Inside the tent, only the sound of breathing remained in the silence.
After the baptism of Grade S Divine Water, everyone slept exceptionally deeply that night.
The profound sense of relaxation that penetrated to the marrow completely eased their previously tense nerves.
Perhaps it was because they had washed away the sticky salt stains, or perhaps because they all carried the same pleasant fragrance.
Their sleeping postures that night were even more unrestrained than the previous night.
Qin Yu woke up feeling suffocated.
His chest felt as if a heavy boulder was pressing down on it, carrying a warm milky fragrance.
He struggled to open his eyes.
By the faint reddish glow remaining from the grill, he saw a small dark head.
It was Yao Qian.
The girl was clinging to him like a koala, wrapping her limbs around him.
Her pale thigh rested boldly on his stomach.
She had almost "flowed" out from the middle sleeping bag, with most of her body squeezed into Qin Yu's territory.
Even her cheek was pressed against his chest, with a glistening trail of drool at the corner of her mouth.
"Mmm... delicious..."
Yao Qian smacked her lips, as if dreaming of some exquisite delicacy, and rubbed her head against Qin Yu's chest.
Qin Yu's entire body stiffened.
If this were someone with less self-control, they might have already taken advantage of the girl right then and there.
That bucket of bathwater from last night definitely had something special about it.
Yao Qian's skin was as smooth as a freshly peeled egg, and with the slightest movement, one could feel its astonishing elasticity.
Qin Yu took a deep breath, trying to calm the morning fire that was already threatening to rebel.
He was just about to move to peel off this "koala" when...
He looked up.
And met a pair of cool eyes.
Yao Xue had already woken up.
She lay on her side in the innermost sleeping bag, propping her head up with one hand, quietly watching the scene.
Without her glasses, her eyes lacked their usual sharpness, instead carrying a hint of just-awakened laziness and amusement.
She didn't speak.
Her gaze simply swept over Qin Yu and her sister's entangled bodies.
Then she raised an eyebrow slightly at Qin Yu.
That look seemed to say:
"Captain Qin, quite the lucky man."
Qin Yu's face reddened.
Although he hadn't done anything, the scene looked exactly like he'd been caught in the act.
"Get off."
Qin Yu pushed Yao Qian in his arms somewhat irritably, his voice slightly hoarse.
"Stop sleeping."
"The sun's baking your butt."
Yao Qian grumbled discontentedly, then tightened her arms around Qin Yu's waist as if hugging an oversized pillow.
"Don't bother me... five more minutes..."
"I want roasted whole lamb..."
A vein throbbed on Qin Yu's forehead.
This girl was still eating in her dreams.
Without ceremony, he reached out and pinched Yao Qian's perky nose.
"Mmmph! Mmmph!"
Unable to breathe properly, Yao Qian finally struggled awake.
She opened her eyes blearily, looking at Qin Yu who was right in front of her, then at her own octopus-like posture.
Two seconds later.
"Eek!"
A short, sharp gasp.
Yao Qian retracted her limbs as if electrocuted, rolling back into her own sleeping bag in one swift motion.
Her face turned as red as a large tomato as she buried her head in the sleeping bag, playing dead.
"I... I don't know anything!"
"I was sleepwalking!"
Qin Yu rolled his eyes and sat up.
The lingering intimate atmosphere had mostly dissipated after the commotion.
"Alright, stop pretending."
"Get up quickly."
"We have big plans today."
While putting on his jacket, Qin Yu unzipped the tent.
The morning sea breeze instantly rushed in.
Carrying a salty, fishy scent, it immediately dispersed the sweet, cloying warmth inside the tent.
...
On the deck.
Qin Yu stood at the very center of the raft, surveying his surroundings.
A 50-square-meter raft was already considered a behemoth in the eyes of survivors at this stage.
But he still thought it was small.
Not big enough.
Far from enough.
In this vast ocean, territory meant everything.
The larger the territory, the more items could be stored, the stronger the resistance against wind and waves, and the greater the confidence in survival.
"Qin Yu, morning."
Yao Xue emerged from the tent after straightening her clothes, having put on her gold-rimmed glasses again, returning to her composed doctor persona.
Though when she passed by Qin Yu, the tips of her ears were still slightly flushed.
"Morning."
Qin Yu nodded, then flipped his palm.
A card shimmering with golden light appeared in his hand.
He had kept it stored away all this time.
Now it seemed he had made the right decision to save it.
[Raft Area Doubling Card (Special Item)]
[Effect: Instantly doubles the base area of the current raft.]
[Note: Only usable during the raft stage.]
This was the trump card Qin Yu had been saving for this moment.
If used at 9 square meters, it would only become 18 square meters—a terrible waste.
But used at 50 square meters...
It would directly skyrocket to 100 square meters!
This was strategy.
This was patience.
"What's this?"
Yao Qian also came closer, curiously staring at the golden card.
"Nothing much."
A wild, arrogant smile curled at the corner of Qin Yu's lips.
"Just getting us a bigger villa."
With that.
He applied pressure with his fingers and directly crushed the card.
"Bzzz—"
Golden light erupted.
An invisible energy instantly enveloped the entire raft.
"Creak, creak, creak, creak!!!"
Violent sounds came from beneath their feet.
The noise resembled bones growing or countless planks madly multiplying.
"Earthquake?!"
Yao Qian panicked, grabbing Yao Xue's arm, her face pale.
"Steady yourselves!"
Qin Yu shouted sharply, his feet planted firmly on the deck like nails.
At the edges of the raft, new planks seemed to come alive, frantically extending and spreading outward.
The original railings were pushed out as new floorboards automatically interlocked and joined together.
50 square meters.
60 square meters.
80 square meters.
...
In the blink of an eye.
A massive sea platform, ten meters on each side, had taken shape!
100 square meters!
This was no longer a simple raft.
It was a mobile plaza on the sea!
The deck was wide and solid.
The three of them standing on it seemed exceptionally small.
Even the tent, which had once seemed quite large, now looked like a tiny mushroom.
"Ding!"
"Raft expansion complete."
"Current area: 100 square meters."
"Warning: Current material (wood) has reached its load-bearing limit."
"Please upgrade the material (metal/stone) as soon as possible to unlock a larger area."
The system's prompt sounded at just the right moment.
Reached the limit?
Qin Yu frowned, stomping lightly on the wooden planks beneath his feet.
Indeed.
For a pure wooden structure, 100 square meters was truly the limit.
Any larger, and it would fall apart with the first strong wave.
However, it was enough.
At this stage when the novice period hadn't even ended, possessing 100 square meters of territory made Qin Yu absolutely the number one player in the entire server!
"I... my heavens..."
Yao Qian released her sister's arm, staring dumbfounded at this vast space.
She tentatively ran a few steps.
Then ran a few more.
"So big!"
"It's really huge!"
"Brother Qin Yu! We can play soccer here!"
Yao Qian excitedly spun in circles on the deck, her skirt fluttering.
Yao Xue was also too stunned to speak.
Watching Qin Yu's back, the admiration in her eyes grew even stronger.
Just how many more tricks did this man have up his sleeve?
Yesterday it was 50, today it became 100.
This kind of exponential growth rate was simply terrifying.
"Don't just stand there dumbfounded."
Qin Yu was in high spirits, waving his hand grandly.
"Rearrange everything properly."
"Work area, living area, storage area - separate them all."
"Don't pile everything together like refugees anymore."
"Yes!"
The two sisters responded in unison, full of motivation.
Who wouldn't be happy to live in a big house?
Qin Yu walked to the railing and took a deep breath of the salty sea air.
Feeling completely refreshed.
Next.
Time to get down to business.
"System."
"Start today's lottery draw."
The familiar virtual wheel appeared again.
The golden pointer spun wildly.
Qin Yu's eyes remained calm.
With this 100-square-meter foundation, no matter what he drew, he had the confidence to handle it.
The pointer slowed down.
Passing white... passing green...
Finally.
It came to a steady stop on a dazzling golden section!
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, host! Luck explosion!"
"Obtained S-grade functional item: [Fully Automatic Magnetic Fishing Net] x1."
S-grade!
And a functional item at that!
Qin Yu's eyes lit up.
A flash of light.
A highly technological-looking metal device appeared on the deck.
The base was made of heavy black metal, connected to a cannon-like launcher, with a large bundle of silver-glowing metal mesh trailing behind.
[Fully Automatic Magnetic Fishing Net (S-grade)]
[Attribute: Fully automatic operation, no manual supervision required.]
[Function 1: Wide-area fishing. Can automatically launch and retrieve, covering a 50-meter radius sea area.]
[Function 2: Material adsorption. The net wires are equipped with special magnetic fields that can automatically attract barrels, boxes, and floating construction materials on the sea surface.]
[Function 3: Biological trapping. Built-in acoustic fish attractor, significantly improving fishing efficiency.]
[Energy: Solar/kinetic self-charging.]
"Holy shit..."
Even Qin Yu couldn't help but curse after reading the description.
What was this?
This was cheating!
This was a fully automated production line!
With this thing, would he still need to laboriously cast hooks for planks?
Would he still need to wait all day for a few fish?
"Qin Yu, what is this?"
Yao Xue, who was moving water buckets, stopped and looked in surprise at this futuristic machine.
"Our new miner."
Qin Yu walked forward and stroked the cold metal casing.
"Install!"
He lifted the heavy base with one hand and walked directly to the edge of the raft.
"Click!"
The base automatically locked onto the railing, steady as a mountain.
Qin Yu pressed the green start button.
"Hum—"
The machine vibrated slightly.
The cannon muzzle raised.
"Bang!"
A massive silver net burst forth like scattered blossoms, instantly spreading across dozens of meters of sea ahead.
It unfolded mid-air, covering the ocean surface before sinking beneath the waves.
The machine began emitting a low hum as the winch started turning.
Splash—
Several minutes later, the net was slowly retrieved.
When the net bag broke the surface, the ladle in Yao Qian's hand clattered to the deck.
Clang!
Her jaw dropped so wide it nearly dislocated.
There, in the silver net bag—
Packed full!
Completely stuffed with items!
Dozens of thrashing sea fish struggled within.
But that wasn't even the main attraction.
Amid the school of fish were piled wooden planks, plastic bottles, palm leaves—
And even two E-grade broken wooden crates!
This single cast of the net
Equaled what three people could gather in half a day's work!
Whoosh!
The net automatically opened,
Dumping the haul onto the deck like discarded trash.
Fish flopped, crates rolled.
The joy of harvest electrified everyone's senses.
"We've... we've struck gold..."
Yao Qian murmured to herself,
Staring at the deck full of fish until she nearly drooled.
"Isn't this too exaggerated?"
Yao Xue adjusted her glasses, her fingers trembling slightly.
As the rational one, she understood better what this meant:
It meant liberation from labor.
It meant resource independence.
It meant freedom from grueling physical work to pursue more valuable tasks.
"This is just the beginning."
Qin Yu gazed coldly at the pile of loot before turning back to his exclusive fishing spot.
He picked up the black [God-Tier Poseidon Fishing Rod].
Before,
For survival, for expansion,
He'd been forced to use this SSS-grade divine artifact to fish worthless driftwood and finger-sized minnows.
It was misusing a master's tool.
It was sacrilege.
But now,
With the S-grade automatic fishing net handling basic supplies and food,
He could finally focus on greater pursuits.
Qin Yu gently stroked the rod, feeling its familiar connection.
"Old friend."
"You've been wronged."
He lifted his head, eyes sharp as lightning, piercing the deep sea.
"From today onward,"
"We're done with trash."
"Yao Xue, Yao Qian."
Qin Yu's voice was quiet but carried undeniable authority.
"Here!"
The sisters instinctively stood at attention.
"From now on, you're responsible for sorting, processing, and storing the net's catches."
"Gutting fish, opening crates, organizing building materials."
"That's your duty."
"Understood?"
"Understood!"
Yao Qian responded the loudest.
As long as there was fish to eat, she'd do anything.
Besides, this was effortless compared to blindly hoping for catches with a hook.
Qin Yu nodded in satisfaction.
He sat down,
Leaning against the sturdy railing, legs stretched out casually.
The SSS-grade fishing rod in his hand.
"As for me..."
A predatory smirk curled Qin Yu's lips.
With a sharp flick of his wrist,
The hook tore through the air with a piercing whistle, landing far out at sea.
This time,
His target was no longer mere survival.
But plunder.
The true treasures hidden in the deep sea—
The kind that could elevate one to greatness overnight!
"An SSS-grade rod deserves only treasure chests."
"Everything else—"
"Get lost."