Chapter 106: Path’s Gift

Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Path’s Gift

If she were going to sign a contract, Seraphina Sinclair would have done it with him from the very beginning. After trading so many times, he was practically an old friend.

If he weren’t trustworthy, Seraphina Sinclair wouldn’t have come to him for this.

Besides, he was the one who had brought it up...

[Blacktiger Ford]: No need for a contract. I trust you. Half a Black Mist Catfish is ready, waiting for your word.

After sending this message, Seraphina Sinclair felt a great weight lift off her shoulders.

She draped a towel over her shoulder and walked to the window, gazing outside. The sky had already darkened. Thick black mist roiled outside the mobile cabin, but inside was a tranquil space illuminated by the firelight.

’Very nice.’

Just as she was about to fall asleep, the notification sound for a private message suddenly rang out.

Seraphina Sinclair opened the message. It was from Miller.

[Miller’s Hardware]: Done! The kid was stubborn at first, trying to fob me off with some "rare material." I told him straight, what thing’s description *doesn’t* say it’s a rare material? The guy was a real pain, haggled with me for ages. We just finished. I used two Black Fog Crystals to get it, a bit more than I expected. Couldn’t be helped, the kid was a tough negotiator.

He had sent the Core Crystal over directly as a gift. From beginning to end, he never asked what it was for, nor did he bring up the cost of the two Black Fog Crystals.

Silently, Seraphina Sinclair took out two Black Fog Crystals and a whole Black Mist Catfish and sent them over to him.

Although they had agreed on half, in this godforsaken place, people like him were rare.

Seraphina Sinclair had no intention of building her own faction, but it was good to have someone who could handle trades for her.

Besides...

Seraphina Sinclair exchanged a few pleasantries with him in the private chat, then closed the window. There was no need to establish any long-term cooperation; a fixed relationship like that would just be a burden to her.

She lay back down on the bed, holding the Core Crystal and treasuring it for a moment. It was called a Crystal, but it felt more like a Crystal Stone. Unlike the usual thin slivers, this object was three-dimensional.

Because of this, the firelight it refracted was exceptionally beautiful.

Seraphina Sinclair admired it for a long while before carefully tucking it into her Silver Moon Earrings for safekeeping.

If the Silver Moon Earrings were ever gone... Seraphina Sinclair would truly be right back to square one.

Just thinking about it made her break out in a cold sweat. She scrambled to sit up and frantically checked the earrings, only relaxing after confirming they couldn’t possibly be lost for no reason.

’That’s more like it.’

After all, it was a piece of Legendary Equipment. It should be like those Divine Artifacts in cultivation novels that, once bound to a master, would only ever follow that master.

With this thought, Seraphina Sinclair was finally at ease. She lay back down, activated [Water Stopping] once, and quickly fell asleep.

’Yes, it even worked as a sleep aid.’

「A dreamless night.」

「Day five on the current path.」

At nearly seven o’clock, Seraphina Sinclair opened her eyes right on time. Her current sleep schedule was frighteningly healthy. But there was nothing to be done about it; in this godforsaken place, an irregular schedule was also a death sentence.

The morning sets the tone for the day. After washing up, Seraphina Sinclair went through her daily routine of checking the regional channel.

It was quiet. Nothing strange had happened.

She closed the regional channel, and just as she was about to start a fire in the usual spot to cook, she noticed the changes to the mobile cabin.

The mobile cabin, which she had upgraded before bed last night, now clearly showed its improvements.

The area hadn’t changed, but the walls were no longer rough-hewn wood. Instead, they were covered in smooth panels with a faint metallic sheen, cool and solid to the touch.

The dilapidated floorboards had been replaced by a layer of thick, dark wood, smooth and clean.

The most conspicuous change was a small stone fireplace in the corner, built entirely of Stone.

It was hard to say about other things, but one thing was for sure: from now on, when Seraphina Sinclair started a fire at night, she would no longer have to worry about setting the floor ablaze!

Above the fireplace was even a simple stone platform, where she could place a few small things.

The window had been replaced with double-paned glass. There was no visible difference, but the insulation had to be significantly improved. ’I wonder if there will be paths with natural disasters like extreme cold in the future.’

Seraphina Sinclair shook her head and started a fire in the usual spot to cook.

’The next upgrade will include a stove,’ she thought. ’Until then...’

Seraphina Sinclair glanced at the floorboards. They had certainly endured a lot.

As soon as it turned eight, Seraphina Sinclair eagerly urged the Sunflower to get to work.

The little one had spent all of yesterday wailing, "Smells so good... I want to eat..." It seemed to have either tired itself out or fallen into despair, as it was silent now.

Moreover, whenever its Hunger Level was restored, it was always lively. Even if it didn’t shake its head, it would at least perk its flower up. But today, it was just slumped listlessly over the pot. If Seraphina Sinclair didn’t know any better, she would have really thought the little guy was sick.

But seeing it like this was actually a little funny. Seraphina Sinclair went over and rubbed its leaves, which, instead of consoling it, only angered it into standing up straight.

"This puny human... she won’t find me food, she just comes over to touch me! Ugh! Annoying human..."

’Oh? Throwing a tantrum, are we?’

To be honest, it was rare for the Sunflower to throw a tantrum, but Seraphina Sinclair was in no mood to appreciate the novelty right now.

After confirming the Sunflower was fine, Seraphina Sinclair brought over the Black Fog Lamp.

’Time to get to work.’

’A child who loves to work is a good child.’

After feeding it up to 200 Hunger Level and then giving it the nutrient liquid, she finally had her three hundred units of sunshine. Seraphina Sinclair eagerly called out to the Little Light Ball.

It was still very enthusiastic. Upon seeing Seraphina Sinclair, it greeted her: "Ready to trade, human! If you trade now, you’ll not only be the first survivor to find me, but also the first survivor to receive the gift! But I’m a hidden character, so there won’t be any server-wide announcement, you know."

Seraphina Sinclair didn’t really care about any server-wide announcements anyway. She’d show off when she could, but she wouldn’t go out of her way for it.

She nodded, directing the 300 units of sunshine she had just collected toward the light ball outside the window.

The light ball jumped joyfully, letting out a soft, pleasant hum. Like parched earth receiving rain, it greedily absorbed the pure sunshine energy. Its transparent sphere gradually solidified, and the points of light flowing within it grew even more brilliant and dazzling.

"Wow! Such pure sunshine! Thank you, great survivor!"

The light ball’s voice sounded even more cheerful and satisfied. "Well then, as promised, these three gifts are all yours!"

It quivered slightly, and the three screens of light it had shown before appeared again. But this time, the illusory images within them rapidly solidified!

A silver Crystal Stone engraved with arcane runes, an ancient bronze compass, and a lumpy-looking linen sack floated out one by one, passed through the glass, and hovered in front of Seraphina Sinclair.

Seraphina Sinclair took a deep breath, suppressed her excitement, and reached out to take each item.