Recaps

Song Xiaozhu persuaded Qiu Shuyu to eat the meal she had cooked, then asked her to split the gathered wood for synthesis. Song Xiaozhu successfully made two units of [raw wood material] from one piece, suggesting the better wood improved her results.

• Qiu Shuyu tried to share the meal equally, but Song Xiaozhu persuaded her to eat more by pretending she felt guilty about having no money for the wood.
• Qiu Shuyu devoured the simple meal and praised its taste, while Song Xiaozhu promised to make more the next day.
• After dinner, Song Xiaozhu asked Qiu Shuyu to split the wood bundles into four pieces each.
• Song Xiaozhu used her workbench to synthesize one piece of wood and received two units of [raw wood material].

Song Xiaozhu discovered that her Workbench could synthesize raw wood material far more efficiently than she could by hand, then learned from Qiu Shuyu about danger near Liu Family Village. With Shang Bao’s disappearance likely to bring trouble from his family, they planned to leave for the logging camp before anyone came looking.

• Song Xiaozhu synthesized two pieces of [raw wood material] at once, and Qiu Shuyu described the wood grain she could see in the cube.
• Song Xiaozhu continued synthesizing and told Qiu Shuyu that they needed to hide their abilities.
• Song Xiaozhu told Qiu Shuyu that Stationmaster Xia had said Master Bai would be away for five or six days because Liu Family Village was in serious trouble.
• Qiu Shuyu explained that an isolation zone near Liu Family Village grew restless each year and that unknown things sometimes escaped from it.
• Song Xiaozhu and Qiu Shuyu agreed to deny knowing anything about Shang Bao and to go to the logging camp the next morning before the Shang family started looking for him.

Song Xiaozhu used Qiu Shuyu’s timber to synthesize enough raw wood material, then made a Crude Storage Box. She configured it on the Workbench, leaving the box attached to its side.

• Song Xiaozhu continued synthesizing raw wood material from the timber Qiu Shuyu had brought, scoring another critical hit and obtaining twenty-one pieces.
• Song Xiaozhu selected the Crude Storage Box recipe and placed the required twenty-four raw materials into the Workbench’s newly appeared recesses.
• Song Xiaozhu synthesized the Crude Storage Box, unlocked the level 1 Spatial Master achievement, and received two Quantum Coins.
• Song Xiaozhu configured the Crude Storage Box, which appeared attached to the left side of the Workbench.

Song Xiaozhu discovered that her crude storage box let identical items stack, and she tested its capacity and what kinds of supplies it could hold. Qiu Shuyu misunderstood Song Xiaozhu’s crafting and storage abilities, and the chapter ended as she urgently tried to stop Song Xiaozhu from putting food away.

• Song Xiaozhu placed raw wood materials in the storage box and discovered that identical items stacked in a single slot.
• Song Xiaozhu found that each slot held a maximum of 10 raw wood materials, with excess items moving to the next slot.
• Qiu Shuyu watched Song Xiaozhu craft and mistakenly concluded that her repeated failures made the Craftsman class useless.
• Song Xiaozhu stored her Simple Hoe and skinning knife, then confirmed that lightly contaminated water could stack.
• Qiu Shuyu cried out to stop Song Xiaozhu as she reached for a simple meal, believing she was wasting supplies after a breakdown.

Song Xiaozhu hid her storage chest crafting from Qiu Shuyu, who mistook her repeated attempts for reckless failures and comforted her. The next morning, Song Xiaozhu received new workbench quests and a choice for Growth Quest 2.

• Qiu Shuyu stopped Song Xiaozhu from crafting and urged her to rest, believing she was wasting resources on failed attempts.
• Song Xiaozhu played along with Qiu Shuyu’s misunderstanding, then was moved by her concern and her promise to help gather wood.
• Song Xiaozhu regained her resolve, hoping that becoming stronger might eventually help her return to her family in another world.
• Qiu Shuyu stayed overnight in Bai Jing's shack, and Song Xiaozhu woke to notifications unlocking level 1 recipes and achievements and triggering a workbench repair quest.
• Song Xiaozhu received the requirements for upgrading the workbench and a prompt to choose Growth Quest 2.

Song Xiaozhu reviewed her Synthesizer progress and chose a growth quest that required trading with humans rather than plundering them. She tested her storage box, found that its contents could stack, and prepared to pursue more materials and business.

• Song Xiaozhu checked the Synthesizer panel, calculated that she needed more experience and repair points, and planned to gather materials at the logging site.
• Song Xiaozhu rejected the quest to plunder ten humans and chose Quest B, which required completing ten transactions.
• Song Xiaozhu tested whether simple meals could stack in the storage box and found that meals, water, and fertilizer each occupied a stackable slot.
• Song Xiaozhu stored the fertilizer without opening it, considered making additional storage boxes, and hid her big hoe from Qiu Shuyu.

Song Xiaozhu and Qiu Shuyu ate a breakfast of simple meals mixed with wild vegetable powder, then prepared to work at the logging yard. When Qiu Shuyu traded her iron axe for Song Xiaozhu’s stone axe, Song Xiaozhu’s quest progress increased to 1/10, leaving her wondering whether the remaining trades could be made with the same person.

• Song Xiaozhu cooked simple meals with wild vegetable powder and low-pollution water while Qiu Shuyu slept.
• Qiu Shuyu woke to the smell of breakfast, and Song Xiaozhu convinced her that using Force made it stronger rather than wasting it.
• After breakfast, Qiu Shuyu gave Song Xiaozhu her iron axe in exchange for Song Xiaozhu’s stone axe.
• Song Xiaozhu received a notification that her quest progress had reached 1/10 and wondered about the trade requirements.

Song Xiaozhu considered how to make money and accompanied Qiu Shuyu to the logging camp, where she learned about the New Poplar tree farm and saw the camp’s timber. She left eager to synthesize tools from the logs, though Qiu Shuyu reminded her that her Force was limited.

• Song Xiaozhu reasoned that Quest B probably would not let her complete all ten trades by repeatedly trading the same item, and decided she needed capital to improve her life.
• Song Xiaozhu and Qiu Shuyu headed toward the logging camp beyond the scavenger community.
• Qiu Shuyu explained that Purifiers had restored the land and that a planned fortress had never been built, leaving Ink City with an artificial tree farm.
• Qiu Shuyu told Song Xiaozhu that the camp mostly harvested New Poplar, while rarer species were handled by other workers.
• Song Xiaozhu saw the camp’s neatly stacked logs and calculated how many tools she could synthesize and sell.
• Qiu Shuyu read Song Xiaozhu’s excitement and warned her not to overwork herself because her Force was limited.

Song Xiaozhu stayed behind at the logging yard after Qiu Shuyu left for a lucrative timber job with Tian Man. On the truck, Qiu Shuyu’s coworkers noticed she had brought the stone axe Song Xiaozhu made, and Tian Man assumed the girl had taken advantage of her.

• Tian Man recruited Qiu Shuyu for an urgent order paying three times the usual price for large-diameter timber.
• Qiu Shuyu hesitated to leave Song Xiaozhu alone, but Song Xiaozhu told her to go and promised she could manage by herself.
• Qiu Shuyu joined Tian Man’s crew and left Song Xiaozhu at the logging yard.
• On the truck, Liu Mu mocked Qiu Shuyu for bringing a stone axe, and Tian Man realized she had given her proper axe to Song Xiaozhu.
• Tian Man complained that Song Xiaozhu seemed shrewd and had persuaded the trusting Qiu Shuyu to give her a good axe.

Song Xiaozhu planned to profit from the logging yard by selling her synthesized stone axes, while gathering materials to make another storage box. She began synthesizing it, but was warned that its success rate was low and that Quantum Coins could improve it.

• Qiu Shuyu defended Song Xiaozhu from the loggers’ insults and stayed on the truck, vowing to buy her a fine iron axe with her earnings.
• Song Xiaozhu reasoned that her stone axe’s bonus made it better than an ordinary iron axe and planned to sell axes to workers at a fair price.
• Song Xiaozhu gathered loose stones and branches near the logging yard, synthesizing raw stone and raw wood materials.
• Song Xiaozhu used her collected materials to start synthesizing a Crude Storage Box, then received a prompt offering to raise its low success rate with Quantum Coins.

Song Xiaozhu successfully synthesized and installed a second storage box, then ventured deeper into the tree farm and tried using foxtail grass to make medicinal raw material. After ten failed attempts, she confirmed that the grass met the recipe’s requirements and continued working toward medicine that might help her worsening health.

• Song Xiaozhu spent two Quantum Coins to raise the storage box synthesis success rate by twenty percent, and the synthesis succeeded.
• Song Xiaozhu installed the second storage box beside the first one on the Workbench.
• Song Xiaozhu found foxtail grass in the tree farm and wondered whether it could be used to synthesize medicinal raw material.
• Song Xiaozhu fed the grass into the Workbench, but her first synthesis failed.
• Song Xiaozhu failed ten attempts in a row, then kept trying after concluding the grass qualified as medicine.

Song Xiaozhu discovered that combining several weeds allowed her to synthesize Medicinal Raw Material and advanced her Repair Quest. Meanwhile, Qiu Shuyu and the others reached a stand of unusually large New Poplars and prepared to fell a tree.

• After eighty failed attempts, Song Xiaozhu tried combining several Big and Little Thornheads and successfully made Medicinal Raw Material.
• Song Xiaozhu completed the Repair Quest’s third requirement, stored the red capsule, and decided to keep gathering materials.
• Qiu Shuyu, Tian Man, Liu Mu, and Luo Liuzi arrived at a thinning stand of large New Poplars.
• Tian Man split the group into teams to fell a tree, and Luo Liuzi asked Qiu Shuyu to swap axes.

Luo Liuzi discovered that Qiu Shuyu’s stone axe made chopping far easier than expected, while Liu Mu mistook his amazement for flattery. The loggers continued cutting the New Poplar, with Luo Liuzi increasingly absorbed in the axe’s effect.

• Tian Man rearranged the workers so Qiu Shuyu and he chopped on one side while Luo Liuzi and Liu Mu worked on the other.
• Luo Liuzi exchanged axes with Qiu Shuyu, then made a surprisingly deep cut with her stone axe.
• Liu Mu accused Luo Liuzi of flattering Qiu Shuyu and challenged him by swinging harder.
• Luo Liuzi kept chopping and marveled at how good the stone axe felt to use.
• Tian Man assumed Luo Liuzi was sucking up to Qiu Shuyu, while Qiu Shuyu focused angrily on finishing the job.

Qiu Shuyu discovered that the stone axe Xiaozhu had made was far more powerful than she expected. After she used it to fell the nearly cut tree with one blow, the others were left astonished.

• Luo Liuzi outperformed Liu Mu while using Qiu Shuyu's stone axe and the running shoes' boost, leaving Liu Mu exhausted.
• Tian Man called for a break and criticized Liu Mu for relying on brute force so early in the day's work.
• Luo Liuzi praised Qiu Shuyu's stone axe and insisted it was nearly as good as Mu Qing's axe, prompting Qiu Shuyu to reconsider it.
• Qiu Shuyu swung the stone axe at the partly cut tree and felled it with a single blow, stunning Luo Liuzi, Tian Man, and Liu Mu.

Qiu Shuyu’s stone axe made chopping a tree unexpectedly easy, but it cracked when Tian Man tried it. Qiu Shuyu kept the damaged axe and refused Tian Man’s offer to pay for a replacement.

• Qiu Shuyu felled a short tree with the stone axe, and the group dragged it back to the truck with ropes.
• Tian Man found another tree and asked Qiu Shuyu to let him try the stone axe.
• Tian Man chopped the tree several times before the stone axe cracked, leaving him and Luo Liuzi stunned.
• Tian Man offered to pay Qiu Shuyu back or buy her a new axe, while Liu Mu listened and hoped to learn where it came from.
• Qiu Shuyu tucked the cracked axe into her belt, said she did not need compensation, and hoped Xiaozhu could repair it.

Qiu Shuyu concealed that Song Xiaozhu had made the stone axe, leaving Tian Man and Luo Liuzi disappointed and eager to keep working with it. Meanwhile, Song Xiaozhu improved her material-synthesis method and built up her supplies.

• Tian Man and Luo Liuzi asked Qiu Shuyu where she had gotten the stone axe, hoping to buy axes like it.
• Qiu Shuyu said she had found it, and the two men gave up on finding the same kind of axe.
• Liu Mu mocked them, while Tian Man promised to buy Qiu Shuyu an iron axe after they returned; Qiu Shuyu resumed chopping with Luo Liuzi's axe.
• Song Xiaozhu realized Qiu Shuyu had hidden the axe's origins to protect her and began preparing materials to make more axes.
• Song Xiaozhu discovered that synthesis success rates improved with larger quantities of ingredients and accumulated wood, stone, and medicinal raw materials.

Song Xiaozhu found a patch of wild plants in the logging grounds and considered using fertilizer to increase its yield. Hungry, she used the Workbench to identify edible weeds and successfully made a simple meal from them.

• Song Xiaozhu accepted the “Unlucky Player” achievement as a warning to work harder and grow stronger.
• Song Xiaozhu found a large patch of foxtail grass and considered using fertilizer on it.
• Song Xiaozhu studied the patch and concluded that it had been left unplanted and untended.
• Song Xiaozhu used the Workbench to identify edible weeds and successfully crafted an edible simple meal.
• Song Xiaozhu put the meal in a plastic bottle and tasted a little.

Song Xiaozhu fertilized her wild vegetable and medicinal herb plot, unlocked the level-one Planter achievement, and gained a Quantum Coin. As evening fell, she organized her supplies and prepared to meet Qiu Shuyu later.

• Song Xiaozhu ate a simple meal, then harvested mature plants and synthesized them into medicinal materials and meals.
• Song Xiaozhu discovered that some medicinal materials synthesized into rare blue capsules that could not be stacked with the red ones.
• Song Xiaozhu spread the synthesized fertilizer over the plot and watched its packaging disappear, leaving her troubled by Shang Bao’s complete disappearance.
• Song Xiaozhu unlocked the level-one Planter achievement and received a Quantum Coin, suspecting the fertilizer had triggered it.
• At sunset, Song Xiaozhu took stock of her materials, wrapped the small medicinal items in a leaf to free storage slots, and saved food to share with Qiu Shuyu.

Song Xiaozhu returned to the logging camp with Qiu Shuyu and learned that a breach in the isolation barrier had devastated Liu Family Village. After seeing how little Qiu Shuyu earned for a day of logging, Song Xiaozhu resolved to level up her Synthesizer quickly so she could access medicine recipes.

• Song Xiaozhu met Qiu Shuyu at the logging camp and followed her to collect the logging team's pay.
• Luo Liuzi and the loggers discussed rumors that a breach in the isolation barrier had caused the destruction of half of Liu Family Village and prompted urgent timber orders.
• Song Xiaozhu worried that dangerous things had escaped through the breach and decided she needed to level up her Synthesizer as soon as possible.
• The team received 240 yuan, paid the vehicle rental fee, and divided the remainder, leaving Qiu Shuyu with 40 yuan.

Song Xiaozhu learned that a Fairness Card required buying property in Ink City, making it far beyond the community’s reach, and she reassured Qiu Shuyu that they could live well without one. After hearing how useful her stone axe had been, Song Xiaozhu decided to make Qiu Shuyu another and considered how to use her skills as a craftsman to build security and wealth.

• Qiu Shuyu received forty for the timber and left with Song Xiaozhu, while Tian Man suggested they keep working the next day.
• Song Xiaozhu asked about Fairness Cards, and Qiu Shuyu explained that even a small Fortress home cost six hundred thousand and was required to obtain one.
• Qiu Shuyu warned Song Xiaozhu that owning a Fairness Card would not spare her from being ostracized, and Song Xiaozhu said they could still live well without one.
• Qiu Shuyu described how Luo Liuzi and Tian Man had used and cracked Song Xiaozhu’s stone axe, and Song Xiaozhu offered to make her another.
• Qiu Shuyu admitted she had concealed Song Xiaozhu’s role in making the axe, and Song Xiaozhu resolved to establish herself through her unique crafting ability without revealing the Synthesizer.

Song Xiaozhu persuaded Qiu Shuyu to support her plan to reveal her crafting skills and build a secure place in the community, while secretly preparing to claim Bai Jing was connected to the Day After Tomorrow Society. They returned home and chose to eat there rather than draw attention, while Tian Man, Luo Liuzi, and Liu Mu celebrated their earnings at the tavern.

• Song Xiaozhu explained why she wanted to stop hiding and establish herself in the community, and Qiu Shuyu agreed to support her.
• Song Xiaozhu planned to prepare safeguards before revealing her crafting profession and intended to use Bai Jing's name as a powerful backer if necessary.
• Qiu Shuyu mistakenly concluded that Master Bai was a preacher for the Day After Tomorrow Society, and Song Xiaozhu decided not to correct her.
• Song Xiaozhu and Qiu Shuyu returned to the community and chose to eat Song Xiaozhu's improved wild vegetable mush at home.
• Tian Man, Luo Liuzi, and Liu Mu spent money on a ride back to the community and gathered at the tavern for food and liquor.

Song Xiaozhu learned about Tian Man, Luo Liuzi, and Liu Mu while preparing to meet Tian Man, who owed Qiu Shuyu compensation for a broken stone axe. When Tian Man and Luo Liuzi arrived with an iron axe, they spotted four little stone axes inside the shack.

• At the tavern, Luo Liuzi complained about trading away his little axe and argued with Liu Mu while Tian Man prepared to leave.
• Tian Man and Luo Liuzi left the tavern to bring Qiu Shuyu her iron axe and apologize, while Shang Dayuan arrived with his sons-in-law.
• Song Xiaozhu asked Qiu Shuyu about Tian Man, Luo Liuzi, and Liu Mu, then got ready to meet Tian Man.
• Qiu Shuyu resolved to protect Song Xiaozhu if they faced danger, and Song Xiaozhu considered escaping with her if necessary.
• Tian Man and Luo Liuzi arrived at Qiu Shuyu's shack and offered her a sharpened iron axe.
• Luo Liuzi spotted four little stone axes inside the shack and shouted in surprise.

Song Xiaozhu tested whether she could recycle damaged tools and discovered she could recover some raw materials, then prepared stone axes with varying effectiveness boosts for sale. Tian Man and Luo Liuzi arrived, saw the axes, and asked whether Qiu Shuyu would sell them.

• Song Xiaozhu synthesized ten simple axes, then confirmed that dismantling a damaged axe let her recover its wooden handle but not its stone blade.
• Song Xiaozhu made thirteen stone axes, marked their effectiveness boosts, and planned to sell the best ones.
• Tian Man and Luo Liuzi arrived and were surprised to see four stone axes displayed outside.
• Tian Man gave Qiu Shuyu an iron axe as an apology, but she accepted it casually despite saying she already had plenty of axes.
• Luo Liuzi asked Qiu Shuyu whether she would sell the stone axes so they could work together more efficiently.

Song Xiaozhu chose the friendship path for Growth Quest 3 and began selling her stone axes to Tian Man and Luo Liuzi. After comparing the axes’ quality and prices, Tian Man asked how much worse the 3-yuan axe felt to use than the 10-yuan one.

• Song Xiaozhu chose Quest B, and the system recorded progress of 1/3 after she recognized Qiu Shuyu as a friend.
• Song Xiaozhu came out of the shadows and greeted Tian Man and Luo Liuzi, who learned that the axes belonged to her.
• Song Xiaozhu explained the differences between her four stone axes and priced the second-grade axe at 10 yuan.
• Luo Liuzi eagerly offered to buy the second-grade axe, while Tian Man weighed its high cost against its short durability.
• Song Xiaozhu priced the graded-quality axe at 3 yuan, and Tian Man asked how much worse it was to use.

Song Xiaozhu sold standard-grade axes to Tian Man and Luo Liuzi while keeping the lone first-grade axe for Qiu Shuyu. Meanwhile, Shang Dayuan rushed into the community tavern with his son-in-law after waiting too long for Shang Bao.

• Song Xiaozhu explained that standard-grade axes were only slightly less effective than second-grade ones, and Tian Man and Luo Liuzi each bought two at the fixed price of 3 yuan apiece.
• Song Xiaozhu received quest progress of 3/10, with the system counting each buyer as one transaction.
• Luo Liuzi bought a second-grade axe for 10 yuan, while Tian Man asked about the first-grade axe.
• Song Xiaozhu said the first-grade axe was 80% more effective than a standard-grade one but was saving it for Qiu Shuyu.
• Shang Dayuan charged into the community tavern with his son-in-law, worried because Shang Bao had not appeared.