Chapter 6: Special Upgrade, World Announcement

After making up her mind, Lily Rhodes took out all the bottled water she currently had on hand.

Aside from the water she had already consumed or sold, she still possessed a full six 2.5-liter bottles of mineral water, plus one opened 2.5-liter bottle. With this much inventory, the amount of Crystal Cores she could trade for might be enough to upgrade Shelly several times.

While sorting through her water supply, she finalized a few more transactions and successfully acquired five Crystal Cores.

Staring at the five Crystal Cores, Lily didn’t hesitate for a moment, immediately feeding them to Shelly. As the gems settled in her stomach, Shelly suddenly lifted her head. She let out a long, melodious, and joyful cry that echoed across the open waters.

A second later, Lily felt the shell beneath her shifting.

The previously smooth, slightly curved carapace flattened out as its surface area continuously expanded. It grew from a small shell that could barely fit her lying down into a massive platform a full ten square meters in size. Moreover, the surface completely transformed from a slick shell into solid earth.

Lily crouched down and scooped up a handful of dirt. It felt dry and didn’t look particularly suitable for planting, but it was undoubtedly real soil.

The entire upgrade process took less than a minute. Looking at Shelly, who now seemed like an entirely different turtle, Lily thought to herself that this place really functioned just like a video game.

Right at that moment, a blue, semi-transparent panel appeared before her.

[Congratulations. You are the first player to complete a special upgrade. You are hereby rewarded with one Diamond Treasure Chest. Would you like to make a World Announcement?]

[PS: Making a World Announcement will reward you with an additional Golden Treasure Box.]

Lily initially wanted to decline, but she immediately changed her mind when she saw the prospect of acquiring an extra Golden Treasure Box.

So what if she exposed her name? She couldn’t possibly be the only person named Lily Rhodes in this world. If someone actually targeted her, she would just claim it was a coincidence of having the same name.

Upon her confirmation, several eye-catching notifications suddenly popped up on the World Channel’s public screen.

[Congratulations to Survivor "Lily Rhodes" for being the first to complete a special vehicle upgrade. Reward: One Diamond Treasure Chest.]

The moment this message appeared, the normally rapid-fire World Channel froze for a single second. Then, it began refreshing at an even more insane speed. Even though each person could only send one message per day, with over seven billion people online simultaneously, the level of frenzy was unimaginable.

While the World Channel went wild, people in the Regional Channel were also busy discussing exactly who this "Lily" was.

"This is bullshit! I upgraded my vehicle ages ago. Why didn’t I get a single reward?"

"Look closely, man. It says ’special upgrade.’ You probably just upgraded normally following the System’s prompts."

"Does that mean there’s a special way to upgrade vehicles aside from the normal method? Is Lily around? We’re all Azureans here, it’s not cool to hoard all the secrets for yourself."

"Stop shouting. There are over seven billion people. What if she isn’t even in our region?"

"Wait, I remember someone in our region collecting Crystal Cores. Maybe this special upgrade has something to do with them."

Lily, who had been quietly lurking in the chat, widened her eyes and stared at the person who just made that connection. The user’s avatar and nickname were both hidden, so she couldn’t see their details, but she definitely memorized their presence.

She glanced at her private messages and, sure enough, saw the notification count climbing at a terrifying rate. Every single message was asking if she was the Lily they were looking for.

She wanted to ignore them all, but doing so would make her look extremely guilty. Furthermore, if she stonewalled them, these people might refuse to sell her their Crystal Cores anymore. Human nature was fickle like that. People were naturally prone to jealousy, resenting the haves and mocking the have-nots. Even though there were Survivors in other regions, if this rumor spread too widely, it would bring her absolutely no benefits.

Thinking of this, Lily took her time and casually sent a message to the group. Acting too anxious would only make people think she was desperate to clear her name.

"Thanks for thinking so highly of me, guys, but unfortunately, it’s not me. I’ve only been collecting Crystal Cores to secure freshwater resources."

Since she had indeed brought out a considerable amount of freshwater for trading earlier, this excuse was perfectly reasonable. Even if a few individuals remained suspicious, Lily stopped replying entirely. Some things only looked more suspicious the more one tried to explain them.

After closing the chat channel, Lily looked at the two Treasure Chests in front of her. One sparkled brilliantly like a diamond, while the other was completely golden.

She opened the Diamond Treasure Chest first. Inside lay an earth-yellow bead. The moment her fingers brushed against it, information regarding the item flooded into her mind.

[Earth Spirit Pearl: One of the Five Spirit Beads. It is recommended to merge it with your vehicle. Upon integration, you will obtain fertile soil where any plant can take root and grow.]

Lily’s eyes lit up after reading the description. This meant she could finally start farming!

Although she could get food out of the Treasure Chests, that source was far too unstable. To secure a reliable and steady food supply, she had to rely on her own two hands and provide for herself. She didn’t have any seeds right now, but that didn’t mean other Survivors were empty-handed.

With that thought in mind, Lily took out the Earth Spirit Pearl and placed it on the ground. The instant the Spiritual Pearl touched the dirt, it melted directly into the surface.

A second later, the dry, barren earth gradually transformed into rich, black soil. Even without any farming experience, Lily could easily tell that this earth was incredibly fertile and perfectly suited for planting.

"Now everything is ready. All I’m missing are the seeds."

Lily grabbed a handful of the soil and rubbed it between her fingers. However, she didn’t plan on buying seeds right away. She would wait a day or two first. The World Announcement had just happened, and someone might be secretly keeping an eye on her. Besides, this was only the first day. Most people were still in a cautious, exploratory phase, so there weren’t many people selling items in the trading area anyway.

Next, she opened the Golden Treasure Box. Inside lay a pristine golden fishing rod.

[golden fishing rod: 100% fishing success rate. 3% chance to catch Special Fish. 1% chance to catch Golden Fish.]

"Special Fish? Golden Fish? What kind of things are those?" Lily stared at the fishing rod in her hand and weighed it. It had a surprisingly solid heft to it.

Whatever they were, they had to be good. Plus, the one hundred percent fishing success rate was incredibly appealing to her. She didn’t throw away her old fishing rod, either. With two rods, she could experience double the joy.

"Let’s go. We need to find a few more Treasure Chests before it gets dark," Lily said to Shelly in the water, walking over to the edge of the turtle’s back, which was now large enough to be called a small island.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Lily felt a sudden push from beneath her.

"Shelly, your speed actually increased!" she exclaimed excitedly, feeling the sea breeze rushing against her face.