Chapter 173: A Perfectly Matched Couple

Yun Qimu’s eyes glimmered with insight as she smiled and said, “Of course. As long as you abide by the basic rules of Earth Village—cherish it, protect it, and work together to build a harmonious community—I won’t concern myself with whether my villagers have other identities beyond being members of Earth Village.”

Upon hearing this, Kui Hai’s gaze flickered. After a moment’s hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said, “Alright, then we’ll join Earth Village as well. Is that possible?”

Yinghua looked at him in surprise, but Kui Hai simply patted her hand, his eyes fixed intently on Yun Qimu.

Yun Qimu was secretly delighted—this was exactly what she’d been waiting for!

Now that Longteng’s chief strategist had fallen into her “Earth Village” trap, could the rest of Longteng be far behind?

She readily agreed, warmly welcoming them both.

Kui Hai was a man of action. Without delay, he took Yinghua’s hand and officially joined Earth Village, becoming proud new villagers.

After exchanging a few words with Yun Qimu, the couple headed off with a group from Molan City, who were eager to go monster hunting.

As they made their way, asking questions along the route, they soon reached the mountains. There was never a shortage of monsters here—so long as you had the skill and the courage, you could always score some great loot.

Though Yinghua was a woman, she was incredibly brave and possessed superhuman strength. Even among a pack of berserk beasts, she could grab one by the leg and swing it aside to carve out a path for herself. So, after reaching the mountains with the Molan City group, the couple soon split off to hunt on their own.

According to Yun Qimu, they’d be staying in Earth Village for the night, and once the “Wild Pegasus” card’s summoning function recharged the next day, they’d return to Chaos City.

Time was tight, so they couldn’t afford to linger or even fully explore Earth Village before heading out to hunt monsters.

The more good stuff they could bring back, the better—it was all vital for Longteng’s survival.

The defensive jade pendants were especially important. With them, even if Lin Qiu tried to target Longteng during the hunting tournament, they could at least ensure their own safety.

But Yinghua wasn’t thinking that far ahead. As soon as they parted ways with the Molan City group, she couldn’t help but ask, “Why did we join Earth Village? Didn’t we agree to just get temporary resident passes?”

Kui Hai held her hand and gave a wry smile. “I’m thinking of the elders and children in Longteng. The environment on the Exile Star is getting worse and worse. Within three years, humanity’s living space will shrink again. Without outside support, Longteng won’t survive.”

“And Lin Qiu is determined to seize Chaos City with his Bloodthirsters. Even if he doesn’t succeed this time, what about next time? Or the time after that? That guy’s ambition is boundless—he won’t stop until he’s city lord.”

“Besides Lin Qiu, there are all those smaller factions waiting to pounce if we stumble. Longteng may be one of the three major powers in Chaos City, but in reality, we’re surrounded by wolves.”

After this analysis, even Yinghua—who was more used to fighting than thinking—nodded thoughtfully. “I get it now.”

Kui Hai squeezed her calloused palm and sighed softly before asking, “So, what do you think of Earth Village?”

Yinghua’s eyes lit up. “It’s great! There’s no dark matter interference, you get rewarded for hard work, and there’s food we never even imagined. It’s an excellent base for any faction.”

Kui Hai nodded in satisfaction. “Exactly. The environment here is perfect for the elderly and children. We have too many of both in Longteng, and we can’t support them. Even if Lin Qiu doesn’t become city lord this time, we won’t last long in Chaos City. I discussed it with Zhong Teng—we were originally planning to seek refuge in Molan City, but Earth Village is even better. At least here, food is never a problem.”

“That’s true. Let’s hunt more monsters and bring back as much as we can for everyone to try,” Yinghua said happily, her excitement growing. “They’re all so attached to our old base and the land behind it. If we bring back some of Earth Village’s treasures, they’ll get to experience how good it is here.”

“Right, my wife is absolutely right.”

The couple was full of energy. Before long, they encountered a few Mengji beasts. Yinghua’s eyes sparkled, and with a confident grin, she charged in barehanded.

Kui Hai supported her from behind, firing water arrows at any Mengji that dared to reach for his wife.

Though he wasn’t as strong as Hua Ying, Kui Hai had fought his way through the Exile Star. He was far from the frail strategist he appeared to be—when it came down to it, he could hold his own.

The couple worked together seamlessly, quickly clearing out the monsters and eagerly opening the treasure chests left behind.

Yinghua’s luck was phenomenal—she found another defensive jade pendant, a strength ring, and even apples, fish, and peaches.

Kui Hai wasn’t as lucky. Aside from a wolf-tooth club—a weapon Yinghua needed—he mostly got mundane items like cups and boots.

After two more waves of monsters, the pattern held: Yinghua’s loot was excellent, Kui Hai’s just average. So they quickly adjusted their strategy.

Yinghua became the main attacker, while Kui Hai focused on support and left the finishing blows to her.

They were so absorbed in hunting that they barely stopped to eat, just grabbing a few Danmu fruits from the roadside to stave off hunger. Only when dusk fell, the sky darkened, and the howls from the snowy mountains grew louder and more dangerous did they reluctantly head back down.

But their efforts paid off—they’d cleared over a dozen waves of monsters and collected a remarkable haul, with more than twenty different types of loot. Their storage grids were overflowing, so they ended up using a thick cotton coat as a makeshift bag to carry the rest.

On the way back, they ran into eight people from Molan City. Though they were empty-handed, each was munching on a piece of fruit, chatting and laughing, clearly pleased with their own harvest.

Kui Hai glanced at his wife’s bulging bundle and wondered if Earth Village sold spatial pouches. The free storage grids were handy, but each could only hold one type of item. For odds and ends, a spatial pouch that could hold anything would be much more convenient.

He shared the thought with Yinghua, who couldn’t help but tease him.

Just a day ago, they’d been so poor they didn’t dare dream of owning even a one-cubic-meter spatial pouch. Now he was complaining about the free storage grids and eyeing spatial pouches—he was definitely getting ahead of himself.

“Honey, what do you think? Do monsters ever drop spatial pouches?”

“You should ask Village Chief Yun about that—I have no idea.”

“Right, I’ll ask her when we get back.”"

"**Chapter 174: Playing Him for a Fool**

Kui Hai suddenly changed the subject, “Wife, how about we have a barbecue tonight? There’s so much meat—we should help Zhong Teng and the others try it out first.”

Ying Hua shot him an amused glare. “If you’re craving it, just say so.”

Kui Hai just smiled and didn’t argue.

After a hard afternoon’s work, they deserved a good meal. Otherwise, how could they brag about how delicious Earth Village’s meat was when they got back? How else could they lure those stubborn old geezers at the Longteng base who refused to budge?

But in the end, they didn’t get to eat the meat they’d prepared themselves that evening, because over at the Earth Village plaza, Yun Qimu was already organizing a village-wide barbecue party.

The villagers flat-out refused to keep any of the loot scavenged from Blackbeard and his gang—they insisted on handing it all over to Yun Qimu, their village chief.

Yun Qimu glanced through it and found that Blackbeard actually had a decent stash of energy coins on him. Rumor had it there was even more hidden back at the Black Tiger Tribe’s lair, which delighted her to no end.

As for Mu Tong and the other space pirates, they had even more valuable loot—stuff they’d plundered from various spaceships and starships. Not only did they have three of the latest model hovercars, but also several expensive mechas.

Mu Tong alone had three spatial rings on him—way more than Zack, the former boss of the Black Skull Pirates, ever had.

When Yun Qimu dumped out the contents of Mu Tong’s spatial rings to take inventory, Zack, who’d come over after hearing the news, went red-eyed with envy.

Seeing was believing. After being brainwashed by Hou Qi these past few days, Zack’s resolve was already wavering. Now, seeing it all with his own eyes, he finally realized that his “good second brother” Mu Tong had been playing him for a fool from the very start.

He could never again say that “second brother is a good brother.”

If he hadn’t been held back—and if he wasn’t afraid of angering the game system—he would’ve rushed over and given Mu Tong a good beating right then and there.

No wonder—no wonder that despite hijacking so many starships, he’d never gotten anything good. He’d even cursed those people for being poor, never realizing the real problem was right here.

All the good stuff had been pocketed by his dear second brother, while all he got was junk.

He’d really been a clueless, useless boss.

Ahem, but back to the topic.

After accepting the villagers’ goodwill and collecting the spoils, Yun Qimu generously decided to throw a barbecue celebration that night. All the meat, veggies, and fruit would be provided by her as a reward for the villagers’ hard work.

Huan Linyuan, Kui Hai, and the others who’d helped out earlier were naturally invited to join the festivities—free food and drink for everyone.

As soon as Kui Hai and his group heard the good news, they forgot everything else, happily grabbed some meat, and joined the villagers in the celebration.

After a night of feasting, the villagers were overjoyed, and Kui Hai’s group quickly built strong relationships with the Earth Village residents, laying a solid foundation for future cooperation.

The only ones not happy were Zack and the other old slaves, along with Blackbeard and his men, who huddled together, trembling.

They’d been settled in a few empty wooden huts not far from the plaza—specially provided by the main brain, free of charge, to “let the horses run.” These laborers could create more value, so they couldn’t be allowed to freeze.

The main brain watched them with a sneaky, excited look, as if raising piglets: “Grow up, little piggies, get fat so I can butcher you for meat, hehe…”

Mu Tong felt a chill run down his neck, his sense of foreboding growing stronger. But he quickly regained his composure, though his elegant face was starting to twitch under the main brain’s gaze, and his smile was slipping.

“B-big brother…”

Zack snorted coldly, his eyes bulging with rage. “Don’t call me big brother. I don’t have such an ambitious second brother.”

Knowing he couldn’t escape, Mu Tong forced himself to explain, “Big brother, let me explain, I had no choice before, I was doing it for Black Skull too…”

Zack slammed his palm against the wall with a loud bang, then roared at Mu Tong, “Don’t you fucking bullshit me! I’ll never believe a word you say again. Hmph, you lying dog, I trusted you so much, handed over all the affairs of the pirate crew to you, and this is how you repay me? Shows how stupid I was, trusting a two-faced little bastard like you just because you’ve got a pretty face!”

Zack spat a torrent of abuse at Mu Tong, spraying spit everywhere, his furious shouting leaving Mu Tong no chance to speak. In the end, he even declared that he and Mu Tong were now mortal enemies.

Mu Tong’s face turned from green to white. He wiped the spit off his face and simply shut his mouth.

Zack didn’t get physical, and Mu Tong didn’t bother to beg this brute for forgiveness.

They were all slaves now, prisoners—no one was better than anyone else.

Since he’d been exposed, Mu Tong didn’t think he was any worse than Zack.

Zack had more men, but Mu Tong had also gathered quite a few followers in Black Skull. Aside from the handful who’d foolishly chased after people with Zack at the start, most of the rest had been bought over by Mu Tong and now stood firmly on his side. If it came to a fight, his chances of winning were actually better.

Having thought it through, Mu Tong just sat there, letting Zack’s words go in one ear and out the other, not bothering to respond, and started thinking about how to escape.

Be a slave? Hmph, not a chance.

[Ding-dong—The villagers have finished their gathering. Slaves Mu Tong, Zack, and Blackbeard, please proceed to the plaza to clean up. Make sure not a single speck of dirt is left behind.]

Zack, who’d been in the middle of another tirade, reflexively shut his mouth, didn’t even glance at Mu Tong, and coldly called his men to head to the plaza.

Now that Mu Tong had been captured—their last hope—Zack and the others didn’t dare defy the system. They obediently followed orders.

But Mu Tong and his group, being new, didn’t know any better.

They just sat there, unmoving, as if they hadn’t heard anything.

To hell with cleaning—let whoever wants to do it, do it.

Jason, who’d been a slave in Earth Village for three days, knew just how scary these forced missions could be. He walked over to Mu Tong and quietly reminded him, “Second boss, we’d better hurry over.”

Mu Tong glared at him, face dark and trembling with anger. “You want me to go clean up? Do that kind of lowly work?”

Jason scratched his bald head awkwardly and nodded. “It’s really bad if you don’t.”

Blackbeard, hot-tempered as ever, glared back. “What’s so bad about it? Is someone gonna come beat me up? Hmph.”

Jason gave him a complicated look. “It’s worse than that.”

Blackbeard didn’t believe it and shouted, “Well, I’m not going! If you’ve got the guts, come beat me up! I’m tough, I’m not afraid!”

[Ding-dong—Slave Blackbeard detected with severe anti-game behavior. Initiating punishment mode: Level 2 electric shock.]"