Building a skyscraper to survive, all the female colleagues in the company begged me to carry them.

Huang Tang was somewhat speechless: "Isn't that unnecessary?"

"Absolutely necessary!" Chae Rim glared at him. "Unless you can control what's down there."

Huang Tang thought about his two perpetually full kidneys and sighed.

"All right."

"If there's nothing else, you can leave," Chae Rim said, turning her head away. "I don't want to see you right now."

Huang Tang was both amused and exasperated: "I have some important matters to discuss with you later."

Chae Rim turned her head: "What is it?"

Do you remember survival coins?

Chae Rim nodded.

Huang Tang used five survival coins to buy the blueprints for an eight-story building from the bell keeper.

"I suspect that survival coins will become more important as the game progresses," Huang Tang said. "Could we acquire some early on, before others realize their value?"

Chae Rim's eyes lit up, and she was no longer angry.

"Your analysis is absolutely correct! Send out the acquisition offer right now!"

Huang Tang opened the world channel.

Those people are still cursing him; he's finally found a sense of existence!

He posted a message:

[Huang Tang: The blueprints for the eight-story building have been sold. You can't afford it, but someone else can.]

The world channel was silent for a second.

Holy crap?! Someone can actually afford this?!

[Which tycoon is this? Ten thousand units of materials!]

[Hey bro, can you tell me who it is?! I need to latch onto their coattails!]

Huang Tang ignored them and continued posting:

[Huang Tang: Starting today, I'm buying Survival Coins in bulk. DM me if interested. One Survival Coin can be exchanged for 100 units of any material. If you don't want materials, you can exchange them for food.]

The world channel is overwhelmed again.

Survival coins? What are those?

I think I opened a silver treasure chest and got... a golden coin? I've never known what it's for!

One hundred units of material for one? That's incredibly valuable!

[The things that tycoon Huang Tang is buying up in large quantities are bound to be very useful later, no need to guess, I'm going to keep them!]

[Keep it? You're going to die anyway, keep it as your funeral money? That's a hundred units of material!]

[Exactly! Who knows what that thing is even for! Let's replace it!]

Private messages flooded in.

I have two! I'll exchange them for two hundred units of steel!

I have one! I'll exchange it for 100 units of concrete!

I have five! I'll exchange them for 500 units of lumber!

I don't have any survival coins, but I know who does! Could you please give me a small commission?

……

Huang Tang processed each case one by one, accepting all requests.

Materials are decreasing, but survival coins are increasing.

In just half an hour, he received more than 100 survival coins.

Indeed, there is strength in numbers.

He knew that besides himself, there must have been other players who had obtained Survival Coins, and they didn't know what they were used for.

In high spirits, Huang Tang posted another message on the world channel:

[Huang Tang: Just to add, the probability of getting an eight-story building blueprint from a golden treasure chest is extremely high. Best of luck to you all.]

He closed the chat and turned to Cai Lin, saying, "From now on, keep an eye on the world channel. If anyone wants to trade with Survival Coins, you can give them any materials they need, including dinosaur meat."

"At the same time, we must not stop bartering food for materials."

This round trip is pure profit!

Chae Rim nodded: "Don't worry, with me here, nothing will go wrong."

Huang Tang laughed: "Then I'll appoint you as my head steward."

"I don't care."

Although Chae Rim said that, the corners of her mouth turned up.

………………

Leave Chae Rim's room.

Before entering the Anywhere Door, Huang Tang planned to take advantage of the daytime to explore the floors that were flooded.

Let's see if there are any unexpected gains.

He came to the magic mirror.

The magic mirror was quietly leaning against the corner of the wall, its surface hazy and gray, as if it were playing dead.

Huang Tang tapped on his glasses frame: "Stop pretending, I have something to ask you."

A ripple spread across the mirror's surface, and the blurry face slowly emerged.

"What is it?"

"What do you know about what's beneath the floodwaters?"

The magic mirror yawned: "I don't know."

"have no idea?"

"have no idea."

Huang Tang stared at it for three seconds, then pulled a hammer out of his system space.

"If you don't give me some useful information today, I'll smash you up."

The magic mirror's features contorted slightly: "Besides threats, do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?"

"As long as it's useful to you." Huang Tang raised the hammer. "Hurry up and say it, stop dawdling."

The magic mirror sighed, and the expression on its face became serious.

"The supplies under the flood are a protective mechanism for players in the early stages, to prevent too many people from being eliminated at the beginning." It paused, "but they are also very dangerous."

My advice is... don't go down unless absolutely necessary!

Why?

"Because the unknown monsters in the flood are far more terrifying than you think."

Huang Tang frowned: "Besides the merfolk, what else is down there?"

"I don't know about that."

The Magic Mirror said, "I am just a special item in the dark fairy tale world, not the omniscient and omnipotent one in this game."

Huang Tang thought for a moment, then asked, "If I insist on going down, when is the safest time?"

"It's never safe!"

The magic mirror spoke with absolute certainty, but after a moment's hesitation, it added, "However, I've heard... the longer you stay underwater, the more terrifying the monsters you attract. Be careful."

Huang Tang understood.

The magic mirror did provide some useful information.

The most important thing is that you can't stay underwater for too long!

But it didn't say how long would be considered "too long".

He put away the hammer and stopped bothering the magic mirror.

If we push it too far and it gets wiped out by the system, then it would be a huge loss.

"Thanks." He patted the frame of his glasses.

The magic mirror paused for a moment, clearly not expecting Huang Tang to say thank you.

It opened its mouth as if to say something, but in the end it just mumbled an "uh-huh," and the mirror returned to its hazy state.

Huang Tang turned and left.

Behind him, the Magic Mirror watched his retreating figure and muttered to itself, "This kid... isn't so bad after all."

Huang Tang returned to the living room and opened the system panel.

I haven't drawn any cards today.

If you can draw a god-tier card, you'll have more confidence when you go into battle.

The roulette wheel spun rapidly, flashing with golden light.

Congratulations on winning: Filial Piety Brings Strength!

[Card Tier: God-tier Control Card]

[Effect: After use, it forces the target to perform an act of "filial piety." For example: kowtowing, calling out "Dad," or taking a knife for someone.]

This can only be used once per day on the same target; otherwise, it will trigger the "Rebellious Son" backlash (the target will launch a frenzied attack on you).

Huang Tang stared at the card instructions for three seconds.

Filial piety breeds strength? This name...

He turned to look at the women chatting in the living room, and a thought popped into his head.

I wonder if using this method on them to make them call me "Dad" would work?

Forget it, now is not the time to think about this.

He shook his head and put the card away.

The diving equipment is ready.

Oxygen cylinders, masks, and flippers were all provided.

Huang Tang changed into his gear and went to the fourth floor of the building.

The flood was right beneath our feet, the water shimmering with a dim light.

Liu Lingqing followed behind him, saying worriedly, "Be very careful! Come up if things get strange."

Su Qing squeezed in, her face pale with nervousness: "Brother Huang Tang, why don't we stay here? We don't need any materials right now..."

"It's alright." Huang Tang patted her head. "If anything happens, come right away."

He took a deep breath and jumped into the water.