Yun Luohe returned to the reef at exactly 8:00 a.m.The first thing she did was sort out her upgrade materials.She had been stockpiling hardwood and iron ore for a while now, and after all these days, she’d finally gathered enough.The moment all the materials were in place, she clicked [Upgrade] without delay—afraid Lin Zhu might beat her to it.After all, Lin Zhu had also mined several hundred units of copper ore. He hadn’t let his pet help, so his speed was slower than Yun Luohe’s—he had probably mined about two hundred units less than her.But there was no telling if his copper ore reserves were actually higher than hers, so Yun Luohe treated him as her primary competitor in this upgrade.The countdown timer for the upgrade displayed: 28 hours remaining.It was a pretty long wait—this upgrade might bring about another major change.After that, Yun Luohe went to check on the rabbit she’d brought back and the nightingale.The nightingale looked quite excited to see Yun Luohe.It chirped nonstop.“So happy you’re back!”Yun Luohe smacked her forehead—she had almost forgotten it.“How are you doing here? Bored? You didn’t go outside?”“Nope. They’ve been listening to me sing. They said I sing well.”“They?”Yun Luohe looked at the chickens, ducks, and rabbits.In ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ the next second, her expression turned to one of shock.Why were there so many chicken and duck eggs on the ground?!The chickens and ducks were clucking and quacking nonstop, clearly in a great mood.Could it be that listening to the nightingale sing put them in such a good mood that they laid more eggs?It seemed the nightingale’s usefulness went far beyond what she had expected.As for the rabbit, it was still locked in the cage with some fodder and vegetables. It had only been a day, but it had adapted pretty well. The food was already gone, and it had pooped quite a bit.Yun Luohe dumped the droppings into the biogas tank, then remembered the five wild goose eggs she’d brought back and quickly took them to be incubated.Next, she checked on the vegetables growing in the greenhouse—they looked pretty good.Her original plan was to feed the chickens, ducks, rabbits, and fish, then go rest and do more work after waking up—but just then, the system notification suddenly popped up.[Announcement 1: Today is Lucky Day. Players’ stamina cap has increased. You may now catch up to 5 shellfish. All zones have increased drop rates for black pearls, and 10 Rainbow Pearls will be randomly distributed. Good luck!][Announcement 2: The limited-time Summer Event "Desert Survival Challenge" is now open for registration. Event details have been sent via mail—please check.][Announcement 3: In three days, the Summer Disaster will intensify. Please upgrade your reef as soon as possible.]Three system messages appeared in a row, each packed with information.Yun Luohe immediately perked up, her mind clearing in an instant.She opened the mail.[Summer Limited Event – Desert Survival Challenge]Event Theme:Survive in the scorching desert and complete a variety of tasks to test players’ survival skills and ability.Event Content:Desert Resource CollectionPlayers must collect rare desert resources (such as cactus fruits, desert minerals, etc.).Collecting these earns bonus gathering EXP and rewards.Desert Survival CompetitionPlayers must locate water sources, avoid sandstorms, and complete tasks.Scoring is based on survival time, task quantity, and task quality.Desert Mining ChallengePlayers must find desert mine caves and extract as many rare ores as possible.Scoring is based on quantity, quality, and mining speed.Participation Requirements:Players must have Mining Skill Level 3 or above.Event Duration:Summer, Days 13–20Participation Time Per Day:4 to 6 hours in the desert (minimum 4 hours, maximum 6)Final Ranking:Based on combined score from all categories. Top 10 players will receive rewards.Rewards:Desert survival gear, high-grade materials, rare blueprints, etc.Note:Desert survival conditions are harsh and the environment is extremely difficult. Players who are not adequately prepared should not enter lightly.Of course Yun Luohe would participate.She’d spent the entire night on Mechanical Island mining copper ore, and her [Mining] skill had already reached Level 3.Last time she participated in the tree-planting event, the rewards were excellent. The green saplings and fruit saplings had already grown a lot, and now the reef was lush and thriving.She had even planted agave, dragon fruit, seabuckthorn, cactus, and aloe on a patch of land behind her house.About half of them were ready for harvest.She’d just checked earlier—her agave had fully matured. The whole plot was harvestable.But harvesting it required special tools and was quite a chore.Older agave could be turned into agave fiber, while tender agave grass could be used medicinally as an anti-inflammatory and painkiller—or fermented into alcohol.After steaming the agave rhizome over high heat and grinding it into pulp, the juice could be collected and fermented in barrels into liquor.If she had time over the next few days, she would brew a batch. Judging by the timing, it was about right.The liquor would definitely be useful.As for the aloe and cactus, those were also good things—both edible and medicinal.The seabuckthorn was growing thorns.The dragon fruit had developed flower buds. Though they hadn’t bloomed yet, the buds were already quite large—probably blooming soon.The Summer Event was clearly much harder than the Spring Event, but that also meant better rewards.And since players could enter the desert daily, that was a good opportunity in itself.After all, she didn’t have that many [Island Entry Tokens] or [Diving Cards], so participating in the event allowed her to enter the desert for free to collect resources—a definite benefit.But benefits never came free.Entering the desert in this heat would be a real ordeal.If she hadn’t gotten so much good equipment from Mechanical Island, she probably would’ve hesitated—but now that she had the upper hand, there was no reason to miss out on this opportunity.Yun Luohe opened the registration page and clicked [Register].In three days, once the event began, she would be able to enter the desert.These next few days would be perfect for getting more things done on the reef.She woke up at 3:30 in the afternoon.She had slept for six hours—not quite enough, but close.Yúntūn was still sleeping. After devouring so many volcanic toxic flies, it had developed a tendency to doze off. Since it needed time to digest, Yun Luohe wasn’t too worried—she checked it over and, finding no abnormalities, got to work.She first went to check the greenhouse plants again and began harvesting.She’d looked them over that morning, but not in detail. Now she needed to carefully examine the growth of each individual plant.Since they were on vertical racks and every level was densely planted, it was hard to notice problems at a glance.Soon, she spotted white specks on several tomato seedlings. On closer inspection—aphids.Yun Luohe had no pesticide on hand, so she improvised a solution with plant sap and chili water, creating a basic insecticide spray. She used the sprayer carefully, misting every leaf to ensure even coverage.Next, she harvested all the mature fruits and vegetables:Potatoes, mint, bok choy, napa cabbage, cucumbers, soybeans, spinach, strawberries, onions...The winter melon, eggplant, wheat, and cauliflower weren’t ready yet—but they were growing well.Yun Luohe moved to the western side of the reef, preparing to dig a lotus pond and plant the lotus roots.She measured the land, planned out the pond’s size and shape.Since it would be at the reef’s edge, the embankment needed serious reinforcement—otherwise, it might be destroyed by tidal surges.She looked at the waves surging up the shore and thought silently.Then she pulled out the spider silk she’d collected earlier—from Spider Island.She still had a lot left. Now that she had Yúntūn, who could produce silk at will, this old stock wasn’t as useful—perfect for the job while Yúntūn was asleep.She mixed silver and gold spider silk together—it was tough and durable, ideal for reinforcing the embankment.She wound the silk around pre-prepared hardwood stakes, then drove them deep into the ground to act as supports.Next, she filled the gaps between stakes with dirt and stone, layered thick spider silk across the surface, and tamped it down repeatedly.Under the blazing sun, it only took a few hours to finish the lotus pond.Yun Luohe was utterly exhausted. She returned to the house to rest and start preparing dinner.The sun was already slanting westward. Gorgeous sunset clouds spread across the sky, each one massive and brilliant.Yun Luohe couldn’t help thinking—the system had warned that a new disaster was coming in a few days.This beautiful view might be a sign of what’s to come.She still hadn’t dealt with all the ingredients and supplies she’d brought back from Lotus Island.Opening the materials chest from Lotus Island, she found:In the food box—lotus flowers, lotus seeds, lotus roots, gorgon fruit, water celery.In the fridge—processed wild chicken, grass carp, rabbit meat, water snake...The two porcupines she’d tied up were locked in a cage, still feisty despite a day without food.Maybe they were just that hungry. At least they weren’t as aggressive as before.Yun Luohe fed them some apple and coconut.She planned to see if they could be raised on the reef. She’d build a livestock pen for them today. If they acted up, she’d just butcher them for meat.Porcupines were small and tricky, but meat was meat.She had plenty of fish and seafood—but not much pork.She now had two ovens but hadn’t used them much.Today was the perfect time for roasted fish and chicken.She cleaned the meat, then rubbed it with salt and honey, massaging it in. She stuffed scallions and ginger into the fish bellies, and onions into the chicken.Then wrapped them in lotus leaves and placed them into both ovens.She had to process the lotus roots and lotus seeds too. The roots couldn’t stay in her backpack long or they’d spoil, so she had to cook them soon—whether for herself or for sale.As for the leftover grass carp and water snake meat—she wouldn’t eat them today, but they needed to be preserved.She decided to make smoked meat. First she cleaned and chopped it into pieces, added seasonings, and mixed thoroughly to coat every bit of meat evenly.Smoked meat would last longer—and had a unique flavor.She also planned to make a lotus seed yam cake.She peeled and cored the lotus seeds, steamed them with yam, then mashed them into a paste. Added honey and glutinous rice flour, kneaded it into dough.She rolled the dough into little balls, shaped them into lotus flowers, then steamed them.During this, she also began preparing sour fish soup.She sliced lotus root, chopped the cleaned grass carp, heated oil in a pot with ginger and scallion, then stir-fried pickled vegetables for aroma. Added water, lotus root slices, and fish—brought it to a boil, then simmered over low heat.When the lotus seed yam cake came out of the steamer, a sweet fragrance filled the air.[Congratulations, player has crafted a Fine Cuisine: Lotus Seed Yam Cake][Reward: Pastry Mold ×1]The mold could be used to make various shaped pastries.Shapes included rabbit, lotus flower, cat paw, frog—very cute.Yun Luohe picked one up and took a bite. The soft, glutinous texture and sweet flavor left her satisfied.Soon after, the sour fish soup finished simmering.She ladled out a bowl—the steaming broth gave off a rich aroma. One sip and the tender fish and tangy vegetables revived her strength considerably.Just then, the oven gave a “ding”—the roast chicken and fish were done.Yun Luohe was already dizzy from the smell—meaty aroma filled the air, mouthwatering.Roubao stared up at her, eyes wide.“Meow meow! Can eat! We can eat now!”“Starving meow to death!”Yun Luohe pulled out the roasted chicken and fish, tearing off a big chunk for it.Roubao wolfed it down in two or three bites.She was just about to tell it to slow down—when—Ding[Leopard Cat has leveled up][You have fed your leopard cat its favorite food more than 50 times: Gluttony Contract unlocked]Yun Luohe blinked—Roubao had finally leveled up.Then she chuckled helplessly.It had evolved just from eating too much—that was definitely something.Yúntūn devoured.Roubao gorged.In a way, they weren’t so different.She opened Roubao’s info panel:[Leopard Cat]Name: RoubaoAppearance: Adult leopard cat, large and sturdy, weighs 45kgPersonality: Gluttonous, livelyBase Skill: Rapid PounceNew Skill: Gluttony ContractEffect 1: Pet’s Strength ×2, but food consumption ×2Effect 2: Precision HuntAutomatically tracks and captures small animals; must be fed corresponding meatHigher levels unlock additional effects

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