Chapter 2
Unbeknownst to all of this, Nemo, the little creature, was so hungry he was almost dozing off. The aroma of the milk in the distance became increasingly enticing.
From Nemo’s perspective, he had been mysteriously summoned to a completely unfamiliar place. He couldn’t see Lin Ran’s form, but he could vaguely sense a large giant’s presence. Perhaps it was some kind of terrifying monster.
Nemo waited tensely for a long time, but the surroundings remained silent except for the wind and rustling leaves. This gradually made the little creature waver. Finally, before sunset, it cautiously approached the bowl of milk, tilting its head and scrutinizing it for a while.
“Cheep.” It took a tentative lick.
The white milk instantly moistened a patch of its black fur. But the little creature, having tasted the milk, forgot all caution and lapped it up eagerly, even choking a few times and letting out several “Cheeps!”
As the cub drank, a short, fluffy tail hidden behind it became visible, wagging excitedly with each lap.
The next morning, with the semester officially over and summer vacation beginning, Lin Ran bid farewell to his roommates and embarked on his journey home. As he moved further away from the city center, the scenery gradually transformed into a rural landscape.
Although his hometown village was somewhat remote, the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. A babbling brook flowed gently, and after crossing the old wooden bridge over it, he could already smell the comforting aroma of home-cooked meals.
His grandmother, Huang Guiying, had been renowned for her cooking skills in her youth. Unfortunately, a fall while picking vegetables in the mountains had injured her leg, and she rarely ventured out anymore.
“Lin-zai, you’re back! Are your exams finished?” As soon as she heard the commotion outside, Grandma came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands to greet Lin Ran.
“Finished a while ago. Are Grandpa and Uncle still at the peach orchard?” Lin Ran helped his grandmother back inside, where a watermelon, chilled in well water, awaited them on the table.
“They went to the city this morning to discuss selling the peaches. People still find this place too remote, not very willing to come and collect the goods. They’ll probably be back in a week or two.” Grandma grumbled about the situation.
Their peaches were known for their thin skin, soft flesh, and juicy sweetness, a dream peach for many. Unfortunately, due to the poor road conditions, the transportation costs for selling them further afield were too high. Selling locally didn’t fetch a good price either, and after a year of hard work, they usually only managed to break even.
Worried about Lin Ran fretting, Grandma quickly added, “If all else fails, we’ll ask your Uncle Changyue for help again this year. He’s a big businessman with lots of connections.”
“Uncle Changyue?” Lin Ran echoed, his tone slightly raised.
Jiang Changyue was a legendary figure in Jiangjia Village, his ancestors among the first to venture into business and prosper. He was undoubtedly the richest man in the village. Unfortunately, after the family fortune passed down to him, every investment he made turned into a loss. He seemed shrewd but was ultimately clueless in business.
After several failed investments, Jiang Changyue settled down, becoming the village’s recognized miser. Would he really be so kind as to help with the peaches?
“Well, let him earn a little something…” Grandma knew the reason behind Jiang Changyue’s potential help might not be so simple, but it was better than letting the peaches rot in the fields.
Lin Ran pondered for a moment but didn’t say anything, unpacking his luggage from school. It wasn’t until evening that he had time to check his phone.
He wondered if the little black fluffy ball had come out yet.
To his surprise, as soon as he logged in, he discovered that the bowl of milk he had left out last night was empty! Zooming in on the screen to confirm, he saw that even the bottom of the bowl had been licked clean.
[Game Log]
[The cub drank your Milk x1. Wariness -5. Current wariness: 75]
“It drank the milk, and its wariness decreased.” Lin Ran chuckled, reading the game log. It was a pity he hadn’t seen the little creature sneaking out to drink the milk. Such a big bowl, the fluffy ball must have fallen right into it. Just imagining the scene was adorable.
His gaze fell upon the dark bramble patch in the distance, wondering if the little creature was hiding there. After all, in the currently accessible game map, besides a simple wooden starter house, only that dark, thorny thicket seemed like a suitable hiding place.
As he stared, a new prompt appeared:
[Explore “West Side Woods” now?][Yes][No]
After a few seconds of thought, Lin Ran chose [No]. Although he was curious, the cub’s wariness was still at 75. Forcefully dragging it out might worsen the situation.
Just after he made his choice, a new message popped up:
[Because you looked away, the cub secretly observing you breathed a sigh of relief: The unknown being didn’t fly into a rage and grab it for stealing the food.] [Wariness -5, currently 70]
“It was meant for you; there’s no need to steal it.” Lin Ran smiled, unconsciously resting his chin on his hand as he murmured to the screen. He felt that besides the superb graphics, the game’s interactive storyline was also quite charming.
Since offering milk proved effective, Lin Ran decided to leave a bowl out every day for the little creature. He wondered when the little one would finally show itself.
While Lin Ran was curious, the little creature hiding in the bushes trembled.
“Cheep?” It seemed to understand Lin Ran’s murmur.
However, it didn’t dare move, only shrinking further into the corner of the thicket. It continued to watch Lin Ran secretly, until he logged off.
From the cub’s perspective, although it couldn’t see Lin Ran’s form, it could vaguely sense the unknown being’s presence and actions. It could also hear Lin Ran’s voice. Strangely, it was a pleasant voice, unlike the hoarse, terrifying voices of most monsters in the game.
So, for the next few days, Lin Ran placed a bowl of milk on the lawn every day. The next day, upon logging in, he would find the previous day’s milk completely gone. The little creature hadn’t wasted a drop, drinking it all dutifully.
Although they hadn’t met again, a special understanding seemed to develop between them. The cub’s wariness steadily decreased to 20.
However, what worried Lin Ran was that the seventh day was approaching, and the decrease in wariness was slowing down, settling at 10 points and refusing to go lower. Would he fail the mission, just 10 points short?
That day, after Lin Ran finished his daily tasks, placed the milk, and logged off, there was immediate movement in the bushes. The little creature, with its large, round eyes, looked at the new bowl of milk. Having secretly drunk for several days, no matter how wary, it had come to believe that this daily replenished bowl of milk was indeed meant for it.
Even so, the little creature still flapped its wings and dragged a coconut-shell-like container it had found out of the bushes. It stumbled towards the milk bowl, carefully drank the slightly spoiled milk stored in the shell from the previous day, and then nudged the new bowl with its body, pouring the fresh milk into the shell to save it.
Though just a cub, it displayed a frugal and cautious demeanor, like a tiny adult.
Offline, Lin Ran had been busy for the past few days, visiting the peach orchard several times. Just as he sat down for a drink of water, Grandma brought him a slice of watermelon: “Lin-zai, other kids are going out to play during summer vacation. Why don’t you go out and have some fun too?”
But Lin Ran, after settling down, proposed an idea he’d been mulling over: “Grandma, I was thinking I could borrow a car and take a load of peaches to the city to sell.”
Selling the peaches directly would fetch a much better price. His only concern was his peculiar bad luck. If his earnings were too high, would something unfortunate happen again? Though it seemed a bit overly cautious, as the chances of selling out were slim.
“That won’t do, a university student selling peaches…” Grandma was immediately flustered.
“What? Lin-zai is selling peaches this year! Why didn’t you call me? I’ll help carry them!” Just then, a young man’s voice called out from the courtyard gate.
“Oh, it’s that A-Jie boy coming to play with you.” Grandma recognized the voice instantly.
The young man, Jiang Jie, was also quite famous in the village, though his reputation wasn’t exactly stellar. Jiang Jie had been an average student and a typical “trendy youth,” always sporting tight black pants that exposed his ankles and a pair of flip-flops, looking like he was ready to break into a dance at any moment.
However, Jiang Jie was handsome, and even his somewhat unconventional attire gave him a roguishly charming look, making him the leader of his group of friends.
Theoretically, A-Jie and Lin Ran wouldn’t have much in common, but after Lin Ran helped clear A-Jie’s name in a cheating incident back in elementary school, A-Jie and his friends had treated Lin Ran as their lifelong “brother.” If they pooled their money to buy a single cup of milk tea, Lin Ran always got the first sip.
Although Lin Ran usually declined… He felt it was a bit cruel; the drink wasn’t even enough for the seven or eight of them.
“Uh, wouldn’t that be too much trouble…” Lin Ran blinked, touched but surprised by the unexpected help.
“We’re brothers! Besides, Lin-zai, you got into S University, selling peaches should be a piece of cake!” Jiang Jie himself didn’t like studying, but having listened to his father, he greatly admired those who did well academically. He had absolute faith in Lin Ran’s ability to sell the peaches, munching on the watermelon Grandma offered.
“It’s great that you two are going together. I’ll get that box of milk for you to take along. Your grandpa got it as payment for a job he did; they said it’s a very expensive brand.” Grandma smiled, her wrinkles deepening, as she went inside to fetch the milk.
The milk… milk!?
Lin Ran, after a long day, suddenly realized he had forgotten something extremely important.
He had forgotten to log in and feed the cub its daily milk! He was almost ten minutes late.
He hurriedly opened the “Demon World” app.
This seemingly insignificant act caused Lin Ran’s eyes to widen slightly as he looked at the center of the screen.
“Cheep… Cheep!” The little black fluffy ball he had been thinking about was lying sadly by the empty milk bowl, seemingly trying to confirm that there was indeed no new milk today.
Lin Ran’s sudden appearance startled the little creature, making its fur puff up. It froze for a moment before instinctively grabbing the fruit shell behind it and trying to fly away.
“Hey…” Lin Ran wanted to help but was afraid of scaring it further.
Before he could react, disaster struck. The cub was already an unsteady flier, and with the added weight of the shell, it panicked. The bottom of the shell hit a protruding rock, sending both cub and shell tumbling onto the grass.
Not only did the shell land upside down on the cub, but the saved milk inside also spilled all over.
“Is that… leftover milk from previous days?” Lin Ran realized the liquid spilling from the overturned shell was slightly spoiled, seemingly the saved milk from previous days.
Little one, that’s like having good fruit at home but not eating it, saving it until it goes bad, and then eating all the rotten fruit! O皿O
