Chapter 24: A Great Business Opportunity

Chapter 24: Chapter 24: A Great Business Opportunity

The words were completely jumbled with the scratches on the metal. Seraphina Sinclair squinted, and after careful examination, she could just barely make out the text:

"100 points of sunshine can provide light for one hour!"

Well, that solved that problem. It was just...

’Is it hidden so well because they’re afraid someone will see it?’

The lantern had been crafted for about an hour, but the sunshine inside had only increased by 10 points. At this rate, it wouldn’t even reach the Black Fog Crystal’s capacity by the end of the day.

Seraphina Sinclair fell silent. The lantern certainly wouldn’t accumulate any more sunshine after dark, and the sun was only out for an hour during the day...

She sighed, silently praying that the sunshine would accumulate faster when the sun was actually out.

As her gaze shifted back to the flowerpot, Seraphina Sinclair suddenly realized there was another, even more important question.

’What kind of seed is this, anyway?’

The Sunflower said nothing more. Seraphina Sinclair tried using Insight, but there was no response. It seemed she wouldn’t be figuring this out anytime soon.

In truth, Seraphina Sinclair had plenty of other questions. For instance, what exactly was the seed for?

’Will it grow and bear fruit like a normal plant, or will it be like something out of a novel and help me fight monsters?’

If Seraphina Sinclair had to choose, she’d hope for the former. Solving her food problem was the top priority.

As for monsters... she could handle those herself just fine.

There was no time for Seraphina Sinclair to daydream. The Sunflower repeated its daily complaint: "So noisy..."

It was raining.

Seraphina Sinclair immediately lit the Fish Oil, opened the window, and set the two water filters in place. All that was left to do was wait.

She gazed at the faint, dark streaks of rain outside the window and was suddenly reminded of her past life living with her grandma in the village. That had been one of the few happy times she’d had, surrounded by family.

The year of her grandma’s seventieth birthday, all the well-wishers had said, "May you live to be a hundred! Live to be a hundred!"

She had been so young then, she’d actually believed everyone could live to be a hundred.

’If Grandma were still alive and had been dragged along to this godforsaken place, she’d probably worry herself to death over me.’

But things were different now.

Seraphina Sinclair looked up at the gloomy sky outside the window. Now, it was Grandma watching over her from heaven. It was Grandma’s turn to worry.

An inexplicable smile touched Seraphina Sinclair’s lips. She paced around the mobile cabin a couple of times, trying to find something to do.

In the end, she sat cross-legged on the floor and opened the regional channel. If nothing else, it was the only form of entertainment the survivors had in this hellhole.

"HELP! Does anyone have medicine? I was scratched by a Rotting Corpse, and the wound is turning green! I’m not poisoned, am I?! HELP! (Image)"

Seraphina Sinclair clicked on the image out of curiosity.

A gash deep enough to reveal bone stretched across an arm. The flesh at the edges of the wound curled outward, a grotesque shade of blackish-green.

Seraphina Sinclair couldn’t help but shudder. Then, as if punishing herself, she forced her eyes wide open and continued to look, taking in every detail.

’Sights like this will become common. I need to get used to it now.’

The most bizarre thing about the wound was the thick, viscous pus oozing from its depths. It had an eerie green tint, as if mold were breeding inside his arm.

Seraphina Sinclair closed her eyes for a moment, composed herself, and continued scrolling.

"Hey, OP, use charcoal powder mixed with water to soak the wound! That’s a recipe a master shared! I tested it myself, it helps slow the rotting!"

"LMAO, you guys actually believe in home remedies? I just ripped my shirt, tied it tight around my upper arm, and am waiting for it to heal on its own!"

"You’re all a bunch of lunatics. Not a single useful comment."

Seraphina Sinclair was also left speechless. In the end, she upvoted the person who called them "a bunch of lunatics."

"BREAKING NEWS! BREAKING NEWS! Don’t open Supply Boxes directly! First, open your window and place the Supply Box on the sill. Then—and this is the important part—close your eyes and silently count to three! Don’t peek! Open the box with sincere devotion, and you have a chance to get double the supplies!"

"??? For real?"

"They’re just messing with the idiots."

"I already tried it, waaaah! My Supply Box fell right off! You owe me a new one!!!"

"Being clumsy isn’t a big deal. Being stupid isn’t a big deal. The real terror is someone who is stupid, clumsy, *and* hardworking. That’s a truly deadly combination."

’What in the world was all this nonsense?’

Seraphina Sinclair was certainly amused, but she was still hoping to find something useful!

As if in answer to her thoughts, the tone of the next message suddenly shifted. ℯℯ𝘭.

"Hey guys, have you noticed? I think it’s raining outside."

"The hell? Raining? Did you just wake up, OP? Might as well go back to sleep since there’s nothing to do anyway!"

"Hahaha, if you’re going to dream, at least make it realistic. What kind of daydream is this? I’d have an easier time believing you if you said you were eating rice for dinner tonight. What is this crap? You think we’re all blind?"

"Huh? I thought everyone knew. It rains at this time every day."

"Yeah, those last two posters are definitely blind."

"Holy crap! For real? No way. How can it be raining with no sound? The Black Fog hasn’t cleared, I can’t even see any raindrops. How do you all know?"

Seraphina Sinclair glanced outside. She couldn’t really blame them. If it weren’t for the Sunflower, it probably would have taken her a long time to notice the rain, too.

"Because the rain is black. You won’t notice it unless you look really closely. Also, opening your window right now gets you a free VIP sulfuric acid facial."

"? I just hung my underwear out to dry! Don’t mess with me! Haha, I’m speechless. Thanks for asking—I’ve now acquired a sexy fishnet pair."

"So what? Even if we know it’s raining, what good does that do us?"

"Are you an idiot? You even have to ask? It’s water! Get it? WATER!!"

"You’re the real idiot! Is this water? It’s acid rain! It’s corrosive! Do you even know what ’corrosive’ means? Go back to grade school!"

"No need to be so hostile. Even though we can’t use it directly, didn’t one of the masters share how to make a water filter? Has anyone tried it?"

Wait!

Seraphina Sinclair’s Spirit instantly lifted. ’A business opportunity! This is a business opportunity!’

’I can assemble them for other people! How could I have forgotten about that?!’

Seraphina Sinclair had gotten her blueprints so easily that she’d assumed everyone had them. But from the looks of it, it was clear that most people didn’t!

Her eyes sparkled, but she didn’t act rashly. Instead, she kept her eyes glued to the regional channel for a little while longer.

"You think you’re the only smart one? I tried it ages ago. Don’t know if the device is just garbage or if the materials are bad, but either way, the water’s still unusable after filtering! Can’t even use it to wash my face. Building that thing is a complete waste of time!"

"That ’master’ must be self-proclaimed. The recipes he shares are either useless or have such a minimal effect that even if you manage to cobble something together, it doesn’t work as advertised. Ugh... staying alive is so hard."

"There you go again."

"The ones we make ourselves definitely don’t work. Everyone’s seen blueprints by now, right? I’m guessing there must be a blueprint for the water filter."