Chapter 8: Rotten Centipede

Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Rotten Centipede

Seraphina Sinclair didn’t dwell on it for long. The Sunflower’s Hunger Level was already at one hundred percent; it was time to start cranking the Sunlight Lamp.

Seraphina Sinclair’s stamina was decent, but she couldn’t endure the mechanical repetition of the same action forever!

After a few dozen turns, the Sunlight Lamp finally lit up.

The Sunflower immediately perked up. With a mischievous thought, Seraphina Sinclair moved the Sunlight Lamp in her hand, and the Sunflower actually tilted its face up on its own, twisting to follow the light.

’This is so adorable.’

But it seemed only her Sunflower was like this. Seraphina Sinclair had seen others complaining on the regional channel that their Sunflowers would stop generating sunshine if the light was even slightly off-center.

Seeing more and more posts like that made Seraphina Sinclair feel her own Sunflower was even more precious.

After collecting 50 sunshine in one go, Seraphina Sinclair’s arm was so sore she could barely lift it.

She was about to sit on the floor to rest for a bit, but the Sunflower sighed pitifully, "No more sunshine..."

Hearing this, Seraphina Sinclair shot right back up.

It wasn’t a big deal, but she suddenly found she didn’t want to be the kind of parent who disappoints their child.

Her right arm was tired, so Seraphina Sinclair simply switched to her left. After another long session of cranking the Sunlight Lamp, the Sunflower spat out a final 25 sunshine.

"So thirsty..."

Oh!

’Time to water it.’

Seraphina Sinclair put away the Hand-cranked Sunlight Lamp, turned to the broken bed where her supplies were kept, and grabbed a bottle of mineral water.

She used the bottle to fill up a watering can, then stood beside the Sunflower with the can in hand.

’The Sunflower is a plant, so watering it directly should be fine.’

Seraphina Sinclair nodded to herself and tilted the watering can, pouring out a little water.

The moment the surface soil of the flowerpot was damp, the Sunflower shouted, "That’s enough! That’s enough!"

Seraphina Sinclair thought that was sufficient and was about to put the watering can back when she heard the Sunflower complain again.

"I hate water the most, but I have to drink it..."

Seraphina Sinclair froze.

’Oh...’

’It’s not that it’s had enough.’

’This Sunflower just hates drinking water?’

’I almost misunderstood.’

Without the slightest hesitation, Seraphina Sinclair tilted the can again and poured a large gulp of water onto the Sunflower.

"WAAAH WAAAH."

It was the cute sound effect of choking on water.

The Sunflower’s leaves and stem curled up, trembling as if it were sulking in a corner. Seraphina Sinclair had to admit the Sunflower was adorable like this, but being cute wasn’t an excuse not to drink water.

After successfully bullying the Sunflower with mineral water, Seraphina Sinclair opened the regional channel.

Most people had to take breaks while cranking their sunlight lamps, so they were only just now collecting their first 100 sunshine.

"So nervous, we’re about to start moving! Has any big shot who’s already moved got anything to share about what it’s like?"

"I also just finished cranking the sunlight lamp. I’m so tired, I’m gonna die! My arms feel like they’re going to fall off; I can’t even lift them. I’m planning to rest for a bit until my arms recover before I move. Didn’t they say there might be monsters in the black fog? If I run into one in this state, I’m toast!"

"Monsters? Rotting Corpses? Hahahaha, slicing through them is like cutting tofu. A piece of cake!"

"Bunch of cowards. I’m starting my move."

"You can call me names, but bro, can you share your experience after you move?"

"Seriously, the guy above me is a real coward. What ’experience’ is there to share? You’ll have to go through it yourself sooner or later. Once the black fog rolls in, you can’t see a thing. When it recedes, you’ll see a Supply Box left on the floor of your cabin. Nothing much to talk about, really."

"Actually, that was quite a lot of info."

"Thanks for sharing, big shot! I’m gonna start moving now!"

Seraphina Sinclair watched for a while, but found no useful information. After realizing that many things she knew were not common knowledge, she closed the regional channel.

She was silent for a moment, finally realizing that she was, indeed, ahead of the curve.

’As for sharing what I know...’

’Sorry, but giving up her advantage is something she, Seraphina Sinclair, just couldn’t do.’

She was someone who had read several survival novels. In an environment like this, being a good person never ended well.

Seraphina Sinclair initiated her second move of the day.

This time, before starting, she deliberately brought the Sunflower onto the broken wooden bed with her.

’There are always advantages to being close. What if a monster that eats Sunflowers spawns in the black fog?’

’Then it would all be over.’

Right now, the small, broken bed held all of Seraphina Sinclair’s supplies, plus one person, plus one Sunflower...

The fact that it hadn’t collapsed yet was mainly because Seraphina Sinclair had so few supplies.

[Your cabin has begun to move]

[Duration: 1 hour]

Seraphina Sinclair gripped her foldable military knife, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

The black fog soon rushed in. The Sunflower was quiet, huddled in its pot, showing no signs of anything unusual.

’Looks like there are no monsters this time.’

Seraphina Sinclair let out a sigh of relief. After the black fog receded, she hopped off the bed, moved the Supply Box left on the floor back onto the bed, and quietly waited for the second influx of fog.

Twenty minutes passed quietly.

Seraphina Sinclair held her breath as the thick fog seeped in through the cracks in the door and windows, quickly filling the entire room.

Standing on the bed, she could clearly see the black fog forming a thick vortex below her knees, while the fog above her waist was much thinner.

"Something tasty..."

The Sunflower’s voice echoed in her mind.

’Alright.’

’There’s a monster.’

Seraphina Sinclair’s whole body tensed, her military knife held horizontally before her chest.

A strange CLICK-CLACK sound came from the darkness, like some kind of arthropod crawling.

’No.’

Seraphina Sinclair’s heart leaped into her throat. Rotting Corpses didn’t make this kind of sound.

But since the Sunflower said it was tasty, it meant this monster was about the same grade as a Rotting Corpse.

’I should be able to beat it.’

’Don’t worry,’ Seraphina Sinclair told herself, but it wasn’t very effective.

Her tense body didn’t relax in the slightest. Since she couldn’t see anything anyway, she simply closed her eyes to focus on the sounds.

That strange CLICK sound grew closer and closer. She felt a cold presence brush past her ankle.

Almost on instinct, Seraphina Sinclair kicked out!

In the churning black fog, she saw a long, thin shadow fly out with her movement.

She didn’t get a clear look at what it was, but in that instant, she silently chanted in her mind: "Insight!"

[Rotting Centipede (F-level)]

[Description: A long monster pieced together from decaying limbs and a festering torso. Each segment is stuck with blackened, rotting flesh and broken Bone Spikes. It slithers through damp shadows, its secreted mucus emitting a pungent, corpse-like stench. Venom drips from its mandibles; prey bitten by it will gradually dissolve into pus and blood.]

[Weakness: The joints between segments are extremely fragile; severing them can paralyze it! It fears light and its carapace fears fire. Its movements are Slowed under direct sunshine.]

’It’s venomous!’

Seraphina Sinclair was shocked. Right now, the enemy was hidden while she was exposed. She was at a disadvantage.

’I absolutely cannot fight it head-on like this.’

’Insight didn’t say this monster attacks Sunflowers, so the Sunflower should be safe. In that case...’