Hearing Gu Ning's question, Darkmoon looked up into his eyes and said, "I can't accept rewards without merit. I haven't done anything yet, so I can't take anything more from you."
Gu Ning smiled. He hadn't expected Darkmoon to think this way.
"Then why did you accept the skill stone earlier?"
"I thought that was your welcome gift for me."
Her reply left Gu Ning both amused and helpless.
"Take these too, and work on improving your strength," Gu Ning said. "To me, there's no such thing as an unearned reward when it comes to you. You're already mine. Eat them—starting today, you'll be responsible for my personal protection."
Naturally, Gu Ning didn't care about her reasoning. After all, her loyalty to him was at 100%. She would never betray him.
Upon hearing Gu Ning say she belonged to him, Darkmoon's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and there was a ripple in her gaze. She said nothing more, but quietly accepted the spirit fruits and ate them one by one.
The four spirit fruits increased Darkmoon's stats by a total of 19 points: Strength, Agility, and Defense each rose by 5 points, while Wisdom increased by 4.
On top of that, her affection toward Gu Ning increased by 12 points, bringing it to 72—categorized as "close."
This is the benefit of having a solid foundation, Gu Ning thought to himself. It had taken barely any time to reach this level of closeness. Back then, it had taken much longer with Windsor.
"Come with me," Gu Ning said, leaving the warehouse.
Darkmoon nodded, then surprisingly merged into Gu Ning's shadow. Gu Ning was a bit taken aback at the sight—he hadn't expected the Shadow Stealth skill to be used in such a way.
Gu Ning stepped outside and had Darkmoon reappear to introduce her to Windsor and the others.
"Hi, I'm Windsor," she said gently with a warm smile.
"Darkmoon," she replied curtly.
"Alright, now that you know each other," Gu Ning said, "Windsor, take Darkmoon and brief her on our current situation."
Windsor nodded and said, "Darkmoon, come with me."
She turned and led Darkmoon back to the core chamber.
Gu Ning didn't pay them much mind. He turned his attention to today's resource fishing.
The first item Gu Ning obtained was a Quality Upgrade Card.
Quality Upgrade Card (Green): Higher-quality items deliver better performance. With this card, you can enhance an item's quality.
Gu Ning took out a glass vial containing Azure Sea Dragon Blood and used the card on it.
After using the card, nothing seemed to have changed. Gu Ning checked the item again—it was still blue-quality. No upgrade. A failed attempt.
Though disappointed, Gu Ning had mentally prepared himself. After all, it was just a green-quality upgrade card. The success rate was always low.
From the next two attempts, Gu Ning received a Green Commoner Summon Card and a White Thermostat Blueprint.
He was surprised to see another thermostat blueprint—it seemed this item wasn't unique to each person.
Thinking of this, Gu Ning opened the trading channel and spent about 400 white stones to buy 50 electronic components. They were still cheap now, but once people started building thermostats, prices would likely skyrocket.
After breakfast, Gu Ning began his daily hunt.
As usual, the hunt went smoothly, yielding over 2,300 white stones.
In addition, he got a White Militia Nest and a Green Skill Stone.
He checked the skill stone:
Shield (Green): When activated, increases defense by 10%.
Gu Ning learned the skill immediately—he didn't have a single defensive skill yet.
Then, he returned to the small living quarters to upgrade the flour generator.
Currently, the flour generator was Level 2, producing 6 kg of flour per day—not enough for current needs.
To upgrade to Level 3, the requirements were:
Wood: 0/80
Iron: 0/20
Copper: 0/20
White Stones: 2631/400
Gu Ning chose to upgrade immediately.
Once upgraded, the generator would produce 12 kg (24 jin) of flour daily.
Including himself, Windsor, and Darkmoon, Gu Ning had 13 people to feed. It was a tight fit, but doable.
Plus, fishing still brought in some food—mainly bread, which had gotten monotonous.
That would have to do for now. With 1,831 white stones remaining, Gu Ning spent 300 on 20 iron and 10 copper, then used the newly acquired thermostat blueprint.
He installed the thermostat in the core chamber—his quarters still had no cooling system.
Once it was in place, Gu Ning had a few commoners haul in some ice blocks until the room began to cool.
He settled onto the sofa. Windsor and Darkmoon were whispering on the bed, while Huohuo was perched on his head.
Gu Ning pulled Huohuo down into his arms and handed her a purple crystal.
Her eyes lit up, and she clutched it joyfully as she began eating.
Gu Ning started planning his next steps.
Cooling was still the priority. While his core chamber was fine, the rest of his people were still suffering from the heat.
All the male commoners lived in one large room, while the females were in a small room. Gu Ning figured he needed at least two more thermostat blueprints to improve their living conditions.
Surely someone else had received extra thermostat blueprints by now—someone would sell them.
Gu Ning opened the trading channel and posted:
White Stone ×100Looking to exchange for: Thermostat Blueprint
He sent three such messages, aiming to get three blueprints—two for the commoners and one for the unused small room he'd use to store ice blocks.
He currently had:
2 large rooms: one for male commoners, one for storing ice
4 small rooms: one for female commoners, one for cooking, one for devices like the seawater converter, and one still empty (for ice storage)
Gu Ning estimated that by tomorrow, he could start selling ice. By then, everyone would likely have their thermostats ready—and with the upcoming heatwave, not cooling down would mean death.
Eliminations typically began on the fourth day of each week.
Gu Ning stepped outside with Huohuo in his arms to resume ice production.
Just like the day before—he would make the ice, two others would carry it, and he'd rest once his mana was depleted.
Just then, a male commoner approached, holding a blueprint in his hand.