“Dad, we can’t just wait to die…” Hearing Father Xu say this, Xu Yue’s voice trembled slightly as she spoke.
Father Xu shook his head, “It’s just a dream, just a dream. How can we concern ourselves with uncertain matters right now?”
Lin Ya didn’t insist that they believe him immediately; he was merely planting a seed of caution.
With daylight fading, Lin Ya prepared to take his leave and head home.
Father Xu didn’t invite him to stay for a meal; after all, he still held grudges against Lin Ya for his past misdeeds, and he remained half-skeptical about Lin Ya’s change of heart.
“You can go, but the two kids should stay.”
Lin Ya had no objection; leaving the children behind would make it easier for him to prepare for their future escape.
However, the two children refused to stay no matter what, crying loudly, believing that their father no longer wanted them.
“Daddy! Don’t go! Wuwu…”
“… Daddy, please don’t abandon us…”
“Zhao’er, Lin’er, Daddy hasn’t abandoned you. It’s just that Daddy has matters to attend to and can’t look after you right now.” Lin Ya felt somewhat helpless with a sobbing child clinging to his leg.
In the end, it was Zhang Shi and Xu Yue who each took one child and pulled them away from him.
“Daddy will make a promise with you. I’ll definitely come back to pick you up after some time, okay?” For the first time, he spoke in such a gentle tone, almost making his skin crawl.
Ren Lin stared at Lin Ya with wide eyes, her tear-filled gaze searching his face, as if she were confirming something, and after a long moment, she nodded heavily.
“… Okay, Lin’er will be a good girl with her brother and listen to Grandpa and Grandma until Daddy comes to get us.”
“Really? Wuwu…” Ren Zhao’s eyes were as red as a rabbit’s, stuttering as he asked.
“Really.”
Lin Ya waved to them, his figure gradually disappearing.
“Dad, what should we do with these things…”
Father Xu and Zhang Shi suddenly remembered they forgot to ask him to take something back.
Looking at the pile of items, Father Xu sighed complexly, “I hope he has truly changed for the better.”
Ren Jing was once his favorite student, smart and wise, and he was gentle and courteous. Otherwise, why would he marry his daughter to him?
Life is unpredictable.
[Host, host, I have a built-in space in the system. You can store your things here.] The fluffy ball bounced on his shoulder, sounding very obsequious.
[Moreover, as long as you complete the counterattack task and earn points, you can buy things in the system mall.]
“Lazy.” Lin Ya replied curtly, swiftly squatting down to shoulder a load of prey, making his way down the mountain at a steady pace, his eyes scanning for any additional herbs.
The completion criteria of the Counterattack System 123’s tasks were quite a challenge for him.
Currently, he was just an ordinary commoner. Even if the natural disasters ceased, he wouldn’t be able to arrange for Ren Lin to marry better than the heroine, as he would only stay in this world for three years, which was the time set by the survival system.
Moreover, even if he spent his own time to extend his stay, once Ren Lin grew up, she could choose who to marry—this was out of his control.
More importantly, he had no desire to take on this task.
[But without points, you won’t be able to buy anything you want.]
“For me, these things aren’t necessary. I’m just experiencing the process of going to different worlds to complete various tasks and the sense of achievement that comes with it. Although having those things would allow me to survive better, if I have to force myself, then I think this way of living is fine too.” Lin Ya responded lightly.
The Counterattack System 123 felt somewhat vexed; its electronic brain didn’t quite understand.
The Survival System remained silent, as if it had crashed.
Lin Ya didn’t reply anymore. Only he knew that it was actually just his selfishness. Ren Lin was not the only person with a blood tie to him during his journey through these worlds, and she wouldn’t be the last.
He completed survival tasks using others’ bodies, hence he would do his best to help them through dangers, as every world was real. But if they died unexpectedly or through other means, he wouldn’t feel excessively guilty or burdened.
After all, it came down to his selfishness; no one else mattered more than himself.
He didn’t want to do something; no one could force him, not even death.
[If that’s the case, let’s forget about this task. However, I still grant you access to the system space. When the next world comes, would you like to undertake the tasks I’ve received?] As expected of the Counterattack System, it figured things out for itself after a while.
Lin Ya didn’t refuse its goodwill and smiled in response.
[This is my host! Of course, we’ll go to the survival world! You, the latecomer, have one last chance to unbind yourself, or else… hmph…] Upon hearing the topic of the task world, the Survival System immediately flared up.
[Pah! What do you care! I’m going! The task world I found is way better than yours!] The Counterattack System 123 shot back defiantly.
Lin Ya couldn’t be bothered with their quarrel and continued to descend the mountain amid their noisy exchange.
For the past few days, during the daytime while the animals hadn’t ventured far, Lin Ya climbed the mountain daily with a chef’s knife, trying to hunt as many prey as possible. Generally, he would use them for curing meat into jerky, and some would be traded for money in the county. Occasionally, he would gather herbs and wild mushrooms to dry.
Once again, laden with the day’s catch, Lin Ya organized the prey and hung them on the bamboo pole in his yard, lighting pine wood beneath to slowly smoke them. Then, he packed away the surplus into a basket, intending to head to the county after lunch to exchange for money and buy some more rice, flour, and salt.
Busy times passed quickly, and soon it was mid-July.
It was the hottest time of the year.
There had still been no sign of rain. Not even a light shower; even on cloudy days, intense sunshine persisted.
The once-full river was nearly dry, and soon even drinking water might become a problem.
Since the wheat harvest, nearly everyone wore a frown. This year’s lack of rain meant poor harvests, yielding only half of what they typically would. If it weren’t for the daily hard work of hauling water to irrigate the fields, the wheat would have yielded next to nothing.