The Proper Use of Yaya

Why hesitate when you could act? Chu Guang immediately fetched an axe and chopped right through the joint of the split-claw crab's hind leg, severing a section roughly the length of a baseball bat. Truth be told, the crab leg looked solid, thick and long. Hefting it in his hand, it weighed at least six or seven jin—easily enough to stuff two or three people full. Snow-white crab meat trembled inside the shell, tender and glistening like tofu, brimming with high-quality protein and fat. For a creature so hideous on the outside, perpetually caked in grime that seemed impossible to wash off, the crab meat inside actually looked surprisingly enticing. Happening to have not eaten lunch yet, Chu Guang drafted a passing player at random and had him summon Yaya to the room in the sanatorium. Before Yaya could even ask why she had been called, Chu Guang held out the crab leg and showed her the meat inside. "Is it edible?" Yaya was utterly dumbfounded and gave a blank nod. "Uh, probably?" At least she didn't see any green. However, mere words were never enough to put Chu Guang's mind at ease. Ever cautious, Chu Guang continued in a commanding tone. "Take a bite." His posture was almost like bestowing a blessing. Just like the NPCs stationed beside respawn points in other games. The blessed player, however, didn't quite see it that way. Seeing the Administrator about to shove the crab leg into her mouth, Yaya quickly scrambled back, waving her hands in flustered protest. "Wait, wait a second! Th-th-this is raw! At least cook it before making me eat it!" She didn't mind the Administrator being firm—after all, he wasn't a real person. *Damn it!* *Why be so fussy in a game?* *If you're told to eat, just eat! Just open your mouth and take a bite!* Chu Guang hadn't expected this little player to be so particular. But on second thought, what she said made some sense. Freshwater crabs were different from deep-sea crabs; freshwater environments crawled with parasites, so eating them raw was indeed unwise. After all, non-toxic didn't mean it wouldn't cause diarrhea; it only meant one wouldn't drop dead right away. High Constitution or not, there was no need to go out of one's way to eat filthy things, right? At that thought, Chu Guang stopped pressing the issue and changed his approach. "I have a quest for you." "Wh-what quest?" Yaya's face was full of suspicion and wariness, sensing an unmistakable whiff of conspiracy behind the word "quest." Chu Guang couldn't be bothered to explain, simply shoving the baseball-bat-sized crab leg into her hands. "The quest is simple. Step one: go cook this crab leg... Here are two copper coins. Take them to the warehouse and buy some charcoal." It seemed this was a multi-stage quest. Though she smelled a trap, as a player, Yaya ultimately couldn't resist the temptation of an "exclusive quest." Taking the two copper coins Chu Guang offered as "quest items," she trotted off merrily to the warehouse to buy charcoal. Soon, Yaya returned with the charcoal. Quite thoughtfully, she found a draft-free empty room on the first floor of the sanatorium, squatted in a corner, and arranged some stones into a small circle. Then she piled in the charcoal, lit the fire, and began humming a tune as she grilled the crab leg. As Yaya roasted the leg, Chu Guang, waiting idly at the doorway, let his thoughts drift. Why was it that among scavengers, cockroaches were inedible, but crabs were fine? Could it be... That cockroaches were actually edible too? Just that nobody had ever tried. Unable to solve this riddle, his gaze drifted unconsciously toward Yaya's back. Just then, the crab shell over the fire cracked with a sharp pop. The sudden noise startled Yaya, who was grilling with total concentration. Her neck and shoulders instinctively drew back, completely oblivious to a certain someone's sinister musings. Chu Guang walked into the room and glanced at the crab leg in her hands. The muddy blue-green shell had been roasted to a cured red edged in black, with a crack split down the middle. Wisps of white steam and bubbling juices seeped from the seam, carrying the rich aroma trapped inside the shell and instantly filling the entire room. "Whoa... smells so good." Yaya sniffed, swallowing a mouthful of drool. Honestly, this looked even more delicious than king crab. More importantly, she had eaten king crab before, but never this! "Is it done?" Hearing the prompt from behind, Yaya snapped back to the reality that she was still on a quest and quickly stood up holding the leg. "Respected Lord Administrator, I have completed the task you assigned!" "Very good." Taking the roasted crab leg from Yaya, Chu Guang waited until it was no longer scalding, cracked it in two, and handed half to her. "Eat it." "Yes, sir!" Who would turn down cooked delicacies? Yaya obediently took the crab leg with both hands, brought it to her mouth, and took a cautious nibble. Finding it wasn't too hot, she devoured it in a flash, then looked up expectantly at the Administrator. Chu Guang said nothing, waiting quietly for a while. Seeing no toxic reaction, he finally took a bite of his own portion. The crab's aroma bloomed between his teeth. Though there was a slight primitive, fishy undertone, it did not detract in the least from the fresh, tender, silky, and delightfully springy texture. Just as Mr. Shuren had said: the finest ingredients often require the simplest cooking methods. In a word: sheer perfection! Especially for Chu Guang, who had lived on jerky and dry rations for far too long, this bite rekindled his passion for good food. The only flaw was that when he severed the leg earlier, he noticed this split-claw crab was a male and had no roe. Gnawing on just the leg was truly a pity. "Not bad." Chu Guang nodded as he chewed slowly, then took another bite with an impassive face, then a second, and countless more. Truth be told... The more he ate, the more addictive it became. If only there were cooking wine to remove the gamey tang, and minced garlic with vinegar to elevate the aroma, it would be even better... Yaya stood watching with wide eyes, holding the half-shell that was rapidly cooling down, waiting for what felt like ages without hearing anything more. Seeing the Administrator finish gnawing his crab leg, she finally couldn't help asking in a quiet, urging tone: "Respected Lord Administrator, may I ask... are there any further orders?" Chu Guang wiped his mouth and handed her the empty shell. "None. Just throw this away somewhere out of the way for me." Yaya looked at the crab shell in her hand, then at the Administrator. After hesitating for a long time, she finally squeezed out: "Um... what about the reward?" Chu Guang looked at her blankly. "...What reward?" Seeing his completely oblivious expression, Yaya panicked and hurriedly reminded him: "Y-you know, the quest reward... Wasn't this a quest to cook the crab leg? I already finished it, right? It counts as finished, doesn't it?" Chu Guang was silent for a moment, looking at her with a peculiar expression before slowly nodding. "Mm, it counts as finished." At those words, hope rekindled on Yaya's face, her eyes shining with anticipation. "Then—" Chu Guang: "...Didn't you eat some too?" Yaya: "???" *What the heck!* *That counts?!* ... One shouldn't be too greedy. Was dining together with the great Administrator and enjoying a delicacy more prestigious than king crab not reward enough? No matter how much the little player pleaded, Chu Guang, unwilling to waste words, simply stared back with his "I am an NPC" face. He began to understand Xiao Qi a bit now. Playing dumb really saved a lot of trouble. In the end, Yaya failed to obtain the reward she had hoped for from the respected Lord Administrator, leaving that heartbreaking place empty-handed. However, having a resilient spirit, Yaya was only sad for two seconds before bouncing back. Analyzing things rationally, a quest with no reward simply could not exist, because that defied the logic of game design! Especially an "exclusive quest" where a core NPC personally called upon a player by name—and since the quest didn't fail, it was even less possible to have no reward at all. The reward must have already been paid! Just not in money or contribution points, but settled in another form. In an instant, Yaya recalled what she had discussed with the game designer in site PMs. Her eyes lit up with excitement, and she murmured under her breath: "Right! NPCs have affection ratings! How could I forget such crucial information!" No exp, no money—it had to be affection! *Ah, how could I be so stupid!* *Actually asking an NPC for a reward!* *Good thing the NPC didn't give one. If affection had been converted into silver coins, I'd have kicked myself to death!* At that thought, Yaya felt deeply relieved. Thank goodness she hadn't pushed too hard, and thank goodness the NPC hadn't budged despite her pestering. The only pity was that affection ratings couldn't be viewed. Rumor had it they were hidden weight values, so there was no telling how much this quest had added. *Wait, isn't this exactly how those full-dive VR gaming web novels go?* *The protagonist cooks a simple meal for an NPC; the NPC gives no money, just a nod of approval. Later, when both protagonist and readers have forgotten all about it, the NPC suddenly pops up to make their presence felt, slapping a legendary greatsword into the protagonist's pocket, followed by an esoteric secret manual passed down only to the chosen one. Protagonist and readers alike slap their thighs in amazement!* *Holy crap, so that meal was foreshadowing all along!* She had definitely read something like that in a novel—absolutely! She had just read too many to remember which one. The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Yaya, who had been slightly dejected earlier, was now grinning from ear to ear, giggling like a fool as if she held the future in her hands. *Affection.* *Hehehe.* *Hidden quest!* *Hehehehehe.* Suddenly, the swirling snow outside and the chilly breeze brushing past her ears and ankles didn't feel so cold anymore. Tengteng, carrying a basket of pelts, was just walking out of the warehouse. Catching sight of Yaya passing by and drawn by that foolish grin, Tengteng couldn't help staring at her. *By the way...* *Is this girl really okay?* *That expression makes it look like she ate poisonous mushrooms.* After a couple of glances, Tengteng paid her no further mind. Energetically humming a cheerful tune, she continued toward the tailor stall not far from the warehouse. This evening, the great and wise Lord Administrator would allocate land to her for building a tailor shop. When that time came, she would transform from Tengteng the little tailor into Big Boss Tengteng! Tengteng had already thought it through. Whether she became rich didn't matter; what mattered was that she loved making clothes. She wanted garments bearing her carefully designed logo to sell like hotcakes across the entire wasteland! When the time came, not only players, but even NPCs in the game would wear clothes she designed. A fully immersive virtual reality game. Truly wonderful!! ... In the afternoon. The snowfall grew heavier. To prevent the trenches from being buried in snow, Chu Guang instructed the players on guard duty at the gate to report to him immediately if they found waterlogging or heavy snow accumulation in the trenches. At the same time, to prevent marauders from approaching under cover of the heavy snow, he dispatched a team of two Perception-type and two Agility-type players. They set out from the north and east gates of the Wetland Park, scouting carefully along the main roads. Should anything unusual occur, they were to report back immediately. With that done, Chu Guang threw on a deerskin coat and headed to the industrial zone south of the sanatorium. He brought four logs, planting two at the gate and placing two against the sanatorium building. Connecting two points into a line, he measured out a five-meter-wide main road. The outpost's total area wasn't particularly large—measured by the perimeter wall, barely over a hundred meters in length and width. A five-meter-wide main road seemed rather excessive no matter how one looked at it, but for the sake of future planning, Chu Guang decided to make the roads around the "respawn point" wider. Once the main road was laid out, Chu Guang gridded the area, placing branch markers at regular intervals along the road. At the same time, he marked corresponding points on a rough sketch of the outpost, numbering the sections between them. Afterward, signs would be planted on the demarcated plots, corresponding one-to-one with the grid drawn on the map. "Tsk, who knew surveying was such skilled work." Had he known, he would have found a P.E. teacher to help. The area within the perimeter wall was barely larger than a school athletic field anyway. Back in school, without laser surveying tools, the P.E. teacher could draw a straight line across the field holding a bucket of lime and a ladle, straighter than a math teacher drawing on the blackboard. Seeing that it was getting late, Chu Guang brushed the snow off his small notebook, returned to the front of the sanatorium, and assembled the production occupation players whose industrial land applications had been approved earlier. In truth, not many people were involved. Even counting Mosquito, who had submitted his materials later, Chu Guang had only approved five projects in total. However, the crowd gathering around was far larger than that. Most had simply come to watch the excitement. "They're dividing the land! Land distribution!" "Agrarian reform!" "I hope my steel workshop is closer to the respawn point." "Dream on. You applied for such a huge plot, how could it be right next to the respawn point? Forget it!" Noise buzzed endlessly in the air. Chu Guang, wearing a meticulous, solemn expression and holding his notebook, cleared his throat and loudly announced his arrangements. "The approved industrial plots have been marked on the map." "Players whose project applications have been approved, please come forward and claim yours."