Chapter 29: Complete Compass

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Complete Compass

Seraphina Sinclair played the voice message. A young woman’s voice came through, sounding honest and earnest:

"Boss, I really don’t have anything else good. This toolbox was the only valuable thing I got from an E-level Supply Box. I got two things in total—this, and a set of bedding. I’ve already used the bedding, but if you don’t mind... I can give it to you too."

Seraphina Sinclair: "..."

’You don’t have to be *that* honest.’

[Blacktiger Ford]: No need for the bedding. Just add whatever else you have.

Another voice message came in: "How about I give you two stacks of wood and a stack of metal materials?"

Seraphina Sinclair listened, pondering for a moment.

’She absolutely had to get her hands on the repair toolbox. She’d only said it wasn’t practical to get the other person to sweeten the deal.’

’Even though the other person didn’t add much, Seraphina had achieved her goal.’

’Quit while you’re ahead!’

Seraphina Sinclair replied, "Deal."

She placed a self-heating rice box in the trade window, and the other person quickly put up the repair toolbox and the materials.

Once the trade was complete, the toolbox and materials instantly appeared in front of her.

Seraphina Sinclair picked up the toolbox to examine it closely.

It was a metal box about the size of her palm, its surface etched with intricate patterns that gave it a high-tech feel.

She gently opened the lid, and her eyes fell upon rows of neatly arranged miniature tools. Although she couldn’t tell what they were for, they gave off an impression of precision and reliability.

’Thankfully, its repairs were fully automated. She didn’t have to operate it herself, otherwise it really would have been a useless trade.’

Seraphina Sinclair placed the broken compass on the floor, set the repair toolbox beside it, and was just wondering how to use it when a tutorial panel popped up in front of her.

Seraphina then noticed a recess on the toolbox lid. This was where the tutorial panel said to place the damaged item.

She placed the compass into the recess, and after closing the lid, the toolbox immediately began to hum softly, its patterns glowing with a blue light.

’It seems pretty advanced.’

Seraphina listened to the intricate mechanical whirring inside the repair toolbox, waiting patiently for three minutes. With a single BEEP, the blue light died down, and the toolbox stopped working.

’There was no notification, but it should be fixed.’

She opened the lid. The previously rusted and broken compass was as good as new!

The scratches on the brass casing were gone, the cracked glass cover was restored, and the needle spun freely under the clear cover, no longer showing any signs of getting stuck.

Seraphina Sinclair immediately checked the item’s information!

[Compass (D-level)]

[Description: The needle always points to the nearest aerial lake! Warning! After injecting sunshine, it will perform a scan. If the nearest aerial lake is less than a 100 sunshine distance from the mobile cabin, it will temporarily control the cabin’s direction of movement until it arrives! Warning! If the aerial lake is too far away, movement will not be possible!]

[Current sunshine value (0/100)]

Seraphina Sinclair frowned as she finished reading the description. ’This is a complete gamble—a bet on the location of an aerial lake, a bet on whether one even exists within a 100 sunshine distance of the mobile cabin!’

’If there isn’t one, this would be a total waste.’

For the current Seraphina, one hundred sunshine was extremely valuable. It represented a minimum of three Supply Boxes.

’Most of the time they’re F-level, but sometimes you get an E-level one!’

"An aerial lake..." Seraphina murmured to herself. "What could be inside one?"

’No matter what was inside, Seraphina wasn’t going to gamble one hundred sunshine today. Her mobile cabin had already locked onto the location of a special area; all that was left was to move!’

She took a deep breath. Just as she was about to put the repaired compass away, she saw its needle pointing steadily in one direction, unmoving.

’The needle?’

An idea flashed through Seraphina’s mind. ’I could use the compass needle to roughly estimate the position of nearby aerial lakes!’

’If the needle swings drastically before and after a move, wouldn’t that mean the cabin passed by an aerial lake?’

Seraphina nodded. The more she thought about it, the more feasible the plan seemed!

’But first, it’s time to move!’

Seraphina Sinclair took out the Bronze Door Card and injected all 200 points of sunshine into it.

The surface of the door card shimmered, and a system notification popped up:

[Your cabin has begun to move]

[Duration: 2 hours]

[Target: Special Area (Remaining Distance: 200 sunshine)]

The familiar sound of machinery whirred to life, and the cabin began to vibrate gently.

’Seraphina had only injected all her sunshine into the door card at once because the special area was exactly 200 sunshine away.’

’She couldn’t do this in the future. Now that she had the compass, sunshine had more uses.’

Seraphina placed the Sunflower on the bed while she stood to the side, gripping her military knife. Now, all she had to do was wait for the black fog.

The first wave of black fog arrived quickly. Thick mist seeped in through the cracks in the door and windows, rapidly filling the entire room.

Seraphina held her breath, listening quietly in the black fog. There was no sign of a monster, only the faint whisper of the swirling mist.

The glowing fish swim bladder around her neck emitted a faint shimmer in the fog.

Seraphina suddenly raised a hand to clasp it. She could feel the light it emitted struggling to push back the fog.

The light and the black fog were like two opposing armies, but the light was clearly weaker, so it had almost no effect in dispelling the fog.

Seraphina guessed that perhaps one swim bladder wasn’t enough... ’or maybe this thing can’t be used directly and needs to be processed before it can reach its full potential.’

After the black fog receded, an F-level Supply Box was left on the floor.

Seraphina breathed a sigh of relief, moved the Supply Box onto the bed, and opened it immediately.

[Obtained: Metal Fragments ×5, cloth ×10, wood ×5]

’More basic materials.’

Seraphina was a little disappointed, but she quickly adjusted her attitude.

’The special area was the main event for today. These small gains were just a bonus.’

Twenty minutes later, the second wave of black fog rolled in.

This time, the Sunflower gave no warning. Seraphina relaxed slightly but remained vigilant.

There were still no monsters in the black fog. When it receded, it left behind another Supply Box.

[Obtained: 500ml mineral water ×2, bread ×3]

’To be honest, getting these basic survival supplies is really annoying.’

"Just give me a blueprint already."

Seraphina pressed her palms together, closed her eyes, and muttered to herself as if that would improve her luck.

As the third wave of black fog poured in, Seraphina suddenly heard the Sunflower’s voice: "Something tasty is here!"

Seraphina’s lips twitched. ’I guess this counts as good luck, right?’

’The Sunflower is about to evolve! This is... the second to last one!’

Seraphina tensed, holding her military knife horizontally in front of her chest.

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

She narrowed her eyes, and in a flash, she made out the monster’s silhouette.

’An old acquaintance. A Rotting Beetle!’