Blessed by Abundance, Scourge of Terra

Though his development was a bit slow—after all, without the Cyber Ghost and the Doctor's Originium Database, Huang Cao would at most be a walking plant by now.

Originium was just too convenient; the data within it could be transformed into almost any substance, and Tang Da's search engine saved him a great deal of research effort.

Huang Cao continued wandering through the town under the guise of the Undead Spirit, a persona with almost no distinguishing features.

He also knew the people here had likely seen through his true race—after all, what Undead Spirit would be as cheerful as he was?

"Life's getting harder by the day. Back when we were fighting, at least we could eat grilled meat rice. Now we can't even get grass to eat."

After some time, the residents began gathering grass seeds from the surroundings, mixing them with scavenged wood shavings, and boiling a pot of hot but barely palatable porridge.

Surviving alone was too difficult, so the town still kept some traditions, like holding a large communal meal every half month—a way to indirectly support those who truly couldn't fend for themselves.

Thanks to Huang Cao's shop, the residents didn't have to resort to eating grass.

"I remember they shouldn't be that poor. Mercenaries seem to have plenty of money, unless they're not planning to save any."

After selling out his stock for the day, Huang Cao reported sick leave to Lamian and decided to take the opportunity to observe the town's social environment more closely.

He usually worked at night, while the residents' gatherings were held in the evening.

So after all this time, he'd never run into one.

Arriving at the residents' bonfire party, Huang Cao noticed many new faces among the crowd.

"If you sold your stuff cheaper, boss, I think we could eat better."

Just then, Huang Cao felt a hand tug at his black robe. Turning around, he saw a little girl with white hair and red pupils, her ears also pointed.

More importantly, her chest was flat—compared to the female Sarkaz beside her, it was like comparing a small witch to a great one.

White hair, red pupils, flat chest—and the surrounding residents all shrank back, stepping away as if they'd seen something terrifying.

A Blood Demon, a race despised even in Kazdel.

Most Blood Demons, as the name implied, lived on blood.

A few individuals might prefer other things, but the vast majority had an unusual obsession with blood.

"May I ask for the young lady's esteemed name?" Huang Cao floated into the air, looking down at the girl before him.

Though she looked like a little girl, her age was at least several times his own, and he recognized this Blood Demon.

Wasn't this Warfarin? Hadn't seen her in a few days—how'd she end up begging here?

Still, Blood Demons didn't necessarily have to drink blood. According to this world's setting, some beings at the level of the Sarkaz Royal Court could go without eating.

Of course, Huang Cao had seen that in the Originium Database too—after all, the strong weren't necessarily willing to starve, and history didn't seem to record any strong person dying of hunger.

"I'm looking for a job. I heard the pay here is good, so I came. I think I'm pretty good-looking."

Warfarin said, flipping her long hair. Her fair face seemed to glow in the firelight—she was indeed a rare beauty.

It was just a pity about her figure.

"I think you've read the rules I set. You're putting me in a tough spot."

"You know I don't have a real body. I just want to feast my eyes."

Huang Cao shook his robe, revealing the air beneath—nothing but a wisp of black mist.

"That's why I came to you. At worst, you'll do something to me in my dreams, and dreams are the opposite of reality. I'll just pretend a Siracusan bit me."

"That's surprisingly logical. I can't argue with it. But judging by your outfit, you don't seem short on money."

Huang Cao glanced at the bag on Warfarin's right side. It contained plants—medicinal ones.

"Just a little hobby. I wanted to be a military medic, but since I'm a Blood Demon, they were all scared to death of me, so I ended up as a wandering physician."

"I collect a bit of blood as payment on the side. Mercenaries are pretty poor and can't afford my fees."

Chapter 15: Warfarin: Are You Trying to Stew Me, Friend?

Though this Blood Demon's image on Rhodes Island had always been comic relief—unable to resist the Doctor's blood, often doing irrational things—

She'd never done anything truly reckless, and her knowledge level was passable. She was a talent who could help him manage things.

Huang Cao needed someone who knew his secrets to work for him; otherwise, switching bodies every time was too much trouble.

"You have a three-month trial period. After three months, I'll give you two choices: leave, or stay with me."

Huang Cao announced in front of the town's residents. "If you choose to stay after three months, you'll lose the right to leave. If you leave without my permission, I'll take your life and bury you in the ground."

Huang Cao's low voice carried through the crackling flames to everyone's ears, but no one was surprised.

This was Kazdel. Everyone had secrets, and leaving after learning them was suicide.

After the simple meal, Warfarin was taken by Huang Cheng to the general store, where a warehouse was hastily cleared for her to live in.

"I thought with all your money, you'd at least have some furniture—a bed and blankets, maybe. I was hoping for better treatment. So I'm a slave after all?"

Warfarin looked at the warehouse, which was about as bare as the wilderness, and couldn't help twitching her mouth.

"Don't overthink it. If I wanted a slave, I'd find someone prettier. I just don't live here, so it's a bit shabby."

It really was a bit shabby, since Huang Cao usually slept on a soft bed when using his other body.

But Warfarin was his first employee, after all—he should treat her a little better.

Otherwise, what would happen if no one came to pledge allegiance to him in the future?

But now it was getting late, and he couldn't scrounge up any furniture, so to show a bit of human compassion, Huang Cao decided to pull out his own little treasury.

"Sleep inside my treasury?" Huang Cao said.

"?"

A huge question mark popped up over Warfarin's head, and then she felt her body wrapped in a swirl of black mist, directly transported to the basement.

Opening the basement door revealed a shimmering ocean of silver, occasionally mixed with a few golden specks of starlight.

"Did you rob the Demon King's treasury? How can you have so many silver coins? Even if you squeezed this town dry, you couldn't get this many silver coins."

"Wait, why are these silver coins so new?"

Warfarin grabbed five or six silver coins at random and examined them closely, finding that the minting date could be traced back over a hundred years, yet the surface was as shiny as new.

"Did you re-mint the silver coins?"

"As expected of a smart person. It's a pity this isn't Yan Country, or I wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble."

Huang Cao couldn't help but sigh in relief that this wasn't the high-tech era of several hundred years later; as long as you had a mold, silver coins were easy to counterfeit.

This wasn't an unnecessary move—using currency for transactions was less likely to arouse suspicion. Huang Cao didn't want anyone to discover he had a mountain of gold and silver.

Using metal coins for trade would at most make people think Huang Cao was a nouveau riche or had other businesses, not that he owned several gold and silver mines.

"So this is your secret? Aren't you afraid of someone stealing all this money just sitting here? You've really got me figured out." Warfarin lit a fire, spread some straw over the pile of silver coins, and lay down on top of it.

"My secrets don't end here. It wouldn't matter if you talked anyway, because I could move this money away in no time, and then you'd really be sleeping on the floor."

"Also, give me your measurements so I can get you some clothes. Your hair and face might look clean and fair, but the clothes you're wearing are probably going to grow mold in a few days."

"What measurements?" Warfarin stared with wide, innocent eyes, completely clueless about what Huang Cao was saying.

"Forget it, since I don't have a real body anyway, I'll be a bit more straightforward."

Huang Cao turned into a black mist and, with lightning speed, directly enveloped every inch of Warfarin's skin, quickly obtaining a precise and perfect set of data.

As for the latter, she only felt like she'd been completely seen through, even though he had warned her beforehand...

"That's not very gentlemanly..." Warfarin muttered discontentedly, but she wasn't angry.

Why bother arguing with a bodiless Undead Spirit? If he wanted to mess with you, he could have done it in your dreams, and that would have been even more embarrassing.

"There are no gentlemen in Kazdel, just rough and burly men."

Huang Cao left the treasury, ready to give Warfarin a proper makeover.

Modern chemical-fiber clothes were still hard to come by for now, but ancient clothes were mostly extracted from plants or animals.

There was no silk, but Huang Cheng had plenty of finer plant fibers, since those could be hand-spun.

Before long, a set of clothes with a distinctly modern flair sprouted from the ground.

Of course, the style was based on what Warfarin wore during her time at Rhodes Island.

Though not as refined as the modern clothes from a few hundred years later, it was close enough.

Before growing the clothes from the ground, he also conveniently heated up a bucket of hot water.

After all, to make his plan flawless while living in the Banshee River Valley, he often used his identity to buy small items like furniture for other banshees.

The source of these small items was his own general store, but most of the time, he just took orders and then subcontracted them to others.

Efficiency was low, but considering he might actually have an extra employee in the future, he prepared some backup supplies in advance.

"Flat as a board, though wearing it or not doesn't matter, for hygiene and health, you should still put it on."

"I feel like you're constantly thinking about something rude. Whatever, the locals all say your brain isn't quite right."

The blood-drinking maiden sighed speechlessly as she took the clothes Huang Cao handed her, ready to find a room to change.

But unexpectedly, he stopped her.

"You're not going to watch me change, are you? The outside world might think Sarkaz morals are lacking, but I'm still a normal human woman. Even though I can't see any physical features on you, from your speech style and mannerisms, you're unmistakably a human male. Do you really think that's appropriate?"

"What's inappropriate about it? Aren't you going to take a bath before putting on new clothes? Or do you think I'd have any thoughts about your scrawny figure?"

"Please, who would have thoughts about you? Hurry up and get clean so you can come out and work like a beast of burden!"

Warfarin looked at him, putting on the air of a heartless capitalist, and instantly understood that the filth in his mind was far beyond mere lechery.

She could only sigh speechlessly, clutching her clothes as she obediently climbed into the bathtub.

"Add some Sichuan pepper, some carrots, and finally some salt. Give yourself a good scrub."

Huang Cao floated above Warfarin's head without any restraint, and she noticed that he truly had no interest in her. So she stopped covering her body, spreading her arms out on the water's surface as she quietly soaked.

But as she soaked, he started adding things to the tub.

Adding Sichuan pepper to a bath wasn't a bad idea, but the stuff he added after that looked more like ingredients for a stew?

A new book seedling begging for all kinds of votes. If you think it's decent, could you add it to your bookshelf? Thank you, everyone! (Thud)

Chapter 16: Once You're on the Pirate Ship, Do You Think You Can Escape?

Damn it, I've run into a Sarkaz who's mastered the art of dealing with people! No wonder they showed no interest in my body at all.

My life is over! So when you said "eat," you meant it literally!

"You've got a strong smell on you; I had to use heavy measures to get rid of it. Not every pretty maiden has natural body fragrance, you know. And I get the feeling you're thinking something dirty."

The aesthetic sensibilities thoroughly punished by the Banshee clan aren't something a mere Blood Demon can change. Warfarin's figure is already destined to never develop any further.

The former Blood Demon flat-chest duo was Warfarin and Closure. The latter has already managed to stand tall with her new character design, while the former will probably still be a washboard even by the time of the Administrator era.

Just like that certain big cat—only padded herself a tiny bit when doing missions as a maid.

"What a strange outfit, but it's pretty comfortable to wear."

After putting on the very modern clothes, Warfarin sniffed herself, then hopped a few times.

"If it feels comfortable, then get to bed quickly. You think fire and lamp oil are free? Or are you planning to go hunting tonight?"

"I haven't drunk blood in a long time. I'm hungry, but I can hold out. Besides, I can eat normal food too..."

The quiet night passed like that. After washing up, Warfarin lay on a pile of coins as hard as rocks, her thoughts drifting.

In the cold, dark warehouse, only the soft blanket brought her a trace of warmth.

Under the dim light, she couldn't help feeling that this day was a bit unreal.

The strange Undead Spirit shopkeeper, the mountain of silver coins in the warehouse, the bizarre train of thought.

It all felt like an ancient fairy tale, making her wonder if she was dreaming.

Warfarin hadn't held out any hope for the job application anyway. Even if she wasn't chosen, she could keep wandering.

She was tough to kill, after all. One day, she'd find a place to settle down.

Early the next morning, Warfarin, who hadn't rested properly in a long time, was deep in slumber when the wretched capitalist Huang Cao slammed a gong right next to her ear.