socalfunplaces Chapter 5 Boxing Mantis Shrimp
Chapter 5 Boxing Mantis Shrimp
The thought of the crisis that awaited them that night...
Without further delay, Yu Wang quickly consumed 20 units of stone to create two stone braziers. He filled them with wood and lit them with a waterproof lighter with a "click".
Orange flames rose, bringing warmth and light.
Two stone braziers were placed, one on the top of the cockpit by Yu Wang, and the other on the duck tail at the back.
This will prevent monsters from secretly hiding on the top of the ship and waiting for an opportunity to attack.
Unlike miscellaneous items, once a creation is successfully placed, it's as if it's grown onto the hull, and it won't move no matter how the hull rocks.
Next, Yu Wang deftly used a dagger to drain the urine from the giant lobster, cut off about a pound of lobster meat, and placed it on the edge of the fire pit at the stern of the boat, letting the flames lick it and slowly roast it to release an enticing aroma.
He calculated that one unit of wood could only burn for two hours, and to survive the eleven-hour night, he would need to store at least six units of wood.
Two stone braziers would consume 12 units per night.
He currently has 39 units of wood, far from enough for an upgrade, but more than enough to get through the night.
Only at dusk can humans truly feel how quickly time passes. The gradually darkening sky, combined with the vast sea, ignites the fear within the survivors.
At this moment, the chat channel of partition 444 was flooded with messages asking for fire seeds and weapons:
He pointed the gun at me: "Does anyone have a lighter? I need a spark! I'll trade 800ml of fresh water for it!"
Survival is victory: "A single match is now worth 2 liters, and lighters are only sold with practical blueprints. 800ml? That's less than two bottles of mineral water! Who are you trying to fool? Those who laughed at me during the day! Now I have a turtle group protecting me, so it doesn't matter whether I have a fire or not, hahaha!"
Chicken Lulu's Uba: "Don't forget, the sea turtle can leave you too! Without fire, you won't even know your ship is leaking air!"
Faced with provocation, the response was simply to "survive" and "win," consisting of only one image.
The photo, taken from a bird's-eye view, shows a middle-aged man sitting on a green inflatable turtle, a common sight in children's swimming pools, holding a lit cigarette, silently watching the sunset.
Behind him was a line of sea turtles, each with a shell about two square meters in size, being led by ropes. Each turtle's back was piled with materials such as wood and fiber, making it look like a slowly moving "turtle train" from a distance.
Survival is victory: "If I didn't have a lighter, how did I light this cigarette?"
The chat channel went silent instantly.
Indeed, the most deadly form of showing off is the subtle kind.
Taking advantage of the fact that the news wasn't updating quickly enough, some opportunists made their move.
Let the world be filled with love: "Any kind brothers want to lend me a light? I can trade my used perfume for it! Any part of my body is fine!"
Forget it, let's just destroy it: "Damn it! It's you again, you freeloader! Addicted to begging, huh? Original flavor! Original flavor my ass!"
Let the world be filled with love: "Why would you insult someone when they're perfectly fine? I just think we should all help each other."
Forget it, let's just destroy you: "Did you get that pregnancy-preserving injection in your head? You're spouting idiotic nonsense! I have to get a rabies shot before even talking to you! I just don't like you!!"
Having the courage to offer words of comfort: "How much gunpowder did you eat? Why are you so aggressive! We're about to face the unknown after dark, it's understandable that you're a little tense, but aren't you going too far?"
"Forget it, let's just destroy it: 'Can't you speak human language? I don't understand!'"
……
As the day drew to a close, many people stopped nervously saving their chat slots, and the chat channel became as bustling as a market.
Those complaining, venting, searching for relatives, and those who have played survival games and know that the night is often accompanied by unknown monsters and dangers are frantically seeking to buy fire.
444 districts, 100,000 people.
It's possible that less than 20,000 people brought lighters into the game.
Human nature is ultimately to seek advantage and avoid harm.
Unless one is on the verge of dying of thirst, starvation, or critical illness, very few people are willing to give up their only source of fire; even if a transaction is made, it will only involve giving up any surplus reserves.
Therefore, the actual lighters circulating in the market are far scarcer than imagined.
The ever-increasing price has made holders even more reluctant to sell, with everyone holding onto their shares and waiting for the price to rise even higher.
Yu Wang didn't miss this opportunity presented by surging market demand. He took out the six "mantis boxing shrimp" he had previously collected from the seabed and carefully processed them.
This shrimp is three times larger than its close relatives on Earth! Its carapace has a metallic blue-purple sheen.
The claws are shaped like heavy hammers with a precise structure. In the instant of rapid closing, they can not only shatter the carapace, but the high temperature sparks generated by the friction are even enough to ignite dry fibers!
Easy to control and simple to raise, it is the perfect alternative to a lighter!
Unfortunately, he only found six during the day.
Yu Wang shook his head regretfully and divided them into three portions for sale.
A transaction that only accepts blueprints
Only 100 units of wood are accepted.
Only 100 units of plastic are accepted per order.
Having clearly defined his purpose for the materials, he clearly marked the items he wanted to exchange, refusing to haggle, to avoid the chaos caused by hundreds more people messaging him privately. Having always been a buyer seeking goods in his previous life, suddenly becoming a seller felt a little strange.
Upgrading the Little Yellow Duck requires 300 units of plastic, 200 units of wood, and 10 units of glass.
We've now collected all the glass, 112 plastic, and 27 wood (minus the cost of burning wood overnight).
If all the mantis shrimp that need to be exchanged for basic resources are sold, then we can raise enough to upgrade the Little Yellow Duck!
Everyone needs to have dreams. What if you can upgrade your ship to level 1 on the very first night of the game and get a server-wide or even server-wide announcement?
Yu Wang recalled that in his previous life, the first announcement of a ship reaching level 1 appeared on the entire server, which seemed to be in the early hours of the second day of the game.
……
You're in for a ton of luck: Selling living lighters! Easy to raise; they'll survive on seawater and fish meat, and can be used multiple times! Order now! No bargaining!
【Name: Boxing Mantis Shrimp】
Weight: 1.1kg
[Purpose: Sparks may be generated when the chelicerae close rapidly. PS: Be careful when starting a fire!]
Survival expert Lao Wang: "A biological lighter??? What was the point of all that effort I put into starting a fire by rubbing sticks together?"
The wind chilled his bottom: "Great! So you can find fire in the sea! We really should teach those arrogant lighter sellers a lesson! They all act like they own the place!"
Once within reach: "Exactly! I was lucky today, I opened two resource boxes and found bottled water in them. I just negotiated with someone to exchange five bottles for a lighter, but then they told me someone else offered more and wanted me to add another 200ml! I'm so angry!"
Silently: "So, does that mean we should go out into the sea more often to try and catch some shrimp ourselves? A lighter won't be the only option then?"
Sister Yu (who sells lighters): "Easy for you to say. What if you get injured during the capture? There's a shortage of medical supplies right now. What's the difference between being injured and waiting to die? Not everyone can get their hands on these shrimp. If you ask me, buying a lighter is the safest bet!"
The wind chilled his bottom: "That's still better than having to put up with you bunch of middlemen! The big boss set a fair price; he's truly saving lives!"
AAA Timber Specialist: "Holy crap! Only 100 units of timber?! That's so cheap? Brother Yun, you're truly my brother! I have the timber! I really don't have the blueprints! I'll exchange it for another one! Immediately! Right now!"
A cool breeze blows on my bottom: "Change to plastic! Change food to plastic! Ahhh! We only need five more units of plastic to buy it!"
"Survival is victory": "That's interesting. They can use shrimp from the sea as lighters? Next time, let my turtle catch one and see."
……
……
The four mantis shrimps that Yu Wang had listed for trading with basic materials were all cleared out within five minutes.
There's been no movement on the two items that require blueprints for trading.
Yu Wang wasn't disappointed; upgrading the ship was the priority right now. The cramped cabin was so narrow that even sitting down was difficult, let alone sleeping.