Chapter 39: I’m in a Hurry to Get Back and Farm

Zhu Zhu smacked her little lips, gave him a shy smile, then reached out her chubby hands to cradle the big, bright red fruit. Lowering her head, she took a huge bite with a happy “nom.”

Her little friends looked over eagerly. “Well? Well? Is it sweet?”

“It’s sweet—sweeter than sugar!”

Zhu Zhu lifted her soft, round face, nodding enthusiastically with her mouth still full. The sweet taste made her big eyes squint with happiness, and a ring of red juice smeared her cheeks, making her look just like a little kitten who’d found the world’s tastiest treat.

“Right?” Haru’s thick eyebrows shot up with delight, a proud grin spreading across his rugged face as he continued to sell the fruit’s virtues. “This Danmu fruit isn’t just sweet—it fills you up, too. Eat three of these and an adult like me won’t feel hungry all day. For you little ones, I bet just one is enough.”

“Wow—” The kids’ mouths dropped open in envy.

“It’s just that it’s so sweet it gets a bit cloying,” Haru added, letting out a satisfied, sugary burp to show off.

Yun Xiaoyu rolled his eyes at him. “Hmph, grown-ups just love to show off.”

“Yeah, yeah! How could it ever be too sweet? I love sugar!”

“My mom only let me have candy once at home. It was so sweet and yummy.”

“Me too, me too! Let’s go pick some fruit—I can climb trees!”

“Me too, me too…”

A gaggle of kids chattered excitedly as they dashed toward the Danmu trees, bouncing with anticipation.

“Come on, let’s go pick some too!” Old Tang’s eyes sparkled with excitement, his beard quivering.

He’d only had the cucumbers the kids brought him today—didn’t even get to drink his nutrient solution. His stomach was already rumbling, and these big, red fruits, even if a bit garishly colored, looked incredibly appetizing.

On this barren exile planet, any edible fruit was a hot commodity.

There were ten Danmu trees in a row, and almost every one had already been claimed.

Yun Xiaoyu looked left, looked right, and finally set his sights on the tree at the end—the one with the most fruit.

He led his little army over, heads held high.

“Move it, move it! This tree’s ours!” Skinny Monkey Qi squatted on the lowest branch, squinting as he gnawed on a fruit. He waved dismissively at the kids below, his expression as if he were shooing away flies.

The children instinctively shrank back, but leader Yun Xiaoyu stood his ground, his little frame unwavering, brows furrowed in displeasure as he glared at Skinny Monkey.

He shouted fiercely, “This belongs to Earth Village! You can’t take it!”

Skinny Monkey shot him a contemptuous look. “Tch, what do you know, brat? Anything the Black Skull Star Pirates claim is ours. Keep mouthing off and I won’t be so nice.”

With the village chief—whom the pirates feared—gone, Skinny Monkey wasn’t scared of these kids at all. A malicious grin spread across his face as he pulled out a knife to threaten them.

Haru hurriedly rushed over to shield the children, like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

“Monkey Qi, don’t bully the kids.”

Skinny Monkey grinned slyly, giving Haru a meaningful look. “Oh? Then is it okay if I bully you? Those bruises from earlier—healed up yet?”

Haru flinched, baring his teeth in pain, his battered face full of resentment.

Damn, these bastards had beaten him half to death before—he was still sore all over.

Besides, these pirates were heartless—they wouldn’t go easy on kids. In the end, he could only turn away in frustration, gently coaxing Yun Xiaoyu, “How about we pick a different tree? That one over there has lots of fruit, and Ah Hua and the others are friendly. We can pick together.”

“Yeah, yeah! Little ones, come to our tree!” Ah Hua, who’d just climbed down, waved enthusiastically, her soot-streaked face beaming.

Yun Xiaoyu pouted, unconvinced. “But this tree has more fruit.”

“Then I’ll help you knock them down!” Pei Yu swung over from another tree on a green vine with a whoop, agile as a big monkey. He landed beside Mo Xie with a perfect 360-degree spin, arms outstretched in a gymnast’s pose, earning a round of applause from Ah Hua.

Pei Yu took a bow, then retracted the vine, his eyes sparkling as he looked toward the pirates, itching for action.

But before he could do anything, a string of red lights suddenly flashed above the pirates’ heads.

[Beep beep beep—Detected slaves yelling at and threatening children. This violates Earth Village’s virtue of respecting the old and cherishing the young. Initiating punishment mode.]

“Shit!”

Pirate leader Zack was the first to sense trouble. He dropped the Danmu fruit he’d just grabbed and tried to flee, but he was no match for the lightning.

So, under the stunned gazes of Pei Yu and the others, seventeen pirates put on a spectacular show: lightning struck, illuminating them like X-rays, revealing only skeletons in the silver light. The skeletons twitched in bizarre epileptic poses, then went rigid, and finally collapsed to the ground with a series of thuds.

The onlookers: ……

Pei Yu’s peach blossom eyes widened as he stared at the twitching, frizzy-haired bodies on the ground, then at the beaming little kids. He took a few steps back, spooked.

Can’t mess with them—these days, even little kids might be hidden gods.

The kids ignored the fallen bodies. Seeing the tree was clear, they cheered and rushed over.

The bold ones—like Al and Yun Xiaoyu—scrambled up in no time, nimble as monkeys.

Even little Zhu Zhu managed to climb up with Haru the “nanny’s” help.

Soon, the tree was full of laughing, chattering children, picking fruit.

Having already stuffed himself with three fruits, Pei Yu looked up at the kids in envy, muttering, “What kind of magical village is this? They actually have virtues like respecting elders and loving children. Damn, if only I’d been born thirty years later…”

“……”

Mo Xie gave him a complicated look. “What are you doing in the North District?”

Pei Yu paused, then looked at him with a wounded gaze. “Cousin, you don’t care about me at all.”

Mo Xie’s face turned stern. “Talk properly.”

Pei Yu whimpered, aggrieved. “Cousin, you’re getting as old-fashioned as Xiao Zheng. Hmph! Why am I here? Of course it’s because I can’t control the dark matter in my body anymore, so I had to come here to wait for death.”

“Cousin, since I’m about to die, can’t you be a little nicer to me? Like, give me more pocket money or something…”"