Starting With a Reef [Global Survival]

A stove!
Of course Yun Luohe wanted one.
With a stove, she wouldn’t need to go through so much trouble to preserve a fire source.

“What materials do you need to make the stove?”
She’d definitely have to offer some compensation, but as long as she could afford it, it wasn’t a problem.
Meanwhile, Mu Zitang had sent a screenshot of all the supplies he fished up that morning.
Wood ×13, Ocean Stone ×6, Mineral Water ×1, Beer Bottle ×1, Can ×1, Dead Tree Root ×1, Palm Leaf ×3, Plastic Bottle ×1, Cabbage Leaf ×1
Yun Luohe said, “How many materials are you short for your upgrade?”

Mu Zitang replied, “Including what I had before, I still need Wood ×5, Ocean Stone ×1.”
Yun Luohe said, “Keep the upgrade materials and the mineral water for yourself. Give me the rest, and I’ll give you the remaining materials for the upgrade. Upgrade your Reef first.”
Mu Zitang: “Okay!”
He had thought Yun Luohe would take the upgrade materials, but not only did she leave them, she only took the items that were mostly useless to him—and even gave him materials for the upgrade.

If Yun Luohe had known what he looked like, he might’ve suspected she wanted to take care of him.
Feeling touched, Mu Zitang became even more determined to survive. He wanted to become stronger and repay Yun Luohe for saving him in a time of need.
Meanwhile, Yun Luohe felt conflicted. Based on her experience, these materials, if used with the Trash Recycle skill, would mostly turn into fiber, glass, plastic, or even cabbage seeds.
But if she used the Scrap-for-Cash skill, they would all become Ocean Stones.
Recycling was actually the better choice.
But that would mean waiting until tomorrow—she couldn’t switch skills again today.

She decided to save them for now.
She’d use other trash to exchange for money and increase her lottery chances.
In any case, she definitely wanted to do another lottery draw today.
Du Ruan-tian: “Ocean Stone ×12, Burning Wood ×3.”

Yun Luohe: “Could you make one for me, then? What do you need in return?”
Du Ruan-tian: “Do you have any special materials? Glass or iron ore?”
It seemed Du Ruan-tian was also gathering materials to upgrade to Level 3. That’s probably why she was helping people make stoves.

Yun Luohe had already used up all her iron ore and glass. She opened her backpack and checked. “Would plastic or leather work?”
Those were the only special materials she had left.
“Leather works.”
Leather was great for making shoes and gloves.
But without a blueprint, she couldn’t make those things yet.
Du Ruan-tian had a toolbench too and had spent the whole day researching it. But the only blueprint she had so far was the stove blueprint. Since the stove required a lot of materials, she couldn’t mass-produce it yet. She decided to ask her friends first and make a few stoves in exchange for materials.

Yesterday, Wu Jing had invited her to join the Lucky Club. She joined.
There were definitely many lucky players in the group, but Wu Jing and Du Ruan-tian had the highest luck stats—both over 85. Most of the others were between 70 and 80.
She had also posted in the group that she was taking custom orders for stoves. Pretty much all 10 members placed an order, and she got a bunch of good materials from it.
Ten minutes later, Yun Luohe received the stove from Du Ruan-tian.

Stove: Burning stove. Function: Lighting, warmth, cooking food. Can be upgraded into a furnace.
Upgrade Requirements for Furnace: Iron Ore ×5
So it could be upgraded.
Although she didn’t know exactly what a furnace could do, Yun Luohe guessed—based on her gaming experience—that it could probably smelt ore and bake household items.
The stove consumed wood, so Yun Luohe didn’t use it right away. She put it in her backpack to take out at night.

The stove was windproof, so compared to the campfire she used the night before, it would burn far less wood. One piece of wood could last two hours.
Since Du Ruan-tian was taking commissions to make stoves, Yun Luohe wondered if she could also take commissions to make things.
Du Ruan-tian probably focused on lucky, well-supplied players.
But Yun Luohe could aim for the unlucky ones—players like herself and Mu Zitang. They had lots of trash and trouble developing. There were probably plenty more like that.

The more trash she collected, the faster her Trash Can would level up.
There would definitely be benefits.
Yun Luohe was deep in thought when her fishing net stirred.

She quickly pulled it up.
It was her first haul of the day.
Inside the net was a shell, and inside the shell was a gray pearl.

Obtained: Ocean Stone ×3, Torn Yarn Hat, Palm Leaf ×1, Plastic Bottle ×1, Plain Noodles ×1
Yun Luohe thought she was just lucky. She had actually fished up Plain Noodles today.
But when she opened the chat channel and saw everyone showing off what they’d hauled in, she realized: the system had upgraded the loot hidden inside shells today.

What the lucky players fished up made people jealous.
Just then, Wu Jing posted a video in the chat—he had filmed the entire process of opening a shell.
The moment he opened it, there was a dazzling white pearl.
After it sparkled, a whole bunch of supplies appeared: Ocean Stone ×10, Iron Ore ×1, Fiber ×5, Glass Bottle ×2, Slice of Strawberry Cake ×1, Egg Fried Rice ×1, Mineral Water ×1, Beer ×1, Fried Dough Twist ×1, Hemp Rope ×1

“Damn, Lucky King! So much food! And even strawberry cake—that’s insane!”
“I love when Wu Jing posts these shell-opening videos. So satisfying to watch!”
“Anyone wanna watch me open a shell? I’ll probably just pull up trash, but hey, it’s good comedy.”
“Who wants to see your junk? I’ve got my own!”
“LOL. Come join the Lucky Club. We all post food hauls every day, and trading in the group is super convenient.”
People were already advertising the Lucky Club in the chat channel.
The club now had 10 members. Joining required a strict review process—not only did you have to screenshot your luck stat, but they also checked your inventory as proof of assets. You had to prove you were worthy of the title "Lucky."

Yun Luohe would be lying if she said she wasn’t jealous.
Who wouldn’t want to pull up loads of useful supplies every day and just relax on their reef?
But she had a low luck stat.

Still, she wasn’t discouraged. Instead, she started thinking: could she create a Trash Collectors’ Club?
She’d call it: The Recycling Station.
Unlucky players welcome. The more trash, the better. Hand in trash, receive supplies.

Yun Luohe already had a rough plan in her mind, but she’d have to think more about how to put it into action.
She threw a few pieces of garbage into the Trash Can—one can, two plastic bottles—and gained 3 experience points and 6 Ocean Stones.
At that moment, Mu Zitang sent another message.

“Sis Yun! I upgraded successfully! I even got a reward!”
Yun Luohe was a little surprised.
So there were still rewards for upgrading this late.

By now he must be ranked past ten thousand.
Yun Luohe: “What’s the reward?”
Mu Zitang: “Check it out! A compensation reward for upgrading after the 100,000th place!”

Seriously?
He must be one of the very last players to upgrade—probably dead last.
[Last Place Gift Pack: Mineral Water ×10, Custard Buns ×10, Iron Ore ×10, Fiber ×10, Plastic ×10, Ocean Stone ×10, Wood ×10, Glass ×10, Flint ×10, Seaweed ×10]

Yun Luohe was dumbfounded.
This reward was even better than hers!
Ten types of supplies, ten of each—was the system going for perfection?

And among them were several high-level materials, all in quantities of ten.
Even the food and water came in full sets of ten.
With this, Mu Zitang could probably level up again right away.
Truly, when you hit rock bottom, the only way left is up.

Mu Zitang was overjoyed. “Did I just hit the jackpot?”
Yun Luohe: “Looks like it.”
“Congratulations.”
Mu Zitang: “Sis Yun, this is half your achievement. You pick—whatever you want, take half!”

Yun Luohe: “Are you sure? Half of this is worth quite a lot.”
Mu Zitang: “Yes! I already said it before. You’ve helped me so much, it’s only right I give you half. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have survived, let alone saved enough supplies to upgrade.”
Since Mu Zitang insisted on giving her half, Yun Luohe didn’t want to refuse.

Because with half of this, she’d be much closer to reaching Level 4 in a few days.
Of course, she wouldn’t just take it for free—she’d help Mu Zitang reach Level 4 as well.
“Then I’ll take the glass, iron ore, and flint.”

“Only those three? That’s not even half.”
“These three are enough.”
She wasn’t short on the rest.

“Okay, I’m sending them to you now.”
When Mu Zitang said he’d give, he really meant it—no hesitation at all.
[Announcement: The newbie protection period is ending soon. Any players who do not reach Level 3 by midnight tonight will be eliminated.]
[Tomorrow marks the official start of spring...]

[Spring offers abundant supplies and is the best season for planting. Days will be sunny and pleasant, but nights will bring low temperatures and continuous rain. Sea levels will rise. Mutated fish will attack Reefs. Players must level up and fight to survive.]
Anyone below Level 3 by midnight would be eliminated—Mu Zitang had clearly been in that danger group.
But now that he had received the Last Place Gift Pack, he didn’t need to worry so much.

He just needed to use some food and water to trade for more supplies, and he’d be able {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} to level up.
Yun Luohe, on the other hand, now had Flint ×10, Iron Ore ×10, and Glass ×10—and needed to rethink her plans.
Flint could be used to craft Fire Starters, but that didn’t require the toolbench, so its value wasn’t very high.

It might be better to use the toolbench to turn the flint into stone hoes or stone knives and sell those. That would likely yield more upgrade materials.
Ten flint could make five tools.
As for iron ore, it could be turned into iron nails for making beds.

Wooden beds were probably the most needed furniture for all players.
Who didn’t want to sleep in a proper bed? You couldn’t just sleep on the ground forever.
Plus, Yun Luohe could also take commissions like Du Ruan-tian.

After all, she had a toolbench. Even if it was more work, she was willing to do what the lucky players wouldn’t bother with.
So Yun Luohe wrote up a message and posted it in the chat channel.
Yun Luohe: Offering processing services—wooden beds, wooden tables, stone hoes, stone knives, material decomposition and synthesis... (you must provide your own materials). Payment: 3 of any items. Anything is accepted.

She posted the message three times, in case people missed it from chat scrolling too fast.
Very quickly, she started getting inquiries.
“Any items? Even Rotten Wood and empty Mineral Water bottles?”

“If it’s really ‘any items,’ I’ve got some useless junk. Can I use that as payment?”
“You’ve got a toolbench and you’re still running small business gigs? Why not join the Lucky Club instead?”
Yun Luohe replied: “Any items are fine. Offering all kinds of processing. Add me if you’re interested. I’m busy—no idle chat.”
Then she posted photos of her wooden bed and stone hoe in the chat channel to prove she could actually make these things.

Just after sending the message, she got a DM from Du Ruan-tian.
“I saw your processing ad! Do you want to join the Lucky Club?”