CHAPTER 124: TO BE HUNTED.

One hit. One swing. The hammer alone took down the creature, breaking its bones with a sickening crunch. As soon as it landed on the ground, she froze and shattered it.

"Damn it!! It could have had value." She cursed and blamed herself for shattering it. For all she knew, Bjorn would have been interested in it.

She did not get a moments rest because the next creature was already after her. It resembled something of a giant rat which ducked into the ground every time she looked back.

Sunshine wanted to ignore it but its gaze felt predatory. She chose to use an old trick that they used to track prey in the apocalypse: bait. Rats like cheese, maybe this giant rat would be the same.

She got some cheese and started dropping bits of it on the ground. She dropped some bread as well, medium sized pieces that she pinched and threw on the ground. Her bait worked out well and she tricked the rat into falling from a high place, into a ravine.

But, she had walked so far that she had no idea where she had come from. This did not last long because the third threat came. A swarm of insects that spat small stingers came after her like they were seeking vengeance for a crime she had committed against them.

No matter where she ran or hide, they found her and buzzed fiercely like they were daring her to show herself. Sunshine sprayed herself with a smell that the system said would deter them. It worked.

It seemed like everything in the forest was out to hunt her because when she was tiptoeing past the insects, a vine shot out and grabbed her right leg. She got the hammer and crashed the plant that owned the vine into a reddish brown paste.

For her own safety, Sunshine decided not to move elsewhere and just wait for the countdown to end. If she continued to move, who knew what else she would encounter.

[Coconut beans detected around you.]

She arched her brows. When did coconuts have beans? Curiosity pushed her to take some steps ahead and start picking the large bean shaped pods hanging off one of the trees in a grove of other trees which had the same bean pods. She asked the system how to go about tasting one and it gave her guidelines.

She squatted down and cut one pod open with a knife. Inside was a gel that tasted like coconut and gave her a rush--a burst of energy. After drinking all of the gel, she discovered little beans inside.

Sunshine ripped one out and chewed it. It was very sweet, like a natural coconut candy.

"I must have more of these." She said.

Swiftly, she started harvesting more as quickly as her hands would let her. As she harvested them, she thought to herself that Cassius probably never made it this far into the forest.

If he had, he would not have left the coconut beans behind. He loved sweet things the most.

She was still harvesting fruit when she saw something huge with white fur. It looked like a polar bear but also not as it was twice the size and was grabbing coconut beans like her.

She threw some of her harvest its way. It took the fruit and did not bother her.

After it left, she took a deep breath and tightened her grip around the handle of the hammer. Sunshine’s chest rose and fell in sharp bursts. This forest was very rewarding but very dangerous.

She wiped the head of her hammer clean on the grass before allowing it to shrink. The timer in her mind ticked down....five minutes. It felt like she had been in the forest for so much longer than that.

With limited time, Sunshine moved fast, collecting the herbs and fruits that she wanted until the air around her began to shimmer. The green of the forest bled into pale light, the edges of that world warping. She stepped back into the crack.

The shimmer swallowed her vision and the cool fresh sweet air of Veldek vanished, replaced by the still weightless air of her space.

Sunshine fell to her knees and exhaled deeply. What she had experienced was no different than the dangers of the apocalypse.

For a heartbeat, there was silence. No bird song, no rustling leaves, only the faint hum of the system in her mind updating her stats.

[Congratulations on your first visit to another world.

Reward: A universal telephone that calls anywhere, across any distance. It works across all planets, networks and time.]

She was interested in the phone but she also wanted to make notes on the planet she had been to. So, she sat down, picked up a pen and started writing: Planet Veldek’s ecosystem in hostile. The soil is very fertile, the flora is nutrient-dense. But, the planet seems to be alive and devoid of human life. It is a possible option for resettlement if I need to escape earth.

She drew pictures of the beasts she had met before her mind could erase them.

[Host, you need to acquire the services of a stitcher to clean up after you. Do you need the system to take care of it?]

"Yes please." She answered. "System will there be another opportunity to visit this planet?"

[Free visits can only be made once a week. Extra visits must be paid for with points. The points demanded for depend on how long you intend to stay on the foreign planet.]

That was both good and tiresome news. She would need to repair more items to accumulate points for extra visits. As for the space, she would have to wait on her plans to level up. It was big enough for now and needed no further expansion.

"Can I take someone else with me to the foreign planet?" She asked out of curiosity.

[That option is not available for now.]

She nodded. She had a feeling that even if it was available, she would need to pay extra points for it.

Sunshine turned her mind to the reward she had received. "System, can the universal telephone connect to a walkie-talkie?" She asked.

[Yes. It connects to all devices that can be used to communicate as long as they are powered on.]

"Give me the phone." She said slowly.

A soft glow appeared at the table, a medium sized device materialized: A golden landline phone, old fashioned but pristine, it’s cord curling like a snake.

Sunshine picked it up carefully, the receiver felt heavier than she expected, cool and smooth in her palm. It was not exactly what she was expecting because she thought it would be some kind of high tech gadget.

Perhaps a phone booth that was controlled by AI or something. This phone was oldish and it looked like something that had been repaired by a repairman.

She stared at the device, heart quickening. The only people that she wanted to call were her family members at West brook. Castiel would be glad to hear from her and this was an opportunity to assure everyone that they were all fine.

With a soft smile on her face she said, "System, I want to make a call."