A single meal heated up the decade-long estrangement and awkwardness between strangers.
The old bug was all smiles, and Pipi gradually shed his reserve, enthusiastically asking about Lu Qing’s situation. The food was fragrant, with dishes made from ingredients freshly picked from the village.
Just as Arachne finished a bowl of thick soup, Pipi introduced him to Lu Qing: “This is my boss. He suffered some injuries previously and is currently recuperating in our village.”
Suddenly being named, Arachne swallowed the meat in his mouth and looked up, giving a casual, slight smile: “Hello, Arachne.”
Lu Qing stole a glance at the scar on Arachne’s right eye. The mercenary leader sensed it immediately; his rough palm brushed over the sunken eyelid. “This was slashed by an unreasonable Female bug a year ago.”
“The doctor said the eye had been contaminated by venom for too long; there is no way to treat it,” Arachne said with a shrug. “I am basically half-blind now.”
Lu Qing: “I am sorry.”
Arachne smiled: “No need to feel sorry. I have been used to it for over a year.”
The old bug let out a long sigh at this moment, his eyes looking out the window filled with a trace of melancholy: “If Arachne had not been helping us, this small village would have ceased to exist long ago. Countless young bugs were blinded by money and left one after another. Relying only on us lonely old bugs and a few able-bodied adults, we simply cannot resist those Noble bugs.”
“Some villagers who were unwilling to leave their hometown were beaten into submission by the thugs brought by the Nobles. Now they are unwilling to work and unwilling to come out; they hide in their rooms and only poke their heads out when absolutely necessary.”
The old bug shook his head, then looked at Arachne with guilt: “Arachne and a few young men from the village formed a defense team and drove away many persistent Noble bugs. To express our gratitude, we wanted to try some ancient family recipes to treat his eye, but we found they had no effect at all.”
The old bug suddenly paused as if thinking of something, stealing a glance at Lu Qing. To some extent, Lu Qing and Arachne were somewhat similar, both were poor children with eye ailments.
Lu Qing did not show a pained expression because of this. Instead, he pondered for a moment. “When do those bugs usually come?”
“In the afternoon, around the time you arrived today,” the old bug replied.
“Is the pond for catching Ginseng Fish in the village still there?”
“It is. Although the foundation near the pond was damaged by bad bugs, it was repaired quickly. The Ginseng Fish are living well.”
Pipi paused for a moment, asking half-guessingly: “Does Xiao Qi want to eat Ginseng Fish? Should I go catch two for you?”
Lu Qing shook his head slightly: “No need, Brother Pipi. I do not want to eat fish.”
Arachne’s knuckles rubbed the rim of his bowl, staring at Lu Qing with interest: “Do you have some kind of idea?”
Lu Qing raised his eyebrows and smiled: “I have a small idea.”
Arachne was stunned, and then a trace of a smile appeared on his lips as well. The old bug and Pipi were both a bit lost.
Lu Qing did not say what his idea was. Instead, he left the village, telling them he would visit again tomorrow.
The next day, Lu Qing arrived at the village entrance pulling a suitcase. The small path was still uneven, a stone road covered in mud. Dilapidated houses sat staggered on the undulating, soft wet ground; it was empty without a single bug in sight, a scene of ruin.
From the back pocket of the suitcase, Lu Qing took out a data stick and a live streaming stand, then turned on the broadcast facing the village.
[Data connection in progress. Success!] [Bullet screen connection in progress. Success!]
As soon as the broadcast started, a swarm of fans rushed in. The comments flashed rapidly on the virtual blue screen.
User [When can I find a Male Lord to successfully escape singlehood]: Aaaaah, wifey, I am here! User [Niohuru Lu]: So excited, front row for the stream! Squatting, squatting, squatting! User [Always losing in ranked matches]: What kind of place is this? Not even a tree, completely deserted. User [Eyes watching at night]: Where is this? Did the streamer go to a small planet for a trip? User [Good son Lu Bao]: Heavens, my baby, why did you come here? It looks so dirty and messy. It cannot be some deep forest or old woods, right? It is too dangerous for a Male to go to such a place. User [Do not be angry]: Looks a bit familiar; I think I have seen this place somewhere.
Quite a few new faces appeared in this stream. Lu Qing glanced at the additional new fans, managing to memorize their names roughly. The number of fans online in the live room was far greater than before. Even though he started without notice, the current online count reached over six hundred and was still rising. This number was exactly within his expected range.
“Good morning, everyone.” Lu Qing held the data stick and walked around the outer entrance of the village, letting as many fans as possible see the village scenery. This was the direct method he had thought of yesterday.
During the process of reviewing materials and data, Lu Qing had watched many types and contents of popular streamers’ videos. He found that one type of streamer would conduct live broadcasts on-site. The places they chose were mostly niche and extremely distinctive, places with much natural scenery and little man-made repair.
As luck would have it, this small village was one of the few barren lands that had not been developed by the planet. When Lu Qing was young, he would occasionally come here with his female father and others to catch river food and cook large communal meals. The customs here were simple, and the villagers were very enthusiastic.
The river food in the river behind the village was, in Lu Qing’s opinion, a rare delicacy in the world. Whether it was artificially raised or so-called bionic wild farming on the market, it was very difficult to replicate the natural and authentic taste. This was their greatest feature.
“My current location is a mountainous area located near the southeast corner of the main star.”
Lu Qing entered the village and, following his memory of those streamers who visited the countryside, knocked on the first door of an old bug’s house.
“Hello?”
“Uh.” The young Female bug who opened the door looked at the Male holding the data stick and display equipment outside with a face full of confusion. He was still wearing coarse cloth pajamas; his bedhead was exposed on the blue screen, messy and full of a strong atmosphere of daily life.
A few users who seemed to like Female bugs appeared in the comments.
[Hard to find a partner]: Oh my god, this Female is so tall and strong, his body is so good, his face is handsome and has a wild beauty. [Find a rich guy to support me]: Which village is this? Does brother have a partner? How much savings? Is it convenient to add contact info? My communicator number is XXXXXXXXX.
“I am a streamer from Doudou Live. You can call me Xiao Lu.”
Lu Qing spoke in fluent local dialect, his friendly smile very touching to the bugs. The previously somewhat distant and elegant feeling vanished; the aura around Lu Qing became more grounded.
But that was not the point. Pipi’s head felt heavy, still in a state of rumbling confusion. No, wait, is this not Lu Qing? They just met yesterday. Pipi was very confused; the grogginess from just waking up had not faded, almost making him blurt out his cousin’s name.
His cousin, however, acted as if he had never met him before. A strange gaze fell on him, and the smile on his face was light and soft: “I wonder if I could come inside and sit for a short while? I want to talk to you about some things regarding the village.”
Pipi nodded blankly and agreed to Lu Qing’s words. Once they entered the room, he said belatedly: “Lu, Xiao Lu, what do you want to find me for?”
“I came because of your reputation.” Lu Qing paused and said with a smile: “A friend came to your village to play before and told me there is a small river behind your village with various kinds of river food that are extremely delicious. As it happens, I have a strong interest in collecting various top-tier ingredients, so I came here. I wonder if it is convenient for you to work as a guide to take me around the village and introduce the local scenery?”
[I am hungry]: Dying of laughter, indeed top-tier ingredients. [After my Male Lord abandoned me he regretted it deeply]: Hahahahaha. [One punch per small Male]: Hahahahaha. [Rotting bug]: Hahahahaha. [What are you looking at]: Why is everyone laughing? I am a new fan and I do not understand. [Good son Lu Bao]: Replying to the person above, you will know if you keep watching. I reasonably suspect the ingredients Lu Bao found this time are not anything normal either. [Rotting bug]: +1, ever since I watched the streamer’s cooking, I can no longer eat those mediocre things. [Lying flat]: The most advanced cooking often requires the weirdest ingredients.
Pipi did not know what Lu Qing was up to; he just looked at the blue virtual screen floating in the air with a bit of curiosity. The village was isolated and poor. Pipi had always been unwilling to leave. His communicator was still an old second-hand model; he had not used the advanced projection function much.
Walking along the houses of the village, Pipi’s voice introducing the village reached several houses on both sides. They could not resist their curiosity and quietly opened a crack in their doors, but when they saw the strange Male, they slammed the doors shut and retreated.
“That way is where our villagers live. This large area of farmland to the left is our main source of food to support ourselves.”
Pipi had an endless supply of topics when talking about his village, and the weirdness of facing the blue screen diminished quite a bit; his voice was bright and relaxed.
“Our village is in a relatively remote location, but fortunately, we are the only village. There are not many bugs in the village; we often eat communal meals together. At night, we light a small fire, everyone gathers around the fire to eat and drink soup, and then we sing and dance. In the morning, we sleep until we wake up naturally, then do a bit of farm work. Of course, most of the time we do not need to look after those crops! The most exciting part is picking the fruit; we will divide the crops grown by each family equally so every villager can eat different vegetables.”
Pipi had been paying attention to the changes in Lu Qing’s expression. He introduced the village as well as possible, like a paradise, hoping his cousin would stay here for a while longer before leaving.
“That way is behind the village. I heard from the village chief that our village was built here hundreds of years ago, relying on this small river. There is much river food in the river, but the most common is Ginseng Fish. Every time we want to add to a meal, we catch a Ginseng Fish to boil for soup, braise, or steam, all very delicious.”
“Did you often catch river food in this small river when you were little?” Not far ahead was that small river. The village was built in a valley, so the river water was naturally crystal clear. From a distance, it looked like a fluttering, swaying transparent silk ribbon.
Lu Qing timely cut off Pipi’s words that were about to expose his identity, turning the blue screen toward that clear and transparent small river. He crouched down, his well-defined fingers dipping into the water. While feeling the coolness, he did not forget to say: “It is a very beautiful river.”
[One punch per small Male]: Although I really want to complain that it is indeed weird ingredients again, to be fair, the small river is truly clear. After struggling on the main star for so many years, I have not felt such a fresh and natural atmosphere for a long time. [Stick to Lu Lu]: The air is so clean! I can smell it; it is not the smell of a purifier! [You.You123]: Where is the streamer? I really want to go!
Lu Qing was about to speak when collisions and noisy shouting came from behind him. The sounds were very loud, mixed with the crying and screaming of Female bugs.
While the comments were sending a continuous stream of “?” and inquiries, in a blind spot where no bug could see, the corner of Lu Qing’s mouth hooked up for a moment.
“Well then, let us see what is happening over there.”
Lu Qing looked “confused” toward the village, turning the blue screen toward that small path crowded with many bugs, an angle that could precisely and clearly film what they were doing.