Survival at Sea, the Playwright: Chapter 109: Slot Machine

In the early morning, the two of them returned to the island. At this time, Wu Hui was asleep, and Wang Xiaodie was on night watch.

Wang Xiaodie first took a moment to observe the shape of the island. There was a patch of forest, but mostly it was sandy beach. Two coconut trees stood by the shore.

Wu Hui had been trying to study the local climate but hadn’t made much progress. There were too many strange plants and animals; all he could determine was that this place was subtropical, similar to many regions marked on a map in a large circle.

He spent his days clutching that map, lost in thought. When Wang Xiaodie asked him what he was doing, Wu Hui said he was searching for similar word patterns between the names of the plants and the countries or regions on the map.

Apart from being impressed, Wang Xiaodie didn’t have much else to say.

“Are we there yet?” Wu Hui suddenly spoke. Wang Xiaodie pushed him back down.

“It’s still dark. Wait until it’s light, and I’ll wake you up. Go back to sleep.” Her tone was gentle. Wu Hui sensed something unusual but closed his eyes and continued to rest.

Meanwhile, Wang Xiaodie cautiously stepped onto the island.

She spotted something clearly man-made, and very familiar to her.

A slot machine.

Her gambler’s nature immediately surfaced. She had played these countless times before and even once sneaked in at midnight to pry open the back cover to take the money inside.

“Insert coins, may produce items that appear in this round of the game…” Wang Xiaodie read the instructions printed on the slot machine.

She had saved up five coins over the past few days.

Why not try a few? Take a gamble and turn a bicycle into a motorcycle.

After all, it was only five coins; she couldn’t lose too much. Maybe she’d draw some amazing item.

Could Wu Hui take the items? Or maybe she could use this to help him end his slave contract sooner.

Wang Xiaodie eagerly rubbed her hands together.

“Come on, little treasure… wait a minute. It could be anything. Could there be monsters?” She wasn’t completely reckless; she still had some sense.

“Most likely.” Wu Hui appeared beside her without her noticing. “Have you played ‘Don’t Starve’?”

“Damn, when did you get here!” Wang Xiaodie jumped in surprise. “What’s ‘Don’t Starve’?”

“It’s a survival game. One of its expansions is called ‘Shipwrecked,’ where you survive on different islands in an ocean environment, much like where we are now. It even features slot machines that use coins,” Wu Hui adjusted his glasses. “By the way, I’ve been standing here since you started rubbing your hands.”

Wang Xiaodie thought for a moment. “Ah, I get it. The writer probably referenced Earth’s games and other works when setting the scene, so this slot machine is likely just like the one in that game?”

Wu Hui nodded. “Monsters, resources, equipment, coins, or other things could all appear.”

“So, do you think I should gamble?” Wang Xiaodie asked for his opinion.

“Sure.” Wu Hui said, “Try inserting one coin first.”

Since the coins belonged to Wang Xiaodie, he could wait and see how useful the slot machine was after she tried it. If something good came out, he could trade a month of his slave time for it. It seemed this thing was gradually becoming a currency exclusively between Wu Hui and Wang Xiaodie.

Wang Xiaodie had wanted to play a round alone without telling Wu Hui, but now that he was standing right next to her watching, there was no other choice.

Go for it.

Excited yet nervous, she rubbed her hands again, took out a coin, and inserted it into the slot machine.

It was clear that Wang Xiaodie truly enjoyed gambling, savoring the thrill, unlike Wu Hui, who only focused on the potential gains.

The primitive and simple brain mechanisms of carbon-based lifeforms made them appear quite backward when facing such situations. They easily became addicted to utterly meaningless things.

Addiction, gambling… all the same. Yellow wasn’t quite the same, as it was for reproduction and thus had some semblance of meaning.

Unaware of Wu Hui’s silent disdain, Wang Xiaodie successfully inserted the first coin and pulled the lever. The slot machine spun.

When it stopped, three wooden symbols appeared.

“What the heck?” Wang Xiaodie scratched her head.

Then, a crate filled with lumber materialized out of thin air and landed on the ground.

“Lumber… that’s actually something we need right now,” Wu Hui nodded, then thought of something.

Wang Xiaodie perked up immediately. “Reliable! One more!”

If, as some people on the forums suggested, everything in this game was arranged by the writer, then this slot machine here…

What kind of story would the writer want to unfold?

First, they wouldn’t want us to die too quickly. Second, they wouldn’t let us live too comfortably. There would be gains and obstacles.

In survival stories, someone has to escape in the end to make it interesting and to allow sequels.

So, three more coins seemed appropriate. Too many, and monsters would surely appear. Best to know when to stop and avoid greed. Wang Xiaodie would certainly run into trouble if she kept going.

Wu Hui quietly watched as Wang Xiaodie inserted the second coin.

A sudden splash of water fell from above, drenching her completely. There seemed to be something in the water, accompanied by crackling lightning. Wu Hui stepped back, creating an ice barrier to block the spray, avoiding getting wet himself.

Wang Xiaodie’s hair stood on end as her whole body twitched. Wu Hui raised his hand and shot an electric eel that was discharging lightning, then selected the lightning mark. “This… isn’t too severe a punishment. Acceptable.”

Still twitching, Wang Xiaodie made a defiant middle finger gesture towards her master.

Wu Hui simply watched her convulse for a while without rushing to help. After all, she was soaking wet but not in serious danger. If he went over, he might get shocked too.

So he sent the grizzly bear to carry the lumber back and told it and the beetle to forage on the island for food themselves.

“Again!” Once she recovered, Wang Xiaodie took a deep breath. Gamblers are gamblers; failure only makes them want to raise the stakes. But that last one wasn’t a total loss—Wu Hui had gained a lightning mark.

Wang Xiaodie inserted another coin. Wu Hui stepped back a bit. Of course, if she got into real danger, he would save her.

After all, Wu Hui only appeared cold but wasn’t truly heartless. He cared deeply for Wang Xiaodie, with whom he had spent many days and shared a close bond.

“Achoo.” Wang Xiaodie’s hand trembled as she inserted the third coin.

The slot machine spun again. Wu Hui watched her relentless gambling spirit and shook his head slightly.

Several seeds of unknown plants appeared. Wu Hui examined them; they were a type of fast-growing vegetable that could be harvested in about a week. Useful, but not great.

“Why do I keep getting this crap?” Wang Xiaodie inserted another coin and pulled two buckets of drinking water. “Give me something good!”

She took out her last remaining coin and, without hesitation, inserted it.

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