Chapter 92: Extreme Joy Begets Sorrow and a New Event Begins

After installing the two items on her sailboat, Lily Rhodes stowed away the Self-selected Prop Box she had received as a reward. She planned to open it later when the need arose, or perhaps hoard it to see if Mimi Bishop could merge the Treasure Chests.

Once back on Shelly’s back, Lily sighed. "I’m finally back."

She gave a long, luxurious stretch. Truth be told, nothing beat the comfort of her own turf.

Back on the island, gathering herbs by day and hunting by night had left her zero time to rest. She had survived entirely on the water produced by the Water Spirit Pearl. While on the sailboat, adrenaline had kept her wide awake, but the moment she returned to her sanctuary, the accumulated exhaustion crashed over her. Her eyelids grew incredibly heavy.

But now was not the time to sleep. Lily recalled all the items she had stored with Mimi and transferred them to her own breeding area.

Miles away, Mimi looked around her newly emptied home and nearly shed tears of gratitude. Thank goodness! Her boss was finally done. Heaven only knew how she had survived the past few days.

Never in her life had she shared a room with so many small animals. Day in and day out, she had to cater to their eating, drinking, and bathroom needs. The foul stench had permeated the air inside her vehicle, completely ruining her appetite and costing her several good bowls of rice over the last two days.

A message popped up from Mimi: "Boss, I have a massive favor to ask."

"Speak," Lily replied instantly. She was so exhausted she barely had the strength to keep her eyes open.

Mimi typed back: "Well, Boss, it gets a bit lonely by myself, and I kinda want a pet. I was wondering if you had any connections to get one."

*A pet?* It seemed Mimi had way too much free time on her hands if she was actually in the mood to raise an animal. Still, she was her subordinate. Letting her keep a pet was no big deal.

"Sure. What do you want to raise?" Lily replied. She only had fish, birds, and a plant on hand, none of which she could spare. Besides, she highly doubted those were the kinds of pets Mimi had in mind.

"I love fluffy animals! Cats and dogs are the best," Mimi answered.

Ideally, she wanted one of each. Then she could be one of those lucky people who owned both a cat and a dog! Just picturing the scene made Mimi roll around excitedly on her carpet.

On the other end, Lily was already drifting off. Glancing at Mimi’s request, she sent a brief reply: "I’ll keep an eye out for you, but don’t get your hopes up."

After all, ordinary domestic cats and dogs could never survive in this harsh world. Finding a lion to tame would be significantly easier than finding a regular house pet. It was the simple truth; every day, she received numerous fierce beast corpses, including plenty of lions and tigers.

Whatever. She would think about it after a good sleep.

Lily was out cold a second later. Little did she know, back on the island she had just abandoned, a group of people was furiously searching for her.

"Are you absolutely sure those women were operating around here?" a middle-aged man demanded. He was dressed sharply in a black suit and thin-soled leather shoes.

The lackey beside him nodded vigorously. "Yeah, Boss, positive. I’ve been watching them for days. They always hung around this spot. During the day, they gathered all kinds of herbs, and at night, they camped out right around here. But one of them would always split off to go hunting. And honestly? I reckon the one who went hunting wasn’t actually part of their crew."

The middle-aged man took a long drag from his cigarette before tossing it to the dirt and crushing it beneath his heel. "What makes you say that?"

"Their gear was totally different. The chick who went hunting wore top-tier equipment—you could tell just by looking at it. I didn’t dare tail her too closely in case she spotted me, but when I checked her hunting grounds afterward, there were barely any signs of a struggle. That means she ended those fights fast. Didn’t even give her prey a chance to fight back.

"Pulling off clean kills like that is no easy feat. Never mind a skinny-looking woman—even among our own crew, very few could pull that off.

"Plus, even though they moved together, the other women clearly stuck together in their own tight little group. Every time they gathered a bunch of plants, they’d hand them over to that lone hunter to identify. Most of the haul would get tossed out, and the good stuff was carefully packed away."

Veins bulged on the Boss’s forehead as he listened to the report. "If this intel is so damn important, why the hell didn’t you report it earlier?! Waiting until they’re gone to tell me—are you messing with me?!"

Originally, he had assumed it was just a few pretty faces slipping through his fingers. He hadn’t cared much; once he successfully built his city, he could have his pick of whatever women he wanted. But after hearing his lackey’s words, the harsh reality set in. Those weren’t just random women—they were a flock of hens that laid Golden Eggs!

It was obvious to everyone just how overflowing with resources this island was. But having resources meant jack squat if you couldn’t identify or use them. He had planned to establish his city right here. If he had managed to subjugate those women, he could have exploited every last resource on the island. Who knows? He might have even ended up like Lily Rhodes—opening a shop and sitting back doing absolutely nothing while mountains of Crystal Cores and supplies were delivered straight to his door!

But now, his targets had vanished, turning his grand ambitions into a useless pipe dream.

"But Boss, didn’t you tell us not to bother you with minor details? You said to hold off on everything until you conquered the island!" the lackey protested, feeling deeply wronged.

He had every right to feel aggrieved. He *had* tried to report it, but the Boss had explicitly refused to listen. Now the man was scapegoating him for the loss! Besides, how was he supposed to know those women were that valuable? Not to mention, the one who operated solo was terrifyingly strong, traversing the deadly forest as easily as if she were walking on flat ground.

Meanwhile, after an indeterminate amount of time, Lily finally opened her eyes in her bed.

Passing out before taking a shower had been a huge mistake. She woke up feeling entirely sticky, and her stomach was rumbling a loud protest.

"Man, waking up naturally is the absolute best," Lily muttered, giving another long stretch.

Who would have thought? She had been dragged into this apocalyptic world for a thrilling, life-or-death survival game, yet here she was, living it up like she was on a tropical vacation.

But as if to prove that extreme joy inevitably brings sorrow, the very moment the thought crossed her mind, the System threw a massive wrench into her peaceful life.

[Ding! It has been detected that the extreme heatwave is halfway over. A new event is about to launch. Let us return to our roots and rediscover your original purpose! The First Offshore Fishing Tournament is about to begin.

This is a mandatory event. All Survivors must participate. For a duration of three days, you will be teleported to a designated maritime zone to compete. During the tournament, absolutely no combat or hostility will be permitted.]

[Ding! It has been detected that you own multiple vehicles. Please select one to serve as your designated vessel for this event...]