Chapter 174: Corpsefinger Worm

Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Corpsefinger Worm

This tangible accumulation of wealth even temporarily overshadowed the monotony of repetitive labor.

As for anything new, there were the two dishes delivered by the waiter.

One was Fiery Sun Meat Soup, and the other was Water Drop Fish Jelly.

Waiter 881 had kept his promise, appearing on time the next morning to hand two exquisitely sealed food containers to Seraphina Sinclair.

"Mission accomplished."

The waiter’s voice held a trace of exhaustion, but even more satisfaction. "These two dishes are quite difficult to prepare. I hope you’ll be satisfied with the results."

Seraphina Sinclair thanked him and accepted the food containers.

Opening the first food container revealed a golden, jelly-like meat soup. It radiated a gentle warmth and a meaty aroma mixed with the fresh scent of herbs. Just a whiff was enough to feel invigorated and warm all over.

The second container held a transparent, crystal-clear, and slightly trembling fish jelly. A cool aura washed over her, seemingly able to cleanse the mind.

She didn’t hesitate, immediately indulging in the two delicacies.

As the Fiery Sun Meat Soup went down, a warm current spread rapidly through her limbs. The Water Drop Fish Jelly, on the other hand, melted in her mouth, transforming into a cool stream that rushed to the crown of her head, making her thoughts exceptionally clear in an instant.

Unlike with E-level ingredients, a notification panel popped up before Seraphina Sinclair the moment she finished the two dishes.

[You have consumed the special dish, Fiery Sun Meat Soup. Constitution +0.5, Strength +0.5.]

[You have consumed the special dish, Mind-Clearing Fish Jelly. Intelligence +0.5.]

0.5?

Seraphina Sinclair was slightly dissatisfied with this number.

But then she remembered that E-level ingredients didn’t even trigger a notification panel, meaning they gave less than 0.5 attribute points. Compared to that, she couldn’t complain.

’An increase is an increase,’ she thought.

Seraphina Sinclair opened her panel to take a look and grew confused.

Her Strength Attribute hadn’t increased, but her Constitution had gone up by one point.

’So...’

’...the panel doesn’t display decimals?’

’She hadn’t accumulated much Strength before, but she had been accumulating Constitution. This extra 0.5 must have been just enough to push it over a whole number, which is why it finally registered.’

Seraphina Sinclair pursed her lips, gaining a deeper understanding of how things worked here.

「On the third night in Quicksand Valley.」

After completing her final trade, Seraphina Sinclair scrolled carefully through her private messages one last time. Only after confirming she hadn’t missed anything did she finally let out a sigh of relief.

’It’s finally over.’

She’d been busy all day yesterday. And after posting "Last day for trades!" in the regional channel this morning, she’d been busy all day today, too.

She sighed and sat on the stool, her arms feeling heavy with exhaustion.

Seraphina Sinclair’s posture was still quite good, a result of her grandmother’s strict upbringing. As she sat on the stool, she subconsciously straightened her back.

It took her a moment to realize the problem with her posture. ’This isn’t resting at all.’

Seraphina Sinclair fell silent for a moment, then found the situation rather amusing. A small smile touched her lips as she finally let herself relax, slumping forward onto the table.

’Time to check my Black Fog Coin balance.’

She had resisted the urge to look all day, hoping the final number would be a pleasant surprise.

Seraphina Sinclair covered her eyes with one hand while skillfully navigating the panel with the other to pull up the correct page.

’And now, for the moment of truth.’

Seraphina Sinclair held her breath and slightly parted her fingers.

Through the tiny crack, she saw the massive number!

44,029!

It wasn’t enough to repay her debt, but it was still a respectable sum. At least for the next four weeks, she wouldn’t have to worry about the loan.

...

Early the next morning, Seraphina Sinclair was exercising inside her moving cabin.

Not even counting today’s sunshine, she had to cover a distance of 700 sunshine, a journey that would take a full seven hours.

sunshine of that was left over from her first day in Quicksand Valley, when she had encountered the aerial lake during her second move. As a result, she had saved up 300 sunshine from the second day and another 300 from the third.

’If I add today’s collection to that...’

The thought alone gave Seraphina Sinclair a headache.

’I should just get moving. If I stay put any longer, the cabin will start to rust.’

Seraphina Sinclair opened the door. She had left her water tank and filter outside overnight; she needed to replenish her own water supply, after all.

The filtered water was now overflowing.

Seraphina Sinclair hoisted the tank and carried it back to the bathroom to install it.

Only then did she infuse the sunshine into her room card and begin the day’s journey.

She cast one last look at the aerial lake, a silent farewell.

At first, Seraphina Sinclair had worried that she would use up all the lake’s water, or that she wouldn’t be able to reach it once the cabin moved on.

But she later discovered that the lake seemed to tilt and pour its contents directly toward her cabin’s location.

No matter how much water she took, it would be replenished, almost as if waiting for her to use up the entire lake.

The moving cabin started forward at a steady pace. The view outside the door shifted from the tranquil lake’s edge back to the churning, endless Black Fog that obscured everything.

Seraphina Sinclair flexed her wrist and tightened her grip on her longsword, reacquainting herself with the familiar tension of imminent combat.

After two days without a fight, her body needed to readjust to a state of constant readiness.

The first influx of Black Fog arrived right on schedule.

Thick mist seeped in through the cracks around the door and windows, quickly submerging the lower half of the cabin.

There were no monsters this time. After the Black Fog receded, an ordinary F-level Supply Box remained on the floor.

Seraphina Sinclair approached it and opened the box cleanly.

[Obtained: Metal Fragments x10, cloth x3, Stone x5]

’Just the basics, as usual.’

She collected the materials, her expression calm.

Seraphina Sinclair remained vigilant, and when the second wave of Black Fog rolled in, it brought a peculiar monster with it.

It was an incredibly bizarre creature, about half her height. Its main body resembled a pale worm magnified dozens of times, its surface covered in slime. It had no obvious eyes or nose, only a maw at its apex that continuously opened and closed.

The most unsettling part was its locomotion: it scuttled about on dozens of pale, slender, human-finger-like "feet." The rapid, dense PITTER-PATTER sound they made was enough to make one’s skin crawl.

Seraphina Sinclair took one look and silently averted her gaze.

Gag.

’It’s a monster, fine! But does it have to be so disgusting?! Is it trying to gross people to death so it can have its dinner?’

’Honestly, Seraphina Sinclair felt a deep sense of pity for these monsters.’

’They’re so ugly, they probably don’t even dare look at their own reflections. And they still have to come out in public. It must be so hard for them.’

’She might as well be the one to put it out of its misery.’

"Insight!"

The Single Lens activated instantly!

[Corpsefinger Worm (E-level)]

[Description: A bizarre creature born from the fusion of a drowned person’s resentment and a worm nurtured in the Black Fog. Its torso retains the softness and resilience of a worm, but its underside has mutated to sprout a multitude of fingers that yearn for death. These fingers crave the touch of life, instinctively crawling toward any living thing they sense and dragging it into eternal silence. However, its over-reliance on tactile sensation through its fingers often leads it into confusion, as it cannot distinguish between a real threat and harmless contact.]