Apocalypse Arrives: I Become a Powerhouse by Scavenging

When Hugh Finch asked this, Moira Lynch carefully thought back on what she had been doing lately.

After a moment, she said unhurriedly, "I haven’t done anything. I haven’t even left the island lately."

At this, Moira Lynch paused. "Wait a minute. I guess that’s not entirely true."

She then recounted what had happened in the game.

"I made some money in the game selling items. I wanted to convert some of it into Gold Coins, but I was afraid that exchanging a large amount at this time would attract the attention of other guilds."

"So you traded with the Cathayan Guild," Hugh Finch finished her sentence.

Hearing this, Moira Lynch gave a sly chuckle. "Hey, I’m just keeping business within the family. It was a perfect match—they needed money, I had money. You could call it mutual assistance."

Seeing Moira Lynch’s nonchalant expression, Hugh Finch shot her a glare. "Their visit this time... I’m afraid it’s not that simple. Be careful, and don’t just agree to anything. Be especially wary of the person with Redlight. Don’t let yourself get swindled."

At first, Moira Lynch didn’t understand what Hugh Finch meant. She felt like there was a hidden meaning to his words.

But when she returned to the Elf Tree House and saw her visitors, she instantly understood what he meant.

Redlight was an old acquaintance of Moira Lynch’s. He had always been her point of contact, and the two had even interacted in real life.

However, because Moira Lynch was such a homebody, their interactions weren’t frequent, though still more than she had with most people.

But from what Hugh Finch had just said, Redlight clearly wasn’t the focus.

Moira Lynch looked at the person next to Redlight.

He wore a well-tailored suit and a pair of shiny leather shoes—the material was unclear, but they certainly weren’t cheap. His hair was meticulously combed, and he wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, the very picture of a successful member of the social elite.

He was exactly the type of person Moira Lynch, both then and now, wanted nothing to do with. The reason was simple: they were too calculating, and she couldn’t win their games.

Moreover, ever since they met, Moira Lynch had felt a subtle trace of spiritual power, as if it were probing her.

She could clearly sense that its owner carried a hint of aggression, though it was mostly exploratory.

To Moira Lynch, such a probing attack was completely insignificant.

After all, if this person’s spiritual power was a creek, hers was a vast, boundless ocean.

’Still, if this man has spiritual power, how has he not noticed mine?’

’If he had, he wouldn’t be acting so provocatively.’

But on second thought, Moira Lynch understood the reason.

It was like oxygen. When you live with it every day, you don’t think about how important it is. Once you’re accustomed to it, you subconsciously ignore it, thinking of it as just another part of the scenery, like the flowers and trees.

So, when the man’s spiritual tentacle reached for her again—this time going so far as to try and burrow into her ear—Moira Lynch frowned, and with a flash of impatience, she snatched it.

With a sharp tug, she snapped the spiritual tentacle clean off.

The elite man let out a muffled grunt before his head snapped toward Moira Lynch, his face a mask of shock. His eyes were filled with deep wariness and an unreadable emotion.

This incident made Moira, who had been perfectly willing to have a civil discussion, instantly turn cold.

"What is it you want from me?"

Seeing the smile on Moira Lynch’s face suddenly vanish and her expression turn cold, Redlight—who had no idea what had just happened—looked utterly baffled.

He hadn’t forgotten his mission, however. "Here’s the situation. Our guild would like to purchase Game Coins from you. We have a limited amount of Gold Coins, but we can compensate you with other things."

As he spoke, Redlight handed over a file.

Moira Lynch took the file. After opening it and reading the contents, she was left speechless.

They were actually offering her three islands in the seas around Veridian Prime as payment.

’Seriously? How is this any different from trying to get something for nothing?’

’Don’t these people know the entirety of Veridian Prime belongs to me?’

’Oh, right. They really don’t know.’

When Redlight saw that Moira Lynch remained silent, he assumed she was simply shocked speechless by the offer, given her age. He softened his tone and said, "We’re being very sincere. Any one of these three islands is larger than the one you’re currently on."

Moira Lynch glanced at Redlight, took a deep breath, and maintained a polite smile as she refused. "You are indeed very sincere, but I’m afraid I must refuse. I’m just one person; I can’t live on so many islands by myself. And if I didn’t want them to fall into disuse, I’d have to spend money hiring people to manage them."

She shook her head as she spoke, her expression making it clear she thought it was a terrible deal.

As she finished, the smile on Redlight’s face froze. ’I can’t believe she’d reject us with a reason like that.’

They had investigated Moira Lynch’s background long ago.

Her parents had passed away before the apocalypse, making Moira an orphan. She had no other relatives—not even distant ones—because her parents had been orphans themselves.

A person with no parents and no attachments should be the easiest to manipulate, but they were also the hardest, for they had no weak points to exploit.

Moreover, Moira Lynch lacked nothing.

It was no exaggeration to say that the things Moira Lynch and her friends possessed were probably even better than what they had.

Therefore, tempting her with material wealth was a dead end.

They had tried to find Moira Lynch’s relatives—her parents’ families—but too much time had passed, and with the apocalypse, all their efforts came to nothing.

According to the psychological profiles of Moira Lynch prepared by the base’s experts, even if they did find any long-lost relatives, it likely wouldn’t have much of an effect—not unless they could resurrect her dead parents.

Fortunately, when Redlight came, his superiors had prepared several backup plans for him.

"Since you don’t want the islands, I have another proposal. We are willing to use rare ores as payment instead of Gold Coins. What do you think?"

As he said "rare ores," Moira keenly sensed a slight mental fluctuation.

’It’s no secret that SoySauceDrunkard collects rare ores,’ she thought. ’So, is this a test?’

"I’ll pass on the rare ores, but I’ll take Gold," Moira Lynch said with a smile.

"You like Gold?" the elite man who hadn’t spoken before suddenly asked.

Moira Lynch tilted her head. "Who doesn’t like Gold? I also like jade, Rubies, sapphires, and all sorts of beautiful, precious gemstones."

’After all, these things are worth far more than Gold Coins.’