Chapter 33: The System’s Online Scam

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: The System’s Online Scam

Soon, her direct messages were full.

The first was from Foam: [Sis, I have cement. I was just wondering, do you only need one bag?]

[Contentment Brings Happiness: I’ll take however much you have.]

She replied even faster: [I have nine bags. I’ll trade them all to you. Can you give me five bottles of water a day, same as before?]

Shi Zhile did the math.

Nine bags of cement were worth 450 bottles of water. There was more than enough in the freshwater lake, so that was no problem at all. It just meant that at five bottles a day, she would have to keep sending them for three months straight.

The agreement for the previous trade—the pharmacy station—wasn’t complete yet, but since the other party wasn’t in a hurry, neither was she.

She sent the trade agreement, and the other party quickly sent over the cement.

[Quick-Dry Cement: An essential material for construction. Can be combined with yellow sand and crushed stone to fill the gaps between stones. (Afraid your stones won’t play nice together? Worried your house will collapse? Then please shout out loud, "Xiao Ni’er, I’m here to help~")]

Note: You must be fast, fast, fast when using quick-dry cement, because if you’re too slow, it’ll harden on you.]

Shi Zhile ignored the flavor text. After claiming the cement, she found other people and traded for five more bags—paid in full, of course.

She opened a nearby bag of cement, mixed it with sand and crushed stone, poured some water on it, and manually set a stone in place at the edge of her construction.

She waited... and waited. And realized this stuff wasn’t as advertised.

"Isn’t this supposed to be quick-dry? It’s been ten minutes. Why isn’t it hard yet?"

The system, which had been playing dead the whole time, spoke up with a smug tone.

[Player, please read the item description carefully.]

Shi Zhile read it again. "I added sand and crushed stone. Nothing else is missing."

[You didn’t call it Xiao Ni’er~~]

Shi Zhile: "..."

’Seriously? It was never like this before!’

She called out, "Xiao Ni’er?"

The cement, having no mouth, ignored her.

It also didn’t harden.

"System, do you think it’s funny to mess with me?"

The cold, mechanical voice repeated the item description, heavily emphasizing one part: [...Please shout ’Xiao Ni’er’ OUT LOUD...]"

Shi Zhile: "...Xiao Ni’er!"

She raised her voice this time. The cement didn’t harden. She kept getting louder and louder.

Eventually, her voice was echoing across the entire island.

Just as her voice was about to give out, the cement finally hardened. Furious, Shi Zhile stomped on it.

The system’s sinister laughter grew louder, brimming with smug satisfaction.

[Congratulations, Player, for unlocking the achievement "Love Must Be Shouted Out Loud"! Reward: Golden Small Horn x1, Earplugs x20.]

[Golden Small Horn: An indestructible horn. A megaphone crafted from solid gold. Press the button to speak, and your voice will carry across the entire island. The closer someone is to you, the more powerful the acoustic assault on their ears.

Note: For every hour of continuous use, victim’s Life Value -2/hour, user’s Life Value +2/hour.]

Staring at the Golden Small Horn in her hand, Shi Zhile fell silent. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

’Isn’t this a classic double-edged sword?’

’Would I even have a voice left after shouting for an hour?’

She put it away, her face expressionless.

She clicked on "House Construction" in the Task Hall.

[Materials required for House Construction: Stone x900, Wood x500. Build?]

"Build!"

Perhaps because it was a large-scale project, a white fog enveloped the area, and the crisp sound of colliding stones echoed all around.

She was still a little short of collecting 5,000 stone, but she had enough wood.

She thought for a moment. She also needed to build a stone staircase at the opening that led upstairs.

Factoring in the material rebate from building the stone staircase, five thousand stone would be enough.

She went downstairs and built the basement.

Leaving the room, she found the "Cave Remodeling" option in the Task Hall.

[Materials required for Free-Form Cave Remodeling: Stone x5000, Wood x3000. Upon completion, you will receive: Hatchable Chicken Eggs x50, Hatchable Duck Eggs x50, Hatchable Quail Eggs x50. Remodel?]

"Remodel!"

She waited for a moment. The white fog didn’t dissipate, meaning the remodeling was still in progress and the rewards hadn’t been distributed yet. She decided to pick some coconuts in the meantime.

Just as she was about to build a railing and stone steps around the lake, a video call came in from Jiang Yuxing.

She accepted it.

On the other end of the call, Jiang Yuxing’s handsome face was stained with blood, and he looked rather disheveled.

"Jiang Yuxing, what happened to you?"

Jiang Yuxing kept his voice low. "Long story short, how are your wounds?"

Shi Zhile replied, "The wound has scabbed over and the dizziness is gone. I’m pretty much recovered."

Jiang Yuxing breathed a sigh of relief. He panned the camera to show Chuyi and Wang Peng beside him, both of whose faces were also covered in blood.

"I’m sending you a Summon Order. Accept it and come help. I’m being besieged."

Shi Zhile’s heart dropped. "Is it because of the island that spawned from the pharmacy station?"

"No. Every island has another island within a hundred-kilometer radius. He teamed up with players from District 3 and used a Summon Order to call in ten people."

Shi Zhile accepted the Summon Order as she listened.

It was a black token engraved with the character for "Summon." This was the first time she’d ever seen one.

She swallowed two anti-inflammatory pills, made sure she had her axe and wish bottle, and asked, "How do I use this thing?"

"Wait for me!"

The call disconnected. The next moment, the space around Shi Zhile began to twist and distort.

In the blink of an eye, she found herself in a forest.

Behind a massive banyan tree, Jiang Yuxing and his two companions were warily scanning their surroundings.

Seeing her appear, Jiang Yuxing signaled for her to take cover.

"Four down, six to go. They have a crossbowman, but we haven’t pinpointed his location. You stay hidden. I’ll draw him out, and at the critical moment, you take him down with your axe."

Shi Zhile’s aim was impeccable. She had honed her hundred-percent accuracy during the period of her paralysis.

She took out her axe, ready at a moment’s notice.

The moment Jiang Yuxing revealed himself, a handmade arrow came flying toward him.

He scrambled out of the way. Shi Zhile had seen where the arrow came from. She gave Jiang Yuxing a look, and he poked his head out again.

As the enemy’s next arrow flew, Shi Zhile hurled her axe into a patch of bushes.

A scream rang out, and then the bushes fell completely silent.

Wang Peng asked, "Where did you get him?"

Shi Zhile frowned slightly. "Probably the head or the chest."

"I’ll circle around and take a look."

Chuyi said, then slipped away to the side.

He quickly returned, carrying a crossbow, and gave Shi Zhile a thumbs-up.

"Right in the chest. An instant kill. Incredible! Brother Nan, there was only one in the bushes. The other five must be in your shelter. Should we charge in?"

A small smile played on Jiang Yuxing’s lips. "No rush. Let’s go over and lie in wait. We’ll head in once we hear a noise."

Shi Zhile stated, "You set traps."

It wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact.

Jiang Yuxing was just as ruthless.

"You entrusted the pharmacy station to me. An island that periodically spawns is a huge liability, so I couldn’t afford to not have a few tricks up my sleeve. They’re just some small traps."

Jiang Yuxing walked over to the bushes, dragged out the body, pulled her axe free, wiped it clean, and handed it back to Shi Zhile.

He took out a bottle filled with a crystal-clear liquid, removed the wooden stopper, and sprinkled its contents evenly over the corpse.

Instantly, the body shriveled up and then rapidly dissolved into a pool of bloody liquid.

Wang Peng’s eyes sparkled as he stared. "It’s Corpse Dissolving Water! Brother Nan, I’m hungry~"

Jiang Yuxing snapped, "Get lost!"

A scream echoed from the east. Jiang Yuxing glanced in that direction. "Let’s go. The show is about to begin."