Survival at Sea: I Became Number One by Growing Mushrooms

Xu Jiawei looked at the three pets, Rainbow, Red Earthworm, and Little Pink. The three seemed to still be in a daze, swaying with their eyes closed in bliss.

Xu Jiawei woke them up, but they seemed unwilling to wake up, opening their eyes reluctantly with a hint of regret in their expressions.

"Master, what was that just now? I felt so comfortable." Rainbow tilted her head and asked, seemingly wanting to do it again, feeling warm and cozy.

"I don't know how I did it, but my talent just broke through." Xu Jiawei said, looking at the red earthworm that had opened the box and was full of anticipation.

The red earthworm opened the box, took the ice crystal stone into the vine, and then wilted in disappointment. There was still some faint blackness on the ice crystal stone, and the degree of purification was negligible.

But the red earthworm was really tempted, so it secretly put the ice crystal in its mouth and licked it, then showed an expression of blissful ecstasy.

Reluctantly placing the ice crystal into the box, the red earthworm conveyed a message through its mind: When will the purification be complete?

Xu Jiawei's lips twitched, and she said, "Even in our state just now, the ice crystal stone hardly changed. It should take a long time to purify afterward."

What Xu Jiawei didn't say was that, conservatively speaking, it would take about two months.

But she will become stronger in the future, so it should take less time than expected.

It's gotten a bit stronger now and can purify ice crystals. With its previous purification ability, even after three months of purification, the ice crystals wouldn't have changed much. Now at least there's hope.

The red earthworm was extremely disappointed, but it dared not swallow it directly. To be turned into a demonic creature on the spot would be the least of its worries; it might even corrode into black liquid.

After calming the red earthworms down, Xu Jiawei put them into her pet backpack and prepared to set off. Her primary goal now was to find the source of the pollution.

She had experienced a minor hiccup that caused some setbacks in her actions, but now she was ready to proceed with the main quest.

[Ding! Congratulations to player... You have successfully purified a high-level source of pollution. Well done!]

......

The three broadcasts surprised Xu Jiawei. She hadn't expected that while she was going through a lot, Brother San Dian had already purified a source of pollution. And it was a high-level one at that. As expected of someone who had once shared her fate and had such low luck, he was a high-level person right away.

The chat group should be active again, right? As soon as Xu Jiawei opened the chat channel, a bunch of messages popped up. She slapped her forehead and realized, oh no, she forgot to reply to the messages.

I've been so busy escaping these past few days that I haven't even opened the chat channel.

Several of Li Ming's messages were asking how she was doing, and even the usually taciturn Si Yunming sent more than a dozen messages. There were even more messages in the chat group.

Xu Jiawei opened the guild chat group and sent a message to prove that she was alright.

[AAA Mushroom Fairy: Congratulations, Three O'Clock Bro! I didn't expect you to be so quick this time!]

【...Are you alright? Did you encounter any difficulties? If there are any problems, I'll have the system teleport me to your location.】

[AAA Mushroom Fairy: I'm fine now. I got tricked a few days ago and fell into a trap, but I'm out now.]

[The Lucky One is here: Sis, you scared me to death! I tried to send you a message the other day, but it wouldn't send. We were so worried!]

Li Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief when the message was finally sent last night.

[Chicheng: Yeah, Xiao Xu, after you asked Li Ming for a flashlight a couple of days ago, you couldn't send messages anymore, it worried us to death.]

Xu Jiawei thought to herself that at that time, even the communication system was blocked, so it was impossible to send messages. It was better not to tell them about this and make them worry.

[AAA Mushroom Fairy: I'm fine now. That space was a bit special, but I'm out now.]

[Ding! Your friend Rain Falling has gifted you 1 protective item. Please check your account.]

Xu Jiawei had just replied to the message when she received an item from Bai Yu: a one-time use shield that could withstand 1000 points of damage, but could only be used once.

[Rain Falling: Jiawei, this is a prop I just made. Use it for now. Even though you didn't say anything, we knew how dangerous it would be, but we were also very worried about you. With this shield, I feel a little more at ease.]

Xu Jiawei's eyes welled up with tears, so she immediately put on the props.

[AAA Mushroom Fairy: Okay, then I'll accept it without hesitation.]

[AAA Mushroom Fairy: Don't worry about me, my talent has been upgraded, and I'm no longer afraid of this pollution. You all take care of yourselves.]

【...: Are you sure you don't need me to come over?】

[AAA Mushroom Fairy: No need, I can handle this quickly. But could you tell me what the source of the pollution is?]

Si Yunming ignored the system warning. He resolved the pollution so quickly because he wanted to help Xu Jiawei. However, the system kept reminding player AAA that the pollution level of the map where the Mushroom Fairy was located was too high, and the system did not recommend that the player go there.

Five pop-up windows appeared in a row, and a new one appeared every time I opened it. It seemed like they were at odds with him and didn't want him to go.

After seeing Xu Jiawei's message, he had no choice but to give up.

[...It's a spring, but it's black. You can destroy it directly; the system will provide special tools to purify it, but purification will take a long time, and you'll face attacks not only from priests but also from demonic creatures.]

[Akagi: That sounds difficult, so you'll have to find someone to collaborate with, right?]

[Rain Falling: But the reward is only for the first place winner, and finding someone to collaborate with isn't easy.]

[...: The reward is only available to the top contributor; once you reach number one on the contribution leaderboard, damage output becomes less important.]

[The lucky one is here: Then we can give it a try.]

After all, there are many things with stronger attack power than them, but if it's about contribution, with their strange and unusual items, it's possible for them to reach the top of the contribution ranking.

[AAA Mushroom Fairy: Brother Zhang, how's it going on your end?]

Xu Jiawei thought that Zhang Yunting was, after all, an official, and might have to make some sacrifices, such as giving up the top spot on the leaderboard to someone else.

[Akagi: It's alright. The areas where the official personnel are located are all scattered right now. It's just that I haven't encountered any official personnel on my island, so I'll most likely be fighting alone from now on.]

[Chicheng: Our leader sent a message saying that we are now free to act as we see fit, without being overly modest, and without attacking our comrades.]

That's good. Xu Jiawei was relieved. As long as Zhang Yunting was lucky, he could easily become number one on the leaderboard.

After closing the chat, the subsequent conversations became trivial, and Xu Jiawei lost interest in them; finding the source of the pollution was more important.

Si Yunming also closed the chat channel. He looked up at the void and said, "System, can you transport me to her next island?"

If he can't teleport to this island, can't he still book the next one? He's been out of contact for almost two days, which has worried him terribly. He even recklessly entered the pollution source and was seriously injured. He only survived thanks to his special healing ability, so it's better to stay on the same island next time.

It doesn't matter if he doesn't get the reward, since he's unlucky and won't get anything anyway.