......
Holding a spoonful of broth and a slice of mushroom, Lan Qingyou's hand paused.
Yellow-Ringed Legless Bug. Now that was a familiar na.
She'd just used it today.
Couldn't bla anyone — compared to everything else, these things were absurdly easy to obtain. One jab with a shovel and you'd turn up one or two.
As for Gu Xiaobei using them to make soup — Lan Qingyou was, surprisingly, perfectly understanding.
As for Sli Mushrooms... weren't those for making corrosive potions? That counted as food?
Although Lan Qingyou's head was swimming with question marks, the Small Screen had already confird there was no toxicity. Which ant it was genuinely edible.
Staring at the contents of her spoon with a complicated expression, Lan Qingyou didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
'My Sluggishness Potion hasn't even seen its first deploynt, and the Yellow-Ringed Legless Bugs are already booranging back to hit .'
'Steam Pot Chicken, crossing-bridge rice noodles, creative use of mushrooms, and bugs...'
'OK.'
'Where Gu Xiaobei is from is pretty obvious at this point.'
Lan Qingyou opened her mouth and swallowed the broth and mushroom slice in one go.
Co on — re earthworms and Sli Mushrooms? As long as it wasn't poisonous, it was all the sa to her.
More importantly, this modified Steam Pot Chicken was genuinely delicious.
So she didn't fuss.
Besides, for Lan Qingyou, none of this was particularly hard to stomach.
Especially after building up a working knowledge of alchemy, magic potions, and the rest of this world's systems.
Everything in this world was inherently infused with mana.
When you looked at it that way, she wasn't drinking earthworm broth — she was drinking mana.
And that wasn't an exaggeration.
After finishing the al, Lan Qingyou sent the dishes back through the Small Screen.
Lan Qingyou: "It was delicious. But I'd suggest stockpiling food, wood, and water at ho — at least three or four days' worth. That way, when the Novice Protection Period ends, you won't need to go outside for a few days. Take the ti to observe the situation."
Gu Xiaobei: "Got it. Thanks, boss! I'll start preparing right away."
Lan Qingyou had passed along her own plans to Gu Xiaobei.
Honestly, she didn't want to lose such an excellent — and delicious — takeout supplier.
As for her other two friends, Shang Chuan and Li Huai — Lan Qingyou didn't bother telling them, nor did she need to.
Shang Chuan, the crafty rchant, would figure it out himself. And as for Li Huai — though she'd never t him in person, if sothing like a beast horde hit, he'd probably just be thrilled.
Well-fed and content, Lan Qingyou picked up her book and dove back into Magic Circuitry.
She wanted to improve her alchemy array.
According to Albert, a standard batch of potions did indeed require at least eight hours of brewing.
But for experintal purposes, rapid maturing was possible.
Of course, this accelerated process was mainly for saving ti and validating theories. The results were usable, but significantly weaker than the standard version.
CRACK!!!
When the clock quietly crept from the depths of Day Seven's night past midnight into Day Eight, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky outside the window.
Then every Blue Star Earthling heard the voice of the World's Will.
"The seven-day Novice Protection Period has ended. Co now, people of Blue Star — the veil that concealed the Kalim Continent's true face has been torn away by the mana turbulence. The rest is up to you."
"Please survive. If nothing else, for your own sake."
After those two sentences, the World's Will fell silent.
Lan Qingyou, lying in bed with her book, glanced beyond the floor-to-ceiling window — and was imdiately captivated by the scene outside.
Thunder and lightning raged, illuminating the pitch-black sky in violent bursts.
Howling wind slamd against the sliding glass doors, rattling them so hard that Lan Qingyou genuinely wondered if the thin glass might shatter.
Even knowing her shelter was Level 3.
So she got up, grabbed the lantern from the bookshelf, and descended to the first floor via the vine rope ladder — one she hadn't used since the place was built.
By now, the magic carriage lantern she'd left on the first floor had gone dark. The ground floor was pitch black.
Lantern in hand, Lan Qingyou sat at the desk to check on what was happening with everyone else.
"Help! My shelter is creaking everywhere! It feels like it's about to collapse!"
"Sa here — those weird rune patterns are all glowing."
'Rune patterns glowing?'
Lan Qingyou looked around her own shelter. Nothing of the sort.
'Maybe it's because this is a Level 3 Shelter, so the Magic Shield's defense chanism hasn't been triggered?'
"Are your magic carriage lanterns still lit? Mine went out the mont the mana turbulence started."
"Nope, mine died too. Thought it was just ."
"Hahaha, looks like we're all in the sa boat."
"Soone save ! I'm just two Monster Crystal Cores short! Anyone?!"
"You guys haven't upgraded your shelters yet?"
"Wait — upgrading the shelter keeps the lantern on?"
"No, I'm saying a Level 2 Shelter should at least be able to withstand this mana turbulence, right?"
"Honestly, the Novice Protection Period was the sa for everyone. How is it that so people managed Level 2 and you didn't? Maybe look inward. Did you even try?"
"It's over. A corner of my shelter just got ripped off by the mana turbulence. I don't think I'm making it through the night."
"Accepting inheritances! Anyone logging off for good, dump your materials and supplies for the public good!"
"Oh ho! Well said, brother! I'll accept so inheritances too!"
"Hey, the guy who's two crystal cores short — hang in there! Add as a friend and I'll give you two."
"If it isn't Xin Tianle himself, the charitable big bro! I'm a few stones short — got any for ?"
"Absolutely. I can't help with a lot, but a few pieces? No problem. And I'm calling on everyone who has materials to spare — lend a hand where you can. If we all pull together, we can definitely ride out this mana turbulence."
"Die! Die! You animals! All of you, die! Everyone, just die together!"
"Has this person lost their mind?"
"What else is new? Check the world channel — plenty of people snapping like this."
Seeing that, Lan Qingyou switched over to the world channel, which she hadn't checked in a while. Turns out, it wasn't much different from the Villain Valley crowd.
People searching for lost loved ones, begging for materials, having breakdowns, preaching moral lessons, mocking others, watching the show unfold...
This was human nature.
Of course, Lan Qingyou didn't condemn human nature.
All she could do was live her own quiet life and avoid poking too many hornets' nests.
After a quick scan, the only noteworthy thing she spotted was a group calling themselves the forr Blue Star Federation Council — now the "Karim Council" — rallying people for mutual aid.
Well, "noteworthy" was a stretch.
So Lan Qingyou, thoroughly unimpressed, turned to head back upstairs and read.
Her Level 3 Shelter should hold through the storm.
But just then, she noticed the regional channel seed to be discussing... her?
"@Lan Qingyou, you've made a fortune by now. Don't you think it's ti to give back a little?"
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