Chapter 11: Clone Species

  The next morning, Lan Chi woke up early. He fried several portions of meat, preparing all his meals for the entire day. The meat from yesterday's hunt had all been processed. He had originally planned to sell it, but with food supplies running low, he decided to keep it all. Unfortunately, without salt for curing, he could only cut out the fat to render oil and store the rest of the meat as the hut's meal for today.

  He had asked the hut yesterday whether the folding space could preserve food without spoiling. The answer was: no.

  After all, this wasn't a game. There was no permanent storage function.

  However, the hut did provide him with an unexpected ability. The hut could replicate meat. Theoretically, as long as the hut had enough energy, it could produce as much of the same type of meat as needed.

  This function instantly sparked countless ideas in Lan Chi's mind. One thing was certain: at least when energy was sufficient, he probably wouldn't have to worry about food shortages anymore.

  After breakfast, Lan Chi began waiting for the scorpion-tailed bee to hatch. Inside the small egg, a dark shadow could be seen moving around, waiting to break free.

  Before long, a stinger pierced through the transparent shell wall. Then more holes appeared, and finally, the shell cracked open. A half-meter-long scorpion-tailed bee emerged.

  This scorpion-tailed bee looked similar to others of its kind, but it had distinct "hut characteristics." Its wings weren't transparent; instead, they were made of a layer of fascia wrapped over dry bones. Its three scorpion tails had transformed into three dark red muscular structures, and its mouthparts had grown sharp fangs.

  Well then. Lan Chi could only comfort himself. Everything around him was already this strange, so this mutated creature wasn't surprising.

  "Come here. Let me add some traits for you." Lan Chi beckoned the little creature over. "From today on, you'll be called Little Bee. Can you understand me?"

  Little Bee nodded. A soft, sweet voice sounded in Lan Chi's mind: "Hello, Master."

  "Oh, high intelligence too. Not bad, not bad." Lan Chi nodded with satisfaction.

  "Of course. Look who created it," the hut said proudly from the side.

  "Yes, yes, you're the best." Lan Chi praised it perfunctorily. "Come here, let me give you a status boost."

  He hadn't used his talent for a few days, and Lan Chi's hands were itching to see if he could get a powerful subordinate. He placed his hand on the mutated scorpion-tailed bee and activated his talent skill with his powerful mental energy.

  The scorpion-tailed bee visibly changed before his eyes. Its carapace took on a dark golden scale pattern with a metallic luster. The compound eyes on its head were dotted with fine, shimmering blue specks. The antennae on its head grew thicker, and according to the feedback it provided, it could now sense scents from hundreds of meters away.

  Lan Chi looked at the changes before him and nodded with satisfaction. He could now face these sanity-draining creatures without flinching. "So, little one, can you go out and scout the surrounding area?"

  Little Bee nodded. "Yes, I can."

  "Good." Lan Chi walked out of the shelter and pointed toward the forest on the other side of the cliff. "We're going to move in that direction today. You fly up ahead and scout the path. If there's any danger, fly back immediately and tell us."

  "Okay." Little Bee flew into the sky.

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  Lan Chi also had the hut start moving. They were relocating to a different area today.

  The cliff was quickly left behind. The hut stretched out its dark red tentacles and slowly made its way through the forest.

  Lan Chi didn't demand full speed. Together with the two tool monsters, he ranged about a hundred meters to either side of the hut, searching for useful resources.

  "[Golden Thread Grass] discovered: Stops bleeding, slightly restores physical strength."

  "[Snake Bone Flower] discovered: Contains mild paralytic toxins."

  System notifications flashed rapidly across his retinal display. Lan Chi knew nothing about these strangely shaped plants and their properties, but he didn't hesitate. He grabbed every plant the system could identify and carried them back inside the hut.

  In the newly opened thirty-square-meter growing room, the first row of fertile humus troughs was soon filled with various plants.

  The [Rootsucker Roots] on the ceiling sensed their owner's intent, drooping slightly and spraying a fine mist of water. The [Firefly Eyes] opened, emitting tiny points of light to ensure the plants' growth.

  This stop-and-go pace continued until midday. A few low-level monsters that recklessly showed their faces along the way were quickly silenced by wind blades from the wolf claws hidden in the hut's wall cracks. They were then dragged back by the tool monsters and turned into fresh meat in the storage room.

  When the sun began to slant past the treetops and the light in the forest rapidly dimmed to a murky grayish-purple.

  Lan Chi called for the hut to stop. He took the two tool monsters and conducted a final sweep within a fifty-meter radius of the shelter. The axe monster's wooden handle moved so fast it left afterimages. Sturdy old trees fell one after another, then were quickly chopped into standard units of lumber.

  Lan Chi brushed the wood shavings from his palms and looked at the mountain of building materials piled up in the living room. These would be tonight's trade goods.

  He closed the wooden door, lit the fireplace, quickly finished dinner, and dove into the trading channel fray.

  "One hundred units of lumber for just twenty Phosphorus Crystals. Such a lousy deal." Lan Chi looked at the crystals he'd received, feeling that wood really wasn't worth much. A single monster drop could yield crystals worth five units of wood.

  "Little Hut, how much meat can you produce from one Phosphorus Crystal?" Lan Chi asked.

  "Oh, one Phosphorus Crystal produces one unit of meat..." The hut extended a tentacle.

  Lan Chi knew the hut had its little schemes. Kids are greedy. "Tell me the real number, or I won't be able to trade for more Phosphorus Crystals."

  "Okay, fine. One Phosphorus Crystal produces five units..."

  "Hmm? If you're not honest, your food rations will be halved from now on. If I earn less, I can't buy as many Phosphorus Crystals."

  "Ten. Ten units."

  This kid was definitely not being honest. It had only developed consciousness a few days ago. Lan Chi clicked his tongue. "Don't play tricks next time. If I get fewer Phosphorus Crystals, how will you upgrade?"

  He set aside fifteen of the Phosphorus Crystals he'd just earned and gave them to the hut. "Here's fifteen. Five of them are to produce fifty units of meat. I need to trade that for more Phosphorus Crystals. Right now, one unit of meat in the market can get me five or more Phosphorus Crystals."

  "Oh! It's worth that much?"

  "Yes. Everyone's short on food right now, but later on, it might not trade for as much."

  "Oh, I'll produce it right away."

  The hut swallowed the fifteen Phosphorus Crystals. The originally smooth walls began to heave violently, as if huge lumps were rapidly moving beneath the floorboards.

  Several dark red cracks split open in the wall. Accompanied by a stomach-churning vomiting sound, pieces of bright red ribs, perfectly uniform in texture, were "spit out."

  Lan Chi stood to the side, the corner of his eye twitching. Expressionless, he had the two tool monsters pile these cloned products into wooden barrels. He didn't want to touch them at all.

  He opened the trading channel. It was peak trading time. With the sun setting, trial participants who couldn't hunt in the dark reached the peak of their desperation for food.

  Lan Chi expressionlessly typed:

  [Product: Fresh Mutant Pork Ribs (50 Units)]

  [Looking for: Phosphorus Crystals, Metal Materials, Special Seeds]

  [Note: Bulk buyers preferred. Include your price.]

  The moment the message was posted, his private mailbox jumped to 99+. Some people tried to pass off large amounts of lumber, while others humbly begged to exchange twice the amount of various plants for a single meat meal.

  Lan Chi ignored those junk messages. Like a patient hunter, he filtered through countless offers. Finally, he locked onto a team that had a large amount of iron ore.

  Their offer was fifteen units of iron ore for fifty units of meat. The market rate for iron was one to five Phosphorus Crystals.

  Lan Chi thought it over. Iron ore was worth taking, but the price was a bit low.

  He replied in a private message: "Fifty units of meat for all your raw iron ore, plus thirty Phosphorus Crystals."

  The other party replied almost instantly: "Deal! Trade quickly. My people are starving."

  A flash of white light, and several barrels full of fresh cloned meat vanished, replaced by heavy ore piled up in the living room and Phosphorus Crystals glowing with a grayish-purple light.

  Lan Chi looked at the resources, now several times what he'd started with, and exclaimed excitedly, "Little Hut, we're going to be rich."