Chapter 3: Manor Level 3

Ai Ling slept the whole night on the tree, almost falling off a few times when she turned over.

Although her body ached all over, Ai Ling felt great when she woke up early in the morning to the sounds of birds singing and flowers blooming.

She had grown up with her grandmother in the countryside when she was young, but later… well, never mind, she just missed this feeling of being close to nature!

The fresh scent of new straw, the bright spring blossoms of the peach and plum trees, the clean, clear water and green grass… all of it had replayed in her dreams countless times.

Now, she was going to rebuild the familiar courtyard she once had on this strange planet, recreate the life she once loved, and never again worry that waking up would be just a fleeting dream. If her grandmother knew, she would definitely support her wholeheartedly.

The energetic girl jumped down from the tree and quickly checked her belongings.

A campfire, a shell, a bit of water, and a huge fruit that she had only eaten a little of.

Speaking of this red fruit, Ai Ling was completely puzzled.

It looked so big and red, full of water, and she thought it would be delicious. But after tasting a bite, she nearly choked.

It was so, so, so bad!!!

She had never eaten anything so awful in her life. It was bitter, astringent, and spicy, not to mention it was full of pulp, impossible to swallow. The only good thing was that it wasn’t poisonous, and after boiling it in water, it softened a bit, making it possible to swallow, barely filling her stomach.

Thinking of this, she patted her forehead and summoned Houhou.

“Fluffy Ball, I really can’t eat that fruit anymore. Tell me, are there any tasty things on this planet?”

Houhou had a blank expression: “I’m called Houhou.”

Ai Ling sighed: “Fine, Houhou. You guys want me to assassinate the Demon King, so at least let me eat and stay warm, right? A person is iron, and food is steel. How can I kill the Demon King if I can’t even fill my stomach?”

Only then did Houhou seriously reply: “As far as I know, since the Zerg Tribe destroyed nearly all the organic plants on the planets, no one eats fruit anymore. Except for the Beastmen Tribe who eat synthetic meat and the Vampires who drink synthetic blood, everyone else, including robots, metal tribes, beastmen, and spirit tribes, only drink nutrient solution.”

“Nutrient solution?”

“Yes, nutrient solutions come in various flavors and can meet everyone’s needs, far better than fruit. Unfortunately, Blue Star doesn’t have them. To survive, you have to eat wild fruits or hunt monsters for meat. As far as I know, except for you and Number 1, the other Xi Slayer—Number 2, 3, and 4—all eat raw meat.”

Ai Ling finally became curious: “So, what you mean is, there are other four Xi Slayer on this planet? And why do we have to kill the Demon King? Can’t the Starfleet just come and kill him?”

Houhou explained seriously: “The specific situation of the Demon King are not for Xi Slayer to know. I can only tell you that, for some special reason, only you five Xi Slayer can kill him. Otherwise, he would have ceased to exist long ago. And why do we have to kill him? Because if we don’t, he will destroy the universe!”

“Pfft!” Ai Ling couldn’t help but laugh out loud: “Is this Demon King Thanos?”

Houhou was about to roll its eyes: “I don’t know what Thanos is, but if the Demon King doesn’t die, after a hundred years when the seal is broken, he will definitely destroy the universe. If it weren’t for Blue Star being the birthplace of the Ancestor God, the Starship Commander would have already destroyed Blue Star.”

Ai Ling nodded, somewhat confused: “Alright, so basically, this planet doesn’t have anything tasty, right?”

Houhou exploded again: “Eat, eat, eat, you only care about eating! When will we start killing the Demon King?”

Ai Ling rubbed the fur on its head and giggled: “I said I’d go after resting a bit. Don’t worry, we still have a hundred years, I’ll definitely go after resting!”

Houhou went to face the wall again.

Ai Ling thought for a moment. As long as she wasn’t starving to death, she would ignore the food issue for now. The priority was to build a small shelter to sleep in. Sleeping on a tree wasn’t only unsafe but also left her drenched in morning dew. No matter how healthy she was, she couldn’t stand this much inconvenience. She had to ensure her survival first.

Starting the fire, she boiled some water, endured the bad taste, and ate a bit of the cooked wild fruit. Ai Ling set off again.

She had noticed the wetlands to the east yesterday, where tall, and tough grass grew in patches. It was similar to the reed grass used for wrapping ^[1]Zongzi (粽子) is a traditional Chinese food made of sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves, often filled with various ingredients. It is typically served during the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节, … Continue readingzongzi on Earth. This grass would be perfect for building a hut or even weaving mats.

The grass growing in the wetland had another advantage: it was easy to harvest. Ai Ling didn’t have any tools at the moment, relying only on her hands.

Ai Ling spent the entire day pulling grass and also found some dry, thick tree branches that had fallen on the ground.

When she returned to the campsite, she used the thickest three tree branches, tying them together at the top with reed grass, then placed them next to a large tree and propped them up into a triangular shape. After that, she tied more branches around the frame, securing them haphazardly, and finally, she fastened bundles of grass onto the frame.

After a full two days, an extremely simple hut was finally completed.

She used the remaining grass to weave a small basket. With no strength left to do more, she piled the rest inside the hut, then curled up on the grass pile and had a restful sleep.

The fragrance of fresh grass reminded her of her childhood, when her grandmother had asked her to watch the rice drying in the field to keep the chickens and birds away. But instead, she had fallen asleep in the haystack, and when her grandmother came, she saw all the chickens and birds, scolding her angrily. Ai Ling had cried and felt terribly guilty…

When she woke up, there was still a bit of moisture at the corner of her eyes, but Ai Ling felt happy and couldn’t help but smile.

Ah, another new day, and her belongings are about to increase again!

After washing up, Ai Ling called out to Houhou: “I can’t stand it anymore, do you really not know what’s good to eat on this planet?”

To be honest, that fruit had almost made her face turn green.

Houhou gave her a contemptuous look: “No, unless you go assassinate the Demon King now to earn some damage points. You do have some edible fruits and seeds in your shop that can be exchanged.”

Ai Ling was not happy and put her hands on her hips, saying indignantly, “Stop trying to push me to my death every day! I’m telling you, today I’m going to find something good to eat. Look, I built a hut, what else can’t I do? Not only will I find food, but I’ll also find things to plant. This place will soon become a prosperous farm, just wait and see!”

She said it and went to do it, hopping onto her small basket and heading west.

In general, the plants on the west side were more abundant than those on the east. Along the way, she found a lot of herbs that could treat injuries and stop bleeding. As for fruits, she did find quite a few, but they were all, without exception—awful.

Ai Ling was stubborn, determined to keep walking west until she crossed two mountains. Finally, at the foot of a mountain in a hollow, she discovered a plant with small yellow fruits that looked like grapes.

Ai Ling was overjoyed. This was the first small fruit she had come across in so long. All the others had been huge. This small one might be delicious!

Excited, she quickly ran over, but just as she was about to touch the fruit, the ground beneath her feet gave way, and “boom,” she and her basket rolled into a trap.

Houhou was startled and quickly flew in to ask if she was okay.

Ai Ling grunted for a while, propped herself up with her waist, and finally sat up. Fortunately, the trap wasn’t very deep, or her tailbone would’ve been broken.

After confirming that she was fine, Ai Ling stood up and noticed that there was a hole beneath the trap, just big enough for a person to bend over and enter. Her curiosity was piqued, so she picked up her basket and crawled inside.

Inside was a small room with a stone bench and a stone table. There had likely been many things placed around the area before, but over time, they had turned to dust.

Ai Ling didn’t even notice those details. Her attention was drawn to a piece of paper on the stone table.

It was a white paper, made of an unknown material, covered with a thick layer of dust. After shaking the dust off, she revealed the writing on it.

Unfortunately, the writing was very strange. Ai Ling looked at it for a long time but couldn’t understand it, so she decided to ask Houhou for help.

“What’s written on this? Do you recognize it?”

Houhou’s face showed a smug expression: “Well, you still have to rely on me, hm!”

It flew to the white paper, blinked its eyes once, and then on the flat surface it turned into, there was suddenly a translation of the text in Chinese:

October 12, 4880, Era of Cosmos.

Today, all the citizens of Blue Star send off the Star Lord and the soldiers into the Star Federation battle team with heavy hearts.

The zerg tribe has become too rampant, having invaded and annexed five-thirds of the planets. Wherever they go, nothing grows, leaving only barren wasteland. If the Star Lord does not join the battle, the universe will be at risk.

We, the citizens, are deeply reluctant, but in this critical moment, we can only bear the pain and pray for the safety of our lord!

Written by: Lin Jie.

After reading it, Ai Ling couldn’t help but sigh, “So Blue Star had people once… but how did it end up like this?”

Houhou changed back: “Of course, it was ruined by the zerg tribe.”

“And the Star Lord? Did he die too?” Ai Ling was a bit curious. “He seems like he was really loved by the people.”

Houhou snorted coldly: “So what… I have rules that I can’t talk about other people’s private matters.”

Ai Ling smiled sweetly, trying to please: “So you know, right? Just tell me a little bit, it’s fine!”

Houhou smugly replied, “There’s nothing in the universe I don’t know. You can ask about something else, but I won’t talk about this person.”

Ai Ling bared her teeth, muttering, “Little thing, getting all cocky now.”

“Fine then, tell me how I can earn exchange points from the shop without any risks.”

“…”

“What, don’t know now? Who was boasting just now…”

“I didn’t say I didn’t know. I’ll tell you. As long as you stay within 20 meters of the Demon King’s cave and secretly curse him under your breath in a way he can’t hear, the system will automatically recognize it as an assassination action. You’ll get 6 basic damage points as a reward, once a day. Hmph!”

“Aiya,” Ai Ling grinned, rubbing its fur that was standing up on end, “I see, you should’ve said that earlier. Let’s go, we’re heading to the Demon King’s cave!”

At this moment, Xi Slayer Number 4’s screen:

A lizardman was carrying a super laser gun, wildly firing at another lizardman, which was a size bigger than it.

The larger lizardman moved extremely nimbly, dodging laser beams and light balls, jumping quickly to the smaller lizardman’s side and swiftly grabbing its neck.

He squinted his eyes, about to apply force, but then he saw the smaller lizardman shed a tear and hoarsely cry out, “Star Lord…”

The larger lizardman was deeply shaken. He loosened his grip, his mouth slightly open as if to ask something, but in the blink of an eye, the smaller lizardman struck. A short knife pierced through the larger lizardman’s chest and abdomen.

Furious, the larger lizardman swiftly enlarged one of his hands and slapped the smaller lizardman, sending it flying dozens of meters away, knocking it unconscious on the ground.

Blood was pouring everywhere. The injured large lizardman staggered back a few steps, suddenly unable to maintain its transformation, and slowly reverted into a human form resembling an ancestor. It slowly knelt down…

【Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, is He Xi finally going to die?】

【In my lifetime, I actually got to witness the ending… why do I feel like crying?】

【Impressive!】

【Haha, I bet right, quickly, bring the nutrient solution!】

【Damn, I made it in time!】

【Everyone stand up, Number 4, Number 4, Number 4!】

【Number 4!】

【Number 4!】

【Number 4!】

—

At this moment, a person suddenly appeared in the corner of the screen. They were wearing dirty clothes, carrying a woven basket, with a single ponytail swaying back and forth, and their round face was filled with astonishment.

【Huh? Why is Number 5 here?】

【What luck, they got the kill.】

【So if they kill He Xi now, who gets the credit?】

【Of course, it’s Number 4, are you an idiot?】

【You’re the idiot, your whole family is, He Xi clearly isn’t dead yet. The rule is, whoever kills him will be the next Star Lord. Number 5 moving now would be the final act.】

【Shut up, quick, look, what’s Number 5 doing?】

【Is she trying to poison him?】

【Why? One stab would end it, right?】

【Probably wants to torture him slowly… wait, what the hell!】