Chapter 13: The Delicacies Are Served

“Wow, is this the new holographic game? And this—an old-fashioned thermal optical camouflage suit? That’s been obsolete for ages, yet you want to keep it as a collectible? Hey, is that a retinal scanner? And over there, a domestic robot nanny…”

Mu Tong listened with satisfaction as Xiao Qiang explained the names and uses of various items. Everything she had brought out was unfamiliar to her, while the ones she recognized and knew the purpose of were all stored in her own storage gear. Heh, this Xiao Qiang was truly adorable.

What surprised her was that among these items were several mechas from different eras. Each era’s mecha was kept in a kind of spatial buckle, similar to a storage ring. Opening one of these buckles, no bigger than a button, would summon a majestic and imposing mecha right before her eyes.

The shapes and materials of these spatial buckles varied across eras, and under Xiao Qiang’s guidance, Mu Tong quickly learned to distinguish them based on their differences.

Civilizations with technology levels above tier three had already mastered certain spatial technologies. The main distinctions lay in the size of the spatial containers and their sturdiness and security.

Xiao Qiang’s own civilization was a tier-seven tech society. According to it, the largest spatial buckle ever made could hold over ten thousand cubic meters—big enough to contain a fairly large warship.

Xiao Qiang stowed away the items it fancied and returned the rest to Mu Tong. As an advanced intelligence core, it had considerable storage capacity. Whatever it liked would naturally be kept in its own storage space.

“Master, let me take you on a tour of the territory!” Xiao Qiang was in high spirits with its new toys. It considered the entire ranch and its surroundings its domain and liked to roam about when idle.

“Why don’t we go tease some of the natives?” Xiao Qiang suddenly proposed. In fact, when Mu Tong was away, it often used its advanced technology to play tricks on the locals. Several powerful natives in the forest now revered it as a deity, occasionally offering forest products as tribute.

The storage pouch Mu Tong carried contained many local delicacies, all gifts from these great natives.

“Don’t cause trouble!” Mu Tong was well aware of Xiao Qiang’s antics in her absence. It was a joke—being a foundational cultivator, keeping an eye on Xiao Qiang was no challenge.

Xiao Qiang was mischievous, but as long as it didn’t cause fatalities when she was away, she could tolerate it. However, when she was present, she would never allow this intelligence core to mock the natives. Don’t underestimate those natives; surviving so many generations in such a harsh forest required considerable wisdom.

If she hadn’t imposed numerous restrictions on Xiao Qiang, who knew what disasters it might have caused by now.

“Fine, if you don’t want to, then don’t.” Xiao Qiang grumbled.

Mu Tong ignored it. This brat was proud, but once you ignored it, it wouldn’t be long before it shamelessly clung back.

After inspecting the ranch, Mu Tong was quite satisfied with its condition. She slaughtered several mature rainbow pheasants, a type of wild chicken, and shot a few quails and partridges with her crossbow, preparing food for the next few days.

These animals were considered her own livestock, so it wasn’t wanton hunting of wild creatures. Besides, she needed to practice with her crossbow and bow—two weapons she enjoyed and wouldn’t abandon just because she had cultivation powers. Her storage pouch was well-stocked with quality crossbows, bows, and plenty of ammunition. As a cultivator, acquiring such items without raising suspicion was actually quite easy.

Of course, she didn’t obtain these weapons domestically. As the saying goes, rabbits don’t eat the grass near their burrows. She sourced them from neighboring countries. With so many unruly elements constantly causing trouble, stripping them of weapons that could disrupt world peace was a way to keep them in check.

After preparing the wild chickens and marinating them with spices, Mu Tong gathered some dry wood nearby and built a fire to roast the meat. She had set numerous formations around the ranch, so she had no worries about the smoke attracting unwanted visitors.

Skewered wild chicken, partridge soup with bamboo fungus, and spicy quail were all on the menu. The enticing aroma made Mu Tong’s mouth water.

Once the dishes were ready, she placed them on a square table, took out a steaming bowl of rice from her storage ring, reserved a little of each dish, stored the rest away, and began her meal.

Surrounded by lush greenery and breathing fresh air, she savored the fragrant food, closing her eyes contentedly.

Xiao Qiang floated over unsteadily. “Master, is it delicious?”

“You won’t get to eat any, no matter how good it is,” Mu Tong replied sharply. She wouldn’t indulge such a proud brat.

“Hehe, Master, I brought you some ‘good food’!” Xiao Qiang puffed out its chest and hovered in front of her. It knew that offering a ‘good dish’ usually earned forgiveness.

Mu Tong said nothing, focusing on her meal with steady breaths.

“Look, look at how detestable these people are! They know we are the righteous peacekeepers, yet they parade right before my eyes every day! Ah, the white hole! The white tomorrow awaits us! We are the justice team traversing the galaxy! To prevent the world from being destroyed! To maintain world peace! To uphold love and truth…”

“Shut up!” Mu Tong’s face darkened. Too many cartoons had clearly scrambled its circuits.

“Hand over your ‘good food,’ and don’t say nonsense!” Mu Tong had to emphasize this. Otherwise, this scatterbrained intelligence core might recite every anime line it had ever heard without regard for context.

Xiao Qiang pouted in grievance, waving its little hands. A three-dimensional image appeared before Mu Tong.

The image showed crowded, bustling people coming and going. Mu Tong’s lips curled into a smile: militarism? Alien invasion? Excellent. She still had plenty of space in her storage gear; gathering some goods wouldn’t hurt.

“Go fetch all the data on these people, the more detailed the better,” Mu Tong ordered, pointing at several clearly key figures in the image.

“Got it! I’ll deliver it in ten minutes!” Upon hearing her command, Xiao Qiang sprang into action. As soon as the master gave an order, it meant she was no longer angry with it.

Ten minutes later, Mu Tong beamed at the data before her: Wow, who would have thought these people had such considerable assets—department stores, large supermarkets, pharmaceutical companies, clothing chains…

One target at a time. No rush. Soon enough, these things would be hers. After dinner, she would spend time expanding her storage gear. The more storage she had, the more she could carry…