Chapter 7: Weather Change

Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Weather Change

It had happened a long time ago, yet as Seraphina Sinclair recalled it now, she could remember every single step.

Worried that the wood encircled by the stones wouldn’t catch fire, she twisted the remaining half of her t-shirt into a fuse, pulling it through an opening left at the top.

The lighter’s flame licked the fabric, and thick smoke immediately began to roil in the enclosed space. Seraphina Sinclair held her breath, watching the dark smoke pour out through the exhaust fan’s duct.

All she had to do now was wait.

Seraphina Sinclair didn’t just stand around in the bathroom. The space was small, and even with an exhaust fan, it wouldn’t do much. It would be too easy to get carbon monoxide poisoning. She was better off back in the mobile cabin.

Seraphina Sinclair sat on the floor, stretched lazily, and then pulled the bread from her pocket.

It had been open for so long, yet its flavor hadn’t changed one bit—it was truly amazing. Most importantly, this bread was completely different from the kind other people on the regional channel had.

Seraphina Sinclair raised an eyebrow and inspected the bread’s details.

[Bread (Elite Player’s Reward)]

[Description: It may look like ordinary bread, but its flavor is exceptionally good! Just as its name implies, it’s a prize for whoever eats it!]

’Ah.’

Seraphina Sinclair understood.

This was from the elite starter kit. It was only natural that it was different from the ones found in Supply Boxes.

’I almost traded it away as if it were just regular bread.’

Seraphina Sinclair frowned and cautiously reviewed the descriptions of all her supplies.

After confirming that the bread was the only thing she’d misjudged, she lazily offered it an apology before unhesitatingly devouring the last piece.

’This was the best fate the bread could have hoped for.’

’That’s right!’

Seraphina Sinclair got up to check on her Sunflower.

The little thing was still curled up, looking no different than before, but she could clearly sense that the Sunflower was afraid of something.

When she touched the pot, a faint murmur echoed in her mind. ’It’s raining... so noisy...’

’It’s raining?’

Seraphina Sinclair froze for a second, then immediately turned her head to look out the window.

She couldn’t hear a thing. Outside, the black mist continued to roil, as thick as ink, looking as if it would swallow the entire world.

She narrowed her eyes, peering into the chaos. At first, she saw nothing, until she noticed a faint glint flashing intermittently within the black mist.

It wasn’t lightning, nor was it a hallucination.

Seraphina Sinclair moved closer, pressing her face almost flat against the glass, and finally saw it clearly.

It was rain.

Black rain.

The drops were as fine as needles, practically merging with the black mist. You couldn’t tell them apart without looking very closely.

But as she stared intently, she could see innumerable fine threads of rain cutting diagonally through the mist, like countless tiny needles piercing the darkness.

If it hadn’t been for the Sunflower’s warning, Seraphina Sinclair would never have noticed the change in the weather.

She turned to look at the Sunflower, which was still murmuring about the ’noise.’ The ability to hear its thoughts was proving far more useful than Seraphina Sinclair had ever imagined.

Seraphina Sinclair took a deep breath and checked the time. It was 1:03 PM.

Factoring in the time it took her to notice the rain, it must have started with a terrifying precision, as if executing a pre-programmed command.

The implication of her own guess sent a chill through Seraphina Sinclair.

But then she remembered she knew absolutely nothing about this godforsaken place. If she spent all day being paranoid, she’d probably scare herself to death. There was no point in worrying so much.

’One day at a time.’

Seraphina Sinclair had always had a positive outlook.

In her past life, she had relied on her grandmother since she was a child, and after her grandmother’s death, she was left all alone. Even so, she had managed to exercise daily and maintain a near-perfect routine. Her love for life was undeniable!

’I will definitely live a good life!’

Seraphina Sinclair propped her chin on her hand and waited for an hour. Finally, she heard the Sunflower’s voice once more.

"’The rain stopped. The sun is coming.’"

’The sun?!’

Seraphina Sinclair shot to her feet and hurried to the window.

’Where is this "sun" the Sunflower is talking about?’

Outside, the black mist still churned, so thick it seemed it would never dissipate. She narrowed her eyes, searching carefully for any abnormal glimmer of light.

Nothing.

Forget something as dazzling as sunshine; there wasn’t even the faintest glow.

Just as she was about to give up, she finally caught it: a very faint wisp of gold, drifting deep within the black mist.

The light was as faint as a dying candle flame, flickering in and out of sight within the mist. It was easy to miss if you weren’t paying close attention.

That wasn’t ordinary sunshine... No, perhaps it *was* ordinary sunshine, but the black mist was definitely not ordinary mist. The light couldn’t penetrate the gloom. Instead, it was like motes of light imprisoned by the mist, struggling to drift through the gaps.

"This is... the sun?"

Seraphina Sinclair muttered to herself.

The scene was so bizarre it felt as if her entire understanding of the world was being upended.

’Shouldn’t sunshine pierce through the mist?’

The Sunflower’s voice echoed in her mind. ’So far... can’t reach...’

Seraphina Sinclair understood at once. This feeble light couldn’t reach the Sunflower directly. She would need some kind of device to collect the light scattered throughout the black mist and channel it to her plant.

But for now, it was too early for her to be thinking about that.

The next time the Sunflower spoke, it was to announce the sun’s disappearance. Seraphina Sinclair, who had been keeping an eye on the clock, immediately checked the time again.

It was 3:00 PM.

In other words, from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM each day, a black rain would fall outside the mobile cabin.

And after the rain came the sun.

The sun only appeared for one hour, from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM, and it was unable to shine directly on plants.

This was Seraphina Sinclair’s first day in The Black Mist World, and she was already satisfied with the amount of information she had gathered.

But it was only 3:00 PM. In The Black Mist World, true darkness wouldn’t fall until 8:00 PM, leaving a full five hours.

Not wanting to waste any time, Seraphina Sinclair went ahead and fed the bag of E-level nutrient liquid to the Sunflower.

The moment the nutrient liquid poured into the pot, the Sunflower’s curled leaves abruptly unfurled. The smiling face at the center of its disc suddenly opened its mouth wide, making a series of GULP GULP swallowing sounds.

Seraphina Sinclair watched, wide-eyed, as the 100ml of nutrient liquid was slurped up in under five seconds, not a single drop remaining.

’It was clearly famished.’

[Sunflower Hunger Level: 100/100]

"’Like it! More!’ The Sunflower’s young, sweet voice echoed in her mind."

The Sunflower was speaking, yes, but its voice was nothing like the obnoxious, screaming children from her past life. If she had to make a comparison, it was more like her own beloved cat or dog had suddenly learned how to talk.

To be honest, Seraphina Sinclair didn’t mind it at all. In fact, she even kind of liked it.

Seraphina Sinclair poked one of its leaves. "This is a strategic resource. It’s not that I don’t want to give you more today, it’s that I’m all out."

The Sunflower probably didn’t understand her words, but at her touch, it actually fell silent and closed its mouth.

’Such a good kid.’