Chapter 25
Feng Wu quickly rescued the little cub who had gotten stuck.
Although the treatment pod’s damaged core could be repaired, the damage had been so thorough, and the internal structure of the core was so delicate and complex, that restoring it to its most perfect state would consume a considerable amount of mental power and ability.
While Feng Wu worked on the repairs, Lin An’an stayed by his side the entire time. Every so often, he would hand over a bottle of blue medicine to help him recover his mental power, so that Feng Wu would not overstimulate himself by overusing it.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly. A few hours later, Feng Wu installed the core back into the treatment pod. The pod, which was large enough for one person to lie inside, let out a little di-li sound, and its dim control screen lit up automatically.
The core had been repaired successfully. Feng Wu removed it again and handed it over to the little cub, who had been waiting with eyes practically stretched out.
The former “lump of metal” had now been restored to its original shape, and even its grimy exterior had been thoughtfully cleaned by Feng Wu. At this point, the core looked as good as new.
Lin An’an took the core and placed it in front of himself, feeling inexplicably nervous.
The treatment pods in this world were almost identical to the ones in the world he used to know. Lin An’an was extremely familiar with the related operations.
Modifying the treatment program in a treatment pod’s core was practically a basic skill every high-level healer had to master.
Feng Wu did not understand these things, but that did not stop him from knowing how difficult the skill was.
Lin An’an glanced at him, then quickly withdrew his gaze, his little beady eyes fixed unblinkingly on the core in front of him.
A moment later, the little cub’s two tiny tentacles suddenly pressed together and started twisting awkwardly around each other.
nervously rubbing hands jpg
Feng Wu sensed his tangled emotions. “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Whether it works or not, just do your best.”
His voice was low and steady, like a dose of calming medicine, instantly settling Lin An’an’s restless and uneasy mood.
The little cub took a deep breath. His tiny tentacles groped around on the core for a moment, and he quickly found the place where the treatment program could be modified.
A gentle pale green light emerged from the tips of his tentacles. The glow lasted for several minutes before ending when the little cub’s ability was finally exhausted.
Lin An’an did not erase the original treatment program. Instead, on top of the existing one, he added a new treatment mode. When used, the pod could now manually switch between two different modes.
Feng Wu reinstalled the core into the treatment pod, then called Si Youlin over and had him lie inside to test it out.
At once, the little cub’s tiny tentacles twisted together again.
Five minutes later, the treatment ended, and the pod door opened automatically.
Si Youlin frowned and carefully sensed the changes for a moment. “It works.”
Lin An’an’s eyes lit up in an instant.
“But the effect is very small, probably…” Si Youlin thought it over carefully. “About the same as one tomato.”
The light in those beady eyes went out with a whoosh.
In the span of only a few seconds, the little cub had experienced such a dramatic rise and fall, his emotions like a roller coaster crashing up and down and down and down.
The healing amount of one tomato… was practically so small it could almost be ignored!
Lin An’an felt a little frustrated. One treatment session in the pod took five whole minutes, while eating a tomato only took moments. There was no need to compare which was better.
Could it be that this path truly would not work?
The little cub’s mood sank. Feng Wu stroked his head but did not know how to comfort him.
But not long after, Lin An’an suddenly figured it out.
The strength of the ability replicated by the treatment pod was closely tied to the actual strength of the ability’s owner. Right now, his own ability had not yet recovered, so naturally the treatment pod could not reach the level of healing he had hoped for.
But the direction he had been pursuing was not wrong. The treatment pod’s core really could replicate his ability.
That alone was already an enormous surprise.
The little cub stayed depressed for maybe two seconds before bouncing back full of energy again.
[Replenishing grass, or any other medicinal herb or potion that can restore ability.] Lin An’an typed furiously. [I need them—the more, the better!!!]
The next day, when He Yinghong came over to visit, he heard about the little cub’s need for “replenishing grass.”
He Yinghong had already moved quickly and bought a house in the outer city, only two streets away from Si Youlin’s place. It was just over ten minutes on foot.
“Replenishing grass…” He Yinghong thought for a moment. “Back when I went into the outskirts looking for medicinal herbs, I never came across any replenishing grass.”
The little cub wilted on the spot. “Yingji.”
“But someone has seen other medicinal herbs that can restore ability,” He Yinghong said. “I can help you ask around.”
The little cub instantly perked up again. [Really?]
“Really,” He Yinghong said. “The person who found it even took a photo.”
He pulled up the old chat record from a terminal group chat. The fruit in the photo was only about the size of a thumb cap, a tiny bright red little thing, but Lin An’an’s eyes lit up at once.
This fruit was called a Scarlet Spirit Fruit. Its ability-restoring effect was somewhat weaker than replenishing grass, but among herbs with similar properties, it still ranked quite highly.
If there was no replenishing grass, Scarlet Spirit Fruit would still be good!
After asking around, He Yinghong soon got a reply and received an approximate coordinate location.
“He said it was found a few months ago,” He Yinghong said. “When he picked it back then, he left the roots intact. If we’re lucky, maybe it might fruit again.”
[Even if it hasn’t fruited again, it’s okay. As long as it’s still alive, I can extract the seeds and grow it again!] Lin An’an typed.
He Yinghong nodded. “Alright. Then leave this matter to me.”
The little cub, whose tiny brain had already been planning a trip into the outskirts with Brother Wolf, blinked in surprise. “Yingji?”
The baby-soft voice was full of shock and concern for He Yinghong.
He Yinghong laughed and said, “Don’t worry. My second form should be even more suited to the outskirts than yours.”
Lin An’an immediately became curious, but He Yinghong only winked mysteriously and said nothing more.
The unmanaged areas on Sin Star were collectively called the outskirts. The outskirts were full of all sorts of people, aberrant beasts often appeared there, and sometimes the weather turned quite extreme. The living environment was extremely harsh.
According to Feng Wu’s explanation, the vast majority of those who chose to remain in the outskirts were people who lacked the means to settle in the outer city. There were also some whose Alpha symptoms might affect others, and of course a very small number simply preferred the outskirts and did not want to live in the city.
Feng Wu was the second type. His mental power was highly unstable, and when the rampage grew severe, the people and things around him would all suffer indiscriminate attacks from the turbulence.
Back when he had decided to go to the inner city after learning about Si Youlin’s situation, Feng Wu had in fact already planned to return to the outskirts after sending Si Youlin away. The appearance of the little cub had completely disrupted his original plan.
Of course, the disrupted plan had moved in a better direction.
Out in the outskirts, people mostly lived in their second forms. One reason was that second forms were generally tougher and more durable, with fewer things to worry about.
The second reason was that at any time and in any place, one might encounter aberrant beasts, or people who had gone mad because of Alpha or other causes. Staying in second form at all times was safer.
When Lin An’an first woke up, he had been in the outskirts. The “supplies” he often encountered there had come courtesy of the cities on Sin Star, as well as the Empire and Federation authorities.
After lunch, He Yinghong packed some things for the outskirts and got ready to leave.
Only then did Lin An’an finally find out what He Yinghong had meant by being more suited to the outskirts.
His second form was a rare avian type—a giant eagle with a body length of nearly two meters.
Lin An’an immediately felt relieved. Compared to beasts, birds were indeed relatively weaker in direct ground combat, but He Yinghong was not going to the outskirts to fight. If he ran into danger, he would likely be able to escape faster than anyone.
Watching He Yinghong go, Lin An’an sincerely hoped Old He would bring back good news.
After several days, Lin An’an finally remembered that he was, in fact, a streamer.
Happy Farm had already been completed, and today’s livestream objective was to show his fans around the farm that would soon be opening.
The farm was located near the gate of the outer city. Shi Xiaoxing had arrived before him and was diligently pulling weeds in the fields.
Agriculture in this world was simply too underdeveloped. There were basically no farming tools sold at all, much less machines for weeding or turning the soil.
The moment he saw Shi Xiaoxing working away in the fields, Lin An’an felt a sudden pang of guilt and buried himself in the thick fur on Brother Wolf’s back.
As the farm’s true owner, he really was far less responsible than Shi Xiaoxing.
[Ahhh baby An, long time no see!]
[So cubby finally remembered the livestream room? How many days has it been since you last streamed?! [storm crying jpg]]
[What has cubby been doing these past few days? I finally managed to grab some produce, but I didn’t get to see cubby. So sad [crying cat face jpg]]
[Days without baby An feel like years [I’m so weak jpg]]
[baby An, if you keep doing this, you’re going to lose followers, do you know that [pointing fingers jpg]]
[Eh? You’re not streaming from the courtyard today? Where is this?]
[So——much——land! Is this cubby’s new courtyard? [pupil earthquake jpg]]
[Spread the word: baby An has already gotten rich through farming!!!]
Lin An’an typed: [This isn’t a courtyard. It’s the new farm.]
As he replied, he adjusted the camera, having the virtual lens focus on the farm gate for a clear close-up.
[Hap-py Farm, hahaha, why is cubby’s naming style this casual [dying of laughter jpg]]
[A farm?!! This huge farm is all for growing vegetables too???]
[Help, people living in C City are so lucky, wuwuwu [who’s jealous, I’m not saying jpg]]
[Fine, I’m moving to C City tomorrow! [excited hand-rubbing jpg]]
[Wait, Happy Farm? I passed by here a few days ago, and there was even a recruitment ad screen at the entrance. Is it too late for me to apply now? [dumbfounded jpg]]
[Help, I saw that too. At the time I even thought, what idiot would open a farm on Sin Star? I never imagined it was baby An’s [I’m so stupid, truly jpg]]
Shi Xiaoxing noticed the giant wolf entering the farm and immediately put down the crude homemade hoe in her hands, waving at them.
Sin Star was extremely hot during the day. It was just past noon now, the hottest part of the day.
Shi Xiaoxing had already been working for nearly half an hour, and her face was covered in sweat. If she kept working all day like this, the weeds probably would not even be fully cleared before she dropped from exhaustion.
The old courtyard had been small, so perhaps it had not mattered much. But now the farm was this large, and in the future there might be even bigger farms. If things continued this way, it definitely would not work.
The little cub felt a little worried. He was very skilled at farming and understood all kinds of agricultural tools and how they were used, but if he had to draw up blueprints from scratch and actually manufacture them, then naturally he could not do that.
They had to think of some solution—at the very least, they needed some kind of tool that could replace manual labor.
As for right now… Lin An’an glanced at the increasingly vicious sun overhead and decided to continue giving Shi Xiaoxing time off.
Shi Xiaoxing looked full of resistance when she heard the little boss’s order. “I’m not tired.”
The little cub typed firmly: [No. You are tired.]
Shi Xiaoxing was equally firm. “I’m really fine.”
The little cub replied: [No. I think there is a problem.] He looked at Shi Xiaoxing’s face, already reddened from the sun. [A very big problem!]
After saying that, he reached out without further discussion, wrapped his tentacles firmly around the hoe in her hands, and forcefully refused to let her continue.
Shi Xiaoxing could not help laughing.
The little cub naturally did not have much strength, but he was clinging stubbornly to the hoe, and she did not dare keep tugging. In the end, she could only follow his wishes and put the hoe down, a trace of emotion rising in her heart.
Lin An’an secretly let out a sigh of relief in his heart.
If Shi Xiaoxing still refused to put down the hoe, his little tentacles were about to get roasted, qaq!
[baby An is the most considerate boss I’ve ever seen [covering mouth with tears in eyes jpg]]
[The roles between Xingxing and baby An are reversed, aren’t they? Hahaha, what kind of boss tells an employee to rest and the employee still doesn’t want to? [I’m dying jpg]]
[The goodness of human nature is displayed to the fullest in cubby [doge jpg]]
[Protect the best baby An in the whole world!!!]
Lin An’an took the fans in his livestream around the farm for a full tour. While introducing the layout of the farm, he was also quietly taking note of the small details that could still be improved.
He planned to optimize the farm’s arrangement a bit more before officially opening it.
By the time he got home, it was already evening. At the entrance, Lin An’an saw a somewhat familiar figure—it was Zhuang Yi, the owner of the secondhand repair shop.
The little cub froze for a moment, then remembered. Zhuang Yi had said he would come by after he finished his work.
The treatment pod had already been repaired, and Zhuang Yi had come to collect his “fee.”
The door opened, and Xiong Yingjun caught sight of Zhuang Yi coming in with them at a glance. His eyes immediately widened like copper bells. “Boss, have you expanded the range of people you pick up from cubs to uncles now too?!”
Feng Wu stuffed a tomato into his mouth with a backhand toss and said to Zhuang Yi, “Don’t mind him.”
Zhuang Yi gave a silent nod. He had a rather taciturn personality, carrying a sort of steady calm that remained unruffled.
The treatment pod had already been reset back to its default mode in advance. Feng Wu took over Lin An’an’s task and asked, “Treatment area?”
Zhuang Yi answered, “Whole body. Old internal injuries.”
Lin An’an blinked once, carefully stopping himself from letting his gaze drift toward the man’s ankle.
Although current technology could not regenerate severed limbs, wearing a mechanical prosthetic for long periods of time would more or less make the remaining muscle tissue in the leg uncomfortable.
Lin An’an had assumed Zhuang Yi was here to ease the condition in his leg. It seemed he had guessed wrong.
Treating old injuries throughout the whole body took quite a long time, so Lin An’an used the opportunity to talk to Feng Wu about farming tools.
Feng Wu repeated, “Farming tools?”
The little cub typed: [Yes. Things like weeders and soil-turners. Doing everything by hand is far too inefficient.]
“Alright.” Feng Wu nodded. “I’ll look into it and see whether there are any.”
In the blink of an eye, half an hour had passed. Zhuang Yi’s treatment finally ended.
“How does it feel?” Feng Wu asked.
Zhuang Yi stood up and rolled his neck from side to side a couple of times, then let out a long breath. “It’s fine.”
Feng Wu nodded and did not ask further, instead preparing to carry the little cub and see him out. But Zhuang Yi suddenly spoke up. “I heard you say you need farming tools.”
Lin An’an immediately opened his terminal. [Do you have any?]
“No,” Zhuang Yi said. Before the little cub could become disappointed, he added, “But I can modify them.”
The little cub’s beady eyes lit up at once. [Let’s talk in detail!]
“There’s no need.” Zhuang Yi shook his head. “You provide the mechs, as well as the materials and parts needed for modification. Leave the rest to me.”
Lin An’an typed: [What about the fee?]
“The right to use the treatment pod,” Zhuang Yi said. “I won’t need it often. Two or three times a month will do.”
The old injuries inside his body had built up for too long. One or two sessions could not completely heal them; the treatment would have to be stretched out over time for a slow recovery.
Lin An’an was startled by his unique style of doing business. [Aren’t you afraid we’ll take the things and run?]
Zhuang Yi glanced at him. For the first time, a flicker of astonishment finally appeared in his usually calm and untroubled eyes, as if he were shocked that such shameless behavior could even exist.
That expression gave the little cub a strange feeling, as though he were bullying an honest man.
In the end, the two sides signed a simple mental power contract to bind this transaction.
Before leaving, Feng Wu asked, “Do you have any requirements for the mechs?”
Zhuang Yi said, “The most basic models will do.”
Feng Wu nodded, walked out into the spacious yard, and took two mechs straight out of his terminal on the spot. “There are only two for now. I’ll send a few more to your shop after a while.”
Zhuang Yi fell briefly silent. “…How many do you need in total?”
Lin An’an thought about his big farm. [Let’s start with five, just casually.]
Zhuang Yi: “……”
Lin An’an typed: [There may be more later.]
After all, his goal was to spread the glorious light of farming across the entire Sin Star!
Zhuang Yi: “…………”
That was something he absolutely had not expected.
For some reason, it really felt like he had been tricked. jpg
He badly wanted to say, that’s a different price, but the mental power contract had already been signed, and with his personality, he could only continue in silence.
The little cub blinked innocently and lightly patted Zhuang Yi’s trouser leg with a tentacle. In his heart, a tiny bit of joy at “bullying an honest man” quietly rose.
Of course, he definitely would not let Zhuang Yi actually suffer a loss.
He Yinghong returned far earlier than Lin An’an had expected.
When the giant eagle descended from the sky, Lin An’an was sprawled in the wolf fur basking in the sun, the whole cub drifting in and out of sleep.
The yard walls were fitted with a defensive system, so He Yinghong could only land on top of the wall. He flapped his wings once, signaling Feng Wu to come open the gate for him.
Feng Wu did not want to wake the little cub on his back, so he simply opened the system permissions and let the giant eagle fly directly into the yard.
The little cub was still startled awake by the huge rustling sound. The little black dumpling sprang up from the wolf’s back with a boing, just in time to see the giant eagle turn back into human form.
He Yinghong looked somewhat disheveled. His clothes were torn in several places, and even his usually meticulous hairstyle was a complete mess.
He patted the dust off his arm. “I almost didn’t make it back.”
Lin An’an instantly grew nervous. [What happened? Did you get jumped by a crowd?]
“Not exactly.” He Yinghong took the water Xiong Yingjun handed him and gulped it down in big swallows. “The outskirts have been a bit unsettled lately. The movements of the aberrant beasts are rather strange.”
Xiong Yingjun frowned. “When Boss and I were out in the outskirts not long ago, everything was still fine?”
“It was fine the last time I went too,” He Yinghong said, equally puzzled. “But this time I ran into several groups of aberrant beasts gathered together, and they were all large, ferocious ones.”
Large, ferocious aberrant beasts were usually solitary creatures with extremely strong territorial instincts. Normally, only one or two such beasts would appear in a given area.
He Yinghong’s description suddenly made Lin An’an think of a term that was somewhat distant, yet by no means unfamiliar.
A beast tide.
Because of his missing memories, Lin An’an did not remember whether this world had such a concept as a beast tide. But in the world in his memories, most wasteland planets and some remote, underdeveloped small planets had all seen their settlements hit by aberrant beast tides.
A beast tide was neither an especially huge matter nor a trivial one. If people were completely unprepared, it could catch them very much off guard. But as long as preparations were made in advance, with current military firepower, it would not be considered anything too serious.
However…
Lin An’an suddenly remembered that they were now on Sin Star, not on the Empire’s main planet with its overwhelming military power.
Before the little cub could even ask, Feng Wu spoke first in a low voice: “A beast tide.”
“So you think the same.” He Yinghong sighed. “Right now it’s still hard to tell for sure whether it is. If it is, I only hope their target isn’t the city.”
Although humans also lived in the outskirts, the cities had a much denser population and made a much larger target. If the beast tide were on a large enough scale, the people in the city would have nowhere to run, and the damage they suffered would definitely be far worse.
He Yinghong continued, “The beast groups I encountered weren’t large. They also haven’t shown any sign of gathering together yet, and all of them were still quite far from C City.”
Feng Wu gave a slight nod, his well-defined fingers quickly sliding across the terminal light screen.
Xiong Yingjun asked curiously, “Boss, what are you doing?”
“Trying to contact the city lord of C City,” Feng Wu said. “Whether it’s a beast tide or not, it’s better to be cautious.”
Feng Wu did not have the city lord’s contact information, but some of the people under him had dealt with C City’s upper levels before. It would be enough to have them pass on the message.
After contacting his people, Feng Wu also left an anonymous message on the C City lord’s CrimeNet account. The account replied instantly, though one look made it obvious it was just an automatic system response.
Not long after, Feng Wu received a reply from one of his subordinates.
The man said he had already informed the city lord of the abnormal beast movements, and the city lord had also responded, saying that he would send people to investigate the matter.
He Yinghong asked, “Handled?”
Feng Wu gave a quiet hum. The little cub, who had been carrying his worry this whole time, finally relaxed. [Grandpa He, did you find the Scarlet Spirit Fruit?]
“Found it!” He Yinghong immediately broke into a smile. “There was a group of aberrant beasts near the Scarlet Spirit Fruit too. If I hadn’t needed to avoid them, I could’ve come back even earlier.”
The little cub jumped onto He Yinghong’s shoulder, rubbing against him in comfort and gratitude. [Thank you for your hard work, Grandpa He!]
“It wasn’t hard at all. Once you extract the seeds from the Scarlet Spirit Fruit and grow them, don’t forget to give me one live plant too!” He Yinghong said cheerfully. “That way it won’t have been for nothing that I fought a battle of wits with those aberrant beasts.”
Lin An’an typed: [Of course, of course. I definitely won’t forget Grandpa He’s share!]
He took the Scarlet Spirit Fruit from He Yinghong. The thumb-sized, bright-red little fruit was stored in a soft bag. It looked like such a tiny little bag, but the moment it hung from his little tentacle, it nearly dragged the little cub down to the ground with it.
Feng Wu caught him at the very last second.
The little cub lay face-down in Feng Wu’s palm. “…Yingji.”
…I was careless.
The people in the yard were chatting happily, but from inside the open door of the house, an anxious series of meows suddenly rang out.
Bai Yang came running from inside. [baby An! Yueyue’s not quite right. Can you come take a look?]
The socially dead little cub instantly lifted his head, bounced down to the ground in a few hops, and followed Bai Yang into their room.
Over the past few days, Lin An’an had checked Bai Yue’s condition every day. Although the little kitten was still unconscious, her physical state had been getting better day by day.
How could something suddenly go wrong?
The little black dumpling bounced to Bai Yue’s bedside. The snow-white kitten was curled up on the pillow, her breathing weak, her tiny body huddled together and trembling.
Lin An’an reached out a tentacle to touch her and felt only an icy chill beneath the tip.
—Far too low. What normal person would have such a low body temperature?
Bai Yang paced anxiously at the bedside. [Brother Snake and I already used the treatment pod on Yueyue, but it didn’t work. Yueyue is still feeling awful, and her temperature keeps dropping lower and lower.]
Feng Wu suddenly asked, “What is Bai Yue’s Alpha symptom?”
Bai Yang froze at the question, then hurriedly said, [I don’t know.]
The little cub frowned and looked up. “…Yingji?”
How could you not know?
Bai Yang’s cat paws unconsciously curled, pulling a few wrinkles into the bedsheet.
[Yueyue and I were never diagnosed with Alpha.] The blue-eyed little cat spoke in a low voice. [When we opened our eyes, we were already on Sin Star.]
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