Volume One, Chapter Seventeen: The Mysterious Cave

Running, running, running...

Lin Yuyu finally dashed into the cave from her memories just before the wind picked up.

“Haah, haah—”

As soon as she entered, she dropped to the ground, panting heavily.

Once her breathing steadied, she finally had the chance to observe her surroundings.

It was a small cave, just over a meter tall and about five or six square meters in area. The entrance was tiny, overgrown with weeds that blocked most of the light, making the interior look cramped and dark.

It was exactly the kind of place most would avoid when seeking shelter.

In her haste to hide, Lin Yuyu hadn’t paid attention, but now that she was inside, she hurriedly pushed aside the weeds at the entrance to slip in. Reflecting on it, if she hadn’t been slim enough, she might not have fit through.

Inside, the cave was narrow and low; no one could stand upright. She had to curl up on the ground.

Clearly, it wasn’t a place for a prolonged stay.

Fortunately, the cave held its own secrets; otherwise, Lin Yuyu wouldn’t have been sure she could wait out the storm here.

While it was only starting to get windy and before the rain began, she ran outside again to gather some drier weeds, then returned.

She arranged the weeds to cover the entrance, restoring it to its natural state, preventing others from discovering the cave.

Although even if found, no one would likely choose this place to hide from the storm surge.

Still, better safe than sorry.

She couldn’t just let the original owner’s well-hidden secret base be exposed by her.

...

After finishing these tasks, Lin Yuyu gathered the weeds she had just pulled and, following the original owner’s memory, bent down and cautiously made her way deeper into the cave in the dark.

She skirted around the rock wall and entered a passage behind it.

After walking for some time, the rocky ceiling above her gradually rose until it was tall enough to stand upright.

Continuing further in the dark, taking two turns, the space suddenly brightened before her eyes.

A vast cavern, dozens of meters in diameter, flooded with vibrant, multicolored light, appeared.

Lin Yuyu: Wow~

What a beautiful, dazzling cave—

Like the colorful karst caves she had visited in her past life.

Only...

The glowing inside wasn’t from stones or insects, but from clusters of mushroom-like growths.

There was an old saying on Blue Star: The more beautiful something is, the more poisonous it tends to be!

Seeing the cave filled with these glowing mushrooms that looked both adorable and dangerous, Lin Yuyu froze on the spot, daring not to move, silently cursing in her heart.

Original owner! What grudge do you have against me, always setting traps?

There was no hint in the memories beforehand; only after entering did she see this cave full of mutated fungi. Was this supposed to be a surprise?

...

She quietly pressed her pounding heart with her hand.

And cautioned herself inwardly: Shhh! Keep it down! If some unknown creature hears you and gets attracted, that would be bad.

In such a quiet environment, people instinctively stay silent, and Lin Yuyu was no exception.

Only after realizing that aside from the echo of her own stomach growling, there was no other sound in the cave, did she slowly come to understand: she was alone here.

Even if the mushrooms were dangerous, they were immobile and couldn’t come after her.

As long as she didn’t touch them, she would be safe.

Her earlier caution was just her scaring herself.

Taking a step back, she sat down near the passage’s entrance.

Then, she pulled a raspberry from her pocket, blew off the dust, and nibbled it slowly.

...

Others might return from long journeys still young at heart, but she had struggled so hard only to come back empty-handed.

Luckily, there were still a few edible berries in her pocket to offer some comfort.

Even if they only filled her stomach a little, as long as it wasn’t completely empty, her efforts today wouldn’t be in vain.

Besides, she had packed some berries to take back with her.

Maybe there was a surprise waiting inside.

After eating two more half-fist-sized raspberries, Lin Yuyu carefully stored the last edible berry in the left pocket of her jacket.

Then, she took down the makeshift leaf pouch she had hastily tied around her waist with a vine.

Just as she reached to open it, the cave suddenly shook violently, followed by a loud crackling noise outside.

The storm had arrived.

The storm surge was officially hitting the island beneath their feet.

No one knew how much smaller the island would become after this storm or how much longer it could hold on.

When it rains, it pours; when the boat is late, it encounters headwinds.

Poor little Yuyu—hungry, exhausted, trapped in a cave with nowhere to go.

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Filling her stomach? Hopeless.

Saving money for a ticket? Hopeless.

For the first time, she wanted to work hard but had no direction for her efforts.

Sob...

As she fake-cryingly glanced at the leaf pouch on the ground, she instantly made peace with the world again.

Lin Yuyu: Well, since I’m here, I might as well settle in.

Idle daydreams are useless. Since nowhere else to go, why not “unbox” and check the wild fruits she had gathered?

There weren’t many wild fruits inside the leaf pouch, and before long Lin Yuyu had tested them all.

Except for a shiny black round fruit, a bright festive orange bead-like fruit, and an egg-shaped fruit covered in soft spikes—all showing safe radiation levels—the rest were highly radioactive.

But even the highly radioactive, inedible fruits she didn’t plan to throw away. She carefully repacked them in leaves, intending to take them back to the service hall for comparison.

If she could match them with information on the item vending machine or the task panel, she could learn more about these fruits and maybe even find another way to earn points.

This was the only free source of information she was aware of.

Even if nothing matched in the end, carrying back a small bundle was no burden—and it would help cover for the few safe fruits.

As time passed, the temperature outside dropped sharply amid the storm. The cave grew colder and colder.

Sitting still, she felt a chill creeping up from her extremities.

Noticing her hands and feet growing icy, Lin Yuyu quickly left the passage and hid in a corner of the cave.

Yet, no matter where she went, the cold remained, warmth nowhere to be found.

She wanted to make a fire, but the cave offered no means; she wanted to move to keep warm, but there was no space to even stretch out.

Her gaze fell once more on those mysterious mushrooms she had originally intended to avoid.

She rewrapped the cloth around her wrist: It was time to test herself.

Let’s see whether it was the toxin from the deep-sea jellyfish in her body or the poison from these unknown terrestrial fungi that would prevail.

Look, Lin Yuyu was just the kind of person who often acted on a whim, doing things no one could predict.

Her thoughts were hard to follow, making her stand out awkwardly among others.

Back to the matter at hand...

She comforted herself silently: Since there’s nothing to do anyway, why not study these mushrooms on the ground?

At least it would pass the time.