Chapter 6: The Trio Outsmarts a Horde of Rats

“Squeak squeak squeak squeak…”

A series of sharp squeaks suddenly echoed in the air. Xiao Ling’er quickly turned her head and saw a dense swarm of rats rapidly crawling toward the cave entrance.

Her trypophobia almost kicked in, but she reacted fast—grabbing three burning torches and hurling them toward the entrance. The rats immediately scurried back.

Seeing this, she threw a few more torches to strengthen the barrier, then swiftly drew her pistol and fired six shots in rapid succession.
“Bang bang bang bang bang bang!”

“What’s happening? What’s wrong?” Xiao Yuhao woke up startled. When he saw the rats at the entrance, he didn’t hesitate—he grabbed a burning stick and charged like the wind.

Xiao Ling’er had no time to stop him. Yuhao wildly swung the firebrand at the rats. Luckily, the rats were timid and backed away cautiously.

Xiao Ling’er quickly joined him at the entrance, helping drive the rats back while reloading and firing more shots at them.

Although the rats retreated slightly, they didn’t completely scatter. Instead, they lingered at a distance, eyes glinting with hunger as they stared them down.

Xiao Ling’er grew anxious. This won’t do. I need to think of a way to drive them off for good.

Before she could come up with a plan, their simple-minded mother suddenly rushed toward the entrance, shouting,
“Ling Ling! Hao Hao, don’t be afraid!”

Startled, Xiao Ling’er reached out to stop her—but with a sharp tearing sound, all she caught was a torn piece of sleeve. Their mother had already stepped outside the cave.

“Mom!”
“Mom!”

Both siblings cried out in unison and rushed after her. Xiao Yuhao tried to pull Mu Xiya back inside, but she wouldn’t budge.

Their usually silly mother stood protectively in front of them, eyes fierce as she glared at the swarm of rats and shouted,
“Go! Go away! I’ll beat you up!”

Xiao Ling’er didn’t have time to be moved. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a particularly large rock near the cave entrance. In a flash, a plan formed in her mind.

“Haohao! Quick! Herd the rats into the cave!” she commanded.
Xiao Yuhao didn’t fully understand but followed orders without hesitation.

With a torch in hand, his figure moved like a blur.
“Squeak squeak squeak squeak!”

In no time, the rats were driven back into the cave.

“Mom! Move that big rock and block the entrance!” Xiao Ling’er gave her next command.

Mu Xiya was no less responsive than Xiao Yuhao. Before Ling’er even finished speaking, she had already rushed over, picked up the heavy rock with ease, and placed it firmly at the entrance.

The stone blocked the opening perfectly—like a custom-fit stone door.

Meanwhile, Xiao Ling’er piled the remaining torches at the entrance. Quick-thinking Yuhao gathered a heap of dry twigs and dead leaves to add fuel.

Soon, thick smoke began to billow. Xiao Ling’er took off her coat and used it to fan the smoke into the cave.

Yuhao and Mu Xiya followed her example, both waving their coats to intensify the smoke. The squealing from inside the cave grew louder and more frantic.

After some time, the squeaking grew fainter… then fainter still… until silence fell. Only then did the trio stop.

“Mom, move the rock just a bit,” Xiao Ling’er said. Mu Xiya did as instructed, shifting it slightly to open a gap.

Peeking inside, Xiao Ling’er saw that all the rats had collapsed on the floor.

Success! Xiao Ling’er smiled. She instructed Mu Xiya to move the stone aside completely, and the three of them—now dressed again—stepped back into the cave.

Xiao Ling’er used their one ragged blanket to bundle up the dead rats. Then she opened her system interface.

Sure enough, a prompt appeared:

[Field Rats x386 detected. Exchange available. Proceed? YES / NO]

A surge of joy rose in Xiao Ling’er’s heart.
She clicked: YES!

The number on the system panel’s wealth value had changed…

Huh?

Xiao Ling’er rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t seeing things—
The number following “Wealth Points” was 772, not 386.

She was in disbelief. She had assumed one rat would equal one wealth point, but it turned out each rat was worth two!

What a windfall! It was like a fortune had suddenly landed right in her lap. Xiao Ling’er instantly felt rich.

She hurried to check the clothing section—only to have her enthusiasm doused like a bucket of cold water.

A fox fur robe cost 1080 wealth points.
A rabbit fur robe was 988.
Even the cheapest brocade robe in the last row was 588!

Xiao Ling’er sighed.

Scrolling further, cotton clothing ranged from 200–500—a bit better, but still out of her price range for now.

More sighs.

Then she found the cotton-linen category, priced 100–200. Xiao Ling’er’s eyes lit up. These were at least within budget.

She finally picked out three plain short black-gray cotton-linen coats, one for each of them—128 wealth points apiece. Total: 384 points.

Next, she opened the daily necessities category and chose the cheapest quilt for 208 points, plus a shabby-looking quilt cover for 28.

So far, she had spent 620 points, with 152 left.

Gritting her teeth, she headed to the cold weapons category and spent 148 points on a dagger, leaving just 4 points.

Perfect. In just a few minutes, Xiao Ling’er was broke again.

But she didn’t mind. Wealth can be earned again—what needs to be bought, must be bought. She had only purchased essentials.

Comforting herself, she clicked “Harvest Potatoes” once more, exited the interface, and looked up—only to see Xiao Yuhao and Mu Xiya blankly staring at the now-empty rat bundle.

Oops!

She had forgotten that the rats would vanish after being exchanged. It must’ve startled them!

Just as she was scrambling for an excuse, Xiao Yuhao blurted out,
“Ah-jie! The rats are gone—all gone! The gods must’ve taken them back!”

Huh?

Xiao Ling’er: “……”

Then Mu Xiya said, “Ling Ling, gone… eat?”

Xiao Ling’er deciphered the meaning: The rats are gone, so there’s nothing to eat. Apparently, her silly mother had considered the rats food.

“Haohao, look over there—what’s that?” Xiao Ling’er quickly pointed at a huge new bundle next to their bag.

Before the wind had even died down, Xiao Yuhao had already opened it, his face flashing with excitement.
“Ah-jie! Mom! It’s clothes—there’s clothes and bedding!”

Mu Xiya happily ran over, picked up a coat, and held it up against herself. She then handed it to Xiao Ling’er with excitement,
“Ling Ling, new—new clothes!”

Xiao Ling’er smiled and helped her mother into the coat. Mu Xiya froze for a moment, then beamed and started spinning in joy.

“Ah-jie, here!” Xiao Yuhao handed another coat to Xiao Ling’er and then slipped the only boy-sized one onto himself.

His eyes lit up, “Ah-jie! It’s so soft, so warm—it feels great!”

Xiao Ling’er quickly put hers on too. This crazy weather was hot during the day and freezing at night.

She was genuinely satisfied with the 128-point cotton-linen coat—it might not look like much, but it was definitely warm and comfy.

“Jie, why do you think the gods treat us so well? Why would they give us all this stuff?” Xiao Yuhao asked cautiously. He was rational—you don’t take rewards without earning them, and he was starting to feel uneasy.