Chapter 67: The Lynx Has Arrived!

Replanting was easy—just cut and propagate.

But none of them had experience with this, and they weren’t sure if the survival rate for cuttings was high at this time of year.

So, they decided to plant more. At least one was bound to survive.

Yan Lao’er thought: Given how much trees were selling for on the platform, he was definitely going all-in on tree planting from now on.

With confidence in their future, Yan Yu became more relaxed when shopping.

First, she cleared out the vegetable and fruit section, then moved on to seasonings.

When she got to the rice and flour, she hesitated.

Thirty pounds each of white rice and flour, and twenty pounds each of brown rice and coarse flour—this amount far exceeded their needs for half a month.

If they bought it all, storing the food would become a problem.

After all, whose food stockpile ever increased instead of decreasing?

“If we don’t empty the shelves, the next batch won’t increase in quantity,” Yan Yu fretted.

Li Xuemei disagreed with this mindset. “The platform is helping us survive in an unfamiliar world, not encouraging us to hoard food at our own risk. If we keep clearing the shelves just for the sake of it, that’s unnecessary.”

“We’re already luckier than most.”

“As long as we can sustain ourselves and help others when possible, that’s good enough.”

Yan Lao’er also became serious. “Yu’er, I think your mother is right. We’ve found water and can hold out for almost a month now. Everyone has learned to hunt, and we’re planning to exchange for a search cat, which will make finding food and water even easier.”

“We should only buy what we need. We can’t travel all this way and still have our food stockpile untouched.”

“So, we’re not buying any grain this time?” Yan Yu asked.

Li Xuemei and Yan Lao’er exchanged a glance and nodded. “Not this time.”

Yan Yu accepted their decision.

“What about eggs and meat? This time, there are twenty-four eggs! And there’s three pounds each of pork, chicken, and fish.”

Li Xuemei thought for a moment. “Let’s get some fish. We’ll just say we caught it in the stream—it’ll be nice to have something fresh. But let’s skip the pork and chicken. As for the eggs…”

“We’ll take them,” Yan Lao’er said. “We have four hens. Let’s make them lay eggs. One egg per hen per day, and we’ll be through them in six days.”

Yan Yu nodded. “Alright, we’ll take it all. We have enough meat that it won’t be suspicious. Mom, you need to eat at least one egg a day—you’ve been neglecting your health these past days.”

She tapped her screen, and the eggs and meat were all purchased.

Yan Lao’er happily gathered up the eggs and set the meat aside to defrost before handling it later.

The marketplace icon flashed.

Yan Yu quickly clicked it open.

It was the uncle.

“Oh my god! Look at your inventory, little girl, you’re thriving!”

“Wild boar meat, tsk tsk… so much! Alright, I’ll take a loss—you throw in some rice and flour, and I’ll trade you an exploration and collection robot!”

There were also wild vegetables and cape gooseberries… He really wanted to try them. Should he throw in some eggs, chicken, and fish too? Ah, such a happy dilemma!

The uncle was practically drooling at the screen.

Yan Yu had to interrupt his fantasy. “Uncle, I’ve decided. I want to trade for a downgraded search lynx. You know what a lynx is, right?”

The uncle panicked. Why was she lowering her request?

“Didn’t you want a humanoid model? One that could search and collect—so much more convenient!”

Yan Yu spoke patiently, “I have to be practical. Right now, we desperately need a search function. We’ve entered the mountains today. Finding water took a long time, and the terrain is difficult and dangerous. There could be large predators—what if we run into one?”

“I specifically want a lynx model because my dad saw one today. If another appears, it won’t seem out of place.”

“Uncle, you know what a lynx looks like, right? Can you make one?”

Customer satisfaction came first. Though he was disappointed, the uncle maintained his professional attitude.

“A lynx… That’s a broad term. Bobcats, Eurasian lynxes—both are called lynxes. Describe it for me.”

Yan Yu confirmed, “It has spotted fur, like a little leopard.”

“Oh, that’s a leopard cat,” the uncle realized. Then, he got to work.

“A leopard cat is only about sixty centimeters long, with a tail half its body length… Have I told you? Because this is for wilderness operations, there’s some risk involved, so search robots come with built-in defense modules. I’ll leave that in for you.”

“Cognitive modeling… species simulation…”

“I’ll shrink the search radius a bit—one hundred kilometers should be fine. I won’t slow it down too much, just add smart recognition.”

“As for the collection function… removing it completely would be a waste. Alright, I’ll keep it limited to its body size…”

The uncle busied himself across multiple virtual screens, alternating between voice commands and keyboard inputs.

Yan Yu watched in a daze.

Finally, he stopped, looking smug. “Done!”

Before long, a large-eyed, adorable robot walked over, holding what looked like a sleeping lynx in its arms.

Yan Yu held her breath, leaning in for a closer look.

“Haha! Look at it! How’s the fur? The details? Looks great, right?” The uncle proudly showcased his work. “Sis, this is a great deal. This thing is both a pet and a mechanical search beast—super practical!”

He chuckled. “Release it, and finding water will be a breeze. It can even catch rabbits and chickens. If you don’t activate it, it’s indistinguishable from a real lynx.”

“I even wrote a little bonus program—hehe! Once you bond with it, there’ll be a surprise!”

Rubbing his hands together excitedly, he said, “Now comes the thrilling part—let’s talk price!”

“Uncle, what do you want in exchange?” Yan Yu asked.

“Meat, of course! Doesn’t have to be all wild boar—throw in some frozen meat from your inventory too.”

Now that she was rich, he had no problem making a few extra requests.

“Just meat? That’s too greasy. How about some rice and flour too? And what about seasonings? Don’t you need any?”

“Nah, I can make substitutes. But if you’ve got extra rice and flour, I’ll take some.” The uncle mentally balanced his trade.

“You should add some wild vegetables too—sometimes you need something light.” Yan Yu suggested helpfully.

“Hahaha! I see what you’re doing, you little rascal. With this bionic lynx, finding wild vegetables will be a breeze for you, won’t it? Alright, throw them in! I haven’t had fresh greens in ages.”

The uncle was overjoyed. Meat, rice, veggies—this was living!

“What about water? We just found a natural, unpolluted stream. It even has small fish in it. How about I be your nature delivery service?” Yan Yu continued her sales pitch.

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