Chapter 8
Lin Ran, unaware of what happened after he fell asleep, woke up to find himself slumped over his phone. He had dreamt of entering the game and collecting thorn grass with Sootball. What a strange dream.
“Hiss…” As he sat up, a sharp pain shot through his arm. He saw faint scratches, identical to the ones he received in his dream.
Staring at them, he quickly checked his phone. Sure enough, the daily task was marked as complete, and 400 gold coins were in his wallet. Sootball was nowhere to be seen.
Checking the game log, he found a single entry: [Cub is out exploring…].
It could go on adventures? So, it wasn’t a dream after all? What happened in the game affected him in reality?
Recalling the system’s warning to “control risks,” he understood why. Double rewards meant double danger. If he died in the game, wouldn’t he be seriously injured in real life?
“Lin-zai— Time to sell peaches!” Jiang Jie’s voice called from downstairs, pulling him from his thoughts.
Since their last success, selling peaches had become part of their summer routine. This time, Jiang Jie had even borrowed a larger tricycle, doubling their capacity.
“Have some snacks if you get hungry on the road. Be safe!” Grandma packed lunchboxes for both of them.
“Okay, we’re off!”
Unable to make sense of the game, Lin Ran focused on the task at hand. A responsible parent had to work hard to provide for their cub, even though the game hadn’t introduced any microtransactions yet.
He also noticed the absence of the halo. Would anything be different this time?
Half an hour later, the sky darkened ominously. Dragonflies flew low over the fields; a storm was brewing.
“Lin-zai, what’s going on? The forecast said it would be sunny!” Jiang Jie exclaimed, noticing the change in weather.
Lin Ran frowned, looking at the sky. “Let’s find shelter. The peaches will spoil if they get wet.”
This kind of misfortune was all too familiar to Lin Ran. He was used to bad luck and had learned to minimize losses. Could the game’s halo really be responsible for his recent good fortune?
As the downpour started, the streets emptied, and there were no customers in sight. Lin Ran and Jiang Jie covered the peaches with plastic sheeting and huddled under a building’s awning, watching the rain.
Lin Ran, though not bothered himself, worried about discouraging Jiang Jie. Selling peaches wouldn’t always be smooth sailing, and A-Jie was being dragged into his bad luck.
“Abandon, abandon, abandon…” Suddenly, Jiang Jie pulled out a vocabulary booklet and started chanting, making Lin Ran pause.
Noticing his look, Jiang Jie explained, “Well, you told me to take the civil service exam, so my family and I looked into it. Turns out I need to graduate, and to graduate, I need to pass the CET-4. So, I’m memorizing vocabulary!”
Lin Ran, initially concerned, burst out laughing. Although his good luck had temporarily vanished, the Time Mirror seemed to have genuinely impacted Jiang Jie.
“Stop laughing! I can’t concentrate if you laugh,” Jiang Jie, usually hiding his studying from his friends, only dared to be open about it with Lin Ran. Seeing him laugh, however, he couldn’t help but chuckle too. He had been worried about Lin-zai feeling down. But the sudden rain wasn’t his fault.
Lin Ran, smiling, checked his phone, wondering where Sootball was adventuring.
Deep within the mysterious forest, perfectly camouflaged among the shadows, Sootball sniffed the air, his gaze fixed on a dark pool of water. He smelled something good. But strangely, he didn’t sense any powerful demons nearby. Usually, valuable treasures born from demonic energy were guarded by formidable demons. But this place was empty, like an unguarded, ancient treasure vault.
Even ordinary animals were absent; the forest was eerily silent.
“Cheep…” Sootball hesitated, then looked at a large, golden demonic tree in the center of the pool. Its fruits shimmered, surrounded by a hazy demonic aura. Even from afar, he could sense their potent magic.
He cautiously approached, the silence unbroken.
“Cheep!” He flapped his wings and glided to the center of the pool, landing on the tree. Confirming there was no danger, he bit a branch and shook it.
With a snap, he grabbed the branch with three fruits and flew away. In his heightened state of alertness, he hadn’t realized he had used his wings with full force and successfully accomplished his goal.
[Beep—Main Quest: Flight Training (1) complete!]
[Reward: Moon Goddess Halo extended by 48H!]
[Cub’s adventure (passively triggered) has ended. Sootball is exhausted and has fallen into a deep sleep.]
Lin Ran’s phone chimed with a notification from “Demon World.” Not only had a cub quest been completed, but Sootball had also returned from its adventure. He instinctively tried to open the game, but Immersive Mode was still cooling down.
However, in the regular 2D interface, a chibi version of himself stood in front of the house. Sootball was asleep in the basket, its little body rising and falling with each breath, clutching the milk bottle Lin Ran had given it. It was covered in leaves and dust from its adventure.
Lin Ran gently brushed the leaves away, watching the scene on his phone, his heart melting.
“What are these round things?” He noticed a few golden fruits on the table beside Sootball.
Clicking “Inspect,” the game displayed: [This is a gift from the cub.]
Lin Ran: ?
[Congratulations! You have received: Demon World Special Grade Golden Spirit Fruit x3] [S-Rank Item]
[Item Description: Apply the crushed pulp to wounds to heal any injury. A magical fruit rumored to grow only in the Demon King’s abyssal territory.]
Reading the description, Lin Ran had a hunch. Could Sootball have found these for his scratches? But the mention of the Demon King’s abyssal territory sounded ominous, like a high-level area for late-game bosses. How could Sootball, in the beginner area, find such a thing?
Searching the game help only yielded a vague explanation: [With increased affection, the cub has a chance to explore and bring back items as gifts.]
So, Sootball could go on adventures even when he wasn’t playing?
How touching! T.T His cub was too adorable!
Driven by curiosity, he clicked on a fruit and selected “Use.” The chibi version of himself on the screen crushed the fruit and applied it to his wounds, which instantly disappeared. In the real world, Lin Ran felt a strange warmth on his arm.
He rolled up his sleeve to examine the bandage he had applied that morning.
“Whoa, Lin-zai, what’s with the bandage? Are you injured? Huh… it’s… completely healed?” Jiang Jie, noticing his actions, looked over, his initial concern turning to bewilderment. There was no wound under the bandage! Lin Ran’s skin looked smoother, even the slight sunburn from the previous day was gone.
As expected. Lin Ran confirmed his suspicion: the game could affect reality. But perhaps because the Time Mirror was even more unbelievable, he was becoming desensitized to the strangeness. Maybe it was some kind of magic.
However, he knew he shouldn’t reveal the game’s secrets to anyone, even family or close friends. Who knew what they might do with it.
“The rain has stopped, A-Jie,” he said, looking up to see the sky clearing just before lunchtime, a few customers appearing on the street.
“Wow, it really stopped! Summer rain comes and goes quickly. Our delicious peaches will definitely sell fast!” Jiang Jie, his attention diverted, clapped his hands, eager to get back to work.
Just then, Mr. Lei Hong drove up on his scooter.
“Aha! Speaking of the devil! Young man, I’ve been looking for you two. Finally decided to sell peaches again, huh?” It was the same Mr. Lei Hong, the school’s purchasing manager, their lucky charm.
“Uncle Lei, how many boxes do you want this time?” Lin Ran quickly removed the plastic sheeting, ready to unload the peaches.
“Heh, the students and teachers loved the peaches last time. They’ve been asking for more. Everyone who tried them loved them, and they’ve all been waiting for you to come back!”
“I wasn’t planning on coming out in the rain, but it just cleared up. And here you are. Same as last time, I’ll take them all!” Mr. Lei Hong declared generously.
“Alright, Uncle, we’ll load them up for you,” Jiang Jie, overjoyed, stuffed his vocabulary booklet into his pocket and joined Lin Ran in unloading the peaches.
“Are these homegrown? Do you have a peach orchard? College students helping out during the summer?” Mr. Lei Hong asked, noticing the vocabulary book in Jiang Jie’s hand and looking at Lin Ran.
“Yes, we have a peach orchard. Freshly picked and sold,” Lin Ran replied, sensing a possibility.
“That’s right, Uncle! Lin-zai, my good brother, a genuine S University student!” Jiang Jie excitedly started talking, only to be stopped by Lin Ran’s embarrassed hand.
“S University? That’s a top school!” Even for the best local high school, getting into S University was a rare achievement. Mr. Lei Hong’s gaze changed, filled with respect. Good students, hardworking, helping their family during the summer break…
“Young man, our school cafeteria would like to purchase peaches from your orchard regularly. Could you discuss this with your family?”
“No way—I’m buying all these peaches! Double the price, name it!” A familiar sports car screeched to a halt.
“Woof!” The Doberman poked its head out the window, wagging its tail excitedly at Lin Ran.
“Louis?” Lin Ran recognized the car and the dog from the red light encounter.
Shao Zi Jue, stepping out of the car, stared in shock. “How do you know my dog’s name?” And this little vendor was really good-looking, no wonder Abyss was so fixated on him.
Despite his surprise, he quickly opened the trunk, ready to grab the peaches. He had a mission; if he failed, who knew what that little flame sprite would do to his villa.
“Whoa, Lin-zai, look! Such a fancy car! The trunk opens from the front! It can hold way more than our tricycle…” Jiang Jie was mesmerized by the cool sports car.
“Hey, young man, you can’t just buy all the peaches because you’re rich! There’s a queue!” Mr. Lei Hong protested indignantly.
“Uh, wait a minute…” Lin Ran was stunned. One moment his peaches were going unsold, the next, there was a bidding war.
The scene quickly drew a crowd, some even recording videos. A handsome young vendor, a flashy sports car owner, and a street brawl over peaches… it was quite a spectacle. Just how delicious were these peaches?
