Sea Survival: My Luck is Off the Charts

The moment she saw Grandma Hayes, Faye Yardley had a strange feeling. ’Could this be Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother?’

Grandma Hayes was clearly delighted by the two sisters’ arrival. She brewed a tea using the fruit and mushrooms they brought, mixed with some mysterious leaves from her own collection. Before drinking, Faye Yardley made sure to ask Faye. Only after Faye nodded in approval did she begin to take small sips.

Strangely, after she drank the bizarre tea, the icy chill that had settled deep in her bones completely vanished.

Faye Yardley thanked Grandma Hayes earnestly. "Thank you, Grandma. I feel so much more energetic after drinking your tea."

"It’s good for a young lady to be energetic."

Grandma Hayes seemed kind and gentle. She also brought them a plate of pastries.

This time, Faye didn’t wait for Faye Yardley to ask. She picked up a pastry and handed it to her. "You can trust anything Grandma Hayes gives us to eat."

’Good. In the future, if Faye isn’t with me, I can go to Grandma Hayes.’

"Got it, Sis. Thank you, Grandma Hayes. Please, have a seat, Grandma."

"Good child. It seems that fall of yours knocked all the stubbornness out of you."

Faye also agreed. "That’s right. Faye has been incredibly obedient ever since she woke up today. She’s lost that rebellious streak she used to have."

"That’s very good."

Faye Yardley gave an awkward smile. After finishing her pastry and tea, she pointed to a small red hood sitting by the fireplace and asked, "Why was Little Red Riding Hood left here?"

Grandma Hayes’s gaze softened as she looked at the hood. Her wrinkled face broke into a smile. "Ah, Little Red Riding Hood. She’s always so scatterbrained. She’ll be here in a few days, and you can all play together again."

"Really? How many days? Is she coming tomorrow?" Faye Yardley’s tone and expression were full of pleasant surprise, but inwardly she was wailing. ’I knew it. This is no simple fairy tale.’

"It won’t be that fast. At the absolute earliest, it will still be two days."

Feigning innocence, Faye Yardley said, "She’s coming in two days? That’s wonderful! Grandma Hayes, after my sister and I pick mushrooms tomorrow, can we stay here at your house and wait for Little Red Riding Hood?"

Faye frowned slightly. "That would be too much of a bother for Grandma Hayes."

"It’s no bother at all! I’m very happy to have you." Grandma Hayes was genuinely delighted. "Remember to come back after you pick your mushrooms tomorrow. I’ll prepare something delicious for you."

Faye gave Faye Yardley a helpless look. Faye Yardley just smiled and winked back at her. In the end, Faye relented. "Alright, Grandma Hayes. We’ll be troubling you, then."

"Faye, you don’t always have to be so polite. I watched you girls grow up, just like Little Red Riding Hood."

That night, as she lay in bed with Faye, the cold crept in again. It seeped into her as she slept, jolting Faye Yardley awake.

But she fought the subconscious urge to open her eyes. She focused on controlling her breathing, keeping it slow and even.

In the darkness, besides the waves of cold radiating from the person next to her, Faye Yardley keenly sensed that someone was watching her.

Perhaps because Faye Yardley remained perfectly still, feigning deep sleep, the cold feeling receded like the tide, and the sensation of being watched vanished along with it.

Even so, Faye Yardley didn’t move a muscle, maintaining her original sleeping posture.

’Does everyone have two faces? Do they just switch between good and evil when a certain trigger is met?’

The sun rose the next day as usual, its morning rays streaming through the window and onto the bed. Faye Yardley opened her eyes and stretched. ’God, that was exhausting. Holding the same position all night nearly killed me.’

In the end, to avoid giving herself away, she had resorted to circulating the Health Care Scripture. But even with that, she had spent the night sleeping on pins and needles, not feeling the slightest bit rested.

"Good morning, Faye! Time to get up. Grandma Hayes has already made breakfast."

Faye Yardley turned to Faye, who was standing in the doorway, and gave her a bright, innocent smile. "Okay, Sis, I’ll be right up!"

After quickly washing up, Faye Yardley came to the dining table. Her breakfast, it seemed, was a bowl of sweet rice porridge and a plate of pickled vegetables.

She quickly turned to Grandma Hayes, who was sitting on the sofa wearing reading glasses and knitting, and said, "Thank you for breakfast, Grandma! I can tell it’s going to be delicious just by looking at it."

Grandma Hayes looked up and gave her a gentle smile. "Go on and eat, Faye. I’m just glad you like it."

Sure enough, after eating the food Grandma Hayes had prepared, all negative status effects on her body vanished.

The exhaustion from the long night vanished completely after she finished the bowl of porridge. Now, Faye Yardley felt brimming with energy.

"Sis, have you eaten yet?"

Faye’s eyes crinkled into a smile. "You little glutton, only remembering your sister after you’ve finished your food. Don’t worry, I’ve already eaten. Since you’re done, let’s head into the mountains."

"Okay, I’ll just wash my bowl and we can head out."

"Just leave it, leave it. No need for you to wash it. Go on now with your sister."

Faye also said, "Since Grandma Hayes said so, let’s just go."

"Oh, alright then." Faye Yardley turned to Grandma Hayes and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Grandma. I’ll make sure to pick lots of extra mushrooms for you later."

"Alright, Grandma will be waiting."

[Ding~ Congratulations! You have received Grandma Hayes’s Blessing of Peace. Your Safety Attributes have been doubled.]

Huh?!

’I don’t get it. Is this event just like the one in Nightfall Citadel, where you have to be polite?’

Smiling, she gave Grandma Hayes a bow, then picked up her basket and happily took Faye’s hand as they walked out the door.

Once they were in the mountains, Faye began to teach Faye Yardley how to navigate and how to tell different mushrooms apart.

But when Faye Yardley asked if they could eat the wild greens, Faye got angry. "Faye, we eat mushrooms. How could we eat wild grass? That’s forbidden."

Faye Yardley said sheepishly, "I’m sorry, Sis. I saw Clementine eating this kind of... wild grass. I was just thinking we could increase our food supply if it was edible."

"Clementine is different from us. Don’t listen to her nonsense."

"Okay, Sis. I’ll remember."

Seeing that she seemed to have truly taken it to heart, Faye was relieved. "Faye, you have to remember: you can’t just eat random things."

"Mm."

Faye Yardley couldn’t help but scoff internally. ’So, we’re just a couple of little girls picking mushrooms, is that it?’

’This is forbidden, that’s forbidden... Looks like I’ll have to gather extra mushrooms that Faye approves of and secretly stash them in my backpack.’

’Who knows how long we’ll be stuck in this event? Starving is not an option.’

’Good thing I’ve been secretly saving a little bit of everything I eat in my backpack.’

Faye Yardley followed behind Faye, listening carefully to her instructions and picking every mushroom she said was edible.

For every three she picked, one went into her backpack.

Luckily, all mushrooms only took up a single inventory slot, regardless of their shape or size.

As they walked on, Faye suddenly stopped. She pointed to a small, unremarkable pool of water ahead and said, "Is this the pond you were looking for?"