Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

"help me?"

"Well, I know nothing about games and I'm pretty weak... but you're obviously different."

Yu Man was somewhat relieved, but then corrected her: "Traveler, this is your own journey, don't get it wrong. I'm just your travel companion at the beginning of the journey. You don't exist for me."

"...What happens after the departure phase?" she asked.

“Don’t ask me about everything. Just go for the journey you want.”

"I still have to ask. After all, without your consent, the path I want to take... may not be feasible."

"Alas, I'll probably find you unskilled soon, and then the fixed team will be disbanded. Don't take it too well."

"Then let's get back to the previous question - what aspects do I need to improve on now so I can become stronger and help you as quickly as possible?"

Yu Man was silent for a long time, then when he came to his senses, he was already smiling. "Go fishing for me first. I'll start my small business, and then I'll take you to explore the treasure map... I hope to get you a nice piece of equipment. I know you want it."

"Okay, okay! For the future, I will definitely practice fishing hard."

In the future? Yu Man didn't ask. After all, she still remembered.

……

Yu Man came to the amazingly clean place that used to be a ruin.

The dead tree has been cut down and no longer blocks the player's access.

The treasure chest monster NPC with an exclamation mark on its head has long disappeared, and only the legend of getting rich overnight drives players here.

People were chatting, whispering rumors from somewhere that someone had unearthed a glittering golden chest filled with gold coins while digging through the rubble. Others claimed to have found something valuable, but kept it a secret. Still others believed the massive purchase orders for basic resources at the trading house were the work of the beneficiary of this quest.

Yu Man smiled as she heard this, but her eyes were fixed on finding a suitable plot of land.

The land here is all yours, and you can build a shop anywhere you want.

After thinking about it, she chose the corner plot close to the main road and backed by the wall.

What to build first? There’s only one answer: the kitchen.

Combat power is composed of expertise, skills, and equipment, but more importantly, food, potions, and enchantments; each one is indispensable.

But food is the only thing that cannot be truly made without a kitchen.

Countless players who have chosen the career of a chef adventurer, or a fishing career like a traveler, would all yearn to have a rental kitchen to turn the mountains of raw materials in their bags into delicious delicacies.

But before building the kitchen, Yu Man suddenly thought of something.

"Brother, I'm going to step back for a while, have a meal, and then lie down on the bed and go back to sleep mode." She sent a message to Jiandui Lulu to prevent the other party from thinking that she had given up.

"Well...it's my turn to wait for you."

"……it is good."

After calling out the menu, Yu Man exited the game.

In the old world, she was already the richest person in the entire Shimlabakken... or in other words, the entire world. She had made incredible progress, owned a piece of land, and was well-versed in specialization. She even had an NPC as a partner, and had obtained more than one rainbow achievement.

But her body in reality looked like a dying person.

Lamenting the weakness in her arms, she took off her headset... but mistakenly thought she hadn't taken it off.

The real world—still pitch black.

"……Right."

For rental houses on low floors, there is no need to turn on the lights to save electricity and indulge in virtual reality.

The only bright lights that came into the room were the afterglow of an old, no-name power strip, cell phone indicators, and the bright lights of distant tall buildings.

She struggled to get up, her body was weaker than she had imagined.

"So…hungry."

But there was only a little bit of yesterday's rice left in the small refrigerator in the rental house.

The only thing to be thankful for is that it is not fictional, nor is it data in the game world, but a supplement that can continue this life.

……

ps

(Today's update has fewer words, and I'm ashamed that I haven't added any more.

I installed the computer from early morning until four in the morning and it was barely lit.

But looking at all those wires, the case feels like a bowl of noodles—prepared and left there all afternoon, forgotten to eat, and then looking over to see the noodles bloated beyond belief. But tomorrow I'll install the fans and tinker with the system, and I should be able to use it for coding. I'm sure everything will be fine.

I really want to beat myself up for buying a small case just for the sake of appearance.)

016·Kitchen (Refresh and read)

There is no structure that can be called a "kitchen" in the rental house.

The only thing there was a small cabinet carved out of the wall.

On top of it was a power strip, a small egg steamer that cost thirty yuan, and a cheap frying pan.

In addition, there are two sets of bowls and chopsticks, a spoon and a folding spatula in the cabinet.

Together with the small refrigerator in the corner, they constitute the tenants' entire food supply here.

But they were clean and tidy, so Yu Man had nothing to complain about.

"Om-"

After the egg steamer was plugged in, the indicator light emitted a slight buzzing sound, heating up Yu Man's rice from yesterday. If possible, she would like to add a salted egg, but there was no such thing.

In order to reduce her physical discomfort, she sat by the window and listened quietly to the night noises of the urban village outside the window and the steam rising from the egg steamer in the house.

"-Freeze." She tried to use magic on the mist.

But strangely, nothing happened...

"It won't work without a staff..." This was her first reaction, and then she laughed out loud.

But strangely, the feeling of magic connecting the body with nature is still imprinted on this thin body.

"—Did you choose Ice Mage?"

It was the voice of a young girl... but it wasn't a human speaking, it was a demon.

Walking out of the darkness, the white cat seemed to be covered in mist, but its eyes were surprisingly bright.

"Senior Cat, good evening. Why didn't I see you after returning to reality?"

"Out hunting."

The white cat jumped up lightly, used its claws to gain some strength from the wall, and then stood silently on the beam that was only one centimeter high, looking at Yu Man elegantly and evilly.

"Xiao Man, how is it? How many lives did you harvest on the first day?" The evil spirit in the neighborhood asked an evil question.

"Less than ten."

"Hey, if it were me, I would definitely buy some novice equipment wholesale in the main city."

Yu Man laughed, but couldn't laugh too hard, otherwise it would affect his hungry, empty stomach.

She casually explained, "There are kind-hearted players at the gate of the illegal area in my main city, trying to dissuade Chinese people from entering."

"It's understandable. It will work at first. After all, everyone is poor and afraid."

"Well, they haven't understood yet that the true meaning of this game is 'only take what you can afford to lose,' so they're hesitant."

The two players who had both completed the first round of the game shared the beginning of the story in real life, which made Yu Man feel fulfilled, and Senior Cat also experienced a bit of the fun of the game after a long time... although it was something it could not experience.

While waiting for the rice to be cooked, Yu Man looked at the dark night sky divided by the burglar-proof window.

"Would you like to hear my story today?"

"Well—but you're hungry, I'll pay for the story."

The white figure of Senior Cat turned into a trailing light in Yu Man's eyes. When he came to his senses, it had already come to Yu Man, biting something unknown.

Its four little paws were put together and placed on the girl's knees.

Then it stretched out one of them, gently picked up the "trophy", and pushed it into Yu Man's hand.

"...Huh? Where did it come from?"

It was a bag of Want Want rice crackers, broken into three pieces, and a gold coin chocolate wrapped in glittering plastic.

Senior Cat licked his paw and replied in an indistinct voice, "Your soul may have been lost in the old world, but don't forget, the day after tomorrow is Chinese New Year, and humanity will officially enter the year 2024."

“…I thought it was a long time ago.”

"Perhaps, it's because the world was reset twice by the game, and we are the only two players who completed it, so there are some remaining traces."

Senior Cat spoke complicated words, and the light in his pupils dimmed.

"Guangzhou is full of people buying New Year's goods. I just picked up some food they dropped on the ground and fed it to you... I didn't steal or rob it. Anyway, you're broke, so don't be picky. Just eat and drink."

"Okay—you want to eat? Wangwang Senbei."

"Humph."

Senior Cat rolled his eyes in disdain.

"I'm a top PVP player, three-time champion of the Rainbow Crystal League, worth tens of figures. How could I possibly eat something I found on the ground? The senbei are coated with soy sauce powder on the back, so they're probably high in salt. I heard cats can't eat them, so you can eat them yourself..."

“…So this is soy sauce powder?”

"Alright, Xiaoman, just focus on the strategy and get the true ending, then we'll all be happy. Don't worry about food and drink, your cat senior will go out and find a way to help you raise it."

It muttered again—

"When the harvest is bad, I can just swallow my pride and go find those girls, meow at the top of my lungs for a while, and ask for some sausages or something. I can always have a stable harvest. Don't worry, Xiaoman. If I have one, I'll give you half."

"Ah, thank you for your help."

"Your father is really something... Such a great man, why does he raise his daughter like this..."

"It's my son."

Senior Cat rolled his eyes again, raised his eyes, and squinted at Yu Man: "Humph, feel it yourself and see if it's a daughter or a son."

Yu Man stopped arguing with it and took the steamed rice that had no peculiar smell and was slightly sticky.

With the food fed by her cat senior, she ate her late dinner in small bites.

And after the meal – she talked about her first day experience.

“So… like this…”

"...Wait." After hearing part of this, Senior Cat's ears perked up, and the pointed hairs on them also stood up. "You got two rainbow achievements?"

"Ah."

"This means the world is complete for the first time... In that case, there's something I need to share with you."

"You go ahead." Yu Man was picking up rice grains in the bowl, so she was happy to listen.

"When you complete the Soul Weapon quest and obtain the weapon embryo, isn't there a reward for randomly gaining a skill?"

Yu Man nodded - soul weapons are the only equipment in the game "Old World" that will not be dropped due to death.

As a growth weapon, its most significant feature is an additional skill bar, which can greatly change one's combat routines and combinations. Therefore, creating their own unique soul weapon is a fun pursuit that players will pursue no matter what.

"The skills awarded were all very random, as far as I remember. It all depended on luck."

"No, I've researched this. The conclusion is that it awards skills based on achievement."

Yu Man raised her eyebrows slightly: "That rainbow achievement..."

"Well, you will definitely gain a related... rare skill."

It turns out that it is given according to achievements... Yu Man thought about the first round, and he also had some rainbow achievements for the first time, but he really didn't pay attention to this, because people called it luck, and he believed it.

This is indeed worthy of attention. If the mechanism is correct, then we should follow this idea to obtain achievements, and then make soul weapons according to needs... Well, it is worth careful consideration - and we also have to think about Jiandui Lulu.

"...What are you thinking about? Why did you suddenly have that expression on your face?"

"Let's not talk about that anymore. I also got an NPC companion, a treasure chest monster."