Chapter 181: The Fifth Platform Activation

When Qi Da saw Yan Er leading the sleeping Xiao Er over, he wasn’t surprised at all.

Yan Xiao’er was different from the average little girl—bolder and smarter. Not to mention that Yan Er doted on her, Qi Da also cherished her immensely.

Qi Da waved his hand, signaling Yan Er not to speak.

He led him past three large mounds of earth, then retreated with a sense of accomplishment.

Sanbao let out a low moo.

Yan Yu swiftly flipped over and climbed up from the ox cart.

“Hehe! Dad, where should we start ‘touching’ first?”

Touch it once—whoosh! The tree would be gone!

Yan Lao’er chuckled. “Anywhere ahead is fine. We haven’t been that way yet. When the time comes, you sell, and I’ll count.”

“Sigh, better count together. If we miscount and don’t plant enough replacements, that’d be bad.”

Replanting was crucial.

Yan Yu, for once, took things seriously. “I’ll hold a pen. Every time I count to ten, I’ll draw a line.”

As they spoke, Nanny Rong walked over from another direction.

She had taken a big detour…

She carried a large basket on her back, filled to the brim.

Nanny Rong set down the basket and started laying out its contents one by one.

Yan Yu pointed at the kitchen knife from home. “Dad, why did you bring the kitchen knife? Want Nanny Rong to make us a late-night snack? Then why not bring a chopping board? No charcoal brazier either—are we just going to pile up firewood and start a fire?”

Yan Lao’er: “Quit thinking about eating! Look at our kitchen knife—it’s like a bowl, a huge notch in the middle. If we press too hard, the blade might snap. What if it hurts someone? This is a good chance to buy a new one.”

People who cook often care about their kitchen tools.

Yan Lao’er had owned several different knives before, and he’d long been dissatisfied with this one. Now, he finally had an excuse to scrap it.

“But why bring it? It takes up space. Tomorrow, just bring a new knife home and say we bought it in the city…” Yan Yu paused, then turned to ask, “Dad, don’t tell me… you’re planning to sell this broken knife to Uncle?”

“What’s wrong with that? It’s still iron, isn’t it?” Yan Lao’er said matter-of-factly.

【Please confirm if the surrounding environment is safe?】

“Yes!” Yan Yu responded crisply.

Yan Lao’er kept rambling, “See? It’s fine. Didn’t he say he buys in bulk? Ours is iron too. Besides, refinishing and reprocessing it is easy for him, but for us, it’s a hassle…”

When his daughter stayed silent for a while, Yan Lao’er stepped closer.

He saw his daughter scanning her surroundings—like she was reading? Line by line, quite quickly.

What’s going on?

Yan Lao’er shut his mouth and stood quietly beside her.

But Yan Yu wasn’t looking at a book.

The moment she had said “yes,” her vision blurred, and a full-screen 【Announcement】 appeared before her.

【Due to the continuous increase in platform users and the extreme environments some users are in, the Xia Nation Trade Support Platform has decided to implement a tiered access management system. Based on an environmental scan, platform activation frequency and duration will be adjusted accordingly.】

【Evaluation Criteria: World Background Danger Level; Original World Population Survival Index; Technological Productivity Composite Score; Resource Acquisition Difficulty.】

【This is a trial operation. Platform User 00258258, hello. Based on our scan, your current environment is as follows—

World Background Danger Level: Medium

Original World Population Survival Index: Low

Technological Productivity Composite Score: Low

Resource Acquisition Difficulty: Low】

【Your current platform access time: 30 minutes.】

The announcement disappeared.

The familiar product shelves returned to Yan Yu’s view.

She froze for a moment, ignoring everything else, and checked the top-left corner.

29 minutes, 46 seconds.

“Dad! Hurry, start touching the trees!”

Yan Lao’er and Nanny Rong each held a torch, lighting the way for Yan Yu.

Yan Yu moved swiftly through the forest, pausing after every ten trees to mark a line with her pen.

After marking three lines, she suddenly realized—

Dumb! So dumb!

She quickly asked Nanny Rong, “Auntie Rong, do you remember how many trees I’ve touched so far?”

Nanny Rong nodded.

Yan Yu beamed. “Great! Keep counting for me, and tell me the total later.”

Nanny Rong nodded again.

Yan Lao’er didn’t dare disturb her and just watched as his daughter anxiously kept touching trees.

One after another, the handwritten books kept piling up. She stuffed them into his and Nanny Rong’s arms without even glancing at them.

Yan Yu noticed the Free Market icon flashing.

But she had no time for that.

There were clearly new products on the shelves, but she ignored them too.

Right now, Yan Yu had a single-minded goal—handwritten books.

She had to collect The Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold in full.

The platform had shortened her access time, and it had mentioned a key word—frequency.

That probably referred to how often the platform opened.

If she was unlucky and her cycle was extended again, who knew when the next activation would be?

She couldn’t take chances.

She had to buy every single handwritten book available.

Yan Lao’er sensed her urgency and grew anxious as well.

“Sanbao! Sanbao, come here!”

His mind sharp in the moment of stress, Yan Lao’er had a flash of inspiration.

His daughter’s little legs—she couldn’t even outrun a small sprint, let alone go full speed.

Could she be faster than Sanbao?

Sanbao was lightning fast!

Hearing his call, Sanbao dashed over at astonishing speed.

Yan Lao’er had told him before—when no outsiders were around, he could run freely.

Humans might forget, but an intelligent machine never would.

Yan Lao’er scooped up his daughter and set her onto Sanbao’s back.

Then he quickly told Nanny Rong, “Grab the basket! Catch everything she buys.”

Nanny Rong sprinted off—at an inhuman speed.

Yan Lao’er was momentarily stunned—so she was a lightning-fast runner too…

Riding on Sanbao, Yan Yu’s speed skyrocketed.

Her pace of swapping books accelerated.

Occasionally, she’d mistap due to bumps and end up on a bamboo scroll instead.

Right now, Yan Yu was a tree-touching maniac—touch, touch, touch! The more she touched, the more goods belonged to her!

Fueled by this drive, Yan Yu tore through the forest.

At first, she was somewhat methodical, spacing out her touches every two or three trees.

Later, she didn’t care—whatever, just touch whatever tree she reached!

At the 23-minute mark, she couldn’t resist and opened the Free Market.

A girl with black-rimmed glasses appeared on screen.

“Little sister, what are you doing?! Why is my time always so, so short every time?!” She pouted in a soft voice but with a serious expression.

“Sorry, sis, I’m gathering funds. I have something I want to buy. I don’t have what you need for now—only food to trade. Are you in a hurry…” Yan Yu spoke at breakneck speed.

To her relief, the girl understood and quickly cut in, “Then keep going, I’m not in a rush.”

Then—swish—the call ended.

Yan Yu let out a breath and continued riding the ox and selling trees.

Yan Lao’er had run alongside them for half the time but couldn’t keep up. Luckily, Nanny Rong, basket strapped to her back, sprinted the entire way, keeping pace with Sanbao.

All the handwritten books and bamboo scrolls Yan Yu bought went straight into the basket—so convenient!