Natives?

The sun had already passed noon as Li Wei struggled to drag a log stripped of its branches and crown across the stream.

He had originally planned to fell three trees, but in the end, he could only manage two before he could no longer keep going.

Not only had the blisters on his palms burst open, leaving them a bloody mess that hurt like hell, but he was genuinely starving. His stamina kept plummeting, and without stamina to support him, his condition had become moderately hungry, while his Strength Attribute had temporarily dropped to 3.

He rested again and again, gritting his teeth before finally trimming one tree into a usable log.

Now he had to drag it back. The mere one hundred and twenty steps felt like an insurmountable chasm.

Cold sweat soaked him layer after layer.

After resting time and time again, he finally dragged the log back to camp, nearly collapsing from exhaustion.

"Oh, my George, you should have used the ox to drag the wood back."

Penny hurried past. She had been busy all morning. Not only had she cleared an open area of at least thirty square meters, she had also carried back some stones from the stream and finally cooked a clay pot of dark Barley Porridge.

Even so, she still looked light on her feet.

Li Wei no longer had the strength to speak. He lay in the damp lean-to without wanting to move at all. Even his thoughts seemed to have come to a standstill.

"Mother, you should eat something. Things will get better. We'll definitely survive. What would George and I do without you?"

"Mother, we can make Wild Vegetable Soup for dinner. Can you help me gather some mushrooms and wild vegetables later?"

In the other lean-to, Penny gently comforted Phila and fed her.

Li Wei forced himself to crawl up. It felt as if his soul had drifted away, and every part of his body ached horribly, but he still gritted his teeth and endured. He had to eat. He could not become dead weight.

Yet there was still only one bowl of Barley Porridge in the clay pot, neither more nor less.

He wanted to complain, but he did not even have the strength for that. There was nothing he could do. Having Barley Porridge at all was already pretty good, assuming they could not turn things around soon.

"George, I've already dug out the foundation for the wooden house. You'd better gather ten logs within two days. Within three days, we need to finish building this wooden house."

After tossing out those words, Penny rushed off toward the stream to carry stones.

Li Wei could only limp after her. Though he found it strange that his cheap native sister seemed overly experienced, he was too exhausted to think much about it.

The afternoon's work was like torture. Especially when he swung the axe into a tree, the recoil from the trunk hurt his hands so badly that tears nearly fell.

Even so, Li Wei did not give up. He was an adult, after all. No matter how miserable this was, it was still better than dying and having his whole life turn bleak, right?

He just had to grit his teeth and keep going.

Yet by the time the sun set, he had only managed to fell two more trees. He had at least trimmed off all the branches and crowns. When Penny led that scrawny Old Ox over, he could not even hold his axe anymore. Both arms were badly swollen, and his whole body was trembling.

Maybe it was an illusion, but Penny seemed to smile. Then she swiftly and skillfully tied a rope around one log and drove Old Ox back.

This method really was useful. He had wasted so much strength for nothing at noon.

After Penny dragged all three logs back, Li Wei staggered and swayed his way back to camp as well.

Phila seemed to have pulled herself together somewhat, because she had actually helped cook a clay pot of Wild Vegetable Soup. Unfortunately, there was no more Barley Porridge.

Fortunately, there was plenty of Wild Vegetable Soup. Li Wei wolfed down one bowl and was able to ladle himself another. After finishing it, he was still hungry, but at least his stomach no longer felt empty.

The campfire crackled, its red flames like little fire snakes struggling to break free.

Phila, Penny, and Li Wei sat around the campfire. No one spoke. The surrounding mountains loomed dark and grim like beasts poised to pounce, while the distant mountain wind sounded like the whispers of demons.

He was too tired, so tired that he did not even want to return to the lean-to. Li Wei fell asleep beside the campfire.

He slept until dawn, but hunger woke him. The slightest movement made his body feel as if it were falling apart. Only after struggling to sit up did he notice an extra foul-smelling sheepskin blanket covering him.

The fire had been lit again. Phila was stirring Barley Porridge, while Penny had actually started carrying stones.

What the hell, was this woman crazy? Wasn't she hungry? Wasn't she tired?

How could she endure so much more than me with the same bowl of Barley Porridge?

In just one morning, she had already carried more than ten stones.

Li Wei found it utterly unbelievable.

But perhaps this cheap sister of his was simply more capable.

"Penny, George, come eat."

"Okay, Mother."

Penny's voice seemed to carry a little more strength than it had yesterday.

Li Wei was still looking for somewhere to relieve himself. By the time he returned, there was still only one bowl of Barley Porridge left, neither more nor less.

"George, take care of yourself. Don't exhaust yourself."

Phila sat by the campfire and watched Li Wei lap up the last of the Barley Porridge like a dog. At last, a hint of kind warmth appeared on her face, though she was still terribly pale.

"I know, Mother."

Li Wei answered quietly, not daring to look into those sorrowful eyes.

With a short knife in hand and an axe over his shoulder, he headed straight across the stream to continue felling trees, while Penny kept carrying stones with boundless energy.

Today was still torture. The blisters that had only just begun to scab over after being rubbed raw yesterday were torn open again after only a few swings. The axe was clearly striking the tree trunk, yet the pain felt as though it were cutting into him.

Several times, he wanted to rest for a while, but whenever he turned around and saw Penny briskly carrying stones, he could only grit his teeth and go all out.

But even then, by noon he had only barely managed to fell three trees. As for those pitiful three points of Logging Experience, he had long since ignored them.

Dragging his exhausted body back to camp, Li Wei found that Phila had already cooked the Barley Porridge. Penny held a wooden bowl and slurped it down with relish. When she noticed Li Wei's resentful gaze, she even bared her teeth in a grin.

"George, I've carried enough stones. This afternoon, I'll build up the house foundation. You need to pick up the pace. Once I finish the foundation tomorrow, I'll need ten logs. Can you do it?"

Li Wei did not want to speak. Trembling, he scooped himself some Barley Porridge and chewed with difficulty. So far, he had cut seven logs and still needed three more to meet Penny's required number.

But there was something off about what she said. Combined with the way she behaved, she did not feel like a native to Li Wei.

Lost in such random thoughts, he cleaned his bowl of Barley Porridge, though it only filled him to about sixty percent and let his Strength Attribute gradually recover to 7 over half an hour.

So he had to rest for half an hour.

Looking at Penny again, she had already gone out beneath the blazing sun to stack stones. She was really working herself to the bone—or perhaps she was simply genuinely healthy, healthy enough not to seem like a native.

Even Phila slung a basket over her arm at this time and went out to dig wild vegetables, pick mushrooms, and watch over Old Ox, preparing Wild Vegetable Soup for the evening.

"No matter what, I have to cut ten logs by this afternoon."

Li Wei did not know what was wrong, but deep down, he felt that it was best to do as Penny said.

Because she had said before that they had to build the wooden house within three days.