Chapter 4: The Carrot Slicing Technique
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“Bro, are we not escaping?”
Fatty looked at Lin Nan with a sneaky grin, attempting to lead the young boy down the wrong path.
Seeing Lin Nan silent, Fatty continued his persuasion, “There are other sects besides Heavenly Sword Sect! If we escape, we can always switch alliances. I hear Thousand Bird City is great; a lot of people are heading there lately.”
Lin Nan tensed up at the mention of Thousand Bird City. “Why?”
Fatty said, “Don’t you know? Just two days ago, they announced an A-level mission with a hefty reward for clues about the Cold Moon Witch. Complete it, and you immediately qualify as an Inner Door Disciple in Thousand Bird City. We can take our chances there. Don’t worry, if there’s something good in it, I won’t leave you behind!”
Lin Nan snorted. “Not interested. You can go if you want. I won’t stop you.”
Fatty replied angrily, “Are you made of wood? If they tell you to slice a carrot, you really start slicing? Do you realize how much time that wastes? By the time we get out, our opportunity would have gone cold. Are you gaming, or is the game gaming you?”
Lin Nan had picked up a carrot and was mimicking the slicing motion. “I only know it’s righteous to pay back debts, even in a game. You want to leave? Go ahead, don’t drag me with you.”
“Seriously, what luck do I have to meet such an idiot! Fine, you just stay here and slave away for the NPCs. Don’t come crying to me later when you regret it.”
Fatty shot him a glare and turned towards the low wall.
By this time, it was already afternoon. The sun hung low, and Fatty found a bamboo basket to stand on, carefully peering over the wall.
On the other side was a narrow alley, completely empty.
“Hey, we’ll meet again in the bright green future, goodbye for now!”
With a “thud,” Fatty fell into the alley, and soon his excited laughter and cries of freedom echoed from afar.
Lin Nan shook his head, feeling surprisingly calm without Fatty around.
Maybe it was due to his little account maintaining a cool demeanor. As a player, he didn’t feel the need to chat as much as before unless necessary.
Whatever, why overthink it? Time to get to work.
Since Heavenly Sword Sect was the top sect in the game, he had to get in somehow, even if it meant taking a little longer. If a cultivator can’t even manage basic values like honor and integrity, how could he hope to advance any further?
Though this was a game, he didn’t want to become one of those irresponsible, selfish types he despised.
It didn’t matter how many carrots were piled in the backyard; as long as he focused, he’d finish sooner or later.
Two hours later, Lin Nan realized he was wrong.
The waiter’s example lay there; if his carrot shreds didn’t meet the waiter’s standards, the system would pop up a message: “You have completed a carrot (failed product) processing. The system will automatically deduct your payment. Please keep up the hard work.”
He had seen that message nearly a hundred times.
This wasn’t really Lin Nan’s fault though; before this, when had he ever handled ingredients with a kitchen kn*fe?
Even after living independently, he mostly relied on takeout for meals, so while slicing was fine on a bad day, making the shreds as uniformly thin and even as the waiter did? That was simply preposterous!
Ha, he didn’t believe this nonsense.
Failure number one hundred fifty…
Sigh. Exhausted, Lin Nan dropped the kn*fe. The sun had already set; the sky blazed with colorful clouds, a sight to behold.
As he paused to take it all in, a dark figure suddenly appeared on the wall, wheezing and panting.
On high alert, Lin Nan grabbed the kitchen kn*fe. Were there thieves in Sky Sword City too? But, of course, in a fully immersive virtual game, all sorts of human resemblances would show up!
This guy didn’t think the backyard was abandoned, did he?
Lin Nan quietly approached, planning to take a swing as soon as the thief lost his balance, then call for the waiter. Perhaps with that act of heroism, he could lessen his workload a bit.
The clumsy thief fell into the courtyard with a “thud,” and before he could get back up, someone lunged at him holding a glinting kitchen kn*fe.
“Wait! It’s me, it’s me!” Fatty screamed.
The kn*fe grazed Fatty’s cheek, hitting the wall with a loud clang, sending sparks flying.
“Fatty, what are you doing…”
Lin Nan looked at him in confusion.
Fatty patted his chest, relieved. “I thought it’d be wrong to leave you here all alone! So I decided to come back and share the struggle with you.”
Lin Nan gently blew on the kn*fe, the blade reflecting a cold gleam in the sunset. “Be honest.”
“I am being honest!” Fatty stood up with a goofy grin, glancing around. “Wow, you’ve sliced so much in one afternoon. Don’t worry, with me around, you’ll probably finish it all by tomorrow!”
Lin Nan shot him a side-eye, deciding not to expose him just yet.
Maybe Fatty went out for a bit and realized there were no plump sheep to shear, and suddenly thought working at the restaurant with free meals and lodging was better than drifting outside, so he scuttled back.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the waiter pushed the door open with a glum face and called out, “Time for dinner! You guys are sleeping in the woodshed tonight!”
Fatty cheerfully replied, “Alright!”
Lin Nan rolled his eyes at being stuck with such a character.
The food was all leftovers from customers, but to Fatty, they were delicacies fit for kings. He ate with enthusiasm, sweating profusely, exclaiming how great it was.
“Why bother worrying? Think of it as dining with strangers. It’s just that they ate half and left. We’re just sitting down to finish. It’s not my first wedding banquet; how many people do you really know at those things?”
Lin Nan was utterly speechless, but under Fatty’s hypnosis, he couldn’t help but eat a few extra bites.
Fatty didn’t care about that. Once Lin Nan set his chopsticks down, he devoured all the leftover scraps, letting out a satisfied sigh.
“Man, if I had known we could eat this much for free, I should have come to Eight Immortals Restaurant long ago!”
Lin Nan shot him a look. “So you came back because…”
Fatty immediately interrupted, “Of course, it’s for our brotherly bond!”
The two of them then took turns washing dishes, and an hour later, they finally returned to the woodshed.
Fatty patted Lin Nan’s shoulder with satisfaction. “Dude, I’m logging off. See ya tomorrow!”
Lin Nan watched as Fatty collapsed onto the pile of firewood. He leaned against the wall and switched to his little account.
She slowly opened her eyes, finding herself on a soft tiger-skin cushion, surrounded by misty curtains and softly flickering candlelight, as if she had just come out of a long dream.
Lin Nan lifted the blanket covering her and discovered she was only wearing a thin black nightgown.
At that moment, she was momentarily stunned.
Ever since coming to this world, she had been so busy that she never had time to appreciate this new body, and now, exposed to her own striking figure, how could she not feel shocked and mesmerized?
Just as her delicate fingers were about to delve into a forbidden place, a faint voice came from outside the bed, “Great King, Great King?”
Lin Nan blinked and quickly summoned her Black Robe from the system.
Once her emotions calmed a bit, she coldly replied, “What is it?”
Not sure if it was Little Drill Wind or Old Drill Wind, someone peeked through the curtains and half-knelt to report, “Great King, things in the forest have been strange lately. Usually, we go a year or more without seeing a single person. But over the past two days, humans have been passing through our territory; it’s quite unusual.”
“Oh?”
“Second Great King instructed us not to engage with humans until we receive orders from you, Great King. I thought I should report this to you ASAP, so I’ve been waiting at your door and reported as soon as I heard any movement.”
Lin Nan immediately recognized who this guy was. “You’re Old Drill Wind, right?”
Old Drill Wind grinned widely in reply. “Great King, it is I!”
“Good, you did well. Where are Second Great King and Little Drill Wind?”
Old Drill Wind said, “I don’t know, but they left about an hour ago.”
“Not back after an hour?”
The Second Great King was a powerful Carp Spirit who could unleash electric shocks, though he was overly cautious. He almost caused Lin Nan to fail her mission, so after subduing him, Lin Nan appointed him as the second-in-command of Cold Wind Cave to assist her with day-to-day tasks while she controlled her main account.
But the Carp Spirit wouldn’t dare run off with his original followers, would he?
Lin Nan jumped out of bed; the hem of her black skirt swept past Old Drill Wind’s eyes. He stared at her back, filled with excitement at clinging to the fresh leg before him.
Little Drill Wind, this time I’ll be the one earning brownie points before the Great King, and you’ll be the one crawling in fear beneath my feet. Ha-ha!
Old Drill Wind tagged along right behind Lin Nan, his beady little eyes spinning around.
As they entered the underground cave, the little demons all half-kneeled before Lin Nan, fearing this new Great King would find something to assert her dominance.
Lin Nan paid them no mind and zipped past the demon crowd.
【Cold Value +10】
【Cold Value +10】
…
Just then, the Second Great King, the Carp Spirit, came down with a group of little demons and bumped into Lin Nan.
The Carp Spirit had transformed into a young maiden, her gentle and beautiful face would probably make any man’s heart flutter.
Lin Nan was no exception.
But she still forced herself to maintain her cool persona, coldly staring at the Second Great King.
But the next second, something surprising happened.
Never having knelt since surrendering, the Second Great King unexpectedly dropped to both knees with a “thud,” her eyes filled with admiration.
“Your subordinate, Cold Moon, pays homage to the Great King.”
Lin Nan didn’t speak, confused by why Cold Moon was being so dutiful now.
Old Drill Wind blinked. Did Second Great King find out about my little report to the Great King? Is she trying to win back her popularity? It must have been Little Drill Wind who squealed! What the heck!
