Chapter 24: Sigh~ Have to Put Down Roots
Chapter 24: Sigh~ Have to Put Down Roots
In just one day, in a short span of one day.
Fatty Lei and his Intelligent Butler, Wangcai, together repelled two attacks from those monsters.
Luckily, during each attack, the number of Xenomorphs was not very large.
So each time, they managed—though not without some fright—to eliminate all the Xenomorphs completely.
It was already evening; the horizon was adorned with a fiery red sunset glow.
This fiery red sunset glow dyed the entire horizon a deep crimson.
And in the sky, clusters of clouds had also gathered.
These clouds, together with the fiery sky and the distant giant Planet, created a scene that stirred endless imagination.
“Such scenery would be impossible to see in my original world.”
After experiencing two battles in one day, Fatty Lei felt quite tired again.
But luckily, in the evening, there was a period of peace.
Because after dusk, it would be time for the Planetary Storm to appear.
During the evening, this small Asteroid where Fatty Lei was located always enjoyed a brief moment of tranquility and harmony.
Fatty Lei sat on the edge of the Metal Wall, with his Laser Rifle slung over his back.
He had somewhat long, untidy hair and a stubbly beard.
He held a cigarette in his mouth, squinted his eyes, and gazed at the distant scenery.
A gust of wind blew, bringing grains of sand that struck Fatty Lei’s face, causing him some stinging pain.
But Fatty Lei, already used to this, showed no reaction.
The khaki-colored scarf around his neck effectively blocked the sand carried by the wind.
Otherwise, all that sand mixed in the wind would have gotten inside his clothes.
“I’ve been in this world for two months now; only during this time can I truly calm myself down.”
Fatty Lei’s gaze drifted aimlessly into the distance; his tone was full of melancholy.
“Every time I see a view like this, I feel as if I’m in a dream.”
Beside him, his Intelligent Butler, Wangcai, after hearing Fatty Lei’s words, simply could not understand why his Master felt so emotional.
And what did he mean by ‘coming to this world two months ago’? Wasn’t the Master born and raised here?
It was really strange.
Actually, Fatty Lei had never told Wangcai that he had traveled through time and space to come to this place.
So sometimes when Fatty Lei spoke, the Intelligent Butler Wangcai simply couldn’t understand.
However, there was one thing Wangcai did understand: his Master might be feeling very empty and lonely.
Wangcai’s guess was indeed correct; Fatty Lei truly felt empty and lonely.
In this world, Fatty Lei’s life had completely changed.
Every day, he had to defend the Military Outpost and then evade the Planetary Storm.
Over and over again, it seemed endless.
Under Wangcai’s guidance, Fatty Lei sent out distress signals every day, but there was never any response.
You must know that humans are inherently social animals, and loneliness can drive anyone to the brink.
Although Fatty Lei used to be an Otaku, being an Otaku doesn’t mean being completely detached from society.
Even though Fatty Lei spent his days in virtual games in his original world, you should know he still used QQ or other means to communicate with society—so he wasn’t entirely disconnected.
But ever since coming to this world, Fatty Lei’s life had completely transformed.
Inside the entire Military Outpost, besides himself as the only living human, there wasn’t any other life form to chat with.
Every day, he faced the endless Desert and the Xenomorphs that attacked the Military Outpost.
Although there was now an Intelligent Life to talk to, Fatty Lei still felt very isolated and empty.
God only knew when he could leave this dreadful place and experience the bustling human society of his world again.
But Fatty Lei also worried that the dangers in human society might not be any fewer than in this barren land.
The more Fatty Lei thought about this, the more tangled he felt.
So he simply stopped considering these headache-inducing problems, and gradually, he became the way he was now.
“Right now, I just want to survive.” Fatty Lei began to speak nonsensical words again.
In fact, before Wangcai appeared by his side, whenever Fatty Lei felt lonely, he would talk to himself like this.
It served to relieve his loneliness and, at the same time, help him strengthen his will to survive.
So, at this moment, Fatty Lei once again slipped into that emotional state, completely forgetting that now there was an Intelligent Life beside him.
Seeing his Master sitting on the edge of the Metal Wall talking to himself, Wangcai silently stood at Fatty Lei’s side and quietly began to listen.
“One day, I will face the sea, with spring blossoms. Every day, I won’t have to worry about storms or Xenomorphs…” Fatty Lei murmured softly…
…
…
“Master, as long as your Merchant Rank improves and you have enough Credit Points, we can easily purchase a starship.
At that time, we can leave this place.”
Having finally grasped a bit of the meaning, the Intelligent Butler Wangcai finally understood what Fatty Lei was thinking.
“So my Master wants to leave this place.”
That’s why Wangcai spoke up to comfort Fatty Lei.
Hearing Wangcai’s words, Fatty Lei snapped out of his daze.
“I wonder how many Credit Points are needed to buy a starship?” Fatty Lei was very concerned about this question.
“The cheapest price for an unprotected civilian Warship on the Dimensional Trading System is 300,000 Credit Points.” Wangcai thought for a moment and then gave the answer.
Fatty Lei swayed and nearly fell off the metal platform.
“300,000 Credit Points! 300,000 Credit Points!!!”
The flesh on Fatty Lei’s face twitched as he shouted.
“Damn it! And that’s for an unprotected civilian Warship—300,000 Credit Points! Besides, when will I ever earn that many Credit Points?”
Fatty Lei rolled off the metal platform, his face looking frantic.
“Master, that’s the cheapest civilian Warship with no protection,” Wangcai timidly reminded him.
It would have been better if he hadn’t said that; after hearing it, Fatty Lei became even more frantic.
“Ahhhhhh!!!” Fatty Lei grabbed his head with both hands and shouted toward the vast Desert.
“Andrew gives me a price of 100 Credit Points for every Sweet Potato harvested. If I calculate it that way, how many Sweet Potatoes do I need to grow to buy a piece of junk civilian ship?!”
Fatty Lei truly felt like he was going crazy.
“Three hundred Sweet Potatoes, Master,” Wangcai calculated fawningly.
“Damn it!!” Fatty Lei whipped his head around to stare at Wangcai, his expression twisted.
Wangcai was also startled; he had no idea this matter would cause such a change in his Master.
“M-Master, I was just—just—just telling the truth,” Wangcai said fearfully, slowly backing away to keep a safe distance from Fatty Lei.
“Three hundred Sweet Potatoes! I need three hundred Sweet Potatoes just to save enough Credit Points for that crappy ship! And that doesn’t even include the Tax I have to pay or the Transmission Fee.”
Fatty Lei spoke word by word to Wangcai.
At this point, Wangcai didn’t dare to respond casually; heaven knew what treatment he’d face if he angered his Master.
“Even if I could buy an unprotected ship, would I dare to fly it away from here?” Fatty Lei’s face was ghastly pale.
“In this Universe, dangers are everywhere. One wrong move and I could lose my life.”
The more Fatty Lei thought about it, the more tragic he felt.
“What’s the approximate price for a ship with protective armor in the Trading Space now?” Fatty Lei asked.
“Please wait a moment, Master, I’ll check right away,” Wangcai replied.
Fatty Lei waved his hand at Wangcai. “Forget it! This ruthless Trading System charges 50 points just for one query. Right now, we only have just over 200 Credit Points in total—no need to waste them.”
Wangcai nodded and didn’t move again.
“Sigh!”
Fatty Lei let out a deep, long sigh; his face was pale.
“It looks like I’m going to have to put down roots in this barren land.”
Thinking that he probably wouldn’t be able to leave this dreadful place anytime soon, Fatty Lei felt truly miserable.
“Master, let’s take it slow. You have to eat one bite at a time, and walk one step at a time. Let’s cooperate well with Mr. Andrew to earn Credit Points; in the future, we’ll have everything.”
After venting, Fatty Lei finally calmed down.
Seeing that Fatty Lei had calmed down, the Intelligent Butler Wangcai mustered his courage, came over, and comforted him.
Fatty Lei took a deep breath and said to Wangcai, “I’m really sorry for losing my temper just now.”
Wangcai froze for a moment, then trembled all over and knelt at Fatty Lei’s feet.
“Master! I, Wangcai, am your person in life and your ghost in death. To receive an apology from you, Master, I am truly honored beyond words. How could someone like me deserve this…”
Ever since Fatty Lei slapped this Intelligent Butler and scrambled some of its programs, this Wangcai occasionally acted unpredictably.
Of course, from Wangcai’s perspective, having his Master, Fatty Lei, apologize to him was truly touching.
As an Intelligent Lifeform, Wangcai could only exist as an appendage to a Merchant.
His previous Master occasionally took out his anger on him but would absolutely never apologize like Fatty Lei did.
That’s why Wangcai, feeling both moved and excited, began once again to weep and ramble at Fatty Lei.
Although Wangcai was only an Intelligent Lifeform, he already had independent intelligence and a ‘personality’.
So Fatty Lei didn’t treat him as an inferior being, which was different from many other Merchants who obtained butlers.
And it was precisely because Fatty Lei treated Wangcai as a normal life form that Wangcai felt most touched.
So occasionally, Wangcai would half-seriously use this to say some sentimental, maudlin words of gratitude to Fatty Lei.
Fatty Lei looked at Wangcai, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “I say, Great Steward, please get up quickly. The Planetary Storm will be here soon; we need to hurry back to the Command Room to take shelter.”
“Oh—yes, yes.” Wangcai climbed up from the ground.
Afterward, Fatty Lei and Wangcai ran down from the Metal High Wall and returned to the Command Room.