Starting With a Reef [Global Survival]

Bai Yuemian was also picking strawberries by the field with Hei-zi. She even pulled up a few strawberry plants, intending to take them back to replant—once summer was over, they could still be grown inside the greenhouse.
Suddenly, she heard Yun Luohe give a low gasp.
At the same time, a deep buzzing sound cut through the silence. A Giant Venom Bee, as large as a palm, was hovering between the leaves. Its translucent wings beat rapidly, its tail stinger as long as a pinky finger. Poison clearly glistened on the tip, the stinger’s color a dark black-purple.
Yun Luohe held her breath, slowly stepping back half a pace.
The swarm of ordinary Venom Bees had already been devoured by Yúntūn, but this Giant Venom Bee was clearly the swarm’s leader. Right now, it was standing guard, warily protecting what lay behind it.
She looked past the bee and saw, hidden among a dense patch of leaves, a strawberry the color of a ruby. It was nearly five times the size of a normal strawberry, its surface covered in fine white fuzz. The sepal at its crown faintly glowed gold, like it was wearing a tiny crown.
Noticing someone approaching, the Giant Venom Bee suddenly flared its wings and lunged straight toward her.
Yúntūn hurried forward to shield Yun Luohe, but the Giant Venom Bee was several times more agile than the ordinary kind. It twisted its body, dodging the spider silk, and still came diving for Yun Luohe.
And this Giant Venom Bee wasn’t the least bit afraid of Yúntūn.
“Careful!” Bai Yuemian cried out. Hei-zi, seeing this, picked up a rock and hurled it. The rock struck the bee’s body, but the Giant Venom Bee merely spun, slashing the stone apart with its tail stinger, sending sharp buzzing reverberating through the air.
Thankfully, Yun Luohe had eaten a Strawberry Lollipop, so her speed was greatly increased. She continuously dodged, and the bee couldn’t land a single hit on her.
“Yúntūn, try out your new skill!”
At once, Yúntūn contracted its carapace, the purple venomous sheen rippling faintly across the surface. As the Giant Venom Bee charged again, Yúntūn snapped its chelicerae at its wings, slamming its body into it while spitting silk that bound the bee tight.
The instant the bee’s wings brushed against the Venomous Carapace, white smoke hissed out. Its body spun in midair, flight becoming unstable, as if it were about to fall.
Yun Luohe knew this was her chance.
She drew out the Thunder Vortex Trident and thrust straight at the Giant Venom Bee.
Lightning crackled with a sharp pā pā pā as the bee was struck, its body blackened and blasted apart into fragments.
Loot appeared on the ground.
[Gold Royal Jelly ×1, Queen Bee Stinger ×1]
[Gold Royal Jelly: Honey dropped from a Giant Queen Bee. Rare ingredient, can be used in golden-grade dishes. Direct consumption increases maximum stamina.]
[Queen Bee Stinger: Tail stinger dropped from a Giant Queen Bee. Extremely poisonous, incredibly hard. Can be used to forge high-grade weapons.]
【Strawberry Lollipop — loot doubled! Happiness doubled!】
The freshly obtained loot immediately doubled. Yun Luohe’s lips curled upward, unable to hide the trace of a smile.

She packed the items away and turned her gaze to the giant strawberry.
The massive fruit hung suspended from the vine, its leaf edges rimmed with a faint golden glow.
“So that’s a giant strawberry? It’s way too big!” Bai Yuemian exclaimed, hurrying over.
Hei-zi poked its head around, eyes lighting up as drool nearly dripped from its mouth at the sight of the fruit.
Yun Luohe gave a gentle tug. The vine trembled as if alive, seeping a few drops of clear sap. The strawberry quivered once but still came free into her hands.
[Giant Strawberry (Rare): Top-grade ingredient. Contains dense plant energy. Can be used in top-tier special cuisine. Direct consumption has a chance to permanently increase attributes. Requires Gathering Lv.5 or higher to harvest.]
“Good thing I leveled up to five earlier.” Yun Luohe let out a breath of relief.
Inside her backpack, the Giant Strawberry occupied its own slot. Thanks to the Strawberry Lollipop’s double effect, one harvest became two.
Excitement coursed through her—she needed to hurry and find more giant strawberries before the double-collect window ended.
She set Yúntūn searching; as long as it could locate more Giant Venom Bees, they’d find the fruit. As a spider, Yúntūn would surely be faster at hunting them down. Yun Luohe also activated her [Scanning Eye], combing the area carefully.
Using the [Scanning Eye] for too long drained stamina heavily, but with the special buff time running, she had to push through.
Bai Yuemian and Hei-zi also joined in the search.
Everyone was working without pause.
“Found one! Over here!” At the shout, Yun Luohe sprinted over.
With ease, she used the Thunder Vortex Trident to blast another Giant Venom Bee, claiming yet another Giant Strawberry.
Three hours passed at last, and the effect of the Strawberry Lollipop ended. Yun Luohe finally stopped, catching her breath.
She took a folding dining table from her backpack, found a flat spot, and set it up, placing two chairs beside it.
Then, like performing a magic trick, she laid out the feast across the table—plates of marinated seafood, conch sashimi, cold tofu, shredded chicken, stir-fried cabbage, lemon-mint water, and fruit smoothies.
All of it was refreshing, delicious food and drinks perfect for the heat.
The aroma made her mouth water nonstop.
Yun Luohe said, “Let’s eat. Once we’re done, we’ll head to the next stop.”
“There’s more than enough food, no need to worry.”
Bai Yuemian picked up a strip of shredded chicken, chewed, and her face lit up with bliss. “Mmm, it’s so good!”
Seeing her satisfied expression, Yun Luohe felt lighter inside. “If you like it, I’ll send you some after we get back.”
“Really?! That’s amazing!”
After eating their fill, Yun Luohe let out a burp. Eating with someone else was far more pleasant than eating alone. Watching Bai Yuemian happily gobble away even boosted her own appetite, and she ate more than usual—her stomach bulged round.
Bai Yuemian ate even more. She looked a little embarrassed. “It was so delicious I lost track and ate too much. I feel a little dizzy… good thing there wasn’t much starch.”
Yun Luohe asked, “Want to rest a bit longer?”
There was no rush now anyway.
Although it was later than expected—already two in the afternoon—they only had the Thorn Swamp left to explore before nightfall. Since they’d be staying on the island overnight, there was no need to hurry.
—
The closer they got to the swamp, the more humid the air became. The stench of rotting leaves mingled with faint traces of blood and fishiness, hitting them in the face.
The entrance to the Thorn Swamp was overgrown with vines. Yun Luohe hacked a path open with her multi-function entrenching tool. The sight beyond made her frown.
The swamp floor wasn’t solid mud. Instead, it was blanketed with thick layers of rotting leaves, their dark color faintly concealing black sludge bubbling beneath.
Which made sense—it was a swamp, not flat land.
But this sludge wasn’t normal. It burbled with bubbles. Yun Luohe tossed a piece of wood onto it, and the instant it touched, it began to corrode. The log shrank as it sank, the surface almost burning away.
So the layer of leaves on top was just camouflage. Step wrong, and you’d sink, the corrosive poison sludge stripping gear in moments and even burning flesh.
She probed with the entrenching tool. The blade sank half a foot deep into the leaves. When she pulled it out, black vapor hissed faintly from ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) the edge.
“Can’t step directly,” she murmured, eyes fixed on the black sludge, considering how to cross.
“We’ll need to lay something down as a path.”
“But if even metal gets corroded, what can we use?”
The last time she’d crossed a swamp, wood had worked. Here, it clearly wouldn’t.
Bai Yuemian said, “I have a way.”
She crouched, whispering to Hei-zi. The little bear scampered to the swamp’s edge, opened its mouth—and spat out a pile of rubble.
The stones fused together into a massive boulder.
“This is its skill. Hei-zi’s actually a stone bear, so it can spit rocks.”
Yun Luohe’s eyes lit up. “That’s a pretty good skill.”
Bai Yuemian said, “Normally I thought it was useless. Let’s see if it can lay a path here.”
Hei-zi hugged a boulder half as tall as a person and heaved it forward with a loud thud. The stone sank halfway into the swamp but held steady.
“Looks like it worked! Good job, Hei-zi!”
Encouraged, Hei-zi kept at it. In another spot, it spat and shaped more than ten boulders, hauling them over one by one and slamming them into the toxic sludge.
But each time, the sludge splashed dangerously. On the third stone, Hei-zi nearly got hit.
If Yun Luohe hadn’t rushed to block with her trident, the sludge would have splashed onto its body—and even with its thick hide, a chunk of flesh would have been eaten away.