NOVEL NEXT chapter 128 - Summer, Day 24 01
The night market pass now displayed a countdown.
It would still begin at 8 p.m.
That meant today’s trip had to be fast—go, return quickly, and prepare early.
The Tidal Windmill was already finished. Yun Luohe carried the cables straight to the Trading Center, listed it, and marked her asking price:
100 Magnets, 400 Copper Ore, and one piece of high-grade furniture.
At first glance, the price looked outrageous, but anyone who checked the windmill’s details would realize it was fair.
It could generate power—enough to supply an entire reef.
With it, players wouldn’t have to worry about darkness at night, and air conditioners and refrigerators could run continuously.
In short, the Tidal Windmill could vastly improve life on any reef.
At first, players thought it was too expensive.
But after looking carefully, they only regretted not having enough resources to buy it.
For those with plenty of resources, though, it was still a tough decision. At this critical moment before the season changed, upgrades consumed massive amounts of resources.
With autumn approaching, not upgrading wasn’t an option.
But taking out that much was no easy matter.
That was why Yun Luohe had set her price this way.
If she had asked for more, it wouldn’t sell.
Otherwise, she’d have simply priced it to cover all the resources she herself lacked.
The chat channel was already buzzing.
“Holy shit! Did I see that right? Yun Luohe just listed a Tidal Windmill! 100 Magnets + 400 Copper Ore + two high-grade pieces of furniture? Isn’t that robbery?”
“You don’t get it! I calculated—just relying on solar panels until autumn would be hell, and even then not enough. Reef buildings keep increasing. This windmill makes 800 kilowatt-hours per day, more than enough to run AC and refrigerators nonstop!”
“If I had that much, I’d trade in a heartbeat. Too bad I’m broke!”
“I don’t think it’s overpriced. I just don’t have the strength to pay it.”
“Could we pool resources? Ten people buy together, store the windmill’s power in batteries, and split it?”
“Dream on. How do you decide whose reef it sits on? What if the batteries bug out? Way too messy.”
After listing the Tidal Windmill, Yun Luohe took out three golden seahorses and placed them together.
At once, the seahorses reacted.
The three floated into the air, golden light converging into a beam that projected a blueprint with words on it.
[Lucky Seahorse Necklace: +5 Luck. Wearing the necklace grants the Sea God’s blessing. While exploring the sea, there is a high chance for gathered or fished ordinary resources to upgrade into rare quality.
Synthesis Requirements: Golden Seahorse ×3, Star Pearl ×1, Star Sand ×10]
“No way…”
Yun Luohe was stunned.
This was too good—completely beyond expectation.
She already had the golden seahorses, and she had a Star Pearl.
She only lacked Star Sand.
Her excitement was hard to contain.
She just wanted to find Star Sand quickly and craft the Lucky Seahorse Necklace.
But no trace of Star Sand appeared in the Trading Center. She even contacted Tianji Pavilion for intel.
She got one lead.
Someone had once seen glowing grains of sand on Lizard Island, but they were difficult to harvest, and no one had brought them back. Its exact name and use remained unknown.
Lizard Island was one of the summer resource islands.
If Yun Luohe wanted, she could go. But not today. Her current focus was to find the Sandworm Queen’s Treasure Cave, then attend the night market in the evening.
If she went, it would have to wait until tomorrow or the day after.
She held back the urge to rush to Lizard Island.
Her teammates were already messaging in the group, asking when to depart. They were ready.
Yun Luohe quickly replied: “Ten minutes. Meet in the desert.”
Everyone answered back with an OK.
Just then, Du Ruan-tian sent a message.
Du Ruan-tian: “Luohe, can you lower the Magnet and Copper Ore requirement a bit? For the furniture, I can offer two Moonlight Jellyfish Lamps plus a Starfish Fountain. They’re excellent—take a look.”
She attached the details.
Both were good items. Yun Luohe’s eyes lit up.
[Moonlight Jellyfish Lamp: High-grade lamp. Expands illumination radius to 20m. Adds +15 Reef Rating. Special Effect: Using 5 together can attract glowing krill swarms at night.]
[Starfish Fountain: High-grade outdoor structure. Fountain spray increases humidity, cools the environment. Adds +25 Reef Rating. Special Effect: After some use, can attract tidal starfish.]
“How much are you asking to lower? Their effects are good, but the Reef Rating gain is too low.”
Du Ruan-tian: “How about 20 fewer Magnets and 50 fewer Copper Ore?”
She wasn’t trying to haggle hard—she just urgently needed to upgrade her reef.
“…Too little.”
Du Ruan-tian quickly added: “What about a Golden Coral Candelabra? It’s very good, adds +20 rating.”
Meanwhile, other players were also adding her as a friend, wanting to trade for the Tidal Windmill.
If she waited, she might find a better buyer.
But her relationship with Du Ruan-tian was good. If the difference wasn’t too big, she preferred trading with her.
Thinking it over, she asked: “Do you have any Lightning Raw Stones? If you add one, I can lower the Magnet and Copper Ore.”
“I happen to have one.”
Du Ruan-tian had meant to keep it, though she didn’t need it urgently.
“Add one Lightning Raw Stone, and you can drop the Golden Coral Candelabra. Then we’ll trade.”
It took a while before Du Ruan-tian answered: “I’ll think about it.”
——
When the time came, Yun Luohe set out for the desert.
She had timed it perfectly—everyone else was already there.
“Everyone’s here. Let’s go.”
Yu Chenjin was among them.
“When did you get here?” Yun Luohe walked over to ask.
“Half an hour ago.”
Yesterday they’d agreed to meet between 8:30 and 9.
Now it was exactly 9.
“There’s a night market tonight. You saw your pass light up?”
“Yeah, I saw it.”
They began heading toward the Treasure Cave’s location.
According to the Sandworm Queen’s Treasure Cave map, it lay in the northeast desert, about five kilometers from where they stood.
Walking the desert was grueling. Even after the thunderstorm weakened, the heat remained, the sand scorching hot, every step draining stamina.
Fortunately, they carried enough fresh water and food to replenish themselves.
On the way, they occasionally encountered desert creatures—sand rats, sand snakes—but dispatched them easily.
After an hour and a half, they reached the Treasure Cave.
It was at the base of a dune, its entrance partly buried in sand. Without the map, it would have been nearly impossible to spot.
Suddenly, the ground shook.
The dune rose, yellow sand spilling like a waterfall, and from the cave mouth poured tens of thousands of sandworms.
Everyone had prepared. They unleashed their skills, their pets joined in, and after half an hour the ground was littered with corpses and piles of resources.
Beyond Desert Fragments and Desert Crystal Cores, there were plenty of Magnets and Copper Ore.
“Do we go in now?”
“Yes, but be careful. The quicksand around the entrance is dangerous.”
Yun Luohe tossed in a glowstick. The green light revealed the surrounding sand.
They saw it—the surface looked calm, but beneath lay hidden whirlpools, barely visible. One wrong step and anyone would be trapped.
Yun Luohe studied the flow of the sand grains.
“Follow me exactly. Step only where I step.”
Everyone trailed her cautiously, as if walking a tightrope.
Inside, the cave twisted and wound into darkness. The air grew damp, in sharp contrast to the desert’s dryness.
Yun Luohe could sense many sandworm presences inside.
Qin Sisi: “Careful. There may be traps or monsters ahead.”
Yun Luohe: “I feel it too. But no powerful creature here.”
She stopped, turned to Mu Zitang. “Zitang, walk up front with me. Use the detector to scan the path, see if there are special resources. Yang Mian, take the rear, keep watch.”
Mu Zitang quickly squeezed up beside her.
Yu Chenjin, who had been at her side, was pushed aside.
Yu Chenjin: “Let me do it.”
He pulled out a high-grade detector from his backpack.
It looked similar to Yun Luohe’s—whether crafted himself or bought in Zone 1, she couldn’t tell.
His detector was better, so Yun Luohe nodded.
She figured he didn’t want to just tag along; he wanted to contribute.
“Fine, come with me.”
Mu Zitang: “Then what about me, Yun-jie?”
He wasn’t upset at being displaced, but he gave Yu Chenjin a few strange looks.
Yun Luohe quickly reassigned him. “You and Yang Mian cover the rear. Scan the walls as you go.”
So Yun Luohe and Yu Chenjin led the way, followed by Cheng Xuening and Qin Sisi, with Yang Mian and Mu Zitang behind.
The cave widened, and ancient murals appeared on the walls.
After an unknown stretch, a massive stone gate loomed ahead, carved with the image of the Sandworm Queen.
The gate had four grooves, clearly meant for something to be placed.
Yun Luohe started forward, but Yu Chenjin moved faster.
Holding his zen staff, face grave, he examined the grooves.
Yu Chenjin: “Looks like crystal cores go here.”
Yun Luohe: “Four slots. We don’t know if it needs all the same, or different ones.”
The others crowded close.
Cheng Xuening: “There’s a clue here.”
She pointed at the wall.
On the stone were murals of strange symbols and figures.
Yun Luohe lifted her lantern for a closer look.
“This looks like a bat—so probably Blood Crystal Core. That’s a vine—so Symbiosis Crystal. …”
Each mural corresponded to ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) a specific item.
In total, they needed a Blood Crystal, a Symbiosis Crystal, a Desert Crystal Core, and a Volcano Crystal Core.
Yun Luohe didn’t have them all, so she quickly reached out.
Si Qi had a Symbiosis Crystal; Lin Zhu could provide the Blood Crystal; Desert and Volcano Cores could be bought at the Trading Center.
Soon they gathered all four, placing them into the grooves.
At once, the stone gate blazed with light, spinning into a vortex.
It slowly opened, revealing the Queen’s Nest within.
A blast of air roared out, thick with dust and rot.
They stepped in—and were struck dumb.
A massive sand altar filled the cavern, a phantom of the Sandworm Queen hovering above it. Around it, transparent eggs floated in sand whirlpools, each shimmering with tempting light.
The altar’s walls glittered with embedded crystals, illuminating the nest.
Behind the altar, on a huge stone platform, sat a golden chest.
All they had to do was cross the altar.
“Careful! The whirlpools are traps!” Yu Chenjin warned.
They saw it too—each whirlpool held hidden sandworm larvae, waiting to strike.
Sensing their presence, the eggs began to stir, restless.
And the phantom changed.
The Sandworm Queen’s image opened its eyes. The altar floor’s sand patterns flared, weaving into a bloody totem.
The phantom shrieked.
The eggs cracked under the sound.
Yun Luohe’s eardrums throbbed painfully. It was a sonic attack.
The eggs were affected too.
Dark red lines glowed across the altar’s sand patterns, like dried blood.
This was no treasure chamber.
Yun Luohe’s face hardened.
It was a trap.
They’d been lured here as sacrifices.
Either to feed the Sandworm Queen—or to nourish the eggs.
“Everyone, fall back to the gate!” she shouted.
But the gate had already shut.
Almost instantly, the nearest whirlpools erupted. Hundreds of larvae rained down like black sludge, their bodies glistening with poison.
“Kill them first!” Yun Luohe commanded.
Water and fire both worked well—they’d tested before.
If not for the Magnet and Copper Ore the worms dropped, Yun Luohe would have let Yúntūn devour them all in one go.
But she worried about what overeating might do to it.
So everyone fought together. The larvae screeched as they died, burning into charred husks under fire, drowning into mush under water.
But more whirlpools stirred. Eggs cracked open one by one, larvae unfurling inside.