It was a peaceful night, seemingly no different from any other.
Li Wei sat at the camp entrance, cradling a bowl of ad and drinking with relish.
Fila's homade ad wasn't one-star quality liquor, but it had a surprisingly decent effect on restoring Life points.
Earlier, Fila had poured a bowl for Penny, so Li Wei asked for one too — which promptly cost him one Contribution point. Such were the rules: family assets were sacred and inviolable, and outside of designated altis, no one could freely consu anything...
Ha! It was almost funny.
During the fight with Thomas just now, he'd lost a total of 5 Life points. Incredible, really — injuries that had looked so severe only cost him 5 HP.
Then again, considering that wounds like these wouldn't even qualify as a minor injury back on Earth, it started to make sense.
"George, I'm sorry."
Penny limped over and sat down beside him. Though her face was beaten into a swollen ss and she'd coughed up blood, the actual data probably reflected similarly minor damage.
Li Wei said nothing. Given the current situation, there wasn't much to say.
What was he supposed to do at this point — defy the rules and go kill Thomas?
Not a chance!
Fila had rely uttered a single curse word and been docked an attribute point. Who wouldn't be afraid of that?
Especially now that Thomas was the Head of Household. Lay a finger on him, and — heh!
In short, this month he either had to self-mutilate and create an "accident" to break his own leg, or he was stuck mining stone. Two units a day, three hundred kilograms — absolutely brutal.
Perhaps the only silver lining was that he could use this opportunity to grind another 500 quarrying experience points, earn a Mason Card, and gain 60 Contribution.
'Sothing feels off. Thomas is acting like he's burning bridges and going all in, throwing everything at a single decisive push, as if there'd be no tomorrow after this month. Is that normal?'
'And another thing — when he first arrived, his very first objective was to build the periter wall. Every plan since has revolved around that wall. If I'm right, the mont that stone wall is completed, he'll have finished his completion objective.'
'But what kind of mission is that? Invest this much effort, basically doing charitable work to build a wall, then just dust off his hands and leave?'
While he was mulling this over, Penny suddenly activated another One-Star Conspiracy Card. 'What the — she still has more?!'
Li Wei stared at Penny in astonishnt. 'Just how much did you squeeze out of Thomas?'
Penny managed a strained smile.
"Since it's co to this, I'll be straight with you. Thomas is probably grinding for a title — one related to walls. His Defense is high and his bones are rock-hard. And if he can't finish the wall this month, his mission is probably a failure. That's why he's going all in."
"That son of a whore got extorted so hard he broke! Honestly, even now, your big sis still ca out ahead!"
What?
Li Wei was stunned. He was too shocked to even register Penny's bragging!
'A title? He's doing all this for a title?!'
That was sothing he'd never expected. Grinding for a title — and causing this much chaos over it?
It was absurd.
"How about we sabotage him?" Li Wei blurted instinctively.
"I wouldn't recomnd it — unless you're willing to stage an accident and break your own leg." Penny shook her head.
"Actually, the remaining stone deficit for this wall isn't that large. George, I've thought about it long and hard, and we've made mistakes. You were wrong, I was wrong, Leon was wrong. We've already lost this round, and there's no winning it back."
"So right now, we need to be rational. Once Thomas completes his mission, he'll leave. That's certain — his mission has a ti limit, otherwise he wouldn't be this desperate."
"So the question is: do you want to sabotage Thomas at the cost of your own interests, or do you want to think about the future? We still have a year and a half left on our mission."
"Besides, having this wall will be a huge advantage for our developnt going forward."
"In short, that's my thinking. I don't want to fight anymore. Next month's stone quarrying task — I'll do my best, and if I can't finish it, so what? I'll lose so Contribution at most. But as long as Thomas truly completes his mission and leaves, that's actually the best outco for us."
Li Wei studied Penny and felt she'd truly changed. Was this really the sa Penny — proud, ambitious, and more talk than talent?
But then again, she did have a point.
"Fine. I'll do my best and won't sweat it if the task doesn't get completed. Grinding so quarrying experience is still worthwhile."
Li Wei nodded. He certainly wasn't about to stage an accident and break his own leg.
But he wouldn't slack off either. He would quarry stone, just not two units a day — ensuring one unit per day would be enough.
So what if he didn't complete the task?
It didn't matter in the slightest!
This month was a write-off — so what?
In just two more months, he'd be able to reclaim the Head of Household position.
And Penny had made one point he agreed with: their completion objective still had over a year left. There was no need to be reckless.
As for the future, he and Penny would probably still have to compete.
Honestly, teaming up against Thomas just now, the two of them had shared a genuine, instinctive solidarity.
Sothing about their relationship seed to have shifted.
Li Wei said nothing more and simply sat there in silence.
After a long while, the Conspiracy Card's private channel faded away.
The night grew deeper.
"Sis, it's a bit cold out here. Go get so rest. Don't overthink things. If your late husband were watching from above, he'd be sad to see you like this."
Li Wei patted Penny's shoulder with utmost sincerity — because if he didn't maintain this grave deanor, he was afraid he'd burst out laughing. Penny had truly achieved the full Peppa Pig look right now.
"Pfft!"
But it was Penny who cracked first. Thankfully, this wasn't a formal family eting, so it wasn't that serious.
She shot Li Wei a reproachful glare. 'Late husband?! Where in the world did you pull that excuse from?'
Still, the laugh loosened sothing in her chest. Looking at Li Wei, thinking back on all their conflicts and grudges, she sighed. After tonight's battle, perhaps they could let bygones be bygones.
Then she reached behind Li Wei and plucked a wolf-tooth arrow from his quiver.
"Give this one!"
As she spoke, she initiated a trade request.
Li Wei was taken aback, but quickly accepted. Penny was true to her word — the deal hadn't gone as planned, but she still paid the balance. And it was — the One-Star Woodcutter Card!
"Thanks. I'm not sad anymore."
With that deliberately ambiguous parting line, Penny headed straight back inside to rest.
Watching her retreating figure, Li Wei fell into thought.
A One-Star Woodcutter Card. What a treasure.
Following an impulse, his One-Star Fisherman Card leapt out, darting like a playful fish, and instantly rged with the Woodcutter Card in a swirl that resembled flowing starlight.
[Would you like to rge the One-Star Fisherman Card with the One-Star Woodcutter Card? Warning: this fusion is not guaranteed to succeed at 100%. Due to the characteristics of each profession, the maximum success rate is 98%. You may consu various profession experience points, or add a third profession card, to potentially increase the fusion success rate.]
Oh?
Not bad!
Li Wei breathed a ntal sigh of relief and imdiately injected 100 Woodcutting experience points and 100 Farming experience points. The fusion succeeded instantly.
Brilliant light swirled and shifted, with faint silhouettes of woodcutting and fishing flickering within — as if their affinities complented each other perfectly. In the blink of an eye, the two cards had rged successfully.
[You have obtained a One-Star Strength Card. This is a property card — unregistered and tradeable. Upon activation, you will automatically gain 2 Strength. Note: A maximum of three Strength Cards of the sa tier can be activated.]
Wow!
Thank you, Penny. He'd just unlocked another fusion recipe.
At this mont, his Strength shot straight to 12 points. Counting the Bear Hunter title bonus, that made 13 — stronger than a healthy adult man back on Earth.
If he ever ran into another bruiser like Thomas, the helpless feeling of being overpowered wouldn't be quite so bad.
Honestly, just thinking about Thomas's cannon-like straight punch still sent chills down his spine.
In the future, against opponents like that, kiting and staying mobile would be the better approach.
Afterward, Li Wei strolled around outside the camp for a while, mainly to check on the wheat fields.
Sure, they were technically family property now, and next month's main task didn't require him to tend them. But how could he just leave them unattended? If wild animals damaged the crops, it would throw off the entire year's plan — and he still intended to reclaim the Head of Household position.
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