The Abyss World, the Kemono Girl Encyclopedia Project!

The last autumn leaf was carried away by the cold wind, and the first snowflake eagerly rushed into the earth. Before long, everything in sight was covered with a layer of silver white. Wang Yan felt the cold snowflakes melting in his palm, and he knew that winter had come.

"Um?"

Just as Wang Yan looked up at the sky, suddenly, the sky darkened for a few seconds without warning, but it quickly disappeared. Wang Yan frowned and asked Zhuo Hua beside him. Zhuo Hua was also confused. She had never encountered such a situation before, where the sky suddenly darkened for a few seconds during the day.

However, Wang Yan didn't take it to heart, simply assuming it was just a solar eclipse, since he had experienced similar things on Earth before.

Zhuohua told him that the first snow in Qiangyuan would last for several days, so Wang Yan led her into the cave and sealed the entrance with a huge rock. They would only go out when everyone's cotton-padded clothes were taken out.

Wang Yan had used all his previous points to buy bricks and cement. To be honest, he didn't have much savings left. He looked up at his points and saw that he had 3250 points left. He shook his head slightly, realizing that this was far from enough. His current efficiency was 300 points every two days, which was already starting to feel insufficient. So, Wang Yan used these points to open two more plots of land, spending 1200 and 1600 points respectively, for a total of 2800 points. This brought his total number of plots to seven.

Based on a yield of 15 kilograms of cotton per mu and a selling price of 4 points per kilogram, Wang Yan's daily two-day point production has now reached 420. Although it is not much, it is better than nothing.

What followed was a long wait. A loom cost 5000 points, and at Wang Yan's current speed, it would take about eleven days. As he silently calculated, Wang Yan suddenly remembered that in a few days, it would be the one-month period he had agreed upon with Delia. He would have to go back to his hometown then, since he hadn't taken Delia to the new house. He figured the deployed mechanical objects would probably land in their original location.

Several days had passed outside, and even Wang Yan himself was unaware of it. After all, there was no concept of time in the cave, and the family planned their daily routine entirely based on instinct. Wang Yan was unsure whether it was still snowing outside, so he decided to go out and check it out today.

Just then, Zhuohua suddenly called out to him, her expression somewhat uneasy, as if she wanted to discuss something with him. She looked up at Wang Yan with her peach-colored eyes and slowly said:

"Wang Yan, I want to discuss something with you, it's about... that rat tribe that fled from Rat Potato City..."

As soon as Zhuohua spoke, Wang Yan immediately understood her meaning. Not wanting to see his woman in a difficult position, Wang Yan immediately said:

"Ah, now that you mention it, I remember that. I was just about to discuss it with you."

As Wang Yan spoke, he rubbed his hands together, explaining to Zhuo Hua with a fawning expression, "I want to bring that family over. After all, it's freezing cold outside, and it would be a waste if they just froze to death. It's better to bring them over; we can give them some food every day and they'll work for us. Right now, we're short-handed, so you... won't object, will you?"

Zhuohua was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected Wang Yan to say what she wanted to say directly. A warm feeling welled up in her heart. This guy, how could she not see that he was just looking out for her feelings?

A frail, sickly rat woman, plus three hungry rat cubs—how much work could she possibly do? Bringing her back would only be a burden. Leaving this whole family to freeze to death in this freezing weather was unthinkable, Zhuohua thought, which was why she spoke to Wang Yan. But their current comfortable life depended entirely on this man; she couldn't ask him to support another family. She could only plead with him, but to her surprise, he…

Wang Yan's consideration for her feelings made Zhuo Hua's eyes sting slightly, but a sweet smile appeared on her lips. Her heart, which had been lonely for so long, was now tasting a sweet flavor. Could this be what is called...love?

Zhuohua didn't want to spoil the fun, so she cooperated with Wang Yan, putting her hands on her hips and saying, looking somewhat reluctant:

"Okay, permission is granted, but be careful and come back as soon as possible."

Wang Yan clapped his hands lightly, making a funny face, and left a gentle kiss on Zhuo Hua's cheek, whispering in a very low voice:

"I knew it, my wife is the best!"

Zhuohua's brain went blank for a moment. To be honest, it was the first time someone had called her that. For some reason, her heart was pounding. One hand was tightly clutching the animal skin underwear in front of her chest. Her face was as red as a peach blossom, and her pink lips were moving. She looked like a young girl in love.

"What the heck... he actually... he actually called me 'wife'?"

Wang Yan had no idea how much damage his calling her "wife" would do to Zhuo Hua. He had already gone back inside to change his clothes. He had won a cotton-padded coat in a lottery before, and now it was just the right time to use it.

After wrapping himself up tightly, Wang Yan prepared to pry open the rocks and leave the cave, but before he could even step out, a voice rang out from behind him, calling out to him.

"Wang Yan!"

He subconsciously turned around and saw Yingluo staring at him expectantly. Yingluo wagged her big tail and clenched her two pink fists, saying:

"Wang Yan, I just heard you say you're going to bring back those mice from before? I'll go with you!"

Wang Yan frowned slightly and said, "It's very cold outside right now, so just wait for me at home."

Just then, Zhizhi came over, pretending to put her hand on Yingluo's shoulder, but being only 1.5 meters tall, she looked a bit comical. She chimed in:

"It's okay if it's Yingluo. She's the most resistant to the cold among us. Otherwise, you and I can go together. Take her with you so you and Yingluo can look after each other."

"Is it resistant to freezing?"

Wang Yan was a little confused, but then he thought about it and realized that he should indeed find someone to go with him. Putting everything else aside, if those two little rats couldn't walk, he would only be able to carry one of them, so he really needed a helper.

"Alright then, Yingluo, you can come with me first, but if you feel cold, just tell me right away, okay?"

Seeing that Wang Yan had agreed, Yingluo's large, pinkish-gray fox tail swayed even faster. She nodded quickly and followed Wang Yan. After many days, Wang Yan finally managed to pry open the boulder blocking the cave entrance, and the two of them saw the light of day again. Wang Yan subconsciously raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight and squinted.

The setting sun, as red as blood, contrasted sharply with the pristine white landscape, like a layer of orange-red ink splashed on white paper.

"Is it almost evening? Hmm, we've been in the cave for so long that we've lost track of time. Okay, let's hurry up and just go wherever we end up."

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