The puppy stiffened, then pretended not to understand, continuing to gaze eagerly at the wooden bowl. “Mmm~!”

Cen An chuckled. “Such a good boy. Did the smell lead you here?”

He’d always wanted a dog since childhood, but growing up in an orphanage, he couldn’t afford one. After earning money as an adult, he was too busy with work to spend time with a pet, so he gave up.

Hearing his words, the puppy’s eyes lit up. It edged closer, desperately trying to charm him, determined to get that bite.

Cen An, who had always loved dogs, couldn’t resist. He found a clean leaf and scooped out a small portion of it. “It’s a bit hot, take your time…”

The puppy didn’t even wait for him to finish speaking before burying its head in the food, eating with great relish.

System-produced food was naturally delicious. The wood mushroom’s aroma was fully released, its savory essence enhanced by the salty-umami of soy sauce fruit. Only big bites felt satisfying. The ground fruit puree was soft, sticky, and sweet, providing a substantial feeling of fullness.

One serving wasn’t enough for both man and dog. Cen An made another portion, and the puppy ended up eating more than he did.

“Is that really all you can eat?” Cen An asked with concern. He’d heard some dogs, due to genetic defects, couldn’t recognize hunger or fullness and easily overate themselves sick. Though the puppy kept whining for more, Cen An dared not give it any. He soothed it instead, “Alright, alright. Next time, okay?”

The puppy, denied its treat, hung its head dejectedly, thinking to itself: Who knows when the next chance will come? Sneaking out like this was hard enough…

Suddenly, it perked its ears, blocking Cen An’s path and staring warily in a certain direction.

“What’s wrong…” Before Cen An could finish, a dark shadow darted out.

It was a sharp-toothed rat!

He immediately grabbed his iron sword and backed away to create distance, but the little puppy in front of him charged forward.

Cen An cried out anxiously, “Come back!”

The puppy was less than half the size of the sharp-toothed rat—wasn’t it going to get hurt?

But the outcome defied his expectations. Despite its small, plump frame, the puppy moved with surprising agility. It twisted and leaped onto the sharp-toothed rat’s back, biting into its nape before turning to look at Cen An triumphantly.

Cen An exhaled slightly. “…Quite impressive.”

Just then, another sharp-toothed rat suddenly appeared, lunging for Cen An’s calf!

The puppy startled, immediately killing the rat beneath it and rushing over!

Cen An remained composed. He hadn’t let his guard down. Spotting the rat’s approach, he swiftly swung his iron sword, sending it flying.

The iron sword from the system had attack bonuses, instantly killing the sharp-toothed rat.

Cen An finally relaxed, only to hear the puppy yelping pitifully behind him. Turning, he saw the puppy’s tail was on fire.

It turned out that when the puppy saw Cen An under attack, it had tried to run over but tripped because its legs were too short, tumbling straight into the fire.

Fortunately, a river lay nearby. Cen An immediately plunged it into the water. Once the flames were extinguished, he pulled it out and inspected it. “Hmm, it’s solid… Ah, I mean, thank goodness, thank goodness! It’s unharmed, only the tail fur was singed.”

The puppy, Yin Xiang, looked even more dejected. After sneaking out with such difficulty, his fur got singed! His brother would surely tease him when they returned!

Seeing the puppy’s gloom, Cen An soothed him, “Don’t worry. I’ll trim it for you when we get back. It’ll grow back fine.”

The puppy gave a resigned little “Mm-hmm.” Cen An placed it into the basket he’d brought along.

Despite the attack, his gathering task for the day wasn’t finished yet.

He mimicked what he’d seen the villagers do before: he extracted the crystal cores from the two sharp-toothed rats, then skinned them, carefully storing both the hides and the meat.

The villagers had no use for rodent meat, but he could use it for feed and fishing bait—it couldn’t go to waste.

After finishing this, he gathered another bundle of 30 dry grass stalks. Dry grass could be used for bedding, making rope, or building campfires—a common yet incredibly useful resource.

Next, Cen An intended to gather some iron ore to smelt into ingots for later use. Unfortunately, after searching the entire hillside without success, he reluctantly abandoned the effort.

Yin Xiang was carried home in his basket.

A full day passed, and the sprouts of the baby bok choy had fully emerged. Two tender little leaves swayed in the breeze, utterly charming.

Cen An placed the puppy in the inner room and tallied today’s haul: [Wood Mushrooms x12, Soy Sauce Fruits x8, Ground Fruits x22, Wood x40, Long Leaves x10, Dry Grass x30, Crystal Cores x2, Rat Skins x2, Rat Meat x2, One Puppy]

It was a fairly substantial harvest, yet the most urgently needed resource remained elusive.

After all, the shack was riddled with holes in the walls. Without properly installing doors and windows, there’d be no way to sleep tonight.

“I’ll head to the small market after all. Maybe they’ll have iron ore for sale.” After giving the puppy a quick farewell, Cen An stepped out the door, basket in hand.

The shack sat on the western edge of Yongning Village, near the mountain’s base. Reaching the small market meant crossing the entire village.

Along the way, Cen An passed several villagers, all gaunt and sallow-faced. The few who appeared sturdy bore no trace of a smile. It was clear, just as the old man had said, that life in the village was far from easy.

Cen An felt increasingly grateful for his system, which allowed him to grow crops. At least he didn’t have to worry about going hungry.

The small market wasn’t large and had no designated entrances or exits; it was simply a collection of spontaneously gathered stalls.

Standing at the edge, Cen An scanned the offerings: food, tools, and a few weapons. Signs before the stalls read “Barter Only” or “crystal cores accepted,” but none offered the iron ore he needed.

He had no choice but to walk in and look around carefully.

He wasn’t short of food now, and he had recipes for tools he could make himself—cheaper than trading for them…

“Huh?” Cen An spotted something familiar—a bundle of mang grass. Combined with Longleaf Wood leaves, it could be used to make low-grade monster repellent potions. While only effective against Level 1 or 2 mutant beasts, it was perfect for his current needs.

“How much for this?” he asked the vendor. The stall was a chaotic jumble of items, seemingly gathered from the wilderness and sold without any processing.

The stallholder was a sullen-looking man with piercing, unsettling eyes. He scrutinized Cen An from head to toe, his probing tone irritating. “You recognize this? Do you know potions?”

“Does being unable to do that mean I can’t buy it,” Cen An replied calmly. “Are you running a business or conducting a census?”

The vendor gave a cold snort and turned away. “Two crystal cores. Take it.”

Cen An placed the two crystal cores on the counter and slipped the bundle of mang grass into his basket.

As he walked away, he noticed the vendor kept his eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to his departure. Earlier on the road, he’d observed that the villagers showed no signs of fear, suggesting the village’s security was reasonably good.

After passing a few more stalls, he looked up and met a pair of curious eyes.

Cen An froze, glancing around. The stall was run by a girl of seven or eight.

The child had a fair complexion and wore clean, comfortable clothes—a rarity in the village. Her parents must be extraordinary people, he thought. No wonder they dared to let such a young child run a stall.

His gaze shifted to the goods displayed on her stall—iron nails and chunks of iron. He quickened his pace toward her.

The girl was still watching him when she spoke first, “Brother, why are you buying Yu Fei’s things?”

Cen An was confused. “Yu Fei? The stall owner from earlier?”

The girl nodded. “He’s an ability user, but he’s weird. Everyone in the village is scared of him and doesn’t want to talk to him.”

Cen An found it somewhat amusing. The girl was full of mischief. “Aren’t you afraid of him?”

“Not at all,” the girl replied, sitting on a small wooden crate and swinging her little feet. “Both my parents are ability users. Maybe I’ll become one when I grow up.”

Cen An began to understand. “So these iron blocks and nails—they’re all made using psychic powers?”

“Yep! My dad has metal ability. Do you want to buy some iron blocks, Brother? I’ll give you a discount!”

Cen An inquired about the price, did a quick calculation, and said, “I’ll take all of these.”

The little girl squealed with delight. “Wow! You’re so rich, big brother!” She immediately hopped down from the wooden box and deftly packed the iron blocks and nails inside. “That’ll be 30 crystal cores total. And I’ll throw in this little wooden box for free! Come back anytime!”

Cen An chuckled and asked, “Where do you live? If I need more iron, can I ask your dad for help?”

To his surprise, the little money-grubbing girl shook her head. “It depends. After using abilities, we can only recover by absorbing crystal cores. But the energy inside is extremely volatile. Absorbing too much can drive an ability user mad.”

She sniffed. “Last year, Grandpa Tian from the village passed away because his abilities went out of control.”

Cen An fell silent, surprised to learn that even in this world, those with abilities faced numerous restrictions.

He felt grateful once more that he possessed his system.

Lifting the small wooden box, he spent another crystal core on a packet of salt before heading home.

As dusk fell and the temperature dropped, the small, dilapidated hut—without doors or windows—grew increasingly cold and gloomy.

Yin Xiang had long since jumped off the bed, circling around him. This human’s dwelling was so poor—perhaps he should take him back to the cave. Though he wasn’t sure if his brother would approve.

Cen An misunderstood its meaning, bending down to pat its head. “Don’t worry, I’ll trim your fur soon. I just need to make a door and a window first.”

Yin Xiang was puzzled. How would he do that?

Then he watched as Cen An produced wood and iron ingots.

Four pieces of wood and two iron ingots could make one window; eight pieces of wood and four iron ingots could make one door.

He swiftly crafted four windows and two doors, securing them with iron nails.

Yin Xiang watched in stunned silence. Did this human possess special abilities? Yet he detected no energy fluctuations from him! And what kind of power could transform raw materials into functional tools? Even his brother couldn’t manage that!

The howling wind ceased inside, and warmth instantly filled the shack.

As for the hole in the roof, Cen An hadn’t figured out a solution yet. He could only hope it wouldn’t rain today.

Then, he took two iron ingots and made a pair of scissors. He used another two iron ingots and one piece of wood to craft a kitchen knife. Gritting his teeth, he took six iron ingots and forged an iron pot.

These were all necessities, and he couldn’t afford to skimp on them.

Stowing the remaining iron ingots in a small wooden box, Cen An clicked his brand-new scissors. “Alright, time for a haircut~.”

The gleaming scissors reflected in the puppy’s eyes. Only then did it sense trouble, but it was too late to flee. “Woof—”

Moments later, a puppy with a bald tip on its tail emerged.

Cen An stifled a laugh. “Alright, it’s not too ugly. It’ll grow back soon.”

Yin Xiang hung his head even lower. It was over. His brother would definitely mock him now.

Outside, darkness fell. From the distant mountains came the roar of some unknown mutant beast.

Cen An yawned, spreading dry grass on the broken bamboo bed. He considered laying the rat pelt over it, too, but the untreated fur smelled too strong, so he gave up.

Fortunately, the freshly gathered hay was soft and thick. It wasn’t the season when water froze instantly, so it would suffice.

Before sleeping, Cen An counted the crystal cores he had on hand.

The 500 crystal cores from the newbie gift pack had left him with 50 after buying the small shack, land, and seeds. The two sharp-toothed rats had yielded 2 more. He’d spent 1 to activate the virtual reality protection scene, 2 to buy mang grass, 30 for iron ingots, and 1 for salt. Now he had only 28 left.

The reality protection system couldn’t be turned off. Spending one crystal core daily was a fixed expense. At most, his current supply would last just over twenty days.

Seems he’d better find ways to earn more crystal cores.

Oh, right, speaking of mang grass—he still hadn’t made the monster repellent powder. But that could wait…

The young man flopped onto his bed. The straw mattress was soft and dry, enveloping him in the scent of grass and sunshine. He turned his head and said to the puppy, “Good night.”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

He had no idea what kind of jumbled dreams he’d had that night. When he woke again, daylight flooded the room.

The puppy was no longer on the bed.

Rubbing his forehead, he rose and heard no sound inside. “Did it run outside?”

Opening the wooden door, he found a stranger standing there, holding the puppy by the scruff of its neck.

Cen An frowned. “Please put my dog down.”

The man snorted coldly, his slightly upturned eyes glancing at Yin Xiang, who was playing dead. What a disgrace! Not content with being a youngster who scammed food and drink, now he was being treated like a dog?