Sea Survival: My Luck is Off the Charts

Leaving the private room, they saw the big guy sitting on a chair to the side, resting. He immediately stood up when he saw them come out.

"Miss Yardley, are you finished eating?"

"Yes. I won’t disturb your boss. Just let him know we’re heading out to do some shopping."

The big guy took a step forward, moving in front of them. He then took out a card and handed it to Faye Yardley. "Miss Yardley, since you’re going shopping, please take this card. Oh, and if you buy anything inside this building, you can have it all charged directly to the room card."

Faye Yardley waved her hands. "No, no, that’s not necessary. I’d feel bad accepting anything else."

He pressed it into her hand and said earnestly, "It’s not much, but it’ll let you shop with a little more peace of mind. Oh, right, let’s add each other as friends. Then, if you get any more of that delicious fish in the future, you can just send a couple our way. Consider the money on the card an advance payment."

"Adding you as a friend is no problem, but let’s not talk about anything else."

After Faye Yardley added him, the big guy gently ushered her toward the exit. "Miss Yardley, have fun with your friend. I’m heading back now. The boss will get angry if I’m gone too long."

After the big guy left, Bella Dillon took the card from Faye Yardley’s hand. "Tsk, tsk. An unregistered, no-password, prepaid card. Your relationship with Island Master Nash is really something special."

Faye Yardley plucked it from her hand, tucked it into her backpack, and huffed. "You’re one to talk, since you get to benefit from it too. Now, hurry up and take me shopping."

Outside the auction house, they found themselves in a bustling commercial district.

However, the private little shop Bella Dillon had mentioned was apparently not nearby. Faye thought they would have to drive, but Bella said they could just walk there.

After a 20-minute walk, they arrived at a four-story, standalone building covered in climbing seaweed. A fair number of people were coming and going through its wide entrance. Bella Dillon tugged on Faye Yardley’s arm. "Alright, we’re here. Let’s go inside."

"I thought when you said a ’private little shop,’ you meant an actual small shop."

"Hahaha... Don’t be so literal. Anything that’s privately owned counts as a ’little shop.’"

Once inside, it was clear Bella Dillon was very familiar with the people there. She led Faye Yardley straight up to the fourth floor and into an office area.

"Hi, Mr. Ludo! I’m here, and I brought you a customer!"

’Ludo? Grandpa?’

Faye Yardley thought, ’It can’t be that small of a world, can it?!’

She had expected the man called "Grandpa" to be a stooped old man with a full head of white hair, but he was a strikingly handsome middle-aged man instead.

"Well, if it isn’t little Bella. And beside you... Hey, I smell a familiar scent on you, one I left behind many years ago. Strange. Did you find my Treasure Map?"

Faye Yardley managed a smile. "Yes, I did find a Treasure Map belonging to a Ludo. I just didn’t know if it was yours."

A nostalgic look appeared on the handsome man’s face, and he finally let out a sigh. "When I was young, I made all sorts of little things for fun and scattered them around. I thought that when I got older, my own descendants could use them for training. But then the Treasure Map got lost. I never thought a little one like you would be the one to find it."

Bella Dillon scoffed. "Mr. Ludo, what other descendants do you even have? It’s perfect that my friend found it. Otherwise, who knows what random person would have ended up with your treasures."

"What nonsense is this, you silly girl? I still have plenty of good things hidden away." Ludo looked at Faye Yardley. "Is my treasure location still intact?"

Faye Yardley gave an awkward laugh. "I’m afraid not. There was a massive earthquake. It might be completely destroyed."

Ludo looked Faye Yardley up and down several times. "I couldn’t tell just by looking at you, young lady, but you’ve got quite a talent for demolition."

"Haha..." Faye Yardley really had no idea how to respond to that.

’Who would have thought she’d run into the creator of the Treasure Map here?’

’Aren’t the people who leave treasure maps behind supposed to be dead or dying? This is completely illogical.’

"Alright, alright, I’m not blaming you. Besides, it looks like you didn’t get anything good out of it anyway."

Faye Yardley: "..."

"So, tell me, what did you come here to buy?"

Bella Dillon went over and hugged his arm. "Mr. Ludo, my friend wants to buy the blueprint for the Limb Regeneration Potion."

"What?! Aiming high, are we!" Ludo looked from Faye Yardley to Bella Dillon. "It’s not that I can’t sell the recipe, but the ingredients are extremely hard to find."

Faye Yardley immediately piped up, "Handsome Sir, I’d also like to buy some of the finished potions."

"OHOHOHO... Young lady, you’ve got a good eye!"

Clearly, being called "Handsome Sir" had pleased Ludo.

Bella Dillon couldn’t believe Faye Yardley had the gall to say that. ’We’re friends, shouldn’t she be calling him Grandpa with me?!’

’This is outrageous! And what’s even more outrageous is you, Mr. Ludo! What’s with that look on your face?!’

Faye Yardley hadn’t expected that a simple "Handsome Sir" would have the magical effect of getting her a discount.

She bought ten Limb Regeneration Potions at 80 gold coins each, which she purchased for herself and her brother. The original price was over one hundred gold coins, so he had truly given her a discount. Bella Dillon felt that her Mr. Ludo was acting abnormally. ’How could he be so captivated by a simple title that he’d stop caring about money?!’

The blueprint for the Limb Regeneration Potion cost only one thousand gold coins, which Faye Yardley purchased using Eleanor Jonas’s funds. She also bought another ten finished potions at the same time. After that, only 200 of Eleanor Jonas’s gold coins remained.

Ludo’s little shop sold more than just that one potion. There were other items, such as potions that could instantly transform a person into a Dwarf or a giant for one to two hours. These novelty potions were very cheap—only 50 silver coins each—and Faye Yardley bought ten of each.

In addition to potions, he also had some strange seeds, sculptures, and other assorted items.

Faye Yardley didn’t spend much on anything else, but she did buy 100 of the ceramic sculptures that increased a ship’s defense, since they were only 1 gold coin each. She would have bought more, but Ludo said he was out.

Of course, she asked why something that could increase a ship’s defense was so cheap. The answer was quite honest: it was because the defensive boost was only average, and once the defense was broken, it couldn’t be restored. Essentially, they were single-use items.

Even though they were single-use, Faye Yardley figured plenty of people on the trading market would still want to buy them.

’I’ll split them with Eleanor Jonas, 50 each. That seems fair. After all, this purchase brings Eleanor’s funds down to 150 gold. If a great item appears at the auction tomorrow, she might not have enough for it.’

’I’d better save the rest for her.’

As she had mentioned before, all transactions were being recorded by the system camera.

Although Eleanor Jonas said she trusted her completely, Faye Yardley felt their trust hadn’t yet reached that level. She believed in doing her part perfectly, leaving no room for gossip.

Of course, she might have just been overthinking things, but Faye Yardley still insisted on doing everything within her power to be thorough.