Page 9

After finishing all that, Song Xiaozhu sat down briefly on the plank bed and summoned the "workbench."

The snow-white workbench stood in stark contrast to the shabby shack. As if it existed in another space and time, it passed straight through the planks, like a "clipping" bug in a game.

Although Song Xiaozhu had never tested it, she had a pretty good idea that only she could see this workbench.

She looked at the information panel at the very top-

Damaged Item Synthesizer.

Level: 1.

Experience: 23.

Quantum coins: 1.

Repair Points: 0.

Random synthesis attempts: 0.

Unlocked recipes: Basic hoe, Raw Wood Material, Raw Stone Material, basic storage chest, basic skinning knife.

Unlocked achievements: Level 1 luckless one, level 1 excavator, level 1 hunter.

Pathetic. Truly pathetic.

Looking at the information for this utterly impoverished synthesizer, Song Xiaozhu sighed softly.

Her experience had stalled at 22. No matter how much "Raw Wood Material" and "Raw Stone Material" she synthesized, it would not go up any further. Presumably, each recipe had an experience cap of 10, and the extra 3 points had come from the basic hoe and basic skinning knife (the failed synthesis had also given her one experience point).

Looking at her one remaining quantum coin, Song Xiaozhu silently weighed her options.

She had a piece of "milk candy" that could paralyze its target, which was undoubtedly her "protective talisman," as well as a skinning knife that could serve as a weapon for self-defense.

In this "state of crisis," that one quantum coin was crucial. She certainly would not keep saving it-a storage chest was all well and good, but she had to stay alive to synthesize it.

What Song Xiaozhu was considering was whether to spend it on a random attempt or unlock another recipe.

If she could randomly get another piece of "milk candy," she would not hesitate. She would immediately buy a random synthesis attempt.

But Song Xiaozhu did not trust her luck.

She had the level 1 "Unlucky Player" title hanging over her head.

She could not afford that gamble.

Unlocking a recipe was also a gamble, but a relatively safer one. As long as she could make the corresponding item, there was a good

chance she would unlock another achievement and receive a quantum coin reward.

With that thought, Song Xiaozhu made up her mind. She chose to unlock a recipe.

Song Xiaozhu looked at the pegboard and picked a gray recipe sheet at random. After the notification sounded, she read the recipe information on the sheet that had flipped over.

Recipe name: Low-pollution water.

Recipe level: 1.

Required materials: High-pollution water ×3.

Success rate: 60%

Low-pollution water...

Song Xiaozhu was not disappointed, because this recipe would be very easy to synthesize.

She stood up, found the jar of water, and tried placing it on the workbench.

Unlike wooden and stone items, water did not need to be synthesized into "raw material" first. Filling one recess counted as one unit, and that unit was roughly 500 milliliters.

After filling three recesses, Song Xiaozhu selected the "low-pollution water" recipe. Once the white mist dispersed, a pool of visibly much clearer water appeared in the recess beside them.

Pollution was severe around the garbage mountain. Ink City was a fortress far less prosperous than the Holy City, but it was still large and densely populated. It dumped a staggering amount of garbage every day, including all kinds of chemical waste. These things polluted not only the soil, but also the water and air.

Song Xiaozhu had only scavenged in the garbage heaps for a week, and her sense of smell had already suffered some damage. As for whether her body was suffering from chronic poisoning-there was nothing to be done. The average life expectancy in the scavenger community was under forty.

Song Xiaozhu carefully touched the water in the recess with a finger, and a notification sounded in her mind:

"Obtained 'low-pollution water' ×1.

"Evaluation: Relatively low pollution. Recommended daily intake: less than 1,000 ml." Usage effect: Drinking it slightly improves your mood.

"Unlocked level 1 'purifier' achievement. Reward: 1 quantum coin."

Song Xiaozhu was a little surprised by the notification. This "low-pollution water" was much better than she had imagined.

Judging from the evaluation, as long as she drank less than 1,000 ml a day, the pollutants in the water would not harm her body. Or rather, her body could metabolize those pollutants within a day.

This was far better than the high-pollution water in the scavenger community.

The usage effect was somewhat vague, but anything that improved her mood could hardly be a bad thing.

She had also gotten her quantum coin back, giving her another chance to unlock a recipe.

The level 1 "purifier" achievement sounded pretty good too, but so far, all the achievements were merely for show and had no practical use.

Song Xiaozhu scooped at the water in the recess, and it flowed in on its own. She could not bear to drink it, so she found a clean plastic bottle and carefully poured it inside instead.

Then Song Xiaozhu repeated the steps from before and synthesized another portion of "low-pollution water." This time, the notification changed.

"Obtained 'low-pollution water' ×1.

"Evaluation: Relatively low pollution. Recommended daily intake: less than 1,000 ml." Usage effect: Drinkable."

Sure enough, the mood-improving effect was special. It did not appear every time.

This time, after taking out the "low-pollution water," Song Xiaozhu carefully tasted a mouthful. It was a little bitter, with a slight astringency on her tongue. It was nowhere near as good as the mineral water she used to drink regularly, and was not even much better than the high-pollution water here. It tasted a little like water that had been boiled and left to cool. At least it did not burn her throat.

Song Xiaozhu wasted no time. She immediately unlocked another recipe, and once the notification ended, she read the new recipe information-

Recipe name: Basic axe.

Recipe level: 1.

Required materials: Raw Wood Material ×1 + Raw Stone Material ×1.

Success rate: 60%

A basic axe...

The recipe Song Xiaozhu had so desperately wanted was finally here, yet she was not so happy about it now.

There was quite a bit of "wood" and "stone" in the shack, but Song Xiaozhu did not dare use even the dry firewood carelessly. A single piece of firewood would not be enough to synthesize one "Raw Wood Material"; even a whole pile might not do. As for "Raw Stone Material," she might have to tear down the shack...