Chapter 111: Found a Shortcut to Upgrade the Space
Chapter 111: Found a Shortcut to Upgrade the Space
Chapter 111: Chapter 111: Found a Shortcut to Upgrade the Space
The Collection Area is a safe zone established by the Empire, where warriors regularly drive out dangerous prey.
Because of this, anyone could enter whenever they pleased. Upon returning to the city, they just had to pay a tax of ten percent of their gathered food in coins.
Feng Si followed a well-trodden path, her pace steady as the view ahead grew clearer.
Golden and green waves rippled with the gentle breeze. The golden stalks stood calf-high, and nestled between long, needle-like leaves, plump heads bristling with awns bent in a slight arc.
An entire field of golden yellow—it was wheat!
Feng Si’s eyes went wide, and she let out a delighted cheer.
Goodness knows, ever since she arrived here...
...when it came to food...
...enjoyment was out of the question. At least, not when it came to delicious food.
She remembered her first meal after transmigrating, the one at Feng Lun’s place.
Some unknown grain had been ground into a grayish-yellow powder, mixed with water, and kneaded into dough. It was then pulled into little balls and stewed with some unidentifiable meat. Taking a bite... the meat was full of splinters, and that was about it.
Everyone else was wolfing their food down. Feng Si, holding her own portion, had just frowned, thinking, ’Forgive me.’
’Having tasted the delicacies of the modern world, my appetite for my first stew in the Beast World is just a little lacking.’
And so, her appetite had remained poor until now. For months, she had been forced to make meat her staple food most of the time.
But now, a familiar staple food! An entire field of it, right before her eyes.
Feng Si was so happy, she was practically drooling.
"Outdoor temperature detected to exceed 22 degrees Celsius. Please do not remain stationary outdoors." The f22’s square screen lit up with the weather report as it issued the verbal warning.
"Alright, leave the bamboo basket and go find me a shady spot with some water. I’ll wait for you here."
Feng Si turned to the robot butler that had been following her, immediately sending him far away so she could start packing the wheat into her spatial storage.
After the robot obediently set down the bamboo basket and walked away, Feng Si stood at the edge of the valley. Gazing at the sea of wheat that stretched as far as the eye could see, ambition flared within her, and she clenched her fist in determination.
’This entire field of wheat... I’m taking it all!’
Feng Si happily took a Bone Knife from her spatial storage. She put the bamboo basket into the space, then took out a sash and tied it tightly around her waist, followed by another one below it.
First, she secured the pocket holding the sleeping Yun Duo to prevent her clothes from shifting too much when she squatted, which might wake her precious baby.
Just then, the sleeping Yun Chi’s lips curled into a smile, as if he could feel his mother’s happiness in his sleep and was having a sweet dream himself.
Feng Si rolled up her sleeves, took a rubber band from her storage to tie the cuffs tight, and gripped the Bone Knife. Her slender arms, exposed to the sunlight, were so fair they were almost translucent—not at all the arms of someone used to farm work.
In reality, Feng Si, carrying her cub, knelt on one knee, her back kept straight because of the baby.
With one hand, she grabbed a bundle of wheat stalks and pressed them down, bending them taut to the perfect angle. With the other hand, she cleanly and efficiently sliced through the stalks.
The next second, the handful of wheat vanished from her grasp, placed inside her spatial storage.
At the same time, a long-awaited notification suddenly appeared in her mind:
[Collected 572 Dust Breath. Collection experience has reached Level 10. Space expanded to 20 square meters.]
Feng Si froze on the spot, stunned.
Her space, which had been the size of a ten-square-meter bedroom and hadn’t changed throughout the long rainy and cold seasons, had suddenly doubled in size.
’Well... that’s a pleasant surprise.’
Feng Si looked down at the wheat in her hand. A single head of wheat held about 30 to 50 grains.
She had just harvested a handful of wheat...
’One grain of wheat equals one point of Dust Breath! Does that mean Dust Breath is calculated based on plant seeds?’
Feng Si’s eyes instantly lit up.
’I’d been complaining that my space was too small and couldn’t hold much. But now, with this whole field of wheat, isn’t the size of my space entirely up to me?!’
Hard work leads to a full belly. Gripping her Bone Knife, Feng Si grabbed another handful of wheat and continued to harvest.
...
「Inside Boman Gate Island.」
Hu Ya returned home from Feng Lian’s place with a grim expression, feeling as awful as if she’d been slapped in the face by that new female.
’That woman actually left Boman Gate Institute and went to the Collection Area outside the city?’
’Just how bold can a lone female be?’
An idea suddenly occurred to Hu Ya.
’This... is a perfect opportunity to teach her a lesson.’
The more Hu Ya thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
Humming a little tune, she cheerfully retrieved a flower-shaped bracelet from her bedroom and dialed a number. ’If I don’t act now, I might not get another chance.’
"Hey there~ Hasn’t your Original Value already passed 90? I have a great opportunity here, and I thought of you."
"You’re willing to be with me?"
Hu Ya curled her lip in disgust. "An Intermediate Male Beast like you dares to think about me? I’m pointing you toward a golden opportunity; whether you can seize it is up to you. Go to the No.1 Collection Area right now. There’s a big ’gift’ there, all alone and free for the taking."
"...Thanks."
After hanging up the communicator, Hu Ya let out a long sigh of malicious satisfaction, feeling much better.
Then she smashed the communicator to smithereens and threw the pieces into the toilet, flushing them away.
’In any case, it was a burner communicator she had bought before. Whatever happened had nothing to do with her.’
...
After harvesting wheat for a while, Feng Si sat down in the field to rest.
By now, she had collected 530,000 Dust Breath, successfully upgraded to Level 39, and her space had expanded to 78 square meters.
’By that calculation, each level equals two square meters of space.’
In just about an hour, she had gone from a small room to the size of a two-bedroom apartment.
Feng Si was very satisfied with this. She picked up her water bottle and GLUGGED it down, then lifted her cloak and pulled open the pocket to look down at Yun Duo.
Experiencing the warm sunlight outdoors for the first time, Yun Duo was sleeping soundly.
His little chest rose and fell with each breath. Yun Duo’s head was nestled deep in the pocket, his four little black paws pressed against the fabric as if yearning for the warmth outside.
It was Yun Chi’s usual nap time. He was still just a baby, and even with his abundant energy, he needed to sleep for 20 hours a day.
Factoring in feeding times, Yun Duo’s awake and playful period was only about an hour long. Feng Si knew her cub like the back of her hand.
Watching the little guy sleeping so soundly, Feng Si’s heart melted with tenderness.
Just then, near the forest bordering the Collection Area, the tall trees began to tremble slightly, as if... some large creature was moving toward the wheat field in the valley.
A sense of danger welled up from the bottom of her heart.
’I’m wearing a cloak right now. As long as I don’t take it off, anyone who sees me here will probably assume I’m a sub-female, right?’
Feng Si looked down. To be safe, she immediately fastened the three buttons above the pocket to prevent her cub’s scent from leaking out. She then took a piece of cloth from her storage and wrapped it around her waist, covering the pocket area.