CH 58

“I have a mouse friend,” Shu Shuishui said when he saw everyone staring at him, then he explained, “He’s from the northeast of China, and many people there speak like that. I’ve heard it a lot, so I learned it.”

Everyone: “…” Although they didn’t know where the northeast was, it sounded impressive.

Shu Shuishui tilted his little head slightly and continued, “Of course, I also have a bit of a knack for languages, so I learn these things quickly.”

Gu Langu extended his finger from Shu Shuishui’s lifted head and gave him a good rub from his head all the way to his tail. “Shui Shui is amazing.”

Petted by such good-looking hands, Shu Shuishui felt so comfortable that every hair on his body seemed to stretch out. The little dormouse squinted his eyes, a bit shy, and nodded. “Actually, I’m just moderately talented.”

Beside the campfire, everyone seemed to be stuck in a state of helplessness today, unable to free themselves from it. However, it was rare to see Shu Shuishui displaying a slightly proud yet shy expression—it was quite refreshing.

After finalizing two significant transactions, Shu Shuishui once again picked out a few potatoes from his spiritual space. Each person got a baked potato, allowing them to enjoy a day of luxury.

“I feel like this potato is quite similar in texture to sweet potatoes, but the taste is completely different. It’s delicious. Shui Shui, do you have any more seeds? I’d like to exchange for two more.” This was probably the case of eating what’s in the pot while thinking about what’s in the ground. Yu Jin liked this plant called potato.

Speaking of food, Xie Feng suddenly remembered that he still had two odd-looking pieces of something resembling food that he hadn’t eaten. He hurriedly went back to his RV, and took out those two pieces of deep purple plant stems. “Is this Shui Shui’s chew stick?”

Shu Shuishui looked at those two pieces of sugarcane. “Normally, I don’t use sugarcane for chewing, but if you like, you can give it a try. You peel it and then eat the juice inside. It’s easy to store in winter; you can bury it underground.”

Xie Feng clearly didn’t need a chew stick, but he eagerly grabbed the sugarcane and started gnawing on it. The first bite felt quite challenging, but the sweet taste in his mouth was extremely satisfying. “It’s delicious, but a bit difficult to swallow.”

Shu Shui: “…”

These two lucky pieces of sugarcane, which had managed to survive for two days, were completely devoured by Xie Feng, leaving almost nothing behind. Although Shu Shuishui later explained that chewed sugarcane remnants were supposed to be spat out, in Cang Zhan Star, spitting out edible food was clearly not the norm.

Speaking of which, foods like purple tree cakes were staples here, so the idea of sugarcane remnants didn’t seem that hard to accept. Shu Shuishui looked at everyone, observing their contentment and joy over a potato, and suddenly felt a strange discomfort.

In fact, ever since arriving on Cang Zhan Star, from the information he had gathered to the news he had acquired, Shu Shuishui had learned one clear answer: Cang Zhan Star was an unwelcome forsaken planet. Those exiled here were people who had committed crimes, made mistakes, or were captured as prisoners of war due to defeat.

Even from Liu Du, Shu Shuishui had learned that Cang Zhan Star would enter the Era of Apocalypse next year, and the Star System Alliance would completely abandon it. However, after such a long time of interaction, Shu Shuishui felt that Gu Langu, Nan Ge, Yu Jin, and even Xie Feng and Nan Fang should not be people satisfied with just a potato. They should be standing on higher ground.

Perhaps in the vast sea of planets within the Canghai Galaxy, the destruction or survival of a single planet wasn’t a matter of life and death, making abandonment an easy decision. But as an Earth dormouse, the preciousness of a life-bearing planet seemed to have become an instinct to Shu Shuishui. If possible, he wanted to try to save Cang Zhan Star.

Though it might seem audacious for a mere dormouse to have such thoughts, who said that dormice couldn’t have ideals? Even if he couldn’t save the world, Shu Shuishui wanted to make sure that Gu Langu and the others enjoyed many delicacies, rather than being content with just a potato.

The people gathered around the campfire were completely unaware of the complex thoughts running through Shu Shuishui’s mind in that short moment, nor did they know that a single potato would change the fate of Cang Zhan Star.

They also didn’t know how the truth would affect them when they eventually learned it, whether they would be moved or left speechless.

Regarding his plan to save Cang Zhan Star, Shu Shuishui felt that he needed to be a down-to-earth dormouse. He would start with the micro-farm, earnestly doing his best with every farm to provide more people with survival security in the harsh winter.

Of course, money still needed to be earned. Not just because Shu Shuishui needed a large amount of energy stones, but also because he didn’t want to burden the people of Gu Langu Base.

After dinner, the people from the three bases didn’t linger outside for too long. The night wind was picking up, and the temperature was rapidly dropping. One by one, they returned to their tents, seeking the warmth of their sleeping bags to relieve the exhaustion of the day.

Shu Shuishui also brought his little tent into Gu Langu’s tent, arranging his small bedding roll. He poked his furry little head out of the tent. “Gu Gu, good night.”

“Shui Shui, good night,” Gu Langu responded.

The tent quickly grew quiet. Shu Shuishui was used to falling asleep quickly, while Gu Langu was used to the quiet.

But not long after, both the human and the dormouse in the tent, who were assumed to be asleep, opened their eyes one after another. Shu Shuishui cautiously poked his head out of the tent, then carefully and quietly used his little paws to crawl out.

Gu Langu, who had originally intended to get up, was slightly delayed by Shu Shuishui’s movements. He silently got up, walked to the tent entrance, unzipped it, and looked outside.

The base at night is not quiet, because the howling wind is like a tireless band that will play all night.

The convoy had tried their best to choose sheltered places to set up camp, so the bonfire did not go out too much. On the one hand, it was to provide heat, and on the other hand, it was also to prevent the surprise attack of mutated creatures.

In the flickering flames and the blizzard that turned into slashes, the dormouse braved the wind and worked hard towards the RV.

The strong wind blew Shu Shuishui’s small ears close to his head, and the whole dormouse had already landed on all fours, with its chubby butt facing Gu Langu.

Walking to the door of the RV, Shu Shuishui got in through the small door specially reserved for himself. Soon, lights came on in the RV. Gu Langu approached the RV and looked in through the frosted glass.

Seeing that Shu Shuishui was busy inside, meticulously arranging energy stones and seemingly intending to set up some formations overnight for a massive purification of the energy stones, as well as carefully organizing the farms to be modified, turning the soil and removing impurities or small stones…

Gu Langu silently observed for a moment, then chose not to enter the tent. Instead, he quietly left.

Gu Langu didn’t return to his own tent either. He found a small depression not far from the campsite—though not warm, it was windshielded. He nestled inside, feeling the relatively calm and not-too-strong wind.

After deploying a few monitoring devices as an alert, Gu Langu took out the activated simulator and, in a suitable spot, started it up. He then lay down inside.

Once again, he found himself in a void-like login space, and once again, he wasn’t in a hurry to connect to the virtual world within the simulator. Gu Langu persevered in attempting to change his login space, hoping to at least make a blade of grass grow or maybe a grasshopper appears.

Gu Langu repetitively engaged in self-inflicted depletion of his own mental energy, but unfortunately, no matter how much he tried, his sight was still met with emptiness, devoid of any other colors.

Yet, in an area that Gu Langu couldn’t see, a hazelnut forest had already grown lush and vibrant. A light drizzle had even started, washing the hazelnuts on the trees until they gleamed, almost as if they were radiating light. The ground, which was originally barren, was now covered in a carpet of grass. Dewdrops formed from the rainwater had condensed on the grass blades.

Beneath the grass, occasionally, one or two grasshoppers sought shelter from the rain while grooming their antennae. Although this scene couldn’t compare to the rich and colorful world of Shu Shuishui, it was evident that every single change in this scene was because of Shu Shuishui. Every alteration was the way Gu Langu wanted it to be. He succeeded, he just didn’t know it yet.

Gu Langu tried to invigorate himself, even if only his brain remained in its original state. He hoped that the gap between him and Shu Shuishui wouldn’t be too vast.

It was only when his mental energy was completely depleted that Gu Langu logged out of the simulator. Then, with an expressionless face, he stored away the simulator and the monitoring devices. He quietly returned to the tent.

After Gu Langu returned to the tent, some time passed before the little dormouse quietly tiptoed back into the tent, and crawled into his own small tent.

Shu Shuishui thought he had done well, not letting others worry or suspect anything. Contentedly, he drifted off into a deep sleep.

Over the next few days, the migrations became much more regular. The only difference from previous migrations was probably the overall spirit of the entire convoy. There was no trace of weariness or negative energy. Each person’s face was filled with anticipation and excitement. Because they knew that, barring unforeseen circumstances, there would be no risk of starvation this winter.

It’s important to note that in each winter on Cang Zhan Star, the majority of deaths were due to either starving or freezing. The remaining deaths were caused by natural disasters, biological attacks, or other factors like diseases.

Shu Shuishui’s life also became well-organized. He used the purified spirit stones to build one micro-farm after another. With the help of Xie Feng, the micro-farms gradually improved and could truly be called winter survival tools.

Occasionally, during the evenings, Shu Shuishui would sneak out quietly to continue his work and write this year’s hibernation plan. Because he had a humanoid pet that wouldn’t hibernate, his plan underwent significant changes this year.

Once unchangeable even by Shu Bao, the hibernation plan shifted due to Gu Langu. While the idea of sleeping through to next summer was enticing to a dormouse, Shu Shuishui still wrote down an intermittent hibernation plan from 9 AM to 5 PM.

“Hibernation Day 1: Foster Gu Gu’s hibernation skill.”

“Hibernation Day 2: Foster Gu Gu’s hibernation skill.”

“Hibernation Day 3…”

Evidently, this plan was quite challenging, and Shu Shuishui persisted to write up to Day 100.

“Hibernation Day 101: If I’m still awake, continue fostering. If, unfortunately, I’ve fallen asleep, climb into Gu Gu’s pocket in advance to avoid being left behind.”

“Hibernation Day 102…”

Amid Shu Shuishui’s busyness, this plan gradually took shape. Shu Shuishui thought that the upcoming journey would proceed as usual, but the convoy was attacked by mutated animals.

This was Shu Shuishui’s first encounter with mutated creatures, and it was also his first time seeing a wild boar as big as a car. Its body was infused with special energy, seemingly absorbing energy from the spirit stones.

However, Shu Shuishui had previously researched this. The energy inside the spirit stones was extremely chaotic, causing them to appear black. Once such chaotic energy was absorbed, creatures were easily driven into an agitated state.

Nonetheless, the change was quite evident. At the very least, Shu Shuishui believed that he didn’t need to worry too much about being eaten by the wild boar-like creature. The boar probably wouldn’t be interested in him, considering his size was too small to bother with, and it seemed focused on attacking humans.

The leaders of the three bases were not afraid either; they possessed rich combat experience. After a brief skirmish, the wild boar retreated. The convoy even managed to kill two of them.

However, Shu Shuishui noticed that the convoy members had only removed the boars’ tusks, seemingly with no intention of taking the meat.

How could this be? These were the same people who had been hesitant to spit out even the fibrous residue of sugarcane earlier. Yet, now they just left these two large chunks of meat here?