"Little Zhezhe, can I take the bird's nest?"
"Go ahead!"
"Can I chop some of the branches too?"
"Knock yourself out!"
"Wanna listen to some music?"
"No thanks!"
Tang Xiaoguo carefully placed the bird's nest in the tree fork like a professional artist, then embarked on her grand project.
Over at Lu Zhe's side, he had cleared out a patch of land after working hard all morning, which was one-third of the original planned area.
He discovered that actually, chopping down trees wasn't the most difficult part of pioneering new land, there were other problems.
With the soil exposed, there were also lots of weed seeds that would soon sprout into new weeds, competing for the limited sunlight with tender crops.
Even the strongest herbicide would be no match for glyphosate in dealing with this less-than-one-sixth acre plot of land.
Even more annoying were the removal of rootstalks!
The tree density here was too high, the tree roots would severely hinder crop growth.
To dig up those roots that had grown for decades or even centuries, it would be really difficult without some heavy machinery.
Relying solely on trenching shovels to slowly and gradually dig bit by bit, it would probably take half a month to clear away these obstacles.
Having worked until sunset when the glare off the stone wall had significantly diminished, Lu Zhe decided to call it a day.
Oh right, he wondered how Xiaoguo was coming along with her shelter construction.
Lu Zhe picked up his axe and walked over, then dropped it in shock.
He saw an oval dome about 1.5-2 meters in diameter under a short tree.
Lu Zhe's first reaction was could there be some prehistoric bird still living here?
But then he recalled not having seen anything like that before!
Where was Xiaoguo?
Hope she hadn't been carried off by a giant bird.
Just as he was puzzling it over, a sweaty Tang Xiaoguo emerged nibbling on a papaya from behind the tree, beaming with pride.
"Well, whaddya think?"
"Good heavens, what on earth is this thing?"
"It's a shelter, duh?"
"A shelter?" Lu Zhe circled the bird's nest in wonder. "Are you...trying to lay eggs here?"
"Lay eggs? What nonsense! This is the bio-inspired shelter I designed!"
"Who taught you to build a shelter shaped like the Bird's Nest stadium from the 2008 Olympics?"
"Where's your taste? Isn't this the most suitable shelter that could be built here? If you don't believe me take a look at what the natives did, aren't their shelters built just like this?"
Lu Zhe looked around and indeed saw several more bird nests.
"What about when it rains?"
"That's why it's under a tree silly. Oh wait, it won't get struck by lightning will it?!"
"It shouldn't."
"If worse comes to worst I can always add a canopy on top later. Look, two people can lie down perfectly fine in here."
So saying, Tang Xiaoguo plopped down but immediately yelped and jumped up. "Oww that hurts!"
Lu Zhe sighed. "You don't have the soft feathers of a bird. Branches won't prick you if you crouch on them, but sustained pressure will be painful. Give it some time and your body will adjust."
"No way, too painful...Lu Zhe, can we fix this?"
"Hmm..." Lu Zhe pondered. "Looks like we'll just have to make do. Let's gather some hay to put on top."
"Okay!"
"But first let's get some food. What's for lunch?"
"Papaya and boiled papaya, plus some grilled fish and seafood soup!"
"How come it's all papaya? Lately you seem obsessed with eating that!"
"It's yummy, I just love it! What, got a problem?!"
"No, not at all!"
After lunch the two gathered some hay to line the bird's nest. Lying on top once more was much less uncomfortable.
In fact it was rather cozy.
Lu Zhe had to admit he was impressed.
"I've seen lots of survival videos before showcasing all kinds of shelters, but this is my first time seeing one built like a bird's nest!"
"Haha, aren't I clever?"
"Very clever indeed! Let's add a rain canopy and we can make do with this."
"Make do? This is extremely makeshift!"
To be frank, despite its bizarre appearance, the shelter Tang Xiaoguo built worked surprisingly well - good drainage, dry, breathable and flexible. As long as they had materials, it was relatively easy to construct.
It just needed some patience and lots of branches, which Lu Zhe happened to provide in abundance from his tree chopping efforts. This allowed such an odd yet practical shelter to be born.
"You must be exhausted. Let me give you a back massage!"
Lu Zhe figured there was no harm in trying. Might open new horizons.
"Sure, but go gentle."
"I know I know!"
Tang Xiaoguo perched on a low tree branch and started lightly treading on Lu Zhe's back with her snowy feet.
Lu Zhe found it to be quite enjoyable!
"Well?"
"Feels really good!"
"I'm going to stand up now, okay?"
"Okay!"
Tang Xiaoguo slowly rose while holding onto the trunk, dancing gracefully atop Lu Zhe's back as if waltzing.
The wonderful sensations relaxed all the tension from his body.
And just then, he noticed something peculiar.
Tang Xiaoguo angrily exclaimed: "Too naughty, copying us are they?!"
"Who's copying us?"
He looked up. "Well I'll be darned, it really is!"
Not far away, inside another bird's nest, a scarlet macaw lay on its stomach while an emerald macaw slowly marched on its back, swaying rhythmically!
"But they're not the same as us. It looks like they're...making babies, known colloquially as treading."
"Oh my, a scarlet macaw and emerald macaw making babies? Tsk tsk, in broad daylight too, have they no shame before the scarlet papa and emerald mama?!" Tang Xiaoguo self-righteously admonished.
Lu Zhe casually explained: "That is a hybrid macaw, the easiest parrot to differentiate male from female since the females are red while the males are green. So it would be unusual to see two red or two green macaws paired together."
Tang Xiaoguo nodded in understanding. "I see, that makes sense!"
That night, as they dined on roasted macaw meat and contemplated the unpredictability of life and fate, many a sentimental sigh was heaved.
And so the day passed without incident. Lu Zhe felled half of the targeted trees, while Tang Xiaoguo constructed a bird's nest shelter.
The next day they would continue clearing land for planting, but rains arrived again by dusk.
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
