Chapter 20 Part 4

Back and forth, the topic roamed from Li Huachuan and the maids’ old business to the latest gossip discussed just days ago: Li Huachuan, going out a few days prior, whether he forgot to check the almanac or what, inexplicably got injured, had to lie in the hospital for days. Young Master Xuan went to see him immediately.

Speaking and gossiping, the winding conversation inevitably circled back to where it began: Li Zhuo.

“At the end of the day, Young Master Zhuo is the pitiful one. They fight and scheme amongst themselves, and in the end, the innocent child suffers… sigh… He’s really something, that man.”

“Wonder how he’s doing now…”

“Sigh…“

The three fell into brief silence.

“Really hot this year.”

“Yeah, it’s so hot it’s unnatural…”

“Your daughter starts middle school in three years? Time really does fly…”

~

“Time is moving so slow.”

“How much longer?”

The eco-base’s location was far from the city, and the temperature was much lower. During the day, there might be a hint of heat, but at night, you needed a cotton blanket.

The summer camp schedule had progressed to the fourth day. After his performance over the previous three days, Li Zhuo had somehow become a hot pick for team formation.

Why? Because he was just too skilled.

The camp’s theme was closeness to nature, its goal to let students experience the great outdoors, build teamwork, and gain personal growth through hands-on activities.

Yes, that’s how they advertised it. Just eating, drinking, having fun, right? Result…

Day one was okay. The whole morning was on the bus, afternoon just wandering nearby, evening stargazing under the staff’s guidance. Everyone located their own constellation, perfectly harmonious vibes.

By day two, things got a little strange. Students herded into the fields stared blankly at the hoes and other farming tools distributed to them.

“This… you want us to farm?”

“You’re joking, right?!”

Many city-raised students were probably seeing how land was tilled for the first time. Being newbies with no technique, they ended up with aching backs.

Among all the students present, only Li Zhuo was completely familiar with this stuff. As a result, his group’s progress far outstripped the others.

No matter what, the first two days, the camp at least provided meals. Even half-assing those so-called tasks wouldn’t make you starve. By the third day, they straight-up stopped providing food.

When the capped team leader announced this news via bullhorn, the students didn’t believe it. What they got was just the same announcement repeated.

Since the base was too far, they had to solve lunch themselves. And coincidentally, there was a stream nearby. This season was exactly harvest season for crabs. Meat was fresh and delicious, a rare delicacy.

Students could team up to catch crabs. Points tallied by crab count. Higher-scoring teams could exchange them for other food items, seasonings, and the like.

Even if they got an upset stomach, no worries, a doctor followed the group.

Having performed so outstandingly the day before, Li Zhuo was just as adept when it came to crab catching. While others were still blindly fumbling, his small bucket already had a layer of crabs.

Students actively came to ask for tips. He didn’t hoard them, teaching many little tricks on how to recognize which hollows had crabs and how to catch them without getting pinched.

Humans are herd creatures. Perhaps before, Li Zhuo’s aloof demeanor had caused misunderstandings. But now, with one first, there was a second, a third…

In one day, the number of peers Li Zhuo spoke to exceeded the total of the entire past semester combined. Among them were his own classmates, students from other classes, even a few from other schools.

For those city students, learning how to hold a hoe, how to tell rice from wheat was an unfamiliar experience. For Li Zhuo, this type of social interaction was an equally novel experience.

Back in Pingshan Village, he was too busy to play, no time to make friends, constantly rushing between the fields;

At the International School, he’d desperately wanted friends to chat with about anything and everything, but all his warmth and initiative earned him was mocking laughter he couldn’t even understand;

Transferring to Experimental High School, after everything before, he became afraid of socializing, terrified of exposing any inadequacy.

But did answering others’ questions count as making friends? Did teaching them little tricks that were common knowledge to him count as making friends?

Li Zhuo didn’t know.

He’d never imagined that the skills he’d picked up by necessity back in Pingshan Village, born from poverty and hunger, would one day come in handy, would actually be praised by so many peers.

By day four, the summer camp didn’t even bother pretending. They went straight into forest exploration.

At first, no one believed it, not until the bus stop destination grew increasingly remote and the trees taller.

The others realized then—holy crap, they were serious?!

According to the team leader, within a day, they had to find a water source, observe plants and animals, learn to identify common flora and insects, build a tent in small teams, and spend the night.

The summer camp side did add that staff were following behind, but they would only appear during a crisis. So it was still all up to them.

“Didn’t you say we were coming to have fun? Why do I feel like I’ve been scammed? Is it still too late to quit?”

Deng Yuliang stuck close to Li Zhuo, looking up at the dense jungle around them, wiping sweat from his brow while complaining bitterly without pause.

“First day we had a decent meal, after that it’s been digging dirt and wading into rivers. What the heck kind of summer camp is this? Feels more like wilderness survival!”

Another frail-looking, bespectacled student behind them griped along: “I started suspecting we’d been sold off a while ago. There’s barely any signal here.”

“Time goes by so slow…”

“Right? When are we finally getting out of here?”

“I’m lodging a complaint!! Just wait, once I’m out of here and my phone has signal, I’m definitely complaining!”

“Totally out of line! Who even does this?!”

Because Li Zhuo had performed so exceptionally before, he’d inadvertently become a banner in the other students’ minds. No matter what he did, people followed.

Seeing Li Zhuo pick a straight wooden stick to use as a pathfinder, others scrambled to find similar sticks.

Seeing Li Zhuo expressionlessly crouch down, fingertips brushing the damp humus soil, they crouched too, mimicking his motions to touch the earth.

The sight was rather comical.

~

【This is all it takes?】

【Why like this.】

On a high slope, Mo Liang’s form blended seamlessly with the surrounding jungle.

His consciousness spread like an invisible net, silently blanketing the entire forest. The tremor of every leaf, the caress of every breeze, nothing escaped his perception.

His attention was especially focused on Li Zhuo.

Li Zhuo’s every breath, the rise and fall of his chest, the subtle shifts in body temperature, the flow of his blood, even every microscopic flake of skin shed—all were within his crystal-clear field of view.

The Ball of Light floated mid-air, conducting a silent exchange of consciousness with Mo Liang.

【Just like the guide says. The mission target suffered social wounds in the past. He’s currently in a social-anxious state. Needs to rebuild his confidence.】

【Didn’t you wonder before why Li Zhuo’s skills weren’t in his intro? Because he’s just a minor side character. So all his real hobbies, his strengths—it’s all a blank slate. Of course, we needed to carve out a small scope to let him slowly regain confidence.】

【What’s the point?】

【He’s happy right now, isn’t he?】

Mo Liang fell silent.

The system spoke up again, explaining:

【The key plot point arrives after summer break. Li Zhuo is still looking forward to that coming-of-age ceremony his parents once casually promised. In reality, they’ve long forgotten. One might even say, his anticipation is destined to crash that day.】

【In the original work, Li Zhuo spent over a year at Experimental High School constantly fixated on this. That’s why learning the truth hit him so hard, leading to the banquet fiasco, then later in a dazed stupor, an accidental drowning death.】

【At that time, he had zero friends, no one to talk to. Letting him make a few friends his age appropriately, divert his attention a bit, might help.】

【In my last mission, the mission target’s friends were a huge help…】

【Humans are just complex organisms like that. You can’t just provide sufficient food and a temperature-appropriate dwelling and make him happy and fulfilled. They need high spiritual fulfillment and self-worth…】

【That method you were thinking of before definitely won’t work. I have failure case studies in my records…】

The system rambled on and on about the specific benefits of this approach, when Mo Liang suddenly interjected:

【Are all systems like you?】

【Of course not. I’m a high-level system, installed with an emotion template, very high simulative thinking. That’s why I can converse with you like this…】

【Different systems have different purposes and core templates. There are ones specifically for energy collection, those have the highest returns…】

【There’s an Observer-type system, no guidance module installed, doesn’t need to collect energy, won’t intervene with the Host in any way, just responsible for recording. Generally used for material gathering…】

【There’s also a Testing-type system, no Host, designed to collect more emotional variations to optimize emotion templates. These systems get their memories wiped and are placed into simulated worlds, experiencing all of life’s flavors as humans…】

【And then there’s…】

Mo Liang wasn’t interested in what types of Light Orbs existed or their specific differences. He was watching his child intently.

Though Li Zhuo’s face didn’t show any particularly obvious joy, when he taught other students, his micro-expressions and internal hormone levels did indeed spike.

Though he didn’t understand, though in his heart he still wished the whole world dead, leaving only him and Li Zhuo, seeing his child happy truly made Mo Liang happy too.

His child truly had many untapped talents. First, he learned things very quickly. Second, his temperament was quiet. Third, he also had very strong adaptability.

And he had such a soft, pure heart!

Timing things out, the poor, adorable child had already led a few camp staff members in circles around his route several times. It was probably time to let this diligent child find the clean water source he was looking for.

Although, by Mo Liang’s thinking, he didn’t want his child to work so hard, wanted to simply place everything he desired into his hands. But the system said that would be too fake.

Before, Mo Liang was not one to patiently listen to advice. He would just brutally crush anyone he disliked, considering spending even an extra second an extravagance. But now he had to consider more.

Everything for the child’s growth.