Chapter 13: Choice

The two consecutive System announcements completely dumbfounded everyone.

"Holy crap, what did I just see? Level 4? Level 5? Is this Lily Rhodes even human? She actually leveled up twice in a row! How the hell did she do it?"

"If I remember correctly, this isn’t the first time boss Lily Rhodes has been on the world announcements. She must have a special vehicle. Is this the kind of treatment special vehicles get? I’m so jealous."

"Boss, mind if I cling to your coattails? I’d make a great sidekick!"

"Boss! Boss, please adopt me! Just give me a bite to eat and I’m yours."

"Does anyone know who this Lily Rhodes actually is? She leveled up so fast. Can she share her method with everyone? I’m willing to pay!"

As soon as this message appeared, countless others echoed the sentiment.

At this stage, most people’s Vehicle Level was still stuck at Level 2 or even Level 1. Only a handful had reached Level 3. Now that someone had suddenly upgraded their vehicle to Level 5, many turned green with envy. The rewards were especially maddening—a total of five Self-selected Prop Boxes, five Self-selected Weapon Boxes, and two Golden Treasure Boxes. Who knew how much incredible loot could be opened from all that?

Right then, an anonymous message popped up.

"Give it up. The upgrade method for a special vehicle is completely different from a normal one. Even if she told you, you wouldn’t be able to use it."

However, the chat refreshed too quickly for many to notice the message. Even those who did see it didn’t care; they only wanted to uncover Lily’s identity.

But no matter how much they pleaded or shouted, she never appeared. The center of their attention hadn’t even opened the chat channel. Naturally, she remained completely unaware that her two world announcements had sent the global chat into an absolute frenzy.

Lily had easily anticipated the uproar, but what did it matter? She didn’t have the power to save everyone. Compared to those strangers, she cared far more about her newly acquired rewards.

Right now, she held a staggering total of fourteen Treasure Chests: five Self-selected Weapon Boxes, five Self-selected Prop Boxes, two Golden Treasure Boxes, one Diamond Treasure Chest, and one Seven-color Crystal Treasure Box that looked even more Advanced than the diamond one.

Rubbing her hands together in excitement, she prepared to open the self-selected chests first, starting with the weapons.

The moment she opened the box, several categories appeared before her, all classifying different types of weapons: bows and crossbows, staffs and spears, longswords, shortswords, broadswords, and daggers.

These dozen or so categories encompassed nearly every type of cold weapon imaginable. There were no firearms. Lily felt a brief stab of disappointment, but it faded quickly. Even if there were guns, she wouldn’t know how to use them anyway.

Faced with so many options, she found herself in a dilemma. She pondered what she needed most right now. Was it really a weapon?

She glanced down at the clothes she had been wearing for days. Since she had constantly dealt with seawater and fish, she had inevitably acquired a lingering fishy stench, no matter how careful she had been. Furthermore, these were just ordinary clothes with absolutely zero protective capabilities.

With that in mind, she tapped on the armor category. Considering her own physique and what lay ahead, she narrowed her search down to form-fitting armor.

After browsing through all the options for over ten minutes, she finally settled on a set of pure black, form-fitting Soft armor. This Soft armor could effectively resist slashing and piercing damage, as well as mitigate injuries from long-range bow and crossbow attacks.

Upon confirming her choice, she eagerly changed into her new gear.

The Soft armor covered not just her torso, but also completely enveloped her vulnerable neck and jaw, leaving only her eyes exposed. It was incredibly lightweight, lacking any cumbersome bulk. From the outside, it merely looked like ordinary clothing equipped with multiple pockets designed to carry various items. Its practicality was truly maxed out.

Next, she selected a pair of black boots. They were waterproof, slip-resistant, and exceptionally durable, allowing for easy traversal across any terrain.

Then came the gloves. Although the Soft armor came with its own set, Lily felt they weren’t enough. She chose an additional pair reinforced with metal, ensuring that neither the sharp claws of a wild beast nor the venomous fangs of a snake could easily pierce her defenses.

For her final two Self-selected Weapon Boxes, she chose an Arm Crossbow that could be carried easily. It came with a small quiver and the ability to manufacture its own bolts as long as the necessary materials were provided. For her last item, she picked a dagger.

Over an hour had passed by the time she finished making her selections, but Lily didn’t feel the slightest bit fatigued. The Self-selected Weapon Boxes contained far too many incredible items. The dazzling array of choices made her want everything, but unfortunately, she was strictly limited to five.

Following that, she impatiently opened the Self-selected Prop Box. She was fully prepared to fight a war of attrition; she absolutely had to pick the best items available.

The most valuable props were undoubtedly growth-type items, followed closely by life-saving tools and resource-generating items.

Lily patiently reviewed the props one by one until she spotted a specific item and stopped scrolling.

[Healing Water Stone: Can continuously produce a water source with healing properties.]

Without any hesitation, Lily selected the prop.

"It seems my guess was right. This really is a series of items," she muttered to herself before continuing her search.

She didn’t come across any other items similar to the Water Stone, but she made other excellent finds.

[Potential Seed: Upon use, it unlocks the user’s hidden potential. The user’s recovery capabilities will become several times stronger than an ordinary person’s. As long as they do not die instantly, they can fully recover over time. Post-recovery, they will possess a stronger physical constitution than before.]

Simply put, it was an item that elevated the user by constantly squeezing out their latent potential. It definitely fell under the growth category. She locked it in.

Next, Lily selected the Alchemist Workbench. It allowed her to obtain potion recipes through original creation or other methods. Potions crafted on this bench would have their effects boosted by twenty to fifty percent compared to ordinary potions.

Then she picked an Exploration Medal, which could detect potential resources in the vicinity and point out the direction of nearby islands.

"So there really are islands out there," Lily thought upon seeing the description.

For her final choice, she picked a necklace featuring a colorful fishtail pendant. Its effect allowed her to easily hold her breath underwater for half an hour. Furthermore, during that thirty-minute window, all fish would treat her as one of their own and refrain from attacking her.

Since she was stranded on the ocean, underwater exploration was inevitable. It was best to get her hands on this kind of prop as early as possible.

Choosing her weapons had taken over an hour, but selecting her props consumed more than three. She had been forced to tap on every single item individually just to read their attributes.