After thinking it over, Ji Xinghe still bought the Expansion Voucher.
There were never enough Space Grids, especially when entering a dungeon. If she found something good but had to leave it behind because she was short on space, she'd be heartbroken.
Next, she mechanically cast and reeled in her line.
As 9:00 p.m. drew closer, Ji Xinghe gripped her phone tighter and tighter.
She'd eaten everything on the table. Her eyes stayed fixed on the fishing tab, and the moment a red dot appeared, she reeled in her line.
The clock ticked away on the wall of the empty office...
At last, when the hour hand reached nine, Ji Xinghe's vision blurred.
The next moment, she heard waves crashing all around her.
Crash, crash, crash...
Her eyelids were heavy, but she forced them open.
Under the blazing sun, a huge floating panel appeared out of thin air in front of Ji Xinghe.
[Welcome, players, to the Island Survival Game. I am System 10066, and I will now explain the rules.] [1. At the start, every player will be assigned their own island. Raise your island's level as soon as possible, or you'll die a horrible death.] [2. The beginner protection period lasts three days. During this period, monsters' attributes are reduced tenfold. Stock up on enough supplies while you're protected.] [3. This game has been launched for all of humanity on Blue Star, including infants, the elderly, and people with disabilities. To ensure fairness, the system will provide them with care packages and special guidance.] [4. Fishing rods are players' most important survival tools. If you want supplies, don't abandon yours. If you happen to lose it, good luck.] [5. Time in the Island World differs from time in certain regions. Whether or not you're alert, you must stay alert! If you don't keep moving forward, there's only one outcome: death!] [6. The Island Survival World has no place for the weak. Get stronger by any means necessary.] [7. Don't trust anyone too easily, including your friends and family.] [8. Think "panel" to check more information. Finally, may you all survive to the end.]
Looking at the transparent panel floating before her and the familiar game rules, Ji Xinghe couldn't help feeling glad she'd kept going without a break.
Good thing she still had her "stash."
Thinking of that, she hurriedly opened her backpack. When she saw the 86 treasure chests gleaming faintly in its slots, she couldn't help taking them out and setting them down one by one.
The island was tiny, only four square meters. She had to stack the wooden chests six layers high to fit them all.
So that was how high a pile of 86 chests reached. Ji Xinghe stood in the shade, stunned for a long while...
Last time, it had taken more than ten days of nonstop fishing to collect this much. She hadn't expected to get it all in just three hours this time.
Ji Xinghe gently brushed her fingers over the chests, and a faint woody scent drifted into her nose.
She... had never been this well-off before...
She almost didn't want to open them.
It wasn't until the waves washed onto the beach that Ji Xinghe finally came back to herself.
She looked at the Black Great Shark guarding the edge of the island and parted her lips. "Hey, buddy, these chests are mine!"
Ji Xinghe raised her chin smugly.
She wasn't afraid of the shark attacking. During the three-day beginner protection period, no sea monster could get through except prey she'd caught herself.
The shark's triangular eyes slid coldly toward her. Its mouth, as big as a washing machine drum, gaped open, and drool trickled slowly between its sharp teeth.
Then its whole body began slamming into the island's Protective Shield over and over.
Ji Xinghe: ...
Maybe it just liked exercising like this.
She sat down on the beach without a care. As long as she didn't leave the Protective Shield, the Sea Beasts could batter it until they dropped dead and still wouldn't be able to touch her.
Then she opened all the chests with a single tap.
[Opened 86 Wooden Treasure Chests. Obtained: Wood ×187, Stone ×152, Plastic ×106, Thatch ×198, Refined Iron ×16, Bronze ×25, Foundation Stone ×31, Soil ×36, Fishing Line ×19, Flint (pair) ×5, Cloth ×9, Cotton ×50, Glass ×4 Cream Bread (500 g) ×10, Steamed Buns ×22, Assorted Instant Noodles ×24, KFC Family Bucket ×1, Rice (50 jin) ×1, Rice (10 jin) ×2, Mineral Water (500 g) ×46, Mineral Water (1,000 g) ×5, Flour (10 jin) ×1, Watermelon (2,500 g) ×1 Black Earth (Level 1) ×6, Watermelon Seeds ×3, Chinese Cabbage Seeds ×2, Ginger Seeds ×5 Seven-Piece Toiletry Set ×1, Four-Piece Set ×1, Tissues ×6, Sanitary Pads ×2, Quilt (8 jin) ×1, Mattress ×1, Pillow ×1, Thin Blanket ×1, Wooden Buckets (50 L) ×3 Ten-Piece Kitchenware Set ×1 HP Recovery Potion ×2, Trash Bin ×1, Basic Backpack Expansion Vouchers ×2, Intermediate Backpack Expansion Voucher ×1 Water Purifier Blueprint ×1, Soft Armor Blueprint ×1, Storage Wooden Box Blueprint ×1 Star Feather Repeating Crossbow ×1, Star Feather Crossbow Bolts ×100] (That's the haul from three hours of fishing, so He Bao has a pretty good supply of materials. There'll be more panels later for construction, announcements, and so on, so please bear with me. (ε｀ *) Mwah~?)
Inside the opened chests, the supplies were wrapped in colorful balls of light. Even under the blazing sun, they shone brilliantly.
With a grin stretching from ear to ear, Ji Xinghe hurriedly took out the three glowing orbs containing Expansion Vouchers and used them.
[Basic Backpack Expansion Voucher used successfully. Space Grid +5] [Basic Backpack Expansion Voucher used successfully. Space Grid +5] [Intermediate Backpack Expansion Voucher used successfully. Space Grid +10]
With those twenty extra Space Grids, she now had 35 in total.
Still not enough!
She put some bulky items, like the mattress and wood, along with several other supplies, into her backpack.
Then Ji Xinghe took out the glowing orb containing the Storage Box blueprint.
The Storage Box had the same number of Space Grids as the backpack, and its space was static, so it could store supplies and food without them getting worn out.
Before you continue