Chapter 10: Selling Grilled Fish

After casting the fishing net, she waited until the time was about right and began to reel it in.

When the net was fully hauled up, Lily Rhodes peered inside to check this haul’s Treasure Chest. Although it would most likely be a Bronze Treasure Chest, there was always a chance for something better.

But the unexpected did happen, just not the way she imagined. There was absolutely nothing inside the fishing net except for a few thrashing fish.

Seeing this, Lily stared hard for a few moments. After making sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her, she closed them uncertainly and listened closely.

"There’s no mistake. The Treasure Chest is still underwater."

She opened her eyes, confirming that the chest was indeed still down there and hadn’t moved.

"Whatever, there’s no rule saying the fishing net has a hundred percent chance of hauling up a Treasure Chest."

Consoling herself, she collected the fish from the net into her inventory and cast the net again. However, after trying two or three more times, she only caught fish. There wasn’t even a shadow of a Treasure Chest.

"Is it not going deep enough?" Staring at the fishing net in her hands, she spiraled into deep self-doubt.

After hesitating for a moment, she stowed the net away and took out the Yellow Fishing Pole. She didn’t bait the hook. After all, she was fishing for a Treasure Chest this time.

Shortly after the hook dropped into the sea, there was movement.

"So heavy."

Lily pulled hard on the rod. The object below felt incredibly heavy, but it didn’t thrash around violently like a live fish. It just let her drag it up, which was great news for her. A few minutes later, the line was fully reeled in, and a Golden Treasure Box appeared before her.

"A Golden Treasure Box! No wonder the fishing net couldn’t pull it up." Her previous frustration from the delays vanished instantly. The corners of Lily’s mouth curled up uncontrollably. The wait was completely worth it. After all, a single Golden Treasure Box was worth several Bronze Treasure Chests.

She opened the Golden Treasure Box. Two items lay quietly inside: an exquisitely crafted Sunshine Doll and a pale green cobblestone about the same size as the cooling water stone.

She looked at the Sunshine Doll first.

[Sunshine Doll: Can predict the weather at any time within the next three days. Foreshadows disastrous climates such as tornadoes and thunderstorms.]

"Good stuff."

Lily didn’t store the Sunshine Doll away but carried it on her. Having this Sunshine Doll was equivalent to carrying a portable weather forecast, capable of predicting disaster information in advance. This was the open ocean, after all. If they encountered extreme weather like a tsunami, typhoon, or thunderstorm, even Shelly would seem incredibly insignificant in the face of such natural disasters.

Next was the second item, the pale green cobblestone.

Just as Lily guessed, this pale green cobblestone was indeed related to the cooling water stone, but it wasn’t a Water Stone. Its name was...

[Accelerating Growth Wood Stone: Merges into the ground to accelerate plant growth.]

Seeing the Introduction for this Wood Stone, Lily stared in sheer shock. This was exactly what she needed. She had just been preparing to plant her gathered seeds, and now she obtained a Wood Stone that could accelerate their growth.

Still, the cooling water stone and the Accelerating Growth Wood Stone seemed to belong to a set. She wondered what would happen if she collected them all.

Lily placed the Accelerating Growth Wood Stone on the ground. A second later, the Wood Stone merged into the earth. A green light rapidly spread outward from beneath her palm until it covered every corner of Shelly’s back.

"Let’s go, Shelly, let’s head to the next..."

Before Lily could finish, Shelly’s head suddenly popped out of the water. Its eyes sparkled as it stared in a certain direction. Then, with a sudden burst of acceleration, it charged that way. The sheer speed nearly sent Lily falling flat on her rear.

"What happened?" she asked after regaining her balance.

"There’s something good over there. Shelly wants it."

Hearing this, Lily looked in the direction Shelly was heading. She didn’t know what was over there, but since they were still in the protection period, Shelly shouldn’t face any major danger. Moreover, she hadn’t forgotten that aside from a Crystal Core, there was another kind of Energy that could upgrade Shelly. To this day, she still had no idea what that Energy was.

Time ticked by, and soon it was afternoon. Shelly’s speed never showed any signs of slowing down. It even accelerated a few times along the way. It was clearly very anxious, as if afraid someone else would snatch the prize away.

Lily wasn’t in a hurry. During the journey, she dug holes and planted the five types of seeds she had acquired earlier. In less than half an hour, the seeds sprouted and pushed through the soil. The growth rate was astoundingly fast. It truly lived up to the name of the Accelerating Growth Wood Stone. Coupled with the Earth Spirit Pearl’s boost, she would have a bumper harvest even if she did absolutely nothing.

After finishing the planting, she built a grill. Then, she used the Decomposition Technique to perfectly clean the fish she had on hand and tossed them onto the grill to roast.

Although she didn’t have any seasonings to mask the fishy smell, the fish were incredibly fresh. Truly fresh fish didn’t have much of a foul odor anyway, so even without spices, they tasted quite good roasted.

As soon as each batch finished grilling, Lily listed them on the trading channel. She didn’t sell them for much—just some basic materials. Practically everyone could afford them.

Even though nobody was lacking fish at the moment—and after yesterday’s fire source sales, they weren’t lacking fire to grill their own either—Lily still held a massive advantage. First, her Collection Skill perfectly cleaned the fish meat. Second, having a proper grill meant her cooked fish looked visually appealing and appetizing. Most importantly, the price was cheap enough for anyone to afford.

Back on Azurea, modern people rarely cooked for themselves, relying on takeout for all three meals a day. In this current situation, many probably couldn’t even figure out how to gut and prep a fish properly. Compared to eating their own half-cooked, diarrhea-inducing roasted fish, trading a few basic materials for a perfectly grilled piece of meat was a huge bargain to them.

Because of this, Lily’s grilled fish sold out the instant they were listed. Many people were even urging her to grill faster.

The fuel required for the grill wasn’t wood, but a Crystal Core. A single Crystal Core could last a very long time. It was a good thing it used a Crystal Core for fuel; if it required burning wood, her current supply wouldn’t have been nearly enough.

Noticing that Shelly’s speed was gradually slowing down, Lily slowed her grilling movements and looked up into the distance.

Several hundred meters ahead, she could vaguely make out a massive silhouette moving incredibly slowly.