After hanging up the communicator, Lin Bei finally exhaled in relief.
Every time he spoke with Aleria, he felt on edge.
Because she possessed Mind-Reading, he was terrified that one careless thought might expose his secrets.
Under normal circumstances, Aleria couldn't read his thoughts through a call screen.
However… the wristband she'd given him had been specially modified; during their calls, Aleria could use the wristband to assist her in casting her Mind-Reading technique.
That was perfectly reasonable.
After all, he was now a member of the Lucky Faction and had received plenty of benefits.
The problem was… he, Lin Bei, had far too many secrets.
And after witnessing the Curse Scroll, he absolutely dared not reveal his real name.
Who knew whether, besides the Lucky Faction, a Curse Faction might also exist?
If they used some insidious methods to target him in secret, ordinary small fry wouldn't matter—but if their strength rivaled Aleria's?
He wouldn't even know how he'd died.
Therefore, to keep something hidden, never do it in the first place.
As long as he never spoke his name, the information could hardly leak out.
Yet when facing a powerhouse with Mind-Reading, that was another matter entirely.
If he merely thought his own name in his mind, she might detect it.
If it accidentally slipped out then, he'd have nowhere to cry.
So every call with Aleria weighed on him heavily.
Fortunately, Anya's Mental Attribute was inferior to his; she couldn't see through him at all.
Otherwise, he'd probably die of frustration.
After all, for a normal person, not thinking is impossible.
"This can't go on forever. I'll sound Anya out later and see if there's another way to block Mind-Reading."
"Hmm… I believe as long as I serve delicious enough food, she'll definitely help me solve this problem."
At that thought, Lin Bei's lips curved into a slight smile.
Anya and Nilu had indeed become very close friends—or rather, eating buddies; the two of them… each could out-eat the other.
Lin Bei could only sigh at that.
Luckily, his coffers were deep and he still earned brave badges daily, letting him buy plenty of premium ingredients in the Braves Shop.
Otherwise, any ordinary Survivor would've starved to death long ago.
"Besides… I have a Perfect Quality Farm that can grow all kinds of high-tier Crops to subsidize the household."
"According to Qingqing's recent statistics, Perfect Quality soil is still delightfully effective at boosting crop growth."
"Crops below Perfect Quality can be harvested in one day at most, and some special varieties can even be harvested twice or thrice a day."
"As for Perfect Quality Crops, they need at least two days to mature; some repeatable harvests—like Perfect Fruit Trees—even require a full seven-day growth cycle."
"Fortunately, inside my Manor Villa I can freely adjust the surrounding temperature, so even if the Ice and Snow Season arrives, the Farm Crops will still grow normally."
"That way, I don't need to worry too much about Farm output."
Lin Bei mused inwardly.
Right now, even if he relied solely on self-sufficiency, he could comfortably survive every Calamity Season.
[Notice: You have received a private message from Overseer Aleria—please check!]
Just then, Lin Bei suddenly received a prompt.
Opening the pink-crystal wristband interface, a huge sea map appeared, densely marked with island coordinates.
Of course, his own island's coordinates were on it too.
But on the entire map, his island was only a sesame-seed-sized dot, like a speck of dust.
At the same time, he saw the map of the current Sea Region and discovered that the area he was in actually occupied roughly one-tenth of the total merged sea area!
In other words, although this was a Hundred-Sector Merge, the total area had not expanded a hundredfold.
Put differently, the current density of Survivors in this Sea Region was higher than before!
Even if the other Survivor seas had lost more than half their population during the Hot Season, the merged sea area had only expanded tenfold, so population density still far exceeded that of the first day of the Hot Season.
"This way, Survivors will clash even more easily over resources and Territorial Waters."
"Sooner or later, they'll either form alliances or go to war; staying neutral… unless you're strong enough, it's pure fantasy."
"Looks like this Ice and Snow Season will further intensify the conflicts among all Survivors—creating the Perfect muddy waters for me to fish in."
Lin Bei pondered, a flash of insight gradually forming in his mind.
After raising his island to level six, his Survivor Bracelet unlocked a host of new abilities.
One of them was the "Item Rental" function.
He could list his items in the Trading Hall for rent—users paid a set amount of resources for temporary ownership.
Rented items still lost durability; once the rental expired, they were forcibly returned to their owner.
Rentals came in two flavors: time-based and durability-based.
Time rentals charged by the hour; durability rentals charged by the points of wear consumed.
Lin Bei figured he could make a killing off this war during the Ice and Snow Season while everyone was at each other's throats.
After all, he had crates full of low-tier gear; if that ran out, he could mass-produce more.
Short-term, renting was cheaper than buying, so plenty of Survivors would gladly spend resources—he was sure of it.
For example: want a blue-flame, Fine-quality Gatling? Ninety-eight primal stones to own, but only eight for a one-day rental!
At that price, who could resist?
Eight primal stones for twenty-four hours with a Fine Gatling could see them through a night of Marine Creatures or let them mow down more Mist Monsters in the caverns.
The loot they'd gain would far outweigh the cost.
Thanks to this rental feature he'd unlocked ahead of everyone else, Lin Bei could rake in mountains of primal stones this phase.
The Survivors still breathing were all veterans; faced with this offer, he knew they wouldn't hesitate.
All they had to do was close their eyes and rent; as the supplier, Lin Bei had the complicated part to handle.
Like keeping firepower within reasonable limits, nudging customers toward pricier toys, and more… a headache, really.
So he'd draft a plan and dump the whole mess on Qingqing.
To Lin Bei, Qingqing was basically his secretary.
As the saying goes: if you've got a secretary, make her work!
Of course, he'd upgrade her energy core—only if she grew strong enough could she keep the island's "problem children" in line.
Like the Disqualified Ones legion now topping a thousand, the high-tier beasts spawning in the wilds after the Island Upgrade, and whatever newcomers the future might bring.
All of them would answer to Qingqing.
"Strange… why do I feel I've forgotten something?"
Lin Bei frowned, muttering to himself.
Suddenly his face changed, mind buzzing like an alarm.
"Damn—Big Black said rare goods refresh in the Braves Shop on the final day of every Calamity Season, and I freaking passed out!"
Lin Bei looked like he'd swallowed a lemon, gut twisting.
He'd hoarded thousands of shop refresh cards for that moment—missed it just like that?
"Bitter… way too bitter."
Lin Bei's lips drooped, morale cratering.
His Super Luck still had over an hour left, but the Ice and Snow Season had already begun; yesterday was gone for good.
If he wanted another shot at rare goods, he'd have to wait six more days.
"No way—lesson learned!"
"Next time I refresh the shop first, upgrade second!"
"Right—next time for sure!"
Lin Bei took a deep breath and opened the public chat channel.
It showed nearly four hundred thousand Survivors in the current zone.
A hundred-sector merger really packed a punch.
With a market that size, monopolizing it sounded delicious.
But first, there was something important to do.
"Activate Super Check-in System—I'm checking in!"
Lin Bei sank his consciousness deep and triggered his second system check-in ever.
He held his breath, waiting for the second system to awaken.
Time seemed to freeze.
Deep in his mind, a mechanical voice sounded.
[Notice: Check-in successful! Congratulations—you've obtained your second system—]