Chapter 17: Rainforest Island Dungeon

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Rainforest Island Dungeon

After disembarking, she stored the sailboat in her backpack. She gripped her axe, and the moment her foot touched the sand, a voice sounded.

[Congratulations to player Contentment Brings Happiness for landing on your second island. You have received: Island Map x1, Planting Space x10 square meters.]

[As the first player in the world to land on another’s island, you may choose to make a regional or a world announcement. Announcing will grant you the following rewards: Freshwater Lake x1, Incubator x1, golden sore medicine x1. Do you wish to announce?]

Shi Zhile stroked her chin, deep in thought.

’An announcement means openly flaunting my wealth, which would increase the chances of other players trying to rob me.’

’But the reward is a freshwater lake.’

She wasn’t short on fresh water at the moment, but if she wanted to live better, farming and raising livestock were essential. Farming needed water, and so did animal husbandry.

’From a long-term perspective, the lake is a must-have.’

"World announcement!"

’Bring it on!’

’Let them all come and try to rob my island. Once it’s empty, there’ll be nothing left to steal.’

’As for my shelter...’

’Anyone’s shelter is as good as any other!’

’A crafty rabbit has three burrows, but they still have to be found.’

[World Announcement: Player Contentment Brings Happiness is the first to land on a second island: Rainforest Island. Rewarded with: Freshwater Lake x1, Incubator x1, golden sore medicine x1. This is a special announcement!]

The announcement flashed three times in a row, the font growing larger with each appearance. The color escalated from yellow to a dazzling, multicolored rainbow before finally fixing itself at the top of the panel, scrolling endlessly.

"So tacky!"

[You have received: Freshwater Lake x1 (Awaiting placement; cannot be moved or reclaimed into backpack), Incubator x1, golden sore medicine x1. All rewards have been delivered to your backpack. Please check!]

The fact that the freshwater lake couldn’t be reclaimed meant she couldn’t keep changing the location of her shelter.

It was hot, even at noon. The rainforest was so dense it felt suffocating, yet the completely blocked sun made the air feel strangely cool.

A thick fog permeated the deeper parts of the forest, so she didn’t dare venture too far in. Instead, she headed up a slope, hoping to find some fruit trees.

After a few minutes of walking, a simple wooden cabin appeared halfway up the mountain.

She pushed the door open and went inside. The room was bare, save for a very large leaf spread on the ground and three open, empty treasure chests in a corner.

Wasting no time, Shi Zhile immediately decomposed them.

An invisible stench of sweaty feet emanated from the leaf. The longer she lingered, the more the smell assaulted her nostrils. She stepped outside and took two deep breaths of fresh air.

She looked at the decent-sized cabin, feeling it was a waste to leave it behind.

"If only I could decompose this."

A flash of light shot past, and the wooden cabin automatically decomposed with unimaginable speed.

[You have received: Wood x200, Iron Nails x100, Hay x50]

A terrible feeling washed over Shi Zhile. She pulled up her panel, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find the Wish Drifting Bottle.

"Holy shit, I never said decomposing the cabin was my wish!"

Her only answer was the scorching sun.

"System, get out here! I want a refund."

[System in hibernation!]

’That bastard, it screwed me over again!’

She suspected the system had deliberately misinterpreted her request just to save energy.

She took a deep breath, gripped her axe, and swung it at a nearby tree trunk to blow off steam. CHOP! CHOP! To her surprise, after only the second strike, the towering tree came crashing down.

The tremendous crash startled a flock of birds from deep within the forest. Beside the tree, she stood, completely dumbstruck.

"Ho... holy shit! With an axe like this, who needs to worry about wood!"

She mentally commanded, ’Decompose.’ The fallen tree instantly vanished, reappearing moments later in her backpack as fully processed materials.

’Does this mean the system’s interpretation of "decompose" is to unconditionally break down *anything*?’

’Not sure. I’ll try it again!’

She kept chopping. The trees fell faster and faster, and Shi Zhile’s mind was filled with a single word: Decompose. Decompose. Decompose.

The wood in her backpack piled higher and higher. Before she knew it, the sun was already starting to dip toward the west.

The thick calluses on her palms cracked, revealing raw, red flesh underneath. Shi Zhile rinsed the wounds with spring water before dabbing on some golden sore medicine.

It was three o’clock. The trip back would take an hour.

She had no intention of spending the night on someone else’s island. After packing up, she took advantage of the remaining daylight to scout along the shoreline.

Her luck was poor; all she found was a set of tattered, damp cotton clothes.

She launched the sailboat. The instant Shi Zhile stepped aboard, Rainforest Island let out a tremendous RUMBLE and sank beneath the waves.

[Novice Period Notice: Rainforest Island has sunk. The Rainforest Island instance will open tonight at 12:00 AM. All players in Server 1 are advised to prepare.

This instance is mandatory. If a player still in their Novice Period dies within the instance, their real-world Life Value will decrease by 50%.

Instance Objective: Survive!

Duration: Seven days.]

Shi Zhile was still reeling from the shock of the island’s sinking.

’A Rainforest Island instance?’

The sailboat automatically charted a course for Stone Island. She sat at the bow, fishing rod in hand, her brow furrowing ever deeper.

’Does this mean the instance is starting early?’

’Is that a good thing or a bad thing?’

The fact that the objective was simply "Survive" strongly implied that this instance would be incredibly difficult.

The public chat was in an absolute uproar.

[FindersKeepers: @Contentment Brings Happiness, what did you do on Rainforest Island? How did it sink?!]

[BelovedConcubine: We should be grateful the instance is opening during the Novice Period. At least if we fail, it won’t be a true death.]

[Jiang Yuxing V (Server 1, Rank 1): Whether inside the instance or out, pay close attention to the time remaining in the Novice Protection Period.]

Shi Zhile quickly tagged him: [Does time in the instance pass at the same rate as normal time?]

[Jiang Yuxing: It’s the same!]

The moment Shi Zhile posted, the @s directed at her multiplied.

[Southern Wind Knows My Heart: @Contentment Brings Happiness, what did you do to make Rainforest Island sink? What happened to the player who owned that island? Did you kill them? Did you trigger this instance on purpose to get everyone killed?]

She was ranked third on the leaderboards. Rumor had it she was exceptionally beautiful and had given out free supplies to many players.

Shi Zhile opened her private messages and sent two chunks of stone to Jiang Yuxing first.

[Expert, any idea how dangerous the instance will be? Can we bring our backpacks?]

Jiang Yuxing accepted the items. [Not clear yet. We have to wait for the official notice.]

Shi Zhile was speechless. ’You took my stones even though you don’t know anything!’

Brother Volcano sent her a message as well.

[Little bro, let’s team up for the instance. I’ve got four people here already, you’d make five.]

Shi Zhile thought for a moment, then initiated a video call.

The call connected quickly, revealing a tall, young man on her panel. With his tanned skin, buzz cut, and sharp, three-dimensional features, he was devastatingly handsome.

Shi Zhile nearly spat out the water she was drinking.

She had always pictured Brother Volcano as some grizzled old guy.

The man on the other end stared, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Wait, you’re not a dude... you’re a girl?"

Shi Zhile nodded. "You can call me Shi Zhile. Now that you know I’m a girl, do you still want to team up?"

The man on the other end scratched his head, his accent smoothing out into something more standard.

"Why wouldn’t I? Making it into the top ten means you’re skilled. To be honest, I’m not the one who put this team together. It was our server’s number one, Brother Nan... Jiang Yuxing. He’s the one who asked me to pull you in.

You want to meet them? I’ll add them to the call."

Before Shi Zhile could even answer, three more windows popped up in the video call.

A moment later, a face appeared in one of the new windows.