13: Chapter 13 Good Grade Alloy Fishing Rod

He pondered at the console for a moment.

"Su Mei." Li Taiping turned his head and spoke suddenly, "I'll leave the trading of energy stone materials entirely to you."

"Keep an eye on the trading post and the chat channels, especially those Survivor who are in urgent need of food and water."

"Remember, you must remain Anonymous when trading. On this vast ocean, don't flaunt your wealth; we are currently guilty of harboring a treasure."

Upon hearing this, Su Mei shed her lazy expression and tucked the stray hairs from her forehead behind her ear.

"Don't worry, I'm better at bargaining and swindling than you. What about you? What are you planning to do?"

Li Taiping flipped his wrist, and the normal fishing rod with only 1 point of durability left appeared in his hand, followed by a scroll—

[Item Upgrade Scroll (good)]

He curled his lips, his gaze cast toward the shimmering sea surface:

"I'm going to restock."

"Restock?" Su Mei raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, fishing for chests!" Li Taiping shook the fishing rod in his hand. "Right now, other Survivor have too few supplies, and relying solely on trading to recoup funds is too slow."

"I, Li Taiping, seize every second. I want to turn all the resources in the ocean into our inventory!"

Su Mei blinked her peach-blossom eyes, her gaze landing on the ordinary bamboo fishing rod in his hand. Suddenly, as if she realized something, her breathing hitched slightly:

"Wait... this fishing rod is the 'normal' quality one from the beginner's gift pack, right? Does that mean... it can also go into the treasure basin?"

Li Taiping was stunned for a moment.

He really hadn't thought of that.

Cognitive inertia had led him to treat the treasure basin only as a food replicator, while ignoring the value of the tools themselves.

He looked down at the fishing rod in his hand, hesitating for a moment:

"Theoretically... it should work."

Upon hearing this, Su Mei's eyes lit up instantly. "Then as long as we gather 36 normal fishing rods, we can mass-produce them without limits!"

"Infinite supplies for infinite fishing rods, infinite fishing rods to fish for infinite supplies—by then, we can mass-produce all normal supplies without limits!"

"Hiss—"

Li Taiping gasped.

This woman's brain turned faster than his!

"That's a path!" A sharp light flashed in Li Taiping's eyes, and his heart began to beat violently. "But don't rush; the efficiency of a normal fishing rod is too low."

"I have the 'Bullseye' trait now, so I must first get a high-tier fishing rod to maximize the returns."

"As for the business of mass-producing fishing rods... you can start collecting them at the trading post. After all, we aren't short on food or water, but you must be careful not to let others suspect anything unusual!"

"That's natural..." Su Mei pursed her red lips, her eyes glittering with excitement. "It's settled then! I'll be the profiteer, and you'll be the fisherman."

The two looked at each other and smiled, that sense of collusion...

Ahem, a perfect tacit understanding arose spontaneously.

With the division of labor clear, they acted immediately.

Su Mei stretched, lay comfortably on the double bed that could restore energy, opened the system panel, and began to stir up trouble in the trading post.

Meanwhile, Li Taiping went to the side of the boat, took a deep breath, and slapped the [Item Upgrade Scroll] onto the normal fishing rod.

"Hum!"

With a flash of light, the originally rough bamboo rod instantly shed its withered yellow outer layer, becoming completely jet-black. The material seemed like metal yet not wood, and the handle had added anti-slip textures.

[You have lost: normal fishing rod x1, good upgrade scroll x1.]

[You have obtained: Alloy Powerful fishing rod (good grade).]

[Alloy Powerful fishing rod (good grade)]

[Durability: 100 / 100]

[Trait: Can fish in the void, with a fishing success rate as high as 20%. The probability of fishing for a stone treasure chest is increased by 20%, and there is a very small chance to fish for a black iron treasure chest.]

[Evaluation: Ten attempts, eight misses.]

"good stuff!"

Li Taiping gripped the fishing rod, feeling its heavy weight.

The original probability of fishing for a chest was "ten attempts, eight misses," but for him, possessing the [Bullseye] trait, so-called probability simply didn't exist.

As long as it was in the sea, he would definitely be able to fish it up!

"Come on!"

Li Taiping swung his arm, and the fishing line traced a graceful arc in the air, falling into the sea with a "splash."

If it were an ordinary person, they could only stare blankly at the float, wasting a lot of time praying for luck to arrive.

But Li Taiping was different.

The moment the hook hit the water, a mysterious feeling welled up in his heart.

That was the law of causality of [Bullseye] taking effect, as if an invisible hand was manipulating things on the seabed, forcibly hooking a treasure chest onto his hook.

Three seconds later.

The float sank suddenly!

"Got it!"

Li Taiping exerted force with both arms, his good physical fitness revealed at this moment.

The black fishing rod bent into a full moon, and amidst the splashing water, a heavy chest broke through the surface and slammed heavily onto the deck.

It was a stone treasure chest!

A great start!

Li Taiping didn't rush to open the chest, but cast his line again.

At this moment, he transformed into a heartless fishing machine.

"Up!"

"Up again!"

"Still up!"

If one ignored the shadow of the "black tide" in the distance, connecting heaven and earth and seemingly ready to devour everything, this scene would truly have a touch of the leisure of a seaside vacation.

Time passed second by second, the sun gradually slanted westward, dyeing the sea surface a blood red.

The treasure chests beside Li Taiping piled higher and higher, almost building a wall on the deck.

It wasn't until the durability of the alloy fishing rod in his hand dropped to the warning line of 10/100 that Li Taiping stopped, still wanting more.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked at the spoils of war before him, and his mouth grinned from ear to ear.

"24 stone treasure chests, 64 wooden treasure chests!"

If that Li Jun saw this efficiency, he would probably eat his warship on the spot.

"Open the chests! This is the most enjoyable part!"

Li Taiping rubbed his hands, starting with the wooden treasure chests first.

"Ding! Obtained Wood x5!"

"Ding! Obtained Mineral Water x2!"

A series of system prompts sounded like a pleasant melody.

The wooden treasure chests mostly contained basic materials; although normal, their strength lay in the large quantity, basically topping up all normal-quality materials to exceed the number 36.

The main event was those 24 stone treasure chests.

Li Taiping took a deep breath and opened them all at once.

Light flickered, and a dazzling array of items covered the floor.

Besides the even richer basic resources, two dazzling green lights instantly caught his eye.

The first item was a long sword with a scabbard, about three feet long. The scabbard was simple and ancient, faintly emitting a cold aura.

[cold iron sword (good grade)]

[Trait: Sharp. Deals extra damage to light-armored units.]

[Evaluation: In this era of only wooden spears and stone axes, it is a divine weapon.]

"good stuff, a great weapon for self-defense!" Li Taiping hung it at his waist, his sense of security increasing manifold.

And the second item was a fruit the size of a fist, with skin resembling burning flames.

[Primary Strength Fruit (good grade)]

[Effect: After consumption, permanently increases Strength attribute significantly.]

[Restriction: Each person is limited to one, eating more is ineffective.]

Li Taiping's breathing instantly became heavy.

In this world where great power belongs to oneself, attributes are the cornerstone of everything!

He didn't hesitate at all, grabbed the fruit, and swallowed it in two or three bites.

The fruit flesh melted upon entering his mouth, turning into a scalding hot current that instantly rushed into his limbs and bones.

"Ugh—!"

Li Taiping let out a muffled groan, his muscles tensed, and his skin flushed with an eerie flush.

He could clearly feel his muscle fibers tearing and reforming, and his bones emitting faint cracking sounds.

This feeling lasted for a full minute.

When the hot current subsided, Li Taiping slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

He clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white, and there was even a faint sound of air exploding in the air.

If he had previously been just a slightly stronger-than-average adult male with a Strength value of 10.

Then now, his strength had reached at least 50!

A full fivefold increase!

"As I am now, I could probably punch a cow to death, right?"

Li Taiping felt the surging power within his body, his confidence soaring.

After adapting to the changes in his body, he began to count the remaining supplies.

Most of the normal supplies had already exceeded 36 units.

"treasure basin, sacrifice!"

Li Taiping was not stingy at all, throwing all the excess wood, conversion materials, and even the normal clothing he had just opened—anything with a quantity exceeding 36—into the [treasure basin].

With flashes of faint light, his "infinite supply library" list expanded again.

While organizing the miscellaneous items, six black cards caught his attention.

[trading post VIP Black Card (normal)]

[Effect: After use, it can break the daily trading "stall" limit, with each card adding 10 additional trading opportunities.]

[Note: To prevent the trading post from being overwhelmed, each person only has ten "stalls" in the trading post at any one time, and this card can break this limit.]

[Trait: Can be used cumulatively.]

Li Taiping was stunned for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh.

"Holy crap!"

He hurriedly rummaged through the warehouse and, sure enough, found the two cards he had opened earlier.

A total of eight cards.

Although it was still a long way from 36 cards, the quality of this item was—[normal]!

This meant that as long as he gathered 36, he could have infinite "stalls"!

For ordinary Survivor, the 10 "stalls" in the auction house/trading post might be enough, or they might not even be able to use them all due to a lack of supplies.

But for Li Taiping, who possessed infinite supplies, the 10 "stall" limit was the greatest shackle!

With his strength, he could list more than ten trading orders at the same time!

One hundred, one thousand, or even ten thousand were all possible!

All at the same time!!!

"This is a truly strategic-level item!"

A flash of fanaticism crossed Li Taiping's eyes.

This thing was definitely dirt cheap on the market right now because no one could use it.

But this was precisely his opportunity!