"Goodbye, little bears."
Keqing waved, bidding farewell to her animal friends in the birchwood forest.
There was clear reluctance in her eyes.
Gong Qu couldn't bear to watch her so sentimental. "Why don't we just bring the whole family with us?" he suggested. "It's not like we're short on food."
Keqing shook her head gently. "Let's not disturb their lives. Besides, home's not far — I'm sure we'll meet again someday."
The way she emphasized how close it was made it clear: she thought using a 2,000 World Coin teleport anchor here would be a waste.
Gong Qu kissed her lightly on the forehead — his way of showing affection for her empathy and thoughtfulness.
After a brief moment of whispered intimacy, the two of them resumed their journey eastward, following the map.
By noon, they had set up camp beside a grassy riverside patch and eaten a quick meal.
Once the fire was safely extinguished, they were on the road again.
This time, they pushed straight through without stopping, covering over twenty kilometers and finally exiting the birchwood forest.
The moment they stepped out from under the trees—
Blinding sunlight washed over them. Gong Qu instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes.
Fwoo~
A soft breeze stirred the lush vegetation at their feet, rippling across the landscape like waves on a green sea.
A dark figure stood alone in the middle of the road.
"Is that... a signpost?" Gong Qu squinted.
It resembled the kind of signpost that pointed toward villages in games — though he couldn't entirely rule out it being a random sapling.
Curious, he quickened his pace.
As he drew closer, details sharpened — it was a signpost, and carved into its surface were the words:
"Village — 5000m"
So if they followed the arrow, they'd reach a village in five kilometers.
"Looks like we're about to unlock our first teleport anchor of the day."
"A village, huh? I'm kind of excited," Keqing said.
Gong Qu nodded in agreement.
Though what he looked forward to were villager treasure chests... and the emerald trading system.
Keqing, meanwhile, anticipated the charm of unfamiliar customs and local flavor.
A rogue and a wanderer — what a pair they made.
5,000 meters passed in no time.
With the aid of elemental power, they crossed several small hills and descended into a basin.
There, at the center, stood a cluster of a dozen or so ramshackle buildings, all varying in height and condition.
Cobwebs clung thickly to the broken frames.
[Achievement Unlocked: Abandoned Village]
[Reward: 100 World Coins]
The system cheerfully made its announcement, entirely unaware of the mood.
So much for Gong Qu's hopes.
"Looks like it's abandoned," he said with a sigh. "Probably no one left."
Keqing hadn't expected her excitement to fizzle out this quickly. Even her lively twin ponytails drooped.
Meow~
"I'm okay. We can just find another village."
Meow meow~
"You don't have to fake cat noises to cheer me up, Ah Qu."
"What are you talking about, Ah Qing? I'm clearing cobwebs — I wasn't meowing."
Keqing's gaze drifted from him, following the sound's source.
A petite ginger cat sat just ahead, grooming her face with her paw.
Instantly, the birchwood bears were forgotten.
Cats. Cats were the real love of her life!
With graceful steps that mirrored the feline's own, she approached.
The ginger cat glanced at her, unbothered, and resumed her grooming — exuding that unmistakable feline air of superiority.
But what she didn't know was that Keqing had activated her elemental enhancement.
"Flash Step!"
A bolt of lightning — swift as a gale.
Before the cat could react, Keqing teleported behind her and snatched her up by the scruff of her neck.
Meow-wwooo! —
The ginger cat let out a pitiful cry.
Gong Qu turned at the sound.
Seeing Keqing cradling the cat in her arms with a bright smile, he couldn't help but chuckle fondly, then returned to searching the ruined buildings for treasure.
Creak.
He pushed open a cobweb-covered door.
A wave of damp mold and rot hit him — a stench thick with decay.
"Ugh... smells like a zombie villager used to live here."
He wrinkled his nose, though his expression eased upon spotting a treasure chest in the corner.
Opening it revealed:
Iron Ingot ×3
Bread ×2
Emerald ×4
Leather Cap ×1
Wheat Seeds ×5
Pumpkin Seeds ×2
As expected — mostly junk.
Still, emeralds were precious. Even more valuable than diamonds at some shops. Gong Qu gladly pocketed them.
The village, though abandoned, wasn't too large or too small — maybe enough to house a few dozen residents.
It fit Gong Qu's mental image of a Minecraft village perfectly.
Fifteen minutes later, he'd scoured every house and uncovered four chests.
Besides some trash, he'd found 14 emeralds — not a bad haul at all.
Keqing returned, ginger cat in arms.
"Ah Qu, I think there's a ranch over there — I saw a bunch of cows."
"A ranch?"
Gong Qu looked puzzled but followed her toward the far end of the village.
Sure enough, a herd of at least thirty cows grazed nearby.
"That's odd. If the village is abandoned, where'd all the cows come from?"
They walked closer, and the answer revealed itself.
At the center of the herd lay a giant hay block.
One hay block was made from nine bundles of wheat — in the game, wheat was the primary feed for cattle.
"Must've been a hay block that spawned the herd. Over time, they multiplied into this many."
"Hmm. We could probably make this into a functional ranch. It's closer than the farmland west of the cabin and quieter, too."
Gong Qu mulled it over. It made a lot of sense.
He'd once considered building a ranch near home, but the time it took to breed and raise cattle — just to harvest them — seemed inefficient compared to farming crops. He'd scrapped the idea.
But this — this was different. A ready-made herd. Just needed fencing in.
Without hesitation, they placed a teleport anchor at the village entrance and named it:
"Moo Moo Ranch."
After setting the anchor, they returned home briefly and packed a full backpack of fences and wooden planks.
In Minecraft, building infrastructure was lightning-fast. The ranch's layout was simple, too.
They fenced the area, added gates, built a roof, and lit it with torches to prevent monster spawns. Done.
By the time they finished, it was already 5 p.m.
The sun had turned a rich, golden orange.
"Let's wrap up day one's exploration here," Gong Qu said. "If we keep going, we'll end up camping out. This way we can still go home for a bath."
"Agreed. We've been walking all day — I'm drenched in sweat," Keqing said, grateful for the suggestion.
While Gong Qu stayed behind to breed the cattle, Keqing returned home ahead of him to prep dinner and hot water.
That night—
The ginger cat, now officially adopted, snoozed peacefully in Keqing's pet room.
Unbeknownst to her, something far less innocent was happening in the bathroom.
The lady of the house was being thoroughly harassed by the man of the house.
"Come on, Ah Qing... let me see how you've been growing these past few days."
"Ahh! That tickles—haha—idiot, not there! (o ωo)?"
"H-hey wait! Thunderbirds are illegal! Ah Qing, put that lightning wedge away!—Hngg—!!"