Chapter 73

Chapter 73: ke li nuo grasslands

In theory, trading food and water for two bodyguards should have been a bargain.

In practice, Ling Mo still felt like she was the one losing.

But those two were shameless. Whether she rejected them coldly or ignored them outright, they acted like they couldn’t see it and followed her anyway.

The benefits were obvious. Ling Mo was the only one who could communicate with the beastmen here.

Jiang Xin’s talent was lightning. Ye Kai’s was hurricane.

They hadn’t gone far when a large herd of animals appeared ahead.

It was Ling Mo’s first time running into wild beasts in this place. She’d been so focused on beastmen that she’d forgotten the grasslands were also home to plenty of ordinary animals.

The beasts ahead looked like horses—except each one had a pair of huge deer antlers.

Ling Mo blinked and asked Qie Man mentally, “What are those?”

[Qie Man: Antler Horse. One of the most common beasts in ke li nuo grasslands. Herbivore, gentle temperament, and they prefer traveling in groups.]

Ling Mo glanced at the two men behind her. With them around, she couldn’t pull out the electric scooter anymore, but traveling on foot was painfully slow.

So she tried something else.

She reached out with her mental power toward the herd.

Ye Kai saw her staring and assumed she was hungry and eyeing meat. He was about to speak, but Jiang Xin grabbed his sleeve.

“Kai. Don’t make a sound.”

Ye Kai clamped his mouth shut and waited.

About five minutes later, the herd stirred.

Three sturdy Antler Horses broke away and jogged toward them.

Jiang Xin and Ye Kai tensed immediately. Being herbivores didn’t mean they weren’t dangerous. A single ram or kick could end you.

But when the three Antler Horses reached them, they stopped, slowly lowered themselves to the ground, and looked at the trio calmly.

Jiang Xin and Ye Kai were still staring when Ling Mo snapped, “What are you two standing there for? Come help!”

They snapped out of it and saw Ling Mo running toward one of the Antler Horses. They rushed after her.

“What’s going on?” Ye Kai asked.

Ling Mo climbed up with both hands and feet as she explained, “This is when Antler Horses shed their antlers and grow new ones. Sometimes the old antlers get stuck and won’t fall off. I made a deal with these three—if we help remove the antlers, they’ll carry us for the next few days.”

“There’s a deal like that?” Ye Kai’s eyes lit up.

So did Jiang Xin’s.

Ling Mo had already climbed onto the side of an antler and tried to snap it off. But she was too light. She dangled there like a monkey, swinging and tugging, and the antler didn’t budge an inch.

“Kai,” Jiang Xin said quickly, “get up there. We’ll do it together.”

Ye Kai climbed up. Jiang Xin jumped up too.

The three of them pulled with all their strength—and finally, the first antler broke free.

[Qie Man: Antler Horse antlers. Fully ossified, rich in minerals and calcium. Consumption method: grind into powder and mix with water.]

Ling Mo kept her expression neutral and glanced around.

Not far away, shed antlers were scattered everywhere, tossed aside like trash.

Ling Mo spread her mental power and collected every last one.

After a while, they managed to remove the antlers from all three Antler Horses.

In full view of Jiang Xin and Ye Kai, Ling Mo stored the three pairs of antlers in her pocket space button.

She wasn’t carrying a bag. Earlier she could claim the nutrient tonic had been in her pockets, but she couldn’t keep that up forever.

Once you did something, you left traces. Instead of letting them stew and guess, it was better to show them the truth early.

Besides, it was only a pocket space button. Once this game ended, she planned to sell pocket space buttons in the shop anyway. Once something became common, it stopped being mysterious.

“Pocket space!”

Ye Kai’s jaw dropped. “Mo Mo—don’t tell me that’s your cheat ability?”

Ling Mo rolled her eyes. He’d guessed right, but she wasn’t going to admit it. “What are you thinking? It’s a pocket space button. I helped an NPC in the game. They gave it to me.”

She cut off the topic before it could spiral. “Get on. We still have tasks to finish.”

Ling Mo climbed onto an Antler Horse first.

The moment they took off, wind roared past her ears. Luckily her glasses blocked most of it, or she wouldn’t have been able to keep her eyes open.

She clutched the fur behind the Antler Horse’s neck with both hands.

The ride was fast—so fast she felt like a piece of driftwood on rough water, tossed and swayed by every surge.

After who knew how long, the three Antler Horses finally stopped.

Ling Mo slid down, grimacing. Her legs were stiff, and her butt felt like it no longer belonged to her.

She checked the time.

Only ten minutes had passed.

It felt like hours.

Still, they’d arrived.

The familiar gray gate stood in front of them.

Jiang Xin and Ye Kai both looked puzzled. Every gate they’d encountered before had been red. This was their first gray one.

They pushed it open.

A beastman nearly three meters tall approached, built like a small mountain.

“I’m here looking for work!” Ling Mo shouted immediately.

The beastman was so huge she was genuinely afraid she’d get stepped on if she didn’t make herself known.

“Oh,” the beastman said, sounding pleased. “I know you—the outstanding recycler. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

Then he glanced at Jiang Xin and Ye Kai. “Are those your new assistants? They look weak. With your ability, you could hire stronger assistants to help you complete tasks.”

Ling Mo paused, then said quickly, “They’re from my hometown, and they’re looking for work too. I’m broke—I can’t even feed myself. How would I have money to hire assistants?”

The beastman’s expression softened into pity. “Poor little one. For your sake, I’ll arrange easier work for them.”

Ling Mo flashed a bright smile. “Thank you.”

The beastman waved a hand. “It’s what I should do. You’ve helped us a great deal.”

Jiang Xin and Ye Kai were led away. Ling Mo waved at them, then followed the towering beastman toward the other side.