Interstellar Greening Master

TL: Moonlit

Yu Jin was on the verge of collapse. After all the explanations, Shu Shuishui did abandon the idea of trading one simulator for a grasshopper and confidently declared that he wanted two instead. “Two won’t work either! They’re priceless! Does Shu Shuishui understand the concept of priceless?”

Shu Shuishui nodded his little head. “I know. My grasshoppers are priceless!” His tone was so certain that it left no room for others to argue.

Yu Jin felt his heart ache, especially when he thought about the four grasshoppers he had roasted. He felt like he wanted to chop off his own hand. The ones he roasted were clearly not four grasshoppers, but four simulators. The realization made Yu Jin’s breath feel painful.

This was even more unbearable than being flattened into a two-dimensional plane by Gu Langu. Yu Jin was at a loss, unable to do anything but place his last hope on Gu Langu. “Boss…”

Gu Langu continued to observe Shu Shuishui’s confident and bold demeanor as he prepared to make the trade, leaving Liu Du astonished. Gu Langu didn’t even turn his head and asked, “Does Shu Shuishui have a natural talent for business? What do you think?”

Yu Jin: “…It’s nothing.” Well, as long as you’re happy.

Yu Jin exuded a gray aura, giving up resistance. However, they underestimated the shamelessness of Liu Du and the others. It took Liu Du a while to realize that Shu Shuishui wasn’t joking, and the immense surprise nearly left Liu Du dumbfounded.

“Shuishui, you are the cutest mouse I’ve ever seen!” Liu Du felt like his speech was starting to become distorted, and he had never liked grasshoppers as much as he did today.

Though there was a slight suspicion of the Gu Langu Squad playing tricks, in the end, Liu Du chose to take the risk. After all, the future was uncertain, so it was better to seize the opportunity and give it a try.

Shu Shuishui corrected him seriously. “I am very cute, but I am not a mouse, thank you.”

“Yes, yes, you are not a mouse as cute as you are.” Liu Du naturally agreed with whatever Shu Shuishui said, taking every opportunity to flatter her, or rather, flatter the mouse.

“In that case, Shuishui, what kind of rodent are you?” Liu Du had been curious about this for a long time. Shu Shuishui looked adorable, but Liu Du had never seen this kind of rodent before. The warm brown fur, plump little body, intelligence, ability to speak, and most importantly, the love for grasshoppers!1yup, they still don’t know that our little cutie is a dormouse, but still, I’ve been using the word ‘dormouse’, maybe… as a reminder…? hmmm…

Not only Liu Du, but everyone present was eagerly listening for Shu Shuishui’s answer. They also wanted to know what Shu Shuishui actually was. Did he have siblings? Could they also have one as a pet?

Shu Shuishui instinctively puffed up his chest. “I am a… Field Mouse!”

“Water Field Mouse?” Liu Du had never heard of this species before, considering it might be a mutated race of some kind of mouse.

“No, no, no.” Shu Shuishui waved his little paw. “Just a Field mouse! A mouse that works in the fields. I cultivate the land, and the food I grow is delicious!”

Liu Du was still a bit confused. He knew what a Field mouse was, but was this what Shu Shuishui meant? Was he a mutated Field mouse? Awakened to the love of farming? Although he was puzzled, Liu Du wisely chose not to inquire further. “So you’re a Field mouse, nice to meet you.” Liu Du opened the energy shield and extended his hand.

Seeing this, Shu Shuishui found that Liu Du’s hand looked pretty good, although not as good as Gu Langu’s. He put down the simulator he was holding and extended his two paws, clasping Liu Du’s pinky finger and shaking it up and down. “Nice to meet you, nice to meet you.”

Liu Du “…”

How adorable!

After shaking hands, the little dormouse eagerly looked at the grasshopper in Liu Du’s other hand.

Liu Du coughed lightly and handed the grasshopper to Shu Shuishui. He deftly wrapped it in a bundle of silk spun from spirit silk. Liu Du continued, “Consider this as a deposit. I’ll accompany you into the mountains later to catch more grasshoppers. But I have something to discuss.”

Shu Shuishui happily put the locust into her pocket. “What is it?”

Liu Du hesitated and asked with some embarrassment, “If we manage to catch more grasshoppers that satisfy you, can I also buy the other simulator from you?”

Yu Jin, who had given up resistance, suddenly feigned a resurrection. “Liu Du! You can’t be so shameless!”

Liu Du didn’t back down. “At least I gave a grasshopper. What about someone who didn’t give anything and roasted four? What do you say to that?”

“Shuishui is our base’s dormouse!” Yu Jin felt like he was about to spit blood out of anger.

“Oh.” Liu Du casually replied. “Well, your base’s dormouse seems unlucky. Shuishui, would you like to come to our base? You can eat grasshoppers to your heart’s content.”

The sharp gaze of Gu Langu instantly swept over. Liu Du trembled, realizing that he had been recklessly testing dangerous boundaries. But he really wanted to bring Shu Shuishui back to Zone B. He was like a mascot!

The little dormouse listened but shook his head seriously. “No, I am a breadwinner mouse now.”

“It’s okay. Shuishui, you can bring your mother mouse and the little ones to Zone B. I’ll give you a whole villa.” Liu Du continued to test the boundaries on the brink of death.

Shu Shuishui scratched his head with his paw. “I don’t have a mother mouse. I only have a Gugu to take care of.”

Liu Du “…”

Due to excitement, a faint blue light flickered in the eyes of Gu Langu. This had only happened in the past when Gu Langu was about to engage in battle. So, in the heart of the little dormouse, had he already become family? Although he didn’t need Shu Shuishui to take care of him, why didn’t he refute it? Gu Langu didn’t understand this sudden surge of overwhelming emotions, but for the first time, he went against his brain’s commands, choosing to go along with his feelings and tacitly accepting that they were the ones being taken care of by Shu Shuishui.

Liu Du’s moral compass was a bit shattered, but he quickly adjusted himself. “I see.” Liu Du didn’t dare to continue suggesting bringing Gu Langu to Zone B. He was afraid that Gu Langu would tear Zone B apart.

“What about the trade?” Liu Du cautiously asked.

Shu Shuishui nodded generously and resolutely. “Sure! No problem.”

Liu Du immediately pushed the thoughts of Gu Langu aside and couldn’t help but extend his hand to scratch him, but just before he made contact, Gu Langu scooped Shu Shuishui up, leaving Liu Du embarrassed as he retracted his hand. “Shuishui, you are the cutest Field mouse in the world.”

Regarding the term “Field mouse,” Shu Shuishui naturally accepted it. Now that he thought about it, Shu Shuishui felt that he could fully impersonate a Field mouse. This way, he wouldn’t expose his weakness of loving to sleep, and besides, he really was going to be a farmer in the future.

In the depths of Gu Langu’s mind, he searched for information related to Field Rats, but it didn’t quite match his impressions. However, Gu Langu wasn’t concerned about Shu Shuishui’s species because, regardless of what kind of rodent he was, he belonged to him.

Driven by the grasshoppers, the two previously adversarial teams now joined hands and headed towards the mountains.

In reality, most of the mountains had little mining value unless energy or rare mineral veins were discovered. Otherwise, there was no reason for people to venture up the mountains.

The abundance of mutated creatures was one factor, but another reason was the lack of inhabitable space. While stable weather was manageable, without proper insulation during the winter, humans couldn’t withstand the harsh cold like animals and plants.

In the mountains, there weren’t many usable plants. Carelessly consuming mutated plants could lead to poisoning, and even chewing on tree bark could result in encountering man-eating trees.

However, strangely enough, under Shu Shuishui’s guidance, their journey went smoothly. Although the uphill path couldn’t compare to level ground, they didn’t encounter any dangers and maintained a good pace.

After traveling for a while, grasshoppers began to appear in the surroundings. The group eagerly dispersed, diligently searching for traces of grasshoppers.

During their ascent, they had previously discussed the methods for catching grasshoppers, and with Shu Shuishui’s guidance, they could minimize the chances of injuring the grasshoppers.

As a result, what was once a silent mountain gradually became lively. The wildlife and plants in the forest remained well-hidden, with only birds perched on branches that they deemed safe.

Looking up with his small head, Shu Shuishui gazed enviously at the fluffy birds, speaking to Gu Langu. “Gu Gu, do you think they’re warm during winter?”

Gu Langu raised his head, observing the bird preening its feathers. “They should be warm. Would you like to have that, Shuishui?”

Shu Shuishui was about to respond when a disturbance could be heard not far away. Startled, a yellow bird fluttered its wings and flew off, while a small, tender yellow tuft of fluff circled in the air before gently descending.

Shu Shuishui’s little ears twitched, and he immediately held onto Gu Langu’s palm with both paws. Then, with a forceful push of his hind legs, he jumped off Gu Langu’s hand, happily scampering towards the yellow fluff. Spreading out his paws, he held his breath, and the tuft of feathers obediently landed on his paws.

Shu Shuishui grasped the feathers with both paws and hurriedly ran back to Gu Langu, spreading out his own paws to show him the tender yellow feather. “Gu Gu, do you like it?”

Naturally, Gu Langu nodded without any reservations. “I like it.”

Shu Shuishui also found the color very beautiful and satisfyingly stored the second feather in his spirit storage, envisioning it as part of a future down jacket.

While others searched for grasshoppers throughout the mountains, Shu Shuishui led Gu Langu to the vicinity of the Wind Gathering Cone. Considering the complex terrain below, Shu Shuishui presented a gift to the Tornado Grass. Before leaving, the Tornado Grass reluctantly shook hands and then conjured a gentle breeze. After a while, colorful soft feathers converged and gently drifted down from the dense foliage.

The entire basin appeared as if a colorful feather rain had descended, swirling softly and gently.

Shu Shuishui excitedly hopped around for a while, then rubbed against the Tornado Grass before happily going to pick up the feathers. “A blue one, a red one, a white one, an indigo one, and a black one? I’ll save the black one for Gu Gu’s socks…”

And so, Shu Shuishui returned with a bountiful harvest of colorful feathers, although the path towards making a down jacket was still far off.

While Shu Shuishui reaped the rewards, others who were catching grasshoppers also had successful results. For some unknown reason, there were very few mutated flora and fauna in this area, or at least they hadn’t come across any, aside from a few incidents where sharp leaves cut them. No other accidents occurred.

As dusk approached, the group gathered once again, and the two teams handed their grasshopper-filled bags to Shu Shuishui solemnly.

Shu Shuishui carefully took out his glasses, then opened the bags and began inspecting each grasshopper one by one.

Witnessing this, the others inexplicably felt a sense of nervousness.

Finally, Shu Shuishui selected seven grasshoppers, adding them to the one he had previously exchanged for the simulator. It was a total of eight grasshoppers. As for the others, they were, of course, consumed!

Finally, Yu Jin compensated for the grasshoppers he owed, but he still felt like he owed a massive debt. Especially when he saw Shu Shuishui hand the second simulator to Liu Du, Yu Jin wished he could turn back time. He couldn’t help but emphasize to Shu Shuishui once again, “Shuishui, simulators are truly important, a matter of life and death.”

Shu Shuishui nodded. “I know, that’s why I wanted to make the exchange.”

Yu Jin froze, and Liu Du, who received the simulator, also froze. The others present were equally stunned, except for Gu Langu, whose expression remained unchanged.

After a while, Liu Du revealed an unguarded smile. “Thank you, Shuishui. Really, you’re so adorable.” Unable to resist, he approached and gently pressed his face against Shu Shuishui’s soft and furry cheek.

Shu Shuishui extended his paw and patted Liu Du’s face to comfort him. “You have to strive and live well, even if tomorrow is the end of the world, you still have to sleep well tonight.”

Internally, Liu Du almost wanted to burst into tears. What should he do with such a warm-hearted rodent? Was he really unable to sneak him into Zone B? Moreover, his words sounded so philosophical.

1yup, they still don’t know that our little cutie is a dormouse, but still, I’ve been using the word ‘dormouse’, maybe… as a reminder…? hmmm…