Chapter One Hundred and Eleven: The Redemption Feature (Part One)

Ling Qing traced Tao Ming’s silhouette with her gaze, thinking that there would be many more encounters to come. She spoke up, “I’ll leave Ling Qian by the door. If anything is needed, have her take care of it.”

Ling Qian was somewhat reluctant. “Elder, I haven’t finished today’s schoolwork yet.”

Ling Fei stepped forward and said, “Elder, I’ll stay.”

Ling Qing glanced at Ling Fei, who was usually dull and uninteresting but surprisingly perceptive. She nodded toward Ling Fei, “Then you stay.”

With that, Ling Qing bid farewell to Tao Ming and left with Ling Qian.

Tao Ming took Softly from Su Nanxing’s arms and said, “I’ll put Softly on the bed first. You go call the others in.”

Su Nanxing hesitated, uneasy about Tao Ming being alone, but Tao Ming urged, “Go quickly and come back soon. I still have questions for you.”

Su Nanxing had no choice but to step outside to fetch the others from the carriage.

Tao Ming lifted his leg and headed toward the door on the left, pushing it open. The room before him was hardly fitting to be called a bedroom.

The room was quite spacious, with a large circular bed in the center. Above it hung a canopy from the ceiling. Tao Ming looked at the bed and joked inwardly, Did I just walk into a Disney princess’s boudoir?

The rest of the room contained many items, both appropriate and inappropriate for a bedroom—such as the wardrobe and dressing table, but also an object resembling a torture device.

Tao Ming didn’t bother pondering its purpose. He placed Softly on the bed and waited for Su Nanxing’s return.

Ling Fei, who was supposed to stay by the door, saw Su Nanxing leave. After a moment, certain that he had gone, she quickly approached the bedroom door and knocked.

Tao Ming was staring blankly at Softly’s little face when he heard the knock. Turning his head, he saw Ling Fei and whispered, “Yes?”

Ling Fei bit her lip and came to Tao Ming’s side, whispering, “Elder, the underground — help.”

Before Tao Ming could react, Ling Fei had already turned and left.

Watching Ling Fei walk out of the room, Tao Ming finally snapped back to reality. Just as he was about to call her back and ask what was going on, he sensed someone inside the room was spying on him.

Regret filled him—he had been reckless and should have gone with Su Nanxing to summon help.

Steeling himself, Tao Ming picked up Softly and stepped out. Just then, Su Nanxing returned carrying Nuo Nuo.

Su Nanxing’s heart tightened as he hurried over to Tao Ming. “What’s wrong?”

Tao Ming shook his head and looked at the group. “Wait here a moment.”

With a shift of his spirit, Tao Ming led Su Nanxing into the Star Shifting Chamber.

Su Nanxing followed silently as Tao Ming entered the small building, placed the two little ones on the bed, and then they both stepped outside again.

Su Nanxing wrapped Tao Ming in his arms and asked, “What happened?”

Tao Ming held his waist and rested his head on his shoulder, his panic slowly subsiding. “I felt someone spying on me in that room earlier.”

Su Nanxing gently patted Tao Ming’s back. “Looks like there’s trouble here.”

“Big trouble. That Ling Fei suddenly approached me, dropped the words ‘Elder, underground, help,’ and then left. Only after she left did I sense someone spying.”

Su Nanxing’s face darkened as he recalled Ling Qing’s gaze toward Tao Ming earlier. “That Ling Qing is not a good person.”

Tao Ming thought for a moment and said, “I still want to see what’s in the elder’s underground chamber.”

“If you want to go, let’s go together.”

Tao Ming rubbed his forehead against Su Nanxing’s chest and joked, “Damn it, I guess I’m stuck with you for life now.”

Su Nanxing laughed, “I love hearing you say that.”

Tao Ming kissed him and said, “How about we let the others in tonight?”

“Up to you.”

Tao Ming looked up and called, “Xingxing, Xingxing.”

Having observed Tao Ming and Su Nanxing’s interactions over the past few days, Xingxing was cautious, worried that Su Nanxing might hold a grudge against Tao Ming later. Carefully, he asked, “What’s up?”

“I’m already at Day Rank Three. How many people can I bring in?”

“At Day Rank One, you can bring twelve people. At Day Rank Three, naturally, that’s thirty-six.”

Hearing this, Tao Ming relaxed; there were only six people outside. He continued, “You mentioned the copy and exchange functions earlier. Are they usable now?”

Xingxing hurriedly replied, “Of course.”

A transparent light screen appeared above the console, filled with numerous lines of text.

Tao Ming focused, reading the top of the screen: “Exchange Item List,” followed by a dense list of items.

Only the top few lines were in black text; the rest were gray.

Tao Ming frowned at the tiny text, complaining, “Can’t you just put this directly into my mind? Reading it like this is exhausting.”

Xingxing cautiously answered, “That’s only possible when you reach Day Rank Six.”

Su Nanxing comforted Tao Ming, “Once we return to the capital and you train for a few days, you’ll reach Day Rank Six.”

Tao Ming nodded and asked, “Why are some words black and others gray?”

“Black means you can exchange them now; gray means you can only exchange them when your strength improves.”

Tao Ming counted the black lines—six in total—and asked, “Xingxing, tell me how to unlock a new category of items.”

“Reach Moon Rank Six to unlock exchange functionality for a new item category. Each subsequent rise in Moon Rank Six adds another category.”

Tao Ming calculated mentally. Being at Day Rank Three equated to six Moon Rank Six levels, so only six categories were unlocked.

Something felt off. Didn’t Moon Rank Five already grant the copy function?

Where was it?

“Xingxing, what about the copy function?”

“Items obtained through exchange can be copied, requiring one-tenth of the energy points used for the exchange.”

Tao Ming felt he had missed something. Trying to recall, he remembered Xingxing’s earlier explanation wasn’t like this. He raised his voice, “You didn’t say it like this before!”

“How did I say it before?”

Tao Ming gestured with his hand, “You said that as long as energy was sufficient, anything I brought in could be copied.”

“This list is based on what you’ve brought in. The two don’t conflict.”

Tao Ming strained to read the words at the top of the list. Su Nanxing smiled and read aloud, “First line: Educational books. Click for details.”

Tao Ming pinched himself and asked, “Did I hear that wrong? What’s this?”

Su Nanxing was also puzzled but looked again carefully. “That’s right, it’s this.”

“Okay, what’s next?”

“Second line: Plant seeds. Click for details.”

Tao Ming couldn’t hold back. “Xingxing, explain this to me. What is this all about?”

Xingxing replied patiently, “You brought some rice, millet, mung beans, and red beans. This list was created based on those items.”

Tao Ming took a deep breath. “Then what about the educational books?”

Xingxing hesitated. “You brought Softly’s kindergarten textbooks, didn’t you?”

Tao Ming almost spat blood—so he had dug this hole himself!

Su Nanxing comforted him, “The third line is good stuff.”

Tao Ming barely had hope left and asked weakly, “What is it?”

“Daily necessities. Click for details.”

Tao Ming sighed, “I see. I brought toothpaste and facial cleanser.”