Video game I Can Turn Waste Into Treasure novel Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Andrea took the box and opened it under the leader’s eager gaze.

86 vauchers

Inside was a piece of yellow cloth covered in symbols she couldn’t read. The writing looked similar to what had been on the camp token before.

Seeing her accept it, the leader smiled sincerely. “I really like your cooking.

“If you’re willing, once we get back to Monster City, you can come work at my estate as my personal chef. The benefits will be way better than you’d ever expect.”

It tipped its chin toward the wooden box in her hands. “That’s your token. My people will know what it means the second they see it.”

System: [Acknowledged by an NPC profession. Hidden Quest triggered: Find Orion’s Cookbook. Reward: 1 ticket to Monster City, 1 Golden Spatula.]

The system notification rang through her mind, and Andrea paused for a beat.

Then a proper smile spread across her face, and she bowed respectfully to the leader. “Thank you, sir. I’ll definitely come.”

The moment she lifted her head, Andrea spotted a map lying on the mahogany desk.

It seemed to cover the same area as the one the horn beast had given her earlier, but this one had an extra winding passage marked on it.

Andrea immediately used the system’s photo function to capture it.

Then, carrying the tray, she backed out under the leader’s pleased gaze.

The second she stepped outside, Andrea ran into the tall horn beast.

His eyes landed on the wooden box in her hand, and he gave an approving nod, like he was saying, “Good job.”

Andrea couldn’t figure out how a monster that looked this strong was still working under such a tiny rat.

‘Maybe this’s what class hierarchy looks like, she thought.

That night, after work was over, Andrea lay on the bed with her eyes closed, pretending to rest.

The tall horn beast had specifically warned her not to go out at night. But there was no way she was actually going to listen.

The dungeon only lasted two days. Going to sleep this early would be a total waste.

Andrea kept listening carefully to the sounds outside. Once she heard them getting ready to head out, she quickly climbed out through the window and followed them.

Luckily, her room was on the first floor, which made sneaking out easy.

The tall horn beast led several subordinates through streets and alleys, taking a winding route.

First, they stopped at a concealed tunnel entrance and inspected it for a long time.

Then they kept moving, stopping every so often at certain points to feel around on the ground and check things, like they were inspecting something important.

1/4

12:37 pm

Chapter 23

ppp.

Andrea compared it against the map she’d photographed from the leader’s room earlier that day.

She realized the places they stopped were probably all air vents for the tunnel.

Quietly, Andrea memorized every exact location. Once they moved on, she left a faint mark on the ground.

She did this ten times in a row before finally finding another tunnel entrance.

After another round of inspection, the monster squad finally started heading back.

On the way back, the formation loosened up. When they got bored, they’d casually kill a mutant wolf for fun. Afterward, they tossed the body aside, dusted off their hands, and walked away.

Andrea silently trailed behind, picked up the leftovers, and followed them all the way back to the building.

She was about to climb back in through the window when she suddenly noticed something flickering above.

Looking closer, Andrea confirmed it was a treasure chest glowing with a faint halo.

Andrea’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest. ‘I haven’t found a single treasure chest all day, and now there’s one right above my head.

She carefully counted the floors and realized it was inside a tenth–floor window.

Without hesitation, Andrea climbed back in through the first–floor window.

With a completely relaxed expression, she stepped out of her room and casually acted like she was heading to the bathroom.

When she reached the eighth floor, Andrea stopped. There were monsters guarding the stairs above. She’d need another way up.

Walking to the window beside the stairwell, Andrea leaned out and studied the outside structure.

Then Andrea twisted her body out and started climbing. Gripping the edges of the windows by hand, she climbed upward barehanded.

Thanks to her boosted physical stats, her grip stayed steady, and the old fear of heights didn’t hit nearly as hard as it used to.

A few minutes later, Andrea reached the tenth–floor windowsill. The treasure chest was right inside.

She first used the moonlight to carefully observe the room for a while.

Once she confirmed the room was completely empty except for the chest, Andrea gave the window a gentle push.

With a soft click, it opened.

‘Good thing it wasn’t locked from the inside. Otherwise breaking the glass would’ve been a pain,‘ she thought.

Even then, Andrea still didn’t go in recklessly. Too many things could go wrong at night.

Instead, she released the metal wire coiled around her wrist, wrapped it tightly around the treasure chest, and pulled it over.

Andrea quickly stored it in her inventory and immediately started climbing back the way she came.

Just as she got down to the second floor, she ran into a monster staggering around with a liquor bottle in hand.

2/4

12:37 pm

Chapter 23

It frowned when it saw her coming down from upstairs, clearly suspicious.

Andrea instantly faked a yawn and ran an annoyed hand through her hair.

She murmured. “Why does the first–floor bathroom never have water? So freaking annoying. Had to come all the way up to the second floor in the middle of the night.”

Hearing that, the monster immediately looked like everything made sense. Then it wandered off to the corner to keep drinking.

Cold sweat beaded along Andrea’s temples. She hurried back to her room, lay down, and opened the treasure chest inside her inventory.

System: [Opened treasure chest. Obtained Tracking Card xl. Friend Team–up Bonus activated. Additional Tracking Card xl.

[Tracking Card: Can be used to track the target’s coordinates within 60 miles.]

‘Nice. This may be perfect for tracking those two rats tomorrow, Andrea thought.

After putting the cards away, Andrea pulled out a scrap of cardboard from her space and used today’s Reforge on it.

System: [Reforge successful. Obtained 1 case of toilet paper (120 rolls).]

After that, she submitted the bits of junk she’d picked up outside that night. Her progress bar climbed to 21/50.

Andrea was almost halfway done. “Tomorrow morning, I can do another sweep and hopefully claim the reward early, she thought.

From the small bits of information the horn beasts had let slip while chatting on the road, Andrea guessed the key would probably be deployed tomorrow afternoon or evening.

That meant she still had the whole morning to keep scavenging for supplies.

Andrea muttered, ‘Now, I really need sleep. I still have to wake up early tomorrow to cook.

‘Seriously. One day of having meals handed over and now it’s right back to corporate slave life. What a curse!

Early the next morning, at 5:30, someone knocked on Andrea’s door. “Orion, up and at ‘em. Boss says there’s a new assignment.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify