The Double Drop Buff Surviving The Endless Ocean novel Chapter 34

Chapter 34

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The arrow shot out. But, of course, it missed the target completely and splashed into the ocean.

‘Ugh, I just wasted an arrow.‘ Leeanne winced, her heart aching at the waste.

She moved the target a lot closer this time. When she shot again, she finally hit it.

Okay, she wasn’t a pro yet, but the bow felt smooth and powerful. The gear was solid. It was her aim that needed work.

Who could stand still like a target anyway?‘ Leeanne thought, feeling a bit helpless.

she needed to practice her archery skills.

Leeanne opened the chat window again and saw that a new group had formed. It was now called Assault Squad.

Rodger and Danelle were talking non–stop, but William barely said a word.

Leeanne: [Rodger, do you know how to shoot a bow?]

Lodger: [Huh? Nah, I’m all about the Mountain Splitter technique. My best weapon’s a long sword. Danelle and I, we’re both word experts. Our clan mostly sticks to swords or spears. Only a few people dabble in archery.]

Danelle: [Wait, Leeanne, you wanna learn archery?]

eeanne: [Yeah, the spear doesn’t work well for me. I actually got the Horn Bow blueprint earlier, so I crafted it.]

Lodger, catching up: [Wait, you killed a bison?]

eeanne: [Yep.]

Lodger: [Whoa, that’s impressive. Didn’t get hurt?]

eeanne: [Nah, I used a trap.]

Janelle and Rodger spent a while envying her. But when it came to archery, neither of them could offer much help. Rodger

ad tried it a couple of times for fun, but that was about it.

eeanne sighed. They’re not gonna be much use!

he opened the chat, scanning through the messages while still working.

f she wanted to find someone who could teach her archery, she needed to hurry, especially since her luck was so high today

By the afternoon, the Sea Demon Vine had pulled up a few more chests. By now, Leeanne had collected 9 in total, ombining the ones from earlier in the day.

The vines were long and could reach out for items from a distance. Most people only managed to haul in 3 or 4 chests a day,

but their contents weren’t that much better than usual.

Leeanne opened the chests one by one, hearing the familiar system prompts.

You have received 3 packs of tissues, 3 packs of sanitary napkins. They have been added to your inventory.J

Not bad. At least she was stocking up on essentials.

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[You have received 2 liters of cooking oil, 5 pounds of flour.]

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Nice. Once the veggies were ready, she could start cooking–maybe make some stir–fry or stew with chicken and beef.

[You have received a cast–iron pot!]

Perfect. Now she could really start cooking. That oil and pot would go great together.

[You have received a pack of underwear (3 pieces), a pack of socks (5 pieces).]

Well, those were basic essentials.

[You have received 10 wood planks, 10 iron nails.]

Eh, not super useful right now, but still good to have.

She kept opening the chests, finding mostly standard materials–wood, iron, plastic. Nothing extraordinary.

Still, Leeanne couldn’t help but feel like she was getting better loot than most.

‘Maybe I’m just naturally lucky?‘ she wondered.

Then again, these last few chests had been kind of underwhelming. ‘Dose my luck run out?‘ she thought.

She rubbed her hands together, staring at the last unopened chest.

As she considered her next move, Leeanne saw that the chat was buzzing again. Players were looking for teammates, and many were sharing their stats and skills.

She was hoping to find someone skilled with a bow.

Leeanne could ask directly, but that would paint a huge target on her back and drown her in spam she’d have to weed through.

Instead, she posted something vague. [I’m offering a high price for blueprints, axes, pickaxes, shovels, weapons…. whatever ]

She wanted to milk today’s ridiculous luck streak for all it was worth. She’d noticed that every time she crafted something. her “fortune surge triggered way more often.

Gathering materials today was going to be tough, though. Now that phase two had kicked in, nobody needed to grind their raft up to a thousand square feet anymore.

One blueprint and you could just craft the tool directly.

Blueprints were the hot commodity everyone was chasing, and there just weren’t enough to go around.

With a resigned sigh, Leeanne posted again: [Trading beet, whole chickens, cod, hassany food really–for blueprints]

The moment food entered the equation, the channel lit up like fireworks.

[Leeanne, you’ve got real beef now? Where the heck did you find a cow in the middle of the oceau?)

[Dude, you serious? She landed on an island a couple days ago. Islands have cows 1

[Yeah, but wild ones? Those things are nasty. No way she took one down with a fishing rod.

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[Leeanne’s sitting on all the best stuff. I’m straight–up jealous.]

[Same here.]

Myron Garcia: [Just youwait. It’ll all be mine soon enough!]

Leeanne: [In your dreams, buddy!]

Danelle: [Yeah, dream on, loser!]

Emmett: [Pfft, still as dumb as ever.]

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A private message pinged from Emmett: [Yo, I’ve got a soft whip blueprint. But I want cooked beef or fish for it. Uh… I can’t cook to save my life. And I don’t even have a pot…]

A soft whip, huh?‘ Leeanne perked up at the thought.

That sparked her interest. She already planned to grab a bow for ranged attacks, but she needed something solid for close range too. A whip would work great.

She’d played around with one years back and still remembered the basics. A bit of practice and she’d be swinging it like a

pro.

Leeanne: [You got a deal. Hang tight.]

Emmett, barely containing his excitement. [Any chance you could whip up some beef and potato stew?]

He sent over a bunch of potatoes and added: [These are all yours. Just hook me up with a big bowl of stew and keep whatever’s left.]

Leeanne’s eyes lit up. ‘Potatoes! That’s a whole new crop. I can plant these in the Mystical Cherry Grove.

She still had those sweet potatoes from earlier too.

Both needed to sprout first. She only kinda–sorta knew the process, but she’d wing it.

She grabbed one small potato and the sweet potatoes, took them into her grove, cut them into chunks, and buried them in the rich soil,

Of course, she only used one tiny potato for seed. She still had to make Emmett’s stew.

She already had salt and basic seasonings stocked, so she was set.

She soaked the beef brisket in cold water to bleed it out, then blanched it in boiling water and skimmed the foam

Next, she heated a little oil, browned the beef, poured in fresh water and all the spices, and let it simmer low and slow.

While the stew bubbled, she chopped the potatoes into big chunks and soaked them in water

Then she picked a few smaller sweet potatoes, nestled them in the coals of the brazier with extra firewood, and let them

roast

She rinsed the sweet potato greens too, figuring she could use some actual vegetables for unce

She tossed them into her small pot with a splash of oil and sautéed them quickly for a simple side, nudging the roasting sweet potatoes over to make room.

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There was plenty of stew bubbling in the big iron pot. Leeanne snapped a quick video and dropped it into the group chat.

The shot showed the iron stove with its simmering pot, the brazier loaded with roasting sweet potatoes and the small pot of sizzling greens, and a neat pile of extra greens waiting.

Danelle, eternal foodie, replied in seconds: [Oh my gosh, Leeanne, you’re cooking a whole feast? Sweet potatoes too? I swear I can smell that beef from here. Potatoes? You’re doing stew?]

Leeanne: [You know it. I’ll portion some out for you guys in a minute.]

She knew Rodger and the others were still stuck grilling everything since they didn’t have proper cookware yet.

She had tons of beef anyway. Tossing in a little extra was nothing. After filling Emmett’s huge bowl, she’d still have plenty left over.

Danelle was totally touched. [Leeanne, you’re a saint. Way better than that stingy Rodger who squirrels everything away.]

Rodger: [Hey, I gave it all to you, you human garbage disposal.]

William, as always, stayed silent.

Danelle: [Oh, I scored barbecue seasoning today–got a bunch of packets. I’ll send you one. Perfect for grilling stuff.]

Danelle had finally figured out small fishing nets, so she was pulling in her own catches now, just not quite as many as

Leeanne.

The seasoning packet arrived almost instantly.

Feeling inspired, Leeanne crafted another brazier and set it beside the first. She grabbed a squid and threw it on to grill.

Grilled squid was hands–down her favorite.

Soon the stew was ready. She asked Emmett for a wooden bowl, loaded it to the brim, and he put up the blueprint. Trade done. A new item appeared in her inventory: [Soft Whip Blueprint (Basic).]

Without missing a beat, she started crafting it right away to test her luck,

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