Ch 29: The World’s Number One Resort

Tang Huai opened the gifting interface.

Carrots, tomatoes, purple cabbage, pineapples, bananas… Tang Huai browsed through the list, and most of the system’s gifts were common varieties like carrots and pineapples.

Farm products could be obtained in two ways: through system gifts and purchasing from the store.

After some thought, Tang Huai opened the store section—

【Black-skinned Watermelon】: 50,000 island points per acre.

【Ruby Grapes】: 80,000 island points per acre.

…………

Tang Huai glanced at the store prices and wisely chose not to pay attention to them.

He focused on the 【Gifted Items】 section. The gifts weren’t unlimited. He could only choose five spirit plants and three spirit animals.

After reviewing the 【Gift】 page, Tang Huai selected spirit plants: tomatoes, napa cabbage, purple cabbage, apples, and bananas. For spirit animals: 80 feathered sheep, 19 cauliflower chickens, and 1 shepherd dog.

Tang Huai had spent some time in the countryside as a child. Although he never farmed, he had helped adults harvest corn in the fields. In his view, farming and raising chickens was just about digging some soil and scattering some seeds—overall, not too difficult.

Tang Huai was eager to get started.

After setting up the task cards, Tang Huai opened the island sandbox. Aside from the previous task cards, he still had ten acres of land. This land could be directly applied to the sandbox.

The whole island sandbox was a dull gray, but Blue Sea Lake and Snowy Scenery were marked in a warm yellow, while other areas were marked in dark yellow.

“FD730, can the land cards only be used at Blue Sea Lake and on Sora Island?” Tang Huai frowned. Why are there two different colors?

“No restrictions on regions. Using it in developed areas increases the success rate.” FD730 patiently explained. Tang Huai understood—warm yellow and dark yellow only indicated different success rates. As long as he didn’t care about success rates, he could use the land anywhere on the island.

Tang Huai placed the card in the item bar and began strolling around Blue Sea Forest.

He was considering where to use the 【Land Card】. To be cautious, Tang Huai had to choose between Blue Sea Forest and Snowy Scenery.

Snowy Scenery was cold and not suitable for plant or animal growth. Tang Huai focused on the area around Blue Sea Lake.

Blue Sea Lake had pleasant scenery and clear water. It was the first beautiful sight Tang Huai encountered. If possible, he didn’t want to ruin the view. Moreover, if he were to suddenly open a field near the lake, it would definitely affect the visitors’ experience.

For example, tourists might be immersed in the mysterious dark hedgerows, only to turn a corner and see a rural scene with tomatoes and cabbage… The contrast would definitely spoil the mood.

Tang Huai decided to choose a quieter spot.

After thinking it over, he settled on the southernmost area of Blue Sea Forest.

Blue Sea Lake covered an area of twelve square kilometers. The southern side bordered the third zone, and beyond it lay the sprawling Yellow Earth Canyon. The terrain there was relatively complex, and few visitors came by. At least, neither Xiao Shenguo nor Jon’s groups had ventured there.

“Here it is.” Tang Huai made up his mind.

Once the location was confirmed, Tang Huai used the card. Instantly, a dark brown plot of land formed between Yellow Earth Canyon and Blue Sea Forest. Yellow Earth Canyon was dark brown, and so was the land plot. If you didn’t look closely, it seemed as if the canyon’s terrain had extended into Blue Sea Forest.

The boundary between the two looked a bit odd but not out of place. Tang Huai breathed a sigh of relief… He felt like he had become a landscape artist.

The ten-acre plot was roughly equal to 6,000 square meters, with a perimeter of about 300 meters. It wasn’t large and could be seen clearly from the mountaintop.

Tang Huai stepped onto the land, took out a banana card, and clicked to use it.

“Ding, use failed.” The system’s prompt sounded cheerfully.

“Detected area: 【Blue Sea Lake】. Excellent spirit plant growth requires the sacred lake water. Please head to Blue Sea Lake to provide the essential nutrients for plant growth.”

Along with the failure, the system offered an explanation.

Tang Huai: …

Tang Huai took out the purple cabbage card and pineapple card. Just like before, to successfully plant them, he needed to irrigate them with water from Blue Sea Lake.

Tang Huai was a bit puzzled. Shouldn’t planting seeds involve digging a hole and burying them in the soil? How did it end up being related to lake water? However, since it was a system feature, Tang Huai didn’t bother questioning its logic.

“FD730, if I place the land in Snowy Scenery, what’s the hard requirement?” Tang Huai didn’t question the logic but still had some necessary questions.

“You would need snow from the mountain peaks to grow plants,” FD730 responded.

“And what about in the warm yellow area?” Tang Huai asked.

“You’d need water from the Pacific Ocean, which is also one of the reasons why survival rates are lower in undeveloped areas.”

Tang Huai and FD730 continued their back-and-forth exchange.

Tang Huai had initially thought this task was simple, but now it seemed… well, he had been too naïve.

One acre of land required eighty liters of water to plant. Tang Huai had previously brought a 20-liter water container. Since he couldn’t use Al’s help during the task, Tang Huai ended up running back and forth between the spiritual land and Blue Sea Lake, carrying the water himself.

Feeling a bit frustrated, Tang Huai realized he should have placed the land closer to Blue Sea Lake. However, the beautiful scenery where Blue Sea Lake and the Angel Oak reflected off each other was too stunning, so even though he was annoyed, he had no regrets.

It took Tang Huai three days to plant all ten acres of spirit plants. Afterward, he only needed to water them every five days and let them grow on their own. Once that was done, he turned his attention to the spirit animal cards. Unlike the planting task, the animal raising required no specific environment.

Tang Huai relaxed a bit as he sat on the ground, then pulled out the spirit animal cards and used them all at once.

In just two seconds, eighty lambs and nineteen chickens appeared in front of him. The lambs were about fifty centimeters tall, and the chickens were small enough to fit in his hand.

The sheep were called feathered sheep, and the chickens were cauliflower chickens. Their names were quite unique. Tang Huai had expected to encounter some sort of mystical beasts like those in fantasy novels, but with these ninety-nine small creatures… he couldn’t see any significant difference.

“Baa, baa, baa—”

“Cluck, cluck, cluck—”

The animals stared at each other for ten seconds before realizing their situation and promptly causing chaos.

The lambs were frightened, but under the lead of the head lamb, they huddled together without causing much trouble. In contrast, the nineteen chicks were small but lively, and in no time, they scattered and were nowhere to be seen.

Tang Huai: … What a headache.

For the next half hour, a man-versus-chicken battle erupted.

It took Tang Huai considerable effort to round up the nineteen chicks and place them in a temporary coop. This ordeal was more exhausting than climbing ten mountains.

Panting heavily, Tang Huai sat on the ground and petted one of the lambs. The soft wool felt comforting, but as he continued, he realized something wasn’t right.

Eighty lambs and nineteen chicks. Eighty plus nineteen equals ninety-nine… The system provided one hundred spirit animals. Where was the last one—the shepherd dog?

Tang Huai checked his item bar, and the shepherd dog card had already been used.

“Awooo, awooo—” Just as Tang Huai was wondering what happened, he heard a howl from a distance.

Following the sound, Tang Huai headed towards the source. Blue Sea Forest was vast, and apart from the central area with the dark hedgerow and Angel Oak, there were various other trees growing around it. Tang Huai had roughly estimated that there were over a hundred tree species just around Blue Sea Lake.

In a nearby shrubbery, a yellow figure was howling intermittently. As Tang Huai approached, he saw the small figure with its tail wagging. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to have gotten stuck in some branches ahead.

Tang Huai parted the shrubs and then lifted the shadowy figure by its tail.

“Awoo—” The small figure turned around, its eyes glistening as it let out a soft howl.

It was a little 20-centimeter mongrel, better known as a Chinese Field Dog by appearance.

Tang Huai: … Is this really the shepherd dog provided by the system?

Tang Huai picked up the small dog and took it back.

Two hours later, as the sun set and the damp land lay beside him, Tang Huai sat in a bit of a daze on a stone stool. Next to him, nineteen chicks were chirping noisily, and eighty lambs were bleating in a huddle. The little yellow mongrel was spinning in circles, chasing its own tail.

Looking at the scene before him, Tang Huai fell into deep thought for the first time. As expected, system rewards aren’t easily earned…

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️