Chapter 357 - 355: It Can Understand

Chapter 357: Chapter 355: It Can Understand

After searching for a long time, Seraphina Sinclair failed to get as lucky as last time, when she’d found something suitable with just a couple of refreshes.

She sighed. But then she figured a rune crafted from low-level materials wouldn’t have a very strong effect anyway. Plus, the boots she wore already provided a slight speed boost. Even if she made the rune, it would probably only offer about the same minor benefit.

So, Seraphina Sinclair wasn’t in a rush.

She stood up, stretched briefly, and moved the Black Fog Lamp in front of the Sunflower.

Turning on the lamp, she just had to wait to harvest today’s sunshine.

She had assumed the day would continue to be peaceful, that everything would go according to plan. Collect the sunshine, move on, and she could even take the chance to train the Gloom Hatchling to stand guard...

Who knew that the moment her finicky Sunflower came into contact with the Black Fog Lamp, it would suddenly turn its head away as if in a fit of pique.

As Seraphina Sinclair watched in astonishment, the answer came in the form of a telepathic message:

"Too dim... too weak... don’t like it... don’t want it..."

Seraphina Sinclair heard it, and she understood. ’But could someone please explain to me what in the world was going on?! A Sunflower being picky about sunshine?!’

’Besides, I’ve only ever heard of sunflowers chasing the sun. Who’s ever heard of one turning its head to refuse sunshine?’

’What kind of Sunflower was this?’

Just as Seraphina Sinclair finished her internal rant, she heard the Sunflower’s thoughts again:

"Don’t want... No basking... Don’t like..."

Seraphina Sinclair: "..."

She was completely dumbfounded.

’What could have caused this sudden change?’

’The Sunflower was fine yesterday. It takes one nap and suddenly decides it hates sunshine?!’

’If it doesn’t sunbathe, how is it supposed to produce the sunshine I need? Without sunshine, how can I move? Not moving means no supplies, and no supplies means I can’t get stronger! And... if I stay here too long, the dead things chasing me could catch up at any moment!’

’And if they catch me, I’m dead.’

This chain of consequences danced wildly in Seraphina Sinclair’s mind, each one jumping up and down, urging her to find a solution fast.

But aside from making her temples throb, they were of no practical help.

She took a deep breath, suppressed her anxiety, and patiently twisted the Sunflower’s head back, forcing it to sunbathe!

But the Sunflower was as stubborn as a mule and refused to yield to her in the slightest.

If Seraphina Sinclair hadn’t been holding back her strength, their stalemate would have ended with the Sunflower’s head hitting the floor.

Seraphina Sinclair pulled her hand back. As she watched the Sunflower blink its large, innocent eyes, her anger suddenly evaporated.

’What’s the point of fighting with a flower?’

’Besides, this is no ordinary flower. Without it, I’m dead.’

She sighed and sat cross-legged in front of the Sunflower. Her gaze shifted from its stubbornly averted face to the Black Fog Lamp, which burned quietly with a faint light.

The flame on the wick was steady, providing the same amount of light as yesterday.

’The Sunflower wasn’t picky about it yesterday, so why the sudden fuss today?’

"Too dim... too weak..."

Seraphina Sinclair mulled over the Sunflower’s message. ’This means it doesn’t hate sunshine itself, but is just picky about its quality?’

Thinking of this, she remembered the Sunflower had complained about this before.

At the time, Seraphina Sinclair had wanted to upgrade the Black Fog Lamp, but she only had the blueprint and no way to actually do the upgrade.

Later, after she finally obtained the Hand of Spirits, she learned from her conversation with the waiter that it too was a tool for a specific profession and completely unusable for her.

The prospect of upgrading the lamp suddenly seemed impossibly distant.

Seraphina Sinclair scratched her head. She found she couldn’t really blame the Sunflower anymore.

It wasn’t throwing a tantrum for no reason; it had even given her a warning a long time ago.

It was just that Seraphina Sinclair hadn’t found a solution in all this time.

Now, it seemed the Sunflower’s long-accumulated dissatisfaction had finally boiled over.

"Sorry," Seraphina Sinclair said, her voice tinged with helplessness and apology as she reached out and gently touched the edge of the Sunflower’s drooping head. "I didn’t take your opinion seriously."

’It felt strange to say that, of course. The creature before her wasn’t just a sunflower, but a sunflower with whom she couldn’t even speak the same language.’

Feeling helpless again, Seraphina Sinclair raised her hand and soothingly patted one of the Sunflower’s leaves.

The Sunflower’s head shifted almost imperceptibly, but it remained stubbornly turned away, as if it were sulking.

Seraphina Sinclair knew the apology was useless. The most important thing now was to solve the problem.

But as things stood, she really had no way to upgrade the Black Fog Lamp.

She had the blueprint, but without the right profession or anyone who had it, the blueprint was just a piece of useless paper.

The Hand of Spirits could be used to communicate with special entities, but the waiter had made it clear that if someone as clueless as her used it, it would just be a waste of a valuable item.

’Is there really no other way?’

Seraphina Sinclair’s brow was deeply furrowed.

The moving cabin fell silent for a long moment. Then, she suddenly pulled out the Golden Card the waiter had given her and, with a SNAP, broke it again.

It seemed to be a busy time at the restaurant, because it was quite a while before the waiter finally made a tardy appearance.

It wasn’t as polite as before. Apparently, it was so busy that its whole body was steaming, and its voice was filled with unconcealed impatience:

"Guest, if you don’t have an urgent need, please try not to use this card during our peak hours. The kitchen has three hundred orders for Flame Lizard queued up, the head chef is about to start flinging sparks from his tail, and for you to call me at a time like this is really quite thoughtless. And what’s more..."

It frowned, finally getting to the main point of its tirade: "Didn’t I just leave?"

Seraphina Sinclair was taken aback by the waiter’s heated reprimand, but she quickly opened her mouth and said just two words: "I’m dying."

While it was an inauspicious thing to say, it was indeed the ultimate consequence of the Sunflower’s "hunger strike."

Every emotion on the waiter’s face, even the steam rising from its body, seemed to pause. After processing those two words, it immediately took a step forward and asked urgently, "Are you injured? Poisoned? Or are you afflicted with some other negative status effect?!"

Seraphina Sinclair didn’t hold back. Speaking extremely quickly but with perfect clarity, she explained the entire situation.

After hearing her explanation, the waiter’s anger completely vanished.

It understood.

Though it was neither human nor a survivor, it was born with the ability to understand every client’s needs and to put itself in each of their shoes.

This was why their Species had become the leader of the service industry.

The waiter was highly professional. It first tried to soothe Seraphina’s emotions, but after receiving her "Cut the crap" response, it finally asked a key question: