Starting With a Reef [Global Survival]

#Tianji Pavilion, District 2 — Most Critical Findings on Radiation Fog#
Lethality by Fog Color
White fog is safe, but it can be tainted and change color after mixing with other radiation fogs.
Gray fog (SAN −1/min): a Diatom Filtration Respirator can defend against it.
Blue fog (SAN −2/sec): on contact, use Antidote immediately to purge.
Fluorescent green fog (SAN −8/sec): requires higher-grade defensive gear—currently none exists. If you encounter it, get away immediately!
Sanity (SAN) Mechanics
When Sanity < 60: hallucinations with concurrent Stamina loss. Taking Antidote or an Immunity Pill can improve the condition.
When Sanity < 40: chance of self-harm tendencies or attacking others. Antidote works slowly; it may take a long time to return to normal. Severe cases may enter a frenzy state.
——
In just half an hour, the post had over five thousand replies.
“If Sanity goes under 40, isn’t that kind of like a zombie?”
“Like a higher-IQ zombie. Anyone know what happens under 20?”
“If your Sanity is down to single digits, you probably turn into a people-eating zombie with no intelligence.”
“Damn, living alone is better. If there are multiple people on a reef it’s gonna be a mess.”
“Don’t forget livestock get irradiated too. Imagine zombie sheep, zombie cattle…”
“What about pets! If your pets get irradiated, better not let them out.”
“Why are so few Antidotes for sale in the Trade Hub? There’s only one bottle in the system package; that’s nowhere near enough.”
“Tianji Pavilion is pretty impressive—how’d they get this data so fast? Is it reliable?”
“Doesn’t look fake. Lots of District 2 players say Tianji Pavilion is a badass intel organization.”
“For trading intel, go to Tianji Pavilion. You can’t go wrong.”
Rising just as fast was a thread about top-player rankings across districts.
Players from every district left messages in the thread.
At this rate, the top ten for each district would be evaluated soon.
Yun Luohe saw the thread too; lots of people were naming her.
Her squad had taken first in the team competition for the Desert Event, and word had spread across the districts.
Team competition was much fiercer than solo or duo scoring—there were basically no lone wolves in the event. Exploring desert ruins and oases wasn’t something one person could swallow alone.
She also saw the first place in the solo rankings this time: Yu Chenjin.
She didn’t know how he’d pulled it off, but since he took first, he must’ve scored some great hauls.
Who knew what other lucky breaks he’d stumbled into.
——
Closing the light-screen, Yun started making anti-radiation supplies.
Most important was her proprietary recipe—Clear-Mind Mint Balm.
[Clear-Mind Mint Balm: A mint balm that snaps you instantly awake—fresh and cool! Every second, +2 Sanity, +1 Stamina, lasts 30 seconds.]
[Materials: Mutant Mint ×1, Moon Lotus Dew ×1, Edible Beeswax ×1, Mugwort ×1.]
Right now Antidote was the most common item, and even then few were willing to trade it in the Trade Hub.
This recipe Yun had was, as far as anyone knew, the best option for restoring Sanity.
The catch was the materials were hard to get.
She had the main components, but the Mutant Mint required pre-treatment of ordinary mint.
According to Si Qi’s research, to turn ordinary mint into Mutant Mint, you had to do a special prep before planting.
Fortunately mint had a short growth cycle and grew fast. With some growth hormone and fertilizer, you could harvest a day after planting.
Si Qi had already worked out the method. Yun just needed to sow the mint following her instructions.
One day to wait…
In that day, she needed to gather the other materials.
Moon Lotus Dew only required nightly collection from the lotuses she’d planted—good thing she’d wanted everything when she visited Lotus Island and brought back loads of rhizomes and blooms, filling a whole pond.
Before the season change, she’d transplanted them to a big clay vat in the greenhouse, so even in autumn, lotuses were in full bloom.
The greenhouse’s glass roof could draw in moonlight essence; the Moon Lotus Dew she collected was up to spec.
Edible beeswax and mugwort were even easier.
The hives yielded beeswax along with honey; you just had to space out the harvesting.
Yun had already bought fifty beehives in the Trade Hub, planning to build a bee house on the reef just for them. Then she’d never lack honey or beeswax.
She’d gathered mugwort in the wild before; the Trade Hub had some too. Yun bought out what she could, then planned a dedicated greenhouse for Mutant Mint, mugwort, and other medicinal herbs.
For now, there was no space for anything else.
Next, Yun sorted all materials related to radiation.
She separately found Blood Crystal, as well as a survival wristwatch—with compass and body-temperature monitoring.
Ice Crystal Moss: a supply from Thunderclap Island. Grind to powder and mix with specific anti-radiation plants to make an anti-radiation potion.
Sandworm Skewers: on eating, you temporarily resist radiation effects; duration 2 hours.
Lizard Venom Fang Soup: increases bodily radiation resistance; lasts 1 hour. Long-term use may build tolerance.
As for the catalytic role of the Blood Crystal Core, there was no way yet to apply it in practice.
Ice Crystal Moss would need the corresponding formula to process, or she could hand it to Si Qi to see if she could produce something effective.
Everything else could be used immediately.
Once the survival wristwatch was on, it showed local radiation intensity and detected hazard levels in different zones.
Fog color hinted at toxicity already, but having the wristwatch’s numbers was more precise.
The Sandworm Skewers took effect as soon as you ate them.

The strongest, though, was the Lizard Venom Fang Soup.
Yun had already started cooking it.
A pot of green, oily broth—zero appetite appeal—smelled like rotting soil. It failed color, aroma, and taste, even made you queasy.
Even if it was dark cuisine, couldn’t it at least look awful but taste great?
This stuff was a pain to source and a pain to make, and the stench made the whole process torture—none of the joy her cooking used to bring.
Maybe this was a test of cooking skill in its own right.
So the proficiency gain was high.
[Unlocked Dark Cuisine. Cooking Skill Proficiency +300.]
[Reward: Cold Tossed Houttuynia ×1.]
[Cold Tossed Houttuynia: This special dish is crisp-clean, with a unique aroma that grows on you. On eating, Sanity +0.5/sec, duration 1 minute.]
Hilarious.
Cold Tossed Houttuynia!
Yun had tried it once before and really couldn’t get used to it.
But with something this good, she wasn’t putting it up for trade.
Right now, anything that raised Sanity had a ready market.
Good thing she’d bought Sandworm Skewers in bulk—those would be useful.
When she went out to dive for shells later, she’d eat a skewer first.
If she got tied up, she could give Roubao a skewer too. One person and one cat taking turns harvesting shells meant she didn’t have to worry about Roubao getting irradiated.
You couldn’t refuse to go out just because of radiation. Shells still needed to be harvested, and who knew what autumn-only resources were out there.
——
Night fell. Yun stepped out from the barn.
After her treatment, the animals had stabilized.
She’d used diluted Antidote along with water from a desert spring.
Spring water from the desert oases also seemed to help mitigate radiation.
Yun shared this tip to the group, telling everyone to use spring water for feeding animals for now.
At the same time, Mu Zitang sent a message.
He’d collected a lot of autumn-limited trash and asked if she had time to take delivery.
Yun Luohe: “Sure. I’ll prep two crates—send it over.”
Autumn-limited trash—now that was interesting.
She went to the workbench, crafted two large supply crates, and hauled them to the storeroom.
The storeroom was packed with crates, all categorized with labels—easy to find anything.
About ten minutes later, Yun received several hundred items.
[Rotten maple leaves; chestnut shells; torn woven sack; straw hats; shipping box; transfer bin; cracked leather jacket; ripped windbreaker; waterlogged tobacco; expired tea leaves; rotten pumpkin; loofah sponge; hollow gourd; straw ash; corn cobs; corn leaves; crab shells; pickled radish; cabbage stems… ]
All sorts of things.
Mostly autumn-only kitchen waste.
She could toss it all ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) into the trash recycler for upgrades.
Yun dumped items in by the armful.
Sometimes one by one, sometimes in combos—whatever she felt like.
Soon she pulled a stream of good stuff.
[Maple-leaf bookmark; anti-inflammatory from chestnut shell; transfer-bin fish tank; pumpkin seeds; jasmine-tea diffuser; cigars; dish scrub; corn feed; gourd canteen; eight-treasure porridge; sauerkraut jar; thatch paper; plant ash; insecticide…]
Nice—lots of daily necessities.
She did a quick lottery spin.
[Lottery success: acquired Loom Blueprint.]
[Loom: A key production tool; processes wool or silk into high-grade fabric.]
[Materials: Advanced Hardwood Plank ×5, Iron Ingot ×2, Copper Ingot ×2, Deep-Sea Flint ×10.]
She’d stockpiled plenty of wool, and finally she had a loom blueprint.
Plus the silkworms she’d raised had cocooned; the silk just needed processing into silk cloth.
If she got busy, she could commission others to help—pay them something nice.
Yun hurried off to prep materials.
First, turn advanced hardwood into planks; then smelt iron and copper ingots in the furnace.
Last, place the blueprint and materials on the workbench and start crafting.
She could make several looms—keep at least one for herself, share some with friends, and trade extras for other good items.
With the materials set to craft, Yun checked the time—it wasn’t early. She grabbed the four shells she’d harvested today.
Once she finished opening shells, she planned to head for the seabed.
It had been a long time since she explored underwater.
Who knew what changes autumn had brought below.
Lately she’d found plenty of clues on the Underwater Ruins, and the giant lizard kill had even yielded a Seafloor Ruins Teleportation Array Blueprint. She had to go look.
Besides, the Tide Core Pendant needed materials clearly found under the sea.
[Tide Core Pendant (Deep Sea Set): On wearing, generates a water-shield underwater. Defense +30. 40% chance to evade sea-creature attacks. With 3 pieces worn, activates Tidal Force: attacks carry a water-shockwave with a chance to knock enemies back.]
[Materials: Sapphire ×1, Abyssal Iron ×1, Merman Tear Crystal ×3, Blue Lizard Hide ×1.]
Right now the Tide Core Pendant was critical for her.
With the full three-piece Deep Sea Set, she’d power up significantly.
She had to find Abyssal Iron and Merman Tear Crystals—most likely in the Underwater Ruins.
But first things first—open the shells.
Time for the happiest segment:
Shell time!
The first was a gray pearl.
Nothing special, but it did pop some autumn-only seeds.
[Opened Gray Pearl. Gained: Vintage Sideboard Blueprint ×1, European Nightstand Blueprint ×1, Rock Sugar Pear Soup ×1, Maple Tree Seeds ×1, Pumpkin Seeds ×1, Peanut Seeds ×1, Preserved Duck Egg ×1, Beer Bottle ×1.]
The second was also a gray pearl.
[Gained: Potato Pancake ×1, Damaged Kayak ×1, Plastic Bottle ×1, Hydrating Mist ×1, Blind-Box Doll ×1, Teaser Wand ×1, Kitten Milk Powder ×1, Hops Seeds ×1, Grape Seeds ×1, Spicy Pickled Chicken Feet (Old Crock) ×1, Scrap Wire ×1.]
Yun thought,
The third was probably another gray pearl.
But when she opened the third shell, a burst of golden light flashed.
[Opened Golden Pearl. Gained: Shipping Crate Blueprint ×1, Mango Tree ×1, Durian Seeds ×1, Mini Fridge ×1, Coffee Maker ×1, Brewery Workshop Blueprint ×1, Grinding Machine ×1, Century Egg Recipe ×1, Advanced Sprinkler Blueprint ×1, Insect-Lure Lantern Blueprint ×1, Crystal ×2, Treasure Map Fragment ×1.]
Durian seeds, huh—ha! Looked like she could grow durian. No telling when it would bear fruit if planted now.
It wasn’t durian season; she’d likely have to plant it in the greenhouse.
Durian was amusing, but the important bits were the blueprints.
She laid the blueprints out and examined them one by one.
So that’s what the Shipping Crate does!
Yun was genuinely surprised.
[Shipping Crate: Trade with the system to exchange items for Sea Coins. Toss items to sell into the crate; the next day you receive Sea Coins based on system settlement.]
[Materials: Blue Fragment ×1, Crystal ×10, Iron Ingot ×10, Blue Crystal Ingot ×2.]
Trading with the system—unexpected.
But what were Sea Coins for? Felt like Sand Coins: one used in the desert, one used at sea.
Sand Coins were used at the Desert Night Market.
Did the seabed have a night market too?
Curious, Yun checked Tianji Pavilion for intel.
Came up empty.
There was nothing on Sea Coins yet, but plenty of players had found Shipping Crate blueprints or fished up the crates directly today.
Chat and forum threads were buzzing about it.
Yun browsed the forum—opinions all over the place, nothing definitive.
No point overthinking. She’d prep materials and build the crate first.
Smelting Blue Crystal Ingots required an advanced furnace; the normal furnace only smelted iron and copper.
Yun bought an advanced furnace in the Trade Hub. Pricey, but necessary.
Smelting a Blue Crystal Ingot consumed 5 chunks of Blue Crystal Ore.
That was trivial for her.
Even so, she couldn’t splurge—she also needed to grind Blue Crystal Ore for Blue Sapphire Fragments and whole Sapphires.
The Brewery Workshop could brew all sorts of alcohol—beer, rice wine, grape wine, etc.
Once built, you only had to load the ingredients and wait. Shortest time a week, longest half a month.
What alcohol did remained unknown, but anything that took that long had to be valuable.
She had all the building materials, so she picked a good spot and built the Brewery Workshop first.
Of the remaining blueprints, the Insect-Lure Lantern was the most useful.
It was a lantern that attracted fireflies.
It needed Mutant Vine, cane juice, and honey.
Fireflies were a material for the Wicker Starry-Sky Sofa, and she needed tons. Best to craft the lantern ASAP.
Mutant Vine, then.
She needed to figure out how to get it—fast.
——
With the Shipping Crate built, Yun decided to toss in some vegetables and cooked food.
She’d sell a random assortment to see how many Sea Coins she got tomorrow.
She’d test whether selling raw materials or finished dishes paid better.
Her cooking fetched great trades in the Trade Hub; selling to the system might not.
No one knew the system’s valuation standard.
Yun was about to go underwater when she noticed radiation fog hugging the sea surface.
She froze. The seawater was probably irradiated too.
Diving now could harm the body.
So she tied an earthworm to a string and dipped it.
The moment it touched seawater, it writhed; its body color began to change.
Looked like she shouldn’t go in lightly.
Yun asked in the trainees’ group:
“Anyone dive today? The sea looks off—probably irradiated too.”
“Someone tried. You could go in this morning; by afternoon you couldn’t. The radiation fog blanketed the surface. The bottom might be okay, but you have to pass through the surface to get down. Better wait for a radiation-proof diving suit.”
“For now we can only harvest shells and fish. No diving.”
“Blueprint for a radiation-proof diving suit has already dropped for someone.”
“I saw it too. It’s being auctioned in the Trade Hub. The required items are things I’ve never seen—must be rare.”
Yun opened the Trade Hub.
Oh. An old acquaintance—Wu Jing was the seller.
He’d just crafted radiation-proof diving suits this afternoon—made two. Kept one for himself and wanted to trade the other for materials. No one in the group had what he wanted, so he listed it in the Trade Hub.
Yun DM’d Wu Jing directly.
“I want the radiation-proof diving suit. Can we trade for what you’re asking?”
Wu Jing wanted a Golden Seahorse and Mother-of-Pearl.
Yun didn’t have a spare Golden Seahorse—she’d used the last one to craft a Lucky Necklace—and she wasn’t keen to give up Mother-of-Pearl; she needed it herself.
“What’ll you swap?” Wu Jing saw it was Yun and didn’t refuse. If it were anyone else, he’d have said no deal.