Chapter 76

Chapter 76: ke li nuo grasslands

Before setting out, the three of them compared notes.

“It’s the seventh day of the game,” Jiang Xin said. “Ye Kai and I still need three smiley faces.”

“I still need two,” Ling Mo said, holding up two fingers.

Time-wise, they had plenty of breathing room.

“Yesterday I asked that giant beastman for information,” Ling Mo said, pointing in a direction. “There’s a large giant rabbit beastman tribe over there. We can go take a look.”

The biggest difference between a giant rabbit beastman and the rabbit beastman Ling Mo had met before was right there in the name: giant.

“Mo Mo,” Jiang Xin said, “after the game ends, can we learn interstellar from you?”

“Sure,” Ling Mo said. “But you’ll have to pay tuition.”

Someday, when blue star connected with interstellar, interstellar would become essential. Better to prepare now than scramble later.

“No problem,” both of them agreed immediately.

Ling Mo had earned that reward the hard way. If they wanted to learn too, paying tuition was only fair.

They climbed back onto the antler horses and endured another bone-jarring ride. Even so, they managed to reach the giant rabbit beastman tribe before ten.

This time, they had yesterday’s experience under their belts, but the trip was longer, and none of them looked much better for it.

With the tribe right in front of them, they decided to rest first. Their backsides felt like they’d been shaken apart.

Still, there was no way they were giving up the antler horses. Miserable or not, the speed was undeniable—what should have taken half a day had taken less than two hours.

Ling Mo pulled out the packed food and handed it to them.

“This water-storage mushroom is incredible,” Ye Kai said after taking a long drink. “We’ve used it so many times and it still has water.”

“Of course,” Ling Mo said. “It keeps collecting moisture from the air. In theory, as long as you don’t drink it completely dry, it can be used forever.”

Both of them froze—then quickly realized what that meant.

With enough water-storage mushrooms, they could solve their water problem entirely.

“Mo Mo,” Jiang Xin said quickly, “how much space is left in your pocket space? Let’s collect more water-storage mushrooms to bring back.”

Ling Mo rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to tell me. I’ve been collecting them for a while.”

After resting, the three of them approached the village.

At the factory, they’d joked they were dwarves in a giant’s country. Compared to this, they were more like tiny shrimp who’d wandered in by accident.

“We’re not going to get stepped on, are we?” Ye Kai asked, voice tight.

Ling Mo didn’t answer. Truthfully, she was worried about the same thing.

As they walked, the ground began to tremble—something massive was approaching.

A huge rabbit appeared on the horizon.

Unlike the usual white rabbits, this one was red all over, bounding toward them in enormous leaps, impossible to miss.

And unlike the beastmen they’d seen before—who only showed a few animal traits, like ears or a tail—this one looked exactly like a normal rabbit, just red and absurdly large.

It noticed them right away. “Hey, little runts, what are you here for?”

Jiang Xin and Ye Kai couldn’t understand a word, so they didn’t react to the insult. Ling Mo didn’t care either. From its perspective, they really were tiny.

“I’m a recycler,” Ling Mo said, showing her badge. “I’m here looking for work.”

The red rabbit checked it, then lit up. “You really are a recycler! Great. You came at the perfect time. Come with me.”

It turned to lead them away, but Ling Mo stopped it.

“Wait.”

“What is it?” The rabbit turned back, puzzled.

Ling Mo pointed at Jiang Xin and Ye Kai. “They’re from my hometown, and they’re my assistants. But they’ve got a problem in the head—they can’t understand what anyone says. Can you arrange something easy for them?”

The red rabbit looked the two of them over. They didn’t look like idiots.

“Hey. Can you understand me?”

To Jiang Xin and Ye Kai, it sounded like complete gibberish. They stared back blankly.

“So they really are dumb,” the red rabbit said with a pitying shake of its head. “Fine. I’ll arrange something. What a shame, too—good-looking, and still idiots.”

It called over another red rabbit that was slightly smaller and whispered a few words. Then it turned back. “Will they attack people?”

Ling Mo shook her head quickly. “No. They’re gentle.”

“Good. Then they can care for the newborns. A whole batch was just born. Let them wash the babies.”

“Alright,” Ling Mo said. “I’ll explain it to them.”

The rabbit frowned. “But they can’t understand. How will you explain anything?”

“Because we’re from the same place,” Ling Mo said smoothly. “We have a special way of communicating.”

The red rabbit nodded like that made perfect sense. “I see. Tell them carefully. Our babies are delicate. They must be gentle.”

Ling Mo turned and gave Jiang Xin and Ye Kai the instructions.

When they heard they’d be washing newborn rabbits, neither of them objected. Compared to what they’d done before, this sounded ridiculously easy.

“What about you?” Ye Kai asked. “What are you doing?”

“This job only needs two people,” Ling Mo said. “I’ve got something else to handle.”

Jiang Xin and Ye Kai were led away.

Ling Mo followed the red rabbit in another direction.

The rabbit was nearly five meters tall, and each hop covered about twenty meters. It had to keep stopping so Ling Mo could catch up.

“You’re too slow,” it said. “I’ll carry you.”

Before Ling Mo could respond, it scooped her up.

“You’re so small,” it said, peering at her. “Are you really as capable as an S-rank recycler?”

Ling Mo answered modestly. “That’s just people flattering me. I’m not an S-rank recycler. I’m just really good at my job.”

Chatting as they went, they reached their destination quickly.

“The stuff is inside,” the rabbit said, stopping outside a warehouse. “I’m not going in.”

“Okay.”

Ling Mo didn’t even blink. She hurried inside.

The warehouse was dim, and there wasn’t a single light.