Chapter 17: Boat Upgrade; Perhaps We Weren’t Targeted From the Start

“Right, I wonder how the traps over in the forest are doing?!”

“I forgot too,” Bai Yu said, taking Bai Miao’s hand. “Miao Miao, let’s go. To the Forest Plane.”

Bai Miao took the Transit Pass for the Forest Plane out of her bag and led the two of them there.

The Transit Pass always dropped them at the exact location where they had last left. This time, arriving at the Forest Plane, they naturally landed at their previous departure point, not far from the traps.

The moment they landed, all three heard the sound of wings flapping.

“I’ll go.” Bai Yu handed Bai Miao over to Bai Xi and gave a soft “shh.” She stepped forward cautiously toward the trap, looking around with every step to ensure no other animals were watching before she reached the edge.

A hole had appeared in the layer of leaves previously spread over the top. Through this hole, she saw a chicken flapping and struggling inside, and her eyes instantly lit up.

She immediately crouched down and reached in to grab it.

As the wild chicken flapped its wings once more, she snatched it by the upturned wings and hauled it out.

“Eldest Sister!”

“A wild chicken,” Bai Yu said, lifting the bird in her hand and looking down at the state of the trap. “The sharpened wooden stakes were driven in deep, so they can still be used. It’s just that the fish innards on top are all gone. Bring the rest of them over.”

“The nets we set this morning should be able to catch some more fish and shrimp too,” Bai Xi said as she walked over with Bai Miao. “Trading such a small amount of fish innards for such a big chicken is a real bargain.”

Bai Yu was also happy. “We’ll eat chicken later.”

The still-flapping wild chicken looked very fresh. For them, having not eaten chicken for a long time, the harvest of this single bird was considered a feast.

The three of them got busy. After taking the wild chicken back, Bai Yu used the fish-gutting scissors to clean the bird, while Bai Xi began organizing the previously boiled fish innards. Before setting them out, she coated the innards in chicken blood.

The trap setup was the same as before, spreading vines and leaves and then dropping the fish innards on top.

Anyway, they didn’t eat the fish innards themselves. If they could catch wild game, it was for the best; if not, they only lost some useless scraps.

In that time, Bai Yu had already finished cleaning the chicken, but she ran into a problem when deciding how to cook it.

On one hand, their pots weren’t large, and couldn’t fit such a big chicken. On the other hand, while they were experienced in cooking fish, they had virtually no experience with wild chicken and didn’t know how to make it taste good.

After some hesitation, she chose the most basic method: cooking it in pieces.

She used the scissors to cut the chicken apart, dividing it in two to boil in two separate pots. She poured in soy sauce and salt, dipping a chopstick in the water to taste for saltiness as she added them.

The aroma of chicken was distinctly different from that of fish and shrimp.

But it was equally capable of making one’s appetite soar.

While the chicken was simmering, none of them wanted to leave. They sat on the stones beside the small kitchen, their gazes fixed in unison on the fragrant Casserole Pots. As the scent wafted over in waves, they couldn’t help but swallow their saliva again and again.

Finally, one pot of chicken was ready.

Bai Yu took the Casserole Pot off the heat and placed it on a flat stone. When she lifted the lid, an even more intense aroma rushed toward them.

“Let it cool for a bit, it’s hot right now,” Bai Yu said, pressing down on Bai Miao’s hand. “We’re just eating chicken today. I’ll get the other pot going too.”

“I’ll hold Miao Miao, I definitely won’t let her move,” Bai Xi said, pulling Bai Miao into her arms. She spoke the truth: “I’m a bit greedy for it too. This hot bite is going to be delicious.”

Bai Yu’s gaze lingered on the Casserole Pot for a moment, suppressing her own urge to eat before she went to start the second pot of chicken.

By the time the next pot was mostly settled and she sat back down, the steam from the first Casserole Pot had dissipated quite a bit.

Still one bowl per person, she fished the chicken out and put it in the bowls to cool for a moment until it was just right to eat.

Bai Yu took a bite herself and felt it was fine. She picked up Bai Miao’s bowl, took a piece of meat, and blew on it vigorously. Small children were always less tolerant of heat.

Once it had cooled enough, she let Bai Miao eat the chicken with her hands.

“Chicken doesn’t have scales or small pins, but there are bones inside,” Bai Yu said, placing the bowl in front of her and smoothing the hair that the wind had blown across Bai Miao’s face. “You still have to take small bites, okay?”

“I know.” Bai Miao gripped the chicken with both hands, taking a bite and chewing hard.

After tidying her hair, Bai Yu sat down to eat as well.

With one bite, her mouth was full of meat, providing a sense of satisfaction far greater than eating fish.

After that, none of the three spoke, focusing entirely on devouring the chicken. The first pot was finished in no time.

Fortunately, the second pot of chicken was ready by then. After letting it cool for a bit, they started on the second round.

With two pots of chicken in their bellies, all three were stuffed, lying back on the stones and rubbing their stomachs.

Bai Xi said, “It’s so delicious. A different kind of delicious than fish.”

Bai Miao added, “Delicious.”

Bai Yu agreed, “It really is. I’ve heard that those wealthy families have many ways to prepare chicken, adding all sorts of seasonings. I wonder how good that would taste.”

“But we’re on an island, we can’t buy seasonings,” Bai Xi noted.

“Yeah, it’s a pity,” Bai Yu said, then suddenly sat up. “Though there aren’t any on the island, could that place where they speak gibberish have some?”

“Oh right,” Bai Xi remembered too. “Can’t the grass we picked be sold there? We can pick grass to sell and then buy seasonings!”

“The Transit Pass for that plane lasts ten days, which is longer than the Forest Plane,” Bai Yu calculated the time. “The grass we picked in half a day could be exchanged for several of the copper coins they use there. Once we save up more coins, we’ll go look at the market and buy a lot of the things we need all at once.”

“It’s just that we don’t speak their language.” Bai Xi frowned.

Bai Yu picked up the drowsy Bai Miao. “We’ll have Miao Miao teach us.”

Bai Miao was already dozing off. When she was picked up, her head simply lolled forward.

Luckily, Bai Yu held her a bit higher, preventing her head from actually thumping against her shoulder.

Bai Miao let out a soft “Aie¹!” as she suddenly jolted awake.

“I didn’t hit you, it doesn’t hurt,” Bai Yu said, holding her in her arms and looking down at her youngest sister who had just opened her eyes. “Want to sleep some more?”

Bai Miao stared at her with vacant, wide eyes. Once she regained her senses, she didn’t become more alert; instead, she leaned against Bai Yu and closed her eyes again.

“Eldest Sister, you should rest for a bit too.” Bai Xi stood up, clearing away the bowls, chopsticks, and the casserole pot from the rock, keeping herself busy as she moved around.

This island wasn’t small, but their living space was limited to this tiny area. There were only so many things they could do every day. If not for the two planes they could visit, they would have had even less to occupy their time.

Once Bai Xi finished tidying up and had nothing else to do, she went into the cabin to fetch a half-finished garment and continued her sewing.

About two hours passed in this manner.

Having had enough sleep, Bai Miao slowly opened her eyes.

She was lying on a pallet spread over the rock, covered by a small quilt. To her left was her Eldest Sister tidying up vines, and to her right was her Second Sister sewing clothes. Seeing them both there, she covered her mouth and giggled.

“What’s making you so happy?” Bai Yu raised her hand and pulled the quilt down slightly. “Tell Eldest Sister, what are you so glad about?”

“Eldest Sister and Second Sister are both here, so I’m happy.” Bai Miao hugged a corner of the quilt and lifted her legs to prop it up, playing by moving the quilt up and down.

Bai Yu watched her with a smile, making no move to stop her. Once the girl had laughed her fill, Bai Yu said, “Miao Miao, Eldest Sister and Second Sister can’t understand that gibberish from the Grassland Plane. How about you teach us?”

Bai Miao looked bewildered. “Miao Miao doesn’t understand it either.”

“Then just tell us what you do know,” Bai Yu said, picking up a piece of grass from the side. “What is this called?”

Bai Miao thought seriously for a moment, then pointed at the withered grass and said, “Jijipu.”

Bai Yu repeated it: “Jijipu.”

“No, it’s Jijipu.” Although the pronunciation was similar, there was a subtle difference when spoken. Bai Miao repeatedly corrected Bai Yu’s pronunciation until she got it right.

Beside them, Bai Xi was also silently memorizing the pronunciation over and over.

Although they weren’t sure if they could continue going there after the ten-day transit period ended, it was best to learn some of the local language. Otherwise, if they went to the market later, they wouldn’t be able to communicate, which might lead to trouble.

In addition to the grass, the two of them learned other words from Bai Miao, such as the specific pronunciation for the copper coins used in that other plane.

Throughout the afternoon, the two of them learned many words from Bai Miao.

They were preparing for the day they might eventually visit the market in that plane.

The next morning, they still planned to head over to the Grassland Plane, but the first thing they needed to do upon waking was the check-in.

[Check-in successful. Obtained 1 “Ship Deck Upgrade Card”.]

Held in Bai Yu’s arms, Bai Miao took the card in her hand and pressed it against the deck.

“Upgrade.”

[Upgrade in progress…]

Bai Yu watched as the card in Bai Miao’s hand slowly vanished. She carried her a few steps back, standing beside Bai Xi as they watched the effects of the deck upgrade with anticipation.

The core of a basic boat consisted of the hull, the cabin, and the deck. Up until now, this boat had been upgraded three times in total.

In her heart, Bai Yu had some expectations for what the boat would become.

But when the white mist slowly dissipated and she saw the vessel, which was now visibly a size larger even from the outside, she still wore a look of shock.

It wasn’t just a size larger; the entire vessel seemed to have transformed into a completely different, new boat.

“It’s a good thing we aren’t on the water right now,” Bai Xi said, pressing a hand over her racing heart. “If we were on the water, how would we explain the boat suddenly changing like this?”

“Forget the elders, even Sister He and the others would definitely notice this boat is different from before,” Bai Yu said. For people like them who spent every day on the water, the boat was everything. Any change on board was easily spotted.

Fortunately, the first thing they had upgraded was the hull, which was the hardest part to notice.

“Eldest Sister, do you think we’ll be able to draw more upgrade cards in the future?”

“Perhaps we will.”

“If that’s the case… will our little boat become a great ship one day? If we had a great ship, would we have been abandoned at sea?”

“Maybe we wouldn’t have been targeted in the first place.”

Bai Xi looked at the boat, then out at the endless ocean, not daring to ask the next question.

Could they ever go back?

Translator’s Notes