Du Ruan-tian quickly replied to Yun Luohe. Fortunately, she happened to have the blueprint for a lightning rod.However, the required materials were limited—Du Ruan-tian lacked superconductive cable, while Yun Luohe lacked thunderstruck wood.These two materials were the core ingredients for crafting a lightning rod.It just so happened that thunderstruck wood could be obtained through the daily desert login reward.Still, Yun Luohe couldn’t rely solely on that—she needed a backup plan.Besides lightning rods, there was also a device called a lightning attractor. It could lure lightning strikes and store electricity for later use as batteries.But its materials were also difficult to obtain.The lightning attractor had great potential, but for now, Yun Luohe’s priority was getting a lightning rod built as soon as possible.Her supply of superconductive cable was also limited—just enough for one lightning rod—so she couldn’t trade it for Du Ruan-tian’s thunderstruck wood. She had no choice but to find more herself.Thankfully, with intel provided by Heaven’s Mechanism Pavilion, she quickly learned some relevant information about thunderstruck wood.Apparently, when iron birch trees were struck by lightning, they would transform into thunderstruck wood.She had brought back some iron birch saplings from Bat Island earlier, and they had already grown into full trees on her reef.If she could direct lightning to those trees, she could harvest thunderstruck wood.Looks like she would still need a lightning attractor after all.Yun Luohe let out a helpless laugh.Then she contacted Du Ruan-tian again.Du Ruan-tian also had the blueprint for the lightning attractor. The required materials were copper wire, sulfur powder, and thunderstruck wood.Yun Luohe said, “I’ve got a way to get thunderstruck wood. How about this—you make the attractor, I’ll borrow it for a bit. Once I’ve harvested enough wood, I’ll return it and give you some extra as compensation.”Du Ruan-tian trusted Yun Luohe very much.Without hesitation, she quickly crafted the lightning attractor.At that moment, thunder rumbled incessantly.The thunderstorm’s gales roared like raging beasts. Waves rose violently across the ocean, some as tall as ten meters, crashing furiously against the reefs.Some lower-level players’ reefs shook on the verge of collapse under the onslaught. Their buildings were easily destroyed, and materials were swept into the sea in an instant, vanishing without a trace.Most of those affected were rookie players.But Yun Luohe’s reef, being higher-level, only swayed slightly under the crashing waves.The seawater surged up continuously, but it still fell just short of overtopping the reef.Faced with this sudden and terrifying disaster, players were thrown into a state of panic.Some huddled trembling in their flimsy huts, praying their homes wouldn’t be struck by lightning.Others tried building makeshift protective walls around their houses using whatever materials they had, hoping to block the strikes—but under such overwhelming natural forces, their efforts were laughably insignificant.Some higher-level players had already begun attempting to craft simple lightning protection devices.A few survival experts were even thinking about how to harness the storm for resource extraction.Several forum posts appeared, debating the pros and cons of the thunderstorm disaster.After receiving the lightning attractor from Du Ruan-tian, Yun Luohe immediately rushed to set it up beside one of her iron birch trees.Once it was in place, she jumped back down—wasting not even a second.Sure enough, the moment the lightning attractor was positioned, the lightning responded as if receiving a signal.Dark clouds rolled over and stopped above Yun Luohe’s reef.From their midst, a golden bolt of lightning streaked down—striking the iron birch tree directly.The attractor absorbed most of the lightning, though a small portion still hit the tree itself.Black smoke rose from the iron birch. Moments later, two charred, solid blocks of wood fell from the branches.This was thunderstruck wood.Its outer layer was pitch black, but a light touch made the black bark flake off, revealing golden wood beneath, marked with concentric lightning-pattern rings. It was surprisingly beautiful.[Thunderstruck Wood: High-grade timber created when trees are struck by lightning. Core material for crafting lightning rods.]The iron birch didn’t suffer damage from the strike. Its trunk was incredibly sturdy—only two branches had snapped off, corresponding to the two fallen blocks of thunderstruck wood.That meant there was no need to worry about damaging the trees during the process.Still, she couldn’t rely on a single tree.Yun Luohe removed the lightning attractor and repositioned it under another iron birch.Before long, she had gathered another two pieces. Repeating this process with five trees total, she ended up with ten blocks of thunderstruck wood.Not a bad haul.Yun Luohe returned the lightning attractor to Du Ruan-tian and gave her two blocks of thunderstruck wood as repayment.Now with enough thunderstruck wood, Yun Luohe could ask Du Ruan-tian to {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} help her craft one lightning attractor and one lightning rod.She would provide the materials, and the crafting fee would be settled separately.——With the lightning rod in place, at least the chicken coop wouldn’t be in danger of getting struck. Yun Luohe had seen plenty of players in the chat saying their coops had been hit and caught fire—after all their hard work, their chickens turned into roast chicken.Her reef level was high, and the villa should be safe.But if the coop were struck by lightning, it’d be a disaster.One lightning rod wasn’t enough to guarantee safety. She’d wanted to make a cloud lightning rod too, but she lacked enough superconductive cable, so that plan had to be shelved for now.That night, Yun Luohe joined the trainee group chat to discuss the desert event.She planned to form a five-person team to participate.Mu Zitang had just signed a contract with the Nightingale, and it had grown stronger—it would be a useful addition.As for the other three teammates, their combat power was solid, and they all had pets.They were good team candidates.As for Si Qi, she didn’t want to participate in the desert event and preferred to stay on the reef to continue her research.The others lacked sufficient combat strength.So Yun Luohe decided to recruit one more teammate.Yang Mian specialized in forging, Mu Zitang in mining, Yun Luohe in cooking, and Cheng Xuening in gathering.Yun Luohe thought for a bit and decided to invite Qin Sisi.She remembered Qin Sisi had a pretty good alchemy skill and fairly decent luck.They’d worked together once before, and Yun Luohe had a good impression of her.For something this dangerous, it wasn’t ideal to team up with complete strangers.Yun Luohe took the initiative and messaged Qin Sisi to ask if she’d like to join.Qin Sisi happened to be hesitating between solo queuing and teaming up.Her child had adapted well to life on the reef, and being away for a few hours in the desert wouldn’t be a problem.Once the team was finalized, Yun Luohe created a group chat and organized a pre-departure planning session so everyone could get familiar with each other.Everyone took turns introducing their skills, specialties, and traits.Then Yun Luohe gave the team a detailed rundown of the materials and plans she had prepared for the desert.Together, they discussed all the possible scenarios they might face and strategies for dealing with them. They drafted a comprehensive plan of action.“We’ll need to find a safe spot to settle first and set up a temporary camp,” Yun Luohe suggested. “We should also place some defensive measures around the camp in case of sandworm attacks or other threats.”“I can handle laying traps around the camp to deal with sandworms,” Mu Zitang added.Yang Mian said, “Water sources in the desert follow a certain pattern—we might be able to locate an oasis.”After the meeting, Yun Luohe spent more time making final adjustments to her gear and supplies.She used aloe to craft a large batch of sunblock gel—effective against the harsh UV rays of the desert, protecting her skin from burns.She also used agave fiber to make plenty of sun protection gear, making sure each teammate would have their own set.She pulled together materials overnight for graphene insulation film and heat-resistant fabric. Though limited in quantity, it was enough to build a heatproof shelter.From her First Aid Bandage Set, she packed hemostatic gel, antibacterial gauze, and cold compress patches, which would be crucial for treating injuries.She brought lots of food too—not just her own drinks, salads, sashimi, and soups, but also hearty meatballs that restored stamina fast.Lucky Salads and Hydration Soups would be especially valuable in critical moments.She packed compressed energy bars and chocolate as well—great for quickly recovering stamina during hunger or fatigue.She didn’t forget small essentials either: windproof goggles, windproof matches, and other survival tools.The desert-limited event began.All participating players could click to teleport into the desert.The moment she stepped into the desert, a blast of hot air slammed into Yun Luohe, like walking straight into a giant steamer.The scorching sunlight poured directly onto the sand with no obstruction, reflecting a blinding glare that made it hard to keep her eyes open.The sand beneath her feet was burning hot—even with special desert footwear, she could still feel the searing heat rising through the soles.The air itself felt ignited. Every breath was filled with stifling heat, like inhaling fire.[Welcome to the desert. Login reward: Magnetite ×1][Daily stay duration: 4–6 hours. You may exit after 4 hours. Extra rewards available for consecutive logins.]Yun Luohe squinted against the glare, trudging forward with difficulty.She could see her teammates' positions, but each one was far away.Opening the map, the screen was almost entirely black. Only her own location and a few bits of terrain were visible in color.Apparently, only the areas she had explored would light up on the map.She opened the desert zone chat channel. Messages from players were scrolling rapidly:“This desert is insane! I can feel my hydration draining like crazy—my water’s almost gone already.”“Holy crap, this place is unlivable.”“Keep this up, and we’ll all get heatstroke in ten minutes.”“I just stepped into quicksand—barely got out. Everyone, watch your step!”“Help! I ran into a sandworm! It’s horrifying—there’s thousands of them!”Yun Luohe sent a message to the team chat.“Let’s meet at a central location. I’ve marked it on the map—head there.”Mu Zitang:“Got it. I’m the farthest away, might take a bit longer.”Qin Sisi:“There’s a ton of cactus over here. If anyone’s nearby, feel free to come to me.”Yun Luohe checked her position. It wasn’t too far from Qin Sisi,but if she went that way, she’d have to backtrack, which would take her further from the meeting point.She decided against it and chose to head straight for the rendezvous.All around her was yellow sand. Not a single plant in sight—which was expected.Qin Sisi had gotten lucky and spawned in a resource-rich location.The others were sharing their own surroundings through images in the group chat.Yun Luohe saw that Yang Mian and Cheng Xuening also had decent starting spots.They could both see some vegetation: poplar, saxaul, and white thorn.All of those were harvestable plants.White thorn berries were tart and sweet, rich in vitamins—a rare delicacy in the desert.The root of the saxaul could be processed into a valuable spice known for its refreshing effects.All of it could be gathered and taken back.However, to find actual shade, they needed trees with wide canopies.These species weren’t really suited for that.Yun Luohe moved slowly—every few steps, her feet sank into the sand.Up ahead stretched a chain of rolling sand dunes, steep and uneven.Climbing them looked grueling. Yun Luohe frowned.She knew taking a detour would cost more time. After a brief hesitation, she decided to climb directly.She took a deep breath, steadied her breathing, and began ascending step by step.With every upward stride, the sand beneath her feet slipped downward slightly.She had to stomp harder just to keep her balance.Halfway up, Yun Luohe began to feel her stamina failing. Sweat had drenched her back, and her breath was coming in short gasps.Just as she was about to stop and rest, a thunderstorm rolled in.Gales tore through the desert, lifting walls of sand into the air.Yun Luohe staggered in the sudden blast, forced to crouch and dig her hands into the sand to avoid being blown over.The wind-driven grains lashed her face, stinging like needles. She squinted hard, forcing one eye open just a sliver.Finally, she chose to bury herself in the sand.After ten minutes or so, the storm passed.She was covered head to toe in sand. Her face was scratched, her throat burned like fire and blades had carved it out.She finally managed to brush off most of the sand and pulled out one of her throat-soothing drinks, taking a sip. Only then did she feel alive again.The next second, a swarm of desert rats burst out of the sand and launched an attack.The desert rats were small in size but alarmingly numerous—and vicious.Yun Luohe drew her bow and hunting knife, defending while counterattacking.A dozen or so desert rats were nothing to her—she swiftly eliminated them all.Their bodies dropped items upon death.Yun Luohe immediately began collecting.[Magnetite ×2, Rat Hide ×15, Desert Fragment ×2]

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