Faye Yardley sipped her milk tea, her mind relaxing as she watched the messages constantly scrolling on the public chat.
'Sure enough, seeing how miserable everyone else is makes my own bruises hurt less.'
BEEP BEEP BEEP~
A friend message notification sounded.
Faye Yardley thought it was Zachary Pierce looking for her, but to her surprise, it was Bonnie Callahan.
Bonnie Callahan: "Miss Yardley, let's be frank. I opened a treasure chest this morning and got a 30g bottle of pain-relief spray for bruises. It should last for quite a few uses. If you have more than one pack of sanitary napkins, could you trade one to me? If I get any later and you need them, I'll give them to you first."
Faye Yardley hadn't opened her own chests yet, but she knew that a small bottle of spray like that was quite valuable right now. And she probably had some use for it, though not a lot.
'But for Bonnie Callahan to be so proactive and willing to trade a good item... she really is the kind of person I want in my private group.'
Faye Yardley didn't hesitate and directly sent a pack of sanitary napkins over using a Gift.
The reply came back quickly: "Thanks. If you ever need anything from me, just ask. [Gift]."
After accepting the Gift, a small bottle of spray appeared before her eyes.
But now that she had it, Faye Yardley looked at the light bruises on her body, thought for a moment, and decided against using it. They would heal on their own soon enough.
'This must be the rapid recovery that comes with increased Constitution.'
"No need to be so polite, Miss Callahan. What you traded me was just what I needed, too. Mwah! (づ￣3￣)づ╭～"
"(#^.^#) A pleasant transaction, wasn't it?"
Clearly, Bonnie Callahan was in a great mood as well.
'Although there were only ten pads in a pack, she just needed them for the first day of her period, which would likely start right after the protection period ended. Based on her body's usual cycle, the flow would become very light after that. She could endure it, just changing one pad a day to get by.'
As for the few bruises she'd gotten from the sudden hailstorm, she couldn't care less about them.
She was someone who had read all sorts of apocalyptic novels online, including a few of the survival game variety.
'Experiencing it firsthand, it's natural to panic. But more than that, I want to protect myself and hopefully hold on until my mom and dad enter the game in two months.'
Her parents had her after their careers were stable and they had sought medical help from all over, so their Age placed them in the second batch of players.
Faye Yardley's eyes crinkled in a smile as she read the message. 'I'm starting to like this girl. She doesn't try to take advantage of people, she's straightforward, and she works hard to get what she wants.'
'That's awesome.'
'In real life, I should be a year older than her, but in here, she's actually two years older than me.'
Unlike Bonnie Callahan, who was looking forward to two months from now, Faye's only relative was her older brother. Her family situation in this world was similar to her real one: her parents had died young, and after her brother inherited their estate, she had long since lost contact with any of her other relatives, as far as she could remember.
So her brother was her only family.
Unfortunately, her brother wasn't in District 101, and she had no idea where he was.
'I hope I can spot him during the first major cross-district event. Then I can use an item to contact him.'
After finishing her milk tea, Faye Yardley went to throw away the empty cup and was reminded of her large trash can, which gave her a headache. It was already at the very edge of her raft. 'I hope the wind doesn't blow it away.'
There was no use worrying about it now. She could tell from the sounds outside that the wind, rain, and hail still hadn't let up.
With nothing else to do, she moved all the seafood she had caught and processed into her storage, if for no other reason than its quality-preservation function.
Her inventory was instantly more than half empty. In a single morning, she had fished up seven Wooden Treasure Chests and one Iron Treasure Box. 'This is probably more than what other people get all day.'
'After all, every time I look at the public chat, I just feel so bad for those people. They're so miserable.'
Taking a deep breath, she took out an Iron Treasure Box. Then, Faye Yardley clasped her hands together and began her ritual. "Dearest Papa System, please bless your incomparably cute and boundlessly beautiful daughter so she gets something good. If you do, I'll love you even more."
She opened the Iron Treasure Box.
[Obtained Hand Warmer Blueprint ×1, Guardian Sanitary Napkin Blueprint ×1]
Talent Triggered: Double Good Luck. All items acquired are tripled.
"Whoa! Papa System, I love you!"
She put the extra blueprints in the coffee table's drawer, placed one of each of the two different blueprints on the tabletop, then took a picture and sent it to Zachary Pierce.
He didn't reply right away, but Faye Yardley wasn't in a hurry. She had something else to confirm. "Papa System, is it possible to sign partnership contracts with other players? Are those contracts protected by the System?"
[As long as a player submits a contract for signing in the trading market, pays the processing fee for a resource-based contract, that contract will be monitored and protected by the System. Any party who fails to uphold the contract will be punished by the System.]
"That's great. Thank you for clearing that up, System."
'Setting aside the hand warmer blueprint for a moment, the market for sanitary napkins is absolutely massive. I already gave the production workshop blueprint to Zachary Pierce. Paired with these two new blueprints, there's no question that the two of us will make a fortune.'
'This is a long-term project. I'm not foolish enough to sell them off for a low, one-time price. I plan to negotiate with Zachary Pierce, sign a contract, and take a percentage of the profits.'
'I can take a smaller cut, even five percent would be fine, but I absolutely must have a stake in it.'
With such a good start, it was time to keep opening chests.
[Obtained wood ×25, Oil ×10, cotton seeds ×10, strawberry seeds ×6]
Talent Triggered... Doubled.
[Obtained Women's Loungewear ×1, Cotton Slippers ×1]
Talent Triggered... Doubled.
[Obtained Celtuce ×6, Watermelon ×2, White Roses ×10, Spray Roses ×10]
Talent Triggered... Doubled.
[Obtained Ream of A4 Paper ×2, Black Ink Pens ×6, "The Comic Book You Want" ×1, Summer Language Dictionary ×1]
Talent Triggered... Doubled.
Looking at the contents of this chest, Faye Yardley wondered if she was seeing things.
'What's the use of this stuff here?'
'Don't tell me the System thinks I'm illiterate, so it sent me a dictionary to help me brush up?'
She shook her head to dismiss the ridiculous thought and continued opening chests.
[Obtained Bandage ×5, A Dozen Beers ×3, Box of Cold Medicine ×3]
Talent Triggered... Quadrupled.
[Obtained wood ×30, stones ×15, Liqueur Chocolates ×10, Naan Bread ×5]
Talent Triggered... Doubled.
[Obtained Cubic Meter of Soil ×1, Planting Pots ×3, Rice Seeds ×10]
Talent Triggered... Sextupled.
"Whoa, a critical hit on the last one! And it's stuff for planting. This is awesome!"
Faye Yardley was also very pleased with the items from her chests. In truth, she would have been happy with whatever she got.
Just then, the BEEP BEEP BEEP of a friend message notification sounded.