Chapter 64: Chapter 64: So Monsters Get to Be Unhygienic?
Faye Yardley’s eyes lit up when she saw that monsters dropped Energy Stones.
"What a shame. Doesn’t this mean I missed a whole round?! Aaaah! I’ve missed out on a fortune again!"
"Sister, what’s a shame?"
"Willow, monsters drop Energy Stones when you kill them! I can’t believe I missed such a great opportunity!"
Willow Yardley blinked. "You won’t miss out, Sister. As long as you’re on the raft, monsters are bound to show up eventually."
"Good point."
A video call came in from Gavin Donovan, and Faye Yardley answered.
"Boss, I have two Energy Stones right now. You can use them for now. Just pay me back later when you have some."
"Alright, thanks. In that case, I’ll take you up on that."
"Don’t forget to accept the Red Envelope, Boss. I’m heading to bed."
"Okay, good night."
After receiving Gavin Donovan’s two Energy Stones, she had enough to build an Energy Defense Tower.
Awesome!
’I’ll be able to pay him back after just two days of monster hunting.’
That’s why Faye Yardley accepted them without a second thought.
"You should wash up first, Sister."
Faye Yardley slapped her forehead. "You’re right. I was in there for so long I can’t smell it on myself anymore, but I’m sure I stink."
She rushed into the bathroom and gave herself a thorough scrubbing.
When she came out, Faye Yardley felt a few pounds lighter.
Willow Yardley had already prepared a meal.
Faye Yardley first built the Energy Protection Tower, placing it in the center of the raft. She then saw on the virtual screen that a 3D model of the raft was now encased in a transparent sphere of energy.
It was similar to the dome of light she had seen covering the raft when she’d first returned.
Faye Yardley opened the door and peeked outside to check. ’Good, this one’s invisible. No one else can see it.’
"Come and eat, Sister. If any monsters spawn, I’ll take care of them right away with the Arrow Tower. I’ll also collect anything they drop."
’It’s that easy?!’
Faye Yardley nodded. "Okay. Call me if the Arrow Tower can’t handle them."
As she was enjoying a relaxing meal, she got another call.
"Yardley, you’re back."
"Yeah. What’s up, Mr. Pierce? Just tell me."
"Colby is seriously injured. Since you just got back from the Dungeon, I was hoping you might have redeemed some medicine that we don’t have."
Faye Yardley gasped. ’Are the monsters that strong? And Caleb Colby is no weakling.’
"You all have medicine for external injuries, so it must be a serious internal injury, right? You’re in luck—I happened to trade for some Inner Injury Holy Medicine. I’m sending it in a Red Envelope now."
"Thank you."
"Don’t mention it. I’d rather not have someone I know die this early in the game."
After hanging up, Faye Yardley turned and asked, "Willow, are the monsters that strong? How are ordinary people supposed to survive?"
"It depends. The monsters that spawn are related to a person’s Luck Value. Perhaps your friend’s Luck Value is just incredibly low."
Faye Yardley hummed in understanding. ’So Caleb Colby is probably the complete opposite of me. He must have an unlucky Constitution—the kind of guy who has terrible luck with everything.’
’Tsk, tsk. Then again, he’s not completely unlucky. I mean, didn’t he get this internal injury just as I was leaving the Dungeon with the Inner Injury Holy Medicine?’
"In that case, with my Luck Value, doesn’t that mean hardly any monsters will spawn around my raft?"
Willow Yardley smiled faintly. "Sister, you could look at it another way. What if your Luck Value means a huge wave of them will come all at once?"
Faye Yardley took a big gulp of juice and gave her a thumbs-up. ’She’s right. It’s not impossible that a huge swarm of weaklings might just show up to deliver supplies to my doorstep.’
’Oh, man, now that she says that, I’m really looking forward to it. I don’t feel like sleeping at all. I want to go out and fight a few rounds myself.’
Full and satisfied, she still didn’t feel like sleeping, but no monsters had spawned yet. Willow Yardley coaxed her into bed, and the moment her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.
When she woke up again, the living room was surprisingly full of things. ’I’m sure I gave Willow access to the warehouse, and she can put food and drinks directly into her own backpack... So this pile of stuff must have been left out here on purpose for me to see!’
"You’re awake, Sister. The bulky items like wood are already in the warehouse. The third wave hasn’t spawned yet."
"Go ahead and put it all away. Huh? What’s that?"
In the pile of loot, Faye Yardley spotted something strange with a brownish-yellow corner sticking out.
Willow Yardley went over and picked it up. It was just a cowboy hat.
’Come to think of it, fighting monsters in this cold weather is pretty brutal. It’s only normal that they’d drop some clothes.’
However, once she held it in her hand, Faye Yardley knew she was mistaken. A system prompt appeared: [This is a hat accidentally dropped by Islander 98. Now that you have found it, perhaps you could return it to him.]
’So, Islander 98 is a man. And I still have his Invitation Card. Knowing his Gender will make picking a gift more specific. At least I won’t do something stupid like send him flower hairpins or earrings.’
’Of course, if Islander 98 just happens to be a cross-dresser, there’s nothing I can do about that either.’
’Returning his hat as a "gift" might be one option.’
"Prepare some food and drink for me to give to him later. Oh, and there are fresh peaches."
"Okay, the peaches are already washed, so you can eat them right away, Sister." Willow Yardley had just finished speaking when she paused, then added, "Sister, the third wave of monsters has spawned."
"I’ll take care of them!"
Faye Yardley shot out like a gust of wind.
Once outside on the raft, Faye Yardley saw an army of multicolored insects squirming toward her.
The sight was indescribably nauseating.
Faye Yardley thought for a moment before tossing a firebomb straight into the insect army. ’There’s no help for it. Some things you can overcome, but other things you just have a primal urge to avoid getting close to.’
’As long as she had a choice, she’d rather not force herself to do something so repulsive.’
The firebomb’s power exceeded her expectations, killing a huge swath of them instantly. Unexpectedly, the smell of scorched insect meat wafting through the air was surprisingly appetizing.
It gave Faye Yardley the sudden urge to rush over and devour all the charred insects.
She slapped her cheeks, trying to snap out of it. ’That’s a terrifying, messed-up thought.’
After the army of low-defense insects was completely wiped out, a large, greenish-yellow bug appeared. It was about three meters long, as thick as a barrel, and bristling with jagged spines.
"Willow, I’m going to lure that big bug away. You go collect the loot."
"Okay, Sister."
’How does a bug even fight?’
As Faye Yardley charged, she saw the disgusting bug actually spit at her. She quickly changed direction to dodge, and a large puddle of a white, viscous substance appeared on her original path.
"What the hell! Just because you’re a monster, that gives you the right to be unhygienic and spit all over the place?!"
In the time it took her to voice her complaint, Faye Yardley had already dodged two more spit attacks.
Even though none of it had landed on her, she couldn’t shake the feeling of disgust.
Besides spitting, the bug was also surprisingly fast. Especially on the ice, it could cover a great distance with a single twist of its body.
Faye Yardley and the great greenish-yellow bug charged headlong toward each other.
