Chapter 12: Selection Successful, Under Construction

The clay stove could only produce a limited flame, but since there was no shortage of stones nearby, Bai Yu and Bai Xi gathered some and built a makeshift hearth. Once the fire was lit, they placed the casserole pot on top to simmer.

The coastal area lacked dense vegetation, so even if sparks happened to fly, they didn’t have to worry about starting an uncontrollable wildfire. Cooking this way was much more convenient than using a standard clay stove.

The three of them each pulled up a stone and sat around the hearth, swallowing hard as they watched the white porridge bubbling inside the casserole pot.

Although they hadn’t lacked firewood lately, things had been inconvenient. On the few occasions they had cooked in the Dimensional Forest, they couldn’t stay there to watch the pot. They could only wait until they thought it was ready before bringing it back to the boat.

Experiencing the sight of the porridge cooking right before them and smelling the thick aroma of rice was a rare treat.

Once the porridge was fully cooked, Bai Yu served a bowl to each of her two younger sisters before pouring one for herself. The three sat together, eating slowly, mouthful by mouthful.

It was a rare luxury to sit steadily on land and eat without worrying about sudden accidents at sea. They cherished the moment deeply.

After finishing the porridge, the sky gradually darkened.

With no moon or stars, the distant forest looked as if it concealed giant beasts when viewed with the naked eye.

Bai Miao pressed closer to Bai Yu, burying her head in her sister’s arms.

“Let’s go back to the boat,” Bai Yu said, holding her tight. She reached out to pull at Bai Xi, who also looked tense. “The shore isn’t safe at night. It’s better to be on the boat.”

“Mhm, I’ll… pack things up.” Bai Xi’s voice trembled slightly. she quickly gathered the casserole pot, bowls, and spoons, following closely behind Bai Yu.

Bai Yu carried Bai Miao and walked briskly toward the boat’s location.

After setting Bai Miao down on board, she turned back to lift Bai Xi up as well before climbing up herself.

Leaving the casserole pot and utensils on the deck, the three quickly retreated into the cabin.

Although the cabin was pitch black, it was a familiar environment. With the three sisters together, the fear they felt on shore finally began to dissipate.

“The cabin really is bigger than before,” Bai Yu remarked, gesturing with her hands. “I don’t know how that Upgrade Card actually works, but it brought such a huge change. It’s like we swapped for a new boat.”

“But if you think about it, we can even travel to the Dimensional Forest, so upgrading a boat doesn’t seem like such a big deal in comparison,” Bai Xi said, pulling Bai Miao into her lap. “I wonder how Sister He and the others are doing.”

“They’ll be fine. They’re more capable than us. If we could find an island, they’ll surely find one even faster,” Bai Yu said. After confirming the extent of the cabin’s changes, she lay down and turned on her side. “We can’t stay in the Dimensional Forest for long, so we have to find a way to bring more firewood over from there.”

“Mhm,” Bai Xi nodded, then suddenly looked outside the cabin. “It’s raining.”

Bai Yu sat up and pulled back the boat curtain, reaching her hand out. She felt raindrops splashing against her palm. “It really is raining. Xiao Xi…”

Bai Xi had already sat up. She quickly pulled out some tattered waterproof cloth from a bag hanging in the cabin and grabbed several wooden baffles from underneath.

The two performed these tasks with practiced ease before lying back down together.

“It’s a good thing it started raining now.”

“Yeah. If it had rained while we were still at sea, it would have been hard to handle.”

“It’s my first time sleeping in the cabin without the boat rocking. It feels a bit strange.”

“You’ll get used to it slowly. Go to sleep.”

The three had lived on the water since they were children, and there were very few days in a year when they slept on land. Even when they could dock at a shore, they still slept inside the cabin.

After all, they had no home on land.

As for inns and the like, they cost money. It was better to just keep sleeping in the boat.

Because of this, now that the boat was stationary on the beach, they actually found it difficult to fall asleep.

All three tossed and turned for a long time, only drifting into a hazy sleep late into the night.

The next morning, Bai Xi woke up abruptly. Feeling the boat swaying, she scrambled up and pulled back the curtain to look outside. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the boat was still tied to the island.

“It looks like it rained all night.”

“Should we pull the boat further up?”

“This position is fine. Otherwise, if we need to set sail one day, it’ll be too hard to push,” Bai Yu said, looking at the large tree where the rope was tied. “It’s a good thing we wrapped it around several times yesterday, or we might have been washed away by now.”

“Yeah, thank goodness,” Bai Xi said, looking at the water around the boat. “It’s not raining now. Once the tide recedes, we’ll have to go re-tie it.”

“I’ll go check it out now. The water isn’t deep.” Bai Yu walked to the bow. Seeing that the water below wasn’t deep, she jumped straight down and waded toward the shore.

Bai Xi watched Bai Yu walk up until she confirmed her sister had reached dry land before she finally relaxed.

Even though they had lived on the water their whole lives and were good swimmers, rivers were different from the ocean. No matter how good a swimmer you were, if you encountered the dangers of the sea, you would likely be helpless.

“Second Sister-“

“Miao Miao is awake,” Bai Xi said, turning around to pick up Bai Miao. “Why are you up so early today?”

Bai Miao rubbed her eyes. “Going to pick up firewood. Want to go together.”

Because using the Transit Pass required Bai Miao to be present, they couldn’t go to the Dimensional Forest to gather wood if she wasn’t awake. That was why she wanted to wake up early.

Bai Xi raised her hand, cradling the back of the girl’s head as she held her close. “We’re not going yet. Miao Miao can sleep a bit longer.”

“Mhm.” Bai Miao leaned against her shoulder, closed her eyes, and fell back into a deep sleep.

The water on the shore gradually receded.

Bai Yu returned to the boat to talk. “I took a look around just now. There are no signs of anyone living nearby, and not much animal droppings either. We can stay here for the time being. However, if we’re going to move firewood from the Forest Plane, we need to build a woodshed here first. Otherwise, if it rains, all the wood will get soaked.”

“So we build the woodshed first?” Bai Xi asked.

“Mhm. Fortunately, there are plenty of trees in the Dimensional Forest, so building a simple woodshed won’t be a problem,” Bai Yu said, reaching out. “Give Miao Miao to me and let her sleep up here. We need to clear the spot for the woodshed first.”

Bai Xi carefully knelt down and handed Bai Miao over to Bai Yu to hold.

She then took the clay stove, bowls, and chopsticks, along with some food, and jumped off the boat to head upward.

Above them was a small cliff with a significant height difference from the beach below. Judging by the condition of the rocks up there, it was clear that even if the water level rose, it generally would not reach such a height.

While the porridge was cooking, the two of them had already cleared a patch of open ground where they could build a wood shed. These stones would not go to waste either; once the wood shed was built, they could be placed around the perimeter to block water and prevent rain from leaking inside.

As the fragrance of the porridge wafted through the air, Bai Miao, who had taken another nap, opened her eyes.

After washing up and relieving herself, Bai Yu held her as they sat by the stove to eat breakfast together.

Once breakfast was finished, the three of them went into the Dimensional Forest together and began the busy task of gathering firewood.

This time, their priority was building the wood shed, so they focused on gathering thick, straight tree trunks and vines that could serve as rope.

Bai Miao bustled about with them, but she was truly too small. She could only help carry short branches and lighter vines. Even so, if she held just a little too much, the bundle would rise above her head.

Bai Yu set down the large trunk in her hands, took the vines and branches from the girl, and used the clean back of her hand to wipe the sweat from the child’s forehead. “Is Miao Miao tired?”

“Not tired,” Bai Miao panted, shaking her head and clenching her fists. “Not tired.”

Bai Xi sat nearby, also panting. “Second Sister is tired. Miao Miao, come save me.”

Bai Miao turned around and ran over to massage her shoulders.

“Don’t tease her,” Bai Yu said as she sat down as well, pulling Bai Miao into her arms. She said softly, “If you’re tired, you’re tired. There’s no need to say you aren’t. You’ve worked very hard too.”

Bai Miao leaned against her and slid down. “Miao Miao is tired.”

Bai Yu let out a laugh. She took the girl’s arm and moved a rock over for her to sit on. She kept her arm around her as she looked up at the vast, seemingly endless ocean.

Bai Xi gazed at the ocean as well.

After catching her breath, Bai Xi turned and grabbed Bai Miao’s wrist. “Miao Miao, do a Check-in.”

Bai Miao looked back.

“Go ahead and Check-in. We’re short on everything, so there’s no need to save them up,” Bai Yu said, rubbing her head. “Even if you get food, we’ll be able to eat it all.”

Bai Miao picked up the Shell.

“Do you wish to Check-in?”

“Check-in.”

“Check-in successful. Check-in successful. Obtained [Construction Card] x1.”

“Construction Card.” Bai Miao held the card up.

“Another new card. How do we use this?”

“Miao Miao, try it out.”

Bai Miao gave an affirmative chirp, lowered her hand, and placed the card in front of her. She began poking at the parts that looked interactive.

“Do you wish to use the Construction Card?”

“Use.”

“Please select the building to construct: _____”

“Huh?” Bai Miao looked at the protrusions appearing on the card in surprise. “Eldest Sister, Second Sister, please select…”

“Are these words?”

“We don’t recognize them either.”

Bai Yu and Bai Xi looked closely at the characters on the card. Both were completely bewildered; after all, they had never been taught to read.

“Miao Miao, didn’t that scholar Sister He rescued teach you some characters? Do you recognize the words on there?”

Bai Miao lifted her foot and pointed at different toes as she spoke. “Three, five, nine, two…”

Bai Yu frowned. “That scholar didn’t stay long before he went ashore. Miao Miao only learned to recite numbers; she doesn’t actually recognize characters.”

“Let’s just pick one at random then,” Bai Xi suggested. “It’s a free building anyway, so anything is fine.”

“Then we’ll pick at random.” Bai Yu nodded. They had no other choice. She lowered her head and spoke softly to the child. “Miao Miao, just pick one yourself.”

“Okay!” Bai Miao held the card with both hands. She hovered her right thumb over the options for a moment before finally choosing the text in the middle.

“Selection successful: Rain Pavilion¹.”

“Construction in progress.”

As the voice sounded, a thick mist suddenly appeared on the cleared ground where they had intended to build the wood shed. The sounds of hammering and sawing echoed from within the fog.

The three of them didn’t have time to worry about the fact that this spot was meant for the wood shed. They simply sat nearby and watched the mist in silence.

Eventually, the hammering sounds gradually faded.

“Construction successful.”

The mist dissipated.

Translator’s Notes