After finishing his crossbow training, Wang Yu was ready to get started on the day's tasks. He would have to keep practicing with the crossbow from now on.
Wang Yu went to the Great Cedar, which was over sixty centimeters thick, in the woods. The four Pine Oil Collectors on its trunk were already full of pine oil.
Each Pine Oil Collector had gathered 30 ml. Wang Yu took out the Tin Bucket he used to store pine oil. It already contained the 120 ml he had collected yesterday. He poured the pine oil from all four Pine Oil Collectors into the bucket, then put the collectors back on the Great Cedar.
The bucket now held 240 ml of pine oil.
He checked the time. It was already past nine in the morning, so he could use Dice to increase the quantity of an item again.
Wang Yu took out the Dice and dipped the fingers of his left hand into the pine oil in the Tin Bucket. He was going to increase its quantity.
Once he felt the pine oil had been locked onto, Wang Yu rolled the Dice.
Four.
Wang Yu had rolled a four, which was well beyond his expectations.
At the same time, four phantom images floated above the Dice. They were four globs of pine oil.
Since the Tin Bucket had been created by the Dice, its quantity couldn't be increased again. The Dice had only increased the amount of pine oil inside it.
Wang Yu put the four globs of pine oil into the Tin Bucket. It now held 240 ml × 5 of pine oil—in other words, 1,200 ml.
Without celebrating, Wang Yu immediately took out an Oil Lamp. This was the First Oil Lamp, whose kerosene had already burned out.
Wang Yu poured pine oil into the lamp, filling it with exactly 30 ml.
He lit the Pine Oil Lamp, and it flared to life.
Wang Yu looked at the lamp, and a Prompt Message appeared.
[Oil Lamp (180/180)] [Normal Oil Lamp. Fuel: pine oil. The oil currently inside the lamp can burn for 180 minutes and illuminate an area within seven meters. It will no longer be usable if damaged.]
"It can burn for three hours too?" Wang Yu was overjoyed.
He hadn't expected pine oil to burn as long as kerosene. Thirty milliliters lasted three hours, just like kerosene. But the two fuels still differed: kerosene could illuminate an area within ten meters, while pine oil could only illuminate one within seven.
That meant three fewer meters of illumination, but Wang Yu didn't care about the difference anymore. He now had 1,200 ml of pine oil, enough to illuminate his surroundings for 120 hours. Four Pine Oil Collectors were also steadily gathering more for him. He could truly say he had achieved lighting freedom.
From now on, he wouldn't need to use firewood for Torches. He could rely on Oil Lamps for light all the time without a problem.
With so many hours of light at his disposal, there were plenty of things he could do now.
Carrying the Oil Lamp, he crossed the woods and descended the Steep Slope to the stream.
Wang Yu first checked his twelve Animal Traps. He'd made another catch: a Wild Rat.
[Wild Rat Meat 360g] [Wild Rat Skin*1] [Copper Coin*63]
After putting away the Wild Rat Meat, Wild Rat Skin, and Game Currency, Wang Yu reset all twelve Animal Traps, using Water Snail Meat as bait.
He now had only 10 g × 26 of Water Snail Meat left.
After checking the twelve traps, Wang Yu carried the Oil Lamp and gripped his Entrenching Tool as he followed the stream downstream. Today, he was going farther than before.
As he walked, Wang Yu searched the stream for Water Snails. Now that the Oil Lamp gave him plenty of light, he could patiently look for them in the water.
Apart from catching food with his Animal Traps, searching the stream for Water Snails was his only other way to get food. Water Snails could be eaten and used as bait. Most importantly, if he looked for them, he could always find some in the stream, providing him with a steady source of food.
As he followed the stream, Wang Yu searched for food along both banks as well as looking for Water Snails. The main thing he searched for on the banks was berries. He had eaten all his berries, and it wouldn't do to live on roasted meat every day without any vegetables or fruit.
There was no other kind of produce to be found in the wilderness, so Wang Yu could only look for berries.
Whenever he saw a promising spot along either bank, he went over to search for berries.
The trees and bushes were thick along the banks, thanks to the nearby water, and Wang Yu found plenty of berries.
Of course, he didn't dare venture far from the stream. If he lost his bearings in the dark, he wouldn't be able to find his way back to his shelter. With nothing to use as a landmark in the boundless darkness, he wouldn't know which way to go.
So Wang Yu could only search close to the stream.
As long as he kept the stream in sight, he wouldn't lose his way.
There were quite a lot of Water Snails in the stream, and Wang Yu collected many along the way. Finding berries was more troublesome, though. He had to keep searching through the bushes along both banks.
Wang Yu had been searching for over an hour when he suddenly got a fright. He saw an animal dart across the path ahead and instinctively took a step back.
It was a deer.
Only then did Wang Yu realize that food had practically delivered itself to him. He took out his Crossbow and chased after it.
After pursuing it for a while, the deer vanished without a trace, swallowed by the boundless darkness.
"Cao."
It was the first time Wang Yu had seen such a large animal since entering the game. It seemed unrealistic to hunt one in the dark.
Wang Yu felt rather helpless. It really was impossible without being able to see.
He continued along the stream, collecting Water Snails and looking for berries. He didn't encounter any large prey. Most animals would avoid him when he carried the Oil Lamp. If he came across prey that didn't run away, then he was probably in for trouble.
Wang Yu came across plenty of dry branches along the way and collected them all. Although he no longer needed firewood as Torches for light like the other Players, he still needed it to start fires and cook.
While searching for berries, Wang Yu spotted a Leaf Vine. He touched one of its leaves, and a message appeared.
[White Melon] [Edible]
Wang Yu was delighted. He had found a new kind of food.
And it was a plant-based food.
He looked at the leaves, but there were no melons on them, so he used his Entrenching Tool to dig around the roots.
Sure enough, he dug up two White Melons about the size of potatoes.
Wang Yu examined them. They looked a bit like Sweet Potato Fruit.
They ought to taste pretty good.
He put away the two White Melons, then searched nearby. Before long, he found two more. As expected, wild plants tended to grow in clusters.
Wang Yu found a total of twelve White Melons in the large area nearby, then couldn't find any more. He had probably dug up all the White Melons around there.
This was a great haul. If he used the Dice to increase their quantity, twelve White Melons would last him a long time.
The trip had been well worth it.
Wang Yu continued downstream along the stream.
Whenever he came across a plant, he touched its leaves. Anything edible would bring up a Prompt Message. Searching for food this way was a hassle and took a lot of time.
Wang Yu searched for over two hours. It was nearly one in the afternoon before he stopped. He had already followed the stream a long way downstream.
It was time for lunch. Wang Yu was just about to find a clean spot by the stream and start a fire.
Suddenly, he saw a light up ahead.
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