The 'Involution King' Second Female Lead Quits [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 58

Chapter 58

We meet again!

Li Jianwei agreed to Shu Heng’s friend request the moment she heard the system notification. She then remembered the prerequisite for unlocking the friend system: a survivor needed to successfully link with another survivor twice and for a certain duration.

Messages in the friend chat are less restricted than in the world channel, with a limit of 100 characters instead of 30. Li Jianwei didn’t see the cost of points after the first ten messages as an issue. Any resource could be exchanged for points, so as long as her raft was moving, she didn’t need to worry about it.

Using the sand and clay Shu Heng provided, Li Jianwei went on to craft twelve wet bricks, planning to turn her one furnace into three to increase her smelting speed. Metal ore takes two hours to smelt and requires a continuous supply of wood planks for fuel, which makes it a good task to do while the raft is moving.

After a moment’s hesitation between landing on an island or continuing to drift, Li Jianwei chose to dive into the water. The sharks were gone, and another pufferfish had been eliminated. Maybe she could try her luck and find some silver seaweed. The good news was that after diving in, Li Jianwei managed to get two large clams, along with some scraps and clay. The bad news was that she didn’t find any silver seaweed and had used up her oxygen tank.

After returning to the raft and restarting her drifting journey, Li Jianwei saw a message from Shu Heng.

[Shu Heng: The adhesive explosive from the pufferfish can be smelted into explosive powder. Researching it unlocks blueprints for catching animals. The animals on the large island that don’t attack you can likely be captured. According to other survivors in the world channel, there are alpacas, jumping sheep, and wild chickens. I’m not sure what the feed is yet.]

[Li Jianwei: Researching the cave dirt unlocks a lot of things. Not only can you grow fruit trees and other plants, but you can also make a lawn. A lawn is probably animal feed. Next time you see a large island, remember to bring a shovel to collect some dirt.]

Shu Heng didn’t reply again, but Li Jianwei knew she understood and was already working on developing a farming system.

She drank the water from her bottle, then used the binoculars she had crafted to observe her surroundings, searching for an unusually shaped island. The Endless Sea has two types of islands: one with virtually no signs of human activity, and the other with signs of it, where you can randomly find vestiges of human civilization, sometimes a shipwreck, a slum, or even a high-tech island. The latter is far more dangerous, with infected monsters and some aggressive technological constructs. It’s very risky to enter without armor, but the resources are also richer, and many valuable blueprints can only be found on man-made islands.

The biggest difficulty the hot weather poses for survivors is the extreme need for water. If you can’t unlock the furnace to smelt glass and make an advanced water purifier, you’ll be trapped on your raft, needing at least two basic purifiers to keep up with your water needs.

Li Jianwei quickly scanned the world channel, wanting to see the progress of other survivors so she could decide what useful information to provide Shu Heng.

[Lexar: You can find chests in the caves, on the mountaintops, and in the sea under islands. They contain materials.]

[555: Does anyone know how to use recipes? I put all the ingredients in my backpack, but nothing happens.]

[bh77: You need to make a cooking pot, a basic kitchen. I found my blueprint in a chest.]

Caw, caw!

The seagulls’ cries pulled Li Jianwei’s attention away from the world chat. She looked up. Huh? When did a seagull land here? And it’s eating my watermelon seed! How bold!

Li Jianwei immediately drew her bow and shot an arrow. The stone arrow hit the seagull’s head, leaving both its corpse and its life behind. After finding that the watermelon seedling in the planter was still intact, Li Jianwei breathed a sigh of relief before collecting the seagull’s corpse. She got three feathers and two bird legs. Feathers are a raw material for metal arrows, while the bird legs were put directly on the grill by Li Jianwei, turning into delicious roasted bird legs.

After eating one bird leg, Li Jianwei remembered that she hadn’t made a bird’s nest yet. She took out a large clam and crafted and placed two bird’s nests near the edge of her raft. The seagulls circling overhead are usually a pair. After they’re killed, they respawn every morning at 6 AM. If you are patient, you can also attract seagulls with bird nests for a steady source of food.

[Li Jianwei: If you plant things outside, you have to watch out for seagulls. A bird’s nest made from a large clam can attract seagulls. You only need one arrow to take them down. The roasted bird legs taste great. I saved one for you, and I hope we meet soon.]

[Shu Heng: I hope we meet soon too. I have a southeast wind right now, and my raft is moving at a medium speed.]

[Li Jianwei: A little to the northeast. I can’t see any rafts on the sea. The linking area is only around the chests. But my gut tells me that if we meet more often, we might get some other rewards.]

[Shu Heng: I hope so. From now on, I’ll land on every island I see.]

The day was almost over, so Li Jianwei and Shu Heng weren’t too frugal, quickly using up all but one of their remaining chats. They both understood that the last message was being left as a test to see if the chat count could accumulate. Unfortunately, the chat opportunities between friends couldn’t be saved. You get ten per day, and the free count resets at 6 AM.

Like Shu Heng, Li Jianwei spent the next few days rushing to every island she saw with her weapons, meticulously searching both the island and the seabed before leaving. Unfortunately, this high-intensity exploration didn’t lead to another encounter. While consuming a large amount of food and water, they accumulated a substantial amount of materials.

Shu Heng obtained enough explosive powder by killing pufferfish. After crafting the unlocked capture device, she began her first attempt at animal husbandry. Li Jianwei, on the other hand, followed Shu Heng’s suggestion from her previous life, building her raft in the shape of a cruise ship. After laying the foundation for the first floor, she began to stockpile wood planks and nails in preparation for building a second floor.

Li Jianwei had no interest in raising animals. After crafting the equipment, she just stored them in a chest, planning to hand them over to Shu Heng once they formed an alliance.

[Name: Li Jianwei] [Status: Life (100/100), Hunger (35/100), Water (25/100)] [Days Survived: 17]

[You sense that the outdoor temperature is lower than usual. If you do not have a strong body, do not stay in the cold seawater for a long time.]

The hot weather was over, and now it was time for the low-temperature weather. Li Jianwei touched her novice clothing. Her short-sleeved shirt and shorts were clearly not cold-resistant gear. Until she could craft armor or get special clothing, she couldn’t kill a shark every day to vent her frustration.

Oh, woe is me! Li Jianwei sighed to herself, continuing to use her binoculars to search for a large island.

[Shu Heng: I found an unusual island. It seems to have a shipwreck. Have you seen a similar island? It’s to my southeast.]

Li Jianwei’s attention was momentarily diverted by the pop-up message. She looked to the southeast. She could vaguely see the outline of an island, but it was too far away to tell if it was a normal or a special island.

[Li Jianwei: I see an island outline to my southeast as well, but the wind isn’t great. It will take me about an hour to paddle over. I’ll send you a message when I can confirm the island type.]

Closing the chat window, Li Jianwei started to swing her arms, using her flimsy plastic paddle to single-handedly move her raft, which was now over 100 square meters. After munching on a small pomfret, the island’s outline became clearer in her binoculars.

[Li Jianwei: It’s a special island. I can see the shipwreck too. I’m moving toward the damaged area. In our rafts, we can’t see each other. Once we’ve landed, we’ll contact each other.]

[Shu Heng: Okay, I’ll wait near the bow of the ship and start a preliminary exploration.]

After eating two more tilapia, Li Jianwei successfully approached the shipwreck. She then secured her raft with a disposable anchor and went ashore with her backpack full of supplies.

“Li Jianwei!” Before Li Jianwei had taken a few steps, Shu Heng’s voice came from a distance.

Li Jianwei waved in the direction of the voice, then ran toward Shu Heng. “Shu Heng, it really has been a while.”

Shu Heng nodded seriously. “It has. But this time, it’s lucky. I found you as soon as you landed.”

“This seems to be a special island. I think the linking range will be a bit larger than on the normal islands,” Li Jianwei said, then used the friend trade system to give Shu Heng a roasted bird leg.

Li Jianwei: “I promised you this before. I’ve been saving it for you.”

“Thank you.” Shu Heng put the bird leg into her backpack. Even though she had also made a bird’s nest and stocked up on raw bird legs by killing seagulls in the past few days, she still felt this one was especially precious.

“Should we explore the island first or the shipwreck?” Li Jianwei asked. “The system gave us a warning today to reduce the time we spend in the water.”

“Let’s check the shipwreck first. The margin of error is greater that way,” Shu Heng said, also initiating a trade, giving Li Jianwei some red berries and silver seaweed that could be eaten directly to restore health.

“My luck was good the past few days, and I collected a lot of this stuff,” Shu Heng explained. “The red berries restore 15 health points, and the silver seaweed restores 25.”

Li Jianwei nodded. “Okay, I’ll scout ahead, and the rest is up to you.”

“No problem.” Shu Heng readily agreed. She had experienced Li Jianwei’s combat ability last time and knew she was much better than herself.

With their roles decided, Li Jianwei, holding her metal spear, started advancing toward the shipwreck. The shipwreck was divided into two parts. The bow was completely exposed to the air, and the two could easily climb onto the deck using a ladder. The stern, however, was a different story. The experienced Li Jianwei had specifically brought two oxygen tanks and flippers to make their exploration faster.

Li Jianwei didn’t refuse Shu Heng’s materials, and the latter wouldn’t refuse the oxygen tanks and flippers Li Jianwei traded her.

Splash! Li Jianwei was the first to dive into the water. Shu Heng looked around to make sure no other creatures were nearby before following.

Li Jianwei was very clear about the matching mechanism of special islands, so after she saw a chest, she just gestured to Shu Heng and turned to open it. Inside the chest, besides common materials, Li Jianwei also found a bowl of vegetable soup and a blueprint for a machete. She traded the vegetable soup to Shu Heng. The deeper they went, the lower the visibility became. When they could surface for air, their heads were almost touching the ceiling.

Li Jianwei replenished her hunger and then rushed to the deepest part of the ship—the kitchen. The kitchen had a lot of materials, but it also came with a weird, glowing blue mutated fish monster.

Shu Heng’s pupils constricted. She couldn’t warn Li Jianwei in the water, so she just pulled out her bow and started attacking from a distance, pulling the monster’s aggro directly onto herself. Li Jianwei wasted no time, taking the blueprints from the kitchen and stuffing them into her backpack. She then also pulled out her bow and started attacking the monster from a distance. The monster’s aggro mechanism was simple: it would chase whoever hit it. With Li Jianwei and Shu Heng’s synchronized cooperation, it swam around like a headless chicken, and without even getting a single bite in, it met its end.

[Congratulations, Survivor, you have killed a Mutated Fish Monster. You have obtained a numbered paper slip * 1. Your intuition tells you this is a very important item. Please keep it safe.]

The mutated fish monster didn’t drop any other loot. Looking at their dwindling oxygen bars, Li Jianwei and Shu Heng swam toward the exit together. Before Li Jianwei could get out of the water, a system notification popped up again.

[Due to prolonged exposure to the cold seawater, your body feels unusually heavy. Please get out of the water before the situation worsens.]

Noticing her movements had slowed and her health was dropping, Li Jianwei didn’t dare to delay or check for loot. She frantically swam upward. Shu Heng’s condition was a little better than Li Jianwei’s. Noticing her movements had slowed, she took the initiative to grab her hand and pull her up with her.

“Hah… Thanks.” Li Jianwei, now safely on her feet, took a deep breath and ate some red berries.

“What’s the status of the debuff? Are you still losing health?” Shu Heng asked worriedly.

Li Jianwei shook her head. “It stopped as soon as I got out of the water. My health is now stable above eighty.”

“Oh, by the way, I got a circuit board blueprint in the kitchen, and it’s the only one. The machete blueprint was found up ahead. How do you want to split them?” Li Jianwei asked.

“Are you short on inventory space?” Shu Heng asked.

Li Jianwei nodded. Blueprints are different from recipes that you have to use on the simple kitchen. Once a survivor gets a blueprint, they can use it directly. After unlocking the corresponding crafting method, it frees up the storage space.

“Your position is more dangerous during exploration, so you choose first. Just give me the rest,” Shu Heng quickly decided.

Li Jianwei only hesitated for a second before giving the circuit board blueprint to Shu Heng and using the machete blueprint herself. The machete’s killing power is very high, but its only drawback is that you have to fight monsters in close quarters, which carries a greater risk of getting hurt. But in Li Jianwei’s eyes, this wasn’t an issue. She could handle early and mid-game monsters with ease, even with just a machete.

“Let’s go. We still have half of the area to search. We might be able to find something useful,” Shu Heng said, also using the circuit board blueprint.

“Oh, by the way, when I killed that monster, I got a numbered paper slip. Did you get a notification?” Li Jianwei asked.

“Yes, it’s a string of numbers: 7640,” Shu Heng replied. “It might be a code for something.”

Li Jianwei nodded. “My slip also says 7640, but the back seems to have some incomplete patterns. I think we should save them. Maybe after we find enough slips, we can piece together a map.”

Shu Heng was stunned for a moment, as if she hadn’t thought the slips could be used that way. “Okay, I’ll keep it safe. If I get any new ones in the future, I’ll share them with you right away.”

“Me too,” Li Jianwei smiled. She really enjoyed being with Shu Heng. It was like this in her last life, and it was still like this in this one.

“There aren’t many materials here. Did someone else come before us?”

“It’s possible. If we can meet each other, other survivors can too.”

Unfamiliar voices entered Li Jianwei and Shu Heng’s ears, making them instinctively hide in the darkness. Because their movements were so synchronized, the two of them were almost face to face, their breaths mingling.

“The rest of the ship is submerged in the sea,” said a survivor with a high ponytail. “The system warned us to avoid getting in the water. Should we keep exploring?”

“We don’t have oxygen tanks or flippers. Exploring rashly is too risky,” said the short-haired survivor. “Besides, I only have one free slot left in my backpack. I feel like we could fill it up just by exploring the island.”

The high-ponytail survivor replied, “Then let’s go back and rest. I wonder if we’ll meet again next time.”

“I think we can. We can add each other as friends, so we don’t have to worry about not meeting again,” the short-haired survivor said optimistically and in a light tone. “If we don’t, we’ll just have to try more times. Fate is something you have to work for.”

The voices gradually became quieter. It seemed they had no intention of entering the water and chose to turn back.

“They seem to have gone far away,” Li Jianwei said first.

“Mhm,” Shu Heng replied, her voice sounding a bit unnatural. “They explored other places.”

“But their storage slots are limited, so they probably couldn’t take everything,” Li Jianwei took a step back, moving out of the darkness.

The rest of the actions were unspoken. The part of the shipwreck that was exposed to the air was swept clean by Li Jianwei and Shu Heng. Although they didn’t get any blueprints, they collected a lot of scraps and food, which made up for the regret of not being able to go into the sea.

Li Jianwei also found a captain’s hat in the cockpit, which provides a certain degree of protection and warmth when worn. Shu Heng insisted that Li Jianwei take it, saying “first come, first served,” and refused her offer to trade for it with materials.

After coming down from the shipwreck, the two survivors they had met before were nowhere to be seen. However, they ran into the same problem: they didn’t have enough storage space. After a brief silence, Shu Heng spoke first, “It’s getting dark. Let’s each go back to our rafts and see if we can link up again when it’s light?”

Li Jianwei felt a sense of reluctance, but she also knew how dangerous the artificial islands were at night. “Okay, I’ll see if I can make another machete to trade to you.”

Shu Heng nodded. “Great. Next time, I’ll also bring more circuit boards.”

Without holding hands, the two of them gradually became transparent as they approached the shore and then completely disappeared.

Li Jianwei’s raft appeared not far away, but she didn’t rush to get on it. Instead, she walked back toward the shipwreck after a moment. A familiar figure appeared once again. When Li Jianwei met Shu Heng’s gaze, she clearly saw the surprise in her eyes, followed by an understanding.

“I’ll see you in a bit,” Shu Heng said, a relaxed smile on her face.

Li Jianwei also smiled. “Mhm, see you in a bit.”

Li Jianwei turned decisively, and after her raft reappeared, she hopped onto it and took out her raw materials to start crafting. The main material for the machete is metal ingots. Li Jianwei took stock of her current supply and made two of them. It was not convenient to go into the sea to mine in the low-temperature weather, so she had to use her metal ingots sparingly. One for each of them to be armed.

Li Jianwei was fast. In just half an hour, she had organized her items and stepped onto the shipwreck island again, waiting for Shu Heng at their designated spot.

“Materials are limited. I only made four circuit boards,” Shu Heng said, trading them to her as soon as she appeared. “Circuit boards can’t be researched directly. After I made them, the system hinted that I needed to continue searching.”

“Does that mean there’s a part of the shipwreck we haven’t searched yet?” Li Jianwei started to think, but it didn’t stop her from trading the machete to the other party.

Shu Heng: “I think we should search the outside perimeter of the shipwreck tomorrow. Maybe there’s an entrance we didn’t find before.”

“Okay. We’ll use the rest of today to explore the island, and we’ll meet back here at 6:30 AM tomorrow,” Li Jianwei said, pulling out her metal spear. “You have the equipment to catch animals, right?”

Shu Heng nodded. “I do. Last time, I caught a wild chicken and a jumping sheep. I hope this time I can catch an alpaca.”

“I brought mine too. If yours breaks, you can use mine,” Li Jianwei said, still leading the way.

The resources on the island were abundant. There were no vultures, but there were an exceptionally large number of boars. If Shu Heng hadn’t been able to draw the attention of one of them, Li Jianwei, who was at the front, would have had to deal with two at the same time. It wasn’t impossible to take on two at once, but the margin of error was too low, and it was difficult to find a good opportunity to attack.

After successfully getting four pieces of leather and six pieces of meat, the two continued deeper into the island. Although they didn’t find any pineapples or watermelons, they saw an alpaca eating grass.

After a silent look, Li Jianwei crouched down and circled behind it, preparing to herd the alpaca toward Shu Heng to make it easier for her to aim and fire the capture net canister.

As she watched Li Jianwei walk away, a strange thought flashed through Shu Heng’s mind. It seemed Li Jianwei already knew what she was going to say without her having to say it and was already acting on it. Does this mean they have an intuitive connection?

Shu Heng didn’t have time to ask the question before she saw the alpaca hopping toward her, getting closer and closer. Shu Heng cleared her mind. She pulled out the launcher and focused on her aim. The number of capture net canisters was very limited. The drops from two pufferfish could only make one, so it was extremely precious.

A little closer… closer… Now!

With a pop, the capture net flew out of the canister and accurately covered the alpaca.

Yes! Huge success!