Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Stepping out of the fog, Ying Yuanxing immediately spotted the elderly man standing at the village entrance and instinctively blurted out, "Village Chief!"

But was this truly what the village chief looked like?

Ying Yuanxing felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity with the man's appearance, but he quickly found a reason to reassure himself. The original owner's last visit to the village had been over a decade ago, when his grandfather passed away. After such a long time, even the original owner would likely find the place unfamiliar, let alone Ying Yuanxing, whose memories weren't fully intact.

His greeting broke the village chief's trance as he locked eyes with Yuan Xiu. Whatever was going on with Yuan Xiu, he couldn't afford to keep staring.

Pasting a kindly smile back onto his face, the village chief turned to Ying Yuanxing and replied, "Ying boy, you've finally returned." As he spoke, he carefully looked Ying Yuanxing over, but no matter how he looked, the man seemed like an ordinary 'person.'

But how could an ordinary 'person' be carrying Yuan Xiu like that? Had it been so long since he'd left the village that he no longer understood the customs of the outside world?

Yet, the village chief quickly dismissed that thought. Even if the outside world had changed, he still knew Yuan Xiu well enough—Yuan Xiu wasn't one to tolerate such behavior unless he had no choice.

Unless... Yuan Xiu couldn't resist.

Realizing this, memories of past events flashed through the village chief's mind, and his gaze toward Ying Yuanxing became even warier.

Ying Yuanxing was clueless about the village chief's thoughts. He only noticed that the man's smile seemed a bit stiff. When the village chief's eyes lingered on him, Ying Yuanxing suddenly remembered he was still holding Yuan Xiu and quickly put him down.

As Yuan Xiu's feet touched the ground, the pressure holding him vanished instantly. He glanced at Ying Yuanxing, who appeared completely oblivious to the significance of what he'd just done, still chatting casually with the village chief.

The village chief, however, knew better. He kept his gaze firmly fixed on Ying Yuanxing, not daring to look in Yuan Xiu's direction. Unfortunately, not everyone was as tactful.

Yuan Xiu lifted his eyes toward the village, and the moment he did, all the watching gazes instantly disappeared. A few weird cries erupted from within the village.

"Eh? What was that…?" Ying Yuanxing perked up at the sounds.

"Some people keep livestock but don't bother butchering them early, letting them disturb others at night," Yuan Xiu said before the village chief could respond.

Ying Yuanxing's eyes lit up. Wasn't the best part of farming games farming and raising animals? While real-life animal husbandry might come with more hassles compared to the game, it also meant he could actually touch furry animals.

He had always wanted to raise animals but never had the chance—constantly pulling overtime, living in rented apartments where pets weren't allowed. All he could do was watch pet and farm videos online. But now, he had inherited a farm. He could raise whatever he wanted!

And since he was inside a farming game, maybe real-world animal care wasn't an issue here—only the joys of harvest and petting animals.

Ying Yuanxing was eager to ask about buying livestock, but seeing Yuan Xiu's obvious disdain for the topic, he bit his tongue.

No hurry. They were in the village now—he could ask later.

…

With Ying Yuanxing settled in the village, Yuan Xiu's task was complete. Under normal circumstances, he might have hung around for fun, but now that he had become the main attraction himself, he had no desire to stay.

After bidding Ying Yuanxing a quick goodbye, Yuan Xiu glanced toward the edge of the village, his brow furrowing slightly before he turned and left.

Ying Yuanxing followed his gaze. The fog outside the village seemed to have thickened, and in the direction Yuan Xiu had been looking, a particularly dark spot stood out among the dim tree shadows.

But with the heavy fog and poor lighting, Ying Yuanxing couldn't be sure if he was just imagining things.

"Young Ying, come along. I'll take you to your grandfather's farm," the village chief said with a smile, leading the way. Ying Yuanxing quickly followed.

Though he sort of remembered the way, his memories were over a decade old. Who knew if the village layout had changed?

As they walked, Ying Yuanxing noticed that the houses near the village entrance were well-kept, clearly inhabited. But the closer they got to where he remembered the farm being, the more run-down the buildings became, long abandoned.

Well, not entirely. One house stood out. Unlike the others—either unlit or with only a few lights on—this one seemed to have lights on in every room.

"Village Chief, whose house is that?" Ying Yuanxing asked curiously.

"That's the Zhu family's home. They're your neighbors," the village chief replied. "Just a bit farther ahead, and all the land you see will be yours."

Ying Yuanxing's curiosity vanished, replaced by awe as he stared ahead. Despite the fog, he could tell the land seemed to go on forever.

Sure, he might not be able to farm all of it alone—even if he could, it would take forever.

But bigger was better! Bigger was beautiful!

His excitement grew, and he picked up his pace without thinking. Soon, he spotted a fence and a small house nearby.

"The farm is here. I won't go in—you should rest well," the village chief said.

Seeing Ying Yuanxing staring at the farm without blinking, the village chief grew even more convinced of his earlier suspicions and made a quick exit.

Even though he'd mentally prepared himself, the sight of the familiar wooden house still left Ying Yuanxing stunned for a long moment. By the time he came to his senses, the village chief was already gone.

But he didn't need a guide anymore. Taking a deep breath, Ying Yuanxing walked toward the house.

The farm had been abandoned for too long. Weeds, thorns, and scattered stones littered the ground, making the place look completely overgrown.

Yet, Ying Yuanxing found this weirdly familiar. After all, every new game file required starting from scratch. Besides, these weren't just obstacles—they were resources. The thought made his gaze soften.

Weaving through the thorny bushes, Ying Yuanxing reached the cabin door. It wasn't locked, swinging open easily. But inside…

Everything went black, and he passed out. The stream cut to black.

"What just happened?"

"Did anyone catch that? I didn't see anything!"

"Same here. Did something happen to the streamer or not?"

"The screen just went black—the channel's still up, so he's probably fine for now. But who knows about later?"

"Before the blackout, the streamer looked like he collapsed. This doesn't look like a false alarm—feels dangerous."

"Wait, doesn't this seem familiar? I bet the streamer's fine."

"Honestly… I think so too."

…

The chat erupted in speculation while Ying Yuanxing sank into deep slumber—only to be awakened later by bright sunlight.

Blinking, he instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes. Even the gentle morning sun was too much to look at directly.

"What…?" He pushed himself up from the ground, struggling to recall what had happened.

Turns out, arriving at Taoxi Village hadn't fully activated his ability. It was only when he entered the farmhouse that everything clicked into place.

In simple terms, his ability was a player interface—complete with inventory, stats, relationships, map, crafting, and quest logs. But compared to what he remembered from the game, many sections were grayed out, clearly locked.

Clicking on his skills tab, he sighed. All skill levels reset to zero.

No big deal. Just starting over. He could grind.

The map gave Ying Yuanxing a pleasant surprise. Although not as comprehensive as in the game, it marked all the routes he’d walked the day before. As long as he stayed on these routes, he wouldn’t get lost. The heavy fog from yesterday had made him doubt his sense of direction, but with the map, he wasn’t worried about getting lost anymore.

The backpack contained tools Ying Yuanxing was very familiar with—an axe, a hoe, a sickle, and the like. He grabbed the hoe and was ready to head out and start farming.

But where were the seeds?

Ying Yuanxing scanned the room. Sunlight streamed in through the window, lighting up the room clearly—a small wooden table, a chair, a wooden bed, a fireplace, and a television.

But where was the seed starter pack that should have been there?

He searched several times but couldn’t find it. Was this some kind of glitch from the game becoming real? Did he have to buy the seeds himself?

But if he had to purchase them, how much would they cost?

With only 500 yuan to his name, Ying Yuanxing gritted his teeth. Though reluctant, this was a necessary investment.

He made a beeline for the village chief’s place. He didn’t know any other places, but fortunately, he’d talked with the chief the day before and knew where he lived.

When the chief learned that Ying Yuanxing wanted to buy seeds to farm—especially seeing his eagerness to start planting—he fell silent for a moment, wondering if the stronger the supernatural being, the better they were at acting. The act was flawless—too convincing.

If the big shot wanted to act, the chief was happy to play along. After all, exposing the act would only bring misfortune upon himself.

However…

"There’s no seed shop in the village?" The news hit Ying Yuanxing like a thunderbolt.

Seeing Ying Yuanxing’s anger, the chief, fearing he might take it out on him, quickly explained.

It turned out the village once had a general store selling seeds, but a few years ago, a chain supermarket moved in and put the shop out of business. Then, not long after, the supermarket itself closed down.

"What was the name of that supermarket?" Ying Yuanxing clenched his fists.

"I think… I think it was called Hongxing Supermarket," the chief recalled.