Shelter

"Rustle~ rustle~"

Tang Zhixue kept parting the grass ahead with a wooden stick, his wary gaze sweeping his surroundings, afraid that a mutated flower beast might spring out.

Throughout this process, he did not use his talent abilities.

Tang Zhixue had two talents in total: Vitality Absorption and Diligence Makes Up for Lack of Talent.

The latter allowed him to improve through repeated practice without regressing. At present, practicing the Blazing Tiger Fist only consumed his stamina.

The former was somewhat different: every use consumed both stamina and mental energy.

He could restore his stamina through plant vitality, but for now, sleep was the only way to restore his mental energy.

There was still a long time until nightfall, and he did not want to make himself dizzy and bleary-eyed, forcing himself to rest.

Thump!

The stick struck a rectangular object that looked as though it was made of wood.

"What's this? A box?"

Tang Zhixue crouched down curiously to examine it. He discovered that the suspected box was a very regular rectangular cuboid, tightly sealed all around except for a seam about a centimeter below the top.

"A lid?"

After some thought, he did not rashly try anything. Instead, he stood up and backed away several steps, stopping at a distance he felt relatively comfortable with.

Holding one end of the stick, he carefully brought the other end toward the top of the object.

He gave it just a light poke.

Whoosh!

The top of the object abruptly vanished, and a streak of white light emerged from the box.

"Holy shit!"

Only after two or three breaths did the white light disappear under Tang Zhixue's nervous gaze. The box disappeared along with it, leaving three items in its place.

A five-hundred-milliliter bottle of mineral water, a packet of dark brown seeds, and a blue spherical crystal.

[Item: Blue Star mineral water]

[Grade: None]

[Description: An ordinary bottle of mineral water that can quench thirst]

[Item: Bigmouth Flower]

[Grade: First Tier]

[Description: Named for its flowers, which closely resemble a large mouth. It can emit an odor that most insects dislike.]

[Item: Shelter Crystal]

[Grade: First Tier]

[Description: A gift from Blue Star World. A First Tier Shelter Crystal can transform an area ten meters in diameter into a Shelter belonging exclusively to an individual.]

!!!

Tang Zhixue felt little about the first two, which were ordinary items. Only when he saw the information for the last item did his eyes widen. He immediately turned and hurried back toward the Wooden House.

Good thing I came out to explore!

At that moment, Tang Zhixue felt incredibly fortunate. Otherwise, he would have missed this Shelter Crystal.

Once he returned to the Wooden House, a line of text quietly appeared.

[Place the Shelter Crystal?]

"Yes!"

With Tang Zhixue's confirmation, the blue Shelter Crystal turned into a streak of light and sank into the ground.

The next moment.

An invisible force pushed Tang Zhixue out of the Wooden House, even sending him five or six meters away.

The crude Wooden House was now enveloped in blue light.

Under Tang Zhixue's astonished gaze, the Wooden House shrouded in blue light was rapidly repaired.

When the light faded, a brand-new Wooden House stood before Tang Zhixue.

[Shelter: Unnamed]

[Level: 1]

[Function: Regional trading]

Looking at the information before him, Tang Zhixue could not help raising his eyebrows.

This... is it encouraging us to explore outside?

Without going out to explore, they could not truly obtain the panel functions.

Without going out to explore, they could not obtain the Shelter panel he now had, either.

After some thought, he named the Shelter [Blazing Sun].

The sun was indispensable to the growth and activity of living things.

He could have left it at that in their formerly peaceful society, but now that everyone had arrived in this inexplicable place, Tang Zhixue had ambitions of his own.

Of course, he had no thoughts of ruling over anyone else. He simply wanted to become someone indispensable to everyone, or rather, to have things that everyone wanted.

"Whoosh!"

The Wooden House's door was much more finely made than before, and it opened much more smoothly.

As the Wooden House opened, its interior came into view.

Wooden planks now covered the formerly dirt floor. A single bed stood in the left corner, while an open wooden chest sat on the right.

The original wooden table had been placed beside the single bed and had also become much more finely made. The items previously placed on it were still there.

What surprised Tang Zhixue even more was the finely made wooden stool sitting beneath the table.

Tang Zhixue looked down at the wooden stool he was holding. "Heh, I didn't think I could exploit a loophole like this."

He walked over to the single bed and examined it carefully.

It was made entirely of wood and was fairly sturdy. But without bedding, getting a good night's sleep would probably be difficult.

Tang Zhixue then turned and walked toward the open wooden chest on the other side.

[Trading chest: Place items inside to set a price. Please note that once deposited, items can only be sold and cannot be retrieved. Only purchased items and proceeds from sales can be retrieved.]

Tang Zhixue looked around the Wooden House, his gaze quietly settling on a smashed head.

"This thing... someone should want it, right? But even if no one does, it doesn't matter. I don't want it anyway."

Using two twigs to pick up the gray snake's head, he placed it in the chest and set a price.

[Item: Smashed Ember Ash Snake head]

[Grade: First Tier]

[Price: A stone weighing one jin]

[Description: The head of a low-tier mutated venomous snake. Because it has been smashed, venom has spread throughout the entire head, rendering it inedible.]

Standing in front of the trading chest, Tang Zhixue could see the listing for the gray snake's head displayed before his eyes. However, he waited a minute or two without seeing any change.

After some thought, he opened the regional chat channel and quickly searched through it.

Unfortunately, even after searching for quite a while, he failed to find the information he wanted.

He shook his head and sighed helplessly. "Looks like I'll still have to tell them myself."

There was no helping it. If he was the only one who knew, no one would come to buy his items.

Tang Zhixue could make plants grow rapidly, which meant he already had an inherent foothold in the food trade.

But all of that depended on having people come to buy.

[Tang Zhixue: Brothers and sisters, has anyone found a treasure chest outside?]

[Treasure chests????]

[Have we really entered a game world? There are even treasure chests?!]

[Bro, what good stuff did you get from the treasure chest?]

[Curious +1]

[Tang Zhixue: A Shelter Crystal. Using it transforms your Wooden House into a real Shelter, unlocks the Shelter panel, and gives you access to trading.]

[Holy shit!!!]

[Shelter?]

[Trading?!]

In an instant, the entire regional channel erupted.