Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 3: Indigenous?

The sun had passed noon, and Li Wei was struggling to drag a log stripped of branches and canopy across the small stream.

His original plan was to chop down three trees, but in the end, he only managed two before he couldn't persist any longer.

Not only were the blisters on his palms worn open, leaving his flesh a bloody mess with excruciating pain, but he was also genuinely starving. His stamina was plummeting rapidly, and without physical strength to sustain him, his status had changed to moderate hunger, with his strength attribute temporarily reduced to 3 points.

He had taken many breaks, gritting his teeth through the pain, just to trim one tree properly.

Now, dragging it back, this short distance of one hundred and twenty steps felt like an insurmountable chasm.

Cold sweat broke out layer after layer.

After resting briefly again and again, by the time he dragged this log back to the camp, he was nearly completely exhausted.

"Oh, my George, you should have used the ox to drag the wood back."

Penny walked over quickly. She had been busy all morning—not only digging out a clearing of at least thirty square meters, but also carrying back some stones from the stream, and finally simmering a clay pot of dark, murky wheat porridge.

Even so, she still appeared to be walking with vigorous, swift strides.Li Wei no longer had the energy to speak. Lying in the damp, crude shelter, he didn't want to move a muscle; even his thoughts and mental processes seemed to have stagnated.

"Mom, you should eat something. Things will get better. We will definitely all survive. What would George and I do without you?"

"Mom, for dinner we can make wild vegetable soup. Later, can you help me gather some mushrooms and wild vegetables?"

In the other shelter, Penny was gently and patiently coaxing Fila, feeding her meal.

Li Wei struggled to get up, feeling as if his soul had floated away. His entire body ached unbearably, but he still gritted his teeth and persevered. He needed to eat; he couldn't become a burden.

However, the wheat porridge in the clay pot was still only one bowl, no more, no less.

He wanted to complain, but lacked even the strength for that. There was no other way—having wheat porridge at all was already quite fortunate. If they couldn't improve their situation quickly...

"George, I've already dug out the foundation for the log cabin. You'd better gather ten logs within two days. Within three days, we need to build this cabin."

After saying this, Penny hurried straight to the stream to move more stones.

Li Wei could only limp along after her. Although he found it somewhat strange that this native sister of his seemed overly capable and experienced, he was too exhausted to ponder it further.

The afternoon's work felt like torture, especially swinging the axe to chop trees. Each impact against the trunk sent jarring pain through his hands, so severe he nearly cried.

But even so, Li Wei didn't give up. After all, he was an adult; no matter how miserable this was, it was still better than his life ending in bleak darkness.

He just had to grit his teeth and endure.

But by the time the sun set, he had only managed to chop down two more trees, though he did trim off all the branches and canopy. When Penny led the skinny old ox over, he could no longer even hold the axe. Both his arms were badly swollen, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.

Whether it was his imagination or not, Penny seemed to smile faintly, then deftly tied a rope around one log and drove the ox back.

This method was truly effective—he had wasted so much energy dragging logs at noon.

After Penny dragged all three logs back, Li Wei also staggered unsteadily back to the camp.

Fila seemed somewhat more spirited, as she had actually helped simmer a clay pot of wild vegetable soup. Unfortunately, there was no wheat porridge left.

Thankfully, there was plenty of vegetable soup. Li Wei wolfed down one bowl like a whirlwind, then could serve himself another. After finishing it, although he still felt hungry, at least his stomach no longer felt completely empty.

The campfire crackled and popped, its red flames like fiery snakes trying to break free and escape.

Fila, Penny, and Li Wei sat around the campfire, none of them speaking. The surrounding mountains stood dark and imposing like wild beasts poised to pounce, while the distant mountain winds whispered like spirits.

He was too exhausted to even return to the shelter. Li Wei lay down beside the campfire and fell asleep.

He slept straight until dawn, but hunger woke him. Moving his body slightly, he felt as if every part of him had fallen apart. Struggling to sit up, he discovered a smelly sheepskin blanket had been placed over him during the night.

The fire had been rekindled, and Fila was stirring wheat porridge. As for Penny—she had already started moving stones again.

Damn, is this woman crazy? Isn't she hungry? Isn't she tired?

They both ate the same bowl of wheat porridge, so how could she endure so much?

Just this morning, she had already moved over a dozen stones.

Li Wei found it utterly unbelievable.

But perhaps this sister of his was just exceptionally capable.

"Penny, George, come eat."

"Okay, Mom."

Penny's voice sounded slightly stronger and more energetic than yesterday.

Li Wei was still finding a spot to relieve himself. By the time he returned, the wheat porridge was still only one bowl left, no more, no less.

"George, take care of yourself. Don't overexert."

Fila sat by the campfire, watching Li Wei lick the last traces of wheat porridge clean like a dog. Finally, a somewhat kind smile appeared on her face, though she still looked very pale.

"Understood, Mom."

Li Wei replied softly, not daring to meet those sorrowful eyes.

Grasping the short knife and shouldering the axe, he headed straight across the stream to continue chopping trees, while Penny continued moving stones with undiminished vigor.

Today was still torture. The blood blisters from yesterday had just begun to scab over, but after a few swings, they were torn open again. Though the axe struck the tree trunk, the pain resonated through his entire body.

Several times he wanted to take a break, but glancing back and seeing Penny carrying stones with energetic, swift steps, he could only grit his teeth and push through.

But even so, by noon, he had only barely managed to chop down three trees. As for the pitiful three points of Logging Experience, he had long since ignored them.

Dragging his exhausted body back to camp, Fila had already prepared the wheat porridge. Penny held a wooden bowl, eating with noisy, enthusiastic gusto. Noticing Li Wei's resentful gaze, she even grinned at him, baring her teeth.

"George, I've gathered enough stones. This afternoon I'll build the foundation for the house. You need to speed up. By tomorrow when I finish the foundation, I'll need ten logs. Can you manage it?"

Li Wei didn't want to talk. Trembling, he served himself wheat porridge and chewed with difficulty. So far, he had chopped seven logs; he needed three more to meet Penny's requirement.

But something about her words felt off, and combined with her behavior patterns, she didn't seem quite like a native to Li Wei.

Lost in these random thoughts, he finished one bowl of wheat porridge clean, but it only filled him about sixty percent, allowing his strength attribute to gradually recover to 7 points over the next half hour.

So he needed to rest for half an hour.

Looking over at Penny again, she was already stacking stones under the scorching sun. She was really pushing herself hard. Or perhaps she was genuinely that healthy—so healthy she didn't seem like a native.

Even Fila took a basket at this time to gather wild vegetables and mushrooms, while also tending to the ox, preparing for the evening's vegetable soup.

"No matter what, I must chop enough for ten logs this afternoon."

Li Wei didn't know exactly what felt wrong, but instinctively, he felt it was best to follow what Penny said.

Because she had mentioned earlier that they needed to build the log cabin within three days.