The system's mechanical voice instantly fell silent.
'Heh, this damned dog system must know who's boss now,' Wu Yue thought smugly. 'You either erupt in silence or you go crazy in it.'
'And since I'm not the one going crazy, I have to make this damned dog system learn its place.'
Just as Wu Yue was smugly waiting for the system to give in, the mechanical voice rang out once more. "Life may be hopeless, but please remain lucid, Host. Face the reality of your own species.
Your current identity is that of a pathetically weak Pure Human female, not a powerful Dog Tribe Beastman. You cannot refer to yourself as a dog."
A hopeless life never disappoints. It only makes you more hopeless.
Wu Yue gazed up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, two crocodile tears welling in the corners of her eyes. "So in this day and age, I don't even qualify to be a dog?"
The system deadpanned, "Essentially, yes."
The damned dog system's words were like an arrow piercing straight through Wu Yue's not-so-sturdy little heart.
It felt as if a cold wind was whistling through the hole it left behind. BRRR, so chilly!
'The damage was minimal, but the insult was extreme.'
"Feeling hopeless, are we?" The mechanical voice held a faint trace of smugness.
Wu Yue nodded listlessly. "Yes."
"Life seems pretty dark, doesn't it?"
She nodded again. "Mhm~"
"Want to go back to Hua Country and live the good life?"
Wu Yue's eyes instantly lit up. "Yes, yes, yes!"
"In your dreams..."
The system mercilessly shattered her hopes.
"Although you can't return to Hua Country, with my assistance, Host, you can transform this place into a second Hua Country. You can live the same happy life as before—eating well, drinking well, and enjoying nights out with spicy crayfish!"
'This is a classic case of the carrot and the stick, isn't it, System?'
"And yet, I'm not feeling how 'awesome' you are, seeing as you skimped on my starter pack."
She was still holding a grudge about that starter pack.
"BZZT... BZZZZT... Signal... poor... System will suspend service for... maintenance... Please work hard to collect resources and exchange them for points."
"System?" Wu Yue called out softly.
The only answer she received was the crisp chirping of birds outside the cave.
'…So the damned dog system got a guilty conscience and decided to hide in its shell?'
"Damned dog system, get back out here! Let's have a nice, long chat," she said through gritted teeth.
But the system seemed determined to hide in its shell for good. No matter how much Wu Yue ranted and raved, it refused to make a peep.
"Yue, are you awake?" a gentle voice called from outside the cave. Wu Yue instantly swallowed the "praises" for the damned dog system that were on the tip of her tongue.
She quickly scrambled up and slipped on the woven grass wrap she had made yesterday. "I'm up."
Only after hearing her voice did the female from outside the cave walk in.
It was the thinner female who had brought her food yesterday. "Elder Sister was worried you wouldn't be able to get up, so she sent me to wake you and bring you some food."
As she spoke, she held out a grimy hand, on which sat an equally grimy-looking wild vegetable clump.
Wu Yue quickly steadied herself against the cave wall as she stood up, reaching out to take her breakfast. "Thank you, Qingcao. Is the Collection Team about to set out now?"
Qingcao nodded. "We're leaving right after the Hunting Team does. You should hurry over, too."
Wu Yue bent down, picked up a woven grass bag from the side of the cave, and slung it over her shoulder. Waving the vegetable clump in her hand, she smiled at Qingcao. "I'll just walk with you. Are you heading straight to the gathering point?"