Chapter 59: A Named Island — Rugged Isle

Even though she was a homebody, Mimi Bishop wasn’t stupid. Upon receiving the two blueprints, she knew this was a test. She didn’t harbor the slightest bit of resentment.

After all, prior to this, she and Lily Rhodes had been nothing more than passing strangers.

Had they not been suddenly thrust into this unfamiliar world, they likely would never have crossed paths in their lifetimes. Furthermore, if Lily had been a bit more ruthless, she could have simply killed her and stolen her vehicle. But Lily hadn’t done that. Instead, she had given her a meal card that allowed her to order food at any time.

Based on that alone, Mimi was dead set on following the big boss.

With this in mind, Mimi stood up and headed toward the bedroom behind her.

Despite the massive size of her submarine, nearly three-quarters of its interior was occupied by the Energy storage room. The remaining quarter had to house the control console, leaving her with very little actual living space. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to move around; the submarine was simply a massive Energy drain. One hour of operation required ten hours of charging.

She had barely managed to partition out a one-bedroom, one-living-room layout, which she had decorated quite cozily. A fluffy rug covered the floor, so thick that stepping on it barefoot didn’t yield the slightest chill. Though the space was cramped, it was fully equipped.

Fortunately, as the middle child, neither of her parents had chosen to join her. With an older brother above her and younger fraternal twin siblings below, she was the most inconspicuous of the four children in her family—the one most frequently overlooked.

When the novice period ended and she realized her parents hadn’t sought her out, Mimi breathed a sigh of relief, though a pang of disappointment still lingered in her heart. However, she quickly adjusted her emotions. After all, things like this had happened countless times before. Perhaps she was just destined to be estranged from her family. This was fine, too. She could live her life freely, and her parents were finally rid of their mediocre daughter.

Mimi soon emerged from the bedroom, holding a wooden box. She had salvaged it during her very first time surfacing.

Blueprints couldn’t be merged instantaneously; it took time. Worried that something might go wrong during the process, Mimi had specifically brought out this box to act as a merging container.

After glancing at the quality of the two blueprints, Mimi realized she had been quiet for a while. Concerned that Lily might think she had pocketed the items, she quickly sent a message.

Mimi: "Boss, merging these two blueprints will take about four hours. I’ll send the finished product over to you as soon as it’s done."

Lily: "Alright."

Meanwhile, Lily discovered an island.

More accurately, she had found it by tailing another Survivor. Lily had followed them from beneath the water, remaining completely undetected the entire time.

The night was pitch black. The weather had been scorchingly hot lately; it only ever cooled down after the sun set. Therefore, despite the poor visibility, Survivors preferred to operate at night.

Recently, the mutated carrots in The Supreme Shop had been selling exceptionally well. The mutation gave them the ability to improve eyesight, though it required long-term consumption to take effect. Lily wasn’t sure exactly how much they improved vision, but the mutated carrots could undeniably cure nearsightedness. Rumor had it that quite a few people had already completely ditched the glasses they had worn for years thanks to them.

Using the cover of darkness, Lily prepared to land on the opposite side of the island.

She didn’t let Shelly surface from the seabed. After all, even shrunk down, Shelly was still conspicuously large. After strapping on her gear and slipping on her Protective Goggles, Lily stowed Shelly away and brought out her sailboat.

The sailboat was only Level 2, making it perfectly suited for a direct landing.

Sitting in the boat, Lily surveyed the enveloping darkness. It had to be said, this level of visibility was incredibly hostile to anyone with poor eyesight. Fortunately, her Protective Goggles kept her completely unaffected. In fact, the night acted as her camouflage.

However, as she gazed out at the boundless ocean, a sudden, inexplicable sense of hollow loneliness welled up inside her. The emptiness in her chest was thoroughly uncomfortable.

Down on the seabed, her surroundings had been brightly lit and perfectly organized. Accompanied by vibrant, growing fruits and vegetables and two Orcas, she naturally hadn’t had the time to feel melancholy. Now, suddenly faced with the pitch-black surface of the sea—devoid of anything but an unknown island—the psychological pressure was immense.

At the end of the day, Lily was still just a normal human being.

After a brief bout of melancholy, Lily forcibly suppressed the lingering disappointment and steered the sailboat toward the island.

Due to an accident on the last island she encountered, she had left after only harvesting half of it. This time, she was determined to strip the island bare of anything valuable. With that resolution in mind, the sailboat slowly approached the shore.

The instant she stepped onto the island, a name suddenly popped into Lily’s mind: Rugged Isle.

This island actually had a name! This had never happened before.

Once ashore, Lily expertly stowed her sailboat away. Although the sailboat was small and low Level, its purple crystal was still quite eye-catching.

The Survivor on the other side of the island likely lacked any illumination tools. After observing them for a while, Lily hadn’t seen any signs that they intended to land. They were probably waiting until daybreak, when there was ample light, to come ashore and escape the heat in one go.

Beneath her feet lay soft sand. Lily wasn’t particularly short on sand right now, so she decided not to waste time gathering it. Crossing the beach, Lily pressed forward. Soon, coconut palms and mango trees came into view.

Her eyes lit up at the sight of these resources.

While the previous island had featured similar resources, the growth here was noticeably better. The coconut palms and mango trees were larger and had thicker trunks, clearly thriving on abundant nutrients.

She could pass on the coconuts—she already had a whole grove of coconut palms that had begun to bear fruit. However, these mango trees were heavily laden with golden mangoes, each one larger than her head. A sweet, refreshing mango fragrance permeated the air.

This variety was even better than the one she had planted before. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a way to transplant the entire trees right now; she could only take the seeds back.

Lily began breaking down the mango trees, collecting all the resulting wood and fruit. She didn’t let the unripe mangoes go to waste, either; she could take them back to feed the livestock.