye's corpse and tried using the Bone Revival skill on him.

The system's response was: [This skill cannot be used on players.]

The skill couldn't be used on players?

Ling Chu raised her brows in surprise. Did that mean it could only be used on the natives of this world?

But when she thought about it, it made sense. The skill would be far too broken if it worked on players. After dying, you'd have to work for the enemy who killed you—that would be even worse than the King of Hell.

The warm, bright bonfire cast a soft glow in a circle beneath the starry night sky.

Ling Chu and Titch sat around the bonfire, warming themselves. An Iron Pot simmered over the flames, filled with a plump coconut crab. The spicy, savory aroma of Butter Hotpot Base whetted the appetite.

This was the first cooked meal Ling Chu had eaten since entering the game.

Before, on the boat, she'd had no fire or pot, so she'd lived on sashimi. It was fresh and sweet, but nowhere near as filling as cooked food.

And the coconut crab was especially plump and delicious!

The wild sea crab was packed with roe and its meat was tender and full. One of its claws was almost as big as her palm, and it had a light coconut fragrance. Paired with the spicy Butter Hotpot Base, it was utterly irresistible.