Chapter 9

Voices came from outside, and soon Qu Yue’s voice rang out. “Xiao Cen, Xiao Cen? It’s me. Is it convenient for you to come out and talk?”

Cen An listened quietly, then gently pushed open the window to peer out under the moonlight. It was Qu Yue outside, but Zhao Wu was absent. Instead, a young girl accompanied her.

Only then did he get up and open the door, without letting the two girls inside, and asked at the doorway, “Is there something you need?”

Qu Yue’s face was serious. “Sorry to disturb you, Xiao Cen, but this is a matter of life and death. Today’s bok choy…”

Cen An was taken aback. “Is there something wrong with the bok choy? That can’t be. I ate one myself tonight, and I’m standing here just fine.”

“It’s not exactly that,” Qu Yue sighed, then nudged the young girl. “Wanwan, you say it.”

The girl looked even younger up close, maybe seventeen or eighteen, still with a hint of childishness but a strong spirit. “Hello, Brother Cen. My father is Liao Yongzhi; you might have heard of him. He’s the captain of the Yongning Special Abilities Squad.”

Cen An nodded. “I’ve heard of him.”

Liao Wanwan forced a smile. “My father’s powers went out of control last year, and he’s been resting at home for months. Today, Sister Qu and Brother Zhao brought some bok choy to him. My father asked me to stir-fry a plate. Unexpectedly, right after he ate it, he fainted! We tried many ways to wake him, but nothing worked, so…”

She paused, realizing a misunderstanding, and hurried to clarify, “We all know it’s not the bok choy’s fault. Sister Qu and the others ate some too and were fine. It’s just my father’s condition is special. We wanted to ask if Brother Cen has any way to help.”

Brother Cen... but he really didn’t have any solution.

Cen An had never encountered this kind of situation before; he’d only heard of powers going out of control. But since it might be related to the bok choy, he couldn’t just ignore it. “Wait a moment. I’ll go with you to take a look.”

He returned to his room for a coat, then thought twice and grabbed a bottle of restorative potion and several packs of rejuvenation ointment from the medicine shelf.

“Let’s go.”

Liao Wanwan wiped away her anxious tears and led the way.

The village was quiet in the pitch-black night, with only the hurried footsteps of the three echoing.

Along the way, they encountered patrolling ability users. Cen An realized that the village had nightly patrols by ability users, a rule set by Liao Yongzhi himself.

Liao Yongzhi’s home was an ordinary one-story house. When Liao Wanwan pushed open the door, Zhao Wu came out to greet them. “You finally came! Xiao Cen, come quickly. Brother Liao isn’t looking well.”

Liao Wanwan’s tears welled up again, and she stumbled inside, calling out, “Dad!”

Cen An frowned and followed her in.

On the bed lay a man with sunken cheeks, struggling painfully, eyebrows tightly furrowed, emitting muffled groans of extreme pain. Dust and small stones continuously fell around him.

Zhao Wu wiped sweat from his brow. “Brother Liao is an earth-element ability user. His power is probably uncontrollable now. When it reaches that point... Wanwan, I’ll have to destroy his abilities.”

Liao Wanwan gritted her teeth. “Fine, as long as he survives. I’ll support my father from now on!”

Zhao Wu smiled bitterly. Ability outbursts are extremely dangerous for ability users. Even if their powers are destroyed in time, survival is rare... He couldn’t guarantee saving a life.

“Don’t rush.” Cen An suddenly raised his hand. He had already accessed Liao Yongzhi’s status.

With the “Happy Farm” game system, everyone else in this world was like NPCs to him; naturally, he could check their status.

But Liao Yongzhi’s status was not “Near Death,” but “Ability Recovering.”

The progress bar moved forward at an extremely slow pace, currently only at 3%.

Cen An didn’t understand abilities well, but the words “recovering” didn’t sound bad.

After a moment’s thought, he asked, “Is there any bok choy left at home? Bring it to me.”

Liao Wanwan didn’t know what he intended, but quickly ran to the kitchen and brought back a stalk.

Cen An examined it carefully.

[ Bok Choy:
Category: Vegetable
Shelf Life: 5 days 2 hours
Effect: Edible ]

The system page showed no special functions for the bok choy. Was he overthinking?

The man on the bed struggled more violently, and spikes sprouted from the ground around him. Zhao Wu’s fierce eyes glistened with tears, and iron nails appeared in the palm of his right hand.

Yes, destroying an ability user whose power is out of control isn’t to save them but to protect others from harm...

“Please wait!” Cen An instinctively held him back. He liked Liao Yongzhi and couldn’t bear to see such a responsible man disabled. “Brother Zhao, Sister Qu, did you eat bok choy too? How did you feel afterward?”

“Feel?” The couple was puzzled by the question. “Crisp and tasty?”

“Anything else? How did your abilities feel?” Cen An continued. “Was it harder or easier to control?”

Upon hearing this, they immediately understood and became serious, concentrating on their feelings.

After a while, they exchanged looks of surprise and delight. Qu Yue spoke first, “I feel my abilities have stabilized and are easier to control. The change is subtle; I hadn’t noticed it before.”

Zhao Wu nodded. “Mine too! What does this mean?”

Cen An relaxed. “It means the bok choy might calm ability outbursts. Captain Liao’s reaction was severe because his powers had been out of control for a long time; even a tiny change can cause intense stimulation.”

Liao Wanwan anxiously asked, “What do you mean? Does that mean my father will be okay?”

“Both yes and no. Let’s do an experiment.” Cen An instructed her to boil some water and cook four or five stalks of bok choy for Qu Yue and Zhao Wu to eat.

If one stalk’s effect was too mild, then eating more might work.

If this really helped... it would be wonderful for everyone.

As always, Qu Yue was bold. “Boil it? Waste of time. The vegetable is tender and crisp. Let me and old Zhao just eat it raw!”

So, late at night, Cen An found himself in someone else’s room, watching two ability users munch on cabbage leaves like rabbits.

Surprisingly, the couple had good teeth and didn’t mind the cold...

As Cen An predicted, by the third stalk, Qu Yue and Zhao Wu felt their abilities begin to stabilize.

Though not at the point of losing control, they had absorbed many crystal cores, whose residual wild energy affected them—a common problem for many ability users.

Now, they felt that energy diminishing slowly but surely.

The couple was amazed and thrilled. Ability outbursts were a looming sword of Damocles over all ability users. Many brilliant ones had been ruined by it. They never dreamed this unsolvable problem might have a solution!

Qu Yue was excited. “Xiao Cen, no—Brother Cen! Big Brother Cen! From now on, you’re my real brother! You’re the savior of all ability users!”

Zhao Wu nodded vigorously, holding half a cabbage. “Real brother! From now on, if you say east, I won’t go west!”

Cen An rubbed his forehead. “What nonsense... the family order doesn’t even match!”

He turned to the excited Liao Wanwan and said, “My suggestion is, after he calms down, you mash and cook the bok choy thoroughly, feed him a small amount of the vegetable puree, and gradually increase the dose to avoid overwhelming his body. Of course, I’m not a professional, so you should also consult a doctor.”

The young girl nodded rapidly. “Okay, mash and cook, got it. I’ll feed Dad a spoonful tomorrow. Thank you, Brother Cen!”

She called him “Brother Cen,” but he caught only the first half.

Still, bok choy was mild, so it probably wouldn’t cause problems.

Cen An took his leave, warmly seen off by the three. Liao Wanwan brought a rice jar to scoop some rice for him, while Qu Yue and Zhao Wu helped carry bags and stuffed food into them...

In these times, giving food was the best way to express gratitude.

Cen An wasn’t good at socializing or accepting such overwhelming kindness, so he practically fled.

When he got home, he realized he had brought the rice bowl by mistake and laughed quietly.

Because of the delay that night, he woke late the next day.

After a simple wash-up, Cen An grabbed his axe and headed into the mountains.

Today, besides wood, he needed to find some food. Supplies at home were running low. He also planned to collect some tree resin.

He currently fetched water from a small mountain spring north of the shabby hut.

As for tools, he only had a large iron pot or a wooden bowl he carved himself—both inconvenient. Wooden buckets or basins required tree resin to seal them.

In the game, tree resin wasn’t rare and didn’t depend on tree species. Any old tree would secrete resin. By making a cut in the trunk and tying a small wooden tube, one could collect it.

Cen An went to a slightly distant mountain, selected a few suitable trees, made incisions, placed the wooden tubes, then began chopping trees.

Covered in monster-repelling powder, he focused entirely on chopping. When he finally noticed, the sun was high overhead.

Wiping his sweat, he was about to retrieve the tubes when he heard rustling in the bushes.

He instinctively gripped his iron sword and turned to see a gray shadow dart out—

Cen An swung his sword. It was more like the shadow ran into the blade on its own. Looking closely, it was a gray rabbit.

Wait! There was another sound!

He turned cautiously. Branches and dry leaves parted automatically, and the dog’s owner appeared, holding the dog.

His sharp, confident eyes gleamed with pride.

Compared to the owner, the puppy was more honest, whining and wagging its tail, circling in his palm, eager to get down.

Cen An took the puppy and petted it. “This rabbit, did you chase it here?”

Su Rui raised an eyebrow. “Of course. I told it to run into your blade, and it had to. Pretty impressive, right? Want to find a chance to blow that wooden whistle?”

Cen An responded with an “Oh.”

“So you’re taking the rabbit meat home to eat yourself, right? No need for me to cook?”

Su Rui was momentarily stunned, then cleared his throat. “You’ll still need me.”

He felt a bit embarrassed and exclaimed, “You’ve already paid!”