Sea Survival: My Luck is Off the Charts

August 1, Year 1 of Survival at Sea, 12:00 AM

The following system announcement played three times: "Dear players, let us welcome the second wave of arriving players. Please begin the mutual selection process. (Note 1: Minors under the age of eight do not have the right to choose for themselves. Note 2: The System will automatically revoke the guardianship of anyone with malicious intent toward a minor; the child will then be reassigned by the System.)"

Faye Yardley lay in bed reading the system announcement and couldn’t help but tsk. ’I’m not sure how the System determines if someone has ill intentions, but in a way, it’s a form of protection for the children.’

’It’s also understandable that the elderly weren’t mentioned. After all, Eleanor Jonas did say before that anyone who was disabled or sick was completely healed upon first entering this world. So, the elderly would naturally be able to take care of themselves here, not to mention they have a wealth of life experience.’

A query automatically popped up on Faye Yardley’s screen: [A direct blood relative has been detected for the player. Would you like to receive him (Photo.jpg) onto your raft? This choice cannot be changed once made.]

"No!"

The rejection was swift and decisive.

Faye Yardley was then thankful that her brother was on Coralisle and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow, allowing him to miss this welcoming event entirely.

Right now, the only direct blood relative of hers who hadn’t arrived on the sea yet was her father’s father.

To her, he was practically a stranger. Their relationship had shattered the moment her parents died, and as far as Faye was concerned, it could never be repaired.

’Before I was seven?’

A sarcastic smile touched Faye Yardley’s lips. ’That old geezer remarried and has his own favored son, grandson, and granddaughter anyway. Not only were my brother and I superfluous to our grandfather, but even our own father was.’

’My brother’s sense of responsibility toward family is too strong. It’s a real blessing he’s not here right now; it saves a lot of trouble.’

’Even though I couldn’t care less about those so-called relatives and wouldn’t spare a glance at anything they might say in the public chat, my brother isn’t like me.’

’Tsk, I wonder if anyone would even be willing to take that old man in?’

’Huh?’

’With my brother gone, can our guild still take in orphans?’

After a moment’s thought, Faye Yardley decided to message Gavin Donovan.

He replied quickly: "Don’t worry, Boss. We were briefed on this. The authority to accept people into the guild now rests with the four of us captains. A unanimous decision is as good as one made by the Guild Leader himself."

"Okay. Have you received your master?"

"No, my master chose to go with our Senior Brother."

’They’re really fast,’ Faye Yardley thought. ’I just rejected the request, and on their end, they’ve already made their choices.’

Her gaze shifted to the group chat channel, floating in the void.

Leo Sloan: I received my parents and my kid. My raft upgraded directly from Level 6 to Level 7.

Bonnie Callahan: I got my parents. My raft expanded, but it didn’t level up directly. I checked, and the material requirements for the upgrade are way lower now. I should be able to gather enough to reach Level 7 soon.

Wade Warren: There’s a perk like that? Looks like I’ll have to wait until I reach the designated coordinates to meet my parents and merge rafts to upgrade.

Zephyr Sterling: Just checked. Mine only got a little bigger too. It seems to be related to the number of people you receive.

Gavin Donovan: Senior Brother, teach Master how to use the System. I want to add him as a friend and call him.

Faye Yardley casually sent out a luck-of-the-draw Red Envelope filled with rice: "Congratulations on reuniting with your families."

After sending it, she turned off the screen, laid down, pulled the covers over herself, and went to sleep.

The others would probably be busy all night, and some, after long being separated, would have endless things to talk about. But none of that had anything to do with Faye Yardley.

She needed to rest up and save her Spirit for the Dungeon run at dawn.

She woke up promptly at 4 AM. It looked to be a nice day; the sky was already beginning to brighten.

She went downstairs and headed straight for the stables.

"Bella, Bella, when I head out today, I’ll have to put you in that dormant space first. I’ll let you out when we get there, how does that sound?"

Bella pawed its hooves excitedly.

"Alright, alright, I’ll definitely take you."

"You should take me too, Big Sister."

Faye Yardley spun around in surprise. "Cole Kensington, when did you get here? I didn’t even notice you."

"I came through the shadows."

’What an enviable stealth ability.’

At eight in the morning, Faye Yardley received a Dungeon 3 Invitation Card from Zachary Pierce. Faced with Cole Kensington’s insistent gaze, she swapped Gavin Donovan out for him before entering the Dungeon.

The main reason was that with the arrival of the second wave of people, Gavin Donovan was so busy he was run off his feet. If he left, the other three would have to reach a complete consensus on many decisions; otherwise, they’d have to wait for Ethan Yardley to return to handle things.

Since there happened to be someone right next to her who was dead set on joining the Dungeon run, the substitution was a natural one.

When they reappeared, they were back in the zombie world where even the air was thick with the stench of decay.

This time, they appeared in a relatively open field in the suburbs.

Faye Yardley took the initiative to introduce Cole Kensington to the other three. "Don’t let his age fool you. His Combat Power is even higher than mine."

Caleb Colby let out a "Huh?" and sized him up several times. "Is he really that amazing? He looks a bit malnourished. Is he from the new batch that just arrived?"

Zachary Pierce clapped Caleb Colby on the shoulder and said to Cole Kensington, "Don’t mind him, Mr. Kingston. He means no harm."

Cole Kensington didn’t say a word. He just stood by Faye Yardley’s side, observing their surroundings.

She released Bella from her Mount Storage. The moment they saw Bella, Caleb and the others were captivated.

A Skeletal Warhorse. It seemed quite adapted to this environment. Faye Yardley patted its skull. "Go see if there are any zombies nearby."

Bella quickly set off in one direction.

Faye Yardley then took out the car she had acquired in this Dungeon before.

"Where are we headed this time? University City?"

After checking the map, Zachary Pierce agreed. "Alright, let’s head toward University City."

Finn Ford pointed in the direction Bella had just disappeared. "Shouldn’t we wait for your mount?"

"No need. Bella can find me."

Five people could fit in one car, and Finn Ford naturally took the driver’s seat.

They set their course and began driving toward University City. But after only ten minutes or so, the road started to become pitted and uneven, and more and more abandoned cars blocked their path.

Furthermore, low-level zombies could now be seen shambling about sporadically in their line of sight.

Cole Kensington suddenly shouted, "Get out of the car!"

The five of them quickly opened the doors and scrambled out. Just then, they heard a CRASH. A massive boulder fell from the sky and slammed onto the car, instantly caving in a large section of it.

"Be careful, Big Sister. I’ll go take care of that zombie with superpowers." As soon as Cole Kensington finished speaking, he tapped his foot lightly and was already several meters away. With a few leaps, he was on top of a small residential building by the side of the road.

Caleb Colby cursed. He then rolled to the side and thrust his spear through a zombie that had been hiding behind an abandoned car, extinguishing the Soul Fire in its eyes.