Starting With a Reef [Global Survival]

Yun Luohe stared at the peach tree, her heart stirring.
“These peaches look really sweet,” Bai Yuemian leaned closer. “Should we pick some?”
Yun Luohe nodded. “Yes. I’m planning to pick the peaches before heading to the strawberry fields. If you want, you can go ahead. I’ll finish here first.”
“Let’s do it together. I can help.”
Yun Luohe took out her Multi-function Entrenching Tool. “We need to be careful of these vines. Let’s try cutting a few first.”
She swung the blade at the vines coiling the trunk. Dark green sap seeped out, and the vines suddenly lashed through the air like whips in a reflexive attack.
There were a lot of them, thick and long, all whipping toward Yun Luohe. If not for worrying about damaging the peach tree, she would have simply used the Thunder Vortex Trident. But it wasn’t easy for this tree to grow so large; stripping its fruit and then scarring it too would be excessive. Unless it was necessary, she only wanted to deal with the vines and harvest the peaches safely.
She dodged swiftly while hacking through the lunging vines with the entrenching tool.
Seeing this, Bai Yuemian released her pet, the little black bear.
The bear’s first instinct was to run to her and play, but Bai Yuemian pressed it down. “Hei-zi, no playing. Tear these vines for me.”
The bear hesitated, then turned to the peach tree. Its eyes fell on the bright red peaches, and drool nearly dripped.
“Peach!”
“That’s right, peaches! Pull down the vines first, and then you’ll get peaches.” Bai Yuemian coaxed him in a low voice.
The bear nodded and obeyed.
With a loud crack-crack, it grabbed hold of several vines and tore them apart like twine.
“Good job! Keep going, that’s it!” Bai Yuemian cheered him on.
Fired up, the bear pulled harder.
Yúntūn immediately joined in, spitting threads to bind several vines and yanking them tight.
“Hehe, Hehe, leave it to me!” Yúntūn blocked Yun Luohe, telling her to rest.
Yun Luohe chuckled. Clearly, Yúntūn wasn’t going to be outdone. Seeing another pet helping its master, it wanted to prove itself too.
It didn’t take long before the entire tree was cleared of vines.
The ground was littered with shredded leaves and broken stems.
Then the little black bear hugged the trunk and began shaking it furiously, trying to bring down all the peaches. The tree rocked, branches trembling, until peaches rained down everywhere. Yun Luohe and Bai Yuemian scrambled to catch and gather them.
[Imperial Concubine Blood Peach (Gold): The nobility among peaches. Large fruits with thick flesh, blood-red skin and pulp, even the juice runs crimson. Intensely sweet, highly nutritious. Due to unique soil and environment requirements, this variety is extremely rare, with long growth cycles and low yields.]
As expected—a high-grade variety.
Yun Luohe was even more satisfied. She had thought of bringing some back to plant, but from the description it was clear this kind couldn’t just grow anywhere.
And here was only a single tree. Too few. She’d have to ration them carefully.
Yúntūn climbed up and down, plucking the peaches from the top branches and delivering them to Yun Luohe.
She herself kept harvesting—after all, cutting trees and gathering wild fruits or plants increased her gathering experience.
Her gathering skill had been stuck at Level 4 for some time.
If she could push into the Professional Gatherer tier here, that would be perfect. She was still a few hundred points short.
Checking her character info, she saw just from picking these peaches she had gained over a hundred points.
Of course, that was because every single one was gold-quality.
Hopefully strawberries would give her more later.
With both of them and both pets working for an hour, they not only cleared the vines but harvested all the peaches—132 in total, all gold-quality.
Although they had agreed that all island spoils were hers, since the black bear and Bai Yuemian had done a lot of work, Yun Luohe shared some of the blood peaches.
The bear drooled at the sight of them—it clearly loved peaches. And it had behaved, not sneaking even one while they picked.
Bai Yuemian didn’t refuse, smiling thanks as she stowed her share, then pulled one out for the bear.
“Hei-zi, here, have one.”
Yun Luohe: “Your pet is so well-behaved.”
Bai Yuemian: “Yes. A little dumb, but very obedient.”
Yúntūn rubbed its head against Yun Luohe’s shoulder.
Yun Luohe: “You were good too. You did great just now. I’ll reward you when we get back.”
Yúntūn hissed softly, shrinking itself small to curl on her, unusually gentle.
——
Leaving the Plant Maze, a rich strawberry fragrance washed over them, mouthwatering.
Not far off, the strawberry fields stretched out.
The plants reached half a person’s height, leaves broad and glistening green, each bright red berry hanging heavy, gleaming invitingly in the sunlight.

From afar, no giant strawberries were visible—perhaps they weren’t much larger than normal and hidden under leaves, only visible up close.
But this was also the territory of giant venom bees. If anyone drew near, they would swarm out in droves, buzzing sharply.
Even before stepping into the fields, Yun Luohe already spotted them. Their tails glowed faint blue, just like the intel had said: stings from these bees caused brief paralysis and unbearable itching.
But Yun Luohe wasn’t worried.
Spiders loved insects. Yúntūn’s appetite was massive—either it didn’t eat, or it gorged. To it, these bees were a banquet.
According to the Silverback Wolf Spider compendium, feeding it poisonous creatures enhanced its venom.
Feeding it venomous flowers strengthened paralysis and added corrosion. Feeding enough poisonous insects could toughen its carapace and unlock new skills, coating its shell in corrosive matter. Feeding toxic fruits diversified its venom effects—paralysis, slowing, and more.
That was exactly why Yun Luohe had to bring Yúntūn here.
These bees were its food source.
Still, letting it hunt on its own was inefficient. She would help.
She crouched and took out a piece of meat smeared with honey. The bees should like this—both sweet and bloody.
That wasn’t from Strawberry Island intel but from other islands. Still, bees were bees—there should be overlap.
Sure enough, the scent spread quickly. A few circling bees veered instantly, buzzing toward the bait.
“Yúntūn, watch.” She tossed the meat into a clearing at the field’s edge. Yúntūn raised its eight legs, black carapace shining, eyes locking on the targets.
It hadn’t fed in bulk for a long time. Seeing this many bees, it was thrilled.
Three bees dove together, stingers glowing blue.
They didn’t even touch the meat before Yúntūn’s silk lashed out, threads made for hunting bees—so sticky that once caught, the bees couldn’t budge.
Multiple strands fired, wrapping all three. Yúntūn reeled them in, clamping their abdomens with its chelicerae—skewering them like kebabs on one fang.
Then it pierced them and devoured them noisily.
Watching Yúntūn eat with relish, Yun Luohe asked, “Do you like these?”
Yúntūn chirped in a childish tone: “Mm-mm, tasty!”
Bai Yuemian and the black bear were both stunned.
The bear rumbled, “Tasty?” It looked tempted.
Bai Yuemian held him tight, patting his head. “Not for you. You eat peaches.”
Still, the bear kept watching Yúntūn curiously, licking his lips—suddenly peaches didn’t smell so good. The bees looked gross, though. Why did the spider enjoy them so much?
“There are a lot more coming.” Bai Yuemian peeked out of a bush.
No sooner had she spoken than a deafening buzz roared from the field’s depths.
Yúntūn had just eaten a few, but the rest clearly got the signal.
Hundreds rose at once, a black cloud of flashing stingers surging toward them.
Yun Luohe didn’t panic. She smiled instead.
“Yúntūn, ready?”
“Ssssss!!!”
It could barely wait.
Yúntūn reared high and spewed massive sheets of silk, weaving a sprawling web ten-plus meters wide to seal off the fields.
Yun Luohe drizzled honey over it. The sweet scent drew the bees faster.
Yúntūn manipulated the web, lowering it onto the swarm.
Bees collided and stuck fast, wings immobilized. Those that escaped tried to flank, only to hit more threads.
Hundreds—thousands—were trapped. At first Yúntūn picked at them slowly, plucking and skewering. Yun Luohe urged it to speed up.
So it simply drew the whole web back, swelled its body, and gulped down the silken mass—bees and all.
“Wow! Amazing!” The bear was stunned.
Now Bai Yuemian finally understood why Yun Luohe had bonded with a spider. It was predator to insects, its silk versatile, good for offense, defense, chores—an all-around companion.
The one-sided hunt lasted half an hour.
At last, no bees dared approach.
After devouring thousands, Yúntūn’s shell gleamed black, faint violet shimmer glowing on its tail.
Yun Luohe opened its pet info and saw with delight it had unlocked a new skill: [Venomous Carapace].
Its shell now bore a corrosive toxin layer, reflecting attacks with poison. Its silk carried bee venom too, adding paralysis and swelling.
“Excellent!” She stroked its head. Yúntūn hissed happily, stepping side to side with its eight legs, comically cute.
Even though Bai Yuemian couldn’t understand spider speech, she could tell it was doting on its master. The more she looked, the less scary and the more endearing it seemed.
“I almost want a spider myself. Is she female? Will she have babies?”
Yun Luohe smiled. “Her babies are already promised to a friend.”
——
With the bees gone, the strawberry fields were finally quiet.
It was time to harvest.
Yun Luohe pulled out a Strawberry Lollipop.
[Strawberry Lollipop: Speed +20. Resources gathered within 3 hours are doubled.]
She had saved this for exactly now.
Three hours should be enough!
Checking the time, she ate some food and drank water first to recover, then slipped the lollipop into her mouth.
Sweetness bloomed on her tongue, filling her with happiness. The rich strawberry scent alone was soothing.
“Let’s get to work!”
Boosted, she moved like the wind, hands flying.
She darted between rows, filling baskets in minutes.
The doubling effect was insane.
One basket picked became two. The duplication was seamless, unnoticed. Once full, she stowed them in her pack.
Beforehand she’d bought over a hundred bamboo baskets just for this. She thought it would be enough—but in an hour, every single one was filled.
Her pack now held a hundred baskets, each with 20–30 strawberries. Each berry was the size of an egg—some as big as a baby’s fist.
As she worked, she popped one into her mouth.
The flesh was delicate, juicy, sweet with a trace of tartness, juice bursting like concentrated nectar, cooling her throat.
Sweet, but refreshing and appetite-stimulating.
Strawberry smoothies or iced tea from these would be amazing.
【Gathering Skill Upgraded — Lv.5】
【Reward: Portable Preservation Ring ×1】
【Congratulations, player has become a Professional Gatherer】
【Choose specialization — 1: Botanist: +25% chance of ordinary plants (fruits, herbs, wild greens) upgrading to gold quality. 2: Explorer: +20% movement speed (resource islands only).】
Yun Luohe thought carefully, then chose Botanist—it was far more practical.
After choosing, she opened her status.
[Class Skills:
Cooking Lv.6 — Professional Chef (5841/10000)
Lv.5 Effects: Perfect Heat Control (never burns food)
Portable Grill (cook anywhere outdoors)
Gourmet (+30% food effect)
Gathering Lv.5 (2104/5000)
Plant Resonance (detect nearby harvestable plants)
Toxin Identification (quickly distinguish ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) poisonous flora)
Botanist
Beast Taming Lv.3 (332/500)
Mining Lv.3 (485/500)]
Her Beast Taming was still low—she had never trained pets beyond feeding. She’d need a proper trainer or intel from Tianji Pavilion to raise it faster.
Mining was nearly ready to level, but not urgent.
Gathering paired perfectly with Cooking. Advancing to Professional Gatherer would boost her culinary progress.
The upgrade also granted the Portable Preservation Ring.
Opening its details, she slipped it on immediately.
It wasn’t just a ring—it was like a portable refrigerator with cold storage, freezing, and adjustable-temp zones. It could preserve, freeze, and manage foods.
Thirty slots cold, twenty frozen, twenty variable.
Only food could be stored—no hot items.
But for her, it was priceless.
From now on, she could carry all her food on her person, kept fresh in the ring. Hot dishes could stay in her backpack for warmth or be reheated on a campfire.
——
She had already filled over a hundred baskets of ordinary strawberries. But she was still on the lookout for the giant ones. They were supposed to exist—but none had appeared yet. A giant strawberry should be obvious.
With the lollipop speed, her vision skimmed too fast, so she slowed down, scanning carefully between leaves.
But instead of strawberries, she spotted a giant venom bee.
According to intel, giant bees always appeared near giant strawberries.
Killing one would drop gold-grade royal jelly, which increased stamina cap.