Volume 2: Winter’s End
In the live broadcast room:
“Indeed, household chores are truly physically demanding! Little dumpling looks so virtuous while washing the dishes!”
“I only see a Tuanzi Brand dishcloth, the kind that’s intelligent and fully automatic!”
“Ye Qian is dealing with the Baiyan seedlings; it seems like he’s going to make weapons.”
“No choice, the restrictions are too strict. It seems like all races are affected, and using talents consumes too much energy! In this world with a shortage of food, energy replenishment is difficult!”
Ye Qian’s method of dealing with the Baiyan seedlings is quite complex. After all, if only simple bows and arrows were made, they would be useless for today’s humans, and the bow might even snap directly. Therefore, in the processing of weapons, new methods have gradually been developed.
This involves individuals with extremely strong mental power integrating their mental power into the tools they create, thereby enhancing the efficiency of the tools themselves. It can even change their original atomic structure, resulting in new attributes. This method originated from the Phantom race with exceptionally high mental power and later spread, being applied to various tools in society.
Of course, this process may sound simple, but the operation is highly complex and demands great skill. Even the Phantom race cannot guarantee the final result. Those who can complete this are few and far between, and most of them hold important positions in various races, belonging to the elite talents of their respective races.
After Shu Xun organizes the surrounding supplies, the melted water on the bonfire has already boiled. Ye Qian is still sitting by the bonfire processing the Baiyan seedlings. Shu Xun watches for a while. He had seen this kind of behavior of using mental power to transform items in electronic books before and knew that the slightest deviation could lead to failure, so he didn’t disturb him.
Looking at the seemingly inconspicuous Baiyan seedlings in Ye Qian’s hands, Shu Xun feels that this act of infusing mental power into items is quite similar to carving runes. Carving runes involves guiding consciousness into various materials using specific patterns and graphic formations, along with possessing specific methods and mantras. The more powerful the rune, the more complex and difficult the carving.
In today’s world, infusing mental power is random and diffuse, providing basic strengthening capabilities, and the emergence of new attributes and functionalities is quite random.
Shu Xun doesn’t know if the difference is due to the distinction between mental power and consciousness; otherwise, with the current level of development in this era, at least simple formations could be inscribed. However, Shu Xun has not come across any records of such.
The reason for this difference is still unclear to Shu Xun. After all, with Shu Xun’s current cultivation level, creating runes is far from sufficient. Understanding runes is limited to inherited memories and the few jade slips left by Shu Xun’s father. Among those jade slips are numerous records of elixirs, spiritual tools, runes, and formations. It seems that Shu Xun’s parents prepared for this when they discovered signs of Shu Xun’s talent awakening. Because they didn’t know what challenges Shu Xun would face in the future, they tried to prepare everything they knew.
Thinking about this, Shu Xun lowers his little head slightly, feeling a bit low in spirits. Alone in this unfamiliar era, he knows nothing about his family’s situation. If only he could go back…
Just as he’s pondering, a slender hand suddenly appears in front of him—it’s Ye Qian’s hand. At this moment, Ye Qian is wearing a new set of black cotton clothes, simple and elegant, a stark contrast to the socks Shu Xun made himself.
“For me?” Shu Xun lifts his head in surprise, double-checking.
Ye Qian nods with a cold expression.
Shu Xun’s bright eyes instantly curve into a crescent shape. He took the small clothes and compared them in front of him, finding them a perfect fit. Stretching his little arms, he quickly puts on the small cotton clothes and then smoothly dresses in pants. After dressing neatly, Shu Xun stretches his short legs, satisfied with the thickness of the small clothes. It doesn’t hinder his movements at all. Shu Xun gains a new appreciation for Ye Qian’s crafting abilities.
“Thank you.” Shu Xun, clad in a brand-new winter outfit, stands by the bonfire, tilting his little head, sincerely expressing his gratitude.
Ye Qian nods, seemingly satisfied with his creation. He casually picks up the little dumpling that was earnestly expressing gratitude with its paw, puts it in his chest pocket, and then tidies up the still unprocessed tree seedlings and scattered supplies.
Shu Xun readjusted his posture in the pocket, although he added an extra layer of cotton clothes, the space in the pocket was still sufficient for him to fidget, mainly thanks to the average height of two meters in this era, resulting in oversized clothes and an increased pocket capacity.
Watching Ye Qian’s movements, Shu Xun knew they were about to continue their journey. Shu Xun, with his chubby hands gripping the edges of the pocket, observed the surroundings, recalled the map, and then pointed in a direction.
Ye Qian collected the boiling water, extinguished the bonfire, and then stepped in the direction pointed by Shu Xun, accompanied by falling white snow. Once again, the two embarked on their journey.
The dark sky hung low, and the winds howled across the vast expanse. The distant mountain ranges were undulated, and the surroundings were blanketed in a clean and pure white, with only the Baiyan trees standing tall as if resisting something.
In the live broadcast room, it was warm and cozy.
“Why does the little dumpling like holding its little chubby paw? Is this a habit of some creature? Do wolves like to hold their front paws together?”
“I feel so warm with Ye Qian. Ye Qian’s observational skills are definitely top-notch. When the little dumpling was feeling down, Ye Qian immediately gave it new clothes. This is definitely not a coincidence!”
“Above is correct, and I bet a battleship on it. When Shu Xun thanked Ye Qian, he must have been shy, which is why he picked up the dumpling and continued the journey!”
“Notice that Ye Qian used the same material to make clothes for the little dumpling as he used for himself. So now, the clothes of the two are almost identical!”
The live broadcast room was lively and extraordinary. Shu Xun’s appearance revealed to the audience another side of Ye Qian that was unknown to the public. Even though Ye Qian still had a poker face, remaining as cold as ice and snow, it couldn’t stop the enthusiastic speculation and wild imagination of the audience.
Taking advantage of the rare good weather, Ye Qian’s movements were swift. Along the way, he picked up dry branches blown by the wind and also caught two wild rabbits. The rabbits were quickly processed and placed in Shu Xun’s small backpack as reserve food. After all, the food Shu Xun collected at the forest base was very limited, with only some biscuits, canned goods, half a bag of rice, and a few cans of canned drinks.
At noon, nestled in Ye Qian’s pocket, Shu Xun extended his paw and poked Ye Qian’s chest. Ye Qian stopped as Shu Xun wished.
Shu Xun pointed to the east of the mountain range. “We should be near Micro Lake. Let’s head east. Micro Lake is on the outskirts of Micro Mountain Range, and it shouldn’t be far from here.”
Ye Qian, without any hesitation after hearing Shu Xun, immediately headed east, seemingly very convinced of Shu Xun’s judgment.
“Ye Qian, Great God! Why go to Micro Lake? Go directly to Micro City! We’re already falling behind, and it’ll be too late if we don’t hurry!”
“Listen to the little dumpling and go to Micro Lake!”
“I told you not to bring the dumpling, it’s affecting Ye Qian’s judgment!”
“What do you mean affecting? Ye Qian agreed to the route when the dumpling suggested it!”
“But obviously, it’s too late, at least a day behind schedule.”
Due to the change in the route, the live broadcast room was in chaos. This phenomenon appeared for the first time since Ye Qian started the broadcast. Ye Qian’s decisive and cold demeanor in the gaming world was famous. His judgment and decisions seldom went wrong. Ye Qian was like a beacon, embodying everyone’s confidence. No one had ever doubted him.
But now, because Ye Qian followed Shu Xun’s guidance on the road, there were different opinions about the decision to take time to go to Micro Lake. The arguments in the live broadcast room escalated as Ye Qian gradually approached Micro Lake.
Of course, until Ye Qian and Shu Xun arrived at Micro Lake, the live broadcast room did not reach any conclusive argument. Instead, a brief calmness ensued as they witnessed the arrival at Micro Lake.
Standing at the summit of the mountain range, the view was expansive and clear. Today was a windless day, with white snow gently falling. The sky was obscure, faintly revealing a hint of daylight. In the distant white world, a uniquely colored scene emerged.
It was a frozen lake resembling a blue crystal. The frozen lake water was firmly embedded in the pure white land, emitting a faint blue glow in the soft light. The intersection of ice blue and pure white painted a natural and beautiful picture, so magnificent that it seemed unreal. It was out of place in this desolate land, and that deep blue color resembled a gateway to heaven in this gloomy world, preserving the last vestiges of beauty.
In the pure black pupils of Ye Qian’s eyes, there reflected the ice lake, and Shu Xun was the same. The two stood in silence on the mountain range for a long time before setting out once again towards that expanse of deep blue.
The live broadcast room also fell into a brief silence, as if the recent argument had lost its significance. The excited emotions were inexplicably calmed, and with such a beautiful and tranquil scene, if it were missed, who could say it wasn’t a regret?
After a moment, Ye Qian led Shu Xun to the edge of the ice lake. The area of this lake was quite vast, with the edges of the lake covered in white snow. Along the lake shore, several elegant villas were scattered, indicating that people once lived by the lake. However, now covered in white snow and amidst the biting cold of winter, there was a sense of loneliness added to the scene. There was no trace of human presence.
