Ironclad Crab

"I caught a monster..."

Ji Xinghe tightened her grip on the fishing rod that was about to fly off and yanked it back with force.

After all, anything the island deemed prey usually wasn't that strong... at least within the range an island lord could handle.

But she didn't let her guard down.

Whether it was manageable, a hard-fought victory, or an easy stomp, the island's judgment rules treated them all the same.

Don't underestimate them, or the monsters would make you pay a heavy price.

The next moment, the monster followed the fishing line onto the island.

Ji Xinghe took a backward step, dodging its pincer, then unleashed a skill. A white orb of light shot out and slammed into the monster's flailing claw.

[-70 HP]

[First-tier Ironclad Crab (Level 3)

Remaining HP: 130

Attack: 15

Defense: 20

Skill: Shedding Shell (When HP drops below 15%, automatically triggers Shedding Shell, doubling defense and restoring all HP.)]

This was the first time Ji Xinghe had encountered a monster with a skill since her rebirth.

That skill—she really wanted it!

Envy aside, she still had to fight the monster.

With such high defense, if this were her past life, she'd have no way to break through it at all.

But her little light orb was a magic attack—physical defense was useless!

The skill was still on cooldown, so Ji Xinghe pulled out the Star Feather Repeating Crossbow and fired two bolts at once.

[-34.2, -34.2]

The bolt tips pierced into the shell's cracks. The Ironclad Crab, stung by the pain, let out a screech.

Its eight legs twisted wildly as it scuttled behind Ji Xinghe, its two large pincers closing in from both sides.

Ji Xinghe leaped high, steadying her stumbling body with one hand on her knee.

Then she bent low and rolled sideways to dodge its second attack.

In that window of time, the crossbow was reloaded.

Seeing the Ironclad Crab's HP drop bit by bit, she knew if she didn't hurry, it would fall below thirty and trigger the Shedding Shell skill!

Just as she steadied herself, she quickly pressed the Star Feather Repeating Crossbow's trigger, firing two bolts.

Bang! The Ironclad Crab's HP bar hit zero before it could use its skill.

Its hard shell collapsed onto the sandy beach.

[Over-level kill: Ironclad Crab. Experience Points +3, Wow Coins +1, Black Iron Treasure Chest +1.]

"Heh, just barely pinned the HP." Ji Xinghe put away the Star Feather Repeating Crossbow and patted her chest in relief.

After the intense fight, she calmed down, drinking water while reviewing the battle.

The little light orb skill was her highest-damage attack for now. Next time she faced a regenerating monster like this, she'd have to lock in the HP and then use her big move.

This time, she got lucky and took no damage.

Ji Xinghe placed her hands on her knees. In her past life, due to paralysis, she had never stood up once, and she entered dungeons in a wheelchair.

That left her legs lacking flexibility and her stance unstable now.

Thinking this over, Ji Xinghe decided to set aside half an hour each day to train her stability and leg reflexes...

Looking at the Ironclad Crab's corpse in front of her, she directly activated her Talent.

[Talent activation failed. No attributes drained this time.]

[Talent activation successful. Defense +2.]

Even though she failed once, she gained a defense attribute that was hard to come by normally, so it wasn't a loss.

She stored the Ironclad Crab's corpse in her backpack as well—later, like the Great Black Shark, it could be used as bait.

She cast the line again and continued fishing.

Over two hours later, Ji Xinghe had used up all of today's Fishing Rod casts.

In total, she had ten Raw Wood Treasure Chests, three Black Iron Treasure Chests, and one Bronze Treasure Chest. Adding the Black Iron Treasure Chest from the monster kill, she had fifteen chests today.

She put away the Fishing Rod and walked into her shelter, which was now a Thatched Cottage.

It was nearly noon, and the sun was blazing. She'd rest inside for a bit and clear out her backpack while she was at it.

The beginner quest was also completed, so she'd claim the reward first.

Sitting on the grass bed, Ji Xinghe opened her panel.

Code
[Novice Quest (Completed)

3: Collect 50 treasure chests cumulatively. Reward: Experience Points +1, Wow Coins +1

4: Collect 100 treasure chests cumulatively. Reward: Experience Points +1, Wow Coins +1

5: Upgrade an island once. Reward: Experience Points +1, Wow Coins +1

6: Upgrade a shelter once. Reward: Experience Points +1, Wow Coins +1]

Claim all rewards with one click. The clatter of Wow Coins rings in her ears.

No sooner are they claimed than new quests refresh.

Code
[Novice Quest 7: Kill 5 monsters cumulatively (Incomplete). Quest completion reward: Experience Points +1, Wow Coins +1]

[Novice Quest 8: Kill 50 monsters cumulatively (Incomplete). Quest completion reward: Experience Points +1, Wow Coins +1]

The monster-killing quests are still a bit off. She'll try to finish Quest 8 within the novice period.

Close the quest panel.

Ji Xinghe taps open the crafting page.

Currently craftable:

Crafting Table: Wood ×10, Iron ×2.

Storage Box: Wood ×6, Stone ×2 (requires blueprint, work at Crafting Table)

Wooden Table: Wood ×4 (requires work at Crafting Table)

Wooden Bucket: Wood ×3 (requires work at Crafting Table)

Scrolling down a few more pages, it's all blueprints and furniture.

First, make the Crafting Table.

Code
[Consume Wood 10, Iron 2 to build a Crafting Table?]

Tap to build.

The next second, a clanging sound echoes inside the Thatched Cottage, and a brand-new Crafting Table appears before her.

Ji Xinghe walks over to the Crafting Table, places the blueprint in the slot at the lower-left corner, and taps to craft Storage Boxes. Quantity... let's start with ten for now.

Code
[Auto-deduct Wood ×60, Stone ×20. Crafting ten Storage Boxes.]