All right, in the end, Xiao Yang rode his old tricycle down the country lane, wobbling along with his childhood sweetheart, Lin Yingzhen, toward the town five or six kilometers away.
Xiao Yang really was craving that Chinese sausage.
He needed to buy some rice and seasonings, and get a haircut. There was no need for a space heater. Xiao Yang had realized that he wasn't as afraid of the cold anymore. Though the God Game had lost its connection in the Real Plane, the attributes he'd gained were still having a real effect.
As they traveled along the cement path, the two of them left behind the dry rice fields, filled with yellow stalks after the harvest. The scenery was beautiful, and Lin Yingzhen's eyes lit up as she took picture after picture.
To be honest, though Xiao Yang hadn't been back here in a long time, it was nothing compared to how long it had been for Lin Yingzhen. When she was seven or eight, her parents, who ran a business in the city, had made their fortune. That year, she'd been taken away, and never came back.
That was why Xiao Yang and she weren't very close. The days they'd spent chasing each other through the fields were more than a decade ago.
A sparrow flew past Xiao Yang. Almost without thinking, he reached out and caught it in his hand.
For a moment, he was stunned.
He didn't think he should be able to do that. At least, he certainly couldn't have done it a little over a month ago.
Behind him, Lin Yingzhen suddenly spoke, pointing excitedly into the distance. Xiao Yang quickly opened his hand, releasing the sparrow, which flapped away in a panic.
He looked where Lin Yingzhen was pointing. It was a low mountain, distinguished by a towering, lush green tree growing on its peak.
"Is that Mountain God Mountain?"
Xiao Yang answered hesitantly.
Lin Yingzhen happily replied.
"Yeah! Yeah! Do you remember? We went up Mountain God Mountain to play when we were little!"
But Xiao Yang really couldn't remember what she was talking about, so he could only keep nodding along.
"Is that so? Right!"
Xiao Yang was still more absorbed in that casual grab he'd just made. Without the God Game to help him use his dramatically increased strength, being disconnected felt strange. He wasn't as nimble, and his movements were a little sluggish.
At the moment, Xiao Yang was absorbed in exploring this state.
When she didn't get a proper response, Lin Yingzhen soon fell silent too.
Before long, the two of them reached town and parked the tricycle. Xiao Yang hopped off, greeted Lin Yingzhen, and arranged to meet her here in an hour and a half. Then they went their separate ways.
The first thing Xiao Yang had to do was get a haircut. There was no need to show mercy: he'd have it shaved right down to the roots. As a straight man through and through, Xiao Yang didn't need a head of pink hair. Even though the barber offered him plenty of suggestions, Xiao Yang stuck to his decision.
Soon, Xiao Yang emerged from the barber shop with a neat short haircut. The barber had left a little hair instead of giving him a full buzz cut. Seeing that most of the pink on top of his head was gone, Xiao Yang didn't comment. He stood in front of a long mirror and struck a pose.
"Damn, I look good!"
The guy was a bit of a narcissist.
After leaving the barber shop, he couldn't avoid facing the troublesome matter again. Xiao Yang realized that he really couldn't escape the word "poor."
He was short on Spirit Coins, and he was just as short on cash for oil and food.
Wait, what had he come back to do in the first place? He'd planned to get things in order with the bamboo grove behind his house and make a living off it. But now, that was obviously no longer an option.
He only had two thousand yuan on his phone. At this rate, he probably wouldn't have enough to get through the month, let alone the next one.
But money in the Real Plane was definitely easier to come by than Spirit Coins. At worst, he could clear the second level of the Skeleton Prison and pick up some more junk. With that in mind, Xiao Yang soon had bags of all sizes in his hands.
Rice, oil, soy sauce, salt, MSG, and eggs.
Xiao Yang picked up the bags with ease. The two bags of rice slung over his shoulder were especially eye-catching, and passersby couldn't help glancing at him.
After all, what he was carrying was no light load, yet once Xiao Yang picked it up, he could practically sprint.
"Look at you, young man! You're in great shape!"
An old man carrying a health-preserving tai chi sword even gave Xiao Yang a thumbs-up.
And Xiao Yang was still holding back. He was clearly destined to become something beyond human.
Just as everything was taken care of, Xiao Yang returned to the tricycle and found that Lin Yingzhen was already waiting for him.
She waved to Xiao Yang, and he waved back.
There were quite a lot of people on the street today, probably because the New Year was approaching.
Just then, a family of three passed by Xiao Yang. The little girl was clutching a big red helium balloon and looked delighted.
As Xiao Yang and Lin Yingzhen waved to each other, a gust of wind suddenly blew, sending the red balloon flying.
"My balloon!"
At that very moment, Xiao Yang jumped. The red helium balloon drifted away on the wind, but Xiao Yang leaped even higher, springing up like a shoot from dry earth to grab it.
The little girl wobbled over to Xiao Yang and sweetly said,
"Thank you, big brother!"
Xiao Yang handed the balloon to the little girl and patted her on the head.
"Hold on to it tight!"
The little girl waved goodbye to Xiao Yang.
Lin Yingzhen watched, her eyes lighting up.
"You jumped so high, Xiao Yang!"
She wanted to say something, but couldn't figure out how to describe it. After all, what had just happened was indeed surprising, but if you asked her what exactly was so surprising, all she could manage was a plain "You jumped so high."
A troubled expression appeared on Lin Yingzhen's face.
Xiao Yang didn't answer her right away. He quickly loaded all the bags onto the tricycle, then decisively started it up.
Before you continue