The result...
A pile of colorful stickers and a few cheap hair clips.
[Useless Decorations]
[Decomposition Value: 0 points.]
Su Qingyue’s face instantly fell.
Without comparison, there would be no sense of loss.
While others enjoyed hotpot, she was stuck playing with stickers?
Was this really the same game?
"Gurgle..."
Her stomach growled even louder.
The hunger felt like a hand clawing frantically inside her stomach.
Su Qingyue bit her lip, her gaze involuntarily drifting toward Lin Ji.
Once, twice...
Finally, she couldn’t hold back any longer.
Controlling her raft, she slowly inched closer.
Lin Ji had noticed her movements long ago.
He chuckled inwardly but pretended not to see, eating even more enthusiastically.
"Slurp—"
The sound of the wide noodles entering his mouth was especially loud.
"Um..."
Su Qingyue stood at the edge of her raft, hands clasped behind her back, speaking hesitantly.
"Lin Ji..."
"Hmm?"
Lin Ji didn’t even look up. "What is it?"
"Um... Could you..."
Su Qingyue’s face flushed bright red, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum. "Could you share a little... food with me?"
As if afraid of being rejected, she quickly held out the pile of items in her hands.
"I... I’ll trade these with you!"
"Look, these hair clips might not be edible, but... but they’re quite pretty..."
By the end, even she couldn’t keep up the act.
In a place where death could come at any moment, what use was "pretty"?
Lin Ji finally looked up.
He glanced at the pile of junk in Su Qingyue’s hands.
Then at her face, red as an apple.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
"Su, the campus belle, are you joking?"
"Trading a pile of trash for my self-heating hotpot?"
"Even capitalists would weep at this deal."
Su Qingyue was mortified.
She knew the request was unreasonable.
But... she was so hungry.
Just as she was about to withdraw her hand in despair and turn away—
Lin Ji suddenly changed his tone.
"However..."
"Since we’re classmates, I can’t just watch you starve to death."
With that, he pushed the half-eaten self-heating hotpot toward her.
"Here, the rest is yours."
Su Qingyue was stunned.
She stared at the container, still half-filled with broth and red oil, floating with slices of beef and vegetables.
Even though it was leftovers...
The aroma...
It was too tempting!
"Thank you!"
Afraid he might change his mind, she snatched it over.
Without any hesitation about it being something Lin Ji had eaten, she picked up a fork and started shoveling it into her mouth.
Lin Ji didn’t hold back either.
He grabbed the pile of junk from her hands.
"These are mine now."
Su Qingyue, happily eating, just nodded vaguely.
They were just trash anyway—if he wanted them, he could have them.
After taking the items, Lin Ji didn’t even glance at the hair clips or stickers, casually tossing them into the sea.
He kept only one thing.
The "two-dollar-store crystal ball" that Su Qingyue had despised.
Holding it in his hand, it felt icy cold.
[Ding!]
[Special Item Detected: Prediction Crystal (Damaged)]
[Analyzing...]
[Analysis Successful!]
[Prediction Crystal: A crystal formed from the condensed spiritual energy of a divination-type Awakened from the old era after their death.]
[Contains weak precognitive power, can be used as a medium to enhance related talents.]
[Absorb?]
Lin Ji looked at the crystal ball in his hand, his expression somewhat complicated.
"Something left behind after someone’s death..."
He asked the system in his mind, "What exactly is the principle behind this thing?"
The system’s mechanical voice answered coldly:
[In this world, energy does not vanish into thin air.]
[When an Awakened dies, the talent energy within their body seeks the nearest carrier to attach to.]
[This forms what is known as a "Taboo Artifact."]
[The crystal ball in the host’s hand is precisely the relic of a B-rank divination-type Awakened from their final moments.]
Lin Ji felt a chill run down his spine.
The beautiful glass ball in his hand instantly felt scalding.
This was no treasure.
It was clearly a dead person’s urn!
However...
In this ruthless world, the dead could sometimes be more useful than the living.
Lin Ji took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the crystal ball.
"Absorb!"
The absorption process was faster than expected.
A cool stream of energy flowed up his arm and into his mind, refreshing his spirit.
[Ding!]
[Absorption successful!]
[Your talent "Eye of Insight" has been enhanced!]
[Current level: (B-rank -> B+ rank)]
[Effect improvements:]
[1. Prediction: Daily uses increased to 2, prediction accuracy increased by 30%.]
[2. Insight: Can view deeper information of items (such as hidden attributes), can view weaknesses of creatures up to 5 levels higher than oneself.]
[3. Intelligence: Daily uses increased to 2, intelligence range expanded to within a 10-nautical-mile radius.]
[Two active modes can now be used simultaneously.]
A gleam flashed in Lin Ji’s eyes.
As expected!
Taboo Artifacts were truly valuable!
Not only had his level increased, but the upgrade had also refreshed his usage count, giving him an extra opportunity.
So today, he could activate two functions simultaneously.
"Today is the Novice Protection Period, so there’s no need to predict fortunes."
"Then..."
Lin Ji didn’t hesitate.
"Activate Intelligence mode!"
Buzz!
In his field of vision, the familiar green data stream appeared once more.
This time, however, it wasn’t a chaotic mess of garbled code but quickly converged into a clear green arrow.
The arrow pointed directly to the southeast of the sea.
Lines of text appeared:
[Intelligence: 2000 meters ahead, a cluster of abandoned container debris is floating.]
[Hidden within it is a forgotten red-quality weapon—the Storm Hunter Bow!]
[Note: The area carries some competitive risks, and the weapon is drifting away with the ocean currents. It is estimated to leave the current sea area in 60 minutes.]
Red quality!
Storm Hunter Bow!
Lin Ji’s heart skipped a beat.
In this game, weapons were a second life.
And this was a red-quality ranged weapon!
If he could get his hands on it, it would be an absolute game-changer in the early stages.
"I must get it!"
Without another word, Lin Ji immediately sprang into action.
He quickly organized the supplies he had just obtained.
With a thought, he opened his [Backpack].
Only three pitiful slots were available.
[Mineral Water (10 bottles)] occupied one slot.
[Whole Wheat Bread (half a bag)] occupied another.
[Self-Heating Hot Pot (5 boxes)] occupied the last.
Full.
The remaining crystal ball fragments (now useless), empty bottles, packaging bags, and other miscellaneous items could only be left on the raft.
After tidying up.
Lin Ji stood up and looked at the green arrow.
With a thought.
The raft beneath his feet seemed to sense its owner’s urgency and began accelerating toward the southeast.
"Huh?"
Su Qingyue, who was eating a self-heating hotpot nearby, suddenly felt her vision blur.
Looking up, she saw Lin Ji’s raft shoot out like an arrow from a bow.
"Lin Ji! Where are you going?"
She stood up in a panic, still holding a fork in her hand.
Lin Ji didn’t look back.
"Seeking opportunities. Do not disturb."