Chapter 153: You Have to Drink, Like It or Not

Chapter 153: Chapter 153: You Have to Drink, Like It or Not

A soft white light glowed on the workbench, enveloping both the Single Lens and the Sheepskin Scroll.

The runes on the Sheepskin Scroll broke free from the parchment, transforming into flowing streams of red light. Like delicate carving knives, they wound themselves around the cracks on the lens’s surface.

Under the flow of red light, one of the cracks mended and vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The entire process took less than a minute.

The white light dissipated, and the red light retreated back into the Sheepskin Scroll.

But the Sheepskin Scroll itself, as if it had exhausted all its power, instantly turned a dull gray before crumbling into a pinch of fine dust and dispersing into the air.

On the workbench, only the Single Lens remained, now with just two cracks.

Seraphina Sinclair used Insight on it.

After carefully reading the brand-new description panel, Seraphina Sinclair grew even quieter.

There was no difference from before... except for the remarks.

The remarks now read: "A portion of the cracks has been mended, but the truth remains hidden behind the fog. The more you see, the more it will show you."

Seraphina Sinclair: "..."

’I don’t get it.’

’Seriously, can’t it just say something a normal survivor can understand?’

’Well, it’s a good thing either way.’

Seraphina Sinclair tucked the Secret Peeping Single-Lens Mirror, now with one less crack, into her Silver Moon Earrings. Then, she took out the gasoline mixed with Solar Flame Powder and began to draw a Heavenly Light Rune.

When it came to things like runes, the more she had, the better!

...

The new week arrived silently. Seraphina Sinclair was woken in the middle of the night by thirst.

Her throat was dry and tight, and there was a distinct sensation of a foreign object lodged within it.

She subconsciously reached for the bottled water she always kept by her bed, but her hand met only empty air.

"Water..."

she mumbled in a raspy voice, struggling to sit up.

The air in the small cabin was abnormally dry; every breath she inhaled brought a searing sensation to her nasal passages.

Seraphina Sinclair immediately realized this was the effect of entering the Quicksand Valley path’s sphere of influence.

Finding a bottle of water by the light of the fireplace, Seraphina Sinclair GULPED down more than half of it before the burning sensation finally subsided a little.

She glanced at the regional channel. As expected, it had already exploded with activity.

"Holy shit! I’m dying of thirst! Does anyone have water? Buying at a high price!"

"Thirsty... so thirsty! Why am I this thirsty?"

"Help... I feel like I’m about to turn into a human raisin..."

"Hahaha, good thing I listened to Master Blacktiger and stocked up on water ahead of time! I even traded for a water filter! So nice!"

"A water filter? No, don’t you guys realize how serious this is? In this kind of weather, how could it possibly rain?"

’That’s right...’

Although Seraphina Sinclair hadn’t guessed this path’s environment would be so harsh, she had long been prepared for the rain to stop.

She had enough non-potable water to last these seven days, not to mention drinking water.

So the drought didn’t really affect Seraphina Sinclair much. It was just this environment...

She furrowed her brow and took another sip of water, which made her feel a lot better.

’Sunflower should be okay, right?’

With this in mind, Seraphina Sinclair crouched down in front of the little guy and examined it closely.

It was the same as always. When its Hunger Level was empty, it just lay slumped over the flowerpot. She couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

Seraphina Sinclair was still a little worried, so she picked up the watering can and poured a little water for it. Sunflower’s inner voice immediately piped up: "Don’t wanna drink... don’t wanna drink..."

"You’re drinking it whether you like it or not."

Seraphina Sinclair admitted she had a bit of a mischievous streak, but she really needed to give Sunflower some water to feel at ease.

When people eat in the middle of the night, it’s called a midnight snack. When Sunflower drinks water in the middle of the night, it’s a midnight watering. Eating too many midnight snacks makes a person fat, and drinking a lot of water at night is what will make Sunflower grow tall.

Muttering to herself, Seraphina Sinclair watered Sunflower until it was full, then contentedly lay back down on her bed.

She had originally planned to slip into her Protective Clothing, but after remembering it couldn’t protect against the effects of this harsh environment, she had no choice but to go to sleep without it.

’As long as I can fall asleep, it’ll be fine.’

Early Monday morning, when Seraphina Sinclair opened her eyes, she could feel a layer of dead skin on her lips.

She was silent for a moment. After raising a hand to touch her lips and confirming it was dead skin, she was completely speechless. This sort of thing was pretty normal in this environment, and drinking more water probably wouldn’t help. To solve this, there was only one way...

Seraphina Sinclair looked toward the window.

A tall, humanoid monster was standing there.

Its body was covered in a layer of constantly trickling sand. Through the gaps in the grains, she could see that the monster’s form was made of cracked, dry earth, covered in deep fissures.

’So this was this path’s special monster. It’s certainly special enough.’

The last path was F-level but had E-level monsters, so it stood to reason that this time, she’d face a D-level one.

Thinking this, Seraphina Sinclair used Insight on it anyway.

[Sand-Shambler (D-level)]

[Description: A mourner of the Quicksand Valley, formed from a mixture of the remains of travelers who died of complete dehydration and the cracked sludge of the riverbed. It has a near-frenzied craving for all moisture and can sense the water vapor of living beings within a hundred meters. Its attacks accelerate a target’s water loss until they become one of its kind. It is surrounded by an aura of dryness that continuously evaporates trace moisture from the surrounding environment.]

[Weakness: ???]

’Definitely D-level.’

What was worth noting was that this thing was called a "Sand-Shambler." From a certain perspective, it wasn’t much different from a Rotting Corpse.

’In that case...’

Seraphina Sinclair pulled out a Corpse Annihilation Talisman.

’Mhm, suppress it first, then finish it off with the longsword.’

Seraphina Sinclair’s plan was sound, and her execution was flawless.

A moment later, an Immunity Crystal lay quietly on the wooden floor.

Seraphina Sinclair bent down to pick it up and chose to use it immediately. In that instant, a cool stream of energy surged into her body, dispelling the suffocating dryness around her.

She felt every cell in her body relax, and her extreme craving for water was temporarily soothed.

The effect was immediate!

Seraphina Sinclair licked her lips and found that the annoying layer of dead skin seemed to have softened slightly.

In this environment, this Immunity Crystal was a godsend.

’Can’t let the supply of Immunity Crystals run out this week.’

With that thought, she yawned, tore open a meal ticket, washed up, and ate.

When Seraphina Sinclair returned to the mobile cabin after washing up, the waiter was already there, having waited for some time.

Today, it was using a female "skin." Upon seeing Seraphina Sinclair, it greeted her enthusiastically, "Good morning, guest."

Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze lingered on its face for a moment before she commented, "This skin’s voice is much nicer than the other one’s."

The waiter simply took it as a compliment and replied without a hint of concern, "Thank you for your praise."

’It’s totally a robot.’

Seraphina Sinclair shifted her gaze to the stone table. The two of them had developed a bit of a rapport; at least now, the waiter knew to set out her breakfast without her having to say anything.

Today’s breakfast was a bowl of thick, fragrant millet porridge, two plump, white meat buns, and a small dish of crisp pickled cucumbers.

It was a home-style meal, but it seemed a bit plain compared to her previous breakfasts.

But Seraphina Sinclair didn’t mind.

She was an ordinary person. In her past life, she often ate meals just like this.

If anything, it was the grand feasts from before that she found a little hard to get used to.