Chapter 28: Repair Toolbox

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Repair Toolbox

But that wasn’t the end of it. Her private messages were also constantly popping up with new messages.

A voice message from [Doomsday Chef] popped up. When she played it, a cracking roar blasted out: "Brother Ford! Grandpa Ford! That grain of rice stuck to the edge of your lunchbox! The one on the left side of the lid! And your leftovers! Wanna trade? I’ll give you a windproof lighter for them! (Image) (Image) (Image)"

The three images that followed were close-ups of that single grain of rice, screen-capped from the picture Seraphina Sinclair had posted.

Seraphina Sinclair stared at the magnified grain of rice in the photo. "..."

She was speechless. Truly.

’Anyone who didn’t know better would think this guy was auctioning off some priceless artifact, taking so many pictures!’

’And it was only half a grain, not even as big as a sesame seed!’

’This is getting absurd.’

The corner of Seraphina Sinclair’s mouth twitched as she continued scrolling down.

The next message was calm, provided you ignored the actual content.

"You didn’t heat this rice properly. It was steamed for about a minute too long, so the texture is already much worse. That’s because you didn’t control the amount of water added to the heating pack. If you’d like, I can teach you, step-by-step, how to cook and how to handle these things. For you, I wouldn’t ask for anything in return."

The message was so creepy it made Seraphina Sinclair’s skin crawl.

’She silently closed the interface. Suddenly, she understood why celebrities in her past life were afraid of obsessed fans.’

’Her DMs were completely swamped now, but...’

’...it’s so lively.’

Seraphina Sinclair fell into a sound sleep, lulled by the constant pinging of her private messages.

Overnight, her fame exploded. She was now, in the truest sense of the word, a powerhouse.

Seraphina Sinclair wasn’t quite sure what kind of reputation she had, but she’d seen a few of the comments.

Some accused her of exploiting a bug: "Master Blacktiger couldn’t have brought food in with him, right? Where else would he get it? He must have brought it! This system is so broken! It’s not fair at all!"

Others said she was just lucky: "It’s just a bit of luck. We all arrived in The Black Mist World at the same time, started with the same things, and get the same amount of supplies each day! Isn’t he just a little luckier than the rest of us? Does he have to show off like that? I’m speechless!"

Then there were those trying to ride her coattails: "@Blacktiger Ford, I’m your long-lost brother! You were too young to remember, but Mom and Dad told me everything! Little bro, I’ve finally found you!"

Still, most people believed she was genuinely skilled. "Don’t be so jealous. You all know the deal—once is luck, but twice is skill! They’re the only survivor on the entire server to get a system announcement, and they’re eating this well. Their strength is undeniable! You could even say the system itself has recognized their power! So just shut up!"

Seraphina Sinclair silently gave that last comment a "like" before closing the regional channel.

’It takes strength to be envied.’

Seraphina Sinclair gave a slight, dismissive wave of her hand. ’With an attitude like this, she’d succeed at anything she put her mind to.’

By her fourth day in The Black Mist World, Seraphina Sinclair was starting to get used to the rhythm of this life.

Morning exercises, a meal, and hand-cranking the generator to give the Sunflower its dose of sunshine.

She could have waited to use the lantern in the afternoon, after the sun went down, for that last part, but Seraphina Sinclair was impatient.

Yes, impatient.

The Description for the Guiding Grass was clear: the cabin had to be moving to reach special areas.

And Seraphina Sinclair was very, very curious.

The Sunflower was most active in the morning after its Hunger Level was restored. This was evident in its constantly rustling leaves and branches, and its ever-swaying flower head.

Seraphina Sinclair propped her chin on her hand and watched for a moment. ’All right, it is pretty cute,’ she thought.

’But you can’t live on cute.’

’Shine, Sunflower!’

[sunshine +25]

[sunshine +25]

...

’Time for the nutrient liquid!’

[sunshine +25]

[sunshine +25]

...

’Excellent!’

’200 sunshine points, secured!’

Seraphina Sinclair let out a long breath. ’That’s that. Today’s Kirin Arm training is complete. Now I just need to find some time to move the cabin.’

Blinking, she opened her private messages to clear the notification dots and see what nonsense people were spouting today.

There were a lot more trade offers today. Seraphina Sinclair was intrigued by a few of the items mentioned and couldn’t help but ask a couple of follow-up questions.

But as soon as she did, their stories fell apart. They had either made the items up completely or just given some common object a fancy new name.

Seraphina Sinclair learned her lesson. From now on, she wouldn’t bother replying to any offers that didn’t include the item’s info link.

Even among the requests that did include item info, the vast majority of the offered goods were useless to her.

Some offered washbasins, others offered cabinets.

Seraphina Sinclair wasn’t at a point where she could afford the luxury of decorating her mobile cabin.

Amidst the pile of exaggerated and useless DMs, one message with a distinctly different tone caught her eye.

[Tofu King]’s message was brief, but it was a legitimate trade offer.

[Tofu King]: Hello, Master Blacktiger. I saw your picture of the self-heating rice and would like to trade this for a box of it. (Image)

The photo showed a toolbox. Its edges were a little worn, but it was intact overall and looked like something one might keep stored at home.

’It must be for repairs.’

Seraphina Sinclair’s curiosity was piqued. However, the message had been sent yesterday, so she had no idea if the person still had the item. She decided to send a tentative reply.

[Blacktiger Ford]: Send me the detailed info.

To her surprise, they replied instantly.

[Repair Toolbox (Single-Use) (E-level)]

[Description: Perform one fully automatic repair! This item’s repair range is incredibly broad—if you can name it, it can probably fix it! Note: This item is E-level and is a single-use consumable. Repairing items above E-level will require multiple toolboxes.]

’It really is for repairs.’

Seraphina Sinclair instantly perked up. She had finally found a useful trade. The compass she’d traded a soda for yesterday was in need of repair.

"It really pays to be famous," Seraphina Sinclair remarked with a sigh. "You can take your time and choose."

’Still, she felt like she’d be getting the short end of the stick trading self-heating rice for it. Even though it was an E-level tool, most people had no use for it right now.’

’Self-heating rice, on the other hand, was different. People always need to eat to live.’

’As long as people need food, it’s a hard currency!’

’It’d be best if I could haggle the price down a little.’

Seraphina Sinclair thought for a moment, then typed out a message.

[Blacktiger Ford]: This is useful, for sure, but it’s not something anyone really needs right now. A lot of people want self-heating rice, though.

The other party seemed a bit slow on the uptake. Whether they were genuinely clueless or just playing dumb, she couldn’t tell. They replied, "What do you mean?"

Seraphina Sinclair stared at the four words for a moment, then decided to be blunt: "One repair toolbox isn’t enough. You’ll have to add something else."

To Seraphina Sinclair’s surprise, the other party sent a voice message in response.

Judging by their tone, they really had only just understood what she meant.