Cen An immediately realized this must be Yu Fei’s residence.

Suddenly, a hoarse, raspy voice came from behind him, “You heard it.”

Cen An whipped around—it was Yu Fei.

In the rain, Yu Fei, clad in a black robe, accompanied by the occasional piercing screams, looked like the protagonist of some horror story.

Cen An barely had time to think before instantly drawing the iron sword from his backpack. He hadn’t heard Yu Fei approach at all.

“Spatial ability? No, you’re not an ability user.” Yu Fei’s lips curled again, revealing a smile that was either mocking or impatient. ”Are you one of them?“

Cen An replied indifferently, ”I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s raining, and I’m in a hurry to get home. Could you please move aside?”

Maybe I should work on my combat skills, he thought. Lately, all his energy had been focused on improving his quality of life. He’d have to find time to craft more weapons…

Yu Fei gave a peculiar hum and reached out a hand to grab him.

Cen An spun away almost instantly, swinging the iron sword in his hand without hesitation.

Yu Fei froze, a slash opening a gash in his sleeve. He glanced down. “A peculiar iron sword…”

Cen An frowned. The system-produced iron sword was of exceptional quality and had attribute bonuses. How could it merely tear a sliver of fabric?

Suddenly, his vision blurred, a sensation of weightlessness washed over him, and a sharp pain began throbbing in his head…

【You have been attacked by a psychic ability】

Psychic? A rare ability!

Cen An forced himself to look up despite the discomfort. Sure enough, Yu Fei’s dark eyes had turned purple—a sign the ability was activating.

He gripped his sword tightly, eyes lowered. Since Happy Farm had a combat system, it naturally had skills too. Using them just came at a steep cost.

But that didn’t mean they couldn’t be used!

Yu Fei’s lips curled again as his psychic energy shifted from attack to control.

Cen An stared at him coldly, a faint white light glowing at the tip of his iron sword…

Suddenly, a weak cry echoed from inside the thatched hut. “Brother, is that a friend coming?”

Both men in the standoff froze.

Only then did Cen An realize the chilling screams had ceased long ago. Judging by the voice… it sounded like a young man?

Yu Fei’s expression darkened, his eyes even flashing with a hint of hatred.

He didn’t answer. Inside the hut, the silence lingered before a voice spoke again, tinged with a flicker of excitement, “Brother, are you inviting a friend to visit?”

A boy, no older than twenty, sounded extremely weak. Likely the same voice as the earlier screams. Yu Fei’s… younger brother?

Cen An lowered his gaze. He didn’t believe Yu Fei would invite him inside as a guest. Still, avoiding a fight would be best. After all, he couldn’t afford to use his combat skills right now…

The combat skill icon on his system interface flickered briefly before fading back into darkness.

【Sky Strike: Consumes 50 crystal cores upon use.】

A truly heavy price.

Cen An sheathed his sword and turned to leave when Yu Fei’s hoarse voice called after him, “Please come inside.”

Cen An frowned at him, thinking: Are you out of your mind? We were just at each other’s throats, nearly coming to blows, and now you’re inviting me in?

Yu Fei replied calmly, “I have lime at home.”

Cen An froze.

Yu Fei continued, “I know you’ve been inquiring about lime, clay, and bamboo groves. I have all of those. If you need other minerals, we can discuss it.”

Cen An looked at him. “Just to invite me in as a guest?”

Yu Fei replied, “Just as a guest.”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Cen An followed Yu Fei into the dilapidated thatched hut.

Inside was even more decrepit than outside.

Unbelievable—Yu Fei had lived here for three years, yet his home remained in such disarray.

The hut was slightly larger than Cen An’s own shack, with three rooms total. The outer room was cluttered with wood and food supplies.

The middle room held a bed where a man lay. He was gaunt and pale, a weak smile on his face. Had he not been awake, his condition would have looked a hundred times worse than Liao Yongzhi’s.

This young man was completely different from Yu Fei. He had short, flaxen hair and kind eyes. He invited Cen An to sit down, smiling as he said, “Brother hasn’t brought friends home in ages. I often worry he doesn’t get along well with people out there.”

Cen An thought to himself, Your worry is quite reasonable.

Cen An observed closely. Beneath the young man’s pale skin, dark currents of energy frequently surged erratically. Wherever they flowed, threads of blood seeped through his skin. His clothes were already splattered with bloodstains, yet they carried no lingering scent—clearly fresh from today.

His body trembled slightly, as if enduring immense agony.

Cen An surmised this strange affliction flared periodically, bringing excruciating agony—the source of those wails.

It was hard to fathom that despite such torment, his mental state seemed more stable than Yu Fei’s.

“My name is Yu Lin. I’m a wood-elemental ability user,” he said with a smile. “There are flowers I’ve grown in the courtyard outside. Before you leave, would you like to pick a pot to take with you? I enjoy giving flowers to friends.”

Cen An’s expression grew complex. When he entered, he had indeed seen several pots of dried grass by the door, assuming they were for fuel. Flowers?

Yu Fei abruptly interrupted, “I’ll help him choose! You needn’t worry!”

Yu Lin sighed helplessly, “Brother, be gentler with your friends.”

Cen An’s expression grew even stranger. How could Yu Fei, with such an angelic younger brother at home, have turned into this stubborn, left-leaning, thoroughly irritating person?

Yu Lin winked at him. “Brother Cen, that’s just how my brother is. If he’s upset you in any way, just come tell me. I’ll help you deal with him.”

Cen An replied dryly, “Oh.”

He wasn’t particularly adept at handling this kind of casual, everyday conversation. More importantly, he genuinely struggled to adjust to the atmosphere—one moment they were slashing at each other, the next they were cheerfully chatting.

Yu Fei clearly found it even harder to bear. He abruptly stood up. “Alright, you rest. I’ll take him to get the things.”

The two walked to the innermost room as Yu Lin called after them regretfully, “Huh? Aren’t you staying a bit longer?”

Inside, precious materials were indeed abundant.

Besides the lime and clay Cen An needed now, there were iron ore and copper ore he’d scoured several mountains for without success, along with rare minerals like turquoise and citrine. Even obsidian—a rarity in the game—was stacked in several piles here!

Cen An couldn’t help but suspect whether Yu Fei had secretly snatched an entire mine…

A hoarse, unpleasant voice sounded, “What do you want?”

Cen An calculated for a moment, “Thirty portions of lime, twenty portions of copper ore.”

Yu Fei nodded, gesturing for him to take what he needed.

Cen An glanced at the adjacent room. “I also need five portions of turquoise and one portion of obsidian.”

Yu Fei slowly turned his gaze. “You’re getting a bit greedy.”

Cen An met his stare without flinching. “You know I can make medicine.”

Yu Fei must have observed him for quite some time; otherwise, he wouldn’t know Cen An needed lime and clay. And the fact that he could make medicine surely couldn’t escape his notice either.

Yu Fei’s expression changed as expected. Cen An continued, “I can alleviate his symptoms… for now.”

The moment he entered, he had assessed Yu Lin’s condition.

Then he’d been stunned by that barrage of negative statuses: 【Abnormal Ability】, 【Poison】, 【Miasma Infection】, 【Curse】, 【Dream Entrapment】…

This wasn’t a person anymore—it was a walking debuff!

Even when playing games in his previous life, Cen An hadn’t collected such a comprehensive set of negative statuses.

In this state, neither rejuvenation paste nor recovery potions could fully heal him. But with recovery potions available, they could at least resolve a few debuffs and alleviate some symptoms.

Yu Fei didn’t hesitate for a second, immediately thrusting the precious turquoise and the extremely valuable obsidian into his hands.

Emerging from the inner room, Yu Lin was naturally still awake. He grinned and said, “Did you get everything you needed, Brother Cen? Want to play a bit longer? I can weave little rabbits out of grass leaves. Want to see?”

“Not today,” Cen An chuckled softly. He pulled out a small vial of recovery potion. “Here, drink up.”

“Mm.” Yu Lin glanced at his brother, uncorked the vial, and swallowed the bright green liquid. “Tastes like mushrooms… Ugh!”

His brow furrowed with a mix of pain and surprise. “This medicine…”

Yu Fei grabbed him, his hoarse voice nearly cracking. “How do you feel?”

Cen An also watched his condition closely. The 【Miasma Infusion】 and 【Dream Entanglement】 debuffs vanished instantly. The 【Curse】 status shifted from “Extreme Danger” to “Severe,” while the others remained unchanged.

Beneath his pallid skin, the black stream of energy slowly faded away.

Yu Lin opened his eyes, his gaze sparkling as he looked at Cen An. “I… I think…”

“You’re not cured yet,” Cen An shook his head. “It’s just less severe now.”

“That’s enough!” Yu Lin sat up abruptly. “Once I rest a bit more, I can go hunt mutant beasts with my brother!”

That would still be difficult. Cen An observed his condition. Even if other symptoms were bearable, 【Uncontrollable Ability】 wasn’t affected by recovery potions. Though his vegetables could alleviate it, he currently didn’t want more involvement with Yu Fei…

“Cen, wait!” Yu Lin tried to get up.

Yu Fei hurriedly fetched his shoes. “Don’t move! Your feet are bare!”

Yu Lin put on his shoes and spun around. “My… my seed pouch? Bro, where’s my seed pouch?”

Yu Fei pulled a small green pouch from his chest and handed it over.

Yu Lin took it, beaming as he opened it. He pulled out a strangely shaped seed, pressed it into the flowerpot, and green light radiated from his hand…

The seed in the pot broke through the soil. A slender green stem sprouted, topped with a large, green maw. Two rows of sharp teeth, top and bottom, clicked menacingly as if ready to bite.

Beads of sweat formed on Yu Lin’s forehead as he beamed, handing the pot over. “Brother Cen, this is for you! Too bad I can’t use too much of my power right now, or I’d have given you a fully grown one. This is a man-eating flower—great for guarding. It recognizes its master, needs only water to survive, and grows faster with crystal cores.”

Cen An studied the plant. “Your brother already gave his thanks.”

“That’s not the same thing.” Yu Lin, shooed back to bed by his brother, grinned. “My brother’s thanks are his. Mine are mine. Besides, I want to be friends with Brother Cen too—hitch my wagon to his!”

“How about this, Brother Cen? Come back in a few days, and I’ll help you cultivate some strangler vines. Not only can they guard your home, but you can carry them with you…”

Cen An hesitated, then used the basket as cover to take two small bok choys and placed them by the bedside.

Yu Lin froze, and Yu Fei froze too.

He murmured, “You know about the vegetables sold to the Ability Squad.”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Stepping out of Yu Fei’s house, the sky was already dotted with countless stars.

Fortunately, he was still within the village, so it wasn’t a big deal.

He happened to run into the patrol squad. Wang Lie, leading the young men in the team, greeted him cheerfully and asked if he needed a ride home.

Cen An paused for a moment before shaking his head.

Ever since arriving in this strange world, he constantly reminded himself: Don’t expose yourself, don’t trust easily, hide your true self…

Yet, why did he feel his connection to this world growing ever tighter?