Chapter 96 - 92: The Use of Shifting
Qin Ziwen then went upstairs to ask Deng Guang if he wanted to go up the mountain with them. Deng Guang hesitated for a moment and looked back at his family.
Xiao Xuemei nodded. "Go ahead. Our daughter and I will stay home. We won’t go anywhere."
Deng Guang nodded. "Alright, I’ll go pack my things."
After meeting downstairs, the three of them left the Gated Community through the nearest south gate. They then circled around to the north side and started heading east.
Qin Ziwen, Du Yu, and Deng Guang trekked through the mountain forest. To make it a quick round trip, they traveled light, bringing only their weapons, armor, and some dry rations for lunch. The Beaked Eagle flew overhead, keeping watch for them.
Along the way, Deng Guang stepped behind a cluster of bushes to relieve himself. Qin Ziwen and Du Yu stood a short distance away, chatting.
"Brother Du Yu, I heard you’ve killed a tiger before?"
"That’s right." Du Yu nodded in acknowledgment.
"How many?"
Du Yu was taken aback. "Sir, they’re not exactly cabbages in a field. They aren’t that easy to kill. I’ve only ever killed two."
"Oh... Wait, two?" The first part of his sentence was one thing, but the second half almost made Qin Ziwen do a double-take.
Du Yu said, "That’s right. The ferocious, man-eating tiger I killed had a cub in its den, so I took care of it as well."
Qin Ziwen couldn’t help but laugh. "I didn’t expect someone as straight-faced as you to tell a joke like that."
"Sir, watch out." Du Yu suddenly stretched out an arm, stopping Qin Ziwen.
Up on the slope, a leopard emerged from behind a tree.
It stared at the two men, then dropped something from its mouth before darting away in a flash.
"That’s odd. The leopard didn’t seem hostile. Why would it just leave its prey?" Du Yu said, confused.
But Qin Ziwen recognized it.
It was the same leopard he had fed the wild boar’s heart to.
He walked over quickly and saw a dead rabbit lying on the ground. "I’ve seen this leopard before. It was injured, so I gave it a piece of a heart to eat. I saw it once more when I came up the mountain after that, but it ran off."
Du Yu understood now. "Perhaps it came to repay your kindness."
"I go to the bathroom for one minute and you’ve already caught a rabbit?" Deng Guang said as he walked up from behind. Seeing the rabbit in Qin Ziwen’s hand, he clucked his tongue in amazement.
"I didn’t catch it, it was a gift." Qin Ziwen explained what had just happened. Deng Guang found the story fascinating. He had only read tales of foxes repaying kindness in books; he never thought a leopard would do the same. He laughed and said, "Maybe it saw we didn’t have any prey and decided to bring us some."
"Haha, alright, let’s take it then." Qin Ziwen picked up the rabbit from the ground. ’It was a kind gesture from the leopard, after all. Can’t let it go to waste.’
Not far away, the leopard was hidden on a thick branch, quietly watching the three men walk away.
It scraped its claws against the bark, a low whimper rumbling in its throat.
For some reason, it had gotten nervous when it saw one of the humans, and its jaw had gone slack, causing it to drop its prey.
...
As they continued up the mountain, two Black Falcons appeared overhead. They had learned their lesson this time and didn’t approach, instead flying high above to watch from a distance.
The three men arrived at the cave entrance, and Qin Ziwen peered into its depths.
Inside, he could just make out a small, white point of light.
’Is that... an Expansion Card?’
Qin Ziwen frowned for a moment, then his expression relaxed.
’An Expansion Card is fine, too. A Card from this Advanced Altar can’t be too shabby, and I happen to need more space for that Advanced Building.’
Qin Ziwen took a flashlight out of his bag. Du Yu glanced at it curiously.
He had seen the glowing object yesterday. It was even brighter than a tallow torch!
The only drawback was its limited range. Unlike a torch that could illuminate the surroundings, this Marvel, called a flashlight, could only light up what was directly in front of it.
"Sir, let me go," Du Yu volunteered.
"You?"
"Yes. I’ve spent years in the mountains. I’m skilled in this kind of terrain."
"Alright, be careful then." Qin Ziwen handed the flashlight to Du Yu, then took a motorcycle helmet from Deng Guang. "You want to wear this helmet?"
Du Yu tried it on, then took it off. "It’s too heavy. I can’t hear properly with it on. I’m more comfortable when I can hear my surroundings."
"Alright. Just be careful."
Qin Ziwen watched intently as Du Yu entered the cave.
’That sound from the depths of the cave yesterday... was it because taking the Card startled something, or was it just a coincidence?’
As he neared the Card, the flashlight’s beam suddenly died.
A moment later, when the light came back on, it was already moving back toward the cave entrance.
Du Yu jogged out, his expression grim.
"Sir, mission accomplished."
He took the white Card from Du Yu’s hand. Its front and back were both as pure white as jade.
The moment he held it, he knew its name and purpose: [Expansion Card] Small-sized blank expansion card.
Compared to yesterday’s Advanced Building and the Red Function Card from the day before, this Small-sized blank expansion card seemed a bit... lackluster.
’Does this mean the rewards from the altar get worse over time?’
Qin Ziwen looked at Deng Guang. "Brother Deng, do you want to reserve tomorrow’s Card?"
Deng Guang’s face lit up with joy, but he hesitated, looking at Qin Ziwen. "I... Can I reserve tomorrow’s?"
"Of course," Qin Ziwen said without hesitation.
A man is nothing without his word, and he had no intention of going back on his promise.
𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
Deng Guang nodded. "Then I’ll take tomorrow’s Card!"
The three of them made their way back down the mountain.
A little after six in the evening, they finally arrived back at the Gated Community.
Compared to the bustling activity at this time yesterday, the Gated Community was somewhat desolate today.
Most of the people still outside were wearing masks, and a few stalls were set up on the ground. Qin Ziwen saw someone selling medicine.
The moment the stall was set up, several people crowded around it. They even started arguing over a particular medicine.
’The price of medicine will probably skyrocket soon,’ he estimated.
Back at his apartment, Qin Ziwen went out onto the balcony. He activated the two Small-sized blank expansion cards, extending the boundary outward from the 10x10 meter area where his tavern building was located.
In the distance, the gray, misty boundary wall melted away like spring snow, expanding outward in a perfectly straight line.
It continued outward, forming a new 20x40 meter expansion zone.
He looked at the adjacent tavern and mentally commanded, ’Rearrange.’
In the next second, the small light orb of his Home appeared.
It projected a screen of light that transformed into a top-down 3D map in front of him.
Just like in some kind of city-building game, he felt he could now freely move any of the Card-generated buildings and resource nodes within the area, rearranging them to more suitable locations.
’This rearranging ability is fascinating. If the cooldown is ever removed and my Home becomes large enough, what if I get terrain Cards for things like mountains or lakes? I’d basically have the power to move mountains and drain seas.’
’Just by moving a Card, I could crush someone under a mountain.’
’Forget the future—even now, if someone broke into my Home, couldn’t I just activate the rearrange ability and drop a house on their head? Wouldn’t that just crush them flat?’
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