Inside the same room, four people, including the man who had been gazing out the window earlier, were now seated in a circle.
In the middle lay thin slices of dried water beast fish, slightly moldy, and four strands of dried kelp placed inside two separate plastic containers. Beside them was a canteen of boiled water with only a quarter left.
The five people shared the same expressions: hunger, thirst, and exhaustion.
The leader of the group was called Bear. He was the man with shoulder-length orange hair tied into a ponytail and an unshaven face. Combined with his buff build, the name suited his appearance perfectly. A pair of broken, wet goggles hung around his neck.
"I told you we wouldn't be able to find anything in this place. If you had listened to me, we shouldn't have wasted our energy coming here."
The one who spoke was called Wells, a brown-haired man sitting to Bear's right. Unlike Bear, he was thin. He wore a pair of broken glasses and had a mole on his nose.
Sitting beside Wells was another thin young man with black hair and Eastern features. His name was Ron, the youngest of the group. When the cataclysmic flood happened, he had still been a student living in the university dormitory. He was also the one who had seen the flickering light in Moonstone Province.
"Don't get upset with Brother Bear. He's just trying his best," Ron said to Wells.
The man on Bear's left clenched his fists. Though he did not have Bear's imposing build, he was still larger than Ron and Wells. His name was Pal. Even before the flood, he had been close friends with Bear.
"It's all that bastard Leo's fault. After taking the base leader's seat, he started forgetting Bear's contribution to building the base. He began neglecting the people and only cared about those who had powers. He even raised the prices of food and water."
Bear and Leo had been the ones who established the base. Because Bear was not the type to lead, he gave the position to Leo. Together, they had promised to protect the people.
Leo had been good in the beginning, but after mingling with the other awakeners, he changed. He became greedy and selfish, revising the base rules to favor the awakeners.
Bear and Leo had gotten into a fight because of it. Since then, Leo had started making their lives difficult.
But for now, there was nothing they could do. The next base was an entire week's journey away, and the route was filled with C-Class water beasts.
Bear spoke helplessly. "These are the last of our rations. Tomorrow, we'll double-check the area. If we can't find any food, we'll look for something valuable like batteries or solar panels. We can trade them for supplies."
The four shared the food. Even though the kelp and dried fish were hard and overly salty, they did not dare waste a single bite. As for the water, everyone took only a small sip.
It was obvious that they were still hungry and thirsty, but they packed the canteen and the remaining "food" away.
Ron wanted to tell them about the flicker of light he had seen, but the others were in such poor moods that he gave up on the idea.
That night, Isla Lane tossed and turned in her bed.
Although the system had assured her that there were no water beasts in Moonstone Province and that the raft was indestructible, she still felt uneasy.
Having lived as a hunter, she had developed the habit of remaining alert even in her sleep. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, a dungeon break would occur. The Nightmares that escaped from the dungeon would attack the nearest safe zone.
In the past, a medium-sized safe zone had been completely destroyed for this very reason.
By the time hunters from other bases arrived, it had already been too late.
The pictures taken from the destroyed base had been broadcast to alert citizens and hunters. They were horrifying and gruesome.
The memory left a deep impression on her.
Isla Lane only managed to fall asleep when it was almost morning.
At the same time, a small boat carrying four people set sail.
After being under the sun for too long, their skin had become dry and cracked.
[Day 177 of the Cataclysmic Flood]
The first night had been rough.
Isla Lane yawned as she ate her breakfast.
She had not completely explored the interface yesterday.
The last icon was the City Map tab, represented by a small glowing globe. When she tapped it, the screen expanded into a wide, semi-transparent view of the entire Moonstone Province, which spanned about seventy thousand hectares. The borders were marked with broken green lines.
In the middle of the screen was her raft, now shrunk to a tiny dot that could easily be missed among the surrounding trash and floating debris.
When she zoomed in, she noticed that on each side of the small cleaning boat she was sitting on were four glowing green arrows.
"Huh? What's this?"
[They are movement arrows that will allow you to reposition buildings in the future. You can simply press and drag buildings or objects to any location within Moonstone Province, as long as the area is not restricted.]
So convenient!
"Then what about the small cleaning boat? It has movement arrows too. Can I reposition it the same way? It won't be dangerous, right?"
[Of course. Moonstone Province has a water beast shielding function. As long as you remain within the boundary, the system can guarantee your safety.]
Isla Lane was naturally adventurous. She immediately tried the function and quickly fell in love with it.
"Ha ha ha! I love this! It's like I gained a teleportation ability! System, you should have bound me earlier when I was still in my previous world. Otherwise, I would have emptied those two-faced powerhouses' treasure vaults!"
Suddenly, when her small cleaning boat teleported to the northernmost edge of Moonstone Province, where a welcoming arch once stood, she spotted several figures standing on top of floating debris.
Her eyes widened.
"Eh? Are those people?!"
(A/N: I know I'm bad at naming characters. XD)