Chapter 8: The Salt Problem, the Island Brothers

"Hahaha, sister, don't tickle me!"

Yang Keli's laughter rang out. "Hehe, that'll teach you for touching me earlier. Let's see how you like my 'punishment'."

"Haha, sister, have mercy! I was wrong!" Remu responded with a playful pout. "How about I tell you an interesting story instead?"

"Not a chance. Behold, my super-nanny dragon claw!"

"Haha... sis... haha... I surrender!"

After a while, the playful scuffling died down, replaced by soft chatter and the occasional low giggle.

Chen Fan couldn't help but smile, envisioning the scene: the two of them huddled by the campfire, drying their clothes while sharing secrets.

An hour later, Yang Keli and Remu came down from the second floor. Their faces were flushed, and they were still smiling. The three of them gathered around the campfire, and Chen Fan handed out food to the two of them.

Outside, a torrential rain was falling, making it impossible to forage. They had decided to dig a tunnel beneath the cabin instead.

Suddenly, Yang Keli seemed to recall something. "We need to find a way to get some salt, or we'll start feeling weak and dizzy in a few days."

"If we go ten days without salt, we'll start experiencing symptoms like muscle weakness and cramps," she continued. "It could even affect the function of vital organs like the heart, posing a severe threat to our health."

Currently, they were surviving on flour-meat and berries, which kept their hunger at bay, but a lack of salt wasn't sustainable.

Chen Fan paused, thought for a moment, and slapped his thigh. "I've got it! Wood ash."

"But we don't have any containers," Yang Keli frowned.

"Right. Let's check the World Chat channel to see if anyone is near the sea. If we get some seawater and boil it down, we can make crude salt," Chen Fan suggested, his mind racing.

"That could work," Yang Keli hesitated, then added, "But seawater contains heavy metals and potential viruses we know nothing about."

"That shouldn't be a big problem. We don't need to consume it constantly, just enough to supplement what our bodies need."

Yang Keli nodded slightly in agreement.

[World Chat Channel]
The chat channel was still bustling with activity.

"Is anyone near the sea?" Chen Fan asked.

Before long, someone replied, "I am."

"Brother, could you do me a favor and collect some seawater?"

"No problem. You're looking to extract salt, right? Five logs for one liter of seawater. That's not expensive—after all, a long-term lack of salt can be fatal."

Chen Fan frowned. Not expensive? That was more predatory than a butcher overcharging for bones.

"No deal. Seawater is the easiest thing to collect; your price is way too high. You're not the only one born by the sea. I'm offering one log for ten liters of seawater. Contact me if you're interested in trading."

After posting the message, Chen Fan closed the chat and opened the trading platform, listing ten units of logs for one hundred liters of seawater. He stopped worrying about it and returned to discussing their mining plans with Yang Keli.

On a distant, tiny island, a middle-aged man sat staring at Chen Fan's message, his brow furrowed in deep thought. The island was pitifully small; it took no time at all to walk from one end to the other. The terrain was flat, with no mountains, only a few small, rising sand dunes. He had chopped down the island's only few trees, but not a single sapling had dropped—his luck was truly abysmal. The only silver lining was the occasional respawning of small animals, which had kept him alive past the third day.

He weighed the trade. Logs were a scarce resource for him, while seawater was everywhere—an inexhaustible resource. Without a second thought, the man went back into his dug-out cave, crafted three wooden buckets, filled them, and stored them in his inventory. Fearing someone else might take the trade, he completed the transaction within minutes.

Just as the three of them were about to head down the opening they had dug, Chen Fan received a notification that the trade was successful. One hundred and twenty liters of seawater appeared in his inventory.

He also received a friend request: "Brother, make sure to come to me for trades next time!"

"This guy is pretty interesting; he gave me twenty extra liters," Chen Fan said to Yang Keli with a smile, clicking to accept the request. They might need him again later.

Yang Keli chuckled and handed a frying pan to Remu. "Then let's have Remu stay here and boil the seawater to extract the salt while we go down to mine."

Chen Fan nodded and began digging a slow, slanted path downward from beneath the cabin. No one would be foolish enough to dig straight down; that was like dancing on the edge of a blade. If there happened to be lava underneath, they wouldn't even find their bones.

When they had dug about ten meters down, they faintly heard the groans of a zombie. The two exchanged a look; they knew this meant there was a naturally formed cavern below. Cautiously, they continued to dig.

After a while, Chen Fan broke through into a hole the size of a single block. Through the light of his torch, he could vaguely make out the interior. He widened the opening to four-by-four and peeked inside. It was pitch black and smelled of rot and dampness. The zombie's groans seemed closer now, echoing through the silent cave, making their skin crawl.

"Chen Fan, why do I hear the sound of a skeleton?" Yang Keli asked, grabbing Chen Fan's arm in concern.

"It shouldn't be a big problem. We'll just have to be careful," Chen Fan reassured her, sticking his torch into the wall to illuminate more of the area.

He crafted a crafting table, built a set of stone stairs, and began placing them against the wall to descend. They carefully made their way down the makeshift staircase, and Chen Fan immediately placed torches around to light up the cavern.

By the light of the fire, they spotted ore with pale yellow veins on the cave wall.

"Look, iron ore."

Chen Fan's eyes lit up. He switched to his stone pickaxe and began mining, muttering, "If I had known there was such a good cave under the house, why would I have run so far to mine?"

"Who could have known?" Yang Keli shrugged, then pointed forward. "I'll go ahead and take a look."

"Sure, just be careful."

Chen Fan inspected the cracks in the iron ore; there was clearly far more here than just a few pieces. He estimated there was quite a haul hidden inside.

Just then, he heard a "crack-crack-crack" sound, followed by a loud crash as a large amount of blocks fell. The iron ore turned into white light and entered his inventory.

Chen Fan checked his inventory with a thought: seventeen pieces of iron ore lay inside.