The moment Ling Xuan handled the bush cutter, it went smoothly and faster than Laurel. In about two hours she was done. They were able to clear one-fifth of the land, as the bushes spread further into the valley.
"Wow, how did you do it so fast?" Laurel asked, completely astonished.
"I'm strong, what do you expect?" Ling Xuan almost rolled her eyes.
Laurel pressed her lips to a thin line as she walked around in their space. "It is time to use the power tiller." She muttered. "Let me out so I can show you how it works."
Without any resistance, Laurel took control of the body again. After reading through the manual and watching some videos on how to operate the power tiller. She started it, and the engine roared to life.
It was just as if she were driving a car. The power tiller was efficient as it filtered the weeds off and also tilled the soil, making it soft and loose for planting.
Laurel found it so much easier to work with and didn't pressure Ling Xuan to come out to work.
By the time she was done, it was already late at night. She could only see the ground because of the light coming from the warehouse.
She turned the engine off as she sighed in relief.
[Mission Completed: Hosts have completed securing the land.
Reward: 150 points
Basic land analysis unlocked]
"150 points? I thought you said 15 points?" Laurel asked, surprised.
[The requirement was 1000 square meters, however hosts secured a hectare of land.]
Laurel stared at the floating screen for a few seconds before letting out a breath she didn't realise she was holding.
"A hectare…" she muttered. "No wonder I feel like my arms are about to fall off."
Her legs felt weak as she leaned against the handle of the power tiller. Sweat clung to her back, and her palms were sore from gripping the machine for too long.
"Acceptable," Ling Xuan said in her head.
"That's it?" Laurel almost lost it. "I worked so hard and all you could say is acceptable?"
"Yes, and that is already a good compliment." Ling Xuan replied nonchalantly.
Laurel opened her mouth to argue, then decided it wasn't worth it. She collapsed onto the wheel of the machine, staring at the darkened field.
[Hosts, would you like to use the basic land analysis skills?]
"Yes," Laurel said immediately.
Laurel's hazel eyes changed to a pale blue colour. As she stared at the land.
[Soil quality: High - 90%
Water retention: Very good 70%
Crops suitable: Rice, Corn, Potatoes, Medicinal herbs]
She looked away toward the side of the house, where the stream was running through.
[Soil quality: Moderate.
Water retention: very high
Crops suitable: Banana, coconut, mango.]
Laurel blinked. "Turn off ability."
And immediately the ability turned off.
"Cool," Laurel muttered. So this was how it worked, abilities came with completing a mission.
"System," she called again. "How many points do we have in total?"
[Hosts have a total amount of 175 points. Do you want to trade for now?"]
"How many points do we need to buy a house in space?" Laurel asked.
[Basic storage house available: 900 points]
Laurel rolled her eyes. "Is the next mission available now?"
[Yes… mission initializing…]
[Mission 003: purchase crop' seed
Hosts should acquire 500g of at least 5 crops' seed.
Reward: 50 coins
Unlock: Crop status Panel
Time: 47:59:30]
"Oh, but we already have a lot of seeds…"
[Mission completed: Hosts have completed the mission of acquiring crop' seeds.
Mission reward adjusted. Seeds quantity exceeds the minimum requirement. Hosts have acquired 55,000 grams of crop' seed.
Reward: 1,100 points.
Crop status panel unlocked, and will be available when crops are planted.]
"That went well," Laurel whispered with a smile. "So if I get more seeds, I'll get more points even when the mission is completed?"
[Current phase allows scaling rewards.]
"We would like to buy the house now," Laurel said, appearing inside the space.
[Are you sure? Are both hosts in agreement?]
Laurel turned to Ling Xuan, who gave a curt nod.
[Basic storage house purchased.
Points remaining: 375]
[Congratulations hosts on your first purchase. You get 25 points as a gift.
Total points remaining: 400]
In the middle of the space, a medium-sized house materialized out of thin air.
Laurel nodded her head, completely pleased by how big it looked. She moved everything into the house with her single thought.
She turned to Ling Xuan. "Let's check it out."
Ling Xuan walked past her into the house and Laurel followed behind.
When they opened the door, they entered a sitting room with minimalistic furniture. It was so spacious, and to the sides were four huge doors with different colours of, blue, purple, violet, and black.
[Each door leads to a different area of stored items. Only two doors are accessible, the blue door and the purple door. The other two doors will be unlocked during your missions.]
"Isn't that a scam, we paid for it but we have to work for it to be fully ours?" Ling Xuan clicked her tongue in distaste.
The system disappeared.
Suddenly, a squeaking robotic noise came from behind them.
Ling Xuan unsheathed her swords with the speed of lightning; she swung them swiftly as she turned around. The sword slashed through something solid, severing its head.
Laurel hid behind her as they both stared at the strange creature with confusion and curiosity.
The strange robotic creature cried out. "First day meeting my masters, and I'm already beheaded. What a cruel fate." The headless body stood up, walking towards its head.
It picked up its head and fixed it back. The robot was dressed in farmer clothes with a bamboo hat. Its body was silver, and its face was like a screen with changeable blue eyes, and a mouth.
It ran to their front like a diligent servant. "Masters, welcome to the space house, I'm the caretaker of the house. I'll take care of everything, you don't have to worry about it." It blinked at them.
Laurel tilted her head towards Ling Xuan, and Ling Xuan did the same, before they both stared at the little creature.