Lin Bei felt his mind go blank.
The stream of system prompts in his ears kept on ringing.
[Notice: You obtained Adaptive Protective Suit (excellent) ×100!]
[Notice: You obtained Automatic Cannon Blueprint (excellent) ×100!]
[Notice: You obtained Polymer Coating (excellent) ×100!]
[Notice: You obtained Duralumin (excellent) ×100!]
[Notice: You obtained Screws (excellent) ×100!]
[Notice: You obtained Steel Pipes (excellent) ×100!]
Boom—
With a dull thud, Lin Bei finally yanked his head free and landed back on the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The surrounding space was now packed with a mountain of supplies.
This time, opening the excellent chest had not triggered a quality crit like last time, but a quantity crit instead.
Yet when Lin Bei looked at the stats of the items he'd obtained, a grin instantly spread across his face.
"These things are fantastic!"
Lin Bei was beaming.
First up was the Adaptive Protective Suit—he'd pulled a full hundred sets.
It could be worn directly against the skin, automatically adapting the wearer to environments between –80°C and 200°C while keeping body temperature perfectly comfortable.
On top of that, the suit could resist ordinary stabs and small-caliber bullets—an absolute must-have for any Survivor!
"Great, great, great! My survival setup just leveled up again!"
Lin Bei was more than satisfied.
Although his Combat Power had risen a lot, he was still flesh and blood; he couldn't ignore heat, cold, blades, or bullets. If a fight broke out, he'd be in real danger.
Someone in the public chat channel had already pulled a Wooden-Ship Blueprint; if anyone risked the sea and became a pirate, he'd have to be ready.
After all, anything could happen—if one day an armed landing party stormed his beach and someone shot him in the back, his current body would definitely die on the spot.
Therefore, an excellent quality Adaptive Protective Suit was the best of the best for him right now.
Of course, besides the hundred top-tier suits, he'd also scored a hundred Automatic Cannon blueprints.
These cannons could auto-lock onto any target within 5 km and saturate it with fire.
The catch: one blueprint built only one cannon, and the cost was steep, consuming a mountain of materials.
Luckily, the chest had coughed up the key materials; for the rest he could simply buy them in the Trading Hall.
The only problem left was ammunition resupply.
Each newly built cannon came with just twenty common-grade Lead Shells.
In the short term he could keep producing cannons to stockpile ammo.
In the long run, though, that was unsustainable.
"Great, now I need to scrounge up an artillery-shell blueprint as well."
"Sigh, life is so hard~~~"
Lin Bei sighed in resignation.
He pooled his materials and built eight cannons in one go, placing them at eight compass points around the Island.
That way, no one could sneak ashore and pull off a decapitation strike while he wasn't looking.
"From now on I can finally sleep soundly at night."
Surveying his handiwork, Lin Bei smiled in satisfaction.
Honestly, the Wooden-Ship Blueprint someone else had pulled had kept him on edge.
But now—with eight Automatic Cannons guarding the Island plus his new Adaptive Protective Suit—he felt utterly safe and at ease!
"As long as I upgrade my gear fast enough, I won't have to worry about other scheming Survivors causing trouble!"
Lin Bei looked around, thoroughly pleased with the firepower now covering his Island.
Still, to be extra safe, once he'd calmed down he gathered more materials and built another twenty cannons.
Not for anything else—just to stockpile shells for a rainy day.
As the saying goes: better safe than sorry.
After finishing the Island's defenses, he settled back into a deck chair, sipping ice-cold cola while lost in thought.
After a long pause, he made a decision. He took out a brand-new Adaptive Protective Suit, intending to trade it to his investment target—Bei Bei Nan Gua.
She was already quite strong; with this suit, her power would rise to another level.
When that happened, she would absolutely be able to bring him even more and better resources in return.
"Besides… give her this gun as well."
Lin Bei toyed with the glock he had earlier traded from Facing the Gale, then directly submitted the trade request.
He already had the Perfect-quality Frost Ice Repeating Crossbow; he no longer needed this.
So he placed the pistol, bullets, and one set of Adaptive Protective Suit onto the trade interface and clicked confirm.
On the other side of an isolated Island, however, Bei Nan stared at the precious items on the trade screen, completely dumbstruck.
"He… he actually wants to give me something so valuable? This… I…"
Bei Nan's face was blank, a faint mist rising in her eyes.
At this moment, her heart was full of gratitude.
Ever since she could remember, she had trained nonstop under her family's strict plan, hardly ever feeling anyone's care.
Because she had to shoulder the mission of carrying forward the Beijia ancient martial legacy!
Around her, there had always been only harsh voices.
Train! Get stronger! Train! Get stronger!… Beyond that, she had no freedom at all.
Now, left all alone on a deserted Island, forced to struggle for survival, she had thought her life would simply go on like this.
She never expected that Beiming's appearance would be like a ray of light in her gray life, rekindling the heart that had grown silent.
"B-Big Brother Beiming, these things are too valuable. You should keep them to protect yourself. I have martial arts to rely on; I can survive on my own."
Flustered, Bei Nan cancelled the trade.
Seeing this, the corner of Lin Bei's mouth curved in a smile.
He said directly, "Don't worry, I've got better gear. I'm giving you these to lower your survival difficulty so you can get more supply treasure chests."
"Don't feel burdened; we're partners after all. Just remember to trade with me when you get something good later."
"Mm, I understand! When I get anything good in the future, I'll definitely come trade with you!"
Bei Nan nodded hard, deeply moved.
Her gaze was resolute; she had already made up her mind.
Afterward, Lin Bei traded Bei Nan several bottles of cola and some ice cubes, then turned his attention back to the already wrecked warehouse.
[Tip: Consume a piece of hardwood to repair the warehouse?]
"…Repair."
What he wanted to grumble about was that the warehouse floor was clearly made of common wood, yet after being damaged it required hardwood to fix.
It was really a rip-off!
But Lin Bei had no choice; he had smashed the warehouse floor himself, so he'd repair it even through tears.
Otherwise, rebuilding the warehouse would consume even more materials… So Lin Bei spent a relaxing afternoon reclining in a deck chair.
The setting sun sank, its crimson afterglow spilling across the sparkling sea, tinged with a trace of bleak beauty.
Lin Bei gazed at the dappled sunset rays filtering through the ash-gray mist, lost in thought, not knowing what he was thinking.
Over the course of the afternoon, quite a few more people had died.
Now, the public chat channel had fewer than 9,500 active users.
Ordinary human life, in this cruel Island Survival, was as fragile as weeds—utterly insignificant.
He had done his best.
But human strength has limits; even though he had supplied ice cubes to other Survivors all afternoon, several hundred still passed away.
Only at this moment did Lin Bei feel as if waking from a dream, realizing a very practical problem.
This was not a beach vacation.
It was a bloody, brutally cruel Survival World!
All his comfort was built on nothing more than luck.
Who could guarantee that he would stay lucky forever, just like today?
What if an even bigger, thornier disaster appeared?
Could he still be as carefree then, smiling as he watched clouds gather and disperse on the horizon?
"As expected… I can't let my guard down."
Lin Bei withdrew his gaze, gave a bitter chuckle, and murmured,
"A line just came to mind—"
"People live for the sake of living itself, not for anything beyond living."
The setting sun cast its last rays, bleak and desolate.
Lin Bei sat alone in the deck chair, leaning back quietly, wordless for a long time.