Free Web NovelChapter 198: Chapter 198: The Sea Garbage Cleanup Event Begins
Six o’clock arrived right on time, and so did the system notification announcing the start of the event.
[Dear players, the Maritime Garbage Cleanup event has now begun! We encourage everyone to participate. You can unlock the event’s Point Mall for 10 points.]
[An event point leaderboard will be active for the duration of the event. We wish you all the best of luck in securing a spot on the rankings!]
[Duration: Five Days]
Faye Yardley noticed all sorts of garbage beginning to appear on the water’s surface around her raft.
"Bella, come on. Let’s head out and get our first haul."
The Skeletal Warhorse trotted to her side. As soon as she vaulted onto its back, it leaped from the raft and began galloping across the surface of the sea.
"Head for the areas with the most trash. We’ll start by bringing back a full net."
Bella was incredibly capable. Faye Yardley had gotten a fishing net from a drop a long time ago, and it was perfect for this. Besides, she hadn’t just been waiting around for the past three days. She’d also acquired some salvaging tools and a large garbage recycling bin, sending any extras to her brother.
There was good news from Ethan Yardley, too. He’d secured a guild headquarters. Although it was just a small one, it supposedly covered over sixteen acres, and people could be stationed there permanently.
He said that after the event, he would establish a guild contribution system to properly organize who would manage the base.
This was a godsend for anyone who had to care for family, especially those with children.
’But it’s a bit early to be thinking about that. First things first, I need to focus on this cleanup event.’
The moment she spotted the trash, Faye Yardley cast her net. Then, lying flat on Bella’s back and holding onto the net with one hand, she had Bella gallop forward, scooping up a full net of garbage with that simple, brute-force method.
She had specifically moved the large garbage recycling bin to a corner opposite the cultivation room. That whole area was mostly empty, making it the perfect spot to handle the trash.
Even though the trash had just started to drift by, the amount Bella hauled in after a single run was nothing to scoff at.
She hadn’t noticed it much out on the open sea, but the moment she was back on the raft, the stench of the garbage began to fill the air. Faye Yardley was tempted to toss the entire net, contents and all, straight into the large garbage bin.
’Can’t the ocean break down human waste?’
’It’s only been a little over a month. How could there be so much plastic waste already? And all this other wreckage...’
No matter how much she grumbled internally, the work had to be done. Especially when, as the trash went into the recycling bin, the pleasant chime of "Points +1, +2, +1..." instantly drowned out the foul smell.
Her motivation soared.
Eamon ran over to help. "Faye," he said, "how about you set me up with a small boat and a fishing net? I can go off the raft and haul some in myself."
"Great. Thank you for your hard work."
Faye Yardley would never discourage someone from proactively offering to help; she was just grateful.
The event had only just begun, but the leaderboard was already full of names. It was constantly refreshing, with multiple people cycling through a single rank every second. Yet, Faye Yardley remained firmly locked in first place. No matter how much the rankings below her shifted, her name never wavered.
Meanwhile, the players who were just waiting for trash to drift closer, or those using fishing rods to pull it in from a distance, had enough free time to not only watch the leaderboard but also post in the public chat.
[Whoa, the player in first place is not only from our Veridia, she’s also the top player on the combat power leaderboard for our Region 101! The woman who unlocked the mount system is on another level!]
[No kidding. Our District 101 is getting famous server-wide because of her.]
[She’s a total beast! All hail the queen!]
That’s right. There was only one leaderboard for the entire server, which meant every single person still alive in this survival-at-sea game was competing on it.
This made the competition incredibly fierce.
Many teams were pooling all their collected garbage to boost a single member’s rank. Yet even so, Faye Yardley managed to crush the competition and hold fast to her number one spot, sparking all sorts of wild speculation.
But regardless of the speculation, Faye Yardley and Bella never stopped moving.
At this point, all Faye had to do was collect the trash and toss it onto the raft. Willow Yardley would then sort everything, putting the garbage into the bin. Willow would even set aside any treasure chests and use the system to break down useful fish, storing the food in her personal inventory.
Eamon would fill his small boat, then bring it back to the raft and dump the garbage into a nearby Small Garbage Recycling Bin himself. He didn’t dare bother Willow Yardley, because Faye and Bella’s teamwork was just too efficient. Even though they traveled far, they returned quickly, and Willow was already swamped with work.
Since Faye Yardley and Bella had basically cleared out a wide perimeter around the raft, even venturing out further, she hadn’t noticed that trash was supposedly becoming more frequent near the raft, or that its spawn rate was increasing.
Plus, Eamon was nearby, scooping up any stragglers, so no garbage ever even reached the edge of Faye Yardley’s raft.
’If anything, she felt the garbage’s respawn rate was too slow; there wasn’t enough for her to collect by herself.’
’As long as she didn’t have to do any of the secondary processing, she was perfectly fine with it.’
Her clearing speed was faster than the garbage’s respawn rate, so by 10 AM, Faye Yardley was starting to feel a little idle.
She had to make an even wider circuit around her raft just to fill a single net.
When she hauled this load back to the raft, she joined Willow Yardley and Eamon, helping them toss the trash into the bin to convert it all into points.
After spending 10 points to unlock the event’s Point Mall, she had the system project the leaderboard and the mall interface into the air.
When she saw she was ranked first, she could hardly believe her eyes. ’Wait, I got first place this easily?’
Eamon immediately exclaimed, "Faye, you’re amazing!"
"That’s only because I had help from you two. Otherwise, there’s no way I could have placed first in the entire server."
’Without Bella and their help,’ Faye Yardley thought, ’I’d be lucky to even scrape the bottom of the leaderboard.’
Only the top ten thousand players in the server made it onto the board.
Her rank was displayed separately below the main list, so she could always see her position.
First place. Number one in the entire server. It would be impossible for Faye Yardley to say she wasn’t thrilled.
She was excited, and admittedly, a little vain. In any case, looking at her rank made Faye Yardley feel completely energized!
’So what if I have to go a little farther!’
’But I have to give Bella a good treat for this.’
She figured Bella would probably also like the Light Energy Fragments that Green Egg was so fond of. With that thought, Faye Yardley took out a fragment and fed it to Bella. Bella let out an excited neigh. Meanwhile, on the second-floor balcony, Green Egg, who had been lazing about like always, sensed the fleeting presence of the Light Energy Fragment. It perked up for a moment, only to slump back down in disappointment.
Bella, however, was truly energized. It nuzzled against Faye Yardley excitedly, urging her to get back on its saddle. It felt like it could cross the entire ocean in a single go.
Faye Yardley laughed heartily and vaulted onto its back. "Bella, let’s ride!"
