Chapter 175: Chapter 175: The Rhythm of Getting Rich
Picking up the long box yielded no system notification. The whole thing wasn’t very heavy; in fact, it was even lighter than Faye Yardley had imagined.
Likewise, the box was sealed tight, and she couldn’t find a way to open it. ’Whatever, I’ll just store it in my backpack for now.’
There wasn’t much else. Acting on the principle that since she was already here, she couldn’t possibly leave empty-handed, Faye Yardley collected everything she could fit into her backpack.
In the end, she even pried five White Light Stones from the ceiling. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to take more, but they were incredibly difficult to remove. Besides, it was already almost 7:30, and she had to get back to her raft.
Having looted the place clean, Faye Yardley passed directly through the membrane. A protective shield instantly materialized to keep the seawater at bay, and she started shooting toward the surface.
Just as Faye Yardley was about to reach the surface, a Merling arrived at the glowing white entrance of the cave, happily humming a song. It held a large, colorful clam in its hands and passed naturally through the white light. Upon seeing the largely empty and ransacked cave, the colorful clam in the Merling’s hands dropped straight to the ground. The Merling let out a wretched WAIL and burst into tears. Its sobs flowed like a spring, scattering pearls and golden nuggets all over the floor.
The colorful clam secretly opened a crack, quickly snatching the pearls and golden nuggets on the floor into its shell. But before it could feel pleased with itself, it was knocked unconscious by the crying Merling’s wildly flailing hands.
’I was only gone for a day, how could my home have been robbed?!’
WAHHHH...
’It’s going to take me forever and ever to decorate again... And it’s definitely not safe to make my home here anymore.’ The Merling stopped crying. With teary eyes, it gazed at its spotlessly empty home, passed through the light membrane, then opened its mouth wide and—with a giant GULP—swallowed the entire treasure cave.
Heartbroken, it departed from the area, all alone.
Faye Yardley smoothly climbed back onto her raft in high spirits. The trip underwater had been well worth the effort.
She was completely unaware that her home-ransacking spree had broken a little Merling’s heart.
After a simple meal, she dove headfirst into the training room.
By the time she emerged, it was late at night.
She looked up at the sky and was surprised to see the moon. The stars, in contrast, had faded from view.
The night breeze was tinged with a coolness that felt wonderful against her skin.
She checked the time. It was already almost midnight.
"Another day is almost over."
"Sis, aren’t you going to wash up and go to bed? Or are you waiting for the leaderboards to refresh?" Willow Yardley asked, opening her door.
Faye Yardley paused. "Ah, the leaderboards are updating again? Then tonight should be pretty lively."
"Actually, the various channels are always lively. You just don’t pay attention, Sis."
"Right. I’ll go rinse off, then I’ll watch for the results from here. You get some rest, too."
Once Faye Yardley was lying in bed, she pulled up her screen, ready to watch the leaderboards update.
’Come to think of it, the leaderboard bonuses are quite useful to me. The Attribute bonuses might be random, but having them disappear or decrease would feel like a huge loss.’
’Maybe that’s just a flaw in human nature. You don’t care about something when you have it, but you can’t stop thinking about it once it’s gone.’
As soon as it struck midnight, the two leaderboards updated right on schedule.
To her surprise, she was number one on both boards this time. However, only the Raft Leaderboard allowed for anonymity; the Personal Combat Power Leaderboard did not.
’Good thing I didn’t go to sleep. Otherwise, being number one on both boards would have definitely caused a bigger stir.’
’Even though I don’t usually pay attention to the public chat, having my name up there for everyone to discuss is not what I want.’
Second on the Personal Combat Power Leaderboard was Zachary Pierce, and third was Gavin Donovan.
Logan Langdon had surprisingly been pushed down to fourth, while her own brother was only ranked tenth.
Faye Yardley’s feelings were complicated as she looked at her brother’s ranking. ’His weapon isn’t bad, so he must be lacking a good Inner Cultivation Method.’
’But my Health Care Scripture can’t be shared with him.’
’How can I help my brother improve?’
’Forget it. A guy has to rely on his own effort. I’m his sister, not his mother; I don’t need to worry about him so much.’
Faye Yardley quickly checked her rewards. The prize for first place on the Personal Combat Power Leaderboard was, surprisingly, Strength +5. She clenched her fist, getting the distinct illusion that she could punch through a planet with a single blow.
The first-place reward for the Raft Leaderboard was Spirit +2.
All her friends sent congratulatory messages.
Ethan Yardley called her directly. "Little sis, you’re incredible! You’re actually number one in District 101! Tell me, are you number one on the raft board, too? I only made it to second."
"That’s right, I’m number one on both boards. Impressive, huh? Aren’t you proud of me?"
Faye Yardley saw her brother give her a thumbs-up on screen. "Incredible. My little sister is truly the number one most amazing and beautiful girl in the universe."
"Hahaha... you flatter me, you flatter me. You need to work hard, too, big brother."
"Ahem, don’t worry, your big bro will work hard." Seeing that his sister was in good spirits and already lying in bed, Ethan Yardley said, "Get some rest. I’m sending you the two Iron Treasure Boxes I fished up yesterday."
"More than ten of you, and you only fished up two iron ones?"
"Yeah, that’s already a lot, okay?"
"Fine, fine. Send them over. If I get anything good, I’ll give it to you."
Ethan Yardley added, "Oh, just to let you know, Zachary and I are planning to use our Guild Base Qualification Cards tomorrow at eight in the morning. We’re hoping we’ll end up in the same place."
Faye Yardley sat bolt upright. "You’re leaving tomorrow? Are you guys ready?"
"More or less ready."
"Make sure you wear your watch. That way, if the system doesn’t map the area, you won’t get lost."
Ethan Yardley gave her an OK sign, said goodnight, and hung up.
Faye Yardley thought for a moment, then got out of bed and went down to the first-floor bedroom. There were still ten chests in there.
With a sigh, she accepted the Red Envelope from her brother. Inside were two Iron Treasure Boxes.
That brought her total to four Iron Treasure Boxes.
She just needed to open these four Iron Treasure Boxes.
After lining the Iron Treasure Boxes up in a row, Faye Yardley took a deep breath, rubbed her hands together, and clasped them in prayer, chanting, "Oh, spirits of heaven and earth, please work your magic! System Daddy, show me your power! Open."
[Obtained windproof rope (bundle) x10, Adult Raincoat Making Plan x1, Oil x20, wood x50, Rain Shelter Blueprint x1]
Talent triggered... Items doubled.
"Huh? Something’s not right. Why only doubled? System Daddy, don’t you love me anymore?"
Faye Yardley’s hand instinctively went to her head, but she didn’t feel the Red Gem Lucky Hairpin. Her eyes went wide. She had taken it off to shower and sleep.
The feeling of loss was so sharp it made her heart ache.
She quickly sorted the items, stored the remaining three Iron Treasure Boxes in her backpack, then dashed upstairs to put on the hairpin.
She recited the incantation one more time. "Open!"
[Obtained Octagonal Pavilion Construction Plan x1, Introduction Book of Islands 135-155 x1, Anti-collision Foam Ball x10, wood x30]
Talent triggered... Items quadrupled.
"Now *that’s* the kind of Double Good Luck I expect."
[Obtained Exorcism Wind Chime x1, Sharp Little Knife x1, Pet Sofa x1, stones x30, cloth x6]
Talent triggered... Items tripled.
[Obtained Island Love Report x1, Hemostatic Pill Production Plan x1, cotton seeds x10]
Talent triggered... Items tripled.
"Whoa, whoa! At this rate, I’m gonna be loaded~"
