Starting With a Reef [Global Survival]

A thought suddenly popped into Yun Luohe’s mind.
With so many frogs here, should she just grab a few to take back, or would it be better to bring back some frog eggs and raise them in her fishpond?
Raising them would definitely allow her to eat frogs continuously, but... could she really endure the frog calls?
They were way too loud.
At that moment, Ròubāo came trotting back.
It was filthy from head to paw, covered in leaves and mud—who knew where it had been rolling around?
“Where did you go? How’d you get this dirty?” Yun Luohe asked, helpless.
“Meow!” Ròubāo tossed her a massive bullfrog.
Yun Luohe: “…”
“This one we can take back and cook.”
The bullfrog was as big as Yun Luohe’s head.
Completely absurd.
None of the frogs in the pond back home were ever this big.
“Where’d you get this one?”
Ròubāo: “Meow meow, from a hole. It hit me, so I caught it and killed it.”
Yun Luohe stared at the giant bullfrog, now thoroughly dead in her hands.
[Bullfrog: High-protein meat. Legs can be smoked for preservation. Males are aggressive during breeding season.]
Her expression grew even more complicated.
This bullfrog had to weigh two or three jin. Its legs alone probably had over a jin of meat.
Yun Luohe immediately butchered it and stored it in her backpack.
“If you want frog meat, we might as well bring back a bunch.”
After all, you could never have too much food.
She said, “There are so many frogs here, I’ll leave them all to you. Catch as many as you can and toss them in the bag. Once we’re back, I’ll make you something tasty… Charcoal-Grilled Bullfrog, Dry-Pot Bullfrog—those are so good!”
Ròubāo started drooling uncontrollably.
It looked toward a nearby cluster of frogs.
“Meow! Leave it to me!”
Yun Luohe nodded in satisfaction. “Alright, then I’ll check around here and see if there’s anything else edible.”
She was more than happy to leave frog-catching to Ròubāo. Honestly, she wasn’t too eager to deal with those noisy things herself.
——
Yun Luohe approached the edge of the marsh and quickly spotted water celery and water mint.
Now that her [Foraging Skill] had reached Level 3, she had [Plant Resonance], so all gatherable plants nearby were marked in her vision—she could spot them at a glance.
Water celery was a moisture-loving plant that grew along the marshy edge.
It was different from regular celery—Yun Luohe hadn’t eaten it before.
She picked a large bundle. No idea how it tasted, but even if she didn’t know what it paired well with, it would definitely go fine stir-fried with meat.
She still had a bit of wild boar meat left.

Water mint also grew at the marsh’s shallow edge.
Its roots were half-submerged in the water.
The stems were reddish-purple. As soon as her fingers brushed the leaves while picking, a strong, cool fragrance filled the air.
Perfect for Cold Dressed Mint Beef. Yun Luohe had eaten it once before and really liked it. She didn’t have any beef on hand, but squid would probably work too—or even raw fish.
Mint was an excellent herb.
Even just boiling it into mint water would be nice.
She went crazy harvesting water mint—within a few minutes she’d cleared half a small patch, to the point that there wasn’t a single water mint plant left in sight.
She turned back to check on Ròubāo’s battle zone.
It was… intense.
Ròubāo was leaping around wildly, swinging its claws—one swipe was all it took to kill a frog.
Yun Luohe felt like even the frog calls had gotten quieter.
Ròubāo’s desire for food trumped everything. It was probably dreaming of delicious frog meat once they got back—no wonder it was working so hard.
——
The plants around the marsh had just about been picked clean, and it was getting close to lunchtime.
Yun Luohe called Ròubāo back, telling it to stop catching frogs.
“Meow? That’s enough already?”
Yun Luohe walked over and saw the chaotic mess on the ground. The bag she’d given Ròubāo to collect frogs in was already stuffed full, with frogs spilling out around it.
She grabbed the bag and tossed it straight into her backpack.
As for the ones that had fallen to the ground—couldn’t waste them. They were already dead, after all.
“Let’s go.”
Yun Luohe planned to find a clean place to sit and eat something. She was getting hungry—most of her stamina had been used up, and she needed to recharge.
She’d brought quite a bit of food with her today. There were still two [Garlic Crayfish] left, which she planned to split with Ròubāo.
But it was hard to find a decent place to sit in the swamp, so she decided to leave this zone and go somewhere drier to eat. Afterwards, she could explore further.
Just as the two of them reached the muddy edge of the marsh, Yun Luohe hesitated—should she gather some CLAY while she was already here?
She’d already used up all her CLAY for upgrades and had even borrowed a bunch from Mu Zitang. Since they were passing by anyway, she might as well grab some.
At first, she’d only planned to dig a little and leave. But the more she dug, the more she realized—this patch had a lot of CLAY. And once she started, she couldn’t stop.
So much!
She could dig six or seven pieces a minute. At that rate, she could gather hundreds in no time.
Her stamina was down to the last few points. She used her [Cloud Shovel].
“Alright, that’s it. I really can’t dig anymore.”
Time to wash up and eat.
She had barely taken two steps when she spotted a gatherable plant growing in the humus at the muddy edge.
It looked a little wilted, but tiny white flowers were blooming from it.
Yun Luohe hadn’t seen this plant before. She picked one and realized—it was Houttuynia cordata.
When she snapped the stem, the fishy scent hit her nose immediately.
[Houttuynia: Edible and medicinal. For food use, tender stems can be eaten cold; blanching reduces fishy odor and stimulates appetite and digestion. For medicine, it can be boiled into decoctions or used raw as a poultice to reduce inflammation and relieve itching.]
She’d heard that lots of people loved to eat Houttuynia, while others couldn’t stand it. She’d never tried it herself—but to find it here was unexpected.
Even if she didn’t love the taste, it was still useful as medicine. Something this valuable—of course she had to collect more and bring it back.
Yun Luohe was already running on empty, so she called Ròubāo over to help. Together, they cleaned out all the Houttuynia in the area.
In the end, she had 67 Houttuynia stored in her backpack before she was satisfied and ready to leave.
According to the intel, there was a sandy slope on the outskirts of Marsh Island. Yun Luohe planned to find a clean resting spot over there.
The walk wasn’t far—after about five minutes, they saw the slope.
A few ordinary trees dotted the area. Yun Luohe pulled out two [Grass Mats] from her Crocodile-Skin Backpack, one for herself and one for Ròubāo. She washed her hands and wiped her face.
Ròubāo was already pawing eagerly at the food. It was covered in mud and blood—she couldn’t bear to look. She gave it a quick wipe-down. Still dirty, but at least not horrifying anymore.
“Alright, time to eat.”
Yun Luohe handed it the food.
Ròubāo instantly wolfed it down.
She was starving too and began eating alongside it.
Just as they were eating, the sound of footsteps suddenly came from behind.
Yun Luohe’s expression changed. She stood up instantly, alert.
A girl was walking down the slope.
She was short and slim, with delicate features and large, expressive eyes. When she saw Yun Luohe and Ròubāo, she froze in surprise, took a step back, then hesitated before stepping forward again.
“H-Hi, are you a player too?”
This was Yang Mei’s first time setting foot on the island—her first time ever encountering a stranger in-game.
She’d chosen Frog Call Island herself. Her older brother Yang Mian had shown her all the intel on the eight Resource Islands, and she’d picked this one.
Because there was a hot spring here. She had just acquired a blueprint that required sulfur, so she came to look for it.
She’d just come down from the Hot Spring Zone, her bag already full of sulfur. Her objective was complete—she was just planning to explore a bit more when she bumped into Yun Luohe.
Yun Luohe guessed she was quite young and responded with a smile, “Yeah, I’m a player. Are you here alone?”
Yang Mei hesitated. She remembered her brother’s warning: Be cautious of strangers. Don’t trust others easily.
But even if she said she wasn’t alone, who’d believe her right now?
Seeing her nervous expression, Yun Luohe caught on and changed the subject. “You came from the Hot Spring Zone?”
Yang Mei nodded. “Mm.”
“I’ll head over there later too. If you want to go to the Marshlands, just keep walking straight and you’ll find them.”
Yang Mei felt a little more at ease. Yun Luohe didn’t seem hostile at all—on the contrary, she was very kind.
She had been worried someone might try to steal her things. Her brother had given her a lot of useful gear before she °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° set out, but she wasn’t much of a fighter. If she ran into a strong player, she’d be in trouble.
But Yun Luohe was clearly on another level—confident, capable, and radiating presence. Not to mention that cool-looking leopard cat by her side… she was exactly the kind of person Yang Mei admired.
After hesitating again, she couldn’t help but say, “Big Sis, there’s toxic gas in the Hot Spring Zone. If you’re heading over, make sure to wear a gas mask.”
Yun Luohe paused for a second. “Thanks for the warning.”
She had brought a [Gas Mask] with her, and she already knew she’d need it for the Hot Spring Zone. But still—this kind little reminder made her feel oddly grateful.
Yang Mei shook her head and quickly ran off.
She was pretty fast. Yun Luohe had been planning to ask if she wanted some food.
——
As soon as she entered the Hot Spring Zone, the air reeked of sulfur—even with the [Gas Mask] on, she could still smell it faintly.
Still, there were plenty of resources here. The hot spring water contained lots of sulfur crystals.
Those yellow deposits were excellent for repelling insects. Insect repellent made from them was super effective. On many islands, venomous insects and scorpions were a nightmare to deal with—but with insect repellent, they could be handled.
Yun Luohe had made a note the moment she arrived on the island: she had to bring back as much as possible.
She still hadn’t gotten over being chased by poisonous bugs on Marsh Island last time.