CH 11

Tonight’s dinner was different from the mushy wild vegetables they usually ate. Even Su Nian, who seldom smiled, had a joyful expression on his face.

Although he was already ten years old, he looked more like a malnourished seven or eight year-old child. His body was thin and small, which was in sharp contrast with his exceptionally bright eyes.

Even though he was looking forward to the appetizing food, he glanced at Qin Shi anxiously.

“Mom, do we have enough food reserves at home? I miss the usual mushy vegetables that mom makes…”

Hearing that, Qin Shi felt her heart ache.

Her husband died shortly after the birth of her youngest son. Therefore, apart from the minimum necessities, Su Nian has never had a chance to experience the pleasures of life. Now that they had to pay for medicine and treatment of Su Dalang’s legs, the family could only survive on mushy vegetables. There was no way anyone would enjoy eating that.

The family’s savings and valuables had long been exhausted to afford the medical expenses. Qin Shi had prepared herself to make a trip back to her mother’s house tomorrow and shamefully borrow some money to tide over.

Su Jin quickly finished a small bowl of porridge and rushed out from the dining area.

She was a headstrong lady who couldn’t feel at ease within the heart-warming atmosphere and her heart ached at the scene. Since the sun had not set yet, Su Jin decided to explore the nearby mountains.

“Mom, I’m going out for a while. I’ll be back soon.”

She picked up a bamboo basket and strode towards the door.

Su Erlang, who had been silent, put his bowl down on the table and suddenly stood up.

“I will follow along…”

Ever since Su Jin returned, her behaviour had been very different. Su Erlang could not help but feel suspicious. How could a person change so much in one year?

“Don’t worry, second brother. I’ll be back soon.” Su Jin hopped out as she interpreted that exchange as her brother’s concern for her.

“Come back early, the sky becomes dark early here.” Qin Shi said in passing.

Shangxi Village, where the Su family’s home was located, was surrounded by several mountains.

Although the mountain next to the village was not particularly famous, for the villagers, it was an accessible place with abundant resources. As the saying goes, people who live near the mountains rely on the mountains to make a living.

Su Jin climbed the mountain along the path. The outer regions were mainly covered with weeds and shrubs. Most of the villagers who entered the mountains had actively roamed around these areas. Therefore, Su Jin did not waste time here, but headed straight towards the deeper parts of the forests in the mountain.

There weren’t many who dared to explore the deeper regions of the mountains, except for some experienced hunters who may pass by occasionally. Countless accidents had happened in the past, and many villagers still remembered those who went deep into the mountains and never came back.

But for Su Jin who had a wealth of experience from her past life, this was similar to a leisurely walk in her own backyard, free and easy.

“System#2250, scan the surroundings for signs of life within the radius of a mile. Notify me if there is any positive result.”

The Host finally assigned itself with a proper task! It was not that useless after all. The system replied cheerfully at the chance to show its usefulness.

“Okie dokie… Leave it to me.”

Su Jin memorized the path as she travelled. She casually broke a few wooden branches and twigs and weighed them as she assessed their suitability to be used as improvised weapons. She planned to make herself a bow and arrow when she has time in the future.

“Host, I found a rabbit’s nest 400 meters ahead. Come on, let’s hunt them.”

System#2250 was in high spirits. This was the first task it had completed for the Host after it became soul bound.

Even though its scanning capability was limited to a mile in radius, having something was still better than nothing.

Su Jin gave a superficial compliment. “You are really awesome…”

The system writhed happily and stuck out its small chest out proudly: “I … concur!”

Su Jin couldn’t be bothered to give anymore attention to the foolish system. She focused on the nest in front of her eyes and reached for it.

Suddenly, the system exclaimed in an anxious tone, “A signal with a large mass is approaching. Scanning in progress … It’s a wild boar, Host. Should you escape?”

“Escape… why?” Su Jin leisurely bit a blade of grass in her mouth and continued, “Do you not enjoy the taste of bacon?”

System#2250 “…”

(Why is this Host so reckless?)

The system cautioned in a trembling voice, “This wild boar is quite huge. Even a dozen male adults might not be able to subdue it!”

“Watch and learn…” As she was speaking, the loud noises in the distance closed in. Su Jin remained in her usual state of calmness. At best, the wild boar of this era was equivalent to the dwarf rabbits she domesticated in her past tribal life. Isn’t this pretty much a freebie?

“Bang, bang, bang.” The ground shook as a huge black boar with sharp fangs charged towards Su Jin. It let out a roar with its head slightly lowered, apparently preparing to mow down the person in its path.

At the critical moment before impact, a bare hand reached out to grab its tusk, followed by a fist that headed towards the wild boar at lightning speed.

Bam! Bam! Bam! The small fist made consecutive impacts on the head of the boar, each of which containing immense force.

After several blows, the boar lost its momentum and stopped moving. It fell to the ground with a thud, convulsed for a while and soon laid motionless.

“Host is super amazing!”

The clapping sound of applause from the system echoed in Su Jin’s mind. “It is spectacular when you beat the living shit out of people, but the way you beat the pig is on another level!”

This was only a wild boar. What’s the big deal about that? What an ignorant little system.

The system noticed that it was ignored by the Host. It racked its brains in annoyance and giggled when it came up with something.

Su Jin intended to drag the wild boar down the mountain with her bare hands. Just as she was about to roll up her sleeves, something suddenly happened.

The huge wild boar instantly vanished right before her eyes

It’s gone?

A gust of wind blew over the barren land, and a leaf landed where the corpse had been. Su Jin had a shocked expression on her face. This was not a hallucination, was it?

The system saw the dumbstruck expression on the Host’s face, and chuckled with its hand covering its mouth as it rolled uncontrollably in her mind.

A thought came to her mind. Su Jin calmed down, raised her eyebrows and had a smirk on her face. “Little fool, you have a spatial storage function? It seems that I underestimated you. ”

The system puffed its cheeks in slight displeasure, unsure whether it should be angry because Su Jin called itself a little fool or whether it was looked down on.

System#2250: “Humph!”

(I’m fuming mad! Even coaxing won’t appease me this time!)

Su Jin didn’t bother too much about it. But she was still satisfied with the convenience of having access to a spatial storage. Her curiosity was aroused and she asked with a smile,

“Alright, I shouldn’t have called you little fool. You have no objections to being called 2501TL note: Shortened from 2250. It can’t be translated, but 250 (èr bǎi wǔ) is a Chinese slang to insult someone as an “idiot/stupid person/pea-brain”. right? So, why not take the chance to explain all the other functions that you possess? You are stuck with me anyway. There is no point in hiding it. ”

When Su Jin made concessions, the system felt a sense of pride, but it could not shake off the feeling that something was amiss.

Flicking its non-existent fringe on its shiny forehead, the system straightened its back and replied, “I… words cannot describe how great I am! As a system specially designed for palace conflicts, I have all kinds of indispensable skills and tools. Even though I may not have any points now… but I have the free newbie gift bag available!”

The system sneaked a glance at Su Jin, hoping that she would probe for further details. But upon witnessing the fake smile on her face, a sense of guilt started to creep into its heart.

It continued to speak in panic: “It’s not that I was hiding it from you previously… But this gift package contains nothing of use for you. There are poison detoxification pills, body fragrance pills, acne removal elixirs, charm potions, skin care, bust enhancement and bewitching eye products…

These are the most basic and lowest-level tools for palace conflict. To access advanced items, you would clear the prerequisite tasks to unlock the catalogue and exchange for them with points.”

However, since Su Jin had no intention to enter the palace, what use are these items for her? Might as well keep those items to itself for now… Who knows, it might encounter other systems to exchange for some points.

The more the system tried to explain itself, the softer its voice became. It clearly knew that it was in the wrong.

“Are you angry?” System#2250 asked in a timid voice.

“Not really. After all, it cost me nothing to pick you up. I had no expectations for you. Great if you turn out to be useful in some way or another, it doesn’t matter if there’s none.”

Su Jin replied in a flat tone with her arms crossed as she leaned against a large tree. Her expression remained the same.

“But I want to make this clear. Now that you are stuck with me, I will only forgive this behavior once. There will be no next time.”

Su Jin had a smile on her face, but her words were cold.

(This little thing does not have a good brain and its thoughts are tainted with ulterior motives. It must have gotten ahead of itself. Better pull it back to reality, lest wings start growing from its tiny brain.)

The system pointed both index fingers together and submissively made a promise, “I swear I wouldn’t dare do it again. I will not hide anything from you in the future. Everything in the gift package is still there.”