Chapter 80: Chapter 80: If It Doesn’t Kill You, Eat Like Hell
Willow Yardley raised a hand to her eyes, focusing them. The situation on the approaching raft became crystal clear. "It’s a Level Five Raft. There’s a well-built man on it, about thirty years old."
"Are there any other rafts appearing from other directions?"
"Besides the one that just showed up, Logan Langdon’s is the closest to us."
Faye Yardley felt she must have a bit of a split personality. She genuinely didn’t want to see humanity go extinct and hoped for more people to survive. She even liked the lively feeling of a bustling crowd, like seeing the constantly scrolling regional channel.
But at the same time, she hated having a lot of strangers around, especially when they just appeared out of nowhere. It made her feel like her peace was being shattered, and a sense of unease would wash over her.
She might have even had a touch of paranoia, always feeling like people who suddenly appeared near her had ill intentions.
BEEP BEEP BEEP~
’It’s a call from Logan Langdon.’
After a moment’s thought, she found a corner in the thatched hut, sat down, and adjusted her position before answering. "Mr. Langdon, what is it?"
"Gorgeous Yardley, I’ve just put together a Mercenary Company, and I’d like to invite you to join. My team members are already in this stretch of sea, so you might run into them soon. If you join, we can..."
"Thank you for the invitation, but you’re too late."
"Hm? Has someone else already invited you? But since you’re still here, you must not have accepted their offer. In that case, you can still consider my proposal."
Faye Yardley’s face remained cold and expressionless, her voice flat. "You’re making too many assumptions. Even if someone becomes a team member, they won’t be forced to relocate if they don’t want to."
"Don’t you think it would be more convenient to be with your team members, Gorgeous Yardley?"
"What, are you planning to monopolize this stretch of sea, Mr. Langdon? Are you going to drive away anyone who doesn’t join, or are you planning to gather your men and make a move on me?"
"A misunderstanding, a total misunderstanding. I’m not that domineering or unreasonable. Don’t always think the worst of me."
Faye Yardley said, "Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Langdon. I won’t trouble you any further. Goodbye."
After hanging up, Faye Yardley pursed her lips. ’Damn it. The last thing I want is a bunch of weirdos popping up next to my raft.’
’Fortunately, I still have a green Island Entry Order. Looks like it’s about time to use it.’
’But before that, I should take the Intermediate Body Refining Pill. After taking it and enduring the process, it will also randomly increase the four basic Attributes by 1–3 points.’
’I’ve been so busy with this and that, I actually forgot to take one right after all my Attributes entered the next tier.’
’After all, you can’t take these things back-to-back.’
’Otherwise, the pain would be absolutely unbearable.’
"Willow, help Eamon get his quarters set up. They probably won’t come over for now. With the Energy Protection Shield up, Eamon, you don’t need to be too scared. Yvonne, come back with me to take the Body Refining Pills." Faye Yardley took a couple of steps, then remembered something. She took two sets of children’s clothes, for a seven or eight-year-old, from her backpack and handed them to Eamon. "These are for you."
Eamon took the new clothes, ecstatic. "Ah, thank you, big sister! You’re the bestest human ever!"
Seeing Faye Yardley head back, Yvonne Lynch quickly followed.
She gave Yvonne Lynch three Basic Body Refining Pills and said, "It will hurt a lot after you take one, but you have to stay rational and conscious. That’s how you’ll maximize the benefits after the pain subsides. Also, don’t take them back-to-back."
"Thank you, Sister."
Faye Yardley returned to her bedroom, closed the door, and immediately tossed an Intermediate Body Refining Pill into her mouth.
It went down smoothly, but the pain that followed was intense.
Her body quickly turned as red and hot as a boiled shrimp.
The pill’s effect was far more violent than the basic version’s. Faye Yardley couldn’t help but curl into a ball, dripping with sweat. Soon, a wet patch formed beneath her.
Every time she was about to pass out from the pain, Faye Yardley would pull through on her formidable willpower alone.
After the agony subsided, a cool, refreshing sensation washed over her internal organs and meridians.
Faye Yardley immediately checked her Attributes. Excellent. Constitution +2, Spirit +1, agility +1.
A captivating smile graced her face. ’My good luck really is working in all sorts of ways.’
’It was only supposed to add a maximum of three points, but I actually gained four.’
’I really want to go again right away.’
But her stamina was severely drained. She forced herself up and stumbled into the bathroom for a rinse, only then feeling like she had come back to life.
Then came the frantic eating to replenish her energy. She gulped down the last of the energy-rich Snake Meat stew and got another notification: Constitution +1.
After a short rest, Faye Yardley took the second pill, and the pain washed over her once more.
This time, she endured it to the end and gained Constitution +1, Strength +2.
She repeated the same process. ’As long as it doesn’t kill me, I’ll push myself to the brink.’
Pain comes in levels, and there’s always a new height of agony.
When she took the third pill, Faye Yardley was in so much pain that tears and snot streamed down her face, yet her mind grew ever clearer.
The pain was so intense she couldn’t even move a finger, lying on the floor like a corpse just pulled from the water.
The waterworks started. ’How can it hurt this much?!’
Faye Yardley truly felt like the pain had knocked her soul right out of her body.
When the pain receded like the tide, a pleasant, refreshing sensation swept through her entire body.
Spirit +3, agility +1, Strength +1.
Seeing the increase in her Attributes, Faye Yardley twitched the corner of her mouth. She didn’t even have the strength to smile. After mustering a little energy, she crawled into the bathroom to rinse off.
After washing up, she stumbled and collapsed onto her bed, falling into a deep sleep.
She slept so deeply that when she woke up, the sky outside was already dark, and she had a lot of missed calls.
Seeing a long string of missed calls from her brother, Faye Yardley rubbed the bridge of her nose. She didn’t rush to call him back, checking the others first.
She accepted a Red Envelope from Zachary Pierce. Inside was a 4-hour Invitation Card. Faye Yardley replied with a "thank you" before smacking herself on the forehead.
She muttered to herself, "I’m such an idiot. Don’t I still have an 8-hour Invitation Card? Oh well, I’ll save the longer one for now. I’ll see if I can use it to bring my brother to the island later."
She changed her clothes, went downstairs, and sent her brother a visit invitation.
He must have been waiting, because the moment she sent the invitation, he accepted it and appeared on the raft.
"Willow, my brother’s here. Open the door and let him in. And please make a couple of extra dishes for dinner."
"Okay, Sister."
Yvonne Lynch stood up from the sofa, looking a little awkward and unsure of what to do.
"Yvonne, are you hungry?"
"No, I’m not."
Faye Yardley beckoned to her. "Come here. I’ll introduce you to someone in a minute. He’s my biological brother, Ethan Yardley. You can just call him ’brother’ like I do."
"Oh, okay."
The moment Ethan Yardley stepped inside, he strode right up to Faye Yardley. He looked her up and down carefully for a good while before pulling her into a hug. "You little rascal! You scared me to death! Why didn’t you answer your phone?"
"Brother~ I’m fine, I’ve been fine all along."
"You rascal! You were fine, but you didn’t answer your phone! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" As he spoke, he gave his sister’s back a couple of firm thumps.
Faye Yardley shoved him away. "Get lost! You’re the one who’s going to give me a heart attack!"
