This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 114: Can Candy Be Used as a Reward?

Chapter 114: Chapter 114: Can Candy Be Used as a Reward?

South of Wetland Park.

Survivors from Bet Street were carrying a wild boar towards Outpost Base.

It was hard to hunt prey in winter, but if one explored the high-rise ruins along the Fifth Ring, with a bit of luck, one might still catch one or two kinds of game.

They usually dealt with small animals like squirrels and rabbits on their own, but for a large one like a wild boar, taking it to the town butcher would cost them thirty percent!

That was too uneconomical.

The Blue Jackets, asking for only twenty percent in compensation and never being vague about the weight, were worth the extra miles.

The boar was tied to a stick, with Yu Hu and Niu Li each shouldering one end, and a little one with red cheeks and ears from the cold trailing along.

Not many Variants wandered about in this weather, and Looters seldom left their strongholds. Little Fish insisted on coming, and Yu Hu couldn’t say no to his sister, so he brought her along.

Though the weather was freezing, the thought of soon seeing Brother Chu lifted Little Fish’s spirits, and she unconsciously began to hum a little tune she made up on the spot.

At that moment, the steps of her second brother and cousin suddenly halted.

Little Fish stopped too and blinked.

"Brother, what’s wrong?"

Yu Hu gestured for silence and then looked at Niu Li, pointing ahead.

"Nomads."

Niu Li saw the figure in the distance but wasn’t sure.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

Niu Li asked quietly.

"Why would Nomads be here?"

Yu Hu thought for a while but didn’t understand and shook his head.

"I don’t know, maybe Brother Chu kindly took them in."

Brother Chu was a good man, down-to-earth, just a bit too kind-hearted at times, making others worry that he might be deceived.

Honestly, every time they brought game to trade, Yu Hu felt guilty.

The salt bought from here was pure and he even received more than what Old Charlie gave.

He truly worried that he might incur losses.

Little Fish looked up at her second brother and cousin, blinking her big eyes in curiosity, not understanding their conversation.

She didn’t know what Nomads were.

And she didn’t find their presence here strange at all.

With Brother Chu being such a good man, surely many people would want to be his neighbors, right?

However, Yu Hu and Niu Li found the situation somewhat strange, which Little Fish saw as normal.

The lifestyle and cultural practices of these Nomads from afar were different from those of the settled survivors.

Because they had no fixed abodes, they hardly cared about their neighbors’ opinions of them and seldom paid attention to whether their actions might be offensive.

Perhaps it was prejudice, but their ranks did indeed contain many thieves, deceivers, and scoundrels, and sometimes they carried dreadful plagues...

Yu Hu held back his sister until the person walked far enough away, then signaled to Niu Li to continue forward.

The group carefully avoided any contact with the migrants, showed their passes to the guards, and went straight into Outpost Base through the south gate.

The place had truly changed a lot since the last visit, different from before.

Yu Hu remembered clearly that when he last came, the road from the south gate to the warehouse was just a muddy track with nothing beside it.

But now, the road was coated with a layer of something grey and solid to step on, and red-brick houses had been built along both sides of the road.

Especially that largest house, with doors tightly shut and a chimney made of bricks on top, emitting black smoke.

Yu Hu had never seen such a strange building, nor had his sister or Niu Li, who all stared wide-eyed in curiosity.

"Brother, what’s that?"

"That should be a chimney, I remember the town leader’s building had one."

"A chimney? What’s that for?"

"It seems to be for cooking? I think it’s to vent the cooking smoke."

"But it’s not time for meals yet."

"I don’t know, maybe... it’s a place where they cook for a lot of people."

Bet Street doesn’t have such weird stuff anyway.

The curious expressions of the trio starkly contrasted with the Blue Jackets here, who seemed less curious about them than before.

Except for the newbies who had just come in, the players here were already familiar with these few, and whatever curiosity there was had already been satisfied.

They happened to run into Chu Guang, who was wandering around the industrial area.

Yu Hu’s eyes immediately lit up, and he called out from a distance.

"Brother Chu."

"Eh, long time no see. Did you guys get some more game?" Seeing the wild boar that Yu Hu and Niu Li were carrying on their shoulders, a smile appeared on Chu Guang’s face.

Not bad.

Good food ahead!

The last batch of wild boar meat had been devoured by the players, and this time he had to save some for himself, so not all of it got bought by the players.

"Yeah! It’s a big one!"

Little Fish happily gestured with her hands to indicate ’big,’ and Chu Guang couldn’t help but smile.

Yu Hu glanced at his sister and said in a deep voice.

"Little Fish has been missing you."

"Yeah! Little Fish has been missing you!"

"I’ve missed you guys too," Chu Guang said with a smile, ruffling Little Fish’s head before looking at Yu Hu. "Are you living in that shack now?"

"Yeah," Yu Hu nodded, smiling embarrassedly. "I fixed up the shack a little bit. It’s much more spacious now than before, thanks."

"Don’t thank me, Little Fish gave it to you. Just be good to your sister," Chu Guang continued, "By the way, how have you been lately? Any harassment from Looters?"

"Looters? Haven’t seen those folks around lately, we’re all doing quite well, but you should be careful," Yu Hu’s expression turned serious as he spoke earnestly, "I heard some of the elders say there’s a group up north using a Blood Handprint as their flag. Some Hunters who went north to look for deer herds even got kidnapped... The ones who injured my brother and my father last time were them!"

Blood Handprint?

Is he talking about the Blood Hand Clan?

But they probably won’t have the chance to do any harm anymore.

Chu Guang smiled faintly, nonchalantly saying.

"Don’t worry, they won’t be harassing you guys anymore."

Hearing this, Yu Hu and Niu Li’s faces immediately showed surprise, while Little Fish was full of question marks, not understanding what the adults were talking about from start to finish.

However, speaking of the last incident, she did remember something.

"...Speaking of which, last time Little Fish saw two very fierce-looking men take away a very pretty sister from Bet Street."

Hearing Little Fish’s interjection, Chu Guang was intrigued and asked,

"That sister, was she very fair? About... this tall?"

Chu Guang gestured, about up to his nose.

Little Fish frowned in thought, nodded seriously, and said with wide eyes,

"Yeah, yeah! Have you seen that big sister, Brother Chu?"

Don’t mention having seen her...

His expression was somewhat intriguing.

Chu Guang thought for a while and ultimately used a tactful expression to lightly gloss over the topic that was still too heavy for her.

"That sister... yeah, I sent her away."

That person was indeed sent away by the old town leader.

Saying that, Chu Guang looked towards Yu Hu and Niu Li.

"Let’s not talk about that for now. It’s so cold outside. If you trust me, why don’t you leave the wild boar with Old Luka to handle, and come inside to sit for a while?"

Yu Hu and Niu Li immediately nodded.

"Yeah!"

"Alright!"

...

Niu Li wasn’t too familiar with Chu Guang, but Yu Hu knew him very well.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that, aside from his nearest and dearest, Brother Chu was the outsider he trusted most.

If it weren’t for his help in times of danger, his own brother would have died on the sickbed a long time ago.

This is a life-saving grace.

Moreover, Yu Hu didn’t believe that someone as good as Brother Chu would covet a few pieces of his meat. If Brother Chu really wanted it, he’d give it to him.

In Yu Hu’s opinion, it was only right.

Chu Guang led the three of them to the main building of the sanatorium, where there was a room on the first floor that was quite spacious and draft-free, having been converted into a reception room by him.

There were some simple pieces of furniture in the room, all made by a few new lifestyle occupation players from the woodworking cabin.

Chu Guang lit up the charcoal and after settling the three guests, he went back to the shelter and took a bottle of alcohol and a bottle of milk from the fridge.

He gave the milk to Little Fish.

As for the alcohol, Chu Guang pulled Yu Hu and one other person to sit in front of the fire basin, handed each a small cup, and poured them each a drink.

It was not much, about 20ml.

"Try it."

Yu Hu leaned in to smell the cup and his eyes immediately lit up.

"Is this... alcohol?!"

Chu Guang said with a smile,

"It’s brewed from Jerusalem artichoke, using knotweed as the yeast."

Niu Li also said with an admiring face,

"It smells so good!"

No, it should be said that it’s too luxurious!

This damned cold winter, and there was still surplus grain to brew alcohol.

Yu Hu and Niu Li were extremely envious.

In past years, only during particularly bountiful years would the elders in their families use leftover grain from the previous year to brew some murky grain alcohol, saving it for special festivals or celebrations.

Especially since barley contained acid and couldn’t be used to make alcohol, making alcohol required Jerusalem artichokes, or a type of fruit gathered from the wild.

But those fruits were only available in autumn and summer, ordinarily there was no chance at all.

To be able to drink a sip of alcohol that warmed the body in this weather was truly a rare treat.

"Hisss, so spicy!"

Yu Hu was still okay, as his tolerance seemed good, but Niu Li, despite looking robust, blushed like a monkey’s butt after just one gulp.

Watching the young fellow sticking his tongue out from the spice, Chu Guang chuckled and said,

"The proof is a bit high, drink it slowly."

After all, it was a distilled liquor.

Variant potato version of vodka, it was normal for it to be fiery on the throat.

In fact, Chu Guang didn’t brew alcohol for drinking purposes; the warehouse opened this order mainly for stockpiling medical alcohol.

But the players had been too considerate.

After a few adjustments to the death penalty, the severely injured players would conscientiously walk back on their own, then find a spot out of the way to patch themselves up.

The alcohol wasn’t needed for major injuries, and there was no opportunity to use it for minor ones, only some wounds requiring stitching could take advantage of it.

Having had their first experience, the two young fellows were much more cautious and didn’t drink as quickly. One sip of the alcohol, and their bodies, originally frozen stiff, instantly warmed up.

"Life here is too good," Yu Hu said enviously, looking at the rising flames from the fire basin.

"It will get even better," Chu Guang poured another small cup for the two and said with a smile, "You can come here often in the future, we need people here, not just for hunting, there are many things to do."

Yu Hu patted his chest and said,

"No problem! Brother Chu, just let me know if you need me!"

Niu Li also nodded along,

"Me too."

Chu Guang smiled,

"Don’t worry, I won’t let you help for nothing."

At this moment, sitting on the side, Little Fish who had been sipping the milk little by little, finally finished the bottle. Licking her lips with a look of longing, she wore an expression of immense satisfaction.

Yu Hu laughed and asked,

"Is it good?"

"Yep!" Little Fish nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling with little stars, and gave a big thumbs up, "It tastes like Mommy!"

Yu Hu: "?"

Niu Li: "?"

Chu Guang: "...?"

...

The butcher was quick at his work, and after sitting in the house for a while, Luka knocked and entered the guest room, respectfully reporting to Chu Guang.

"Sir, your guest’s game has been processed."

Chu Guang nodded, looked towards the slightly tipsy pair, and said,

"Let’s go, collect your game."

The group arrived at the warehouse.

Luka had already packed the meat into plastic bags for the two, handing them over to Yu Hu and Niu Li. As for the fur, as usual, it was exchanged for 300g of salt.

As for the trimmed off innards and bones, they were left in the plastic buckets to the side. The two had no intention of taking them and left them there.

Seeing her brothers were about to leave, Little Fish hesitated.

After a long thought, she gently tugged on Yu Hu’s sleeve, signaling him to lower his head and come closer, then whispered something in his ear.

Upon hearing this, Yu Hu first froze, then vehemently shook his head like a rattle-drum, saying in a deep voice,

"How can that be okay? We’ve already caused enough trouble for Brother Chu!"

"But..."

"There are no buts, that won’t do!"

Noticing that the siblings’ discussion seemed to involve him, Chu Guang curiously glanced at them.

"What are you talking about?"

Seeing Chu Guang looking at him, Yu Hu appeared somewhat embarrassed, pondering how to broach the subject.

However, at this moment, his sister next to him mustered the courage and spoke up softly,

"Little Fish also wants to help Brother Chu just like her brother. After all... you don’t need Little Fish to watch the house anymore, and you’ve given her so much candy."

"Candy?"

Yu Hu was taken aback and gave his sister a glare.

"When did you start eating other people’s stuff? Didn’t dad teach you not to just eat what is given to you by someone else?"

He only knew his sister seemed to have taken some plastic sticks, but he hadn’t heard they were candies.

That stuff was much more valuable than salt!

Knowing she was "in the wrong," Little Fish’s ears turned red under her older brother’s glare. Unsure of what to say, she simply refused to speak, turning her neck away as if she hadn’t heard.

Observing the siblings, Chu Guang said with a smile, "Your brother helping me, that can’t really be considered help, we should call it... a trade? Or you can think of it as compensation."

Little Fish looked up, her eyes sparkling.

"Then, if Little Fish helps, will she also get a reward?"

"Of course..."

Little Fish’s eyes shone even brighter.

"Then, can the reward be candy?"

Lollipops were something Chu Guang had plenty of, since they were the guaranteed reward from the beginner blind boxes, and even if they were eaten, he could always draw more.

Chu Guang simply hadn’t thought that they’d come in handy in such a situation.

"If you want to help me, I do happen to have an important job for you, but... your home is so far from here, and it’s quite a long walk to come over. Are you sure that’s not a problem?"

Chu Guang looked towards Yu Hu.

He had expected the older brother to dissuade her on his behalf, but to his surprise, Yu Hu, who had just been shaking his head like a rattle-drum, suddenly switched sides on the spot.

"There’s no problem at all, as long as it can help you! Brother Chu, if you don’t mind, my sister can stay with you, saving the trouble of back and forth travel!"

Before Chu Guang could respond, Little Fish also excitedly nodded and raised her arm.

"Oh! Little Fish is already an adult, she can take care of herself!"

Niu Li didn’t know what to say but felt he should offer a hand, so after thinking a while, he blurted out a sentence.

"I can help set up shelter... I’ll go gather some stuff."

Chu Guang coughed to interrupt the thoughtless act of this fellow.

"...That won’t be necessary."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.