Chapter 102 - 98: Day 20 Settlement
Under the setting sun, Wang Xiaoli carried a large bucket of water, struggling to haul it up to apartment 202.
Hearing the violent coughing from inside the apartment, she subconsciously tightened her mask.
She placed the bucket on the floor by the entrance, then knocked.
A moment later, the door creaked open a crack.
Wang Xiaoli intended to put the bucket inside, just as she always did.
But the door was blocked. Granny Li clutched her chest and waved a hand wearily. She turned away, covering her mouth to cough a few times, then pointed her free hand at a stool by the door.
On the stool sat a large bag filled with some withered fruit, some cured meat, and rice.
Wang Xiaoli froze for a second. She picked up the bag. It was heavy.
’So heavy... Don’t tell me Granny Li gave me all the food she had left in her house.’
"Go."
Granny Li’s hoarse voice came from inside.
Wang Xiaoli took the bag, bowed to Granny Li, and turned to go upstairs. She took two steps, stopped, and had just turned her head back—
—when the door behind her slammed shut with a CLANG.
The setting sun cast long shadows on the wall. In a daze, Wang Xiaoli recalled a week ago, at about the same time. She had been coming home in the afternoon and saw Granny Li’s hunched figure struggling to carry a bucket of water.
On some impulse, she had gone up to help.
After helping her to the second floor, just as she was about to leave, Granny Li had called out to her. She gave her an apple and asked, "My back isn’t what it used to be, and I have to take care of my husband. Could you help me carry some water every day? I’ll make it worth your while."
From then on, she helped Granny Li carry a bucket of water every day. Sometimes Granny Li would share some candy with her, other times a few pieces of fruit, and sometimes some dried nuts.
Gradually, she got used to it.
After all, she sometimes went for a walk downstairs after dinner anyway. But a contagious disease had been spreading through the Gated Community these past few days, so she hadn’t been going out much. She only continued to fetch a bucket of water at dusk when there were fewer people around.
From behind the tightly shut door came the sound of Granny Li’s strained coughing.
Clutching the bag, Wang Xiaoli silently walked upstairs. For some reason, the things in her hand felt incredibly heavy.
Back home, she placed the large bag on the table and took out its contents.
Before taking anything out, she made a point of going to the bathroom to wash her hands thoroughly with soap.
Air-dried cured meat, shriveled fruit, a small box of figs, half a bag of walnuts, a small bag of rice, two candies wrapped in colorful paper, two new, unopened masks, and half a box of cold medicine.
When she saw the cold medicine, Wang Xiaoli’s hands trembled. She was certain now: Granny Li was entrusting her with her final affairs.
The thought left her feeling inexplicably depressed.
She sat on the sofa, running both hands into her scalp, her eyes dazed.
She didn’t know what to do.
’Right, the building leader.’
’Doesn’t our building have a leader?’
Wang Xiaoli’s eyes lit up.
She hurried downstairs and knocked on Zhao Pu’s door.
After listening to Wang Xiaoli’s story, Zhao Pu fell silent. Then he said, "I’ll go downstairs with you to check on her."
Standing in front of apartment 202, Zhao Pu felt conflicted.
Over the past two days, Granny Li had asked him for herbal medicine several times, even offering to trade rice for it. He had inquired, but herbs that could suppress coughs and bacteria were in extremely short supply within the Alliance Mutual Aid Association.
He had asked several times, but they were always out.
He knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside for a long time.
The two of them stood at the door for over ten minutes. When there was still no answer, they had no choice but to leave.
Zhao Pu shook his head. "There’s nothing I can do, then. The elderly have weaker resistance to infectious diseases. I suspect..."
Since the transmigration, similar incidents had happened frequently in the Gated Community.
After their spouses met with an accident, some elderly people with no other ties would choose to end their own lives rather than continue to suffer alone and desolate.
Wang Xiaoli fretted, "So there’s nothing we can do?"
Zhao Pu shook his head. "No. But the Alliance Association has a team that specializes in handling corpses. Once the homeowner’s death is confirmed, they’ll enter the apartment to remove the body. Whatever is left inside belongs to the cleanup team."
"What?!" Wang Xiaoli’s face showed she couldn’t bear the thought. "Granny Li, she..."
"I don’t know," Zhao Pu said. "Alright, go back home and rest. Try to go out as little as possible. However, if you want to join a gathering team, let me know. I can ask around and see if any new teams are recruiting."
Wang Xiaoli said softly, "Thank you, Dr. Zhao."
"Don’t mention it."
Watching Zhao Pu leave, Wang Xiaoli turned back to the door. She walked up and knocked. "Granny Li, it’s me, Wang Xiaoli. Granny Li, are you home?"
"Hey, keep it down," the resident of 201 said, opening their door.
Wang Xiaoli bit her lip.
This time she didn’t speak, just kept knocking relentlessly.
Finally, perhaps disturbed by the noise...
Granny Li opened the door. She looked up at Wang Xiaoli, her expression complex. "Good girl, you go get some rest. This old woman just wants to get some good sleep."
After a pause, Granny Li said, "You’re still young, like a flower. Live a good life."
With that, she closed the door.
...
"Bro, I’ve been practicing for two days. I feel like my arm is about to fall off." Qin Ziwu rubbed his arm, sitting on a small stool and watching his older brother practice his archery.
"If you’re tired, just stay in here a bit longer. This place helps you recover." As his voice fell, Qin Ziwen released the bowstring, hitting the bullseye dead center.
While practicing, Qin Ziwen felt his Arrow Skill improving by leaps and bounds, but as soon as he left the Celestial Star Arrow Gallery, that feeling of divine assistance would vanish.
Fortunately, the feel he developed during practice didn’t disappear. As long as he kept practicing diligently, his Arrow Skill would sooner or later get better and better.
However, he was using a Bow provided by the Celestial Star Arrow Gallery. If he used his Compound Bow, the feel might be different.
At this thought, Qin Ziwen frowned, but then, inspiration struck.
𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦
He turned, went back to his bedroom, and took out the Bow and Arrow Equipment Box.
He took out the Compound Bow from inside and brought it into the Celestial Star Arrow Gallery.
His fingers touched the bowstring. That buffed feeling... it hadn’t disappeared!
He turned to look at the box used to hold his Carbon Fiber Arrows, took one out, and aimed at a distant target.
THWACK!!!
The target shuddered violently.
The arrow pierced straight through the straw target, tearing a large chunk out of it.
He fired off all fifteen arrows in succession, then glanced down at his empty Quiver.
He carried his bow and quiver out the main door, then walked back in.
The Quiver was magically refilled, and at the same time, the Arrows that had been shot into the straw target vanished.
"Haha," Qin Ziwen couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
He had discovered a new use for the Celestial Star Arrow Gallery. The building granted a Bow Skill buff, but it didn’t specify what kind of Bow. Bows brought in from the outside counted too.
Coupled with the special effect of infinitely generating Arrows, he was no longer troubled by the limited number of Carbon Fiber Arrows that had previously prevented him from practicing freely.
Qin Ziwen practiced until well after ten o’clock at night before stopping.
He took a shower, then lit the tavern’s lantern to prepare for customers.
Feeling a bit bored in his downtime, he simply took out the two mountain animal encyclopedia fragments he had obtained yesterday.
’These fragments don’t seem very useful. I’ve basically never encountered the plants and animals described on them. But then again,’ he thought, ’the forest is so vast, with so many species of flora and fauna. Encountering them is a matter of fate; it’s normal not to run into them.’
The two newly acquired animal encyclopedia fragments recorded four creatures: Forest Giant Mayfly, Stone Cave Ancient Giant Toad, Monkey-eating Albatrosses, and Back Cat.
Qin Ziwen was reading it like a nature documentary, assuming it would all be new things he’d never seen. But he actually found something familiar.
Monkey-eating Albatrosses!
Solitary flying bird. Adult wingspan exceeds 6 meters, with some individuals reaching an 8-meter wingspan.
Fierce temperament. Feeds on monkeys, apes, and small to medium-sized mammals. Prefers to lift prey into the air and drop it. Also preys on smaller birds. Lifting strength can reach 100-150 kilograms, with a grip strength of up to 280 kilograms.
After finishing the two pages, Qin Ziwen saw that Du Yu was curious and handed the fragments to him.
Qin Ziwen asked, "Can you read the words on it?"
Du Yu frowned, staring at it for a long time before finally shaking his head. "I almost understand. Some of the characters are similar to the script from my home, but not quite."
"Haha, no problem, I’ll teach you." Qin Ziwen then started teaching him the characters while chatting with him.
Listening to the lord’s explanations, Du Yu sometimes shook his head, sometimes nodded in understanding, his eyes sparkling with fascination.
"My lord, these exotic beasts are truly wondrous! I’ve never heard of such things in Great Yong. To think this giant bird can snatch people and eat them... its strength is truly terrifying. But its large size also makes it an easy target. These birds may look big, but they aren’t that heavy. As long as we prepare bows and crossbows in advance and fire a volley of arrows when it descends, we can definitely injure it."
"It’s strange, though. After coming here twice, the Monkey-eating Albatross hasn’t been back."
"It probably went to find other prey. This paper says they’re solitary, so their hunting grounds must be quite large."
Qin Ziwen smiled faintly. "Perhaps it’s because our two worlds are different."
He glanced at the still curtains. "Looks like there won’t be any customers today. Let’s get to bed early."
"Yes, my lord!"
Du Yu slept on the living room sofa. It was a foldable one that turned into a bed when spread out.
Qin Ziwen himself used to love sleeping on the sofa; he sometimes found it even more comfortable than a bed.
He returned to the master bedroom and closed his eyes to rest.
Waking the next day, he checked the previous day’s settlement.
"You have successfully survived in the wilderness for a twentieth day. You obtained a Card from the altar and gifted it away... Comprehensive Score: 42 points."
"You have received rewards: [Building Card] Level 1 Salt Well, [Resource Card] Level 1 Stone Quarry, Nylon Woven Bags x10."
...
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