A Person No Longer Human

Alright, the final result was Xiao Yang riding his old three-wheeled vehicle, heading towards the small town about five to six kilometers away on the country road, with his childhood sweetheart Lin Yingzhen swaying along.

Xiao Yang was genuinely craving that sausage.

Buy some rice, buy some seasonings, get a haircut. The little sun wouldn't be an issue anymore. Xiao Yang realized he wasn't as afraid of the cold now. Even though the God Game was offline in this real Plane, the tangible stat increases were still effective.

Traveling on the cement path, the two of them left behind the dry, withered rice paddies, their stalks yellow and harvested. The scenery was beautiful, and Lin Yingzhen was taking pictures with sparkling eyes.

To be honest, even though Xiao Yang hadn't been back here in a long time, he still paled in comparison to Lin Yingzhen at this time. Her parents, who ran a business in the city, had struck it rich when she was seven or eight. That year, she was taken away and never returned.

This was also why Xiao Yang wasn't that close to her. Their days of chasing each other in the fields dated back over a decade.

A small bird flew past Xiao Yang. He instinctively reached out and caught it in his hand.

He was momentarily stunned.

This wasn't something he should have been able to do, at least not a month ago.

From behind, Lin Yingzhen suddenly spoke, pointing excitedly into the distance. Xiao Yang quickly let go, releasing the bird and allowing it to fly away in a panic.

Looking in the direction Lin Yingzhen was pointing, he saw a low hill, most notably marked by a tall, lush green tree standing on its summit.

"Is that Mountain God Mountain?"

Xiao Yang hesitantly offered.

Lin Yingzhen responded happily.

"Yes! Yes! Do you remember? We used to play on Mountain God Mountain when we were kids!"

But Xiao Yang couldn't really remember her words and could only nod in response.

"Really? I guess so!"

Xiao Yang was more absorbed in the casual grab he had just made. In this offline state, he felt a peculiar sensation, not as agile, with a slight delay, relying on his rapidly increasing Strength without the God Game.

Xiao Yang was currently engrossed in exploring this state.

Receiving no satisfactory reply, Lin Yingzhen soon fell silent.

Shortly after, the two arrived at the small town. After parking their three-wheeled vehicle, Xiao Yang jumped off, greeted Lin Yingzhen, agreed to meet back there in an hour and a half, and then they parted ways.

Xiao Yang's first priority was a haircut. No need for pity; he shaved his head clean. As a staunch straight man, Xiao Yang didn't need pink hair. Even though the hairdresser offered many suggestions, Xiao Yang stuck to his decision.

Soon after, Xiao Yang, with a neat short haircut, walked out of the barbershop. The hairdresser had left him a little length, not giving him a buzz cut. Xiao Yang looked at his pink hair, which had almost completely disappeared, and said nothing. Standing in front of the long mirror, he struck a pose.

"So handsome!"

The guy was a bit narcissistic.

Leaving the barbershop, he inevitably had to face another troublesome matter. Xiao Yang realized he was truly inseparable from poverty.

He was short on Spirit Coins, and also short on cash to buy oil and sell grain.

Right, what was he originally planning to do when he came back? He seemed to have intended to properly organize the bamboo forest behind his house and make a living from it. But that hope was definitely gone now.

He only had two thousand yuan on his phone, which meant he wouldn't have enough for next month after this one.

However, real money was definitely easier to come by than Spirit Coins. At worst, he could pick up some trash after clearing the second level of the Skeleton Prison. With this calculation, Xiao Yang soon found himself holding many large and small bags.

Rice, oil, soy sauce, salt, MSG, eggs.

Xiao Yang easily picked up the bags and sacks. The two bags of rice slung over his shoulder were the most conspicuous. Passersby on the street glanced at Xiao Yang with surprise at his demeanor.

After all, what he was carrying was by no means light, yet Xiao Yang could move with surprising speed even while carrying it.

"You've got some strength, young man! You're in great shape!"

An old man holding a tai chi sword for health even gave Xiao Yang a thumbs-up.

And this was Xiao Yang holding back his strength. It could only be said that he was heading in a non-human direction.

Just as everything was settled, Xiao Yang returned to the three-wheeled vehicle. Lin Yingzhen was already waiting for him there.

She waved at Xiao Yang, and he waved back in response.

It had to be said, there were quite a lot of people on the street today, possibly because the New Year was approaching.

At this moment, a family of three walked past Xiao Yang. The little girl was holding a large red hydrogen balloon and was very happy.

Just as Xiao Yang and Lin Yingzhen were waving, a gust of wind suddenly blew, and the red balloon was carried away.

"My balloon!"

At the same moment, Xiao Yang leaped up. The red balloon floated away in the wind, but Xiao Yang jumped even higher, shooting up like a spring from the ground, and caught the flying red balloon.

The little girl toddled towards Xiao Yang and said sweetly.

"Thank you, big brother!"

Xiao Yang handed the balloon to the child and patted her head.

"Hold on tight!"

The little girl waved goodbye to Xiao Yang.

Lin Yingzhen watched this scene, her eyes lighting up.

"You jump so high, Xiao Yang!"

She wanted to say something but found herself unsure how to describe it. The scene was indeed surprising, but if she had to pinpoint the surprise, all she could manage was a simple "so high."

Lin Yingzhen's face showed a troubled expression.

Xiao Yang didn't reply immediately. He quickly loaded the large and small bags onto the three-wheeled vehicle and then decisively started it.