Volume One, Chapter 23: Finally Back at the Shelter

It was already past five o'clock. Although the time might seem early, the world outside was pitch black. It was truly a darkness that surpassed the night itself.

Lin Yifan let out a sigh, but he didn't dwell on it. Since things had come to this, he had no choice but to follow the rules of this world. After resting sufficiently, he took the wolf carcass out of his spatial ring.

As expected, aside from the wound on its neck, there was only a scratch on its abdomen. This scratch was quite shallow, but the flesh around it had turned black; the wolf had died from poison. This gave Lin Yifan a slight headache. Could one still eat meat from a wolf that died of poisoning?

Forget it. No matter how much he wanted meat, his life was more important. However, while the meat wasn't fit for consumption, the materials were still useful. Lin Yifan carefully skinned the wolf. He had originally intended to discard the rest of the carcass, but after a moment's thought, he decided to keep it for now. The meat was highly toxic, and it might come in handy in specific situations.

He placed the wolf meat over the fire, searing it just enough to be half-cooked—or rather, just enough that it was no longer dripping with blood—before tossing it into his spatial ring for storage. He had tested it before; time stood still inside the ring, so items would not spoil over time. Otherwise, he never would have dared to keep it.

With the wolf carcass dealt with, Lin Yifan began to organize the day's haul. In truth, his gains weren't massive. Apart from the three treasure chests, he had only gathered some medicinal herbs while clearing his path. However, thanks to the "Harvest Critical" buff, the quantity of herbs was quite significant. He had wanted to plant them, but having run out of cultivation soil, he had to leave them in his storage for the time being.

What remained were the Golden Eagle egg and the three treasure chests. Without the necessary materials to hatch the egg, he had to set it aside for now, so he turned his attention to the chests.

The three chests were white, green, and blue. The white one came from the bird's nest, the blue one from the mosquito swarm, and the final green one was obtained from killing the wolf. As Lin Yifan looked at the green chest, he speculated that chests dropped by beasts were likely at least green-tier. This was a good way to obtain high-quality chests, but the danger was extreme. Whether it was yesterday’s King Cobra or today’s wolf, if he hadn't possessed a weapon and quick reflexes, he wouldn't have just taken them down easily—he might have lost his life instead. Furthermore, the presence of a lone wolf nearby meant there was likely a pack; he would have to be careful from now on.

Setting his wandering thoughts aside, Lin Yifan began opening the chests.

He opened the white chest.

"Talent activated: 8x Critical Reward!"

[Meat Bun] x 18
[Chocolate] x 8

Looking at the fist-sized meat buns and the bars of chocolate—each weighing at least 45 grams—Lin Yifan’s eyes lit up. These were excellent items! Since he had transmigrated, he hadn't exactly starved, but due to his limited cooking skills and lack of ingredients, he hadn't eaten anything particularly delicious. Even the toast he’d had during the day was just plain toast; how could it compare to meat buns? As for the chocolate, it went without saying—it was a perfect energy booster. It was compact, easy to store, high in energy, and tasted great, making it the ideal emergency ration.

Lin Yifan took a meat bun and took a happy bite. It was delightful! The only downside was that the bun was cold. But that didn't matter; he still had a frying pan. He poured water into the pan and used his axe to split a few finger-thick wooden sticks. He placed them across the pan to create a makeshift rack and steamed four buns. The remaining thirteen buns and the chocolate were placed in his spatial storage; he couldn't bear to trade these away—he had to keep them for himself.

Next, he opened the second chest.

He opened the green chest.

"Talent activated: 9x Critical Reward!"

[Universal Cultivation Soil] x 9
[Primary Pig Iron] x 45
[Premium Silk Quilt] x 9

As soon as the chest opened, supplies spilled out everywhere. Especially the nine quilts; that was a huge pile! If Lin Yifan hadn't been quick, they would have fallen right into the fire. He hurriedly shoved the quilts into his spatial ring and breathed a sigh of relief.

He then turned his gaze toward the cultivation soil, his excitement impossible to suppress.

Item Name: [Universal Cultivation Soil]
Grade: Common
Evaluation: Can be used to cultivate any plant and increases growth speed. The higher the grade, the greater the growth bonus. A favorite among farmers!

That was nine units of [Universal Cultivation Soil]! Even if it was just the common grade, it was top-tier stuff. If he had food seeds, he might even be able to support himself through farming.

He moved all the newly acquired soil next to the previous patch and planted the blueberry bush—which he had dug up to make room for mint—into one of the new units.

Like the previous one, each unit of soil could only support two plants. Aside from the medicinal herbs he already had, he also possessed the prickly pear seeds from yesterday and the half-piece of ginger. These had been buried in the quality cultivation soil from the day before, but due to the planting limits, they hadn't sprouted.

Lin Yifan dug up the prickly pear seeds and the ginger, planting them separately into their own units of soil. Since he had plenty of soil now, he had fewer food plants to worry about. As for the herbs, having enough was sufficient; there was no need to plant more unless he needed large quantities.

However... thinking about the weather outside—the rain and the dropping temperatures—if this continued, many people would likely catch a cold. Lin Yifan thought for a moment, then dug up the mugwort from the quality soil and replanted it into the common soil, moving the ginger into the quality cultivation soil instead.

While many herbs could treat colds, there were different types of colds. A cold caused by drops in temperature and rain was a "wind-cold." To treat it, one needed to expel the cold from the body, requiring warming herbs. Ginger was not only a food ingredient and spice but also a perfect warming herb. Therefore, planting ginger was the best choice.

Besides the ginger, he also planted some other herbs for reducing fever, just in case. It was better to be prepared. After finishing the planting, he took the opportunity to harvest the mugwort and mint.

[Mugwort] x 632
[Mint] x 465

Perhaps because the items were cultivated, the harvest did not trigger a critical effect. Though slightly disappointed, Lin Yifan had no choice but to store both herbs in his spatial ring, planning to process them into [Potent Mosquito Repellent] when he had free time.

Next, he took out a piece of primary pig iron. After inspecting it closely, he realized it was just a plain block of iron, about the size of an egg. After fiddling with it for a moment, he tossed it into the ring. He needed 100 blocks of primary iron to upgrade his shelter, and he only had 45. He was still more than halfway there.

Still, getting 45 pieces at once was a stroke of incredible luck. Without the "Harvest Critical" buff, he would have only gotten five or six pieces from this chest. When he thought about it that way, Lin Yifan felt like he had hit the jackpot.

Satisfied, he turned his attention to the final chest—the blue one he had been looking forward to the most.