The Rules of the Game

"I think I'm starting to understand the rules of this mission."

Standing by the stream with an axe over his shoulder, Li Wei searched for trees he could fell while thinking things over.

"First of all, according to the plot setup, the three of us players are playing a family fleeing hardship. Harmony, unity, and mutual love are the core theme. For example, I can't just take my axe and chop Penny to death."

"Second, the plot's development actually includes the family's future choices. It's like a role-playing game, except the plot isn't fixed. For instance, when Penny decided three days ago to build a house, that fit the plot logic. At that point, I had to go logging to cooperate with her. I couldn't object and say I wanted to build a wall instead."

"Now that the house's framework has been completed, the next plot can naturally begin. Penny has entered the plot of stacking a stone wall, while during this period, I can gather firewood and hunt."

"If I hadn't said anything just now, I might have missed this plot. As things stood, I had effectively secured the plot of building a wall."

"Phila and Penny would definitely object, but based on the roles they were playing, they couldn't oppose it. As long as it fit the plot logic, they couldn't object."

"If Penny finished building the house next, a new plot direction would definitely open up. The family's available manpower and resources were limited. Once something was decided, I wouldn't be able to start a new plot direction."

"Her profession is Apprentice Artisan, so the direction she starts will definitely be this sort of thing."

"My profession is Novice Farmer, so I have to fight for a farming-related direction."

"If I don't fight for it, then until I'm eliminated, my farmer profession probably won't get a chance to serve any purpose."

"This was a little like a farming management game, except there were three people giving orders."

"Unless the three of us compete to become the head of the household. Giving orders as the head of the household might produce different effects."

Having figured all this out, Li Wei no longer felt lost. He knew what he needed to do.

Right now, the plot he was responsible for involved gathering firewood, hunting, felling trees, and building a wall. This plot had to be completed before Penny finished building the house.

When he looked back, sure enough, Penny had become like a human-shaped motor, frantically hauling stones.

There was nothing more to say. He just had to get to work.

As usual, Li Wei first used a long stick to beat around the edge of the forest, driving away at least several venomous snakes. Then he broke down all the branches and crowns from the trees he had felled over the past few days, carrying everything back to camp to dry.

Though these Twigs contained a great deal of moisture, as long as the sun kept beating down on them, they would still become perfectly good firewood.

After fussing about for most of the morning, he had carried all the Twigs back to camp. Almost at the same time, he received a notification.

[While no head of household has assigned you a task and you have no related plot ties, you have obtained one unit of firewood. You have gained one point of Gathering Experience. Would you like to donate it to the family? You will gain one Family Contribution Point.]

[Reminder: Family Contribution Points will raise your standing within the family. When conditions are met, you may initiate a Plot Kill vote, or consume enough Family Contribution Points to exempt yourself from a Plot Kill.]

[You chose to donate one unit of firewood to the family. You gained one Family Contribution Point. Your current total Family Contribution Points: 1.]

So that was how it worked. Wonderful!

Li Wei laughed three times in his heart, but he did not continue gathering firewood. He was certain that once the house was completed, Penny would gain even more Family Contribution Points.

So, he would fell trees. That way, he could gain Logging Experience and Construction Experience at the same time.

His hands were now covered in calluses. When he raised the axe and brought it down hard, the movements had begun to flow smoothly. This body of his was gradually adapting to such physical labor.

Thus, by noon, he had easily felled two trees and gained two points of Logging Experience.

At noon, they returned for lunch. None of the three spoke. They remained silent, because whenever all three gathered together, it was easy to trigger a plot.

After eating, Penny went back to hauling stones, working like mad.

Clearly, she had felt Li Wei's threat.

Li Wei was the same, but he did not hurry to cut trees. Instead, he went to the edge of the forest and continued using his short knife to cut down the thick wild grass. This was to drive away venomous snakes as much as possible and expand his range of activity.

Besides, cutting grass gave him an idea.

The grass he cut now could not be preserved, but once autumn came and the rains lessened, he could cut grass on a large scale, then dry and store it. For now, Old Ox could eat fresh green grass all over the hills, and even in winter, it could eat dead grass. But what about when heavy snow sealed off the mountains?

This dried hay, properly stored away, would be Old Ox's life-saving food.

He needed to prepare for the future.

Of course, before that, Li Wei first needed to build a shed for storing hay.

Just as the supplies on the Ox Cart were Phila's personal property, this hay would also become his personal property.

After cutting grass nonstop for an hour, he had gained a larger area to move around in.

While harvesting the grass, he also picked several handfuls of ripe Berries.

After eating them, they unexpectedly restored 10 points of stamina.

This forest was a treasure trove.

After resting for a moment, Li Wei picked up his axe and began felling trees. By evening, though he was still exhausted, he had successfully brought down three trees and gained another three points of Logging Experience.

At this point, he had accumulated 10 points of Logging Experience, one point of Gathering Experience, and six points of Construction Experience. After deducting today's two experience points for food expenses, he was somehow still making a profit—provided those two bitches stopped causing trouble.

Fortunately, at dinner, the three silently drank Wild Vegetable Soup without anyone saying a word.

After dinner, Penny and Li Wei continued sleeping beside the campfire, while Phila was responsible for keeping watch and feeding the fire.

If he was not mistaken, there should be experience points to gain from that as well.

In terms of plot logic, Phila, as a mother, could not possibly let her child catch cold at night or get bitten to death by venomous snakes.

Li Wei slept well through the night. He had even grown accustomed to the bites of mosquitoes and other insects.

After breakfast, Penny continued hauling stones. She needed quite a lot of stones to stack the stone wall. In Li Wei's opinion, it would take at least three to five days to finish.

So both sides were under immense pressure.

Li Wei walked around the house once, roughly determining the wall's boundaries. He could not help feeling fortunate that he had chosen the right plot direction.

The ground around the house was all soft soil, making it easy to dig. Now, he only needed to decide on the style of the wall.

With that in mind, he headed toward the forest. As usual, he used a long stick to beat around the surrounding area, avoiding a venomous snake Plot Kill, before he finally began logging.