Chapter 77

Chapter 77: ke li nuo grasslands

Whether the lights were on or not didn’t matter much to Ling Mo.

The warehouse was enormous, stacked with burlap sacks several meters high.

She opened one sack. Black round pellets rolled out.

Staring at them, Ling Mo had a sudden, sinking feeling. “Qie Man, what is this?”

Qie Man answered at once: “Giant rabbit clan beastman droppings. Colorless and odorless. When burned, they release a large amount of heat; one pellet can burn for a full day. On blue star, they’re used as a medicinal ingredient called moon-gazing sand. However, because of species differences, they’re not recommended for medicine.”

“Thanks,” Ling Mo muttered. “Even if you hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t be crazy enough to use it as medicine.”

Still—droppings or not—this was perfect fuel.

Colorless, odorless, and one piece could burn all day. Better than coal.

Their neighborhood hadn’t stopped supplying natural gas yet, but other places already had. No one knew how long their building would last.

People were hoarding firewood just to keep cooking. These droppings would sell easily.

Even so, Ling Mo didn’t think it was time to cash them in yet.

She still pulled on gloves.

They might be stored in sacks. She might be collecting them with her mind. But some standards were non-negotiable.

Gloves didn’t slow her down. If anything, they made her look more professional.

The warehouse was huge—two or three times bigger than any she’d seen before.

At first she assumed there was no way a place this big was filled entirely with droppings. Maybe the real goods were buried deeper inside.

She was wrong. It was all droppings. Every last sack.

Even after telling herself it was just fuel, spending a full hour in there left her looking drained.

Part of it was the mental effort. Part of it was the fact that, yes, it was all feces.

Then again… who in their right mind stored other things with their own droppings?

When Ling Mo finally stepped outside, the red rabbit was still waiting.

Behind it, three more warehouses stood with their doors wide open.

So many? How long had they been hoarding? How long since they’d hired anyone to clean up?

Ling Mo’s eyes nearly sparkled. This was perfect.

The second warehouse was exactly the same: nothing but droppings.

An hour later, Ling Mo stood before the third warehouse and took a deep breath, bracing herself. Free was free. Whether she collected a little or a lot, she was still profiting. She couldn’t ask for everything.

Thankfully, the third warehouse finally wasn’t droppings.

Ling Mo opened a crate. Inside were small bottles lined up neatly.

Qie Man identified them immediately: “Carrot essence tablets. Developed for little children who dislike the taste of carrots. Near-expiry—one month left. Not recommended for consumption.”

Ignoring the last part, Ling Mo—who hated carrots—uncapped a bottle and tried one.

Sweetness flooded her mouth like candy.

“Good stuff,” she murmured, already stuffing it away.

Vegetables on blue star were nearly as expensive as gold now.

It didn’t take long to realize the entire warehouse was filled with vegetable-related products: carrot essence tablets, cilantro concentrate, and all kinds of dried vegetables.

Ling Mo didn’t need any of it for herself—she ate fresh vegetables picked daily from her pocket space—but she could sell these to other people.

Then she reached the last warehouse.

She opened a crate and saw something familiar: energy bar, the same kind she’d gotten from the rabbit beastman before.

But compared to those, these were thicker and longer—like the difference between a finger biscuit and a steamed bun.

Were these near-expiry too?

She checked the production date. They had plenty of time left.

Had they been stored in the wrong place? Did the red rabbit open the wrong door?

Her mind raced, but her hands didn’t slow down. Crates of energy bar vanished into her pocket space one after another.

Two hours later, Ling Mo stumbled out, face pale—she looked like she’d pushed her mental power too far.

The red rabbit hurried over and produced a bottle of mental power recovery potion. “Drink this. Quick. Why are you pushing yourself so hard? Money matters, but your health matters more.”

Ling Mo didn’t argue. She took it and drained it in one gulp. Then she gave a weak smile. “I can’t help it. I’ve got a whole family waiting for me to support.”

Pity filled the red rabbit’s eyes.

So young, and already working to keep a family alive.

No wonder she didn’t go get an S-rank recycler certificate. S-rank recyclers had to follow the army. She must be afraid that if she left, no one would care for the people at home.

Ling Mo’s work was finished, but Jiang Xin and Ye Kai were still busy with theirs.

“Wait here for a bit,” the red rabbit said. “We had a lot of babies born today, so they might take longer. Don’t worry—I just got word they’re doing well.”

Then it brought out a box and shoved it toward her. “I can’t help you much, so take this extra tip. We originally planned to hire a whole C-rank recycling team for those warehouses. This was the payment we prepared. Now it’s yours.”

Ling Mo opened it. Inside were neatly stacked potions of all kinds and more energy bar.

“Thank you.”

“No need,” the rabbit said. “You earned it. If you’re hungry, you can go to the canteen.”

Ling Mo nodded so fast it was almost comical.

Before leaving, the red rabbit tapped her badge.

Ling Mo could feel it immediately—one more smiley face and she’d be done.

While Jiang Xin and Ye Kai were still occupied, she went to the canteen.

The meal was all vegetables, but the flavor was excellent, and the portion was ridiculous. After eating, she packed the leftovers.

When the other red rabbits had mostly finished, she slipped into the kitchen again under the excuse of “helping.”

This time there was no one watching her.

Ling Mo simply lifted a hand, and everything in front of her disappeared.

With time to kill afterward, she wandered the outskirts of the tribe and started collecting siphon mushroom.

Inside these mushrooms was a huge pocket space. They could draw in gas or liquid, then release it again by squeezing.