Chapter 65: Source of the Stream

The woman also noticed Lily Rhodes. However, seeing her deliberately steer clear of her position, the woman couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, now was not a good time for a fight.

She had discovered this island last night and noticed several others had found it at the same time. Not long ago, while passing through a forest, she had heard the sound of logging. Not wanting any conflict with those people, she ventured here alone and found a clean stream. It wasn’t large, but it was freshwater. In this sweltering heat, freshwater remained a precious resource.

Meanwhile, Lily followed the stream against the current.

Everything inside this stream had been washed down by the water. If she could find the source, she might discover more green crystal stones and the Dog Head Gold needed for upgrades. With this in mind, Lily pressed forward, occasionally bending down to pick up exposed Dog Head Gold and green crystal stones. Since she had found a Treasure Chest in the tall grass yesterday, she kept a close eye on her surroundings as she walked, searching for more Treasure Chests or any other useful items.

She walked and gathered materials along the way. Soon, it was noon, and Lily had already swapped out several Bronze Treasure Chests. The Baby Orca rubbed against her side, as if to say it was time for lunch.

Lily straightened her back and stretched. She took out three loaves of bread, tore open the packaging, and tossed them straight into the Baby Orca’s mouth. The Baby Orca opened its massive jaws and chewed happily, its tail thrashing with joy. Lily then took out a bag of breakfast biscuits for herself, munching on them as she continued onward.

Gradually, the stream widened, and the current grew more rapid. Suddenly, the Baby Orca stopped in its tracks. It nudged a stone with its snout and looked up at Lily.

"You want me to flip this stone?" Lily asked.

The Baby Orca nodded cheerfully, slapping the water with its tail. Seeing this, Lily reluctantly walked over. She gripped the half-meter-wide stone—worn incredibly smooth by the stream—and heaved it over.

Beneath the overturned stone and scattered pebbles lay a black object. The majority of it was buried in the dirt, with only a small fraction exposed. Lily scraped away the top layer of rocks with her hands, revealing more of the black surface, though it was still far from the whole thing.

"Do you know what this is?" Lily asked the Baby Orca beside her.

"Smells good. Tasty."

Hearing this, Lily knew she wasn’t going to get a useful answer out of it. However, since she had found the item, there was absolutely no reason to abandon it. With that thought, Lily placed her hand on the object and focused her mind.

"Store!"

In the next second, the object on the ground vanished, collected into her spatial storage. Immediately after, a sudden sense of weightlessness swallowed her from below, followed by water crashing down over her head. Lily struggled underwater for quite a while before finally scrambling back onto the bank, her clothes completely soaked.

After sitting by the shore to rest for a moment, she stood up and approached the water’s edge.

The crater she had fallen into was already filled with water. The object had been much larger than she had imagined, but what exactly was it? Lily looked down at her wrist, where her spatial storage resided. Inside sat a perfectly standard black rectangle with a smooth surface. One thing was certain: this geometric shape was definitely not naturally formed.

She continued forward. After walking for about another hour, Lily finally reached the source of the stream—a deep pool of water. The water was pitch-black and bottomless. Just standing at its edge was enough to instill fear in anyone’s heart.

Not long after Lily arrived, the sound of footsteps echoed from another direction. A group of people emerged from the brush. Judging by their composition, they were likely a family: four elders, two young adults, and a child—a very standard family unit. Because they approached from opposite directions, Lily and the group ended up face-to-face.

Although she was alone, Lily had the Baby Orca by her side. Despite its young age, its size was already approaching that of an adult Orca back on Azurea, making it look incredibly intimidating.

The man from the family shouted out to her, "We’re just picking some herbs and getting a little water! We mean no harm."

Lily nodded and withdrew her gaze.

She didn’t approach the deep pool immediately. The surface area might have seemed small, but black water meant unfathomable depths—who knew what could be hiding inside? Lily pulled a straight stick out of her Bronze Treasure Chest and beat the surrounding tall grass and lower branches to ensure there were no venomous snakes lying in ambush. Although she hadn’t seen any trace of snakes along the way, it didn’t mean they weren’t there.

After confirming the entire area was safe, Lily breathed a sigh of relief and walked toward the edge of the pool. She looked at the Baby Orca beside her.

"Can you go down there?"

The Baby Orca looked at the dark water, tested the temperature with the tip of its tail, and nodded.

"Then go see what’s down there."

The Baby Orca nodded again and dove straight in. SPLASH! Countless droplets of water sprayed into the air.

Once the surface of the water gradually calmed, Lily noticed the woman from the family walking toward her.

"Excuse me, miss, how did you catch that Orca?" the woman asked with a smile.

When the woman was still a few steps away, Lily raised her Arm Crossbow. "Stop," she said coldly. "Don’t take another step, or I won’t hold back."

Seeing the weapon, the woman immediately halted. A fearful expression crossed her face. She raised her hands, trying her best to look harmless. "Don’t worry, I mean no harm. I just wanted to ask how you tamed that Orca. If we get the chance, we’d like to tame one too."

"I found it," Lily replied, staring unblinkingly at the woman. If the stranger took even half a step closer, she would fire a bolt from her Arm Crossbow without hesitation.

Seeing Lily’s intense vigilance, the woman tactfully turned and walked away. But the moment she turned her back, the smile on her face instantly vanished.

In the distance, the man noticed the exchange. He expressionlessly averted his gaze and lowered his head, continuing to weave the grass in his hands as if nothing had happened. It wasn’t until the woman was completely out of range that Lily finally put her Arm Crossbow away, but her wariness toward that family had increased by more than Level 1.