"Thirteen thousand five hundred!"This time it was a twin-tailed girl, gritting her teeth as she raised her hand. "Thirteen thousand! Don’t you dare try to outbid me."The bidding jumped in increments of five hundred, quickly breaking fifteen thousand.After all, by this point, most people were running low on sand coins.Yun Luohe and Yu Chenjin exchanged a glance — and both actually smiled."Looks like we can just sit back and watch."Neither of them was about to enter a bidding war.They’d just wait to see who ended up with the final win.When there’s no pressure to bid yourself, watching others frantically raise prices to snatch something away was actually pretty entertaining.By the final heated stage, only two bidders remained. At that point, it was simply a matter of whose sand coin reserve was bigger.Because of Yun Luohe and Yu Chenjin’s earlier incident of being reported, everyone now knew that giving sand coins as a gift didn’t count as a violation, so suddenly, the bidders began rushing around asking others for coins.The scene briefly descended into chaos.Yun Luohe and Yu Chenjin were approached by that twin-tailed girl."Do you have any spare sand coins? Can you give me some?"Yun Luohe had a night market pass in hand — she could come again next time.Sand coins were never “extra”; she could use them herself later.No reason to give them away for free.So she shook her head in refusal."Hey, handsome, do you have any? Could you give me some?"Yu Chenjin shook his head calmly.Bidding wouldn’t wait too long, so if you didn’t manage to get coins from one or two people quickly, you were out.The bidding continued.Then, from the audience, a rough voice rang out:"Seventeen thousand sand coins."The whole place went silent. Yun Luohe turned toward the sound, spotting a mysterious figure in a bronze mask slowly rising to his feet. The hem of his cloak was stained with dark red sand, as if he had just come from some bloody battlefield."Seventeen thousand, once—" The auctioneer’s gavel hovered in midair, when suddenly a clear, ringing voice interrupted."Eighteen thousand sand coins!"Everyone turned to see a woman in a gray cloak standing in the back row. Her hood covered most of her face; no one knew when she had appeared, and she hadn’t joined in any bidding earlier.The price for the Desert Ruins map had now climbed to eighteen thousand sand coins — an astronomical amount.Yun Luohe found herself curious about these two and how they had managed to acquire so many sand coins.Still, it was unlikely they’d tell her, and she had no intention of asking — it was just idle speculation.The bronze-masked man was silent for a moment before lifting his hand in a gesture."Nineteen thousand!"Just as the auctioneer’s gavel was about to fall, the hooded woman lazily raised her hand."Twenty-two thousand."A collective hiss of breath filled the hall.The gavel came down hard with a crisp thunk."Twenty-two thousand sand coins, sold! Congratulations to this lady for winning the Desert Ruins map!"The hooded woman remained extremely low-key, never removing her hood, keeping her air of mystery.The show was over, and it was getting late. Yun Luohe told Yu Chenjin her coordinates in the desert — if they were close, he could come find her.Since Yu Chenjin was participating in the desert event in solo mode, there was no need to worry about how to split resources between two teams.If they were too far apart, they could meet at the next night market, bringing any goods they wanted to trade.Yun Luohe had already decided she would get a stall permit next time and set up shop, so trading then wouldn’t violate any rules.As they spoke, the desert night market’s countdown began.On the light screen, a glowing hourglass appeared.In the last ten minutes, all players would be automatically teleported back to their respective reefs.The hooded woman suddenly walked toward them.Yun Luohe could tell she was heading straight for them.She murmured to Yu Chenjin, "The one who bought the Desert Ruins map is coming.""Mm, I see her. Maybe she wants something.""Maybe she’s after the Blue Crystal Lizard."Before Yun Luohe had finished speaking, the hooded woman was already standing before them."Hello, I’m Xu Qi. I’d like to invite you to join the Desert Ruins exploration. Are you interested?""Desert Ruins exploration?" Yun Luohe raised an eyebrow. "Why invite me? You spent a fortune on that map.""I saw your shooting record. In the second stage’s sandstorm mode, you hit the moving bullseye seven times by judging wind and sound alone, and you seem to have the ability to predict in advance. With your skill, why wouldn’t I invite you? Not to mention… you have the Blue Crystal Lizard."After hearing Xu Qi’s words, Yun Luohe’s expression shifted slightly."Seems you’ve been watching me for a while."Xu Qi replied, "Outstanding people always draw attention. I’d say I’m not the only one watching you."Yun Luohe kept her expression neutral."So? Will you join my players and explore the Desert Ruins with us? You’ll definitely gain a lot.""Sorry. No."Yun Luohe had her own team, could find resources on her own, and had ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) map fragments to assemble for the ruins herself. Besides, she didn’t know who was in Xu Qi’s team or if they could be trusted.What if she ended up being discarded once she was no longer useful…"What if I invite both of you? There’ll be five in total, and we’ll split whatever we find equally by headcount. I provide the map, and when we find treasure chests, I just get to pick first. If there’s high-grade gear, I get priority. Everything else, you two split evenly."Xu Qi clearly thought she was being generous.But Yun Luohe still refused."No need."Yu Chenjin, standing beside her, said nothing. He had no objection either way.It was obvious Xu Qi’s main target was Yun Luohe, and adding him on was just an afterthought.Since Yun Luohe had already refused, there was nothing more for him to say.Time was up.A layer of light enveloped Yun Luohe and the others, and the desert vanished around them.——Back at the reef, Yun Luohe’s first move was to make a glass tank for the Blue Crystal Lizard.To make it comfortable, she asked around in the chat channel, finding a player who had raised lizards before and getting tips on setup. She prepared a nice habitat.Technically, Yun Luohe could now communicate with most animals, but the Blue Crystal Lizard had never spoken to her — not a single sound.Then, she began sorting the supplies she’d brought back from the desert night market.Night Market Pass — will give advance notice when the next market opens; clicking allows teleportation.Blue Crystal Lizard — detects Blue Crystal Ore within 5 km; saliva can dissolve rock layers.Reinforced Fishing Net — double-woven, resistant to shark bites…Each of these was only one.She had also bought: 2 External Wound Suture Kits, 5 Nutrient Solutions, 10 Seasoning Packs, 5 Brown Sugar, 10 High-Temp Sterilized Camel Milk.She’d even bid at the exchange for spring coordinates.That way she could have a continuous supply of pure water — the coordinates now marked on her desert map.The weather forecast service was cheap; she bought two uses.It could predict extreme weather like sandstorms and thunderstorms within 48 hours at the reef.After auction and shopping, she had just over 800 sand coins left.Yun Luohe sent the Blue Crystal Ore and the lizard’s saliva to Si Qi for research.After a moment’s thought, she also sent a piece of sharkskin for her to make insulated gloves and study the fluorescent jellyfish.Si Qi’s research had recently made progress — for example, extracting fluorescent protein from the jellyfish to make portable lamps with excellent brightness, good enough to replace torches or flashlights.The only problem was extracting it in large quantities.Luckily, Yun Luohe’s sharkskin delivery solved an urgent need.Si Qi: "I’ll send you a portable lamp once it’s done. Also, there’s been a breakthrough in the Symbiosis Crystal research."Yun Luohe: "Show me."Si Qi sent several experimental results:Embedding Symbiosis Crystal fragments in buildings could absorb lightning and even prevent strikes.Mixing powdered Symbiosis Crystal fragments into worm-breeding towers stimulated growth hormones, making worms grow faster and larger — even bigger than giant worms. The waste and fluids they produced could be made into high-grade organic fertilizer, which also worked as an advanced growth hormone.A large quantity of Symbiosis Crystal fragments together could form an energy field affecting all plants and animals within range.After reading, Yun Luohe regretted not making another trip to Marsh Island during spring. Symbiosis Crystals were so useful, but in short supply, and outside the marsh she’d never seen a parasitic vine anywhere else.Still, just because she didn’t have them now didn’t mean she’d never find more.She decided to keep an eye out.She split her remaining Symbiosis Crystals with Si Qi to make two crystal energy field devices — one for the greenhouse, the other for the chicken coop and livestock pens.Next, Yun Luohe began building the Tidal Windmill.She’d long intended to, but only gathered the materials yesterday.She took the blueprint from her supply chest.[Tidal Windmill: Captures deep-current surge energy and surface current kinetic energy to generate electricity and irrigation simultaneously.][Materials: Bronze Gear ×4, Sharkskin ×5, Iron Birch ×2, Cement ×10, Obsidian ×5, Magnet ×2]First, she chose the placement — only at the edge of the reef. Late at night, the reef’s edge was pitch-black, and she worked by lamp for a while before deciding on a spot.It wasn’t far from her salvage area and close to both greenhouse and house.Construction time: three hours.——With the windmill providing power, she needed more wiring.She’d gotten some cables from a giant metal tree on Mechanical Island, enough to connect her house, but she’d need more to supply the greenhouse, chicken coop, and workshop.She knew cables were only on Mechanical Island, and making them would probably require advanced blueprints.Then she remembered the Trash Can.By recycling electronic waste, she might get cables.Mu Zitang had just sent her a pile of junk, including several electronics.Without delay, Yun Luohe began feeding them into the Trash Can.It was already 2 a.m. — she figured she’d work another hour before bed.Fortunately, while she was away, Yúntūn had fed the chickens, ducks, and rabbits, and harvested vegetables.After digesting the sandworm, Yúntūn was bursting with energy, throwing itself into farm work — digging soil with its pincers, carving irrigation channels, even making water pits. Its venom could clear pests from the soil and kill weeds, and it could use its pincers to remove obstacles.The land outside the greenhouse was now fully under its management, neatly organized.It could also climb to harvest fruit from high places, easily picking from the topmost racks in the greenhouse.It was more efficient than Yun Luohe, so she could leave greenhouse chores entirely to it.Roubao wasn’t idle either — it collected shells and cleared algae from the reef, a tedious job.With their help, she no longer had to handle every small chore herself, which otherwise would have been overwhelming.——Yun Luohe tossed a discarded CD into the Trash Can.[Recycling complete. Scrap converted into: Record ×1]Next was a broken stereo.[Recycling complete. Scrap converted into: Loudspeaker ×1][Old phone recycling complete. Scrap converted into: Micro Battery ×1][Burnt-out induction cooker recycling complete. Scrap converted into: Copper Coil ×1][Mechanical arm remnant recycling complete. Scrap converted into: Cable ×1][Drone remnant recycling complete. Scrap converted into: Carbon Fiber Frame ×1]…After a round of work, she’d gotten a few more cables.The other items were valuable too:Copper Coil — for connecting the reef’s power network.Lithium Battery Pack — for powering small devices.Carbon Fiber Frame — for assembling a glider.Electronic waste had become more common lately, and she’d also picked up a few shells in the process.The game’s resources were constantly refreshing, with more and more craftable items.In the Trainee Group chat, everyone shared the new blueprints they got each day.Several caught Yun Luohe’s interest, and she’d already given materials and payment to have them made — like a cheese maker, ice cream machine, and cooking pot.She’d traded with Du Ruan-tian for a Sonic Ore Detector and a Portable Water Pouch.The cheese maker mainly needed copper ore and advanced hardwood boards.It was simple to use — just put in milk, and after some time, you’d get cheese.Once her two calves grew, she could milk them.For now, she had some milk stored, enough to use.With cheese, she could unlock new recipes.The ice cream machine needed a key, obsidian, and black metal fragments to make.She could put milk or juice in it.Milk made milk ice cream.Juice and ice cubes made popsicles — mango plus ice for mango popsicles, or strawberry popsicles.Whether ice cream or popsicles, they quickly quenched thirst and beat the heat.Yun Luohe planned to make a big batch for sale.Next time at the desert night market, she could prepare a few hundred — they’d sell fast, and she’d make a killing.

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