Chapter 6: Liangchen Farm 2
Just then, a flock of gray birds suddenly flew over.
One of the birds landed in front of Moira Lynch, and only then did she notice that they were carrying transparent cards in their beaks.
Moira took the card and was dumbfounded by what was written on it.
Emblazoned on the card was the message: [Your mission is to clean up the cow dung on the prairie. Good luck, my dear employee! ＾０＾~]
Speaking of cow dung, there was a pile not far from them that looked remarkably fresh.
But... wasn’t it a bit too big? ’Could a normal cow produce this much in one go? The pile is almost up to my calf!’
At that moment, the card in her hand transformed in a flash of golden light, becoming a small pushcart and a shovel.
Looking at the two tools in her hands, Moira took a deep breath and walked toward the pile of dung.
Besides, she was a poop-scooper outside the game anyway. ’Scooping poop for cats and dogs should be about the same as scooping it for a cow,’ she thought.
Moira comforted herself with this thought.
Fortunately, these cows were raised on natural pasture, so their dung was just grass fiber and didn’t smell at all.
However, Moira looked at the tools in her hands, then at the cow dung on the ground. ’Such a tiny cart can’t hold much dung at all.’
’And this shovel... it looks like a kid’s toy no matter how I look at it. Is this a joke?’
But soon, Moira discovered the miraculous properties of these two tools.
Although the shovel was small, it lifted the cow dung effortlessly. With just a light push, the entire pile was scooped up cleanly.
She placed the scooped-up dung into the pushcart. A light on top of the cart flashed, and the dung vanished.
Moira watched this scene in shock. ’Space Teleportation technology!!’
She recalled the system’s earlier words, which had clearly mentioned "interstellar," and that the place they were in was called Planet Serene.
So, they were in the interstellar era!!
Moira gasped.
Thinking of the system’s name, the Game Assistance System, ’Is it really just trying to help us?’
’If that’s really the case, then that’s wonderful. Humanity is so insignificant in the face of apocalyptic disasters, but this game could bring us a glimmer of hope.’
Moira looked down at her bare feet, then retrieved a pair of light, sturdy sneakers from her space and put them on.
They looked ridiculous with her pajamas, but who cared? No one could make out anyone’s face right now anyway.
After changing her shoes, she went back to collecting cow dung. She had to finish the task quickly; she didn’t want to lose her eligibility for the game.
Although the shovel and pushcart greatly increased Moira’s efficiency, constantly bending over was still exhausting.
After just a short while, Moira felt a dull ache in her lower back.
’No, I can’t go on like this. I need to think of something to distract myself.’
This was a lesson Moira had learned from her past life while working various part-time jobs to make money. As long as she could distract herself, she would forget her fatigue, and the work would get done quickly.
A rather effective method of distraction, like calling a significant other, was widely considered the most effective.
But Moira was a single pringle. She didn’t have a partner, and even if she did, she couldn’t possibly make a call right now.
She looked around. ’Since this is the interstellar era, maybe I can try to fleece them for some goodies?’
Once this idea popped into her head, it was as if a new door had opened for Moira, and her thoughts ran wild.
’A ranch this big must have a garbage dump, right? Maybe I can go treasure hunting there.’
’You can’t underestimate a dump. Even in real life, you can make money collecting trash.’
’Besides, this is the interstellar era! Even their garbage could be rare treasures for us. Like, say, nearly expired nutrient liquid, Genetic Transformation Liquid, a super Mecha, or something.’
’If all else fails, this cow dung can be used as fuel after it’s dried.’
’I’ve heard that dung from cows raised on natural grass gives grilled meat a unique flavor when used as fuel...’
As Moira thought about this, she started chuckling uncontrollably, "HEHEHE."
Any players who had been thinking of coming over to say hello and build connections all gave her a wide berth when they heard her unsettling laughter.
’This person is actually happy while picking up cow dung. She must be crazy.’
Completely unaware of what others were thinking, Moira was fully immersed in her own world. Her hands didn’t slow down; in fact, they moved even faster.
For the entire day, Moira wandered the prairie with her little pushcart, searching for cow dung.
And in the eyes of others, this scene was just a girl in pajamas whose face was obscured, pushing a small cart around collecting cow dung while letting out strange laughs from time to time.
Moira had no idea she had already become famous. By now, almost all the players thought she was a psychopath and would immediately give her a wide berth whenever they saw her.
After all, normal people couldn’t understand the mind of a psychopath. What if she decided to throw cow dung at them next?
It wasn’t until dusk that a familiar gray bird flew over, pulling Moira out of her reverie.
The gray bird held a transparent card in its beak.
She took the transparent card. Unlike before, the text on it was in a script Moira had never seen before, and the ink wasn’t yet dry, looking like it had been written just a moment ago.
Although she couldn’t read the script, she could miraculously understand its meaning.
[Congratulations on brilliantly completing your first task. You are the most outstanding employee I have ever seen. Tomorrow’s task is to milk the cows by hand. For now, just take the cow dung in your pushcart to the garbage disposal plant, and then you can rest.
--The most invincible and handsome ranch owner
Moira decided that the owner of this Serene Ranch must be a very cute person.
Seeing the words "garbage disposal plant," Moira felt a strange surge of excitement.
Over the course of the day, she had come up with no less than a dozen schemes in her head.
In short, she was absolutely determined to fleece this place.
’But, where is the garbage disposal plant?’
Moira looked around. There was nothing but prairie, and more prairie. Not even a single animal was in sight.
Just then, the card in her hand flashed, and a golden arrow appeared on it, pointing in a certain direction.
Moira tried holding the card in a different direction, but the arrow’s pointer remained fixed.
"Looks like the garbage disposal plant should be that way," she mumbled.
After about a fifteen-minute walk, a messy-looking mechanical workshop appeared before Moira’s eyes.
At a glance, she saw a mountain of sun-dried cow-dung patties stacked to the side, waiting to be processed. ’This is prime fuel for the winter! To treat it as garbage... what a waste.’