The Magnifying Glass didn't respond.

Hank Fowler frowned. He could talk to all the other objects; why was the Magnifying Glass staying silent? Could it not hear him? Or was it mute?

Hank pondered for a moment, then turned to the entrenching tool. "Digger, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear!" the entrenching tool quickly replied.

"Okay, quiet for now," Hank muttered.

The entrenching tool: "..." Did he just use me and toss me aside?

Hank fixed his gaze on the Magnifying Glass. "Hey, Glassy, say something!"

The Magnifying Glass remained stubbornly silent.

"Are you deaf or something?"

"Is saying something going to kill you?"

"Mute, are we?"

"What the hell!" Hank snapped, losing his patience.

"You're the Glassy! Your whole family are Glassies!" The Magnifying Glass finally retorted, unable to tolerate the insult any longer.

"So you're not mute, and you're not deaf," Hank said, raising an eyebrow with a smirk. "Since you don't like being called 'Glassy,' let's change it. What do you want to be called?"

The Magnifying Glass thought for a moment. "Call me Big Glass."

Hank: "..." He was expecting some grand, impressive name. This was...underwhelming.

"Big Glass, can you light the thatch?" Hank asked.

Big Glass sighed. "There isn't enough sunlight right now. I can only gather a little heat. It'll be tough to light the thatch."

"Not enough sunlight," Hank muttered, suddenly turning his head towards the sun. He could communicate with everything; surely, he could talk to the sun, right?

Clearing his throat, Hank called out, "Hey, Boss Sun, can I trouble you for a favor?"

Sun: "What?"

"It actually works!" Hank's eyes lit up. He quickly continued, "Could you maybe, like, rise a bit higher? Help me get this fire started, and then you can clock out?"

Sun: "No way. It's time to knock off. I don't do overtime!"

Hank tried to reason, "Just a little bit longer, it won't take much of your time. We're all working for the people, right?"

Sun scoffed, "You want a little longer, he wants a little longer, when am I supposed to go home then?"

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Hank: "I admit you have a point, but..."

Before he could finish, the Sun cut him off, "There's no 'but.' You're an ant, you don't get to make demands. Scram! And don't bother me again, or you'll regret it!"

"What a jerk," Hank grumbled under his breath.

Just then, Big Glass suddenly spoke up, "Actually, there's another way to light this thatch."

Hank's eyes lit up. "What way?"

Big Glass stated plainly, "Get me some glass. After I gobble it up, I can level up. Then, even if the light is dim, I can help you light the thatch."

Hank was stunned. Even the Magnifying Glass could level up? What kind of crazy world was this? This was insane!

After a moment of bewilderment, Hank asked, "How much glass do you need to level up?"

Big Glass: "For the first upgrade, not much. Just a beer bottle will do."

Hank's expression turned thoughtful. A beer bottle wasn't a big deal. The problem was, he didn't have one! It seemed like he'd have to try his luck at the Trading Hall.

Hank opened the Trading Hall and started browsing. While there weren't any beer bottles for sale, he found someone selling white spirits. A liquor bottle was also a glass bottle; Big Glass should be able to level up after consuming it.

The issue was that the seller, Finnigan "Finn" Garner, was asking for two bottles of mineral water and a loaf of bread. That was a steep price.

After a brief hesitation, Hank contacted him: "Hey, I want your liquor. Can you lower the price a bit?"

Finnigan "Finn" Garner: "This is a bottle of Moutai! Do you know how much this costs? Two bottles of mineral water and a loaf of bread is a steal."

Hank scoffed: "Dude, you need to understand something. We're not on Earth anymore. We're in a survival situation. Here, any kind of liquor is worth less than a bottle of mineral water."

Finnigan "Finn" Garner paused for a moment, then replied: "Fine, one bottle of mineral water and a loaf of bread. Not a drop less."

Hank chuckled: "How about this, you keep the liquor and sell me the bottle. I'll give you a bottle of purified water." He couldn't even handle beer, let alone hard liquor. It would be a waste to trade for it, so he might as well just get the bottle.

Finnigan "Finn" Garner was bewildered: "A bottle of purified water for an empty bottle? Are you kidding me?"

Hank: "Do I sound like I'm kidding? If you agree, we trade now. If not, forget it."

Finnigan "Finn" Garner: "I agree, but you'll have to wait a minute. Let me pour out the liquor first."

Hank: "No problem, I'll wait."

A minute later, Finnigan "Finn" Garner finished pouring out the liquor and completed the trade with Hank.

Hank immediately placed the bottle in front of Big Glass. "Big Glass, the bottle's here. Chow down."

Big Glass: "Why is it a liquor bottle?"

Hank asked tentatively, "Can't you level up from eating a liquor bottle?" If not, he'd wasted a bottle of purified water.

Big Glass: "I can still level up, but I might get a little tipsy!"

"Just eat it," Hank said, exasperated. He was lucky to have a chance to level up at all, and here he was being picky? Didn't he know how tough things were right now?

A crack suddenly appeared on the surface of Big Glass, slowly opening like a large mouth. Then, a powerful suction force erupted from the "mouth," pulling the liquor bottle in.

Crunch, crunch...

The sound of chewing followed.

A minute later, Big Glass stopped chewing and returned to its original state.

Hank asked impatiently, "How is it? Did you level up?"

Big Glass burped. "Upgrade successful!"

"The sun is about to set, hurry up and light the fire!" Hank urged.

Big Glass said, exasperated, "I can't move on my own, how am I supposed to light the fire?"

Hank quickly realized his mistake, picked up Big Glass, adjusted the angle, and aimed it at the pile of thatch.

Soon, a bright spot of light appeared on the thatch. After a short wait, a wisp of white smoke rose from the spot where the light was focused, followed by some sparks.

Seeing this, Big Glass quickly reminded him, "Don't just stand there, blow on it!"

Hank dropped Big Glass, cupped the thatch in his hands, and blew hard. Sparks flew everywhere, and thick smoke billowed up.

After a few breaths, a small flame suddenly burst from the thatch.

"Success!" Hank shouted in excitement, placing the burning thatch on the ground and adding more twigs and dry grass.

Before long, a blazing fire roared to life, illuminating the surroundings.