A Bountiful Haul

"Captain, what's that bright red stuff?"

Ling Chu was enjoying her meal when a skull poked over.

Titch leaned curiously toward the pot and sniffed hard with a nose that wasn't there. As a native NPC in the game, this was the first time in his life he'd seen hot pot base.

"That's chili oil," Ling Chu explained.

Though Titch had no nose, he could still smell. The aroma had a strange, numbing fragrance that made his eyes sting, but it also made him drool uncontrollably.

"Want to try some?"

Ling Chu fished out a crab claw and handed it to him.

Titch copied her, cracking the shell with a rock. He pulled out the tender white crab meat, tilted his head back, opened his mouth, and tossed it in.

Ling Chu watched as the crab meat fell from his jawbone to his collarbone, then his ribs, passed through his pelvis, and finally landed on the beach. Her mouth twitched.

"This is absolutely delicious."

Titch gave a satisfied sigh, as if he'd truly tasted the coconut crab.

Ling Chu didn't call him out. Titch had played a big part in helping her bring in such a haul today.

There were plenty of coconut crabs left, so she let him enjoy himself.

Coconut crab shells were a crafting material. Ling Chu didn't throw them away after eating; she simply stowed them in her Ring Space.

There was still a day and a half before the system's deadline to leave the island. Ling Chu wasn't in a hurry to go. She wanted to enjoy at least one more dinner on the island.

Life at sea meant never staying in one place for long. The feeling of standing on solid ground made her feel much more secure, so she wanted to enjoy it for as long as she could.

As she gnawed on a crab leg, Ling Chu glanced down at her abundant haul in the Ring Space and couldn't help narrowing her eyes.

The trip had been a close call, but it had paid off handsomely!

When an island was first claimed, the resources' maturation timer reset.

After Ling Chu tapped the button to collect the resources, her Ring Space instantly filled with 500 pieces of Iron Ore, 300 pieces of Wood, 50 pounds of Sea Buckthorn Fruit, 30 coconuts, 10 coconut crabs, and one Ghost Thorn Seed.

In her Ring Space, identical items could be stacked, so all 500 pieces of Iron Ore took up just one storage slot.

Added to the Iron Ore she'd mined earlier with Titch, she now had over 580 pieces.

She dared say that, at that very moment, she had more Iron Ore than anyone else in the game.

All that effort had really paid off!

Ling Chu checked her food supplies again.

She had 14 pieces of Wheat Bread, five bags of Alkaline Water Bread, two baskets of Blueberries, one piece of Butter, one can of Sweet Corn, two cans of Canned Ham, one can of Canned Cranberry, a small bag of salt, two Horse Mackerel, one sea bream, three bars of chocolate, five cans of Rye Beer, two small watermelons, two baskets of Fresh Lychee, two extra-large frozen Tomahawk Steaks, nine bags of Spicy Butter Hot Pot Base, five bags of Hot and Sour Boneless Chicken Feet, five bags of Milk Cookies, 50 pounds of Sea Buckthorn Fruit, and 15 Red-skinned Coconut Crabs.

That was enough to last her a month. As for water, she had 20 bottles of Freshwater and 40 coconuts, plus two Water Purifiers. She wouldn't have to worry about running out of food or water anytime soon.

With food and shelter taken care of, the next most important thing was upgrading her raft.

Upgrading the raft to level three required 50 pieces of Iron Ore, 500 pieces of Cloth, 500 pieces of Wood, 50 bones of any kind, 10 pieces of Glass, and one Tear of the Ghost.

She had enough Iron Ore and Glass, but was still short on Wood and Cloth. She could trade Iron Ore with other players. Beast Bones were also available at the Trading Post, and they were very cheap: one bottle of water could get her 10 bones. Most of them were bones salvaged from the sea or caught while fishing, so she traded for 50.

As for the Tear of the Ghost, Ling Chu had no idea what it was. She even searched for it at the Trading Post, but no one was selling it.

She opened the Public Chat Channel, where all kinds of messages kept popping up.

"Buying Iron Ore! Will trade any basic resources!"

"Trading food for Iron Ore. I only need one! Any kind soul willing to sell me one? Please save me!"

"Trading pearls for Iron Ore! I can add some food if that's not enough!"

"Selling one extra piece of Iron Ore. Message me if you want it. Highest offer wins!"

"Stop messaging me, stop messaging me! It already sold..."

Both dim pearls and Iron Ore were essential for upgrading rafts. The former could also be obtained through fishing, and the odds weren't too bad. But Iron Ore could only be found in supply crates floating on the sea.

The odds of finding a supply crate were low to begin with, and the chances of getting Iron Ore from one were even lower.

A pirate like Sanfuye, who'd robbed several players, had only two pieces of Iron Ore on him. That showed how rare it was.

There was only one day left in the newbie period. Many players still couldn't upgrade their rafts to level two because they lacked Iron Ore. Without that upgrade, they wouldn't survive the coming Sea Storm. With their lives at stake, the Public Chat Channel was flooded with players looking to buy Iron Ore.

Ling Chu planned to keep 80 pieces for herself and trade away the rest while the market was hot. After all, she had an Iron Ore Island. In three days, she'd have another 500 pieces. There was no point holding on to so much Iron Ore when she could trade it for other resources.

She first posted a request: "Trading 50 pieces of Iron Ore for one Tear of the Ghost. Anyone who has one can apply to trade directly. Price negotiable."

The moment she posted it, she caught the attention of countless players.

When everyone else was tearing their hair out over a single piece of Iron Ore, she could offer 50. It was practically a public display of wealth.

"Fifty pieces of Iron Ore? Did I read that right? She must be a scammer!"

"You can't post a trade offer through the system for items you don't have. If she can post it, she really has them!"

"What's a Tear of the Ghost? I've never even heard of it."

"Boss, do you want anything else besides that whatever-it's-called tear? I only need one piece of Iron Ore to save my life!"

Ling Chu didn't say anything in the Public Channel. Instead, she posted another trade offer.

Five fresh food items weighing 500 grams each could be traded for one piece of Iron Ore. A hundred basic resources, like Wood or Cloth, could also be traded for one piece. Anyone with equipment, blueprints, or other rare items could message her directly to negotiate a trade for Iron Ore.

She wasn't short on food at the moment, but she wanted to stock up in case of emergencies. Besides, time stood still in her Ring Space, so she didn't have to worry about the food spoiling.

As soon as Ling Chu posted her trade offer on the Trading Post, her private messages exploded.

She patiently went through them one by one.

Quite a few of the messages came from freeloaders, claiming they couldn't offer that many resources and asking if they could borrow one piece of Iron Ore now and pay her back later.

Ling Chu ignored them all.

She wasn't only accepting food; she was also taking basic resources. A hundred pieces of Wood sounded like a lot, but if someone kept salvaging supplies, they could collect that much in seven or eight hours.

Two days had already passed. Anyone who worked hard wouldn't be unable to come up with a hundred basic resources.

Those who claimed they couldn't either were too lazy or were just hoping to freeload.

They wouldn't be missed if they died.

Plenty of others tried to haggle, saying her asking price was too high.

Ling Chu couldn't be bothered to respond. Iron Ore was in such high demand that if they thought it was too expensive, plenty of other people would buy it.

There was also one private message.

Invincible and Handsome: "Bro, where'd you get all that Iron Ore? Could you let me in on it? I can trade resources for the information."

Ling Chu ignored him, but he immediately sent several more messages.

"We should all make money together."

"There's no point hoarding so much Iron Ore. Everyone needs it to upgrade their rafts early on, but after that, I doubt it'll sell for much."

"How about I trade you ten pounds of food for the information? I'm only buying one sentence from you. You can't lose!"

He wouldn't give up trying to pry the information out of her.

Ling Chu got tired of his incessant messages and replied, "I can't share that."

There was no way she'd tell him she owned an Iron Ore Island.

Besides, she wasn't interested in a mere ten pounds of food.

"Heh. You can't share it, or you just don't want to?"

When Invincible and Handsome saw that she wouldn't tell him, his attitude changed too.

"Let me be frank with you. I'm a pirate, and I have an item that can locate and track people. Having resources beyond your ability to protect is dangerous. I suggest you be sensible. Otherwise, I can find you just the same."