Dong dong dong!
In the small courtyard on the side of the camp, Chen Yu held a stone and tapped it against a wooden stake.
"What do you want?"
"Demon!"
"Didn't you already say you'd let me go? What are you doing now?"
The bound mole mage wriggled on the ground.
Black Bean hadn't been boasting.
He had indeed brought the mole mage back after going out. Chen Yu pinned him down, tied him up securely, and then went to hammer the stake.
After pushing it a couple of times and feeling the stake was firm, Chen Yu lifted the mole mage and placed him on the stake, tying him tightly.
"Damn it, you untrustworthy foreigner!"
The mole mage roared in anger.
Unfortunately, no matter how he struggled, he couldn't budge the stake.
"Little rat, you dare to point a finger at me again? Go on, point again?" Chen Yu pinched the mole mage's face and glared, "If you keep being difficult, do you really think we can't catch you?"
"What do you want?"
The mole mage swallowed, his beady eyes wide.
"One must keep their word."
"I am very honest. I did let you go just now, didn't I?" Chen Yu spread his hands. "It's just that you were unlucky and got caught by us again."
???
Did you hear what he said?
That counts as letting go?
He hadn't even been gone for ten minutes when Black Bean darted out and hit him on the back of the head with a brick.
After being brought back, he was told he was unlucky to be caught again?
What kind of kidnapper is this?
"From now on, you are mine – Chen Yu, the great cave slave owner, your first slave." Chen Yu whispered, pointing at the mole mage tied to the stake. "From now on, your job is to provide me with moles, at least 20 a day."
"You want my life!"
The mole mage's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
"I'm just an apprentice mage."
"10." Chen Yu retracted a finger and said, "Don't bargain with me anymore. If you bring less than 10, I'll cut you. Of course, we won't let you work for free here. Do you like roast meat?"
Hearing roast meat, the mole mage's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously.
"If you complete the daily basic task of 10 moles, you will be provided with 3 pieces of 300g roast meat." Chen Yu said with a smile. "For every 2 more you bring, I will provide you with an additional piece of 300g roast meat. The more you work, the more you earn."
Gulp.
The mole mage couldn't help but swallow.
Recalling the deliciousness of roast meat, his mouth began to salivate.
"I... I'll do it!"
The mole mage clenched his fists and said seriously.
"I am willing, boss. From now on, you are my boss. You see, you don't need to tie me up anymore. I accept this job."
"You want to be untied?" Chen Yu smiled.
The mole mage nodded continuously, and Chen Yu grinned.
"No, I don't trust you. You can stay tied up here for a week. After the review period passes, I will consider untying you."
"I, I, I, I'm truly surrendering, I'm not lying!"
"Shh!" Chen Yu raised a finger. "Don't make noise. Whether you are genuinely surrendering is your business, and whether I believe you is mine. Stay tied up here."
With his hands behind his back, Chen Yu walked a few steps outside, then stopped and leaned back, looking back.
"What's your name?"
"Kuka."
"I am Chen Yu. I hope we can cooperate sincerely in the future."
Chen Yu walked away with his hands behind his back. Kuka, tied to the stake, blinked.
"Isn't it Chen Song?"
Muttering, Kuka suddenly realized.
A fake name!
Well, his oath back then was fake, probably to gain trust and rob him again?
Why so cunning?
Are these foreign humans devils?
Are they shearing wool until it's all gone?
"Cough cough..."
Black Bean suddenly wagged his tail and walked over, clearing his throat.
Kuka on the stake immediately became expressionless.
He hadn't forgotten how hard Black Bean had hit him with that brick.
Despite being a resource-type spirit pet, its combat power was outrageously high.
"Work hard, and if you do well, you'll be our third brother." Black Bean wagged his little tail. "I'm your second brother, Black Bean. Call me second brother when you see me."
Tsk~
I, Kuka, the great apprentice mage, calling a resource cat my second brother?
Dream on, silly cat!
Black Bean saw Kuka's expression and raised his front paws, revealing his sharp claws.
"What are you looking at?"
"Second brother!" Kuka's spirit instantly became lively. Black Bean then let out a contemptuous snort and turned to leave. Even his wagging tail showed his satisfaction.
After Black Bean also left, Kuka sighed.
"My dignified... Forget it, since I've decided to go down this path, why think about those things?" Kuka muttered to himself, licking his lips. "It's not bad to have roast meat to eat."
...
[Greedy Critical Strike: 300g Mole Meat +12]
[Greedy Critical Strike: 300g Mole Meat +25]
[Greedy Critical Strike: 300g Mole Meat +30]
...
Chen Yu, after leaving Kuka, went to the slaughter area. The Perfect Dagger decomposed the moles, leaving behind perfect pelts and piles of mole meat.
In just this short while, Chen Yu had decomposed hundreds of portions.
During the decomposition process,
Chen Yu also searched the chat channel for information about furnace blueprints.
To his surprise, there was none.
"Is it that advanced?"
Chen Yu rested his chin on his hand.
Ding.
A private message sound chimed, and he saw Jiang Yaqing's voice invitation pop up on the screen again.
How much did she like making voice calls?
Accepted.
"Hello..."
A lazy whisper sounded in Chen Yu's ear, filled with a captivating allure.
"Good morning. I saw your message was around 4 am. Aren't you sleeping? Hmm..."
"Then please check what time it is now," Chen Yu whispered. "It's already past 8 am. Haven't you woken up yet?"
"I sleep until noon when I'm at home!"
Jiang Yaqing's lazy voice came again, occasionally accompanied by groans of stretching and rustling sounds, making one's imagination run wild.
"What do you want an iron pot blueprint for?"
"Of course, to cook." Chen Yu said speechlessly. Jiang Yaqing suddenly jolted up, "You can cook other things too? Are they as delicious as roast meat?"
"Probably."
"Then I'll help you look for them." Jiang Yaqing's tone was filled with excitement. "I also have a barbecue grill blueprint. Why don't I give it to you too? It seems like a waste for me to keep it."
Ding.
You have received a gift from Jiang Yaqing.
Barbecue Grill Blueprint +1
Such efficiency. Giving it away as soon as she mentioned it?
"You're probably still using the camp bonfire to make roast meat, aren't you? Roast meat is more efficient with a barbecue grill." Jiang Yaqing's voice came. "I'll inquire about the iron pot for you."
"It's not good to take your blueprint for free." Chen Yu said.
"What's the big deal? We're brothers!" Jiang Yaqing was very generous. "I might have misunderstood you before, but I've found out you're quite a good person. If you really feel bad about it, you can give me some roast meat, I wouldn't mind."
"Dream on."
Chen Yu flatly refused.
What was the value of roast meat compared to the value of blueprints? There was no comparison.
"Tsk, stingy." Jiang Yaqing huffed. "Is there anything else? If not, I'm hanging up. I need to take a bath."
???
A bath!
Chen Yu suspected he had misheard.
"You're taking a bath?"
"Yes, I made a large bathtub yesterday. It's a magical daily use item that heats automatically. It's great." Jiang Yaqing stretched again and let out a delicate moan. "It's a shame we can't video call. Our intimacy isn't high enough. If we could video call, I could show you."
Chen Yu remained silent.
Gift Option.
[Cave Reminder: Do you want to gift Jiang Yaqing 1 unit of Exquisite Cheese?]
Yes.
"Hey, what did you give me? Cheese?" Jiang Yaqing's surprised voice came, followed by a bone-chilling moan.
"Chen Yu, did you make this too?"
After a full half-minute, Jiang Yaqing exclaimed in surprise.
"You... did you just make this? You're too good to me! Are you sharing this with me?"
"Doesn't gifting increase intimacy?" Chen Yu whispered.
"Yes." Jiang Yaqing replied. Chen Yu's tone was also filled with seriousness. "It's good that it increases intimacy, so we can video call sooner."
"Ah?"
Jiang Yaqing was taken aback. Chen Yu said earnestly,
"I hope our intimacy can reach the standard for video calls soon. When you're bathing, please video call me. It's nothing else, I just want to see the bathtub."
"What's so interesting about a bathtub..."
Jiang Yaqing's voice stopped, and then she let out a cold laugh.
"It's truly amazing that you can say such shameless things in such a serious tone, Chen the Exploiter. You are truly a role model for us."
"The desire to explore the unknown is the bridge to human progress. I have never seen a magic bathtub, and I want to see it." Chen Yu remained serious.
Jiang Yaqing snorted upon hearing this.
"Go to hell, pfft, shameless!"
After hanging up the call, Jiang Yaqing was flushed with shyness. She collapsed onto a princess bed, biting the cheese, wrinkling her pretty nose, and clenching her fists.
She looked at the painting on the wall of her room.
The painting was a charcoal sketch of Chen Yu's avatar, yet it was incredibly lifelike.
"If it weren't for your food being delicious, I would have beaten you to death long ago!"
She glared fiercely at the portrait of Chen Yu, then stretched lazily again. She opened the pinned group chat in her private messages and sent a message.
"Cooking blueprints, send them directly to me if you find any."