Chapter 7

It was the third day of rain, a Saturday.

Shu Fu silenced her alarm clock and forced herself out of her soft, cozy bed, grumbling as she shuffled toward the bathroom.

The previous night, after rushing home to receive a pile of local deliveries, she organized clothes, items, and food she didn’t currently need at home and moved them into her Drifting Island House. She also selected some rarely-used furniture, arranged it to furnish the empty cabin, and installed curtains. The busywork kept her occupied until midnight.

She had hoped to sleep in on Saturday and continue receiving her online orders at leisure. However, just after midnight, her wristband vibrated again, and a second task appeared in her mini black notebook:

“[Complete a breakfast check-in at Yaoji Bubble Wonton Shop between 6:30 and 7:00 AM today to gain 5% progress on Level 2 Raft (Current Progress: 10%).]”

This was not a friendly task!

Yaoji Bubble Wonton Shop was quite famous, with two branches in Suicheng. There was even one near her school—an old shop and the closest one to her current location.

Unfortunately, even the nearest branch was a 20-minute drive away. Factoring in waking up, potential traffic, ordering food, and the need to allow extra time for unforeseen delays, she would have to get up before six.

Yet this task was non-negotiable.

After agreeing to the invitation in yesterday’s task, she hadn’t received the promised 10% progress. This suggested that the task was ongoing and incomplete—likely requiring her to fulfill the invitation on Sunday for it to count as finished.

With limited task experience, she wasn’t confident she’d manage to complete it smoothly. However, she definitely didn’t want to lose 15% of her progress. Something about a negative percentage felt ominous, so today’s new task became a priority.

Completing the breakfast check-in would at least prevent her progress from going into the negatives, even if the second task failed.

The rain outside hadn’t stopped. Though not particularly windy, the drizzle was dense, and the sky was oppressively dark, leaving the world damp and dreary.

She checked the weather forecast: overcast with rain all day, localized hailstorms, wind speeds of 4 to 5, and temperatures between 13°C and 18°C.

Not too bad—though cooler than predicted by several degrees. A denim jacket alone wouldn’t cut it. Shu Fu swapped her short-sleeve T-shirt for a long-sleeve sweatshirt, paired it with fleece-lined shark pants, and kept her rain boots on as she headed out.

Being Saturday and early in the morning, the roads weren’t too congested. She arrived 15 minutes earlier than expected.

Yaoji was situated along a two-lane street without parking spaces nearby. Most breakfast customers weren’t drivers, and those who were often parked directly by the roadside.

Following their example, Shu Fu parked by the side of the road, conveniently close to the shop. However, mindful of the task’s timing, she waited in her car until 6:30 before opening her umbrella and walking the 20 meters to Yaoji.

This old shop, the earliest to open, was small and run by the owner couple. Despite its size, business was usually bustling, and they didn’t offer delivery. Shu Fu had visited numerous times during her college years and was quite familiar with the place and its owners.

When she was in her fourth year, she’d overheard the owners mention that their daughter had been accepted into the same university and was studying at the West Campus. Since it was close to home, the proprietress was delighted and would often add extra portions for students from the school.

“Oh, you’re from Xiao Yun’s school, right? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you!” The owner’s wife, seated at the counter taking orders and payments, immediately recognized her.

“Yes, I’m graduating this year. I moved a bit farther away, so I haven’t been able to come by. But I missed the food, so I braved the rain to get here.” Shu Fu ordered a bowl of bubble wontons and a serving of soup dumplings, asking for extra scallions in her wontons.

Bubble wontons weren’t your traditional wontons. Their wrappers were thinner, their fillings minimal, and they were wrapped in a unique style. When cooked, the wontons floated like bubbles in the flavorful broth, each bite bursting with umami goodness.

The shop’s soup base, made from freshly simmered pork bones, was authentic and rich. On a cold, damp, rainy morning, a sip of the hot, savory soup was utterly comforting.

Shu Fu was thoroughly enjoying her meal and had stopped complaining about the task. After a few bites, she told the owner’s wife she wanted to order some food to go, mentioning a family gathering where everyone could try their dishes. She then placed a large order: 30 portions of bubble wontons, 20 servings of soup dumplings, and 40 meat-filled rice balls, asking for the soup to be packed in the largest containers.

Although Yaoji didn’t offer delivery, many customers came to pick up large orders. The bubble wontons and rice balls were usually packed raw, with the soup separately packaged for reheating at home.

“You’re such a great customer!” The owner’s wife beamed at her. With several days of rain and hail affecting business, hearing such a large order was a welcome surprise. “How are you going to carry all this?” she asked, amused.

“I’m driving—my car’s just over there. I’ll pull it up to the entrance in a bit.”

“Alright then! You eat while I pack everything up securely for you, and I’ll help load it into your car later to make sure it doesn’t get wet!” The owner’s wife disinfected her hands and joined the staff in the kitchen to prepare the order.

As the food was nearly packed, the owner’s wife’s phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and answered with a hint of impatience: “Don’t rush me—I’m busy at the shop! … Yeah, we didn’t have many customers earlier, but someone just came to place a big order! … Rain? What about it? She’s been eating here for four years and loves your mom’s wontons. … Yep, same school as you, graduating this year. … You lazy girl! You’re so grown up, but every time you come home, I have to clean up after you! Just you wait!”

The shop owner’s wife, despite her scolding tone, wore a constant smile.

Shu Fu realized that the caller was the shop owner’s daughter. Due to the rain and relatively slow business, the owner had initially planned to visit the school. However, Shu Fu’s large takeout order had delayed her plans.

By 6:55 AM, Shu Fu had finished her breakfast. Seeing that the packaging work was almost done, she informed the shop owner that she would drive her car over to pick up the order.

The 20-meter distance was quickly covered by car. The rain had intensified, now pattering heavily and mixed with hail.

She opened the trunk, stepped out with her umbrella, and helped shield the shop owner and two staff members as they carefully placed the neatly packed bags into the trunk.

“Place the soup at the bottom and make sure it’s steady! No rush…” the shop owner directed while bustling about.

The streets remained empty, shrouded in rain, with the surrounding scenery blurred.

Suddenly, a deafening boom echoed nearby, like a colossal collision.

The sound startled one of the staff holding a takeout bag, and the shop owner’s umbrella tilted off course.

The noise was terrifying—so much so that it was clear something catastrophic had occurred nearby.

Moments later, black smoke began rising from behind a building in the left-front direction. Despite the heavy rain, the smoke refused to disperse.

Two more loud explosions followed, accompanied by the screeching of metal and the shattering of glass. Residents, previously asleep, were awakened and peered out their windows to locate the source of the chaos.

Some who lived on higher floors could barely make out vague movements at the scene but could only guess what had happened due to the downpour.

“Car accident!” someone shouted from a nearby building, quickly grabbing their phone to call emergency services.

Several early-morning breakfast vendors around Yaoji also ran out into the rain. Though unable to see the incident, the magnitude of the noise left everyone alarmed and speculating.

Shu Fu couldn’t see the scene clearly either, but she recognized the direction of the rising smoke—it was her school.

The shop owner’s face instantly changed as she seemed to realize this as well. She pulled out her phone to make a call, but it rang first.

“Hello! Xiao Yun—” Her tone softened with relief upon hearing her daughter’s voice. “You’re okay! I was so worried… Mom’s fine, don’t worry about me. I haven’t gone to the school yet… By the school gate? Got it! Don’t get involved, stay safe in your dorm… I’ll come by later, don’t worry. I’ll take a detour with your dad. Be good! Whatever you do, don’t go near the accident…”

The repeated reminders in her worried voice were interrupted by a faint vibration on Shu Fu’s wristband.

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In a livestream video, the footage captured the aftermath of the accident in the pouring rain.

It was a chain collision involving multiple vehicles. The initial culprit was a large truck. On weekends in Suicheng, large trucks were permitted to travel between 10:30 PM and 7:30 AM.

The crash site was near the western part of the city, close to the highway exit. The truck had been rushing to leave the city. After descending a slope, it was supposed to stop at a red light and wait for the green turn signal. However, due to the slippery road and a mechanical issue, its brakes failed. The truck not only didn’t stop but accelerated straight through the intersection, crashing into the school gate.

Unlike narrower streets, intersections usually have more vehicles. The out-of-control truck collided with several, triggering a chain accident.

The incident left two people dead on the spot, three critically injured and in surgery, and another seven or eight with varying degrees of injury.

Among the deceased was the driver of a smaller car hit by the truck and a student who happened to be walking near the school gate.

Reports mentioned that three students had been walking together at the time. Two escaped with minor injuries, but the third was tragically killed on the spot.

Shu Fu sighed, a mix of regret and lingering fear in her heart. In such a situation, anyone would have struggled to survive.

Sometimes, fate seemed predestined—or so she thought. Then a peculiar idea crossed her mind.

No, perhaps fate could be changed!

As with her first completed task, if she hadn’t come to Yaoji for breakfast or placed such a large takeout order, the shop owner’s wife might have gone to the university. If she had been near the gate at the time of the crash…

Based on this train of thought, were these tasks orchestrated to… No, that couldn’t be right!

The whole situation wasn’t absolute. It was possible she might have skipped this task or decided against placing the order.

Frowning, Shu Fu browsed through the car accident videos online. A theory formed in her mind, but there were too many variables for it to be certain.

On her black mini notebook, the text of the completed task began to fade, while the incomplete task remained bold and prominent.

A new line of text appeared:

[Task at Yaoji Breakfast Shop Completed: Progress on Raft Level 2 +5%; Additional Progress Bonus +5%; Received a Wheel of Furtune Chance: 1. (Raft Level 2 Progress: 20%)]

Wheel of Furtune? What was that?