Survival at Sea: I Became Number One by Growing Mushrooms

"It's not a dream, what does this mean?" Xu Jiawei couldn't help but ask. The scenes she had just witnessed were so real, and the sense of despair still lingered in her mind. She had a bad feeling. Could these things have actually happened?

There was no one around. Xu Jiawei didn't know who she was talking to or which direction to speak to. She simply raised her head and shouted into the void.

Soon a transparent figure appeared 10 meters away from them, looking at them calmly.

Xu Jiawei was very surprised when she saw that face. She recognized the face; it was the same figure that had appeared during the battle with the God of Darkness. This face belonged to the God of Destiny!

"This is my ability; it allows you to see fragments of the future," said the God of Destiny.

"Is that us in the future? Such a tragic ending?" Xu Jiawei didn't know what expression to wear. This future was too heavy for them. Why would the god of fate let her see such a future? Wasn't he afraid that she would lose confidence and give up?

"Yes, or you could say no, because the future is not immutable. You can treat it as something that happens in a parallel world, and what you have to do is prevent that future from happening."

"What I have shown is only the most likely outcome," said the God of Fate.

"You knew we would come here all along?" This time it was Si Yunming who asked.

The God of Fate simply sighed, then looked into the depths of the temple, as if recalling something: "Before I died, I performed one last divination. Although the result was not ideal, it wasn't entirely hopeless. There was still a variable, and that was you." The God of Fate looked at Xu Jiawei.

"That's why I made one last arrangement, which was to use my abilities to bring you here." The God of Destiny smiled at Xu Jiawei.

"But why did the future turn out like that?" Hsu Chia-wei couldn't help but ask.

"You've worked hard, but that's not enough." After saying this, the Goddess of Fate pointed at Xu Jiawei. A light shone from her fingertip, and something flew out of the mushroom ring. That thing emitted a mysterious light that was so bright that Xu Jiawei couldn't open her eyes.

Once her eyes adjusted to the light, she realized that what had flown out was a demigod-level piece of equipment related to the Goddess of Fate—the Badge of Fate. It could be used for divination once a day, but since demigod-level equipment could not be used during natural disasters, she threw the badge back into her mushroom ring.

The light of the Badge of Destiny grew brighter and brighter, while the light of the Goddess of Fortune gradually dimmed.

Until only a transparent outline remains, even sound will vanish into nothingness.

Xu Jiawei instinctively wanted to reach out and stop her, but she withdrew her hand. Because in order to change that terrifying future, the God of Fate had already made his choice, and she had no reason, or rather, no right, to interfere.

"I have performed a divination for you. To solidify your own divine essence, remember, at the right time, head west. There you will find what you need." With that, the figure of the God of Destiny faded further and further.

"Wait, when is the right time?" Xu Jiawei asked anxiously.

"You'll find out then..." The voice of the God of Fate vanished completely.

Xu Jiawei withdrew her hand with a sense of loss, unsure whether to feel regret or pity.

These people associated with the occult are all riddle-makers, perhaps because they believe that heavenly secrets cannot be revealed.

[Ding! Congratulations, player, you have obtained the Divine Heart of Destiny. The Heart of Destiny possesses half the power of the God of Destiny; its specific abilities are for the player to discover.]

Seeing the God of Fate die again, Xu Jiawei felt very complicated. She understood why the God of Fate had let her see that fragment of the future; she was just trying to stop herself.

Because if it were her, she would definitely stop the God of Fate from sacrificing himself. But after seeing the future, Xu Jiawei had absolutely no reason to continue to stop it. Everything was to change that tragic ending, so what grounds could Xu Jiawei stand to stop it?

The goddess of fate wasn't trying to frighten her, but rather to help her understand.

Silently, she equipped herself with the original Badge of Destiny, now the Heart of Destiny. Countless people had placed all their hopes on her, and even for their sake, Xu Jiawei could not stop. They could not afford to lose.

As the God of Destiny dissipated, the temple began to collapse. Si Yunming remained silent, watching Xu Jiawei intently. Upon discovering the temple's collapse, he immediately searched for an exit, pulling Xu Jiawei along as they ran. Xu Jiawei reacted instantly, using her skill to widen the exit.

The two left the temple before it collapsed.

Back in the forest, Si Yunming didn't know how to comfort Xu Jiawei. He needed to let her process her emotions before they could move on.

Although he felt he shouldn't say anything, there were some things he couldn't let her bear alone. The pressure of carrying the weight of the world and the survival of humanity was enough to crush anyone.

"We still have hope. Don't worry, I'm here for you." Si Yunming looked at Xu Jiawei earnestly, assuring her that he would move forward with her.

Xu Jiawei forced a smile and said, "I'm fine. I'm just processing my emotions. I'm not a saint; I can't possibly bear the fate of everyone. This is a matter for all of us players and everyone in this world, so I have to tell them about it."

Seeing that Xu Jiawei didn't seem to be getting caught up in internal strife, Si Yunming breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Well, we still need to inform the authorities about this. Let them worry about it; we just need to focus on improving our strength."

Upon hearing Si Yunming's words, Xu Jiawei instantly felt a significant reduction in pressure. Yes, this wasn't something she needed to worry about. Right now, she only needed to focus on improving her strength. As for dealing with the Dark God's plans, she should inform the authorities and let them discuss it with the native inhabitants of this world.

"Let's go find the source of the pollution now!" Xu Jiawei had just finished speaking when she noticed that the Heart of Destiny she was wearing lit up. However, this light was different from before; instead, it was blackish-red, which looked very ominous.

[Ding! Today's prediction: Entering a pollution source could be life-threatening.]

Si Yunming also saw the light and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

Xu Jiawei's expression was solemn, but she still said, "The Heart of Destiny tells me that going to the source of pollution is life-threatening."

Si Yunming's expression also turned serious: "Does the Heart of Destiny mean we shouldn't go to the source of pollution right now?"

The prediction given by the Heart of Destiny was very vague, so she didn't know for sure, but she guessed it was like this.

"I don't know. Maybe we're not strong enough right now, or maybe the Dark God did something at the source of pollution. Let's not go to the source of pollution for now, and see what's going on on this island first," Xu Jiawei said.

Si Yunming nodded: "We'll gather intelligence and level up at the same time. We'll stay on this island for a while. It's a top-tier source of pollution, so we can't rush it."

It seemed that this was the only option, and Xu Jiawei agreed to the suggestion.