As Faye Yardley struggled to reel in the treasure chest, a downpour began without warning, instantly turning torrential.
It left no time to react.
Already soaked to the bone, Faye Yardley had no intention of abandoning the treasure chest she had on the line. Even as her vision blurred, her grip on the fishing rod never wavered.
The feeling of being pelted by the torrential rain was miserable, but how could she just abandon a treasure chest she already had in hand?
Faye Yardley used every ounce of her strength to haul on the fishing rod. With a final THUD, a chest crashed onto the raft, and she staggered back two steps before collapsing onto the deck.
The rain was so heavy she couldn't see half a meter in front of her. All she could see was a solid wall of rain.
She stored the fishing rod and treasure chest in her Backpack.
Faye Yardley figured that since she couldn't possibly get any wetter, she might as well take the opportunity to have a bath.
Returning to the Wooden House completely naked, Faye Yardley finally felt like she was coming back to life. It felt as if the downpour had washed her clothes completely clean, to say nothing of her body.
She hung her dripping clothes on the foot of the wooden bed. With the house so bare, there was simply nowhere else to put them.
As for being naked, hah. 'This is my own little world,' she thought. 'If I don't say anything, who's going to know?'
Shaking out her dripping long hair, Faye Yardley remembered the cloth in her Backpack. She immediately took out a piece and wrapped it around her body.
"Alright, it's time for my blissful unboxing hour. Let's see what a super lucky person like me can get."
Taking the chests from her Backpack, Faye Yardley took a deep breath and muttered, "Spirits of heaven and earth, hear my plea! Open!"
[Obtained: torch Diagram ×1, Mineral Water ×3, Instant Noodles ×2, wood ×10]
"Yes! A great start! Let's keep this momentum going."
[wood ×20, iron block ×8, Crystal ×1, copper block ×2]
[Thermal Underwear Set ×1, Bandage ×1, Mineral Water ×2, 5-jin Bag of Rice ×1]
[Awning ×1, wood ×35, stones ×5]
[Fireplace Blueprint ×1, Sprite ×2, Dumplings ×8, wood ×12, Hemostatic Pill ×2]
[Cotton ×20, Padded Jacket ×1, Men's Athletic Shoes ×1, Good Sleep Pillow ×1]
[Simple Sofa Diagram ×1, 2-meter Greatsword ×1, stones ×10]
[wood ×34, Hemostatic Grass ×6, Basic Body Refining Pill ×1, Mineral Water ×2]
[Women's Sportswear Set ×1, Scissors ×1, Large Iron Pot ×1, Raincoat ×1]
[Small Group Chat Coupon ×1, Bandage ×3, Dungeon 1 Fragment ×2, Steamed Buns ×3]
"Hahaha... I knew it! A 10-pull is guaranteed to drop something good. Today is definitely my lucky day; all my wishes are coming true..."
She dismantled the ten Wooden Treasure Chests, which yielded another 30 wood.
Only one Iron Treasure Box remained. Faye Yardley rubbed her hands together, blew on them for good luck, and opened it.
[Blood Replenishing Potion Recipe ×1, Hair Growth Tonic ×1, Dagger ×1, wood ×50, Backpack Expansion × 10 Diagrams ×1]
"Oh my god, oh my god, I've struck it rich! Who's more awesome than me?!"
This pile of stuff in front of her could barely fit inside the small house.
She put on the thermal underwear and the sportswear set, instantly feeling cozy and warm—in fact, she was starting to feel a little hot.
The only downside was that the shoes were men's.
'How annoying! I don't actually mind wearing men's stuff, as long as the size fits.'
But the system was being a jerk. When Faye Yardley tried to put them on, the system prompted: [These are Men's Athletic Shoes. Please conduct yourself with decorum, miss.]
'Asking me to have decorum?!'
Faye Yardley was so furious she had to laugh. 'A survival game is seriously telling me what I can and can't wear?!'
So she casually packaged the athletic shoes into a Gift and sent them to Zachary Pierce. There was a Dungeon tonight, so she'd just consider it an advance investment. Mostly, she just wanted them out of her sight!
Zachary Pierce, who was stubbornly fishing for treasure chests in the rain with a giant crab shell on his head, was startled by the Gift notification. After a moment's pause, he naturally asked, "What are you short on this time, kid?"
"I'm not short on anything. It's a gift for you, Mr. Pierce."
Zachary Pierce could practically feel the waves of frustration in her voice message. He decided to wait until the time for fishing treasure chests was over and he was back on his raft to open it. He'd see what it was and give her something suitable in return. He wasn't the type to take advantage of people, much less the little sister of a comrade-in-arms.
Faye Yardley turned her attention to the awning in her Backpack. 'It must be pretty big,' she thought, 'otherwise it would have materialized directly inside the house.'
She could choose a spot and install the awning right now, allowing her to keep fishing for treasure chests. It wasn't even four o'clock yet. That meant at least two more hours of fishing. 'Just think of how many treasure chests that is!'
"System, bring up the raft management panel. I want to see where the awning will fit."
A 3D model of the entire raft quickly appeared in front of Faye Yardley. The awning was 2.5 meters wide and, surprisingly, 4 meters long—the same length as the house. The placement was a no-brainer. It would go on the side of the Wooden House that still had a 2-meter-wide walkway. It might hang over the edge of the raft by half a meter, but that just meant better protection from the rain.
Once it was installed, Faye Yardley quickly threw on her raincoat and headed outside. She could tidy up the house after the fishing time ended; there was no rush.
She stepped outside, quickly turned right, and ducked under the new awning. In that instant, she felt a profound sense of relief.
She took out the wooden box she used for storing junk and used it as a stool. Faye Yardley began to fish at a leisurely pace, finally in the mood to check the regional channel.
The public channel was more chaotic than ever. Besides the usual clamor for trades, droves of people were complaining about being soaked to the bone by the downpour. They said the raindrops stung when they hit, making it nearly impossible to keep fishing in the storm. Even more people were complaining about their terrible luck with treasure chests, while others begged for any kind of shelter blueprint, desperate to get out of the rain.
Happiness really was all about perspective. Faye Yardley snickered to herself as she watched the chat scroll by.
She conveniently chose to ignore the fact that she had just been utterly defeated by a pair of athletic shoes.
With no bites on her line, Faye Yardley focused her attention on the public chat.
Amidst the flood of messages, she spotted a familiar name.
[Leo Sloan: Does anyone have a Bandage or a Hemostatic Pill? I'll trade a brand-new Iron Treasure Box.]
[Hailey Miles: Mr. Sloan, are you injured again? Unfortunately, I didn't get any Bandages today.]
'Wait a minute, is this Leo Sloan just cursed or something? He was bleeding all over the place on day one, and now it's happening again on day two?'
Faye Yardley's hands moved faster than her brain. She immediately clicked on Leo Sloan's name and sent a friend request. It wasn't that she was coveting his Iron Treasure Box, not at all. She just couldn't bear to give Hailey Miles another chance to be the hero!
"I have Bandages. [Image: Bandage.jpg]."
'I don't think I need to spell out what comes next, do I?'
Suddenly, she felt a heavy weight on the end of her fishing line.