Chapter 17: The Star Cucumber

Cucumber—a long, rough-skinned gourd—can be eaten raw, stir-fried, dipped in sugar, or tossed in a salad. Crisp and refreshing, it tastes absolutely delicious.

Back in the early days of the full-dive VR game, the very first dish to be auctioned off for over ten thousand spirit coins was “smashed cucumber salad.” Thanks to that, this humble vegetable shot to fame overnight, its price soaring ever higher, and it became the most sought-after gourd among all fruits and vegetables.

Foodies affectionately dubbed it the “star cucumber.”

It wasn’t until its seeds became widely available and cucumbers were grown in abundance that its value plummeted, and it faded back into being just another ordinary vegetable.

Back then, Yun Qimu had jumped on the bandwagon too, planting two rows of cucumbers in her retirement garden. She was very familiar with them.

Bending down and parting the lush green leaves, she spotted at least three cucumbers—quite a decent yield.

Raising an eyebrow, Yun Qimu smiled, picked three cucumbers, and hurried inside to wash them. She couldn’t wait to take a bite.

Crunch! The crisp sound echoed as an incredibly fresh flavor exploded in her mouth. Savoring it carefully, she could taste a hint of sweetness—absolutely delicious, pure, and flawless.

The crisp, refreshing cucumber quickly won over her taste buds. After crunching through one, she eagerly grabbed a second, humming a little tune as she walked outside, planning to pick a few more for Yun Xiaodi and Yun Dad to try.

But the moment she stepped out of the cabin, her expression darkened.

Damn! Where did all these flashy, strutting chickens come from?

Just moments ago, the cucumber patch had been lush and vibrant. Now, several flamboyant Danghu chickens with bushy mustaches were flying around above it—some with red feathers, some gold, some green.

They flicked their tails and stretched their necks, trampling the cucumber patch into utter chaos.

Leaves and cucumbers were pecked to shreds, some even uprooted entirely.

The cucumber bed was like a promising young man whose thick head of hair had been trampled bald in the blink of an eye.

Clutching her chest, Yun Qimu winced in pain.

Fury welled up inside her—damn these wild chickens!

She immediately summoned her little wooden bow from her inventory, her aura turning fierce as she entered massacre mode.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

One arrow, one Danghu chicken. Three arrows, three chickens, each falling with a pitiful squawk and a broken neck.

The rest of the Danghu chickens, who’d been strutting around arrogantly, shrank their beady eyes in terror, tails stiffening. They flapped their long mustaches and desperately tried to dodge, but none could escape Yun Qimu’s precise archery.

[Ding dong—Congratulations, player, you have obtained 1 Bronze Treasure Chest!]

[Ding dong—Congratulations, player, you have obtained 1 Bronze Treasure Chest!]

[Ding dong—Congratulations, player, you have obtained 3 Bronze Treasure Chests!]

With her spiritual power boosting her aim, she never missed.

As her arrows grew ever more ruthless, the system notifications chimed one after another.

Just as Yun Qimu drew a bead on a particularly robust gold-tailed Danghu chicken—one that had just pecked at a cucumber she’d been eyeing—Yun Xiaodi and the others returned.

“Wow, so many mobs! Quick, let’s fight! We’ll have meat to eat!” Yun Xiaoyu’s eyes sparkled. He tossed aside the berserk beast with a rabbit’s head and a pig’s body he’d dragged back, raised his silver crossbow, and rallied the group.

“It’s edible! Xiaoyu said wild chicken soup is delicious—awesome!” The other five kids dropped whatever they were carrying and dashed forward, excited.

Al picked up his little iron sword, and the four other kids rummaged through their pile of random junk, grabbing anything that could be used as a weapon. With a chorus of battle cries, they charged in.

For the sake of meat—charge!

“Awooo—I’m losing HP! Pidan-gege, help me!” The youngest, little Zhu Zhu, was the bravest. While the others hesitated, she grabbed a small wooden stick and charged at a white-tailed Danghu chicken, whacking it right on the head.

But she didn’t manage to kill it. Instead, the angry chicken pecked her, leaving a bloody hole in her fair little arm.

Zhu Zhu’s lips quivered, tears welling up in her eyes, but she stubbornly held them back and turned to the timid Pidan for help.

Pidan swallowed hard, gripping his stick. Though timid, he doted on Zhu Zhu most. Seeing her little hand bleeding, he gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and charged.

“Don’t be scared, Zhu Zhu! I’ll avenge you! Stupid chicken, prepare to die!” he shouted.

But he tripped over a stone and fell forward, landing right on top of the fierce white-tailed chicken, pinning it to the ground. The chicken let out a terrified screech.

Pidan: …

The other four kids: …

Zhu Zhu immediately blinked away her tears, her wet lashes fluttering. Seeing the white tail struggling under Pidan, her pink eyes lit up.

“Don’t move, Pidan-gege! Mama says, ‘Strike while it’s down!’ Hold it, let’s all hit it together! Al-gege, Doudou, Gouwazi—come on!”

The three kids nodded and rushed over, each whacking any exposed part of the wild chicken.

Finally, Al finished it off with his little iron sword, ending its life.

[Ding dong—Congratulations, player, you have obtained 1 Bronze Treasure Chest!]

The five kids cheered, “Wow! We killed a chicken! We get to eat meat!”

Meanwhile, Yun Xiaoyu, practicing his aim with the silver crossbow, gaped in surprise.

Then he pursed his lips, face turning even more serious as he took aim at another Danghu chicken and fired.

Whoosh—another arrow, this time hitting a flower-tailed Danghu chicken dead-on. As the system chimed in his ear, he grinned happily.

He could fight monsters on his own now!

He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and continued shooting with the silver crossbow.

With that bit of practice, his aim improved a lot—three out of every ten arrows hit. Even if one shot didn’t finish off a chicken, he’d just shoot a few more, or rush in with a dagger to finish it off while it was wounded.

Yun Xiaoyu racked up quite a haul.

The five little ones also started working together, developing a tacit teamwork. Their strategy: pin down a chicken first, then gang up on it. It worked great.

Watching the kids and the Danghu chickens brawling in a chaotic heap, then looking down at the trampled leaves and cucumbers, Yun Qimu’s temple throbbed. She opened her mouth, but in the end, couldn’t say a word.

With a sigh, she could only retreat further in, giving them space—and to protect the inner patch of cucumbers.

That robust gold-tailed Danghu chicken was still in there, wreaking even more havoc.

It seemed to be staking out its territory, pecking one cucumber after another. But after just a bite or two, it would move on to the next, fully embodying the rogue attitude of “if I take a bite, it’s mine.”

Yun Qimu nearly choked with rage. Damn it, that gold-tailed bastard!"

"**Chapter 18: The Golden Pangu Axe**

New grudges stacked atop old ones. Yun Qimu gripped her wooden bow, eyes blazing with fury. She was determined to slaughter this arrogant golden-tailed chicken and make it into soup!

*Whoosh—* The arrow shot off the string, swift and sharp.

But to her surprise, the golden-tailed chicken dodged with a rapid flutter. It was much more agile and quick than the other Danghu chickens, so instead of piercing its vulnerable neck, the arrow only struck its thigh.

The Danghu chicken screeched, craning its neck, its beady eyes instantly turning blood-red as if it had entered a berserk state. Its whiskers flared wildly, and it charged at Yun Qimu like a cannonball, its sharp beak glinting with cold menace.

At that moment, Yun Qimu saw a health bar suddenly appear above the chicken: 253/300.

The bar was now red and black, a clear sign the golden-tailed Danghu chicken had gone berserk.

Yun Qimu raised an eyebrow. Now this was getting interesting.

In a flash, she drew the dagger from her waist. *Clang!* Sparks flew as she blocked the chicken’s beak, sharp as cold steel.

The dagger, which she’d looted from that skinny assassin, wasn’t of great quality and bent immediately.

Yun Qimu shot it a disdainful glance but kept fighting, wielding the battered blade against the berserk Danghu chicken for three hundred rounds.

When it came to close combat, she was no slouch. Though physically weak, she had no shortage of skill or technique. In her previous life, even among the elite of the elite, her combat prowess was top-tier—maybe even number one.

Her only weakness was her frail body and lack of strength. A few times, others had exploited that flaw, ganging up on her or wearing her down in relay battles to knock her from the top spot.

In the end, she still managed to ruthlessly stab the battered, bent dagger into the Danghu chicken’s neck, draining its last two points of health.

*[Ding dong—Congratulations, player! You have slain the berserk Danghu mini-boss and obtained one Silver Chest!]*

Yun Qimu’s eyes lit up. So it was a boss chicken! No wonder it was so tough to kill. She wondered if its meat would taste even better.

She smacked her lips and walked over to the silver chest, reaching out to open it.

*[Ding dong—Congratulations, player! You have obtained: 1 Plucked Danghu Chicken!]*

*[Ding dong—Congratulations, player! You have obtained: 1 Pangu Axe!]*

*[Ding dong—Congratulations, player! You have obtained: 1 Bag of Strawberry Seeds!]*

*[Ding dong—Congratulations, player! You have obtained: 1 Strength Card!]*

Another four-item draw.

She could feel the energy core being drained again, the energy level dropping rapidly—so much so that the main system nearly had a meltdown on the spot.

What the heck is wrong with this host?!

Why is her luck so good!!!

Yun Qimu weighed the golden Pangu Axe she’d just pulled from the chest, eyes shining.

The axe looked delicate and compact, but it turned out to be a super high-end A-rank weapon—and, most importantly, it was a growth-type weapon that could be upgraded.

Its value had to be at least several million, maybe tens or even hundreds of millions of spirit coins.

But would the stingy main system really give her such a great weapon?

Yun Qimu’s black-and-white eyes spun, and she spoke in a soft, emotional voice, “Main system, I misjudged you. I thought you didn’t like me, but it turns out you like me so much you can’t even say it out loud. You even gave me this upgradable A-rank weapon—how could I possibly accept? I know I’m lovable, irresistible, and even women can’t resist my deadly charm, so I totally get that you’re into me but just can’t say it, and you act all contrary just to get my attention.

“But now that I understand your feelings, you don’t have to be so sneaky next time. If you want to give me great weapons, just do it openly!”

*[Pfft! Who said I like you that much? Where do you get your confidence?!]*

The main system was so disgusted its core was getting goosebumps. It had been holding back, but now it couldn’t help but explode.

Yun Qimu didn’t get mad. She coaxed gently, “Oh? Then why did you give me such a big gift? Come on, don’t be shy. I actually like your tsundere attitude, but if you were a little more honest, maybe I’d like you even more.”

The main system was furious. This was an insult to its neural network! Its core program was about to combust. *[Argh! You hopeless narcissist! If I could control it, do you think I’d give you a growth weapon? Dream on!]*

“Oh, so you can’t control the drop rates from monsters, huh?”

Yun Qimu’s tone turned low and eerie, instantly pulling the main system back from the brink of rage.

It realized something was off and quickly shut up.

But Yun Qimu had already gotten the information she wanted and continued to analyze slowly.

“So, since you can’t control the drop rates for monsters that let me get a growth-type A-rank weapon, that means the previous lucky gift packs were within your control, right? Otherwise, with my super-incredible luck, I’d have gotten more than just a village chief’s token. Maybe even an S-rank or god-tier weapon.”

*[......]*

Damn, she wishes!

The main system fell into total silence.

Tch, having a smart and capable host isn’t always a good thing. She was about to strip all its secrets bare.

Worse yet was her freakish luck. If the energy core couldn’t keep up with her lottery draws, it’d be drained dry in no time—turned into a dried-up system, or rather, a dried-up brain.

After a while, seeing the main system had gone quiet, Yun Qimu just smiled and stopped teasing it. She walked over to the bronze chest she’d gotten earlier and opened it.

*[Ding dong—Congratulations, player! You have obtained: 1 Small Wooden Sword!]*

*[Ding dong—Congratulations, player! You have obtained: 1 Danghu Chicken Breast!]*

*[Ding dong—Congratulations, player! You have obtained: 1 Strawberry Popsicle!]*

*[Ding dong—Congratulations, player! You have obtained: 2 Spirit Coins!]*

*[Ding dong—Congratulations, player! You have obtained: 1 Strength Card!]*

*[Ding dong—Congratulations, player! You have obtained: 1 Agility Card!]*

Watching the energy core drain bit by bit, the main system burst into tears.

It was suffering! Truly suffering!

All those years of painstakingly accumulated energy, and at this rate, the host would burn through it all and take everyone down with her.

The main system steeled itself. If it couldn’t cut spending, it would have to increase income. As long as more people joined the game, it could gather more energy.

So, just as Yun Qimu was basking in her good fortune, the system issued a forced mission.

*[System Forced Mission: Within three days, the host must recruit 20 new residents for Earth Village. Failure will result in a thunderstrike and your physical stats being halved!!!]*

Yun Qimu, who had been riding high:

Her smile slowly faded.jpg

She ground her teeth. Damn dog of a main system, just wait and see if she’d give up her delicious food and drink now.

And her body was already so weak she was out of breath every ten steps—if her stats were halved, she’d be panting every five!

---

*Author’s note: Looks like you all enjoy this story! Here’s the group number for the Foodie Base: 285523516.

(P.S. Please consider carefully before joining. The group isn’t super active—just occasional chit-chat. So only join if you can handle the quiet~)*"