Chapter 15: Ancient Beast World 09

Bao Jing followed Ye Xi'an into the cave; the vines at the entrance lost support and drooped again, naturally forming a natural barrier. If Ye Xi'an didn't like to look in corners, she would never have discovered such a hidden place.

The drooping vines blocked the sunlight; the cave instantly darkened, with only a few pitiful beams of light filtering through the dense foliage.

Ye Xi'an lay back comfortably on the ground; only this kind of enclosed environment felt most comfortable to her.

At this moment, turning on a warm yellow lamp, watching a TV drama, washing a plate of fruit, and eating it with yogurt would be the perfect life.

Ye Xi'an, feeling as if she were at home, greeted Bao Jing: "Why are you standing? Aren't you tired?"

She patted the spot beside her: "This is for you to sit."

Bao Jing tugged at his tight vest, swayed his legs over to the spot Ye Xi'an had patted, and sat down somewhat unnaturally.

After spending this time together, they were no longer tense; instead, they didn't know what to say.

Still, Bao Jing spoke first: "After we return, what are you planning to do with the contribution points you'll redeem?"

Ye Xi'an's mind immediately jumped to buying a house without hesitation; just as she was about to speak, she suddenly remembered her earlier promise to Bao Jing: "Naturally, I'll buy you clothes first."

Bao Jing blinked, not expecting Ye Xi'an to still remember this; he turned his head aside, the corner of his mouth involuntarily curling up—she still had a conscience.

He gave a light cough to hide his smile: "And after buying clothes?"

"'Then of course we rent a house!'"

As soon as housing was mentioned, Ye Xi'an instantly perked up; she sprang up from the ground and knelt before Bao Jing: "Bao Jing, where do you think we should rent a house when we go back?"

Bao Jing leaned against the cave wall; lowering his head, he saw Ye Xi'an's beautiful face and, due to her prone position, her sunken waist—so slim he felt he could pinch it with one hand.

"'Aren't you the one who always wanted to live in a three-story luxurious villa?'"

In the past, when Ye Xi'an rented a place, she insisted on a villa and refused to take missions, so they naturally didn't want to rent such an expensive place.

But if Ye Xi'an could continue taking missions in the future, he wouldn't mind working harder, earning money to let her keep living in a villa.

But the Ye Xi'an of now is no longer the Ye Xi'an of before; today's Ye Xi'an is an ultimate shut-in with twenty years of homebody experience and far-sighted vision—how could she possibly choose comfort for the moment and live in such an expensive place?

"'Eh, that was just my youthful ignorance; now I know money isn't easy to come by, and I won't insist on a villa. I just want to rent a cheap place with one room each. Do you have any recommendations?'"

Hearing the female's earnest words, she seemed like a little adult and was quite cute.

"'Of course there is.'"

He had been paying attention to housing on Zhu Shen Xing since he was underage, after all, males have no home of their own and must rely on themselves later.

Bao Jing sat up, picked up a branch from beside him, and drew a simple schematic of Zhu Shen Xing on the ground.

He tapped the diagram with the branch and explained: "Zhu Shen Xing's structure is like this multi-layered ring; the center is the Mission Hall, and outward from it are the First Ring, Second Ring, Third Ring, Free Zone, with the Slum on the outermost edge."

"'The closer inward, the more prosperous, the better the environment, the more people, and most importantly, the safer it is—so some powerful families rent First Ring housing; First Ring units are mostly high-rise apartments, small in size but with sky-high rents—about a hundred thousand per month. If it's a First Ring villa area, the monthly rent can reach a million.'"

As for the First Ring, Bao Jing didn't go into finer detail, since he himself didn't know; after all, few males dare to dream of someday living in a First Ring villa area.

"'The Second Ring is specifically for residence, with diverse layouts and relatively affordable rents. I once saw a place called Purple Orchid Garden. Its layout is special—five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a living room; if well renovated, it should be great, renting for thirty thousand a month. Purple Orchid Garden also has duplex units, renting for fifty thousand a month.'"

Bao Jing secretly observed Ye Xi'an's reaction; seeing she listened attentively, he nodded in satisfaction and continued: "Third Ring housing is the cheapest, with an average monthly rent of five thousand. But housing is scarce, almost fully occupied, so renting now would likely require a reservation. However, safety is low—if the Insect Clan attacks, the First to suffer in the Third Ring would definitely be the Third Ring itself."

"'Insect Clan?'"

Ye Xi'an heard something unfamiliar; in the Original Owner's memory, there was nothing about the Insect Clan.

Bao Jing was about to mock Ye Xi'an for not even knowing what the Insect Clan was, but then he understood.

After all, Ye Xi'an is a newly adult female.

Females are raised in the First Ring from childhood, hardly ever encountering the Insect Clan; plus, over the past decade or so, Insect Clan invasions have been rare, so many females likely don't know what the Insect Clan is.

"'Although Zhu Shen Xing is currently the most habitable planet discovered, it still has two drawbacks.'"

"'One is that Zhu Shen Xing lacks resources, which is why the Mission System exists. Everyone takes missions to other planets to gather resources, exchanges them for contribution points, and Zhu Shen Xing uses those resources to supply the planet. The other drawback is that near Zhu Shen Xing there is a dark star; the Insect Clan lives on that dark star and has the ability to make short-distance space-time jumps.'"

"'They cannot jump to far‑distant planets to loot resources, so Zhu Shen Xing has become their target of attack.'"

Ye Xi'an listened, half‑understanding; although she had never seen an Insect Clan, she had watched sci‑fi movies and guessed they were probably those many‑legged, huge‑bodied arthropods.

"'I kind of get it now; keep talking about housing—you just covered the Third Ring, what about the Free Zone and the Slum?'"

"'The Free Zone has rugged terrain, a harsh environment, and lies too far from the planet's center, making it unsuitable for living; therefore the Federation has designated it as a military training base. Of course, each family can also build their own houses there, but if they happen to be destroyed by the army, they can only blame themselves.'"

"'As for the Slum, needless to say—it's Zhu Shen Xing's garbage dump; even the military won't go there, so penniless males choose to build shelters in the Slum to live in.'"

Ye Xi'an listened to Bao Jing's explanation, seized on a key point: "So houses built in the Free Zone and the Slum belong to oneself, and there's no need to rent?"

Bao Jing nodded: "In principle, that's how it works."

"'Hiss.' Ye Xi'an felt a bit torn; as a creature who had lived on Diqiu for many years, the notion of buying a house was deeply ingrained, and rented homes always felt unsteady."

"'Then if we had money, could we build a house in the Slum and the Free Zone?'"

(End of chapter)