Chapter 48: The Spirit Stone Greenhouse

""Hmm, I heard from my little brother that Mr. Mo's pumpkins are especially sweet and glutinous, really delicious, so I wanted to come and trade for some to try myself.""

Yun Qimu carried a basket, walking along with a smile. ""Just so happens that the little greens in my yard have sprouted another batch, and the Daohu chickens I got from the treasure chest draws all come as whole birds, so I've got plenty of leftover meat to bring over for trading.""

Pei Yu's peach blossom eyes widened with envy, and she said sourly, ""You really have all the luck! The treasure chests I open only ever give me a single chicken wing, a drumstick, or maybe a slice of breast meat—barely enough to get stuck in my teeth. And sometimes, I even get an empty chest. Waaah~~ It's so hard for me!""

The three walking alongside—Wu Xingyu and the others—couldn't help but curiously peek at the basket in Yun Qimu's hands.

But what caught their eyes first were the tender, vibrant little greens inside.

Wu Xingyu's silver eyes flashed, and he quietly swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

After wandering outside for so long, it had been ages since he'd had fresh vegetables grown by the Spirit Clan. As for the meat Pei Yu mentioned, he didn't even spare it a glance. Even though the meat looked fresh and tender, free of impurities, after being utterly disappointed by exotic beast meat, he simply couldn't relate to Pei Yu's longing and drooling.

He tilted his head, thinking for a moment, and finally chalked it up to Exile Star being too harsh—a place where people can't even get normal meat, so of course they'd drool over it like a big dog seeing a juicy bone. Understandable.

""There's a bathroom inside. Go in and wash up yourselves,"" Mo Xie said, pushing open the door of the small wooden house, his expression blank as he stepped aside for Wu Xingyu and the others.

""Ah, oh, oh!""

Pei Yu's eyes darted, and she dashed forward, trying to be the first to get in and clean up. But Wu Xingyu was quicker, grabbing her by the collar and pulling her back.

For the sake of her pretty face, Pei Yu refused to back down this time, and immediately engaged Wu Xingyu in a barehanded scuffle, going at it for three hundred rounds.

Honestly, Pei Yu might usually act and talk in a delicate, effeminate way, but her fighting skills were no joke. When she got serious, she could really hold her own—nothing like the weakling who'd been pinned and rubbed into the mud before.

All in all, Yun Qimu had a whole new impression of her now.

Yun He and Yuan An, the two pitiful kids, huddled together in the courtyard, trembling and not daring to fight for a spot.

""Eh? Is it raining?"" Yun He suddenly reached up to touch his big forehead, noticing that the dried mud there was starting to get damp.

""No, it's snowing,"" Yuan An beside him looked up at the sky in surprise.

The sky, which had been a clear blue, was now turning gray, and tiny, crystalline six-pointed snowflakes were drifting down.

In the blink of an eye, the snowflakes grew larger and heavier, soon turning into thick, fluttering goose-feather snow. In no time, the vibrant Earth Village was blanketed in a layer of pure, flawless white.

[Ding dong—Earth Village has entered the winter season. Villagers, please do your best to survive!]

The system's voice rang in every villager's ear, and immediately after this village-wide announcement, everyone could suddenly feel the chill seeping in from all directions.

Their breath came out in white puffs, and they shivered from the cold.

""Hiss, it's freezing!""

Yun Qimu's expression changed. She quickly opened her player info panel, and sure enough, found a new line under her health bar:

(""In the depths of winter, the player has contracted a negative status: lose 100 HP per hour."")

Yun Qimu: ......

She had a million curses she wanted to let out.

""What the hell, why is there a seasonal change now? There never used to be seasons in the game.""

Main Brain: [Like you said, that was before, and it was a game. Now, Earth Village is a proper, real village, so of course there are seasonal changes.]

Yun Qimu ground her teeth. She could swear she heard a note of schadenfreude in the main brain's mechanical voice.

Her face grew even darker. ""Then why is it winter? It's blazing hot outside on Exile Star, but our Earth Village is covered in snow? That doesn't make sense.""

Hmph, she'd already made plans to complete the mission of doubling the village population in fifteen days. First, she would send sightseeing invitations to nearby settlements, inviting them to Earth Village to enjoy the beautiful spring, pay to pick delicious fruit. She'd even named the event: ""Earth Village Spring Harvest Tour.""

But now the main brain was stirring up trouble, dumping snow on her plans—literally! Wasn't her whole plan ruined now?

[Don't worry, Host. This game is absolutely proper and reasonable. According to the seasonal cycle from billions of years ago, it's indeed winter on Exile Star right now. Please pay attention to the winter season, keep warm and prevent frostbite, and ensure the villagers survive. If your HP drops to zero, you really will die.]

Yun Qimu: ""I 7*…%C#......""

She couldn't help but curse, and quickly edited her ""Earth Village Spring Harvest Tour"" plan in her mind, switching it to a ""Winter Snowman and Shaved Ice Tour."" Only then did she feel a little better.

""Holy crap, look! Cousin's flowers are gone!""

Pei Yu suddenly let out a miserable wail, snapping everyone in the courtyard out of their daze.

They saw the green in Earth Village fading rapidly. The grass and trees turned from tender green to deep green, then to withered yellow, and finally shriveled up altogether.

Mo Xie's courtyard full of orchids also wilted in an instant, their vibrant colors turning to dry branches and yellow leaves. All the plant nutrient solution he'd used was wasted in a flash.

With the orchids gone, the pumpkin vines that had been hidden underneath were exposed. But even the lush green leaves on the vines quickly turned yellow, leaving only the dry, dead stems and the little reddish-brown pumpkins hanging on them like millstones.

Yun Qimu's eyes lit up as she licked her lips. The pumpkins were still good—very good.

Wu Xingyu and the others hadn't expected this change either, and all looked curiously at the pumpkins. So Pei Yu's famous pumpkins had been hidden under those beautiful orchids!

Only Mo Xie's face was dark as thunder, his whole body radiating hostility. Pei Yu was so scared she immediately let go of Wu Xingyu and jumped a meter away.

""Cousin, don't worry! Look, the orchids in that patch outside are still blooming—just a little wilted. Maybe they can still be saved!""

Mo Xie's deep eyes paused, then immediately turned to Yun Qimu, his voice low and urgent: ""Chief, do you have any ideas?""

Yun Qimu, who had been eyeing the little pumpkins hungrily, sheepishly retracted her gaze and rubbed her nose. ""Maybe... you could build a greenhouse?"""