novelraw Chapter 95: The New Family
Chapter 95: The New Family
"Oh well. I'll just treat it as watching the show. I'm a rookie — what can I possibly expect? Getting voted out is no big deal."
Li Wei opened his mindset and began stripping off all his gear — the recurve bow, the arrows, everything. None of it belonged to him anymore, unless he could upgrade to Three-Star Hunter.
Going forward, if he wanted to use such equipment, he'd have to catch fish, render fish glue, and craft arrows himself — turning them into private property. Otherwise, he'd need to trigger storyline events and see what tasks the narrative logic offered.
He kept only a refined steel dagger and the iron spear that had killed the black bear. Those qualified as personal defensive weapons — every family member was allowed one — and they didn't violate narrative logic.
Then he returned to his room and, after a moment's thought, summoned the coin-sized Bronze Quality Clearance Token into his hand. He'd briefly considered holding off on using it.
But after reading those new rules, he knew that was out of the question. Only three-star professions could claim corresponding work roles — Three-Star Farmer, Three-Star Hunter, Three-Star Chef, Three-Star Fisherman, Three-Star Artisan, and so on.
Without sufficient rank, he'd be nothing but the family's pampered child, told to sit quietly and play at home...
And then, at some monthly settlement, a Plot Kill would effortlessly vote him out.
Li Wei's instinctive first choice was to upgrade his Hunter Card to three-star.
But after lengthy deliberation, weighing every factor, and reconsidering what Night Owl had said — about extraction being gentle, friendly, technical, absolutely never draining the pond — he reconsidered.The Farmer profession, with its emphasis on steady, sustainable development, would be the better fit.
After all, in just one more month, those two acres of winter wheat would be ready for harvest. That was practically free Contribution, served on a platter.
'I just don't know if any of the incoming veterans have a Three-Star Farmer Card. Whatever — doesn't matter. Even if I end up in a freelance squad doing daily missions later, a Three-Star Farmer Card will always be useful.'
With his mind made up, Li Wei summoned the Farmer Card. Above it, a cluster of light drifted like a miniature galaxy — those 1,000 freeform experience points, applicable to any profession card.
With a thought, he instantly allocated 800 points to Farming experience. Combined with his existing 200, that brought the total to exactly 1,000.
Then he produced the Bronze Token. A notification appeared.
[Would you like to merge the Bronze Quality Clearance Token with the Two-Star Farmer Card? You have met the requirements: 1,000 Farming experience points and 10 standard gold coins (equivalent to 10 units of standard resources).]
Confirm!
In that instant, the entire room blazed with blinding light before plunging into fathomless darkness, like an endless abyss.
Then, a single point of light ignited — like a hand reaching down to fish his consciousness from the depths. Gradually, gleaming points of light materialized in every direction, converging in his palm to form a black-and-white card.
But on closer inspection, it wasn't truly black and white. Within it seemed to pulse the first bloom of life — budding, flowering, bearing fruit, from verdant green to harvest gold. The essence of harvest suffused every fiber of it. It was extraordinary.
Li Wei felt his entire being — his very soul — forge a deeper, more harmonious connection with the power within this card. Before he knew it, the visions faded. He had successfully merged and upgraded the Farmer Card.
[Three-Star Farmer Card bound.]
[Profession promoted to Senior Farmer.]
[Profession talent acquired: Soil fertility of cultivated land increased by 50%. You can technically enhance crops' minor resistance to abnormal environmental conditions. You can discover and harvest mature seeds in wild environments.]
[5 Free Attribute Points automatically gained.]
[Note: Upgrading to Four-Star Farmer Card requires 10,000 Farming experience points + 100 units of standard world resources (100 standard gold coins) + one Black Iron Quality Clearance Token.]
—
[Name: Li Wei]
[Primary Profession: Farmer]
[Destiny Grid: Three-Star Farmer Card bound. Currently holds 5 Free Attribute Points.]
[Life: 100 (Level 1 Awakening)]
[Stamina: 170 (Unawakened)]
[Strength: 13 (Unawakened)]
[Agility: 10 (Unawakened)]
[Defense: 3 (Unawakened)]
[Current Status: May activate and bind a third profession card, but can only raise it to two-star unless the second profession reaches three-star first.]
[Note: Third profession activation difficulty has increased. Recommend using a profession card directly.]
[Note: Since this mission already has a Three-Star Farmer, to facilitate better cooperation among family members, no additional three-star farmer players will be matched into this world mission.]
—
"Finally!"
Li Wei sighed. He used to think Free Attribute Points were easy to come by. Now he understood just how daunting the hidden requirements truly were.
And that great six-star Lord — had he raised his primary profession to six-star?
Pondering this, Li Wei's gaze swept across his attributes. Should he raise Stamina to 200 first and see if it triggered Level 1 Awakening?
But then — his eyes drifted to Life, the attribute representing ultimate health.
Considering the newly launched mission: Development and Confrontation.
This required close contact with Kakh City, which was currently shrouded in plague.
Night Owl had mentioned that this family's lineage in this world spanned over five hundred years. At some point, their status must have been prestigious.
Penny had said before that her spawn point was Kakh City, and that their adopted father knew a man who'd become a bandit but had once been a knight's squire.
That suggested the family's standing had been significant.
Under those circumstances, if their adopted father had still been forced to flee with the entire family, then this plague was no simple disease.
And there was one more critical piece of information: when Penny had taken Mixi to negotiate with the bandits, she'd called out Anderson's name and stated their purpose — yet the instant the bandits discovered they were women, they hurled rocks with lethal intent without a word.
All these clues pointed to one conclusion: the plague's devastation was immense. Even fearless bandits had become hypervigilant — at the sight of a woman, their first suspicion was witch...
"So does this world actually have witches?"
There was no answer to that question, but Li Wei couldn't afford to be careless.
Given all this analysis, the choice was obvious: invest in Life. It was the most effective weapon against plague.
Yes, there was really no choice — especially for Li Wei, who had endured the torment of cancer. His yearning for health was something other players couldn't begin to understand.
Without hesitation, he dumped all five Free Attribute Points straight into Life. Each point added 10, bringing his total to 150.
In the future, even if he was eliminated and sent back to reality, he'd retain 75 Life points. Whether advancing or retreating, he'd have a way out.
After that, Li Wei quickly drifted off to sleep. He slept soundly through the night.
Until the aroma of food woke him. Was it dawn already?
Stepping out, he found an unfamiliar woman of about forty sitting by the fireplace in the common room, simmering mushroom and meat porridge. Beside her sat freshly baked white bread.
'Well, well — two one-star dishes, whipped up just like that.'
So this had to be the new Fila.
A three-star chef?
He was about to speak when this Fila raised a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture.
Then, stirring the mushroom soup with easy grace, she whispered:
"George, keep it down. Your sister isn't awake yet. She's been so exhausted these past few days. She's had a frail constitution since she was little, and she recently had a miscarriage... Oh, my poor little Penny, she's had such a hard time."
The new Penny was here too?
A miscarriage?
This new mother seemed rather kind.
Li Wei nodded without betraying any reaction. His mindset was excellent right now — he was here to watch the show and learn. Veteran players showing off their unique abilities, like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea? How rare an opportunity was that?
He genuinely harbored zero hostility, zero ambition.
Simple and unassuming — that was his persona right now.
But wait — out of seven veteran players, only two had arrived so far?
As he pondered this, a tall young man with golden hair strode into the room — strong but not bulky, handsome yet not delicate, his steps light and energetic. It was like a beam of sunlight had walked through the door.
So which immortal was this?
"Bro, you're up!"
The newcomer greeted Li Wei warmly, then gave this version of Fila a completely natural embrace.
"Mom, I love you!"
"Good boy, Mommy loves you too!"
Right. Got it. The family's second son — his little brother. New-model Leon had logged in.
This dashing aura put the previous Leon to shame by light-years. Even George felt like thin air in comparison.
"Dear Leon!"
From Penny's room emerged a similarly tall, dark-haired woman. Her complexion was rosy, her gaze sharp and bright. Most importantly, she was beautiful — the previous Penny was absolutely demolished in comparison.
"Sis, are you feeling better?"
"Much better, thanks to George and you these past few days. And thank you, Mom. But I can't stay in bed any longer — I need to find something to do."
This Penny spoke with brisk energy. She hugged Fila first, then Leon, and finally gave Li Wei a hug. Truly — this naturalness, this warmth, was the kind that could only flow from a genuinely close-knit family.
But before Li Wei could attempt to say anything, four more people filed into the room from outside. Just like that — all the veteran players were present.
The silver-bearded man who still looked sharp and vigorous — that had to be Uncle John?
Or possibly Fila's former lover, Pete.
Because there were actually two older men. One had a commanding presence, a large frame, and an air of stern authority. The other was pale and plump, with a kindly gaze, bald and beardless — looking rather like a braised egg. Though he smiled constantly, there was one part artifice and two parts reserve behind it.
Then there were two others — a man and a woman. The man was solidly built, broad-shouldered, roughly thirty, composed and confident with bright, alert eyes. This had to be Penny's suitor, Clyde.
And the last one — a woman in her twenties with long black hair, fair skin, striking features, a tall and curvaceous figure, and especially those autumn-water blue eyes that locked onto Li Wei the instant she entered. If there was ever a definition for "an amorous gaze," this was it.
After mere seconds, Li Wei couldn't take it. The intensity was overwhelming.
In two lifetimes combined, he'd never encountered eyes that burned like that.