Chapter 164: Chapter 164: Speculation, You’ve Already Done Very Well
As expected, right after midnight, along with the system notification that the event had ended, she could clearly feel the temperature outside drop.
Faye Yardley sat on the sofa of her second-floor balcony. The sea breeze, carrying a hint of the ocean’s scent, drifted through the open window and caressed her face, making her feel surprisingly comfortable and at ease.
She opened a bottle of cocktail for herself, figuring she could have a little drink before bed.
She was even in the mood to hum a song. For her, today had been a rare, relaxing, and pleasant day since arriving in The Survival World.
She turned to look at the Green Egg in the wooden box beside her; it seemed to twitch slightly. Then she looked over at the Magic Seed in the planter. Its sprout was now 7-8 centimeters tall.
"When are you two going to grow up?" Faye Yardley raised her glass to them. "But there’s no rush. Cheers. I hope every day from now on can be as happy as it was before midnight."
The magical sprout swayed its leaves up and down, as if responding to her.
’Let’s see if there’s any new information on the public screen. System, open the public channel.’
A holographic screen materialized before her eyes, and messages scrolled past one after another, updating at an extremely fast pace.
[This is great, the temperature has finally dropped at night. I think we’ll be fine even without an Ice Basin now.]
[This is the first time I’ve felt the night wind be so comfortable.]
[Have you guys noticed that the edible parts of sea creatures caught during the event have decreased after the system removes the pollution?]
[Oh no, I have a bad feeling about this. The temperature isn’t going to plummet tomorrow, is it?]
[Compared to the cold, I’m suddenly thinking the heat wasn’t so unacceptable after all.]
[Bullshit! People can obviously endure the cold better.]
[The guy above is right. The amount of meat from butchering has gone down. Before, a big fish would give at least two or three pieces of Fish Meat. Now it’s only one.]
[We just had three days to relax. There isn’t going to be another deadly event already, is there?]
[It’s just one thing after another. The system really doesn’t have to be so ’thoughtful’. We just want a simple break.]
Faye Yardley watched for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly. ’Did I forget something important?’
She tapped her head. ’Damn it, I just can’t remember.’
"System, what did you do to my memory?"
Of course, the system gave no response, playing dead.
She downed the rest of her cocktail, set the empty glass aside, and stood up. Walking to the window, she closed her eyes, savoring the cool touch of the evening breeze.
’Even if you don’t tell me, I can figure it out myself. My basic reasoning skills should still be intact.’
Thinking carefully, she realized she’d had a feeling about this before. Now, seeing others mention the decrease in edible parts after processing, it meant that the sources of pollution in the ocean had increased, or that the number of polluted sea creatures had grown.
She could think of three possibilities.
One: the system would make them go into the sea as much as possible to eliminate some of the pollution sources. Two: a large-scale event where a massive, polluted sea creature actively attacks rafts. Three: a large-scale marine debris cleanup event.
After all, humans had been living on the ocean for over a month. Many people without trash cans simply threw their waste directly into the sea. For the sake of the marine environment, the system might very well create an event for cleaning up trash to protect the ocean.
’Whichever one it is, it’s impossible for them to just let you idle away on your raft in peace.’
She highly suspected that this ocean survival game was actually orchestrated by some highly advanced intelligent life form that had its sights set on Azure Star’s territory and wanted to wipe out its sentient inhabitants.
After sharing these speculations with her brother and Zachary Pierce, Zachary Pierce sent her a message back.
Zachary Pierce: "Yardley, some of our people have raised the same points you mentioned. But we don’t have any concrete evidence right now, nor do we have any good countermeasures. The main issue is that the general combat effectiveness of the populace is still quite low.
We’ve been promoting military-style calisthenics on the national channel since it opened, but we have no idea how many people are actually practicing with the videos. As for these potential events, we can only wait until the specific details are released to see how we can help.
For now, all we can do is issue warnings and release more information to keep people on high alert.
It was my mistake not to remind you directly sooner. My apologies."
Faye Yardley smiled and replied, "It’s fine. You’re all already doing more than enough."
Given the limitations of their environment, there was only so much they could do, and not everyone was willing to cooperate.
To put it bluntly, take women’s sanitary pads for example. Because they were selling them at a low profit—basically earning back raw materials for one pad for every three they sold—they had driven the market price down. Logan Langdon’s prices could only stay about the same—they couldn’t go lower, but they definitely wouldn’t go much higher either.
Thinking of this, Faye Yardley felt that her own body might have a small problem too. ’Have I gone through menopause?’
Her period hadn’t come at all.
’Oh well, no need to dwell on it. It’s better this way.’
Faye Yardley gazed into the distance. The sky was full of twinkling stars, creating the illusion that she was the only person on the vast, boundless ocean.
"System, show me the small group chat."
Kyle Lewis: "@Faye Yardley, thanks, Miss Yardley. The white peonies you sent are beautiful. My mom loves them, and she asked me to thank you."
Bonnie Callahan: They’re gorgeous! I put them in a vase on my nightstand. [Photo.jpg]
Faye Yardley: You’re welcome. I’m glad you like them.
Leo Sloan: That’s great. I managed to send the flowers to my wife before the event ended. She loves them too. I wonder when the zones will merge again.
Zachary Pierce: The later zones are also gradually merging. The process is a bit slow, but I believe they will eventually be consolidated by country.
Ethan Yardley: The temperature has dropped. Everyone be careful not to catch a cold from the sudden change.
Seeing her brother’s message, Faye Yardley realized she couldn’t give all her cotton to Eleanor Jonas anymore. She needed to save some, whether for making quilts, weaving cloth, or crafting cotton clothes and shoes.
’Of course, I don’t have the skills for that myself. Maybe I’ll get a crafting recipe from a supply crate in the future.’
Her gaze shifted toward the grow room. The light was still on in the small house next to it. Eamon was certainly proving to be useful. Bound by a contract and watched over by Willow Yardley, she didn’t have to worry about him causing any trouble.
’What else does my raft need?’
She checked the All World Communication page. Bella Dillon was still offline and unreachable, but Dahlia White was online.
She currently had 4 Ordinary Island Entry Orders. ’Should I combine them into another Refined Island Entry Order?’
The thought had no sooner crossed her mind than Faye Yardley took three Ordinary Island Entry Orders from her storage and, following the system prompt, combined them into a refined one.
Looking at the Refined Island Entry Order, Faye Yardley’s eyes glinted. She had some theories about these entry orders now, but she’d need to use them a couple more times to be certain.
’If I end up at another bustling port city this time, will Eamon still choose to stay behind?’
