Chapter 123
With the crowing of roosters, the sun rose in the east. The sky and sea were dyed a vivid orange-red, golden waves glimmering in the morning light, as a few fishing boats rocked with the wind and waves.
The fishermen of Sansheng Island took advantage of the typhoon not yet arriving and went out to sea. The scavenger team, who had stayed up all night, rubbed their eyes and left the rocks. The dungeon had been completed, the boss’s obsession dissipated—it would not reappear.
The group boarded the ferry to Xia City amidst the astonished gazes of the islanders. Once they reached the shore and reported to their superior, they were dismissed.
Not that they truly disbanded. Jiang Jitang alone said he had other matters, while the others prepared to go nearby for a drink and to strengthen bonds.
Still, Jiang Jitang had been added to their group chat.
After bidding them farewell, he yawned and entered a nearby breakfast shop, ordering two pan-fried buns and a bottle of hot milk.
Immediately after leaving the dungeon, he returned to normal—relaxed, casual, indistinguishable from any passerby.
He had never suffered from the problem of “confusing reality and illusion.”
The system informed him that while they had been on the task last night, the Magical Beast’s Peach Blossom Village had received its first batch of injured beasts. Here, they were carefully cared for, fed delicious food, and soothed in the hot springs.
All the Magical Beasts left small dolls in the food house.
‘They must be seriously disappointed in reality and their current masters,’ Jiang Jitang thought.
Examining the dolls, he saw five, roughly the size of a keychain. Two were furry, two made of leather, and one was full of sharp angles.
Though different in appearance, all were aesthetically pleasing to humans.
Astounding—beautiful Magical Beasts, and yet someone would dislike them?
“Earlier this morning, a large group of players came to try and earn a doll’s approval. But no one has managed to take one from the shelf so far.”
Only injured Magical Beasts entered Peach Blossom Village. Even their shadows would not be easily swayed by fickle humans.
“They’ll have to try harder. By the way, system, any mini-games lately?”
[There have been targeted updates within the Cube World. Taskers are not recommended to enter dungeons in the next two days.]
Jiang Jitang straightened: “Targeting me? No way, I only saved a few situations—nothing that powerful.”
“The taskers haven’t, but the system has.” The system’s words appeared calmly.
…Not wrong. The system indeed had the power to repel the Cube World.
External Aid was trivial; look at the current special-effect food—just level two, yet it boosted the survival rate of players from the C-Nation. Who knew what better items might appear later?
“Any countermeasures?”
“The system has undergone targeted updates as well.”
High magic meets high strategy. Jiang Jitang trusted the system completely and did not ask about mini-games further.
“What is the task in the Savage Realm?” He shifted to inquire about the new world.
“Host not resting?”
“On the way back, I’ll buy a sleeper train berth and catch some sleep. No problem.” Once he grew stronger, the system benefited too—no need to fear the Cube World.
Although he suspected both the Cube World and the system might transcend the Blue Star civilization’s dimension, and there might be connections unknown to him, their positions were aligned for now. He focused on the present.
He didn’t voice this aloud, yawned again, and drank his hot milk, dispelling the morning chill from the sea breeze. “A few hours home—just enough to study the task details.”
The system, seeing an eager tasker, naturally did not block him.
“Before announcing the tasks, there is one note for the host: Due to the technological gap between the Savage Realm and Blue Star, unrestricted trade could cause imbalanced development. Therefore, all task-provided items will have certain limitations.”
Jiang Jitang had a bad premonition.
As expected, the system continued: “All items provided by taskers must be technology that existed before 1000 BCE. Improvements are allowed, but nothing developed after 1000 BCE is permitted.”
“…Seriously? Qin Shi Huang unified C-Nation only around 200 BCE. 1000 BCE? That’s right after the Shang dynasty fell.”
“You’ve given me a tough challenge,” he muttered.
“I believe the host can complete tasks under these restrictions. The realm contains abundant high-quality resources, which can also act as currency. Values will be balanced using the two worlds’ price systems, giving the host considerable profit potential.”
“Don’t test me,” Jiang Jitang said, still groggy but calm. “A primitive tribe struggles even to gather survival materials—how could they extract these resources?”
“You’ll know the details upon completing the task.”
Mysterious—but considering the system rarely exaggerated, the Savage Realm must have something special.
With a carrot dangling ahead, Jiang Jitang couldn’t refuse: “Announce the tasks.”
[Task 1: Prepare daily necessities for “Feng” to live independently, budget 160,000 yuan, or one 300-year-old golden-thread nanmu tree. Notes: best to include bone-working tools and some pottery. (Difficulty: ?, countdown: 227:41:33)
Task 2: Prepare a bowl of meat soup for “Man,” budget 1,800 yuan, or a bag of natural seawater pearls. Notes: requires fish and meat. (Difficulty: ???, countdown: 22:57:15)
Task 3: Prepare a gift for a child for “Ye,” budget 3,800 yuan, or a small tooth dagger. Notes: must be child-friendly. (Difficulty: ??, countdown: 243:16:32)]
“The first task is just daily necessities? No need to build a small hut or anything? I have experience with that.”
How many items, and they want a 300-year-old nanmu tree?
Previously, the Sala Tribe migrated 500+ people with 170,000. Now, just for daily items, 160,000.
No wonder it was only a single-star difficulty—barely a challenge.
The other two tasks were similar; even without details, he could guess their general requirements.
This world seemed generous.
“The provided funds are clearly for items Blue Star humans value. System, love you~” Jiang Jitang shamelessly sent a small heart.
The system remained silent. It would suggest items, like nonessential yet valuable things on Blue Star—a win-win.
“Wait, a golden-thread nanmu tree? A living tree, not just timber?” Jiang Jitang examined the task currency details.
Indeed, a living tree with leaves and roots.
“System, live tree, no problem?”
“Handled. Can propagate normally on Blue Star.” The system answered calmly.
“System, live tree!” Not allowed in the Magical Beast world—but allowed in the Savage Realm?
“The Savage Realm and Blue Star share the same origins. The system only provides items still existing or extinct, permitting live-item trade.”
The revelation stunned Jiang Jitang.
He didn’t care about genetic contamination—get it first, consult experts later.
Now fully awake, he accepted all tasks, requesting the funds be provided as materials.
A flourishing nanmu tree, a bag of perfect seawater pearls, and a rough dagger made from unknown beast teeth appeared in his backpack.
His gaze was drawn entirely to the magnificent tree. After admiring it, he opened the first task to check details.
“Feng” was a member of a mountain tribe, who would leave the clan upon adulthood.
He could wander or join another clan, forming a family and becoming part of it.
For special reasons, he chose the second. Now sixteen, he was about to live in a new tribe.
“Matriarchal walking marriage?” Jiang Jitang wondered. He didn’t know much about this.
The system explained:
“Humans here differ from Blue Star’s path. They draw power from totems, which also divide fate.
“People with the same totem gather, forming stronger power. Those with different totems leave the tribe.”
Jiang Jitang stroked his chin: “So it’s the totem, not gender, that decides whether one stays?”
“Totem power ensures women are not weakened by childbirth. Gender has no essential difference.
“However, other biases exist: totem hierarchies—combat totems dominate support totems, carnivorous totems dominate herbivorous. Yet bulls and elephants remain powerful in the grasslands.”
“What tribe is Feng from?” he asked.
System paused two seconds: “Please study task details carefully, don’t skip.”
Still, it explained: “Feng’s totem comes from his mother’s tribe, the lynx; his original tribe is rabbit. Hence, he marries out.
“Marrying out has benefits: entering a stronger tribe enables upward mobility. The tribe Feng enters is stronger than his birth tribe. Bringing personal items, the tribe will hold a wedding, inviting others.”
“So the effort is for personal items?” Jiang Jitang was surprised.
“Ambitious men need support. Similarly, high-marriage women need private property. Feng’s nanmu tree comes from his clan—he must thrive in the new tribe.” The system noted competition and material balance.
“I understand.” Like high-marriage women needing property, high-marriage men need “living support”—human nature.
160,000 is essentially a dowry.
Now it seemed reasonable—a lifetime matter, perhaps.
“For this brother’s high-marriage, I’ll fully assemble the dowry!”
System: …Not necessary to go that far.
Jiang Jitang noted the dowry, then paused to study the first task in detail. He opened the second task. With less than a day and three-star difficulty, it was top priority.
The task simply said to provide a bowl of meat soup—80 units enough for a pot. But details revealed complexity.
A small tribe with an otter totem had recently been raided by nomadic totem-less humans.
Humans here had totems from birth; only in cases of cannibalism did they lose theirs.
These were cannibals.
Cannibals lacked totem power but were numerous and violent.
The small tribe suffered heavy losses, and their gathering area was unsafe. They fled to a sister tribe with the same otter totem.
The chieftain intended to accept them immediately, but prior conflicts and splits meant a test was necessary to justify integration.
The test revolved around the meat soup.
Otter-worshipping villagers lived by the sea, eating fish, shellfish, crustaceans, seaweed, and seabirds. Occasionally, they exchanged salt for starchy foods.
Yet some tribe members didn’t know how to eat fish properly, often choking on bones—sometimes fatally.
Hence, the chieftain’s challenge:
Catch fish and birds, cook in seawater, meat without bones, fish without bones, suitable for all ages.
The task silenced previously critical tribe members, who began contemplating if they had offended the chieftain. A test of this difficulty clearly aimed to rigorously expel the intruders—the chieftain held grudges.
The arriving small tribe despaired, seeing no hope.
A modern person might solve this quickly—intelligence wasn’t key, but experience was.
Humans today constantly absorb miscellaneous knowledge, unconsciously filling gaps in memory, recalling solutions unexpectedly.
Modern humans are knowledge treasure troves; only, the treasures are scattered and hidden.
But taskers were genuine Savage Realm natives.
