A huge, huge thanks to all our kofi supporters: GreenKiTea, Alex, and Mapz, for your support! Enjoy these bonus chapters!

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Dan Xingyu couldn’t even explain to himself why he’d been so shocked when he heard that line.

Because once he came to his senses, he thought: Isn’t it perfectly normal to invite a good friend over to your house to hang out and stay the night? 

His house was so big— it wasn’t like there wasn’t anywhere to sleep! 

Once he’d worked it out, he immediately accepted with enthusiasm: “Of course, no problem!” 

Qiyu returned the favor: “You can sleep in my treehouse, too.”

Although his treehouse was large, it had only one bedroom and one big bed. 

But Qiyu didn’t see this as a problem—where hadn’t he slept before? There were plenty of solutions. He could use his workbench to build another wooden bed.

Or he could let Dan Xingyu have the bedroom and spend the night meditating under the Tree of Life. 

Speaking of cultivation, would it be okay to practice together? 

I wonder if the Tree of Life would help martial artists with their training? A flood of ideas rushed through his mind. 

Dan Xingyu: “Sure, sure.” 

But all that would happen after dark. 

Qiyu led Dan Xingyu to the lounge chairs by the small lake.

“This is the blue resource spot I showed you last time.”

He offered the lounge chair to Dan Xingyu: “Today’s resource point hasn’t opened yet. If you sit on the lounge chair, blue quality fish will appear in the bucket.” 

Dan Xingyu’s eyes lit up as he listened: “This place is so much fun!” He lay down on the lounge chair eagerly.

A few seconds passed.

A splashing sound came from the bucket.

“Is it here yet? Is it here yet? What’s the good stuff?” Dan Xingyu leaned over to take a look.

Qiyu also craned his neck to look and discovered that what was in the bucket wasn’t the item they’d imagined, but a blue bubble. He chose to pick it up.

The blue bubble appeared in his backpack, revealing its true form.

【Obtained Blue-Quality Catch: Phantom Spirit Sea Ruby King Crab x1.】

Qiyu took the Ruby King Crab out of his backpack.

“Wow!” the two exclaimed in unison. 

Qiyu suddenly understood why it hadn’t appeared directly in the bucket, but instead as a blue bubble. 

A ruby king crab appeared on the grassy field, standing as tall as half a person. Its shell had a crystal-clear, lustrous red sheen—which is likely where it gets its name, “ruby.” 

【Ruby King Crab: A specialty of the Phantom Spirit Sea, expensive but delicious.】

Qiyu read the description aloud to Dan Xingyu, emphasizing how delicious it was.

“Is this a king crab?” Dan Xingyu looked at the giant crab holding up its claw—not sure if it was about to attack or flee—and hurriedly urged, “Quick, put it away! Put it away!”

Qiyu’s storage backpack couldn’t hold living creatures, but items obtained from resource points might be an exception: as he tried to collect it, this ruby king crab turned back into a small figurine sealed inside a blue bubble. 

“Then let’s have this for lunch today,” Qiyu said, looking at Dan Xingyu expectantly.

Dan Xingyu: “No problem.” 

He said, “I’ve never even eaten this stuff before—it’s way too expensive.”

“Besides, the king crabs I’ve seen are nowhere near this big, nor are they this beautiful.” 

This giant creature, with those sharp, massive claws, would probably be classified as a highly dangerous animal on Earth. 

Qiyu: “I’ve never eaten one either. Perfect—we can try it together.” He encouraged Dan Xingyu to try fishing again: “You can catch fish with this rod. Just cast the hook out there.”

Dan Xingyu: “It really sounds like some kind of casual game. I’ll give it a try. Where’s the bait?”

Qiyu:?

“What bait?” 

Dan Xingyu:?

Seeing the confusion Qiyu made no attempt to hide, he realized: “You mean you just fish by casting the hook into the water—that’s it?”

“Isn’t that how it works?”

Convinced by his matter-of-fact expression, Dan Xingyu said, “Maybe I was overcomplicating things. I forgot this is a survival game.” 

He cast the hook into the lake.

He waited for a long time.

Not a single movement.

Five minutes later, a message popped up on his survival panel:

【Please bait your hook.】

Dan Xingyu: “……”

He silently glanced at Qiyu.

Qiyu was stunned. 

Without letting Dan Xingyu get up, he took the fishing rod himself, sat down on the grass, and cast it out. In less than two minutes, the fishing line was suddenly pulled taut. 

Now it was his turn to silently watch Dan Xingyu.

“Wow! Survival game! And you’re actually being so hypocritical!” 

Dan Xingyu got up from the lounge chair and sat side by side with Qiyu: “Hurry up and reel it in—let me see what you can catch.” 【Obtained a jar of sour strawberry jam.】

Dan Xingyu held the jar, examining it from every angle, but couldn’t figure out how this smooth little thing had possibly gotten caught on the hook. 

Refusing to give up, he took the fishing rod and cast it out again. This time, he didn’t even have to wait five minutes.

【Please ensure your hook is baited.】

Such blatant double standards. 

Dan Xingyu was so exasperated he almost laughed. 

Just as Qiyu was about to tell him not to get so upset, he saw a small piece of game meat appear in his hand.

Dan Xingyu baited the hook with the meat and cast it out again: “Hmph! Bait is bait—I’m going to catch a fish today no matter what!”

Qiyu: Looks like he’s not actually angry. 

Then it’s all good.

He thought for a moment, opened the Territory module, moved the large snack cabinet from the bedroom over, and placed it beside them. 

When Dan Xingyu turned around, he saw all those delicious treats. He simply pulled Qiyu to his feet, then pulled a huge blanket out of his backpack and spread it out on the grass. 

He grabbed some snacks from the cabinet and added a few from his own backpack, piling the small blanket high with treats. 

“OK! Picnic achievement unlocked!”

“Picnic?” 

Dan Xingyu: “It’s… a custom back home. When the weather is nice, everyone goes out for a picnic with family or close friends. We bring lots of delicious food, find a scenic spot outdoors, spread out a picnic blanket on the grass like this, and enjoy the scenery while savoring the food.” 

“Actually, your lawn is clean and beautiful—there’s really no need for a carpet,” said Dan Xingyu. “But for the sake of the ritual, let’s go all out!”

Qiyu listened with envy: “Your hometown sounds like it has a lot of interesting customs. I’ve never seen any of these before.” 

Dan Xingyu had already learned to keep a straight face when he gave himself away. He smiled and said, “It’s okay—you’ve seen them now. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we’ll be around for a very, very long time. Everything we’ve missed out on, everything we haven’t experienced yet—we can take our time with it all.” 

Qiyu thought about it and nodded contentedly: “You’re right.”

Just then, the fishing rod twitched.

Dan Xingyu immediately held his breath and carefully reeled in the line.

Qiyu sat beside him, completely unaware of why he was being so cautious: “Why don’t you reel it in?” Right—it might not even be a fish down there.

Dan Xingyu gave a sharp tug, pulling whatever was down there up.

【Obtained half a rotting wooden table.】 “……”

Dan Xingyu’s expression turned serious as he glanced first at the lake, then at the rotten wooden table. 

Just as Qiyu was about to comfort him, he heard him cheer loudly, “This is so much fun! Is this what anglers enjoy?” 

Excitedly, he took out another piece of game meat, baited the hook, and cast it out.

Qiyu also thought fishing was pretty fun, though he usually lost interest after a few tries—he hadn’t expected Dan Xingyu to enjoy it so much.

So, for the entire morning, Dan Xingyu spent his time eagerly opening mystery boxes, while Qiyu sat beside him, munching on snacks and keeping him company as he fished. 

By noon, their total haul was: half a rotten wooden table, 2 soggy seaweeds, 2 wooden chests, 1 sapphire ring, 1 tattered treasure map, 1 woman’s slipper, and 1 beautiful golden cup. 

“I think I’m getting a little carried away,” Dan Xingyu realized belatedly. 

He looked at Qiyu beside him, feeling a little embarrassed: “I’ve had you sit here with me for so long—it must be boring, right?” Qiyu shook his head: “You’re my guest; as long as you’re having fun, that’s all that matters. Besides, I’m not bored.” 

Sometimes, doing absolutely nothing—just sitting and resting, taking in the scenery, watching Dan Xingyu fish, and enjoying some good food—is quite pleasant.

Dan Xingyu stood up: “You have a kitchen, right? Let’s prepare that big one for lunch.”

“Yes,” Qiyu said. “My kitchen is spacious and bright—it has everything.” 

He’d simply never tried it—he gave up the moment he realized that cooking wasn’t just a matter of boiling something until it was done, but required much more skill. After reading the description of this Ruby King Crab, Dan Xingyu decided: such a top-quality, delicious ingredient didn’t need any elaborate cooking at all. The two of them enjoyed crab roe steamed eggs,

Ruby King Crab sashimi, and one huge steamed crab leg each. 

This Ruby King Crab was truly enormous.

After their physical enhancements, both of them had developed quite hearty appetites, yet even so, they couldn’t finish even a third of the crab.

Dan Xingyu leaned back in his chair: “A month ago, if someone had told me that one day I’d eat so much king crab that I’d get sick of it, I would’ve laughed and said they were dreaming.” 

He paused for a moment: “But being dragged into a survival game seems even less realistic than a dream.” 

As he thought this, he suddenly started laughing.

After they finished cleaning up the kitchen together, Qiyu took him to the farmland area.

Dan Xingyu looked at the bright sunflowers, screaming lily of the valley, irritable tomatoes, wind blade grass, and demon vines… His expression grew somewhat peculiar.

“You really have a wealth of talent here—wait, I mean, a wealth of plant life. It reminds me of a really popular game back home.” 

Qiyu: “What?”

“I guess you don’t know about it—after all, it’s, um, pretty niche,” Dan Xingyu said, making things up as he went along. “Plants vs. Zombies—never heard of it, have you?” 

Qiyu shook his head, as expected.

However, even though he’d never played the Plants vs. Zombies game, he’d seen the mutated Plants vs. Zombies with his own eyes. 

As for the gold apple sapling and the seven-colored flower, Dan Xingyu had only glanced at them from a distance, but he could tell how precious they were. Precious and delicate magical plants—as a martial artist and complete outsider, he’d better not get too close.

Next was the Tree of Life, which piqued his curiosity immensely.

When he actually saw the Tree of Life in person, Dan Xingyu felt a bit disappointed: it looked perfectly ordinary, much like the common trees found anywhere along the roadside. It lacked entirely the otherworldly qualities he’d imagined in his mind.

But when he stood beneath the tree…

Dan Xingyu: I admit I spoke a little too loudly just now! 

He couldn’t sense the dense magical elements Qiyu had mentioned, but that heavy, abundant life energy was constantly flowing into his body, nourishing every cell.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing himself to step out of the Tree of Life’s vicinity.

“That felt amazing. I’m afraid if I stay a little longer, I won’t want to leave.” 

Qiyu nodded in deep understanding: “I get it. When I first got it, I sat under the tree and cultivated all night—it really was that comfortable.”

He said cheerfully, “Anyway, with the portal, you can come here whenever you want. Just drop by whenever you have time. You’ll get used to it in a few days.”