Chapter 217: Why Did Aquaria Become Like This?
Faye Yardley laughed. "You talk a big game, brother, but you’re the one who’s really worried about what they think, aren’t you?"
"Seriously, they have no objections. They even took the initiative to suggest we live a little further away; it’s better to maintain a certain mystique in front of their families. Come on, I’ll show you our home here. You can decorate your room however you want."
As he spoke, Ethan Yardley led her toward the largest villa.
"What about Donovan and the others? Besides, this place isn’t that far from them. What’s so mysterious about it?"
"I’m showing you around now, so of course I’ve turned off all the defensive Arrays and what not. It’s the only way I can show you. There’s a small-scale mist Array here, just like the one on the edge of this hill."
Faye Yardley let out a soft "oh," then took out the Legendary Island Order. It didn’t react at all. ’So this place isn’t on an island? Or maybe the island it’s on already has an owner.’
"What’s that in your hand? It’s purple... an Island Entry Order?"
Faye Yardley nodded. "Yeah. Here, take a look, but remember to give it back when you’re done."
Ethan Yardley casually took it and said, "What kind of brother do you think I am? You think I’d actually steal your stuff? Whoa, holy crap... is this a Legendary Item? Purple Equipment! So you took this out just now to see if this place would react? No reaction... so this really is claimed land."
He examined it again and again, admiring the rare item for a moment before handing the Token back to his sister.
Faye Yardley put it back in her backpack and sighed. "Looks like it won’t be so easy for you to expand your territory in the future. By the way, can you build automated production workshops and things like that here?"
"Nope. It would be great if we could, but for some reason, house blueprints work here, while blueprints for automated production workshops just can’t be used. Same goes for planting rooms and breeding rooms." Although Ethan Yardley said this, he didn’t seem particularly disappointed. "This place is mainly meant to be a safe zone for our families. It’s already great that they can be self-sufficient here."
"You might get along with your teammates, but that’s not necessarily true for their families. People’s personalities and emotions are complicated. How can you guarantee they’ll all live together peacefully here?" Faye Yardley genuinely felt that things get messy as soon as you have a crowd, which was why she preferred to drift alone at sea.
Ethan Yardley laughed. "We’ve set up a Contribution Point system. We even specifically discussed its feasibility with Zheng He and the others. Don’t worry, the second group of people won’t be allowed in here as soon as they arrive. Every single spot for entry requires enough Contribution Points. And we all agree that the second group absolutely needs to experience life on the raft first. We can’t have them thinking we’re obligated to provide them with the best food and drink. That goes for everyone, young and old."
Faye Yardley gave her brother a thumbs-up. "Impressive! You’ve really thought this through. That’s definitely the right way to do it."
In reality, just having them brought over to this raft would already save the second group a ton of trouble.
’I wonder how things will actually turn out. We’ll just have to wait and see.’
"Alright, I’ve seen what I needed to see. I won’t be living here, but I’m still happy you saved a room for me. I’m heading back now."
Ethan Yardley said helplessly, "But you can stay here. There’s a residence permission setting for friends and family. I gave you the highest-level access."
"I know, I know. Just don’t forget you’re coming with me to Coralisle once you’re done setting things up here."
’The basic infrastructure here isn’t even fully complete yet. They probably spent most of their time just finding a place to settle. You couldn’t say the things built by a dozen or so spirited young guys were bad, they just lacked a certain aesthetic sense. This was mainly because none of them had ever studied design, art, or anything related.’
After a moment of thought, Faye Yardley added, "Let’s use the Invitation Cards first thing tomorrow morning and go check out Coralisle. There might be a lot of good stuff there."
"Look at how eager you are. Alright, then. Tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM sharp. We’ll use them at the same time after we call each other."
"Okay."
Faye Yardley thought that her brother’s guild base could be used to grow more food. ’After all, they aren’t short on people; the real issue is how to control their numbers and select the best talent.’
"Huh? Hey, it looks like there’s no signal here."
"There isn’t. We’ll probably need to install a signal tower or a similar item to get one."
Faye Yardley said, "Oh." ’I don’t think I have anything like that either. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Besides, even if I did have one, I could choose to keep it for myself and not give it to my brother.’
After returning to her own raft from her brother’s place, Faye Yardley was surprised to find a black digital case in her storage.
Blinking, Faye Yardley decided to keep it for herself for now. ’My brother’s place is tiny. It should be fine without a signal, right?’
’Hehe, it’s time for my dear brother to fend for himself.’
Since she had decided to go to Coralisle first thing in the morning, Faye Yardley sent her brother one Fishman Scale and one auction admission ticket.
’Just in case he might need them.’
As for the auction admission ticket, if they went together, perhaps one ticket would be enough for two people. But it was impossible to say for sure; no one knew what the rules over there were like.
"Sister, is everything settled on brother’s end?"
"More or less. Anyway, they have all the essentials. If they want more, they’ll have to figure it out themselves."
[Dear players, good evening. We imagine you all miss the home you grew up on, Aquaria. Please turn on your screens now for a live broadcast of the current situation on Aquaria.]
Faye Yardley let out a surprised "huh?" and went straight to the living room to turn on the TV. She switched from the national channel to the live broadcast of Aquaria’s current situation.
My god... Aquaria had been plunged into an eternal night. Ice covered the entire planet. The people who remained on the planet were no better off than those who had entered this life of sea survival.
Furthermore, many children under the age of six had been put into a state of deep sleep under the survival system’s protection.
And the others who were still awake weren’t just sitting around idly every day; they had to do many things to obtain enough supplies from the system to survive.
Watching the screen, Faye Yardley fell into a wordless silence, her mind going completely blank.
"Sister..."
Seeing no reaction from her, Willow Yardley thought for a moment before pouring her a cup of warm tea and placing it in her hands.
Faye Yardley looked at the tea in her hands and gave a faint smile. "Thank you."
’So Aquaria has fallen into an apocalypse of eternal night... but why? Why would this happen? There were no signs beforehand. With so many scientists all over the world, did not a single one really notice anything unusual? So, did this Sea Survival System choose Aquaria because it was already on the verge of destruction? Or was it because it chose Aquaria that the planet is now suffering this apocalyptic fate?’