Chapter 7: Sui City

Chapter 7: Sui City

It was the third day of rain, a Saturday.

Shu Fu turned off the alarm clock and forced herself out of the soft, comfortable bed, grumbling as she wobbled toward the bathroom.

The previous night, after rushing home to sign for a bunch of same-city deliveries, she organized the clothes, items, and food that she wouldn’t need immediately and placed them into the Drift Island House. She also selected some less commonly used furniture to arrange inside the empty wooden house, set up curtains, and was busy until midnight.

She had hoped to sleep in and catch up on her online shopping today, but just after midnight, her wristband vibrated again, and a second task appeared on the black mini notebook.

"Today, between 6:30 and 7:00, complete a breakfast check-in at Yao Ji Bubble Wonton Shop to receive 5% progress toward Raft Level 2. (Current progress of Raft Level 2: 10%)"

This was a very unfriendly task for her!

Yao Ji Bubble Wonton Shop was quite famous and had two branches in Sui City. There was also one near her school, an old shop. It was the closest one to her current location, but it was still a twenty-minute drive away. Factoring in the time needed to wake up, potential traffic jams, ordering, and contingency time, she would have to get up before 6 o'clock.

But this task was something she had to complete now.

After checking the message and accepting the invitation yesterday, she hadn’t received the 10% progress bar, indicating that the task was still ongoing and not yet completed. She guessed the task wouldn’t be finished until she kept the appointment on Sunday.

She didn’t have much task experience and couldn’t be sure if she could complete this task smoothly.

However, she didn’t want to lose 15% of her progress bar. She had a feeling that if the percentage dropped into the negatives, something bad might happen, so this new task was quite important.

As long as she completed the breakfast check-in, even if the second task failed, the percentage wouldn’t drop into the negatives.

It was still drizzling, not heavily, but the sky was dark and overcast. Everything felt damp and soggy.

She checked the weather forecast: cloudy all day, isolated hail, wind force 4 to 5, temperature between 13 to 18 degrees Celsius.

Fortunately, the wind wasn’t strong, but the temperature was several degrees lower than predicted the day before. A denim jacket wasn’t enough anymore, so Shu Fu changed into a long-sleeved hoodie and thin fleece joggers, still wearing her waterproof boots to go out.

Since it was early on a Saturday, the roads weren’t too busy, and she arrived 15 minutes earlier than expected.

Yao Ji was located along a two-lane road, and there were no parking spots nearby. Not many people who came to eat breakfast drove, and those who did usually just parked on the roadside. Following suit, Shu Fu found a spot nearby and parked, but mindful of the task time, she sat in the car until 6:30 before getting out with an umbrella to walk the twenty meters to Yao Ji.

This old shop opened the earliest. It wasn’t large, run by the owner couple, and usually had a good business without doing takeout. Over her four years in college, she had become familiar with the place and the owner couple, occasionally exchanging a few words.

When she was in her senior year, she remembered hearing that their daughter had also been admitted to the university, also in the West Campus. Because it was close to home, the boss’s wife was particularly happy and would always give extra portions to students from the school.

"Oh, you're from the university, right? Long time no see!" Sure enough, the boss’s wife sitting at the counter recognized her.

"Yes, I graduated this year, and I live a bit farther away now, so I haven’t been back. I just had a craving today and braved the rain to come over." She ordered a bowl of bubble wontons and a plate of soup dumplings, asking for extra scallions in her wontons.

Bubble wontons were not traditional wontons. The skin had to be thin, and the filling minimal, wrapped in a special technique. Once cooked, the wontons floated on the surface of the fragrant soup like bubbles, each bite filled with delicious broth.

Especially here, where the soup base was made from real pork bones simmered fresh on the spot, on this cold, damp, rainy morning, a sip of the hot soup made one feel comfortable.

Shu Fu was delighted as she ate and no longer grumbled about the task. After just a few bites, she told the boss’s wife that she wanted to take some away, saying there was a gathering at home and she wanted everyone to try it. She then placed orders for thirty portions of bubble wontons, twenty plates of soup dumplings, and forty meat tangyuan, emphasizing that she loved their soup and asking for the largest takeout container for the soup.

Although Yao Ji’s old shop didn’t do takeout, many people came to pack food. Most of the bubble wontons and meat tangyuan were packed raw, and people would also take the wonton soup home to cook and heat it up later.

"You’re really helping us out, girl!" With the rain and hail over the past few days, business had taken a hit, so the boss’s wife was especially pleased to hear that Shu Fu wanted to pack so much. "How will you carry so much?"

"I drove, and it’s just parked nearby. I’ll pull up to the door."

"Alright, enjoy your meal. I'll pack everything securely for you and help load it into your car later, ensuring nothing gets wet!" The female owner, seeing no new customers coming in, used some disinfectant gel to wash her hands and then entered the glass-partitioned kitchen to assist with the takeout packing.

As they were almost done, the female owner's phone rang. She looked at the caller ID, answered, and immediately said, "Don't rush me, the store is busy right now! I'll be there soon! ...Yes, there weren't many customers before, but someone came in for a large takeout order! ...It's raining? This person has been eating your mom's small wontons for four years and loves them... Yes, she's from the same school as you and graduated this year... You lazy brat! At your age, you still expect me to clean up after you when you come home!"

Although the female owner was grumbling, she had a smile on her face the whole time.

Shu Fu realized that the caller was the female owner's daughter. Due to the rain, the store wasn't very busy, and originally, the female owner had planned to go to the school. Now, because of Shu Fu's large takeout order, she was delayed.

At 6:55 AM, Shu Fu finished her breakfast and saw that the packing was almost done. She told the female owner she would go park her car nearby.

The distance was twenty meters, and it only took a moment to reach it in the car. The rain had gotten heavier, and there seemed to be hail mixed in.

She opened the trunk, got out of the car with an umbrella, and helped the female owner and two staff members with the umbrella. They quickly and carefully placed the packed bags in the trunk.

"Put the soups at the bottom and make sure they're stable! Don't rush..." The female owner directed while busying herself.

The road was still empty, with heavy rain enveloping the surroundings, making the street scene blurry.

Suddenly, a massive boom came from somewhere nearby, as if a giant object had collided.

One of the staff members carrying the takeout bags was startled, and the female owner's umbrella tilted.

The sound was terrifying. Just by the noise, it was clear that something significant had happened nearby.

Moments later, black smoke rose from behind a building to the left front. Despite the heavy rain, the smoke wasn't dispersed.

Two more loud bangs followed, mixed with the squeak of metal being crushed and the sound of glass shattering. Residents sleeping in nearby buildings were awakened and rushed to their windows to look towards the noise and smoke. Those on higher floors could just make out the scene, but the heavy rain made it hard to see clearly.

"It's a car crash!" someone from a nearby building shouted, pulling out their phone to call the fire department and ambulance.

Near Yao Ji, people from other early-opening breakfast shops came out in the rain. Although they couldn't see the accident scene, everyone had heard the massive noise and was nervously looking around and asking questions.

Shu Fu couldn't clearly see what had happened either, but she recognized the direction of the rising smoke—it was the direction of her school!

The female owner obviously thought of the school too, her face changing as she pulled out her phone to make a call. However, her phone rang before she could dial.

"Hello! Xiao Yun..." she said into the phone, and upon hearing the voice on the other end, she sighed in relief, "As long as you're safe, I'm not worried! ...I'm fine, don't worry, I haven't gone to the school yet... Yes, I'm at the school gate. Okay! Don't join the crowd, stay upstairs in your building, I'll come over soon... Don't worry, I'll take a detour, yes yes, ask your dad to come too, be obedient! Don't go watch the commotion..."

As the female owner continued her worried instructions, Shu Fu felt her wristband vibrate softly once more.

**

In the video, the person filming was live-streaming the car accident scene in the rain.

It was a multi-car pileup. The first vehicle involved was a large truck. On weekends in Sui City, large trucks were allowed on the roads from 10:30 PM to 7:30 AM, different from weekdays.

This location was west of the city, near the highway exit. The truck was rushing to leave the city and should have stopped at a red light to wait for the left-turn signal. However, due to the slippery road and brake failure, the truck couldn't stop or turn and accelerated through the intersection, crashing directly into the school gate.

The road, unlike quieter streets, already had traffic, and the out-of-control truck collided with several vehicles, causing a multi-car pileup.

Two people died on the spot, and three were critically injured and currently undergoing rescue. Another seven or eight people suffered various injuries.

Of the two deceased, one was the driver of another car, and the other was a student who had been walking to the school gate when the accident occurred.

Shu Fu sighed, feeling a mix of sadness and fear. Sometimes, it feels like fate is set in stone—this thought crossed her mind.

But maybe, just maybe, fate can be changed.

If, like when she completed her first task, she hadn’t gone to Yao Ji for breakfast today or gotten her order to go, the boss lady at Yao Ji would have likely gone to the university when the car accident happened, and if she had been near the front gate at that time...

But wait, that’s not right! These tasks aren’t set in stone.

This whole thing isn’t guaranteed to happen. She might’ve skipped the task or opted not to get her order to go today.

Shu Fu scowled as she scrolled through videos of the crash online. She had a few theories, but with so many variables, nothing was clear yet.

On her black mini notebook, the completed tasks had faded, but the unfinished ones were still bold and clear.

And on the newest line, a message popped up:

"Yao Ji breakfast shop visit completed, gaining 5% progress toward Raft Level 2, plus an extra 5% bonus, and earning 1 spin on the prize wheel. (Current progress for Raft Level 2: 20%)"

A prize wheel spin? What’s that all about?