Ye Mian pushed aside a cluster of tangled weeds and looked at a patch of lush, eye-catching plants with fan-shaped leaves.
【Mutated Purslane (Purified): Non-threatening. Sour taste. Weakness: Roots and stems.】
Although Ye Mian didn’t know exactly what purslane was, based on its appearance and the information from 【Insight】, it wasn’t hard to guess that this was the wild vegetable she needed for her lunch.
Harvest it!
Ye Mian approached with her sickle, full of fighting spirit, and then… proceeded to engage in a “three-hundred-round battle” with this patch of purslane.
Likely to protect the roots where their weakness lay, the numerous stalks had intentionally tangled together. They were also somewhat slippery to the touch. After her hand slipped several times, Ye Mian simply set down the sickle and began tugging at them with both hands.
By the time she finally succeeded in pulling them apart, she had to engage in a battle of wits and strength against the stems, which looked incredibly chewy. When she used brute force, the stems became extremely hard; when she tried to use clever leverage, it felt like there was no focal point at all. To put it simply, it was a waste of effort.
When she finally managed to hack an opening, Ye Mian couldn’t help but slump to the ground. “Phew…”
After catching her breath, she stood back up, squatted down, and continued working along that opening.
Sensing that she was getting the hang of it, she gritted her teeth and harvested the entire patch of purslane in one go.
【Obtained “Mutated Purslane” x5. Store in Warehouse?】
【Additional Reward: “Vegetable Seeds” x10!】
Oh? Is this the Lingzhi effect at work?
Ye Mian first clicked “Yes,” then opened the system’s built-in warehouse. The Mutated Purslane was stored in the second slot. In the first slot was a paper bag labeled “Vegetable Seeds.”
She tried clicking on that slot, and two options popped up.
【View / Withdraw】
Selecting “View” brought up the item’s details: 【Vegetable Seeds x10 (Can grow into any random vegetable).】
Selecting “Withdraw” placed the item directly into her hand. Ye Mian gently rubbed the high-quality paper bag, feeling quite comforted.
“My hard work wasn’t for nothing.”
However…
Ye Mian looked at the field full of weeds. Even if she cut them all down, the roots were still buried deep in the ground. Later, she would need to use farming tools to dig them out and turn the soil before she could sow any seeds.
“It’s a long road ahead…”
With a sigh, she returned the vegetable seeds to the warehouse. After stretching her aching body, she put her head down and went back to weeding.
She didn’t know how long she had been cutting, but by the time the notification box popped up, she had so much momentum she almost couldn’t stop. She cut one more stalk of grass before finally standing up straight.
【Newbie Mission 1 Completed! Exp +5, Points +5!】
【Newbie Gift Pack 1 has been automatically distributed!】
Finally! Done!
Ye Mian rubbed her lower back, which felt like it wouldn’t quite straighten out. She made a “stop” gesture toward the three-headed dog, which was still diligently shoveling rubble nearby. “Da Hei, break time!”
The three-headed dog tilted its heads at her and tentatively dropped the dustpan it had been biting. It then ran over to the front of the house and lay down.
“Smart boy.”
Ye Mian took her sickle and entered the house first. Ignoring the thin layer of dust on the dilapidated chair, she sat down and leaned against the backrest, letting out a long sigh.
With this level of physical stamina, she really needed to train more.
Once she had rested enough, she clicked on the Newbie Gift Pack in the warehouse to open it.
【Congratulations! You have obtained “All-purpose Seasoning” x1!】
【Congratulations! You have obtained “Tasty Wooden Tableware” x1!】
【Congratulations! You have obtained “Mysterious Potted Plant” x1!】
“?” Ye Mian was full of questions. What were these strange names?
At first glance, they sounded impressive, but in reality… they were incredibly down-to-earth.
Ye Mian tapped the three new items in the warehouse and selected “View” for each.
【All-purpose Seasoning: Can replace any and all seasonings.】
【Tasty Wooden Tableware: Any food eaten with this set of tableware will become more delicious.】
【Mysterious Potted Plant: (???)】
The last one was a real question mark.
Curious, Ye Mian took the potted plant out and placed it on the table for a closer look. After inspecting it for a long time, she found nothing special about it—it was just a brown flowerpot about the size of a plate, filled about seventy percent full with brown soil.
She didn’t know if seeds were already buried inside or if she had to wait until she got flower seeds to plant them. However, since Ye Mian had almost never seen real flowers, she placed the pot on the only shelf in the corner with a bit of anticipation.
Next, she took out the other two items to examine. They were equally normal. The seasoning was a simple bottle filled with grayish-brown powder. The wooden tableware included a palm-sized rice bowl, a slightly larger soup bowl, a pair of chopsticks, and a spoon.
These two items, plus the purslane she just cut, accounted for two-thirds of her lunch.
Ye Mian opened the mission tab to check the remaining tasks. “I still need mushrooms, wood, and stone.”
While weeding, she had done a quick search of the farm, which wasn’t very large. While she wasn’t sure if there were mushrooms, the latter two were nowhere to be seen. Those small pebbles didn’t count; it seemed she would have to go outside to search.
It was already 1:00 PM. If she left immediately, she might still make it back to eat lunch by 2:00 PM.
With that thought, Ye Mian went to the storage room, put down the sickle, and swapped it for an axe she could barely swing. She originally thought about finding a rope to lead Da Hei, but then realized it was unnecessary in this situation, so she just walked out.
“Da Hei, let’s go.”
The three-headed dog had already adapted to its new name. It stood up immediately and wagged its tail as it followed by Ye Mian’s side.
Although the farm blended into the surrounding wasteland, Ye Mian felt the difference the moment she stepped outside the designated boundary. Aside from the chilly March wind, the air was thick with various pungent smells—rotting stenches and the distant scent of blood.
Additionally, because she had 【Insight】, she involuntarily tensed up even before she saw anything. Her back felt cold, as if she were being watched by something dangerous.
As if to prove her skill was accurate, after Ye Mian took a few more steps, she heard the sharp sound of wind behind her ear, followed by a shadow looming over her.
Without looking back, she knew it was another big one.
Considering that the axe might get damaged, Ye Mian didn’t turn around to meet the attacker head-on. Instead, she sidestepped a moment in advance.
Almost the next second, the massive object slammed down with a loud “Thump,” causing the ground to shake for several seconds.
“Woof!”
Seeing that the creature intended to attack Ye Mian, the three-headed dog’s eyes flashed with a fierce light as it snarled and lunged forward.
Ye Mian took the opportunity to retreat a few steps to get a full view of the giant creature.
It was a massive python, its body covered in hard, bluish-black scales. Besides its large head, the middle section of its body bulged with a large lump, as if something else had been stuffed inside.
【Double-tailed Snake: Mid-level mutated beast. Blood is highly toxic and corrosive (Inedible). Weakness: Stomach.】
Double-tailed?
Ye Mian was startled, then she shouted, “Da Hei!”
Da Hei, who was struggling with the snake’s primary head, heard the command. Without a second’s hesitation, it darted over like a bolt of lightning. All three heads opened their mouths and bit down on the snake tail that had suddenly appeared to attempt a sneak attack.
However, there was a level difference between the two. Da Hei couldn’t damage the snake’s hardened body, and by attracting all its attention, the Double-tailed Snake began a seamless attack on Da Hei using both its head and tails.
In no time, Da Hei was injured. Flesh was missing here, and deep-red entrails were leaking there; it looked extremely painful. Fortunately, it had learned to be smart, constantly counterattacking to protect its own weaknesses.
Ye Mian naturally didn’t expect Da Hei, a low-level mutated beast, to kill a higher-level monster on its own. While using insight to track the snake’s attack patterns, she quietly approached it from the other side.
Under normal circumstances, finding the stomach of this Double-tailed Snake might have taken some time. But right now, it was distinguishable at a glance.
It was the snake’s fault for being too greedy; even after eating to that extent, it still didn’t want to let go of its new prey.
Taking advantage of the moment the Double-tailed Snake raised its head high to launch a fatal strike at Da Hei, Ye Mian performed a sliding tackle underneath its body. She was nearly knocked unconscious by the thick, foul stench. Looking up, she saw pulsating bluish-black snake skin that wasn’t covered by scales.
There were likely many living things inside that hadn’t been fully digested yet.
“Da Hei!” Ye Mian stuck her head out and shouted again. “Over here!”
Since its trait was “Extremely Loyal,” even while heavily injured and facing a strong enemy, Da Hei charged toward Ye Mian without hesitation.
The Double-tailed Snake seemed to realize something and slammed its body down hard, attempting to protect its weakness.
What it didn’t expect was that this seemingly fragile human actually withstood its weight and wasn’t crushed flat. It didn’t know that a text box had just popped up in front of Ye Mian.
【Attack Immunized】
Catching a glimpse of Da Hei nearly arriving, Ye Mian shifted slightly to the side. This both pinned the snake’s massive body and cleared space for Da Hei to squeeze in.
“Bite it!”
Da Hei didn’t pause for a second. All three mouths bit into the area Ye Mian pointed to.
Once its weakness was bitten, the Double-tailed Snake lost control. The attacks from its head and two tails became uncoordinated, thrashing and whipping about randomly. Just like Da Hei a moment ago, it instantly fell into a disadvantage.
Seeing this, Ye Mian rolled out to safety. After all, the snake’s stomach had already begun to tear; it wouldn’t be good if something leaked out and drenched her head.
The Double-tailed Snake proved itself to be a mid-level mutated beast, as its death throes lasted a full ten minutes before it collapsed weakly on the ground, completely losing the ability to resist.
Da Hei, however, did not let go. Driven by instinct, it continued to tear at the snake’s stomach, then began to feast on the blood and flesh from inside the body, as well as the prey that had been swallowed not long ago.
Ye Mian was a bit surprised, and after seeing the notification from the system, her surprise turned to amazement.
【Your “Three-headed Dog” has successfully evolved. Attributes have been updated! [Click to View]】
Da Hei could actually evolve?
Ye Mian raised an eyebrow and clicked.
【Name: Three-headed Dog】
【Combat Power: 5】
【Skills: [Bite], [Claws], [Tail Swipe]】
【Traits: Extremely loyal, possesses a certain level of regenerative ability.】
“Two more points of combat power and one more skill.”
Ye Mian’s eyes lit up. She had been worried that Da Hei’s combat power was too low; even with regenerative abilities, it might be hard for it to fight more powerful mutated beasts, and she had been thinking about finding a stronger creature to tame. Now, it seemed there was no need to rush.
Just as she was thinking this, Da Hei walked over obediently after finishing its meal. The wounds all over its body had completely regenerated. Its fur looked sleek and shiny, and it looked spirited and majestic.
At the same time, two text boxes popped up on the system interface.
【Would you like to pick up “Double-tailed Snake Remains”?】
【Would you like to pick up “Bright Stone”?】