Chapter 79 - 75: Day 15 Settlement
Working together, he and his brother hauled the remaining half of the boar carcass home. The heavy, gamy smell of the meat mingled with sweat, clinging to their collars.
𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
"Brother, I want to take a shower," Qin Ziwu said. He felt sticky all over and couldn’t get comfortable.
Qin Ziwen nodded. "Go heat up some water."
Qin Ziwu was about to go ladle water when his footsteps halted. His brow furrowed into a knot, and he hesitated. "Brother, did we give away too much meat? You were the first to face the boar when we killed it, so you took the biggest risk, but when we divided the meat, everyone got an equal share."
Qin Ziwen wiped the sweat from his forehead. His gaze swept over his brother’s tense face, and he chuckled softly. "You think they don’t know that?"
Qin Ziwu blinked. He didn’t quite understand.
Qin Ziwen smiled faintly. "If you only give them what they’re owed, then once the transaction is complete, you owe each other nothing. It becomes a purely transactional relationship. There needs to be some give and take. That’s how relationships are built, how people grow closer."
Qin Ziwu mulled over his older brother’s words. "But what if someone only takes and never gives back?"
"Then that just means they’re not someone you can get close to," Qin Ziwen said, patting his brother’s shoulder. "You have to entice people with benefits to get them to move. Making empty promises doesn’t fly anymore. Alright, go heat up the water for your shower. Make extra; I’ll take one later, too.
I’ll carry the meat to the cellar first so it doesn’t spoil. Tomorrow, I need to find that person with the Salt Well and trade for more coarse salt. That’ll make it easier to cure any meat we get in the future."
While showering, Qin Ziwen discovered several new blisters had formed on the soles of his feet.
’Today’s workload was pretty heavy.’
After his shower, he fell into a deep sleep. After such a busy day, his body had long since been signaling its exhaustion.
You have successfully survived in the wilderness for fifteen days. Today, you caught some fish, hunted an adult wild boar, and raised livestock. Overall score: 55 points.
You have received the following rewards: [Expansion Card] Height Expansion Card (Micro) x1, Earth Cage x3, Mountain Animal Guidebook Fragment x1.
After waking up, the first thing Qin Ziwen did was check yesterday’s daily settlement.
He took out the Height Expansion Card.
As he held the Card in his hand, he instantly understood its use.
The Height Expansion Card (Micro) could increase the height of all spaces within the Home by 0.2 meters. From the outside, it wouldn’t affect the floor-to-floor height. This increase was permanent. After this, any new spaces gained from other Expansion Cards would all have a height of 3 meters.
Ever since he saw the "Height" attribute on the Home panel, Qin Ziwen had guessed there might be a way to increase the Home’s height.
It seemed his guess was correct.
He chose to use the Card.
The next second, light enveloped the dome above.
When the light faded, Qin Ziwen looked up. The ceiling was still the same ceiling, and the walls were still the same walls.
’It was as if nothing had changed.’
’Was it because a twenty-centimeter increase was too small to notice?’
But when he opened the Home interface, the height displayed was now 3 meters.
[Home] Building 8, Unit 2, 5-2
[Total Area] 998㎡
[Height] 3m
[Special Terrain] Desert 400㎡
[Buildings] Level 2 Cellar Grain Storage, Level 1 Beast Cage, Level 1 Restroom, Level 1 Blacksmith Shop, Level 1 Farmland
[Resources] Level 2 Spring Eye, Level 2 Iron Mine, Level 1 Coal Mine
[Unused] Level 1 Stable, Blank Expansion Card (Micro)
He soon understood.
He walked into the expanded area behind the restroom.
Looking back, he saw that an extra section of space had appeared directly on top of the original apartment’s location.
His home had become a "box," and outside this box, an extra 20 centimeters of space had been added.
He could imagine that if the Home’s height continued to expand, this place might one day truly become a small world of his own, and he would be its lord.
He then took out the Mountain Animal Guidebook Fragment.
From the feel of the paper, it seemed to be the same type as the Mountain Plant Guidebook Fragment he had gotten before.
The paper had a front and a back, with one animal recorded on each side.
The first animal was called a Dire Wolf.
Below was a colored illustration accompanied by data: an adult Dire Wolf had an average shoulder height of 1.1 meters, a body length of 2.4 meters, and a weight of 140-200 kilograms.
Habitat: Grasslands, river valley plains, edges of forested mountains.
Habits: Gregarious, scavenger.
Wait a minute. Qin Ziwen rubbed the bridge of his nose.
’If I’m not mistaken, aren’t these things supposed to be extinct on Earth?’
Besides, since when were the average stats for a Dire Wolf this exaggerated? With that shoulder height and weight, you could call it a small tiger and it wouldn’t be an overstatement.
’And you’re telling me a Dire Wolf with these stats is still just a scavenger? Then what in the world is higher up on the food chain?’
After reading about the Dire Wolf, Qin Ziwen flipped the page over.
The second creature.
Daeodon: Average individual shoulder height 2.2 meters, body length 3.7 meters, weight 1400-1800 kilograms.
Habitat: Grasslands, river valley plains, edges of forested mountains.
Habits: Lives in small groups, omnivorous, scavenger.
He looked at the picture of the aggressive creature. It looked a bit like a rhinoceros—extremely stout, covered in brown bristles, with an enormous head and a mouth full of ferocious, sharp teeth.
The giant wild boar he had encountered seemed as gentle as a kitten in front of this Daeodon.
Whether it was the Dire Wolf or the Daeodon, both were more terrifying than the crocodile leader. What’s more, both species were gregarious. The only good news was that both creatures seemed to prefer living in open areas; the forest was not their primary habitat.
Putting away the guidebook fragment, Qin Ziwen took out the three Earth Cages. Including the ones he already had at home, he now had a total of six intact Earth Cages.
He then went out and headed to Wei Zhaohua’s place.
Upon learning of Qin Ziwen’s idea, Wei Zhaohua was overjoyed and agreed without hesitation.
His father-in-law and mother-in-law were getting on in years. Although both were still sharp, sending them to join the Hunting Team was out of the question. A job that didn’t require going out and could provide a stable income just by watching over the Earth Cages was, naturally, perfect.
Then, Qin Ziwen went to find Li Yue.
When Li Yue heard Qin Ziwen had come over, he thought he was there to "chase him for the draft."
His face flushed red as he said repeatedly, "It’s almost ready, almost ready. I’ve been flipping through my old textbooks these past two days, looking for reference materials."
Qin Ziwen saw that there were indeed several large books on the table next to him.
He immediately smiled and waved his hand. "No rush. Quality is the most important thing."
Then, Qin Ziwen explained his idea.
Only after listening did Li Yue realize he had misunderstood, and he quickly agreed.
The job Brother Qin was offering was like a welcome rain in a drought for him. His leg was still recovering, making it difficult for him to get around. To help him, Brother Qin had actually gone out of his way to find this kind of job for him.
Thinking of this, Li Yue was deeply moved.
’Who says there are no good people in this world?’
After leaving Li Yue’s place, Qin Ziwen was about to look for Zhang Bo to trade for some coarse salt.
Suddenly, the voice of the Home’s little ball of light echoed in his mind: [You have received a new message. Please return to your Home to view it].
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