The Double Drop Buff Surviving The Endless Ocean novel Chapter 7

Jessica replied: [Some people asked if they could borrow a few things.]

Leeanne stared at the screen in disbelief. [And you just gave it to them? Like that?]

Jessica: [They’re all ridiculously hot!]

Leeanne fell silent for a beat. ‘You’re kidding me, she thought.

63

53 vouchers

After a second, she let out a small sigh. [Okay, just send over your whole inventory. I wanna see everything you’ve got.]

To her complete surprise, Jessica threw it all into the trade window without even hesitating.

Leeanne accepted. Everything except three iron ingots got doubled by today’s lucky streak. It wasn’t a huge windfall, but it was definitely better than nothing.

The standout item was a piece of soft pink fabric scattered with little clusters of roses. It was seriously pretty.

She sent almost everything back, slipping in a couple of extras as a thank–you. [Here, take these two iron ingots and the roll of gauze. Go craft that water filter. In return, just let me check out anything cool you find from now on, cool?]

‘She basically just gifted me a bunch of resources. The least I can do is hook her up a little,‘ Leeanne thought.

The bigger picture was that Jessica was absurdly lucky. Like, next–level lucky. If Leeanne kept things friendly, she’d have a steady pipeline of good stuff.

And if another double–up day came around, that would be straight–up gold.

Jessica’s eyes went comically wide. [You’re actually giving me all this?]

Leeanne: [Yep.]

Jessica looked like she might actually start crying happy tears. [Leeanne, you’re the absolute best! I knew it, someone as gorgeous as you has to be the sweetest person alive.

[No way, I can’t let you take the loss. Here, I’m sending everything right back.]

She immediately tried to reverse the whole trade.

Leeanne laughed softly. (Hey, chill out, it’s fine. Just hit me up first if you score anything awesome down the line.)

[Next Double Bonus, I can double whatever she brings. Everybody wins,’ she added silently.

Jessica nodded like an excited puppy but still tucked the rose fabric into the trade. [I don’t even need this. You take it. Tomorrow when I pull something better, I’ll save the good stuff for you, promise.]

Less than a minute later, a new trade request popped up: [Basic Seawater Filter]

Jessica: [Leeanne! Look what I just made!]

Leeanne had been about to hit decline, but a sudden hunch made her pause. She accepted instead.

[Today’s double bonus is in effect. You’ve received two basic water filters.]

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10:17 am PM M

Chapter 7

Her eyes lit up. ‘It works on crafted items too! Score!‘

She sent one filter back to Jessica and set hers right beside the first one.

Each stood roughly three feet tall and took up less than half a raft section, so two together barely ate any space.

That bumped her up to four or five bottles of fresh water a day.

‘This is huge!‘ Leeanne thought.

[Leeanne, I’m off to grab some food. Talk tomorrow!] Jessica called out cheerfully before logging off.

55 vouchers

Once Jessica was gone, Leeanne settled cross–legged on her raft and scrolled through her private messages, ready to keep hustling.

‘Gotta milk this double bonus for all it’s worth,‘ she thought.

Since it was still only day one, most players were scraping by and didn’t have much to offer.

Even so, after a bit of haggling, she traded five bottles of mineral water for a wooden bed blueprint, twenty planks, eight iron ingots, and a coil of rope.

Thanks to the double bonus, everything she got was doubled.

Her new inventory looked solid: two wooden bed blueprints, 106 wooden planks, 122 nails, 16 iron ingots, 14 iron blocks, one box of strawberries, eight bread rolls, one bottle of mineral water, one can of oatmeal, two coils of rope, and two pieces of rose fabric.

The crafting station updated with the new recipe: [Wooden Bed: Required: Planks 106/30, Nails 122/20, Fabric 2/1. Craft?]

“Yes,” Leeanne said.

[Wooden Bed crafted successfully. Bonus reward: Pair of pillows!]

[Double bonus activated: you scored two pairs of pillows.]

Leeanne placed the bed inside her little wooden gazebo.

It was a cozy five–foot–wide frame topped with a soft mattress in that same pretty pink rose fabric.

She sank into it and let out a contented sigh. Four big matching pillows, plush and perfect for hugging

This felt amazing.

After straightening everything up, she glanced at the time. Ten o’clock already.

[Double bonus ended Time to rest up, player! Don’t stay up too late 1

‘Bedtime this early? I’m usually grinding till the sun comes up, Leeanne thought

She smiled to herself. ‘New world, new routine, I guess

Leeanne sank into the soft bed, wrapped her arms around the pillow, and rolled over a couple of times with a contented sigh.

It felt so much like her own bed back home that, for a second, she could almost forget where she really was

2/4

0:17 am P M M

Chapter 7

She stayed there for a while, just letting the quiet wash over her, and only then did the full weight of the day’s exhaustion settle in.

Her arms ached, her legs throbbed, and even her feet were complaining. Man, what a full–on day it had been.

The ocean at night was an endless stretch of black, broken only by the soft glow coming from the entrance to Mystical Cherry Grove.

That snapped her out of it. She’d been going nonstop since morning and hadn’t even peeked inside the grove once.

She’d sleep better if she just checked on it real quick.

Leeanne dragged herself up and stepped through the entrance.

The place had totally changed.

It had grown a ton. Before, it had been maybe a hundred square feet; now it easily covered a thousand.

She stood there blinking, trying to wrap her head around it. ‘Why did it get so much bigger? Is it tied to the raft upgrades somehow?‘

She’d figure that out later. No rush.

A thousand square feet still wasn’t huge, and the familiar white mist still ringed everything, but over in the northeast corner, half a cherry tree had broken through the haze.

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