Chapter 3
Under the wide branches, a figure wearing a blue work uniform appeared faintly.
It was the delivery worker from the pet courier!
After a whole day feeling completely drained as if a fairy had sucked out all her energy, Xu Xiaozhi instantly revived with full strength. Her little darling—one day apart felt like three long years!
She dashed downstairs, no longer moving with her earlier composure. “Oh my kitty!” she exclaimed as she immediately pounced on the huge box tightly wrapped with breathable material.
Hearing her owner’s voice, the kitten’s faint meows grew louder and more insistent, “Meow—meow—meow!” with a hint of complaint directed at Xu Xiaozhi.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Xu Xiaozhi silently apologized, her face full of remorse.
The kitten was just five months old, small and soft, excitedly stretching out her little short legs and nibbling at the door of the pet carrier with her pure white paws.
The two hamsters rustled softly but buried themselves deeper, completely hidden inside their cage.
The courier, Jiang Fan, diligently had Xu Xiaozhi sign the receipt, then knelt halfway to carefully open the package with a small knife.
He spoke with curiosity, “There really is a farmhouse-style inn out here?”
He had double-checked the location several times on the way, wondering if Xu Xiaozhi had given the wrong address, but never imagined there really was a farmhouse inn deep in these remote mountains.
“What’s your boss thinking, running a business in undeveloped mountains? But I have to say, the air really is better than in the city, and cooler too!” Although it looked like a place people couldn’t really live in.
Boss Xu: …
“You being able to deliver here is impressive,” she said sincerely. Jiang Fan blushed, it must have taken him quite some effort.
“Of course! Bida Pet Express—welcome to order with us again!” The courier smiled, showing his tiger teeth. After delivering this urgent large package, a huge weight lifted from his heart, and he had time to chat a little.
Grandma Gui wrapped several steamed corn buns in a handkerchief and handed them to the courier. “Thank you for your hard work. We don’t have much to offer—just some homemade corn buns to take with you for the road.”
Jiang Fan waved his hand, initially wanting to decline, but when he saw Grandma Gui’s kind and gentle face, a sudden image of the grandmother who raised him since childhood appeared in his mind. “Then, thank you, Grandma!”
Then he bent down and petted Chouba’s head. “Such a cute dog. I had one just like this when I was a kid.”
Xu Xiaozhi smiled watching Chouba happily wagging his tail and replied, “Maybe once the farmhouse inn is repaired, you could come stay for a couple of days.”
“Sure!” Jiang Fan agreed immediately.
After seeing Jiang Fan off, Xu Xiaozhi carried Miaomiao back to her room. By then, Grandma Gui had already cleaned the room spotless—the floor was so shiny it reflected light.
She was alone in the room.
Miaomiao stretched out freely on the bed.
Finally, Xu Xiaozhi had time to take out her phone. A mechanical voice echoed again in her mind, and a symbol visible only to her appeared floating in midair.
【The host has successfully arrived at the farmhouse inn】
【Please complete the task to activate the Farmhouse APP. Task reward: Beginner’s gift pack】
App?
A blank-style app suddenly appeared out of nowhere on her phone screen, radiating an aura of mystery.
Obviously, the pop-up that appeared out of thin air, the progress bars above Grandma Gui and her husband, and this sudden app on the phone—none of these could be explained by modern technology.
Xu Xiaozhi still remembered the day she quit her job. Upon waking, a cold, emotionless voice suddenly appeared in her mind.
【System has automatically bound. It will assist the host in building the farmhouse inn. Please spare no effort in its construction!】
The mechanical voice pronounced the words with an eerie sense of dissonance.
The system resembled the artificial intelligence in an American sci-fi movie, displaying abilities beyond her understanding.
“What if I don’t build the farmhouse inn?” Xu Xiaozhi pondered for a long time before asking the most important question.
【The host’s life will return to normal and nothing will change.】
In the end, her choice was obvious.
—
“Activate the app?” she murmured softly, trying to tap the app, but a blank pop-up appeared on the screen.
【System has automatically detected the ecological status of the farmhouse inn. Considering the host owns five adorable pets, the app has automatically upgraded to the “Cute Pet Farmhouse” theme.】
In a moment, the blank app updated itself, and four cartoon animal images appeared on the screen.
Chouba sat properly with his tongue out, Miaomiao rested her head on the ground, and the chubby Doudou and the Meimei—two bears—stood adorably on Miaomiao’s head, raising their front paws and looking ahead with innocent eyes.
“Why five pets?” Xu Xiaozhi looked puzzled at the shadow surrounding the animals and vaguely recognized a small creature.
Strangely, the system gave no response.
Xu Xiaozhi didn’t investigate further. The pop-up had automatically generated the title “Cute Pet Farmhouse,” and she tried to change it but couldn’t at all.
【Please confirm, host.】
Great, if I can’t even change it, what’s there to confirm? Xu Xiaozhi thought with a silent complaint, but her finger honestly tapped “Confirm.”
【Cute Pet Farmhouse APP has been successfully activated.】
Before the system finished speaking, the app’s interface had completely transformed. The originally blank screen instantly generated a real-life map of the farmhouse inn.
A large area was divided by dotted lines into eight or nine zones, but only the courtyard area was unlocked, the rest were pitch black with “locked” written in gray.
So the farmhouse inn land is actually this big!
【Task completed. Newbie gift pack has been sent to your mailbox. Please check, host.】
Below the real-life map, there were three buttons: the first was “Live Stream,” the second said “Daily Tasks,” and the third was “Mine.”
Xu Xiaozhi, following her usual habit, tapped the “Mine” button, and the mailbox appeared right at the top.
【Task reward: Newbie Gift Pack successfully claimed】
【Host received “Farmhouse Inn Repairs,” 2 points, and a set of live streaming equipment】
Farmhouse Inn repairs?
According to Grandma Gui, except for the north building, which is still livable, many other parts of the farmhouse have leaks, broken floors, and damaged equipment.
This reward was truly a timely help.
No sooner had she accepted the reward than a strange phone call came in.
“Hello?” A rough male voice came through the receiver. “Is this Miss. Xu Xiaozhi?”
“Yes, who is this?” Xu Xiaozhi raised her phone and walked to the window, feeling puzzled.
“We received your order online and wanted to confirm the address. Is it called ‘Cute Pet Farmhouse’? That’s quite a rare name.”
“Yes, yes, thank you for your trouble…” After hanging up, she sighed inwardly. This app’s efficiency was really too fast.
【Live streaming equipment activated】
【Ding dong, you have a new task published】
【Limited-time task issued: Please complete your first live stream and reach over 5,000 viewers】
【Time remaining to complete the task: 23:59】
【Task reward: Unlock points store】
Xu Xiaozhi immediately felt the task was difficult. Not to mention she had never done live streaming before, 5,000 viewers was almost impossible for a newbie.
She held up her phone, and sure enough, as soon as she opened the live streaming page, a prompt immediately popped up asking whether to start the live stream.
The floating popup turned into a red record button, as long as she confirmed the live stream on her phone, the already activated streaming equipment would automatically connect in the background, allowing her to stream without carrying any devices.
It was convenient, yes—but how was she supposed to complete this task?
Nightfall came quickly, and the forest was pitch black. The only light was the dim yellow glow coming from Grandma Gui’s room downstairs.
The evening mountain breeze was cool and refreshing. Xu Xiaozhi leaned against the window, shivering from the chilly wind.
“Woof woof!” Chouba trotted across the floor, his paws making a pitter-patter sound. Seeing Xu Xiaozhi notice him, he quickly grabbed the pink feeding bowl on the floor with his mouth.
“Oh no,” Xu Xiaozhi slapped her forehead and hurriedly took out some emergency pet food from her backpack.
Just as she pulled out the bag, Miaomiao, who had been happily playing on the bed earlier, walked gracefully over to her on the soft blanket. With each step, her short little paws sank into the quilt.
From Xu Xiaozhi’s perspective, she looked like a little cat-worm, inching closer.
Then Miaomiao’s big round eyes fixed on Xu Xiaozhi’s movements. Her two tiny paws rested on Xu Xiaozhi’s hand as the little cat stood up.
Xu Xiaozhi’s heart melted from the cuteness. “Oh, my precious Miaomiao, it’s all my fault. Hurry up and eat some of this freeze-dried food!”
Actually, pet delivery workers usually observe the pets’ condition during the trip, and the food was placed in the cages as a self-serve buffet.
But Xu Xiaozhi still felt like she had committed an unforgivable crime, feeling guilty as she squeezed and hugged Miaomiao.
Chouba was already impatient, burying his head into her backpack and twisting his body restlessly.
“Don’t rush, don’t rush, Chouba, drink some more water first.” Chouba was good in every way except his insatiable greed—she had crowned him the family’s biggest foodie.
Today, she had let him eat a couple bites of Grandma Gui’s cured meat, and his sodium intake was seriously over the limit.
Xu Xiaozhi gently held Chouba’s mouth closed, poured purified water into the bowl, and placed his dog food in front of her.
That way, once she let go, Chouba could only obediently tuck his tail and lower his head to gulp down the water.
“I’ll have to trouble you both for a little while longer.” Xu Xiaozhi opened the two hamster cages she had placed on the floor. Sitting cross-legged, she reached into a pile of bedding and pulled out Meimei, who had been hiding there for quite some time.
Meimei’s body was curled up tightly, but as soon as she was placed in her palm, she rubbed the fur near her eyes with her paws in a very human-like way, looking as if she were wiping her eyes while still half asleep.
Her slightly yellowish-gray curly fur was very springy, and the whiskers among the white fur around her mouth twitched gently.
Seeing Meimei was in good condition, Xu Xiaozhi put her down and turned to look at Doudou.
“Oh, Miaomiao!”
Hearing the noise, Doudou stood up, revealing his upper half with yellow and white fur, his two paws hanging in front of his chest, and two round black eyes shining brightly.
What surprised Xu Xiaozhi was that Miaomiao was curiously sniffing Doudou’s scent, and Doudou fearlessly met Miaomiao’s gaze without backing down.
She pushed Miaomiao’s head away and closed Doudou’s cage. “You two have to stay in your cages for now. We’ll set up your villa tomorrow when it arrives.”
Chouba ignored the commotion and, after gulping down his water, wagged his tail eagerly and nudged Xu Xiaozhi’s arm with his head, signaling her to refill his food.
“Got it, got it.”
Chouba eagerly devoured his food, his butt wiggling with delight.
“Sigh!” After washing up, Xu Xiaozhi lay on the bed, cuddling Miaomiao while scrolling through her phone. “Five thousand viewers… A new streamer working hard all day probably won’t even reach that!”
How was she supposed to complete this?
The farmhouse was so big—how could she unlock those gray areas? Maybe tomorrow she could explore the forest and, in a tense atmosphere, try being an adventure streamer.
Or maybe a farming streamer?
If all else fails, she could just let Chouba and Miaomiao take the stage for a cute pet special…
As Xu Xiaozhi pondered, her eyelids started to fight the fatigue, and soon the day’s exhaustion lulled her into a drowsy sleep.
Outside the window, fireflies flickered. Thousands of light-years away, in the brilliant galaxy, it was bustling with life.
【Time left to complete the task: 22:15】