Five Frozen Centuries - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: We’ll Set Out At Dawn
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Fatty Tiger eventually passed away. It was at the end of its life, and no one could stop it.
Wei Huo did not say much. He saw how the giant tiger laid in the meadow peacefully. It did not move an inch and seemed like it was sleeping just like any other time of the day it would be doing. One could only realize that its chest stopped moving upon closer inspection, and the tip of its nose was dried up. The tiger’s fierce aura gradually dissipated.
Wei Huo did not plan on moving it as it had made its choice. It chose that spot to be its final resting place.
Wei Huo walked towards the Giant Panda and patted its head. “It’s time to go.”
They did not want to disturb the tiger’s peace. Life and death were the most common things in nature, and moreover the giant tiger passed away in peace. It had not led a difficult life. It basically had never starved since it met Wei Huo, and it survived the huge hypothermia crisis. It did not starve to death or die from a disease. That was already the best ending compared to other creatures in nature. 3
If it was a human, one could say that it had led a life of no regrets. However, Wei Huo’s helpless sigh was for its inability to resist death. 3
Wei Huo clenched his fists. If there was hope for eternal life in that world, no living creature would give up hope! 4
Together with the Giant Panda, Wei Huo boarded the ship in the night. He had moved all the resources needed onto the ship, and after seven sailing trials, Wei Huo knew enough about helming the ship. Although the Giant Panda was afraid of the sea, it had gotten used to boarding a ship and sailing. Its lifespan may be way longer than the Giant Tiger’s, but eventually, its life would also come to an end someday. 2
Nonetheless, it was just as what Wei Huo had decided. Nothing could be determined until the last minute.
The uncertainties of the world had caused people to be fearful of them. For example… We would not know when we would have died from a disease… We would not know when we could lose our jobs… We would not know when a natural disaster would land on us… but these uncertainties were also the reason our world was so wonderful.
One of the many mentioned uncertainty was God’s voice. At that moment, God’s voice could be heard again as he was planning to bring a little uncertainty into the world.
“Quest Evaluation System implemented.
“New occupations ‘Hunter’, ‘Gardener’, ‘Factory Manager’, ‘Architect’, ‘Researcher’, and ‘Artist’ added. 5
“Ten new skills added for each occupation.”
Wei Huo felt refreshed. Was it possible to switch jobs now? He had ten basic skills and a Qi Cultivation Skill at the moment. However because no new skills had appeared so far, he had never acquired anything new until now. After all, the development of the game had yet to be completed.
Wei Huo checked the system immediately. He found the ‘Job Change’ option, but unfortunately one needed to complete the Job Change Quest beforehand.
“Please go to the Central continent and look for the corresponding NPCs to accept the Job Change Quest.”
Wei Huo was speechless. “…” 1
It was no surprise that a string of quests would have appeared as the Central continent opened up. Those artificial-intelligence beings could pose as players to test out the game. Once the game launches, they could be turned into NPCs to serve humans.
It had been 20 years since the Central continent was opened up. The first trial would be ending soon, and Wei Huo had to rush there as soon as possible. 1
Wei Huo began sorting through resources, checking the ship’s equipment, and waited for dawn to arrive.
“We’ll set out at dawn~”
Wei Huo nearly sang it out loud.
It was human to cry and laugh whenever one felt like it as it was panda-like to sleep and eat whenever it felt like it. 2
When the first ray of light appeared on the horizon along with the first sea breeze hit the land, Wei Huo raised his sails and pulled the anchor. He stuck a pirate flag on the bow of the ship as he got ready to set out to the ocean! 1
He waited for ten minutes and the ship still did not move an inch.
Wei Huo was speechless. “…”
The wind was not strong enough.
The pirate flag was moving loudly amidst the wind. It was not a typical pirate flag with a skull on it, instead, it was the head of a strange creature. It had black ears, dark circles under its eyes, and a white face. It looked fat, round, and furry. That was the portrait of an adorable panda!
Wei Huo felt awkward. “Um…”
He went to the bow and pulled down the flag. Soon after that, a gush of strong wind struck the ship, and its sails were propped up by it. The ship was thrust forward. Wei Huo quickly ran to the captain’s cabin and got a grip of the rudder. 2
The ship was officially sailing towards that continent in the south!
After seven sailing trials, the panda was already used to sea sailing. It crawled into the lower deck skillfully and pulled out a bamboo stick to chew on it. There were only chewing sounds in the lower deck for quite some time.
The strong winds from the land were forcing that ship to travel at full speed. The sails were fully propped up, and the ship was at maximum speed.
It was not a cloudless sky today. There were weirdly-shaped clouds in the sky. Some were shaped like cotton candy, some looked like steak, some looked like chicken thighs, and Wei Huo thought there was a particular cloud that looked like a plate of braised pork.
Motherf*cker…
Wei Huo thought the clouds today seemed more peculiar than usual. 1
He stared right at the clouds. ‘Do you know what I’m thinking about?’ 2
The Central continent was officially opened, and NPCs had appeared. No matter what genre this game world belonged to, there must be good food, alcohol, and humans. Although they were only artificial intelligence beings, they were still considered some form of a human. Wei Huo did not have any human interaction for over 100 years.
That was why he was so eager to get onto the Central continent. It was not for good food!
Wei Huo knew how to cook, but he only knew how to roast. Moreover, there were no vegetables available. More than 100 years had passed, and the seeds from the agriculture supplies store could no longer be planted. Without humans taking care of them, the human-grown vegetables and fruits would not have survived in nature against other creatures. 6
In fact, if there were no wild boars, Wei Huo would not have been able to savor pork for the rest of his life. Beef was even more out of the question since wild cattle could probably only be found on a prairie. 1
In order to make sure the trip was a successful one, Wei Huo only brought along cured meat and fruits that could be stored for a long time. Naturally, there was also a pile of bamboo sticks, but it probably was not going to be enough for the panda. Thankfully, Wei Huo’s Qi-Training Skill had leveled up, and his need for food or water had decreased. 1
On top of that, Wei Huo had prepared fishing nets and fishing rods for the journey. As soon as the ship sailed into the southbound current, he could start fishing. The south was warmer hence, those fish would have definitely migrated to the south as well. They usually swam with the current to conserve energy, and that behavior was convenient for fishermen.
Even if there was not enough food, Wei Huo still had 40 servings of Tianshan Snow Lotus. However, Wei Huo thought it would be a waste if those were only used to curb hunger. 8
At this moment, the quest system posted a new quest.
“New quest, ‘Fishing’. The Player is required to catch a fish from the nearby ocean. A game item will be rewarded once the quest is completed. The system will evaluate the rarity of the fish. The higher its rank, the more rare the reward will be.”
Wei Huo was taken aback. ‘Was this the Quest Evaluation System?’