Volume 1, Chapter 19: The Treasure Chest Amidst the Swarm of Mosquitoes

Lin Yifan was full of confusion. Why was there such a large discrepancy in the number of blueberries between the two harvests? Upon closer inspection, he realized the blueberry bush had grown two new branches, which explained the increased yield. On the other side, the mugwort had exploded in growth, densely packed into dozens of stalks. Each cluster was about half the height of a person, covered in thick clusters of seeds. Lin Yifan harvested all the mugwort that had flowered and seeded, leaving only the small stalks below knee-height. He then planned to plant mint on the other side of the mugwort.

Suddenly, a light screen flashed before him:
【Warning: One unit of nutrient soil can only support two types of plants. Planting a third type will trigger a random selection of one of the previous two plants to be used as fertilizer!】

Lin Yifan was startled by this information. He hadn't expected the capacity of the nutrient soil to be fixed. Fortunately, he had received the warning, otherwise, he would have lost a precious plant. Even though he didn't seem to crave blueberries, they were genuine, highly nutritious fruit; he could not afford to lose them. As for the mugwort, it was even more indispensable. Despite his two recent harvests, he could never have enough of it. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to temporarily dig up the blueberry bush. Blueberry bushes were hardy and resilient; as long as he misted them with water periodically, they could survive for a long time after being uprooted. Moreover, since they were native plants, they wouldn't die if transplanted into the ordinary soil outside his shelter.

Lin Yifan dug up the blueberry bush, brought it outside the shelter, and transplanted it into a fertile patch of soil. He then immediately took the two mint plants and placed them into the nutrient soil. Seeing the previously wilted mint perk up, he knew that a bountiful harvest of mint was not far off. After tending to the mint, he added a few more logs to the fire and set off to scavenge for supplies.

Following the path he had cleared that morning, he had only taken a few steps when he spotted a white treasure chest hidden among the fallen leaves. He quickly picked it up and tossed it into his inventory, intending to open it later that night. He spent another forty minutes returning to the spot where he had eaten lunch, then took up his axe to continue clearing the path. However, he hadn't traveled far before a frenzied, buzzing sound reached his ears.

This sound was all too familiar. It was exactly like the noise made by the mosquito swarm that had emerged from the western forest the previous night—frenzied, chaotic, and deeply unsettling. At that same moment, Lin Yifan felt a sharp pain in his arm. Looking down, he saw a mosquito as large as a spider clinging to his skin, drinking his blood at a terrifying speed that sent a chill through him. He slapped the mosquito dead, but the bite site immediately began to swell and throb with a burning pain.

Even worse, he realized that over a dozen mosquitoes were circling him. If it weren't for his full camouflage gear—and the fact that he had habitually rolled up the sleeve of his right arm—these mosquitoes would have already swarmed him. He felt a wave of dread. He had assumed the swarm was concentrated in the western forest, never imagining they were present here as well. If all the mosquitoes were this aggressive, the thought of what a full-scale swarm outbreak would be like was unthinkable.

He quickly snapped two photos of the mosquitoes and retreated, hoping to leave the area. He noticed more and more mosquitoes circling him, diving toward his face. He had to keep waving his arms to fend them off. Yet, even after retreating nearly a kilometer, the mosquitoes persisted. Realizing there was no escape, he stopped and killed all of them.

It was then that he finally discovered where the mosquito swarm hid during the day. He looked up at a banyan tree before him, his face twitching. The banyan tree was tall with dense foliage, and the mosquitoes were covering the top branches so thickly that not a single inch of wood was visible. Lin Yifan felt his scalp crawl. He had been so focused on walking that he hadn't looked closely, assuming the dark patches were just branches. Now he realized the mosquitoes weren't in the distant forest—they were right in front of him.

He slowly backed away; without the 【High-Efficiency Mosquito Repellent】, he dared not provoke them. However, he suddenly spotted a treasure chest resting on the central branch at the very top of the banyan tree—and it was a blue treasure chest.

This was his first time seeing a blue chest! But it was surrounded by a thick mass of mosquitoes. To retrieve it would mean provoking the entire swarm. What should he do? Give up? Lin Yifan frowned, truly unwilling to let it go. It was a blue chest! Plus, he had a "harvest critical hit" buff active today. Even if it only doubled his loot, it would be a massive gain.

He had to get that chest. But how? After a moment of thought, an idea struck him. To get the chest from the swarm, he had to kill or drive them all away. The 【High-Efficiency Mosquito Repellent】—that was it! Only that could eliminate the mosquitoes and allow him to retrieve the chest. But the shelter was seven or eight kilometers away, and a round trip would take at least an hour.

Lin Yifan checked the time on his screen: it was 2:30 PM, and darkness would fall at 4:30 PM. He only had two hours! Was it worth the risk? After a few seconds of deliberation, he decided he had to take the chest. With his mind made up, he didn't delay, sprinting back toward the shelter at full speed. He covered the distance that usually took forty minutes in just twenty. Inside the shelter, the two mint plants in the nutrient soil had grown significantly, with several delicate new leaves sprouting from their main stems.