To Feng Si, this vehicle looked quite familiar. The flying car’s exterior was similar to a small, enclosed buggy. It had only two seats, front and back, but it came with a canopy to block the wind and rain.
The custom here was to park flying cars on balconies. Since her house was on the ground floor and had no balcony, she parked the car on her lawn, right up against the waist-high wooden fence.
She went out and bought some bowls, chopsticks, an iron pot, a stone pot, and salt. She also purchased some simple liquid soap, spending a total of five hundred coins.
Bai Qingqing also kindly took her to an inexpensive bedding shop.
A double-sided white rabbit-fur blanket cost only one hundred and fifty coins, while a roll of cotton fabric to use as a bedsheet cost one hundred and seventy coins.
When the furniture she had ordered online was delivered that afternoon, the empty house finally started to look more like a proper home.
They didn’t sell outdoor sun-protective clothing here, so she made a set herself. The bedsheet also had to be cut and sewn by hand. These tasks weren’t tiring, but they were extremely time-consuming.
After a busy afternoon, Feng Si sprawled on the sofa and calculated her remaining funds.
This shopping spree gave Feng Si a keen sense of urgency.
’Money just disappears so quickly. I have to find a way to earn more, and soon.’
’But... how long will I have to work to earn enough to buy back the Jade Pendant?’
...
The next day, Feng Si woke up early. After washing up, she forced down a can of vegetarian paste, fighting back a wave of nausea.
’Resting is out of the question. The only opportunities to make money are out in the wilds.’
Following Bai Qingqing’s directions from the day before, Feng Si piloted her flying car to the gathering point on the street at the base of the northern block. There, amid twenty teams of a hundred people each, she spotted Bai Qingqing standing in front of a vehicle and made her way to her designated group, the tenth team.
Due to the large number of people, the daily expeditions into the wilds were staggered, with different residential blocks going on different days.
For instance, since Feng Si had chosen today for her first gathering trip, she wouldn’t be able to join the main expedition into the forest for the next three days.
Of course, she was free to go into the wilds to find food on her own, but she would do so entirely at her own risk.
The ten hunting parties were composed of male beasts, with about fifty members each. The gathering parties were made up of sub-females, with about a hundred members per team.
After registering at the city gate, the twenty teams left the city. Led by the Mountain Chiefs, they dispersed. After another short flight, they parked their flying cars at the foot of a mountain. Bai Qingqing was the first to open her door and get out, calling to the others behind her,
"Today’s gathering area has already been cleared by the Beastmen, so there shouldn’t be any dangerous animals for now. Everyone stick to the edge of the forest and don’t wander off. Keep an eye on your communicators. We’ll all gather back here to return to the city late this morning."
The sub-females disembarked from their flying cars, each carrying two large baskets. They gathered in small groups, trampling the lush green grass. Beside them lay a dense forest that looked completely untouched by civilization.
Feng Si quickly got out of her car as well, standing on the periphery of the crowd.
Others turned to look at the unfamiliar face, and the more curious cliques immediately started whispering among themselves.
"That sub-female with the gray wolf ears and a face full of black spots must be new, right? I’ve never seen her before."
"I don’t know. Besides, she’s not a female, so who’d pay attention to whether she’s new or not?"
"I heard all the females are heading to the main city. They can choose any powerful male beast they want there. I’m so envious."
Feng Si stood off to the side, eavesdropping for a moment. When she realized there was no useful information to be had, she tuned them out, paying their idle chatter no mind.
Bai Qingqing efficiently divided the gatherers into ten squads of ten and had them enter the woods from one corner of the forest.
Bai Qingqing paid special attention to the newcomer, Feng Si, and assigned her to her own squad. She looked over and saw Feng Si wearing a wide-brimmed black hat and matching gloves, dressed from head to toe so that not an inch of skin was exposed.
"Wolf-Eared Sub-female, did you not prepare a basket for your findings?"
Walking at the rear of the group, Feng Si heard the familiar voice behind her. She turned instinctively to meet Bai Qingqing’s gaze and immediately realized she was the one being called "Wolf-Eared Sub-female," and that the question was directed at her.
Feng Si stopped and pulled a neatly folded piece of cotton fabric from her pocket. She spread it open with both hands, revealing two large, square cloth bags. "I brought these."
Bai Qingqing’s eyes lit up. "You’re very skilled with your hands."
Feng Si glanced at the basket on Bai Qingqing’s back. Thinking of how much she had helped her, she smiled and said, "This was made from scrap fabric left over from my bedsheet. I can make one for you when we get back; I still have some cotton left."
Bai Qingqing gave Feng Si a happy look. "Great! I know where we can find some jicama. I’ll take you."
Chatting, the two of them fell a ways behind the rest of the squad. With it being her first time in the mountains, Feng Si stuck close to Bai Qingqing as the pair walked into the forest together.
The trees were tall, and the undergrowth was a messy tangle of grass and branches. But along the way, Feng Si alone recognized several kinds of edible plants. This particular patch was a pine forest. A thick carpet of needles covered the ground, where several brown pinecones lay uncollected.
Feng Si stopped, bent down, and picked up a pinecone, tossing it into her cloth bag. Her pupils suddenly constricted.
[One point of Dust Breath collected. Gathering experience has reached Level 1. Space expanded to one square meter.]
!!
’The space! Got! Bigger!’
A wave of ecstasy washed over Feng Si. She immediately focused on her inner space to inspect it. What was originally the size of a watermelon had now become a square, cabinet-like space, one square meter in area.
’It happened right after I picked up that pinecone.’ Realizing this, Feng Si immediately reached for the other pinecones scattered around her.
Bai Qingqing turned and saw Feng Si gathering pinecones. She quickly stopped her. "There’s very little to eat inside those, and they take up a lot of space. It’s not worth the effort to carry them back."
"Alright," Feng Si said, changing the subject out of curiosity. "If we come out to gather every day, why doesn’t anyone try farming?"
Feng Si finished picking up the pinecones on the ground, filling half of her cloth bag. She had collected sixteen points of Dust Breath, but her space hadn’t expanded again.
’I probably need to collect a certain amount of Dust Breath before it will upgrade and expand again,’ she mused. ’And the notification mentioned "gathering"... does that mean I’ll get experience from other food items, too?’
Feng Si straightened up and, carrying her half-full bag of pinecones, walked over to Bai Qingqing. Seeing Feng Si catch up, Bai Qingqing continued deeper into the forest, replying as she walked,
"That’s a strange idea. There’s food everywhere in the forest, so why would we take up the Beastmen’s living space to grow more? Besides, the animals we eat are even bigger than the male beasts and incredibly ferocious; sub-females could never raise them. The male beasts already have their hands full just trying to clear out the dangerous creatures nearby. There’s simply no need for farming."
Feng Si had seen the size of the male beasts here. ’They’re ten times bigger than what I’m used to,’ she thought. ’Back in my world, they’d be called monsters.’
’Even bigger than a male beast!’
’When I traveled here with the Green Bull Beastman, we took wide, paved roads. They must be officially built and maintained, which is why we didn’t run into any danger.’
’It seems the dangers of the wilds in this world are even more terrifying than I imagined.’