Always appreciate your support, thanks to Green KiTea for the continuous support. Hope you enjoy the bonus chapters!

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Fortunately, the system was fairly intelligent. When Jian Xingyi opened the terminal backend, he saw that his breeding area already had a D-class pond—No. 1—dedicated to raising loaches.

Jian Xingyi: “……”

Well, how is this not a good thing?

Although all these meats provide the same buff effects, species diversity can help him obtain a larger quantity of meat. To give an example, he’s already upgraded his sheep pen and cattle pen to C-class, but to push for B-class, he’d need 5,000 essence points—that’s practically robbery! Upgrading his farmland to A-class only costs 500!

That’s right—after being crushed by that 5,000-point requirement, Jian Xingyi now feels that 500 points can be described as “just.”

Are animal habitats really more “engineering-intensive,” so they require higher Essence Values?

But if he unlocks the new species, the loach, the system will give him a pond. After that, any future expansions will only cost dawn coins, and as for upgrades, his current 1,620 essence points are enough to turn the pond into a B-level one.

That’s definitely a better deal.

Jian Xingyi immediately upgraded the pond to B-level, so he’ll have more meat from future harvests.

Loaches must be pretty tasty, too, right?

Jian Xingyi was just about to plant the coffee when he noticed a line of text beneath the seed.

【Detected that the player owns a greenhouse. This crop will yield a higher harvest in a greenhouse.】

It seems this coffee, like the lychee, requires a greenhouse to achieve good yields.

Jian Xingyi checked his backpack. Fortunately, before leaving the guild, he had left his shovel and axe behind and asked the guild members to chop some trees for him while they were on patrol.

Now the fence around his house was fully repaired—not even a fly could get in—and he had enough wood to upgrade the greenhouse.

Earlier, when Jian Xingyi saw the amount of wood required to upgrade the greenhouse to Level 2—18,000 pieces—he nearly fainted. After all, that was an enormous amount. But many hands make light work; with half the guild chopping wood for him over the course of ten days, he’d finally managed to gather enough.

【Confirm: Consume 18,000 wood to upgrade the greenhouse?】

Jian Xingyi clicked to confirm.

【Greenhouse level upgraded to 2, can plant 4 plots】

Originally, the greenhouse could only accommodate two plots; now it holds four.

Jian Xingyi felt it was still a bit too few, but if he used Grade A plots, it would be barely enough for now.

Jian Xingyi planted the beans and began looking forward to the harvest.

Also, the green vines he’d found in the dandelion patch hadn’t ripened yet—he wondered what they were for?

After finishing his chores, Jian Xingyi turned his attention to the fish he’d caught.

“Wait till I show you something!”

Shuixi raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to grill the fish?”

Jian Xingyi: “Hmm… using the synthesis machine.”

…Let’s just round it up and call it cooking!

If you have technology, you might as well enjoy it!

The fish was large enough, so Jian Xingyi synthesized two dishes.

One was chili-grilled fish. The fish, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, was skewered on bamboo sticks. The golden-brown skin looked crispy and crunchy, and the aroma of chili mixed with the smoky flavor of charcoal immediately made both of them hungry.

The other was fish soup. Jian Xingyi added plenty of ginger slices to the soup to prepare them for the rest of their journey. Delicious white fish slices floated in the rich broth, looking incredibly appetizing on this freezing cold day.

Jian Xingyi also prepared rice and milk and laid out all the food.

Shuixi gathered some wood and used a lighter to build a small campfire. The two sat on a canvas sheet, looking at the food before them and listening to the crackling sound of the fire, almost feeling as if they were having a picnic.

“I’m digging in!”

Jian Xingyi took a bite of the grilled fish sprinkled with chili, hearing the satisfying crunch, then took a sip of the savory fish soup. The soup was rich yet not greasy, and the fish fillets were tender, golden, and smooth. Paired with the soft, sticky white rice, Jian Xingyi felt as if he had arrived in paradise.

Wow… this is real fish!

It had been a long time since Jian Xingyi had enjoyed a proper meal like this. Before, he’d just been snacking on potatoes with Shuixi on the go. Now, with this rare moment of leisure, he felt nothing but pure happiness.

Jian Xingyi watched Shuixi eating quietly and couldn’t help but laugh. “It seems like food tastes even better when you have someone to eat with!”

Shuixi paused. “Hmm.”

Indeed.

Shuixi had never been particularly fond of food, but this meal was truly delicious, and sharing it with Jian Xingyi made him unable to resist eating a little more.

After finishing, the milk was just what they needed to cut through the richness.

With both of them full and satisfied, Jian Xingyi stretched and said, “The seeds have been soaked. Should we set off to find the colored flags?”

The five colored flags correspond to five types of wisdom and the natural world; the green flag, representing “rivers and streams,” should be nearby.

Jian Xingyi asked, “Where are these flags usually found? Hanging from trees? Buried in the ground?”

Shuixi replied, “Either is possible. The flags spawn randomly, so we’ll have to search slowly, but there are clues.”

Shuixi stood up and led Jian Xingyi to a tree, where he noticed a small stone tablet.

Shuixi explained, “Find five of these stone tablets. Then, determine the center point between them—that’s where the flag will be.”

Jian Xingyi: “Oh…”

It wasn’t exactly difficult, but it wasn’t exactly easy either.

“Then let’s split up!”

Jian Xingyi headed to the left side of the lake, while Shuixi went in the opposite direction.

Jian Xingyi found a stone marker next to a rock that he almost missed—it was the same color as the others—and another one embedded in a tree trunk.

After searching high and low with no further luck, he met up with Shuixi, who reported finding only one on his side.

That left one still missing.

Jian Xingyi scratched his head. “Maybe we missed one somewhere…”

The two switched directions and searched again.

Good news: they confirmed that neither had missed anything—their eyes were sharp.

The bad news: same as above.

Jian Xingyi scratched his head. “Surely there isn’t another one at the bottom of the lake? They wouldn’t be that mean to us, would they?”

Jian Xingyi glanced at the frozen lake—bottomless and clearly freezing cold.

“Probably not.”

Crackle.

The campfire was still burning.

Just then, Shuixi narrowed his eyes.

Hmm…?

Shuixi stepped forward and noticed that the snow around the campfire had slowly begun to melt from prolonged exposure to the flames, revealing a corner of a stone tablet.

Shuixi couldn’t help but laugh and point to where they had been sitting: “Look.”

Jian Xingyi: “……”

…Oh boy.

Jian Xingyi couldn’t stop laughing.

After collecting five stone tablets, the two roughly sketched a simple map in the snow and marked the locations.

Then they realized the center point of the stone tablets was right in the lake.

Jian Xingyi: “……”

So we still have to go down there in the end!! He’d actually been feeling relieved…!

Shuixi said, “When you see the colored flag, zombies will appear around you to block your path. This isn’t usually a difficult spot, but since the flag had unfortunately spawned at the bottom of the lake, it means we need to divide the work: one person dives to the bottom to retrieve the flag, while the other stays on shore to kill the zombies.”

Jian Xingyi: “Oh…”

Shuixi lowered his head in thought, clearly weighing whether it was safer to go underwater or to kill the zombies from the shore.

The zombies on the snowy mountain were no joke—not only were they high-level, but there was also nowhere nearby to hide or escape to.

Shuixi asked, “Can you swim?”

“I can!” Jian Xingyi replied, catching on. “I can go in. I’ll just grab the flag—nothing will happen.”

Shuixi furrowed his brow slightly.

He thought about it. Alright, then. At worst, he’d finish the fight quickly from the shore and then jump in to join Jian Xingyi.

Jian Xingyi laughed, “Oh, you don’t need to look so serious… I’m not that weak.”

It’s just…

Brr, it feels so cold.

Going into the water in this weather…

I can only say it’s a good thing we have ginger soup; otherwise, it would be impossible.

Shuixi widened the ice hole, and then Jian Xingyi took off his coat, took a deep breath, and jumped in.

At the same time, countless giant zombies appeared all around them.

Shuixi’s gaze hardened. He drew his spear and charged forward, his moves fierce and merciless, his actions brutal and savage—if Jian Xingyi had been there, he might have been startled.

After all, Jian Xingyi had never seen Shuixi fight with true intensity before; usually, Shuixi either held back or hadn’t encountered an opponent formidable enough to warrant his full effort.

With Jian Xingyi absent and time running short, Shuixi fought with blind fury, giving his all.

On the other side, after jumping into the water, Jian Xingyi froze for a moment from the cold.

Once he’d adjusted, he managed to swing his arms and kick his legs, heading toward the spot they’d marked.

Sure enough, he saw a green flag tied to a pole at the bottom of the lake.

Jian Xingyi swam toward the flag and retrieved it without a hitch.

Huh…?

The moment he grabbed the flag, Jian Xingyi realized he had somehow found himself inside a translucent bubble.

This bubble looked familiar—wasn’t this the memory bubble from before?

Wait a minute…!!

As he was sucked into the memory bubble, Jian Xingyi thought… This is totally unfair!

Come on, this isn’t right—

Splash—!

By the time Jian Xingyi had processed what was happening, he found himself in… Huh?

Still a snowy mountain?

Jian Xingyi found himself in a vast expanse of white snow. He looked around and spotted a military camp not far away, with wisps of smoke rising from it—it appeared to still be in operation.

Where is this place?

It looked a lot like the Thousand Bells Snow Mountains, but it didn’t seem quite the same.

Thinking back on the patterns of his past memories, Jian Xingyi wondered to himself, could this be the Thousand Bells Snow Mountains from a different time?

“Click.”

Footsteps…!

Jian Xingyi drew his rifle warily and spun around, only to freeze in surprise.

Walking toward him was a tall man.

“Shuixi…?”

No.

Although the man before him had the exact same facial features as Shuixi, he was wearing a military uniform, and his demeanor was different.

This man didn’t resemble the Shuixi he knew; rather, he looked like a… killing machine?

The man held a gun, covered head to toe in blood. Corpses lay strewn haphazardly around him, and the snow was soaked with blood—a sight that was truly horrifying.

He stepped over one corpse after another, his gaze dark and menacing as he approached Jian Xingyi.

Thud, thud…

An intense sense of oppression tightened Jian Xingyi’s throat. He was so terrified he wanted to run, but found his legs wouldn’t move.

This was even more terrifying than zombies. Jian Xingyi felt he was going to be killed because the man before him seemed intent on slaughtering everything within sight.

“Sssshhh—”

Sure enough, in the next instant, Jian Xingyi saw the man raise a dagger and plunge it straight through his heart.

“Ugh…”

Jian Xingyi’s eyes widened. Just before losing consciousness, he caught a glimpse of the name tag on the man’s military uniform.

Lu… Yan?

……

……

Jian Xingyi opened his eyes with a start, and the first thing he saw was the same features as in his memory bubble.

Terrified, he instinctively sat up and crawled away, putting some distance between himself and the person in front of him.

Shuixi froze, looking at Jian Xingyi in confusion.

Jian Xingyi looked around. It was the familiar Thousand Bells Snow Mountain. Their “picnic blanket” was spread out nearby, and the ground was littered with the corpses of zombies—not… humans.

Jian Xingyi let out a sigh of relief.

It seemed he had returned.

Scratching his head awkwardly, Jian Xingyi crawled back to Shuixi’s side. “What happened?”

Shuixi said, “After I took care of the zombies, I went down to look for you and found you were gone.”

Shuixi lowered his gaze to hide his emotions, describing his recent ordeal in his usual matter-of-fact tone: “I searched underwater for a while, then suddenly you reappeared, so I pulled you up.”

“Oh, sorry…” Jian Xingyi tried to continue speaking, but couldn’t help but sneeze.

The two moved over to the campfire. Jian Xingyi put on his jacket and curled up in Shuixi’s arms to warm himself.

I’m freezing…!!

Shuixi took a clean cloth and carefully wiped Jian Xingyi’s hair.

“Ah, go on. So, I saw another memory bubble down there and accidentally wandered into its world, but this time I got out really fast… because I got killed inside. That person…”

Jian Xingyi had wanted to say he looked exactly like Shuixi, but worried it might upset him, so he let it slide. “That person’s name was Lu Yan. He was wearing a military uniform and looked pretty scary.”

Shuixi’s movements froze, and a chill ran through him.

Lu Yan… that was his real name.

Jian Xingyi: “Sigh, I don’t know what happened. Anyway, at least I made it out safely…”

Memory bubbles are tailored to each player, incorporating their current emotions, relationships, experiences, and so on.

Shuixi thought to himself, perhaps it was because Jian Xingyi had been sucked into the memory bubble, and he had gone down there—the feeling of not being able to find him at that moment… Shuixi didn’t want to dwell on it. Anyway, maybe because of that, the memory bubble synthesized his experiences and relationship with Jian Xingyi, sending him into… his past.

Shuixi now understood why Jian Xingyi had been so frightened that he backed away when he first saw him.

Because the real him was inherently that wretched and terrifying.

Shuixi murmured, “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

He gently and carefully returned the towel to Jian Xingyi, then stood up and said, “I’m going to look around nearby to see if there’s a statue where I can leave the colored flag.”

“Okay…?”