Apocalypse Arrives: I Become a Powerhouse by Scavenging

Caden York tried several times to put some distance between himself and the people behind him, but he failed each time.

Among them was someone who seemed able to boost their teammates’ speed.

Every time he used the surrounding trees to pull ahead, one of them would activate their ability, allowing the group to catch up instantly.

Just as they were about to catch him, several ice spikes suddenly appeared, shooting straight toward the people behind Caden York.

It all happened so suddenly that the pursuers had no time to react.

With a few SHINKS, the ice spikes pierced right through their shoulders.

Moira Lynch wasn’t trying to kill them, so she hadn’t aimed for any vital spots.

Caden York was startled by the sight, but his reflexes were sharp. He quickly picked up his pace and fled the dangerous area.

After running for about ten minutes and making sure no one was following, Caden York finally stopped. And it was at that moment that Moira Lynch appeared.

In fact, she had been following Caden York the whole time.

Hearing a sound behind him, Caden York thought his pursuers had caught up and immediately went on guard.

But when he saw that the person standing in the tree was none other than Moira Lynch, he instantly relaxed.

"Oh, it’s you. What are you doing here? Did you finish your mission?" Caden York asked.

"I finished my mission a long time ago. Besides, I was following you the whole time. Didn’t you notice, Caden?"

Moira had a look on her face that said, ’You’re so careless.’

"Following me?" Caden York seemed to realize something. "Were you the one who shot those ice spikes at them?"

Moira Lynch nodded and admitted it freely. "Yep, that was me. But how did you manage to piss those guys off, Caden? They were chasing you relentlessly."

Caden York grew furious just talking about it. "They were probably just jealous that my skin is paler than theirs."

Moira: ...

She jumped down from the tree and tossed him a Space Button.

Caden York caught the Space Button and looked at Moira Lynch in confusion. "Why are you giving me a Space Button?"

"Why? To get to work, of course. The game’s almost over, so hurry up."

Hearing the order to get to work, Caden York immediately sprang into action.

He followed Moira Lynch to an area where Manman Mushrooms grew.

The Manman Mushrooms here were growing in abundance, and there were no signs of any having been picked.

Moira Lynch pointed at the Manman Mushrooms. "You’re in charge of picking these. Come and tell me when the Space Button is full."

Hearing this, Caden York nodded. "Okay, but what are you going to do?"

Moira Lynch pointed to the sharp tips poking out of the ground. "I’ll be gathering these."

Because time was short, Moira Lynch didn’t explain why, and Caden York didn’t ask.

He had been told long ago by his younger brother that if he ever ended up in the same game as Moira Lynch, he shouldn’t ask questions—just follow her lead.

Seeing Caden York obediently go off to pick mushrooms, Moira Lynch was quite satisfied with his performance. She then turned her gaze back to the sharp tips just emerging from the water’s surface.

According to Patience, these sharp tips were the seedlings of a plant called Water Reed.

Water Reed was one of the most widespread plants on Aquaria. Because it grew so quickly, it could be seen everywhere.

Mature Water Reed was just food for herbivores, but freshly sprouted Water Reed was a real treasure.

Research had shown that newly grown Water Reed contained a special substance. This substance could increase the awakening rate for children when they awakened their abilities.

This awakening rate didn’t just refer to awakening an ability at all, but rather ensuring the awakening of a powerful ability, not some useless one.

Although Moira Lynch already had the Awakening Potion, it was a known fact that not everyone who took it would successfully awaken.

Out of a hundred people, there were always one or two unlucky souls who couldn’t awaken.

Furthermore, the Awakening Potion wasn’t effective for all species, but the Water Reed worked for the young of every species.

Children are always the hope of a species.

Unfortunately, however, this substance in the Water Reed couldn’t be extracted to create a medicine.

The only way to absorb the substance from the Water Reed was to consume it directly.

But the amount of the special substance in each stalk of Water Reed was limited. According to research, for a child to have a one hundred percent chance of awakening a powerful ability, they would have to continuously eat Water Reed from birth all the way until their awakening.

Most people lacked the perseverance, let alone the time, for such a task.

However, this problem was no trouble for Moira Lynch. Thankfully, she had the Pharmaceutical Ring.

She bent down, pulled up a stalk of Water Reed, and placed it into the Pharmaceutical Ring in her space.

As the Water Reed disappeared, the halo of light around the Pharmaceutical Ring flashed, and a section of the ring lit up.

Normally, this would indicate success, but Moira Lynch, who could now communicate with the ring, didn’t see any new options appear.

She quickly understood what was happening. There weren’t enough materials.

’This has never happened before. Could it be that the amount of the special substance in the Water Reed is just too small?’

Now that she knew the reason, the solution was simple: just toss in more Water Reed.

And on Aquaria, this Water Reed was everywhere.

And so, Moira Lynch began to continuously gather Water Reed.

During this time, aside from Caden York coming to her whenever his Space Button was full, Moira Lynch focused solely on this task, throwing the collected Water Reed into her Pharmaceutical Ring.

After an unknown amount of time, the system’s voice suddenly rang in the ears of every player.

[Congratulations, players, on completing this game’s mission. In three seconds, the system will teleport all players who have completed the mission back to the location where you first entered the game.]

[Three!]

[Two!]

[One!]

With the final count, Moira Lynch finally managed to light up the entire Pharmaceutical Ring at the last second. It had been incredibly difficult.

A white light flashed, and when Moira Lynch opened her eyes again, she was back in the Elf Tree House.

When she entered the game, she had been in her room, about to go out to eat.

After leaving the game, she instinctively checked the time.

If she remembered correctly, only one minute had passed from the moment she entered the game to when she came out.

Sitting back down on her bed, Moira Lynch began to examine her haul from this trip.

First was the new medicine in the Pharmaceutical Ring.

This medicine had been named by the Pharmaceutical Ring as "Awakening Potion: Children’s Edition."

Its effect: suitable for children. If taken once every three months starting from birth and continuing until their talent awakens, it would guarantee the awakening of a powerful ability.