Chapter 15

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In Cen An’s imagination, Shi Long should have been a burly man with an Azure Dragon on his left and a White Tiger on his right.

In reality, he was not even as tall as Shi Jie. He wore black-rimmed glasses and a gray-blue shirt, with a fountain pen tucked into the breast pocket. He looked more like a physics teacher than a superpowered fighter.

Cen An could hear the two men speaking, so the superpowered people naturally heard them even more clearly.

The others exchanged glances and greeted him one after another.

“Captain Shi.”

“Good afternoon, Captain Shi.”

Shi Long adjusted his glasses and walked over. “What are you doing?”

Qu Yue frowned slightly, but still replied, “Buying vegetables.”

“White radishes.” Shi Long glanced at them and asked solemnly, “Are they beneficial to superpowered people? Have they been tested? Have you established a control group?”

Cen An instantly felt as though he had returned to high school…

Qu Yue said helplessly, “They’ve already been tested. Everyone except us was the control group.”

Shi Long nodded. “All right. If you need any help, let me know.”

Then he turned and walked away.

He did not look at Cen An even once, from beginning to end. Yet it was not deliberate neglect; he simply seemed to have no attention to spare for anything happening here.

Shi Jie was still unwilling to let the matter go. “Brother, you’re just leaving? Aren’t you going to ask about the medicine and how they saved your life? You’re practically about to become captain, yet these people won’t tell you anything…”

The two of them walked farther and farther away, but Shi Long never said another word.

Cen An frowned slightly. Shi Long’s personality seemed rather different from what he had imagined as well…

Qu Yue rubbed her brow. “Little Cen, did Captain Shi frighten you? Don’t worry. He may look stern, but he’s actually a good man.”

Wang Lie was still gnawing on the radish he had not finished earlier. “If you ask me, Captain Shi is good in every way except that he needs to keep a tighter rein on Shi Jie. That boy never does anything worthwhile.”

After pondering for a moment, Cen An spoke. “I heard that after Captain Shi took over the little market, he stopped allowing villagers to set up their stalls first and pay the stall fees afterward. There’s also a possibility that he’ll raise the stall fees. Is that true?”

Qu Yue froze. “Is that happening? I haven’t heard anything about it.”

She looked at Wang Lie, who was equally stunned. His brows drew together. “Captain Liao organized the little market. Ever since it opened, villagers have been allowed to set up their stalls first and pay later. If Captain Shi has really changed the rules…”

Zhao Wu said, “Because of Shi Jie, Captain Shi doesn’t have a very good reputation among the villagers. Could they simply be spreading rumors?”

Cen An shook his head. “I don’t think so. I personally saw an elderly couple worrying because they couldn’t get into the little market.”

Wang Lie’s expression grew serious. “I’ll ask the brothers in charge of the stalls.”

He rose and walked toward the superpowered team’s stall.

Cen An felt someone gently pat him on the shoulder. He turned around to find Qu Yue frowning.

“Little Cen, you don’t trust Captain Shi?”

Cen An had intended to say no, but when he saw the concern and worry in Qu Yue’s eyes, he fell silent for a moment before saying, “Sister Qu, I only feel that someone who truly has the villagers’ best interests at heart wouldn’t let his own younger brother bully others.”

Qu Yue’s brows tightened. “That’s not necessarily true. The Shi family… Forget it. If you don’t trust him, then you don’t trust him.”

Lowering her voice further, she said, “Don’t worry. Captain Shi’s ability level is only an early-stage Level Three, lower than mine and Old Zhao’s. Combat isn’t his strong suit. Besides, Captain Liao’s side… is recovering very well too. No matter what happens, Old Zhao and I can protect you. Just sell your vegetables!”

Cen An stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly broke into a smile, as though a delicate ink painting had suddenly come to life.

“Mm. Sister Qu, I trust you.”

Only after he turned around to tidy up his basket did Qu Yue slowly draw a breath and rub her chest.

Was this what it felt like to have a younger brother? Damn it, at that moment Qu Yue practically wanted to tear out her own heart and give it to him!

Cen An looked gentle, but in truth he kept everyone at arm’s length. Wasn’t it obvious from the fact that he still refused to let anyone visit his home? Faced with more than a hundred white radishes, he would rather haul them over himself, exhausting himself in the process, than let anyone make the trip to collect them.

Qu Yue had always felt that, no matter what Cen An thought, she regarded him as her own younger brother. If he was a little distant, so be it. Everyone had their own temperament.

She had never expected this young man to show her such a smile…

The child must never have been treated with much kindness. That was why, when someone showed him even the slightest goodwill, he eagerly opened his shell and revealed the softness within.

Qu Yue suddenly became fierce and determined.

Zhao Wu looked bewildered. “Wife, what’s wrong?”

Qu Yue said viciously, “Do we still have a piece of cloth at home? Go look when we get back. I’m making Little Cen a set of clothes! The ones he’s wearing are fine for now, but it’ll be hot in a few more days!”

Zhao Wu was completely baffled. “Then make them. There’s no need to be so fierce… Wait, wife, don’t lift a finger. Leave it to me!”

Wang Lie returned from asking around, but his expression had grown even more solemn.

“It’s true.”

Everyone turned to look at him.

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Wang Lie said, “The brother in charge told me that last month Captain Shi said they could no longer let people owe their stall fees. Everyone had to pay before entering. He said it was because the team was short of funds.”

The others exchanged glances. Shi Long had always been responsible for the team’s finances, and they truly had no idea whether this was an excuse.

Wang Lie said, “Brother Cen, don’t get involved in this. Pretend you know nothing, and the rest of you, don’t let anything slip.”

He was trying to protect Cen An. No matter how poor Shi Long was at combat, a Level Three superpowered person would certainly be stronger than an ordinary person like Cen An.

Cen An nodded. He truly did not want to get involved in the matter. Still, he would inevitably be selling things at the little market in the future, and he very much hoped the market could remain stable.

After returning the empty cart to Qu Yue, Cen An brought the remaining twenty radishes home.

The land at home had not even been planted yet!

Once home, however, he did not hurry to start farming. Cen An ate lunch first.

The meal consisted of stewed radishes, bok choy dumpling soup, and a cold dish of wild greens.

The bok choy had been stored in his backpack and was no different from vegetables freshly dug out of the ground. There was not much left, though, so the next time he wanted to eat it, he would have to wait until he planted more.

The wild greens had been mixed with the sparrow-tongue shoots he bought yesterday. He picked out the wild greens and made a bowl of cold salad.

As for the shoots themselves, he dried them beside the fire pit and made them into herbal tea.

The stewed radishes were made from the white radishes harvested that day. Though Cen An had been in this world for quite some time, he still could not help praising them. The food produced by the system truly tasted incredible!

These radishes had none of the sharp, unpleasant odor of ordinary radishes. Once cooked, they were instead sweet, delicate, and tender, melting at the slightest press of the tongue.

Cen An finished his meal in a calm, satisfied mood, only to feel that it was missing a little meat.

Ever since the dog’s owner had appeared, he had not eaten meat again. He really had to set traps and catch live animals as soon as possible. He could not keep relying on other people’s meat forever.

After eating, he grabbed a handful of sparrow-tongue tea and put it in the kettle to steep, then went outside to begin planting.

Five hundred and twenty crystal cores were enough to buy everything he wanted.

He opened the seed shop, bought a packet of white radish seeds first, and planted them one by one.

[Congratulations! You have gained 8 experience points.]

[Congratulations! You have gained 8 experience points.]

…

He had no idea how long the system announcements continued before a panel suddenly appeared in front of Cen An. Cheap fireworks effects burst across it with loud pops.

[Congratulations! You have reached Level 2!]

A smile appeared on Cen An’s face. He had finally leveled up!

The crop unlocked at Level 2 was…

Before he could check, the system gave him another surprise.

[The player has reached Level 2. The map function has been activated! Please explore freely!]

A map?

Cen An was stunned. Of course the game had a map, and it had been available from the very beginning.

After crossing into this world, the map function had disappeared. He had not paid much attention to it. After all, in the real world, expecting a real-time map was asking a little too much.

He had never expected the map function to unlock once he reached Level 2!

He immediately opened the map. Centered on Yongning Village, the densely packed Ten Thousand Mountains filled the entire display, while his own location was marked by a red dot.

The places he had visited appeared in color. The map even displayed their specialties and the kinds of mutant beasts found there. The places he had not visited were gray, with nothing shown, as though they had yet to be unlocked.

A smile reached Cen An’s eyes. The map could not have come at a better time!

He studied it carefully before opening the seed shop.

The Level 2 seeds had indeed been unlocked.

[Sweet Asparagus Seeds
Price: 150 crystal cores
Category: Vegetable
Growing Conditions: Thrives in Rain
Growth Time: 7 days, 8 hours]

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[Rainbow Tomato Seeds
Price: 200 crystal cores
Category: Vegetable
Growing Conditions: Thrives in Sunlight
Growth Time: 8 days, 10 hours
Note: Mature plants can be harvested three times]

So that was it. Starting at Level 2, crops came with growing requirements.

In terms of value for money, rainbow tomatoes were naturally the better choice. However, their growing conditions were unsuitable. After all, it was still the rainy season.

Cen An took out his crystal cores. The 520 he had harvested that day, added to what he already possessed, gave him a total of 533.

After buying the white radish seeds, he had 433 left. He still needed to buy another plot of black soil, which would cost 200 crystal cores, leaving him with 233…

Mm. That was enough to buy the sweet asparagus.

The land-purchase page had not changed. Cen An bought another plot of black soil and placed it beside the white radish field.

The gray-white sandy soil began to churn, while fertile black earth seemed to rise from deep beneath the ground.

Cen An bought a packet of sweet asparagus seeds as well.

He planted the seeds one by one.

[Congratulations! You have gained 12 experience points.]

[Congratulations! You have gained 12 experience points.]

…

By the time he had finished planting the entire packet of sweet asparagus, the system panel had changed completely.

[Farm Name: Harvest Farm
Level: 2
Experience: 1,900/10,000
Wealth: 83 crystal cores
Land Owned: 2 plots
Fish Pond: Unlockable for 1,000 crystal cores
Livestock Shed: Unlockable for 3,000 crystal cores
Backpack: 1 axe, 1 hoe, 1 pickaxe, 1 iron sword, 5 bok choy, 19 white radishes, 21 portions of rat meat]

Cen An read it several times with a smile before closing the panel and entering the house.

The water in the kettle had already cooled. He lifted it and drank several mouthfuls. The water steeped with sparrow-tongue shoots tasted sweet and carried a fresh, delicate herbal fragrance.

Then he picked up his basket.

Time to go up the mountain!

This time, Cen An wanted to look for a bamboo grove. Now that he had a water vat, he could finally start making traps and fishing rods.

He also wanted to search for some unusual materials… though that would depend on luck.

The fine drizzle continued without pause, but Cen An did not mind. He had a straw rain cape and a conical hat.

What surprised him was that there were quite a few villagers on the mountain. Many had draped torn raincoats over themselves and come out to gather supplies anyway.

Had something happened? Or was something about to happen?

He did not particularly want to ask unfamiliar villagers. Frowning slightly, he continued toward his destination.

He had already spotted a small bamboo grove on the map. It was not far away, and only a few low-level mutant beasts lived nearby, along with prey such as bamboo pheasants and wild ducks.

Once he cut down some bamboo, he could even set up traps right there. If he was lucky, he might be able to eat meat that very day…

Behind him, a black hem flickered once before vanishing into the curtain of rain.