Video game I Can Turn Waste Into Treasure novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7 So Broken So Happy

Before Bubba could even haul himself onto the deck, the rest of the school had already surrounded Andrea, their chatter filling the air.

Bubba looked sheepish, trying to downplay the chaos as he approached. “It’s not that big a deal, Granny. Seriously, it’s just a scratch.”

Andrea didn’t say a word. She simply reached out and pulled back his sleeve.

She had noticed the flash of crimson on his pectoral fin while he was still in the water, but seeing it up close was different.

A jagged hole was punched clean through his arm, looking as if it had been pierced by a heavy metal bolt. Blood continued to seep steadily from the wound.

She flipped open the toolbox Bubba had brought and pulled out some blood-stanching powder and gauze.

After flushing the wound with fresh water, she packed it with the powder and wrapped it tight.

The medicine was incredibly potent, halting the bleeding the second it touched his skin.

She stared at the red-stained water and pondered. ‘I need to find out where he ran into that thing, and more importantly, where I’m actually supposed to spend these gold coins.’

Once the bandage was secure, Andrea gave his head a comforting pat.

It didn’t take long for Bubba to bounce back, looking as lively as ever.

Andrea realized it wasn’t her medical expertise doing the heavy lifting; it was the game’s overpowered potions combined with the sharks’ freakish natural recovery.

Even the wounds from their extracted teeth seemed to knit shut in a matter of minutes.

Bubba sat nearby, clutching a bowl Andrea had picked out specifically for him, decorated with little shark patterns.

Even though the pasta inside had turned into a congealed, overcooked mess, he wore a look of immense pride, flaunting his meal in front of the other sharks.

Watching him happily slurp the starchy sludge, Andrea felt a flush of heat rise to her cheeks. ‘My cooking is an absolute disaster,’ she lamented silently.

By 5:00 PM, Andrea finally called it a day.

Her haul for the afternoon consisted of twenty shark teeth and ten gold coins, bringing her total tooth count to fifty-eight.

After three days of grinding, the desalinator quest was finally within reach.

She didn’t waste a second submitting the requirements.

[Hidden Quest Complete: Collect 50 Shark Teeth. Rewards Issued.]

Andrea opened her inventory, eager to see what it would take to craft the water purifier.

Suddenly, the Unfortunate Trash Picker’s cheerful system alert rang out again.

[Tending to Bubba’s wound has triggered a hidden quest: Retrieve Bubba’s Treasure—the pink bow given to him by Granny Shark. Reward: 10x Energy Stones, 1x Deluxe Barbecue Dinner Kit.]

Andrea stared at the screen, blinking in confusion. ‘Wait a minute. Isn’t Bubba a boy?’

She paused, realizing she had never actually checked.

‘Whatever. It’s not like I gave birth to him,’ she thought, shaking her head to clear the intrusive questions.

As long as the rewards were good, she wasn’t going to complain. Energy stones were exactly what she needed right now.

The problem was finding that monster.

Bubba, likely wanting to spare her the worry, refused to breathe a word about what had happened out there.

For now, she’d have to put that on the back burner and focus on the water purifier.

She opened the crafting station and laid out the blueprints.

[Water Purifier: Requires 15x Plastic, 1x Filter Core, 1x Separator Unit.]

She was short on everything except the plastic, and even then, she only had five units.

She immediately hopped onto the Trading Post to browse.

Before long, she managed to secure the plastic and the filter core, though it cost her a pack of canned soup, six bottles of water, and a loaf of bread.

She was still missing the separator unit.

Opening the chat channel, she typed out a message: [Buying one separator unit. DM me with your price.]

The chat was a whirlwind of noise as usual.

[What the hell is a separator unit? What is she crafting now?]

[Who cares? I bought a campfire from her and it’s a total lifesaver. Solid five stars.]

[If you need campfires, hit me up! I have plenty in stock. Clearance prices!]

[Clearance my ass. You’re charging double what Andrea does. Stop being a vulture.]

[Add me, someone! Anyone! I’m so bored I’ve been talking to my fishing rod for two days. I think I’m losing my mind.]

[I have social anxiety, so honestly, not seeing another soul is the best part of this whole mess.]

Jason: [Buying water. Can trade basic materials or food.]

The channel was a flood of useless chatter, and Andrea’s request was buried without a single lead.

A short while later, she felt a familiar tug and reeled in another wooden chest.

[Basic Wooden Chest opened. Items received: Oars x1 pair, Grain x10 lbs.]

She stared at the loot and sighed. ‘Another pair of oars? I might as well trade these for something I actually need.’

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