For some reason—whether it was the effect of the ocean current or the supplies around the raft refreshing over time—when He Ni woke up, all the items drifting within a 10-meter radius of the raft had changed.
After carefully inspecting them multiple times, He Ni finally confirmed that the object ahead was a coconut.
Besides this one, there was another drifting about seven or eight meters to the southwest.
Thinking of the pure, sweet coconut water, she couldn’t help but swallow hard, suddenly feeling a surge of energy throughout her body.
If she could retrieve these two coconuts, her dire water shortage would be solved.
She could not only drink her fill but also eat the coconut meat, replenishing both hydration and sugar.
With that thought, she squinted and crouched slightly, her eyes fixed tightly on the coconut.
The distance was a bit far, but still within her comfortable throwing range.
The problem was that the round coconuts rolled easily in the seawater, making it very difficult to catch them with the Hook Claw.
If only she could get a bit closer.
She had already tried using a piece of wood as a paddle when she first collected it, but it had no effect.
The force generated by pushing water with the wood was far too weak to counter the ocean currents moving the raft.
Or if she could swim over to them, that would be great—but after a day of testing, the players had confirmed that once entering the water, strange pulls would grab at them, presumably from the so-called “Monsters.”
In the middle of it all, only two choices lay before her: wait to see if the coconuts drifted closer, or exhaust herself trying to catch them.
He Ni decisively chose the second option.
She was just too thirsty to wait a moment longer.
Besides, no one knew how waiting would end—maybe the coconuts would drift away or be replaced by something else.
He Ni pulled out the tangled Fishing Net.
It was knotted like a mess of threads, and she had to use the Hook Claw to cut several critical knots before she could spread it out to about one square meter.
Even these seemingly useless scraps came in handy.
She took out a shampoo bottle, a High-top Shoe (Right Foot), and an Alarm Clock from her bucket and tied each to the four corners of the Fishing Net with the Hook Claw.
Then she adjusted the net and cast it toward a plastic hanger floating about three meters away.
The net spread flat on the water’s surface, with the tied objects at the corners weighing it down, dragging the net under just enough to catch the plastic hanger.
The hanger was light, but it sank along with the net.
He Ni slowly pulled the rope back.
The hanger didn’t escape the net’s grip—this experiment was a success.
[Acquired Plastic Hanger x1]
[Hmm…let me check again. Extra acquired Plastic Hanger x1]
Seeing that this method worked, He Ni’s spirits lifted immediately.
She tidied the improved “Hook Claw Net” and threw it toward the closer coconut.
When the distance stretched out, it was harder to control the throw.
The objects at the net’s corners didn’t spread properly and fell straight into the water with a splash.
She didn’t get discouraged. Pulling the net back, she learned from the failure and adjusted the net’s angle before throwing again.
After many trials and close calls, though slightly skewed, one corner of the net luckily landed on the coconut.
He Ni’s face brightened with joy as she tightened her grip and slowly pulled the rope until the coconut came close enough for her to scoop it up excitedly.
[Acquired Coconut x1]
[Hmm…let me check again. Extra acquired Coconut x1]
A critical hit of fortune—she got two large coconuts at once!
Both coconuts were identical in size and shape, practically copy-pasted, and heavy in her hands—probably two to three kilograms each, noticeably larger than coconuts in real life.
A faint woody coconut fragrance wafted up, making every cell in He Ni’s body cry out in delight.
She couldn’t wait to crack one open and drink deeply.
But strike while the iron was hot.
Since her throws were going well and luck was on her side, she needed to grab the other coconut first.
If she delayed, the other coconut might disappear or drift too far.
After tidying the net, He Ni’s gaze burned fiercely on the remaining coconut.
This one looked bigger but was also farther away.
With the ocean breeze gently stirring the water, causing slight ripples, the coconut, lighter than the raft, was pushed even farther by the wind and current.
The difficulty of getting this coconut had increased a lot.
Taking a deep breath and carefully gauging the distance a few times, He Ni solemnly cast the net with the Hook Claw.
Unfortunately, the net failed to spread properly again.
The largest object—the High-top Shoe—fell first with a “thud” right onto the coconut, missing the catch and pushing the coconut three meters further away.
Her heart ached as she pulled the net back cautiously, careful not to tug too hard lest the swirling seawater push the coconut beyond the 10-meter range.
This time, she threw the net a bit farther on purpose.
Bad news: still no catch.
Good news: because she overthrew, the Alarm Clock hit the coconut and pushed it closer to the raft.
This was a good sign; He Ni’s confidence surged.
She pushed through and tried two more times, finally securing the stubborn coconut.
[Acquired Coconut x1]
Though no critical hit occurred this time, He Ni was very satisfied with three large coconuts from six throws.
With 112 stamina left, she looked around and collected two Coconut Leaves, one Root, one Wood, and one Plastic Bag, even scoring critical hits on a Coconut Leaf and a Plastic Bag.
She planned to spend her remaining stamina on the Newbie Fishing Rod, but for now, the priority was to satisfy her urgent needs.
Eagerly sitting on the raft, He Ni took out one coconut.
Without any tools, she removed the Hook Claw from the Fishing Net and used its iron claw to chip at the coconut shell.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
One hit, two hits, three hits…
Her current strength was 4, much stronger than before entering the game.
On the fifth heavy strike, a clear “crack” rang out.
The hard coconut shell split along the edge, revealing the snowy white fibers inside.
A fresh, unique plant fragrance spread through the air.
He Ni’s hands trembled as she carefully used the Hook Claw’s tip to hook along the crack vertically, pulling until she created an irregular cross-shaped opening.
She then pried the coconut fibers apart with her fingers.
The coconut scent grew richer, and the white coconut meat appeared.
Her gaze was probably fierce—like a wolf starving for days spotting a little rabbit—as she eagerly cleaned the opening and lifted the coconut to her lips, drinking deeply.
Soaked in seawater for a long time, the coconut water was slightly cooler than room temperature.
The refreshing, sweet juice flowed down her throat, soothing the oppressive heat, thick humidity, and unrelenting thirst bit by bit.
He Ni had never tasted coconut water this delicious in her life and almost wished she could swallow the entire coconut.
Gulp gulp gulp…
Halfway through, nearly out of breath, she reluctantly put the coconut down.
Her throat was no longer dry as if smoking, and the burning hunger in her stomach had eased; He Ni felt truly alive again.
Shaking the half-empty shell, she noticed there was still about half the juice left.
Not wanting to waste it, she carefully poured it into a cleaned Ton-ton Cup—about 130 milliliters remained.
After ensuring not a single drop remained, she took the Hook Claw, wedged it in the shell’s crack, and pried hard to fully separate the coconut into thick, white pieces exuding strong coconut fragrance.
He Ni reached out, carefully peeling a piece of coconut meat and putting it in her mouth.
The mature coconut meat was harder than she expected.
Unlike the sweet freshness of the water, the meat was richer and oilier, carrying the unique fragrance of plant oils.
The moment her teeth bit down, there was a strange, satisfying resilience and crunch.
The rich aroma of coconut milk exploded in her mouth.
He Ni almost felt like crying.
She finally understood why drinks flavored with fresh coconut were so popular.
The unique fragrance of plant oils combined with natural sweetness was intoxicating.
Ignoring everything else, He Ni buried herself in eating.
This was the most satisfying meal she’d had since entering the game!
After finishing half the coconut meat, her personal status page showed that all negative effects disappeared and were replaced by [Satisfaction].
[Satisfaction: You are in good condition, and the surrounding environment is suitable; you feel very satisfied.]
While in the [Satisfaction] state, her health, spirit, and stamina all increased by 1 point per minute.
However, the status would disappear after 10 minutes.
As the sun rose and temperatures increased, a [Mild Heatstroke Risk] appeared on her.
Holding the empty half coconut shell, He Ni couldn’t help but marvel that coconuts were truly a survival tool for the ocean.
If she could collect three or four coconuts every day, surviving here wouldn’t be a problem.
She squeezed the hard coconut shell, reluctant to throw it away, and stowed it in her backpack.
The shell was sturdy and heat-resistant.
She’d read in wilderness survival novels that coconut shells were often used as makeshift pots.
When she got fire, she could try that too.
As for the untouched half of the coconut meat, He Ni licked her lips, suppressing the urge to eat it all.
She needed to use that coconut meat to trade for useful supplies.
After browsing the Trading Platform, He Ni specifically searched to see if anyone was selling coconuts.
There were, but very few—only two players had coconuts listed for sale, both whole and at unaffordable prices:
[Coconut Price: Any Blueprint x1]
[Coconut Price: Antibiotics x1]
Blueprint?
She was a little surprised—did the game have Blueprints already?
It had only been one day, and some players had obtained Blueprints?
She wondered what kinds of Blueprints existed in the game.
Putting aside that curiosity for now, she’d learned quite a bit about the food market over the past day.
Though many players sold seafood, raw meat tasted bad and could cause problems.
Grilled meat was dry and tough, making you thirsty.
Sweet and juicy coconut meat definitely outshone seafood.
With that in mind, He Ni picked up a fresh Coconut Leaf she had just collected, tore off a strip, and tore it into square pieces.
Without tools, she washed her hands with seawater and divided the remaining coconut meat into five portions.
The white coconut meat looked like carefully crafted coconut milk pudding on the vibrant green leaf.
Uploading goods to the trading hall was simple—just touch and select [Sell] from the pop-up menu.
Following the newbie guide, He Ni priced and uploaded the five portions of coconut meat.
She still had two coconuts in her backpack.
She intended to trade them for fire-starting materials or weapons, expecting similar prices.
Thinking this, she switched to the World Channel.
Just as she was about to advertise her goods, she noticed the [Stranger] section blinking with unread messages.
Someone messaged her as soon as she listed the coconut meat?
Opening the chat, sure enough:
[Sweet Donut: Hello! I saw you’re selling coconut meat. I don’t have flint, weapons, or resin for your prices, but I do have soil—arable soil. Would you trade coconut meat for soil?]
Soil?
He Ni glanced at the foam box in her plastic bucket and felt a flicker of hope.
If she could get seeds somehow, soil would be essential too.