[Level 2 Shelter Facilities]
[Bedroom: Wood x500, Hide x20, Sand x10]
[Living Room: Wood x500, Stone x100, Hide x30, Sand x50]
[Storage Room: Wood x300]
[Bathroom: Wood x50, Stone x10, Sand x6, Iron Ore x10. Note: Selecting this option includes a 10-liter Water Tank as a bundled purchase: Wood x100 (the water tank does not count as a facility).]
[Stove: Wood x30, Stone x50]
[Fireplace: Stone x30, Sand x10, Water x2]
[First Floor Outdoor Platform: Wood x50 (Small), Wood x100 (Medium), Wood x200 (Large)]
[Second Floor Balcony: Wood x50 (Small), Wood x100 (Medium), Wood x200 (Large). Note: Selecting a balcony of any size includes a bundled Door: Wood x10 (the door does not count as a facility).]
[Second Floor Terrace: Wood x100, Vine x10 (Small); Wood x200, Vine x20 (Medium); Wood x400, Vine x40 (Large). Note: Selecting a terrace of any size includes a bundled Floor-to-Ceiling Sliding Door: Wood x100, Sand x300 (the sliding door does not count as a facility).]
[Each Shelter upgrade allows you to select three facilities for construction. Please choose carefully based on your needs.]
'Well then. Mandatory selections — looks like Karim really does love this forced-choice format.'
Lan Qingyou clicked her tongue as she finished reading the facility requirements.
But only three choices was going to be tough.
'Hmm, is there a second page?'
Just as Lan Qingyou was agonizing over her choices, she noticed a page-turn arrow at the very bottom. She quickly flipped to see what was there.
And found...
[Alchemy Array detected within Shelter. Survivor estimated to be an Alchemist. Would you like to construct an Alchemy Workshop?]
[Apprentice-Level Alchemy Workshop: Wood x50, Stone x50, Iron Ore x30, Sand x10]
'Uh... the "alchemy array" it detected — that wouldn't happen to be that thing, would it?'
Lan Qingyou's gaze drifted to the wooden board on the floor where she'd been practicing alchemy array diagrams.
'That counts as an alchemy array?'
Doubtful as she was, one thing was certain: this was an absolute must-build. The only problem was she didn't have Iron Ore.
A quick search of the Exchange showed no one was selling any.
'Wait — maybe someone knows where to find some.' In the midst of her hesitation, a face suddenly popped into Lan Qingyou's mind.
She set up a Sand purchase order on the Exchange, stashed the two buckets of water in her storage, and opened her friends list.
Lan Qingyou: "Got any Iron Ore?"
Shang Chuan: "Yes. How much do you need?"
Lan Qingyou's eyebrow twitched. Instant reply. A true professional merchant.
Lan Qingyou: "40 units."
Shang Chuan: "300 basic units."
Lan Qingyou: "Send it."
She didn't even haggle.
For her, the question was never "is it expensive?" — only "is it worth it?" And besides...
["An alchemist never worries about money. An alchemist has no interest in money." — Albert]
That's right. As the great Master Albert once said, money to an alchemist was just a number.
The same went for materials.
Shang Chuan moved fast, sending the trade request almost immediately. Lan Qingyou took one look — and sure enough, in the short time since their last deal, the man had already collected thirteen more boxes of test tubes.
Lan Qingyou accepted everything.
At this point, test tubes were money. Every box she bought was profit waiting to happen.
With all materials accounted for, Lan Qingyou started the upgrade.
She didn't bother looking at anything else — she went straight for Bathroom, Second Floor Terrace (Large), and Alchemy Workshop.
A bed? A sofa? Neither was essential for her.
Besides, she already had a mattress. Why would she need a bed frame?
Same logic applied to the rest.
Sure, eating was non-negotiable, but she didn't need a stove right now. And cooking? Even a simple meal took half an hour; anything proper was at least an hour. That was study time wasted.
Studying makes me happy! I love studying!
The Storage Room and First Floor Platform were the same — temporarily unnecessary luxuries.
What she wanted was practicality.
The Bathroom needed little explanation — the mere thought of bathing made her itch all over.
The Second Floor Terrace was for sun-drying. Not herself — her herbs.
Some herbs needed to be dried before use, and others had to be ground into powder.
The Alchemy Workshop spoke for itself. As an alchemist — well, she didn't even qualify as a proper apprentice yet — it was a non-negotiable.
Once her selections were made and she'd confirmed that materials were sufficient, Lan Qingyou hit Build.
Smoke billowed from one corner of the first floor, accompanied by a cacophony of clanging and hammering. The second floor was the same.
Lan Qingyou watched quietly from below, not going up.
[Ding! Congratulations to District 666 Abandoned Forest individual "Lan Qingyou" for being the first to upgrade to Level 2 Shelter. You have been awarded one selectable reward. Keep up the good work.]
The smoke had barely cleared — Lan Qingyou hadn't even had time to inspect anything — when the World Will's voice rang in her ears.
"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! Forgive my limited vocabulary, but — it's only the second day and Lan Qingyou already upgraded her Shelter to Level 2?!"
"You really are lacking in vocabulary. Is this worth being shocked over?"
"From the moment she started exchanging for Monster Crystal Cores, everyone could tell she was close to upgrading."
"If anything, with several thousand materials stocked up, it'd be weird if she didn't upgrade today."
"I expected the upgrade. What I didn't expect was a reward."
"Must be nice running a monopoly. Earned a fortune, and now she's got a Level 2 Shelter. Bet she's sleeping soundly tonight."
"@Lan Qingyou, boss — can you tell us what a Level 2 Shelter looks like? Just curious."
"@Lan Qingyou, don't keep it to yourself. Your Level 2 Shelter was crowdfunded by all of us. Share a little."
"I admire how your mind works."
"'Crowdfunded' — how did you even come up with that word? Are you perhaps a genius?"
"It's not even hard for him, honestly."
After hearing the World Will's announcement, people who'd been on the verge of sleep — or had already gone to bed — scrambled up to weigh in and celebrate the occasion.
Lan Qingyou, naturally, knew nothing of this. She was busy choosing her reward.
Having done this yesterday, she now knew the drill.
But compared to yesterday's starter reward, this time the options were slightly different.
The selection screen showed four categories: [Tools], [Magic], [Items], and [Knowledge].
Lan Qingyou didn't even glance at the others. She went straight for [Knowledge].
For her, everything else was fleeting. Only knowledge was truly all-powerful.
But the moment she opened [Knowledge], her mind went blank.
"Basic Handicrafts." "Basic Cultivation Studies." "Basic Animal Husbandry." "Monster Studies." "Monster Compendium." "Basic Magical Instrument Crafting." "Basic Beast Taming." "Basic Astronomy." "Basic Astrology." "Basic Meteorology." "Basic Mechanics." "Basic Enchanting"...
In total, it felt like there were even more options than in the [Tools] category.
'What should I choose?'
'No — what do I need most right now?'
Lan Qingyou, who suffered from a mild case of choice paralysis, kept asking herself that question.
Staying true to her priorities. Scrolling slowly through the list.
If she could, she'd take them all. But that was obviously impossible.
In the end, her gaze came to rest on a single title — "Basic Potioneering."