Even though the white system had suddenly granted him five upgrade points, he now realized that killing living creatures could earn points.

But for now, Ren’s attention remained focused on the shark carcass beneath his feet He kept his eyes on the massive corpse lying under him.

The shark stretched almost three meters long—its skin rough, bluish-grey, and its fins torn from a fierce struggle.Thick blood pooled in the sand, leaving behind a metallic, fishy stench that pierced his nose.

Its mouth still hung open, revealing rows of jagged teeth large enough to rip a grown man apart in a single bite.

Seeing this, Ren’s eyes sparkled unconsciously as he muttered softly,

“With something this big... if I cut it up, I can definitely get a lot of meat.”

But even Ren knew it wasn’t realistic to drag or carry this shark’s body around.

With no other choice, Ren was forced to butcher the shark right there and store the meat inside the system inventory.

It wasn’t quick. Ren had to work overtime just to deal with the carcass.

And after five long hours, drenched in blood, Ren finally finished and stored the shark meat inside his inventory.

[Inventory]

[Plastic Bottles [+20]]

[Plant Fiber Ropes [+24]]

[Wood Pieces [+27]]

[Raw Shark Meat [+60] – Quality: Common]

After it was all done, Ren also realized his clothes were soaked in blood and needed to come off immediately.

Not wanting to fall sick from the cold, Ren quickly stripped off his blood-stained clothes and washed himself in the seawater.

Now, he was left wearing only shorts, his upper body bare.

In the quiet darkness of night, under a sky full of beautiful, colorful stars...

Ren sat with his knees pulled up to his chest, leaning under a tree, rubbing his hands together to keep warm.

But unlike yesterday, this time Ren was a little smarter—he had made a campfire to keep from freezing to death.

No other human voices.

Only the sea breeze and the rustle of leaves, whispering like the world itself didn’t want him to survive.

Reluctantly, Ren opened the trade system.

He considered trading the shark meat for something more useful.

He thought maybe he could get a few good items—or at least materials to make a Water Purifier.

He scrolled through the trade listings... and found several of the materials needed to craft one.

[ User: 1442 ]

Item for sale: Tattered Cloth ×7
Requested: Any kind of food or drink.

[ User: 4432 ]

Item for sale: Scrap Metal ×6
Requested: Any kind of food or drink.

[ User: 9833 ]

Item for sale: Broken Glass ×5
Requested: Any kind of food or drink.

Without wasting time, Ren immediately offered [Raw Shark Meat [+5]] to each of them.

And in just moments, all of it was gone.

As if people were afraid Ren would regret it and cancel the deal.

Seeing this, Ren felt something off.

“Did I price it too low...?”

But he didn’t really care and went straight to crafting the water purifier.

• Plastic Bottles ×20

• Wood ×10

• Broken Glass ×5

• Plant Fiber Ropes ×10

• Tattered Cloth ×5

• Scrap Metal ×5

It took over 30 minutes just to wait for the crafting process to finish.

Once completed, Ren opened his inventory and placed the water purifier near the mysterious black stone at the center of the island.

He stared at his makeshift purifier—a rough assembly of two plastic bottles connected by a small tube made from plant fibers.

One bottle was filled with seawater and tilted to face the sun, while broken glass was placed on top to trap the heat.

Steam from the first bottle would rise, travel through the tube... and flow into the second bottle placed in the shade.

There, the steam would cool and turn back into fresh water, dripping slowly down.

Its form wasn’t pretty, but it was stable—supported by wood pieces and tightly tied fiber ropes.

With this, he could collect a few sips of clean water every hour—just enough to survive.

[Item Name: Simple Water Purifier]

Quality: Low

Description: A basic distillation device.

Uses solar heat to evaporate seawater and condense the vapor into clean water.

No electricity required. Produces 3 bottles of fresh water every 24 hours.

Seeing this, Ren felt a bit disappointed.
He had thought producing water would at least give him some control over the system’s trade market.

But that disappointment faded when he remembered—he still had 5 upgrade points that could instantly enhance any item.

With curiosity and anticipation, Ren placed his hand on the purifier. And immediately, the white system screen appeared.

[Low-Quality Water Purifier – Requires 1 Upgrade Point to upgrade]

[Would Host like to upgrade this item?]

[Y/N]

Without hesitation, Ren pressed the button, and in an instant... the purifier began to change.

It trembled lightly.
A soft humming sound echoed out, followed by a gentle glow that wrapped around its entire surface.

The plant-fiber ropes hardened, turning into something like strong synthetic threads.

The plastic bottles thickened into heat-resistant transparent tubes.

And the broken glass fused into a smooth, seamless panel that fit perfectly into the frame.

Now its shape was far more stable and refined—like something built in a professional factory.

The little plant-stem tube was now replaced by a flexible, transparent hose that connected the two distillation chambers efficiently.

A system window appeared right in front of Ren’s eyes:

[Item Name: Water Purifier – Usable Quality]

Quality: Medium

Description: A distillation-based water purifier with improved efficiency.
Uses solar energy with heat-absorbing glass panels and a stable condensation system.
Can produce 10 bottles of fresh water every 24 hours.

Ren paused for a moment, staring at the machine in awe.

There was even a small indicator on the side, displaying the current temperature and the amount of water being collected.

“This... is way better than I expected,” he murmured softly.

He gently patted the surface of the purifier, which now felt warm and solid to the touch.

If before it could only keep him alive...Now, he began imagining something greater.

Water was a necessity. Not everyone had the means to purify seawater.

“If I make more of these... mass-produce them... and sell the water... I might be able to dominate the trade system.”

Ren grinned—

The flickering firelight danced across his face as he smiled with satisfaction.

For the first time since waking up in this strange world... He felt like he was in control.

......

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