CH 38

TL: Moonlit

Philosophical Mouse is not preaching; it simply expresses the importance of sleep. Moreover, this is something Shu Shuishui has always adhered to. For Shu Shuishui, the most fulfilling outcome in life is probably to die peacefully in one’s sleep.

As for the simulator, if it represents the hope for life, then what’s wrong with allowing more lives to continue? Shu Shuishui even changed two grasshoppers for this.

Shu Shuishui doesn’t have complex calculations of human interests. His little mind is simple. If the world is going to be destroyed, it’s better for everyone to work together rather than one person trying alone.

Members of Team B in Zone B and the Gu Langu squad felt ashamed. They realized they hadn’t understood things as clearly as a dormouse, always calculating gains and losses, unwilling to suffer any losses. Now it seems that they are even worse than a dormouse.

After arriving on the Cang Zhan Star, Liu Du quickly grew to be shrewd, calculating, cautious, alert, and even cunning. These qualities were not considered negative on Cang Zhan Star; instead, they were symbols of strength. Liu Du couldn’t remember how long he had been living like this, but he once thought that he would continue to live this way until he died on the Cang Zhan Star.

However, now, Liu Du, who doesn’t trust his fellow humans, found himself believing in a small dormouse. Looking at the fluffy little creature, Liu Du couldn’t bring himself to doubt it. Who would suspect such a soft and adorable little thing? “Does Shui Shui still have a simulator? If not, I’ll leave one behind.”

Given the scarcity of simulators this year, Liu Du also had a rare moment of conscience. After all, the simulators were originally meant for Shu Shuishui, so they should rightfully belong to the Gu Langu squad. He felt like he was bullying the dormouse by exchanging them for two grasshoppers.

Shu Shuishui responded with a proud wave of its paw. “It’s okay, I still have a whole nest of them.”

Upon hearing the term “nest” again, curiosity was piqued among the group. “How many are in a nest?” Liu Du was also puzzled. It was the first time he had heard someone describe simulators this way.

Shu Shuishui extended his paw and began counting with his claw tip. “One, two, three, four, five, six… six… six…”

The group fell silent. Why did it stop at six? Wait! Could there really be six of them!

“So, Shui Shui actually found six more simulators, that’s amazing!” Yu Jin felt the anger that had built up in recent days dissipate as Shu Shuishui said, “I know, that’s why I wanted to make the exchange.” Now, upon learning that Shu Shuishui had found an additional six simulators, Yu Jin was even more pleasantly surprised.

In an instant, it seemed that their narrow thinking had been liberated. Perhaps because Shu Shuishui wasn’t human, it had a completely different perspective. The simulators were indeed priceless, and only Shu Shuishui truly understood the value of life.

Shu Shuishui shook his little head. “Not six, it’s five… five…”

Yu Jin reached out and patted Shu Shuishui’s small head. “Five is also great, Shui Shui, you’re truly a lucky charm!”

Shu Shuishui’s little paw became confused, eventually giving up. “Not five, it’s around fifty-six or seventy-eight or nine… I forgot.”

The group was stunned in place. What! Did they mishear? Or maybe the little dormouse couldn’t actually count. Fifty-six, seventy-eight, or nine? That simply couldn’t be possible. The number of simulators released this year was only a hundred in total, unless there was some sort of mishap during the release in Zone B. But that would be a joke.

“How many?!” Yu Jin was shocked and suspicious, rubbing his ears and asking again.

Shu Shuishui extended his paw and scratched his head. “Fifty-six, seventy-eight, or nine, it’s basically a nest. Shu Shuishui is going to make a tent for Gu Gu with them. Two parachutes aren’t enough. Your math is really bad.”

Yu Jin was dumbfounded, forgetting to argue.

Liu Du also couldn’t believe it. “How is that possible? There were only a hundred simulators this year! Did Shu Shuishui count wrong? Or mistake something?”

Shu Shuishui, slightly proud, said, “Shu Shuishui doesn’t count wrong. Shu Shuishui learned math from Shu Bao!”

After Shu Shuishui spoke, it realized that everyone around still had no reaction and absolutely didn’t believe it. With a thought, Shu Shuishui connected to the spiritual storage and then brought out the simulators with a swoosh.

On the rare open space in the mountains, a small mountain of simulators appeared.

The familiar sci-fi blue resembled scattered blue gems, shimmering and sparkling. Just casually piled on the ground, it looked like a massive treasure mountain.

“How…how can you just throw them on the ground like that!” Liu Du was so shocked that he forgot about Shu Shuishui’s space-folding ability. Could it really be a problem with the simulator distribution? But even so, they couldn’t just toss them around like that. It was heartbreaking to see.

The almost blinding blue light left the group stunned for a while before they finally believed what they saw. There really was a nest!

Shu Shuishui extended his paw and patted the cube mountain that was much taller than himself. “Found them in the mountain ravine. It should be accumulated over many years. Some parachutes are too old to be used, but these little seats are still well-preserved. Do you want to exchange a few more?”

Liu Du took more than ten seconds to control his excitement. “Exchange, exchange! But this time, we don’t need grasshoppers. When we return to Zone B, I’ll discuss a suitable price with my brother, and I’ll come personally to make the exchange.”

In a typical base, the number of simulators usually wouldn’t exceed ten. Despite the reduced number of simulators released this year, Zone B had a good harvest. Currently, Liu Du had four simulators in his possession: one he found, one he snatched using the energy shield, and two he exchanged for grasshoppers. Such a quantity would be considered a bountiful harvest in any base.

This was also the reason why Cheng Que, who provided landing points for simulators, was highly regarded. Although B Zone was not the strongest force, Liu Du could confirm that there were only a few bases with more simulators than B Zone. Perhaps only A Zone and the Absolute Safe Zone had a greater number, but even in those regions, no base could produce forty or fifty simulators all at once.

Faced with this nest of simulators right in front of them, Liu Du certainly wouldn’t refuse the opportunity to make an exchange. However, this time, he wouldn’t use grasshoppers for the trade. Exchanging with grasshoppers would be taking advantage of the dormouse.

After the thrilling experience of finding a nest of simulators, everyone’s spirits were lifted considerably. Even though these simulators didn’t have much direct relevance to them, for some reason, facing the predicted future of the Doomsday Era, they seemed less hopeless and powerless.

Upon learning that the Gu Langu squad was also planning to relocate near B Zone, Liu Du and Yu Jin agreed on the next time to contact each other. The two squads bid farewell to the mountains, one heading towards B Zone and the other returning to their base.

As for the people who were planning to seek refuge in B Zone earlier, they remained silent and no longer mentioned the matter. Yu Jin, unusually, didn’t pursue the topic further either. Compared to the nest of simulators, such a trivial matter was insignificant.

The Gu Langu squad was preparing to return, and Shu Shuishui had already collected all the simulators into his spiritual space. At that moment, he was carefully inspecting his eight grasshoppers. The grasshoppers were entangled by spirit silk and couldn’t move. Shu Shuishui wiped off the dust from the grasshoppers on his fluffy chest before gently placing them back into the grasshopper pouch.

Watching the whole process, Yu Jin couldn’t help but think, “…” Treating the simulators so roughly, yet handling the grasshoppers so delicately. Is this truly a difference between species?

Approaching from the side, Gu Langu was asked, “Boss, weren’t you surprised by Shu Shuishui’s original intention to exchange for simulators?” Yu Jin voiced the question in his mind.

Gu Langu’s expression remained calm, as if it was all within expectations. “Didn’t I mention before? Shu Shuishui has great business talents.”

After a moment of silence, Yu Jin remembered that Gu Langu had indeed said those words. Upon reflection, there was nothing wrong with that statement. Although exchanging two grasshoppers for simulators seemed like a loss, Shu Shuishui gained Liu Du’s trust in return. The direct consequence of this was that when they learned that their base was going to relocate near B Zone, Liu Du didn’t oppose it in the slightest and even provided some good locations.

If it were someone else, Yu Jin wouldn’t believe that Liu Du would be so kind-hearted. He feared that they would be attacked as soon as they approached B Zone.

In other words, the two simulators exchanged for were not just two grasshoppers; they represented incalculable long-term benefits! The locations that Liu Du provided were undoubtedly not within the invasion path of the cold wave. The value of such information was extremely precious.

After realizing the extent of the advantage, Yu Jin wanted to embrace Shu Shuishui and give it a few kisses. Of course, looking at Shu Shuishui’s innocent and pure watery eyes, Yu Jin knew that it didn’t think so deeply. It simply wanted to exchange for simulators, give hope to B Zone, and show respect for life.

Shu Shuishui neatly organized his grasshopper pouch and carefully carried it on his back. Even during sleep, he would put the pouch in his small tent.

Fireproof, theft-proof, and Yu Jin-proof.

Yu Jin, once again feeling rejected: “…”

Two days later, Yu Jin finally found an opportunity to speak with Shu Shuishui.

Shu Shuishui vigilantly placed the grasshopper pouch on his other side, creating a distance between it and Yu Jin.

“Shui Shui, have you been adapting well during these days of travel? Are you tired?” Yu Jin handed over a clean towel, gesturing for Shu Shuishui to wipe his freshly washed paws.

Shu Shuishui took the towel with his paw. “I’m fine.” Then he added, “The grasshoppers are also fine.”

Yu Jin thought that he might never encounter grasshoppers raised by Shu Shuishui in his entire life. Amidst his sadness, he didn’t forget about the main matter. “Shui Shui, how do you plan to handle those simulators? I can manage them for you…”

Yu Jin earnestly explained his plan, analyzing the pros and cons, as well as the experience and speculation he possessed.

Shu Shuishui asked in a strange manner, “Didn’t you say you didn’t want the simulators?”

Yu Jin was puzzled. “How could that be? When did I say that?”

“It was when I gave you the second simulator. I asked if you wanted more since two wouldn’t fit your butt, and you directly said no.” Shu Shuishui felt that humans were truly fickle.

Yu Jin struggled to recall for a long time before finally remembering the scene Shu Shuishui described. Suddenly, everything became clear! So, when Shu Shuishui asked if he wanted more, it meant this!

Yu Jin felt that life played a huge joke on him. Unbeknownst to him, he had missed the simulators while Shu Shuishui was right there!

“Don’t worry, I won’t make things difficult for you. I won’t give you the simulators. Don’t worry, and don’t be sad,” Shu Shuishui consoled.

A more despairing Yu Jin: “…” If only life could start over…

On the other side, not long after Liu Du left, he encountered Liu Po, who had come to rescue him. Seeing his younger brother’s slightly reddened eyes, Liu Po felt relieved but also burning with anger. His little brother had been bullied, so as an older brother, he naturally had to restore justice. “Who? Was it Gu Langu?” The person who forced Liu Du to activate the energy shield couldn’t be weak.

Liu Du was momentarily happy to see his brother but shook his head in response. “It wasn’t Gu Langu. It was a mouse raised by Gu Lan Gu, no, it was a field mouse that raised Gu Langu.”

Liu Po: ? So, his little brother was bullied by a mouse? And he even activated the energy shield?

“We won’t see Shui Shui for a long time. Brother, what do you think about raising a field mouse ourselves?” Liu Du had been thinking about this question on the way back.

“What?” Liu Po felt that he was increasingly unable to understand. Could it be that his brother couldn’t find a simulator and was feeling upset? “Ah Du, it’s okay. Simulators are scarce to begin with. Given this year’s distribution, not finding a single one is normal. Don’t pressure yourself too much.”