Chapter 309 - Brewing Soup
Yang Yi escorted Suna back to her room, tucked her into bed, and then ordered the Ancient Skeleton Arms and vines to clean up the cabin and the Witch's Laboratory.
Fortunately, no fire had broken out, as the Witch's Laboratory was covered in ice from end to end.
As for the rest of the cleanup, Yang Yi decided to wait until Suna woke up and let her deal with it herself.
He set up a pot and began boiling the Vitality Sardine Tree inside it.
The poor thing had been caught up in the incident. By the time Yang Yi found it, it had already frozen stiff, and he wasn't even sure whether it could still survive.
If it dies, that'll be a huge loss, Yang Yi thought as he tossed in more firewood.
Suna's attack had blasted a hole through the Nightmare Star's cabin, reducing its durability by more than 3,000 points.
Fortunately, the breach was above the waterline. Otherwise, there would have been a risk of flooding.
At the moment, the Ancient Skeleton Arms and vines were working hard to repair the damage, and it was estimated that the cabin would be fully restored by tomorrow.
As he pondered the matter, the water in the pot had already begun to boil vigorously.
The water used to cook the Vitality Sardine Tree gradually turned a pale purple color, releasing a faint fragrance.
Suddenly, the Vitality Sardine Tree's legs twitched.
The next second, it kicked out with all four legs and leaped straight out of the pot, shaking water from its body nonstop. Its fish-like mouth opened and closed repeatedly as if it had been scalded, while the bark covering its surface peeled away.
The flowerpot attached to its tail appeared to be part of its body, firmly fused to the fish tail itself.
"Good thing I rescued it in time," Yang Yi said with a satisfied nod, pleased by the results of his emergency treatment.
He tied the Vitality Sardine Fish Tree with a rope, securing the other end to the mast, before turning his attention to the pot of pale purple liquid.
"Could this water have some kind of special effect?"
Yang Yi filled a reagent bottle with some of it and received the following information.
【Name: Vitality Sardine Soup (Diluted)】
【Type: Consumable】
【Quality: Good】
【Description: A nutritious fruit-and-vegetable soup brewed from a Vitality Sardine Tree. Concentrating it would produce even greater effects. After drinking it, stamina recovery speed increased by 10% for eight hours. Repeated consumption caused no side effects and merely refreshed the duration.】
"It really does have an effect. This Vitality Sardine Tree is valuable from head to toe!" Yang Yi exclaimed.
He looked at the bark-stripped Vitality Sardine Tree, set up another pot, and tossed it in once more. This time, however, he kept the temperature low, maintaining it at just over sixty degrees Celsius, but nothing happened.
"Looks like only the first soak is effective. I'll try again tomorrow."
Yang Yi fished the Vitality Sardine Tree back out.
The tree lay sprawled on the ground, pretending to be dead, and only got back on its feet after Yang Yi had walked away.
Half an hour later, Yang Yi received a notification informing him that his transaction had arrived. The low-grade Abyssal Soul Stone he had purchased earlier had finally been delivered.
He walked over to the gacha machine, took out the enhancement stone, and immediately used it to upgrade the Pale Worm Fishing Rod.
【Name: Soft Pale Worm Fishing Rod】
【Type: Tool (Relic)】
【Quality: Rare】
【Description: This fishing rod generates ten tiny Pale Worm bait worms every day. They actively seek out targets and attach themselves to them, guaranteeing a 100% catch rate and making it easier to fish up unusual items.
The fishing rod can transform into a soft Pale Worm with exceptional elasticity and toughness, increasing fishing success rates while reducing stamina consumption by half.
When you come up empty-handed, the Pale Worm will lend you a hand!】
Yang Yi put away the fishing rod as 11:00 p.m. was approaching.
He had already prepared a shop listing in advance and added several items to it.
"Xiao San, notify your captain and have it arrange for two robots to stand watch tonight," Yang Yi said.
Standing at the edge of the ship, he addressed the robot below that was transporting and cataloguing the spoils of war.
The robot paused briefly after receiving the order, then transmitted a message to Xiao Ji aboard the Shelter Ship. The signal light atop its head flashed repeatedly.
"The order has been delivered," it replied to Yang Yi before resuming its previous task of sorting the transported loot.
Xiao San and the skeletal rat formed the primary workforce responsible for organizing the spoils. Heavy items were handled by the Xiao San robots, while the lighter yet more numerous objects were left to the mice.
Yang Yi came last, feeding aberrant demon corpses into the gacha machine, registering the loot, and listing it for sale in the online shop for other players.
Afterward, Yang Yi returned to the captain's cabin and glanced through the hole in the wall toward Suna in the next room.
"It changed back again?"
He frowned as he noticed that Suna's hair had returned to black, with only the tips still remaining white.
He then summoned the crew interface to check Suna's status.
HP: 94
Stamina: 62
Sanity: 52.
All of Suna's attributes appeared stable, except for her mana, which was rather unusual. Its maximum value had risen to 32 points, and it was completely full.
"I'll have to ask her about it properly once she wakes up," Yang Yi muttered to himself. He planned to request her detailed status panel after she regained consciousness.
Afterward, he sat down on the bed, intending to rest once he had finished handling his transactions.
Less than two minutes later, the clock struck 11:00 p.m.
The chat channel opened, and the forum resumed operation at the same time.
Yang Yi's pre-written post was automatically published as well, and several new products were added to his Premium General Store alongside some pricing adjustments.
There were simply too many Rat Fur Sets in stock, so he decided to put them on sale. Purchasing the entire set granted a 20% discount.
The set included Rat Fur Gloves, a Rat Fur Felt Hat, a Rat Fur Coat, Rat Fur Trousers, and Rat Fur Boots. Every item was of premium quality.
Originally priced at 50,000 Shell Coins, the discounted bundle was now available for 40,000.
The clothing was entirely black, providing decent concealment and making it suitable for use in the Sea of Darkness. Even when surrounded by darkness, the wearer would remain unaffected for a short period of time.
In addition, any player whose total purchases in the shop reached 100,000 Shell Coins within a single day would receive one chance to participate in a lucky draw, with the grand prize being a complete Rat Fur Set.
As for whether there was any behind-the-scenes manipulation involved, only Yang Yi himself knew the answer.
He also introduced and opened pre-orders for Vitality Sardine Legs, Vitality Sardine Soup (Diluted), and Vitality Sardine Soup (Concentrated).
At present, none of these items can be purchased. Players could only browse their images and descriptions until sufficient stock had been accumulated for official sale.
Among them, Vitality Sardine Soup (Concentrated) was a new product Yang Yi had obtained by condensing diluted sardine soup. Approximately three bottles of diluted soup could be concentrated into one bottle of thick soup.
Its information was as follows.
【Name: Vitality Sardine Soup (Concentrated)】
【Type: Consumable】
【Quality: Premium】
【Description: A rich soup brewed from the Vitality Sardine Tree, packed with nutrients and possessing a fresh, sweet, and delicious flavor. After drinking it, you immediately recover 10 stamina, and your stamina recovery speed increases by 25% for 8 hours. Drinking it again refreshes the duration but does not restore additional stamina.
Consume too much, however, and you may develop the desire for gourmet food.】
Compared with the diluted version, the concentrated soup offered stronger effects, but it was also more addictive. Each version had its own advantages, allowing players to choose according to their needs.
They were priced at 1,000 and 3,000 Shell Coins, respectively.
The price of Vitality Sardine Legs had not yet been announced, as Yang Yi had not tested how many bottles of diluted soup could be produced from a single leg.
However, the usage instructions had already been provided in advance.
【Recommended Ways to Consume Vitality Sardine Legs:】
【It is recommended to eat them with a large amount of sea salt or after pickling them. They can also be simmered into Vitality Sardine Soup, reducing the likelihood of contracting the Desire for Gourmet Food. Eating them directly provides the greatest benefits, but you must bear the consequences yourself.】