Apocalypse Arrives: I Become a Powerhouse by Scavenging

After listening to their explanation, Moira Lynch said, "I can help you transport these things out of here, but on one condition: you have to pack them up first."

She could help, but she would absolutely not use her personal storage space to transport these items.

Hearing Moira Lynch say this, the others immediately agreed and called for everyone to go to the storage room to help.

Moira Lynch, meanwhile, stayed behind, watching the scene outside through a screen.

Outside, the pirates’ bombardment hadn’t ended. But with the support of Moira Lynch’s weapons, their side had begun to fight back.

Even so, while the pirates were suppressed, it was only for the moment.

About ten minutes later, the sounds of battle gradually subsided. In the end, the brief fight concluded with the pirates’ temporary retreat.

However, when the survivors returned, there wasn’t a trace of victorious joy on their faces. Instead, they were filled with worry.

Seeing this, Moira Lynch didn’t ask what was wrong. After all, asking wouldn’t solve anything and would only add to her troubles.

By this time, the survivors had packed everything in the storage room, using several disposable Space Buttons to fit it all inside.

"We’re leaving this in your hands."

Moira Lynch took the items, nodded at them, and prepared to turn and leave.

The bombardment outside was over, making it the perfect time to go.

As soon as she was back outside, Moira Lynch smelled the choking scent of gunpowder filling the air. Even with a mask on, the smell wasn’t diminished.

The stench made Moira Lynch extremely uncomfortable, and her brow furrowed.

She left the area as quickly as possible and resumed her search for survivors.

This time, however, a long while passed without Moira Lynch finding a single survivor. She did, however, find a great deal of Ariel Crystal Stones.

According to Patience’s data, although Ariel Crystals grew from the ground, their yield was not actually high, and the places where they grew in large quantities were fixed.

But...

Moira Lynch stared, dumbfounded, at the field of purple crystals before her, which had popped up everywhere like mushrooms after a rain.

After repeatedly confirming with Patience that these were indeed Ariel Crystal Stones, her first reaction was that she’d struck it rich.

Ariel Crystal Stones, besides being an important ore, were also a type of gemstone due to their beautiful appearance and could be set in rings.

However, for an Ariel Crystal Stone to be considered a gemstone, it had to meet specific selection criteria.

When it came to gemstones, the most important thing was that rarity created value. The more unique, the better. If everyone had the same kind, they wouldn’t be special.

And those carefully selected Ariel Crystal Stones that were considered gemstones were no longer called Crystal Stones, but Crystals—Ariel Crystals.

’With so many Ariel Crystal Stones in front of me, I wonder how many Ariel Crystals can be found among them.’

According to the rules on Ariel Planet, aside from the few fixed collection sites for Ariel Crystal Stones, any other Ariel Crystal Stones found belonged to the person who discovered them.

Moira Lynch looked at the Ariel Crystal Stones before her and tried to use her spiritual power to collect them all into her space.

But the next second, she failed.

The Ariel Crystal Stones were still partially buried in the ground.

She could faintly sense an attractive force between the Ariel Crystal Stones and the ground, preventing her from taking them directly.

’Fine. If spiritual power won’t work, then I’ll just have to pick them up one by one.’

Fortunately, she encountered no more obstacles. An Ariel Crystal Stone was easily pulled from the ground.

Moira Lynch held it in her hand and examined it closely. It had a purple exterior and a surface as smooth as if it had been cut. It was hard to imagine that this had grown directly from the ground.

Bending over again and again was too exhausting, so Moira Lynch simply lay down on the ground, pulling the Ariel Crystal Stones from the dirt and storing them in her space as she went.

Whenever she got tired, she would rest for a bit before continuing her work.

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but she finally had all the Ariel Crystal Stones from this area in her possession.

She hadn’t counted how many there were, but it was definitely over a thousand.

If this many Ariel Crystal Stones were all sold, it would be enough for a family to live in wealth for a lifetime.

She stood up, brushed the dirt from her knees, and stretched her somewhat stiff body.

At that moment, Moira Lynch glanced at the sky and suddenly realized something.

"Patience, how long have we been here?" Moira Lynch asked.

"It has been over thirty-six hours. Is there a problem?"

Hearing this number, Moira Lynch was stunned. "Thirty-six hours!"

’This is more than just a problem—it’s a huge one.’

"Why didn’t I feel it at all?"

In her mind, it had been half a day at most since she arrived. How could it possibly be thirty-six hours? That was a day and a half! The discrepancy was just too great.

But on reflection, since the game started, she had saved so many people and traveled so far that a day and a half passing seemed plausible.

Besides, the sky hadn’t gotten dark once since she arrived.

She hadn’t paid it any mind before, but thinking about it now, this was an important reason why she had lost track of time.

Ever since she arrived, the sky had been a hazy gray tinged with red, as if it were perpetually dusk.

Hearing Moira Lynch’s question, Patience quickly replied.

"This is caused by Ariel Planet’s unique magnetic field, which can make people gradually lose their sense of time."

"Additionally, Ariel Planet has no natural sun or moon, so there is no day and night. To ensure its inhabitants maintain a regular daily cycle, they invented an artificial sun, an artificial moon, and even artificial stars to simulate the sights of day and night."

"The way it looks now is probably because the pirate attack caused the machines to stop running."

"An artificial sun? You can actually make something like that?" Moira Lynch couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.

"Of course."

Patience’s tone held a faint hint of pride.

"Not only can we create artificial suns, we can also create custom partners. You can customize your significant other completely according to your own preferences."

"Work-related stress is high these days, so the younger generation either has no time for romance or can’t be bothered with it. Many people choose to order custom partners."

"They’re a bit expensive, it’s true, but dating is also expensive and doesn’t guarantee results."

"When you think about it that way, the high price seems more acceptable."

"If you’re interested, Master, you could give it a try."

Moira Lynch was speechless.

’Honestly, I’m a little tempted.’

’A partner customized completely to your own preferences... Who wouldn’t be at least a little tempted by that?’