Free Web NovelChapter 53: Chapter 53: Drift Bottle and Mysterious Gift
With time to spare before 6 PM, Faye Yardley patted the cat statue and went outside to find Willow Yardley. Fishing together would be less lonely, and if possible, she wanted to try jumping into the sea herself.
When Faye found her, Willow was holding a fishing rod, her eyes fixed straight ahead, unblinking.
"Willow, are you reading the public channel?"
"Yes, sister. You should take a look too. Also, it seems your group member Wade Warren is in a bit of trouble in your private chat."
Instead of peering at Willow’s screen, Faye Yardley opened the group chat herself. She scrolled up to see what had happened to Wade Warren.
Wade Warren: Oh my god, everyone, I nearly died. I hadn’t seen the corrupted Sea Monster all day and was still fishing up treasure chests as usual, so I thought it had moved on. But when I jumped into the sea just now, I saw a black and purple mass come charging right for me! I was so scared I immediately scrambled back onto my raft. The attack hit just as I got on, and the whole raft shook from the impact.
Gavin Donovan: Mr. Warren, is your raft okay?
Wade Warren: It’s fine. It just struck once when it charged. Afterward, it seemed hesitant for some reason and didn’t attack again. But it hasn’t left the area around my raft. This is awful!
Zachary Pierce: Wade Warren, go back to your Wooden House first. Maybe the Sea Monster will move on if it can’t see you.
Bonnie Callahan: I just got a one-hour same-zone Invitation Card. Mr. Warren, why don’t you invite Pierce or Mr. Donovan to your location to help you deal with it?
"Huh, a same-zone Invitation Card. To get one so early... it seems Miss Bonnie’s Luck Value isn’t low either."
Hearing this, Willow Yardley glanced over at her and said reassuringly, "There’s no need to be envious, sister. Your Luck Value is already the highest in the whole zone. If you really want one, you can get one too."
Faye Yardley returned her smile, then continued reading the group chat.
But now, apart from Leo Sloan asking how things were going, the group had become unusually quiet.
’It seems Wade Warren has already invited someone over to help him.’
’Most likely Gavin Donovan, since they knew each other before all this started.’
"Willow, I’m going to get in the sea and take a look." free𝑤ebnovel.com
"Sister, the sea surface outside is already starting to freeze over in large patches. If you want to go in, it’s best to wait until this cold snap has passed."
"Alright, I’ll listen to you. I’ll try again when the weather gets warmer."
There was still no movement from the fishing rod, so Faye Yardley opened the public channel.
[Ahhhh, the water around my raft is frozen solid! It seems like my raft isn’t moving anymore.]
[I’m okay over here, but the ice floes around my raft are getting more numerous and larger.]
[We’ll be able to skate on the ocean soon, wouldn’t that be cool? Can’t wait!]
[Are you nuts? What’s there to look forward to? If it freezes, how are we supposed to fish for treasure chests? Are we just supposed to wait to starve and freeze to death?]
[I admire you guys for insisting on fishing outside in this cold. I’m huddled by my Fire Pit and don’t dare to move a single step.]
Faye Yardley watched for a while but felt that aside from learning that everyone else’s rafts were also starting to get iced in, it was all just useless chatter, so she stopped paying attention.
"Sister, something’s on your line."
Yanking it up, Faye Yardley stared at the empty Coke can that came out of the water and began to question reality.
’Wait, have I used up all my Luck Value for the day?!’ freēwēbηovel.c૦m
"Sister, there are words carved inside the Coke can."
Willow Yardley said, handing the empty can to Faye Yardley.
[I wanted to make a message in a bottle. The person who finds my bottle can receive a mysterious gift from me. Are you ready?]
Faye Yardley made a sound of surprise, then glanced at Willow Yardley, thought for a moment, and said, "I’m ready."
With a POP, a strangely shaped wood carving appeared on the raft.
[Acquired: Wood Carving Hand-carved by Islander 99 x1. Tip: This carving increases your raft’s attack Strength.]
"You’re amazing, sister! This wood carving is very useful."
’Although Islander 99’s aesthetic sense is a bit lacking, the properties he imbued the wood carving with are excellent.’ So, Faye Yardley decided she didn’t dislike it. ’If possible, I really wish he’d give me a couple more.’
DING-DONG DING-DONG. A message notification sounded.
Faye Yardley opened it and saw messages from Zachary Pierce and Bonnie Callahan.
Bonnie Callahan: "Hon, I got something good today. Giving you one first. Let’s meet up when we get the chance! Red Envelope."
Zachary Pierce: "Yardley, other people’s rafts have already met and merged, but not all mergers are good. If another person’s raft appears near you, be cautious. Be extremely careful about merging rafts. Red Envelope."
’They both sent me Red Envelopes.’
Faye Yardley accepted Bonnie Callahan’s and got a four-hour regional Invitation Card.
Inside Zachary Pierce’s Red Envelope were two Fire Pits and a rather famous longsword.
"Thanks for the Invitation Card, Miss Bonnie. I’ll invite you over to my raft for a visit when the time is right. Red Envelope." Faye Yardley sent Bonnie Callahan a watermelon and a vegetable melon in return.
’Of course, the value wasn’t comparable, but friendships grow distant when you start calculating every little thing.’
She picked up the rather famous longsword. It gleamed with a Silver light, looking incredibly sharp at a glance.
Faye Yardley raised the longsword and swung it a few times with horizontal and vertical slashes before putting it away with a wide smile.
’I’ll just give Mr. Pierce a case of beer as payment. It’s not like they’re short on anything right now, anyway.’
"Thanks for the reminder, Mr. Pierce. And I love the longsword you sent. Red Envelope. By the way, Mr. Pierce, could you use this? [Arrow Tower Blueprint.JPG]"
"Yes, yes, yes! You draft the contract, you name the terms."
Faye Yardley chuckled. "Just give me priority on any good weapons that are suitable for me. Let’s use the same terms as before for this one."
"No, that won’t work. This is different from the last time. You’d be getting the short end of the stick if we used the old contract for this."
"It doesn’t matter. Well, then add one more clause: you’re not allowed to sell to anyone on my blacklist."
After a moment, the reply came: "Done. Give me the blacklist."
"Hehe, thanks, Mr. Pierce."
’Her blacklisting those two by herself wouldn’t affect them much, but if they were blacklisted by Zachary Pierce’s group, the impact would definitely be huge.’
’Although her blacklist only had two names on it for now, who knew about the future? It was bound to get longer.’
Surprisingly, Caleb Colby sent a message: "Yardley, do you have a new Dungeon 3 Invitation Card? If you do, you have to call me when you go."
"Don’t worry, we’re a team. Besides, there was a progress bar after we completed the Dungeon last time. I saved our progress, so we might be able to continue exploring from where we left off next time we go in."
"Awesome! That’s our Yardley for you. I’ll be waiting for your message then. And don’t worry, we’re collecting Dungeon 3 Fragments on our end too."
"Okay, I’ll contact you all as soon as I get an Invitation Card."
After replying to the messages, Faye Yardley noticed that the sea around her raft was freezing over more and more severely. At this rate, it would soon become a solid sheet.
"Forget it, no more fishing. Let’s go back."
"You go rest, sister. I can finish up right at 6 o’clock."
