Dream Delivery System: My Delivery Jobs Keep Changing History – CH142

Chapter 142

The jungle was full of insects: caterpillars hanging from branches, blood-sucking bugs on the ground. Jiang Jitang, wearing protective clothing, was safe, but the others weren’t—they were quickly affected as the exposed skin reacted.

Primitive venomous insects were formidable; one bite caused a rash, and everyone got stung.

Yet the people didn’t mind at all. Some were even excited at not encountering wild beasts.

It was normal not to see beasts—Jiang Jitang had brought ferocious animal hair to ward them off. Leading the way with the system’s guidance, they reached their destination in very little time.

“Mama!” The child ran to his mother, but the others first noticed the snake and frantically stopped him, warning him about it.

“The snake has been killed. Tuo took care of the one that killed her before she died.”

Hearing this, they let the child go, allowing him one last embrace with his mother, crying freely.

The others started looking for the rations Tuo had gathered: hairy chestnuts.

Exclamations of joy arose as they found the forest floor covered with these fuzzy little balls, each containing the food they needed.

The tribe chief was overjoyed and announced that the chestnuts collected today belonged to individuals, but starting tomorrow, they would be communal property—a combination of public and private ownership.

Everyone cheered, taking out pouches to collect chestnuts. Jiang Jitang joined them but didn’t compete; he went further, using a large sack to gather more chestnuts.

Of course, he had no intention of bringing them back—he saw the child’s grief and suspected he couldn’t manage to collect the rations anyway. With nothing better to do, he casually picked some up.

The ground chestnuts weren’t enough, so he shook a few down from the trees. Though thin, he was strong—just a shake of each tree was enough to fill the sack.

By the time he returned with a full sack, the tribe chief had already held Tuo’s funeral—digging a pit, placing her body inside, covering it with soil, and completing the rites.

Since Tuo died finding food for the tribe, the chief included her tooth token and a few pottery shards as grave goods. From the expressions of others, it seemed that being buried with offerings in the sacred land was considered a special honor.

Tuo’s child’s eyes were swollen from crying. He placed a few chestnuts on the grave and left with the tribe, as dusk was falling—it was too dangerous to stay.

Jiang Jitang followed. This time, he could finally enter the communal cave. It was large, roughly three levels of space, but crowded, often with several people squeezed into one small nook.

Tuo was one of the few with an independent cave. Now it belonged to her child, though Jiang Jitang wasn’t sure if the child could keep it.

With so many people, eating, drinking, and waste were all inside—the smell was naturally unpleasant. Jiang Jitang didn’t show any discomfort; he poured the sack of chestnuts into the child’s cave.

Turning his back to the others, he took out the wheat seeds and four stone tools (leaving one spear behind).

The child stared in shock but wisely remained silent.

“Did your mother teach you how to plant these grains?”

The child nodded, explaining the process: find a grassy patch of land, preferably near a stream, pull out weeds, plant the seeds in the grass pit, cover with soil, and patiently wait.

“…Primitive, indeed.”

Planting here seemed more like gambling with luck—scatter seeds in spring, hope for a harvest in autumn; luck determines the outcome.

“Pulling roots by hand is tiring. These are your tools. Turn the soil with grass over, remove the grass, plant seeds. Check occasionally: pull weeds, kill insects.”

The child nodded, half-understanding.

“From today, you are an adult.” Jiang patted the child’s shoulder and handed over the ferocious beast hair he had collected, saying, “These will protect you for a while. Grow up strong.”

The cave erupted with joy over the new food. They wanted Jiang Jitang to stay, but he refused.

He stepped outside; it was pitch black, not even a hand’s length visible. The child ran to the cave entrance but only caught a blurred silhouette before darkness swallowed him completely.

At home, Jiang Sujin received a string of overly affectionate messages from her son. She had suspected he was in love, but now saw he was still a child who couldn’t leave home.

“Twenty years old, can’t leave home? Fine then.” She was preparing for a Western chef certification; once obtained, she could return home to open her restaurant—her lifelong dream. She would also meet her son’s new friend.

Meanwhile, Jiang Jitang was preparing his first task: rescuing Lan from the Lion Tribe.

This Lion Tribe was not the same as before; there was no golden-brown-eyed young chief.

This tribe was a small slave kingdom with hereditary leadership. The current chief, a male, was ambitious—claiming divine lineage and marrying his totem-matching sister.

He and his wife ruled separate territories. Besides his wife, he had other women for children, female slaves who could not bear children, and male and female slaves—there were no strict gender restrictions.

Only children of his lion-totem wife could inherit; others had no claim.

The previous chief and his wife had seven children, enough heirs. Now the chief collected attractive men and women for amusement.

Lan, a warrior from another tribe, was detained here for her beauty.

The Lion Tribe controlled a mountain range, a river, and a large plain; tribespeople lived on the plain, while the chief’s family lived in a secured, separate area.

Like a European castle, they dug a canal around the chief’s manor, feeding back into the river. Lan was imprisoned in the underground dungeon, surrounded by crocodiles in the river.

The chief gave him three days: stay or feed the crocodiles. Two days had already passed.

“My task vehicle is level 3, with eight transformation modes: e-scooter, carriage, off-road vehicle, helicopter, double-decker RV, and soon a speedboat.”

Rescue Lan, put her on the speedboat, crash through water obstacles into the river—perfect.

Now, he had to figure out how to rescue Lan, heavily watched, and how to break through sharp wooden stakes in the water.

“Can I attach a full-metal plow blade to the speedboat’s front?”

“If you can ensure it won’t capsize from weight imbalance, go ahead,” the system replied.

He couldn’t, so he abandoned the idea.

Jiang Jitang reviewed the task details for opportunities. He found one:

Every early morning, outsiders delivered fresh food by small boats—vegetables, chickens, ducks, sheep, freshly caught fish, and wild animals.

During that time, soldiers moved the barriers aside. Once the food was delivered and they left, the barriers were reset.

The barriers were dozens of sharpened wooden stakes—heavy, taking over ten minutes to remove and reset. This was his window.

But it posed a challenge: he had to rescue Lan and escape within those minutes.

Lan was guarded by over ten soldiers, skilled in close combat, throwing, and ranged attacks. Without neutralizing them, even a few seconds on the speedboat would risk a hail of arrows and spears.

He wasn’t afraid, but Lan was an ordinary person.

“Wait…my approach is wrong.” Jiang Jitang stroked his chin. “Going alone to rescue Lan is too risky. But kidnapping the chief as a hostage to demand her release? Risk is lower.”

This was the correct way to handle the rescue.

“Do I have any information on the chief?” He knew his close-combat limits—if the chief was strong, he’d need to reconsider who to kidnap.

Otherwise, failing the rescue and getting trapped would be humiliating.

The system provided a brief profile.

The chief had been a brave warrior in youth, fighting alongside his wife while she managed logistics in the rear. Over decades, they expanded the Lion Tribe from a small clan to a large multi-tribe entity.

He had once been a hero and wise ruler, but now he was old.

Age and flattery had dulled his ambition. Like many aging monarchs, he indulged in luxury, expanded his harem, and enjoyed material pleasures. He had dozens of children and was corpulent.

Half the tribe had been conquered by him, and his “divine child” claim maintained loyalty among ministers and half the army.

Considering he and his wife were elderly with heirs, divorce was unlikely—the chief remained authoritative.

This simplified things: there would be no sudden betrayal or assassination attempts while rescuing Lan.

After calculating, Jiang Jitang judged this approach highly feasible and used his shopping funds to prepare the unfortunate soldier’s luggage.

Leaving the Lion Tribe didn’t guarantee safety. Lan had a long escape ahead; she needed food, high-value trade goods, and weapons. The trade goods could be exchanged for food and shelter along the way.

Jiang Jitang bought an antique-style water pouch, a piece of flawed cowhide, a jute cloth, a bag of salt, dried sweet potatoes, and flour.

The water pouch cost 65 yuan, held two jin (1 kg) of water, and had a leather strap for carrying.

The cowhide was made into a crossbody bag, storing packets of salt and secured with a long leather strap.

The salt, wrapped in jute, half a jin per bag, would be useful for survival along the way.

Ten jin of flour, combined with yeast and salt, baked into square loaves. Moisture was low; no sugar, butter, cheese, or soft filling. The bread could be kept at room temperature for several days.

For variety, dried sweet potatoes provided extra energy.

Arranged neatly in front of him were the water pouch, salt bag, bread and sweet potato jute bag. He placed a stone spear beside them, leftover from the previous task.

Baking bread and making the bag took most of the day. Jiang Jitang, not used to working while fatigued, put everything away and prepared to sleep early.

[Strong wish detected; special task updated.]

[Special Task: Assist a team in completing the “Extreme Witch Makeover” game challenge. Participation: five minutes to decide.]

[Task Details: This is a targeted task for aesthetically above-average participants.

Miss Naxi, a clever, beautiful, and wealthy physician, was accused of using evil spells to heal. To determine if she was an evil witch, the king and clergy detained her in her house, planning to drown her at dusk. Survival would indicate evil powers.

Naxi decided to truly become a witch.

The task requires the participant to assist her transformation in the “Extreme Witch Makeover” game. Location: Pasha Town. Duration: 640 minutes. Objective: collect costume items, help Naxi become a real witch.

Each item collected: 10 points. Successfully helping her transform: 300 points. Additional rewards: one Wishing Star and a game souvenir.

Prohibition: Cleanliness.

Failure results in randomly losing a piece of flesh.]