Feng Si’s gaze hardened slightly. She couldn’t figure out why her hair had been turning black so quickly these past few days. After all, she was more used to black hair anyway. Standing in front of the mirror, she pressed a hand to her rumbling stomach, then turned and went back to the living room, taking out a can of vegetarian food from her spatial storage.
She opened the can, and a smell of grass juice mixed with dirt wafted out. The contents were a thick, dark green.
Reminded of the taste of the meat can from before, Feng Si pinched her nose and chugged the entire can in one go. She ignored the equally bitter and foul-tasting dregs of grass juice; at least it didn’t have the gamy, stinking flavor of the meat.
Having barely filled her stomach, she now had the energy to take stock of her assets. She took everything out of her spatial storage one by one and laid it all out before her.
After buying the house, she only had sixty-five thousand coins left on her card.
Of the five thousand in cash she withdrew earlier, she had spent some on the road, leaving her with 2,320 coins.
She glanced around the house—her own house. ’It’s time to get some furniture,’ she thought.
Feng Si found an online shopping page on her wristband and, based on her immediate needs, bought a soft bed, a comfortable sofa, and basic home appliances. It cost nine thousand six hundred coins, and it would all be delivered this afternoon.
To save money, she decided not to buy a dining table; she could just eat at the prep counter in the kitchen.
Next, she bought three sets of clothes, from underwear to outerwear, which cost nine hundred sixty-seven coins and would also be delivered this afternoon.
As for food, other than the nutrient cans priced the same as in reality, she couldn’t find any fresh food for sale online. It seemed she would have to buy it in person.
Just as she was about to head out and look around, the doorbell rang.
Startled, Feng Si’s first reaction was to reach up and touch her wolf ears. Thankfully, she hadn’t even taken them off to wash her hair, and they were still securely on her head.
Feng Si swept her valuables back into her spatial storage, snatched a nearby gray hat with ear holes, and plopped it on her head before getting up and walking to the door.
Being cautious, she didn’t open the door right away. Instead, she opened a small peephole in the center of the wooden door and looked out.
She saw a petite, gray-haired sub-female with mouse ears standing outside. There was a yellow cloth band around her arm, and though the words written on it didn’t look like Chinese, Feng Si could inexplicably understand them.
North District Thirteen Buildings, Foraging Area, Tenth Mountain Chief.
Feng Si silently repeated the words to herself, her caution deepening.
’Who is she?’
’What does she want with me?’
The gray-haired, mouse-eared sub-female stood at the door, speaking with a smile through the wood: "I’m Bai Qingqing, the Tenth Mountain Chief of this building’s foraging area. I’m responsible for floors 121 to 141. Yesterday, I saw in the system that a new owner was registered for this residence. You must be the sub-female, Feng Si, right?"
Feng Si blinked slowly.
She still had no intention of opening the door and asked politely from inside, "May I ask what you need?"
Bai Qingqing smiled and activated her light screen, holding the screen with her identification information up to the peephole for the person inside to see.
As she did, she continued smiling and said, "You’re probably not familiar with the rules for settling in Nantong City, are you?"
"As a sub-female resident here, you are required to go out with the team from this building every three days to forage for edible plants in the forest."
"Of the food you gather, you only need to submit one-fifth to the Thirteen Mountains. You can take the rest home or sell it at the exchange on the first floor. This is a duty you must fulfill as an adult sub-female."
Bai Qingqing swiped past her own information on the light screen and then pulled up Feng Si’s resident information for the top floor of the building to show her, proving she wasn’t part of some private group.
Feng Si stared, momentarily stunned, at her own housing registration from yesterday.
Bai Qingqing continued, "The food you submit isn’t just to cover your daily water and electricity; it’s mainly for the young orphans on the first floor. As a foraging Mountain Chief, I came here specifically to inform you of the rules for living here."
Her smile was gentle, with no hint of cunning.
Besides, while Bai Qingqing was talking, Feng Si had already opened her own light screen and searched for the Nantong City residential handbook online. The information there matched what the sub-female outside her door was saying.
The twenty Mountain Chiefs for each ’Mountain’ in every district could be found on the official website, and sure enough, the photo for a Mountain Chief of the Thirteen Mountains complex was a perfect match for Bai Qingqing.
Feng Si lowered her guard. Pulling her gray hat down low to show only the lower half of her face, which was covered in black spots, she finally opened the door.
Bai Qingqing took a surprised step back. Newly arrived sub-females were usually quite timid. It typically took a few visits before they were willing to believe she wasn’t an imposter.
She hadn’t expected this sub-female to open the door just like that. Looking at the sub-female who was clearly just barely an adult, the middle-aged Bai Qingqing suddenly felt like she was looking at someone from a younger generation.
"You just moved in, so you can rest for two days. I’ve already added you as a contact. I’ll call you on your communicator when it’s time to set out."
Feng Si thanked her obediently, "Thank you, Mountain Chief."
She had just seen online that the Mountain Chief before her was an official who managed the entire building, and she seemed patient, not at all annoyed.
Feng Si stepped out of her doorway, closing the door behind her, and said with a smile, "I was just about to head out. As you know, Mountain Chief, I’m new here. I was hoping you could tell me where people usually go to buy supplies?"
Bai Qingqing replied enthusiastically, "You can buy most common things right here in our ’Mountain.’ The first and second floors are the market for the Thirteen Mountains."
She even shared a money-saving tip: "If you get up early, they sell cheap cuts of flank and leg meat, and the wild vegetables and fruits are cheap, too."
"If you want to buy fresh ingredients or other things, you’ll have to go to the First Mountain in the East District. That’s the commercial center for all of Nantong City; they sell everything there," Bai Qingqing finished.
"Thank you for telling me." Feng Si nodded as if she’d learned a valuable lesson, and followed Bai Qingqing towards the elevator.
Thinking that she would probably need to find a way to earn money soon, she asked another question:
"If I need to travel a bit farther out, are there reliable male beasts for hire as transport?"
Bai Qingqing froze, turning to look at her in surprise. "A male beast for transport? What a luxurious and status-seeking idea! That’s a privilege reserved for noble females. A sub-female like you shouldn’t even think about it."
Just then, the elevator’s glass doors opened. She walked in while saying earnestly, "If you want to hire a transport green-ox like they have outside the city, a ten-hectare distance would cost two thousand coins, minimum. Listen to me, a machine is much cheaper than hiring a male beast!"
"But I don’t know how to operate a vehicle," Feng Si said, looking troubled.
Bai Qingqing waited for Feng Si to step inside before pressing the button for the first floor. "Hovercrafts are fully automated. You just need to connect your communicator to set the route. I’ll take you to buy one."
Feng Si’s eyes lit up. She decided to follow the Mountain Chief’s advice, and together they went to a hovercraft shop on the first floor facing the street.
In the end, she spent one thousand five hundred to buy a black hovercraft. She also paid ten coins for a light-energy charge, which was said to be enough for a twenty-hectare journey, lasting about four hours.