Under the night sky, only the faint glow of the campfire remained.
Rena, her face flushed, had just finished singing a well-known song from the Kingdom of Malyo.
Lin Qianyi didn't understand the lyrics, but he thought the tune was nice.
Once their basic needs were met, the group naturally began to crave some form of entertainment.
For now, they held a meeting every evening chatting, telling stories, imagining the future, or even performing.
After Rena finished singing, Lin Qianyi and the others applauded in encouragement.
Once things quieted down, Su Mandong stepped forward.
"I have something to say."
She looked at everyone and said, "It's about the glowing fern-like plants that Xiaoyi and Zhou Hong discovered earlier…"
Soon, Su Mandong shared some information about the "Poseidon Grass."
The reactions from the group varied.
"There's actually a plant that amazing?" Zhou Hong was visibly surprised.
Rena also looked intrigued, seemingly lost in thought.
He Yanghui, however, was different. After a moment of thought, he said, "Harvesting Poseidon Grass adds unnecessary risk for us. And we're not even 100% sure that's what it is. Right now, our top priority should be finishing the raft and getting off this island. We can come back to investigate once we have better tools and boats."
All he wanted was to go home. He had no interest in anything risky or off-track.
He hadn't even supported Lin Qianyi's suggestion to expand their search for more food sources much less venture into unknown territory for a plant they weren't sure about.
"It won't be too dangerous if we enter directly from the lake," Lin Qianyi said. "And I think Poseidon Grass could help us a lot. Mandong said it might work as an antibiotic, significantly boosting our immune systems. Right now, we're terrified of getting sick or injured. Even if we ignore the more mystical claims like life extension or body evolution, we still need to gather a supply of its extract. Of course, that's assuming it is Poseidon Grass but if we're just taking a quick trip to confirm, I think it's worth it."
Lin Qianyi was already 80–90% sure it really was Poseidon Grass.
Not because of any concrete evidence, but because he had a hunch: the "Main God" who assigned teammates to him had given everyone a purpose.
He Yanghui, the wilderness survival expert.
Zhou Hong, strong and skilled in combat.
Rena, a nurse and a craftsperson.
All of them were indispensable except Su Mandong, who had always seemed like dead weight.
Weak-willed, ate a lot but contributed little, caused friction within the group, even stole things she felt like nothing more than a decorative "vase."
But clearly, she wasn't some random popcorn-flick side character thrown in just for show.
She had to serve a purpose.
Lin Qianyi once thought her special identity might attract a big company to rescue them.
But that didn't seem to be the case.
Her real value lay in her knowledge of rare plants.
Without Su Mandong, they might not have thought to collect the glowing fern-like plant at all.
And if Lin Qianyi had tried collecting it himself without proper technique, he could have been injured by its corrosive sap.
Even if they did gather it, without understanding its use, they might've dismissed it as toxic and useless.
In short, that was her value: adding to the group's collective knowledge.
Of course, unlocking that knowledge wasn't easy.
They'd need to manage team conflict so Su Mandong didn't get killed by a furious Zhou Hong.
They'd need to explore the island deeply enough to even find the Poseidon Grass in the first place.
Looking back now, Lin Qianyi realized: the Main God had probably been nudging him in this direction from the start.
"Well, if that's the case, then it's worth collecting some," He Yanghui relented. "But be careful. The cliffs on both sides might have unstable rock formations. They could collapse. I suggest making simple wooden shields to protect yourselves from falling rocks."
He still didn't want them risking themselves, but Lin Qianyi had made up his mind.
All he could do now was urge them to be careful and to wear some protection.
"That's easy we can use bamboo pieces to make shields," Zhou Hong said.
"Better to use wooden planks," He Yanghui replied. "It'll take more time, but they'll absorb more impact."
He was genuinely worried something would happen to Lin Qianyi's group. They were already short on manpower for building the raft. If something happened to them, and he had to lead only Rena and Su Mandong to finish it, that'd be nearly impossible.
"Alright, settled then. Tomorrow, we'll make shields. The day after that, we head out."
Lin Qianyi made the final call.
---
Day 20.
After a few hours of work, Lin Qianyi and Zhou Hong finished crafting their shields.
They were small wooden shields with attached ropes.
Roughly 30cm in diameter, they had been repurposed from broken ship planks found earlier.
If rocks fell from above, they might offer some protection.
To Lin Qianyi, it was better than nothing.
By evening, Lin Qianyi had harvested his fifth mushroom.
This one was so big, he thought it looked more like a mushroom "pile" than a single mushroom.
With a 70% success rate, he got a mushroom of Normal quality Rock Mushroom No. 3 with the trait Savory.
> [Savory]: When cooked, it becomes even more delicious.
It was slightly different from "Delicious," focusing more on enhancing one aspect of the flavor experience rather than an all-around improvement.
He tossed it straight into the pot to boil.
That night's fish stew tasted better than anything seasoned with MSG.
It was hard to describe like flavor traveling straight to the brainstem. Utterly irresistible.
"I'm curious," Su Mandong asked, "Where exactly do you grow these mushrooms? And why haven't you tried expanding the farm?"
Lin Qianyi always pulled out a batch every few days, claiming they were homegrown, but she never saw him do any actual planting just disappear and return with more mushrooms.
"Can't tell you, Sister Mandong~" Lin Qianyi said playfully.
"I won't sneak any!" she replied, giving him a light punch.
It wasn't hard, but Lin Qianyi immediately pretended to be in pain.
"Ow! My arm! I can't move it! It hurts!"
The rest of the team looked on nervously Lin Qianyi was the heart of the group.
"Xiao Su, jokes have limits," He Yanghui said seriously. Then he looked at Lin Qianyi. "You alright?"
"I didn't even hit him that hard!" Su Mandong said, surprised.
"Then I must have heart pain!" Lin Qianyi cried out.
"You little !"
He Yanghui couldn't help but laugh and went back to sipping his soup.
"Oh, tricking me, huh? You're gonna get it!" Su Mandong said and twisted the soft flesh at Lin Qianyi's waist.
"Ow! I surrender! I was wrong, Sister!" Lin Qianyi pleaded.
Zhou Hong glanced over at them, but instead of being amused, he looked annoyed like old memories had been stirred up. He quietly moved farther away.
Rena's eyes flicked between Lin Qianyi and Su Mandong. Her expression soured slightly.
It wasn't necessarily jealousy it was just the discomfort of watching someone attractive interact affectionately with someone else.
Kind of like when a guy sees a pretty girl being lovey-dovey with her boyfriend and mutters, "Damn lovebirds…"
Rena's feelings went a bit deeper, though. Not long ago, Lin Qianyi had promised something to her.
A teenage girl in her formative years was bound to overthink things.
Lin Qianyi, ever observant, noticed Rena zoning out. He immediately stopped joking around with Su Mandong and turned to her.
"What's wrong, Rena? Doesn't taste good? Did I mess it up?"
"N-no!" she replied.
"Then why aren't you drinking?" He took her coconut bowl and sipped from it. "Tastes fine to me!"
He handed it back.
"Drink up!" he encouraged.
Rena hesitated, then took a sip from the same spot Lin Qianyi had.
With the firelight on her cheeks, it was hard to tell if she was blushing or if it was just the glow.
Su Mandong shot Lin Qianyi a sideways glance playful, even mocking.
Hmph. Men.
Eating from one bowl while eyeing another. Classic.
But she didn't mind. It's not like she was in it for romance.
Lin Qianyi, seeing the group tensions ease, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Being the peacekeeper wasn't easy. Being the "central heater" (everyone's warmth source) was even harder.
He had given a lot for this group.
---
Day 21.
Lin Qianyi and Zhou Hong set off on their raft toward the central lake of the U-shaped island.
At first, they paddled a bit, but soon the current did the work for them.
Their crude oar made from planks and sticks only needed to steer. The flow gently carried them in.
That saved energy, but it meant getting back out would be much harder.
Lin Qianyi looked toward the cliffs on both sides. Lush with plants and even trees, the place was full of life.
About 20 minutes later, a massive natural sinkhole covered in glowing ferns came into view.
They were only about 20 meters away now.
As they approached, Lin Qianyi suddenly felt warm.
Not an unpleasant warmth but a soothing, bath-like comfort.
His pores opened up, and his whole body felt relaxed.
"It's the Poseidon Grass's radiation!" he realized.
According to Su Mandong, the radiation from Poseidon Grass could stimulate biological evolution at the cellular level.
They passed through a vast natural cave and reached their destination.
The raft came to rest on a huge patch of land over 300 meters in diameter.
At that moment, Lin Qianyi saw a line of blue text appear before his eyes:
> [Trialer has completed the mission: Explorer Discovered over two-thirds of the island's surface. Gained 200 points.]
He hadn't expected that this alone would count as completing the "two-thirds exploration" goal.
So that was the threshold? Just a few hundred meters' range?
As he was still processing that, another notification popped up:
> [Tip: Player has received 200 Origin Energy.]