Shortly after the final treasure chest had been opened, the system issued yet another triumphant notification.
[Congratulations, Player. The uninhabited island has been completely assimilated. Base island successfully upgraded.]
[Territory expanded by 1 square kilometer. Current area: 3.5 square kilometers.]
[Island Farm eligible for upgrade: requires 10 Crystals.]
[Island Mine eligible for upgrade: requires 10 Crystals.]
[Island Arsenal eligible for upgrade: requires 10 Crystals.]
[Island Barracks eligible for upgrade: requires 10 Crystals.]
[Proceed with upgrades?]
Meng Hao had been waiting patiently for this moment. The instant the prompt appeared, he made his decision without hesitation.
After all, he wasn't exactly short on Crystals.
"Upgrade!"
[Congratulations, Player. Farm upgrade successful. Cost: 10 Crystals. Reward: Drumstick Recipe. +1 drumstick every 10 minutes.]
[Mine upgrade successful. Reward: Copper Mining Protocol. +1 copper ore every 10 minutes.]
[Arsenal upgrade successful. Reward: Shield Crafting Blueprint. +1 shield every 10 minutes.]
[Barracks upgrade successful. Reward: Light Ranger Training Protocol (Unique).]
With each upgrade, the base island's facilities grew increasingly refined, and the list of craftable items expanded rapidly.
Meng Hao conducted a brief inventory of his newly enhanced sectors:
Farm: +1 Bread, +1 Steamed Bun, +1 Drumstick every 10 minutes
Mine: +1 Wood, +1 Stone, +1 Iron Ore, +1 Copper Ore every 10 minutes
Arsenal: +1 Spear, +1 Arrow, +1 Shield every 10 minutes
Barracks: +1 Goblin Guard per hour, with both Dark and Light Ranger training available
To be frank, Meng Hao hadn't yet figured out what the Dark Ranger even did—now a Light Ranger was being introduced?
If he summoned both, wouldn't that be the very embodiment of yin and yang, the twin forces of light and darkness?
Curious, he examined the Light Ranger's profile.
Just like the Dark Ranger, details were locked until it was summoned—except for the summoning requirement.
Required: 1 Skywind Heartstone
"Skywind Heartstone?"
Meng Hao furrowed his brow in thought. If memory served, the Dark Ranger required a Seablue Icecore.
One stone from the sea, the other from the sky. Their connection was unclear, but he instinctively knew they were exceptionally rare.
Perhaps they were tied to the mysterious magic system hinted at earlier.
With his island upgraded, Meng Hao turned his attention to building his first proper dwelling.
In the city, real estate was scarce and absurdly expensive. Given his family's modest means, purchasing a home was nearly impossible.
But now, he ruled over 3.5 square kilometers of land—he was wealthier than he'd ever imagined.
"Enough dreaming. Time to build my cabin."
[Cabin Blueprint: Black Iron Grade. A masterfully designed wooden dwelling that offers protection from the elements. Can withstand 10 attacks from Tier-1 zombies. An ideal place to call home.]
[Cabin Requirements: Wood 18/2000, Stone 18/500, Iron Ore 80012/200, Copper Ore 100/50, Rope 100/200, Glass 0/20.]
One glance at his inventory revealed that he lacked sufficient wood, stone, and rope—and had no glass at all.
Yet for Meng Hao, none of this posed a problem.
If other players could obtain it, he could trade for it.
After all, he held the one resource the world was dying for—freshwater.
All he needed to do was gather what he could, and trade for what he couldn't.
[Wood: Generated via mine or by felling trees on wild islands.]
[Stone: Generated via mine or through manual quarrying.]
[Rope: Woven from plant fiber; found in treasure chests.]
[Glass: Refined from minerals; currently obtainable only from treasure chests.]
Meng Hao glanced at the lush forest of his island, then at the nearby goblin guard. He gave a sheepish cough.
He could chop the trees down for wood—but doing so might disrupt the goblin's growth and evolution.
The same went for quarrying stone.
Why toil himself when the world could do it for him?
It was time to let others do the heavy lifting.
The freshwater crisis had gone on long enough. It was time to make his move.
He opened the Trade Channel and prepared to release his supply.
Before posting, he surveyed recent player listings to gauge the market:
1 Short Stick → 50ml Water
1 Dagger → 50ml Water
1 Sock → 30ml Water
1 Glove → 30ml Water
100 Wood → 50ml Water
100 Stone → 50ml Water
100 Rope → 50ml Water
10 Glass → 50ml Water
Meng Hao raised a brow at the absurdity.
Freshwater was clearly the most in-demand commodity, yet no one was selling it.
And the very resources he needed—wood, stone, rope, and glass—were all available.
Strangely, no one was offering Crystals.
Which was odd, considering that unlocking any production facility required large amounts of them.
Ordinary players couldn't gather enough Crystals just by exploring—so they stagnated.
No upgrades meant no automated production. No production meant increasing poverty.
"Well, not my concern. Time to make my trades."
Meng Hao looked down at the wooden basin by his feet. It held 400ml of water—the same water he had used to wash his hands earlier.
Waste not, want not.
He divided the water into eight 50ml portions and listed them—just as the market had standardized.
Only the water was provided. Containers? That was someone else's problem.
The listing went live.
[Seller: Meng Hao746996585]
[Item: 50ml Water — Quantity: 8]
[Wanted: 200 Wood — 1:1]
[Wanted: 200 Stone — 1:1]
[Wanted: 200 Rope — 1:1]
[Wanted: 20 Glass — 1:1]
The marketplace froze.
All eyes locked on the screen in disbelief.
"Someone's selling freshwater?"
"Is this for real? Freshwater!?"
"Oh my god... it's Meng Hao!"
A moment's stunned silence gave way to a frenzy. The marketplace exploded with activity.
A buying frenzy had begun.