#challenge unlocked: ocean cleanup (passive)

[nagalias-mindscape]

Sister: Hey, I just thought of a challenge for you in Coral Island.

Me: Is it to cover the Sea Floor in trash collectors so my efforts in healing the ocean don't go to waste?

Sis: ... Yes, actually.

Me: Already on it. 3 of... maybe thousands. They're costly. Also, I have no clue how to place them to optimize it. I'm just going from top to bottom, left to right. Filling out one zone after another.

Sis: Pardon?

Me: Which part are you not understanding?

Sis: Uh... The cost?

Me: Believe it or not, I'm running low on scrap. Like. critically low. I have a bunch of recycling machines working overtime, but I still need scrap. I can get gold bars and wind essence easily since they're in the same mine, and I have four different solar batteries filling up every few days. In between tending to my animals and upgrading things at the lab, I have done nothing but what I need to do to get myself more trash collectors. I will have a pretty ocean at the end of this, even if it costs me my save file.

Me: ... Which reminds me that I should probably make a backup of this save file...

Sis: ... You scare me some days.

Me: That's okay. I scare myself.

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EDIT: I did, in fact, forgot that I needed Gold Essence when I was talking to my sister, and did not remember until afterwards when I going back through my crafting recipies that the Gold Bars are for the flying insect catcher, which is pinned right beside my trash collector. In my defense, my sister didn't notice either until afterwards. I chose to keep the error in as to be faithful to the conversation.