Chapter 14

[System, can you send a message to Su Momo without being traced by her system?]
System: [I won’t help you.]
[So that means you can do it.] After saying this, Tao Shushu went to the study.
She went straight to the study, turned on her parents' computer, and found the information about the company they wanted to partner with.
The full name of the company was Weifang Technology Co., Ltd.
Tao Shushu’s parents had started their business by making electronic chips. A few years ago, her father seized a key opportunity and designed a compact, widely applicable sensor chip, which brought them wealth and allowed them to move to Yancheng City.
It was no exaggeration to say that with the development of smart homes, the demand for sensor chips would grow indefinitely. Unless there was a groundbreaking advancement in the chip industry, the Tao family could rely on this product alone to remain among the top "most profitable enterprises" in Yancheng City.
Weifang wanted to buy out the technology and blueprints for this chip. They offered a high price, but the Tao family’s orders for this chip were already booked up for the next three years.
This was also why Tao’s parents were so alarmed after breaking free from the "intelligence-reducing aura." Even though the acquisition amount seemed staggering, they would never hand over their most profitable product. It was as if they were under a spell.
Upon further investigation, Tao’s parents discovered that Weifang was actually a shell company. Its registered office space was rented out to others, and it had no production line whatsoever. It was as if they weren’t even trying to hide their intentions, arrogant to the extreme.
The more Tao’s parents thought about it, the angrier they became. They had already figured out that behind Weifang was a professional market manipulator giving orders, with the goal of acquiring various blue-ocean products to monopolize the market.
Tao’s parents reported it to the police.
They were also assisting the police in investigating the financial mastermind behind it.
Her parents didn’t know, but Tao Shushu had read the original plot. [This market manipulator, who became an investment legend by speculating in cryptocurrencies, was brought in by Su Momo, right?]
A doubt crossed Tao Shushu’s mind.
Su Momo couldn’t even pass exams without copying others’ thoughts, it didn’t seem like she could come up with such a scheme on her own.
Unless she had experienced it before.
Or unless she had someone guiding her.
Tao Shushu whistled. Things were getting interesting.
She returned to her room and sent the market manipulator’s resume to her father’s email.
Then, Tao Shushu asked Li Anyu, "Any latest gossip?"
Li Anyu was a local of Yancheng City. In the wealthy circles of Yancheng City, everyone knew each other to some extent, so gossip spread quickly.
Within two minutes, Li Anyu replied, "Everyone’s talking about Su Momo and Zhou Yi’s joke. After they left the revolving restaurant this afternoon, Zhou Yi splurged 100,000 yuan to buy Su Momo a pair of J-brand high heels."
"But the problem is, the Su family hasn’t officially announced an engagement with anyone. Tomorrow’s event has a bit of a matchmaking vibe for Su Momo. With them being so high-profile, the other potential suitors are unwilling to attend."
Both Tao Shushu and Li Anyu despised the practice of treating marriage as a bargaining chip, rushing into engagements and leveraging connections while children were still young. Due to their differing values, they had little interaction with these prominent families.
Li Anyu added, "I'm not close to them either, so I didn't hear anything else."
Zhou Yi's status was awkward. As an illegitimate child, he never held his head high in elite circles, especially since the legitimate son of the Zhou family held a strong dislike for him.
The Su family had initially selected several other wealthy families for matchmaking, but when they realized Zhou Yi was a competitor, they all felt it was beneath them.
Tao Shushu sighed in disbelief, unable to reconcile this with the original story's beloved female protagonist who had several powerful men wrapped around her finger. With her knack for ruining relationships just by keeping a backup option, how did she ever become the beloved female lead?
Was it all thanks to a "brain-dead halo"?
After venting her frustrations, Tao Shushu jotted down a few notes on her phone before preparing to rest.

Meanwhile, for the cub, it was afternoon, the time when solar radiation was at its peak.
Tao Shushu instinctively checked the value bar.
Her coins had increased by 20 since she last checked. The cub had actually driven 400 kilometers in just one morning, truly astonishing. She now had a total of 277 coins, 100 of which were earned from the cub's driving.
He's working so hard, thought the slacker Tao Shushu, nearly brought to tears.
The cub drove wearing a "fisherman's sun hat," and beneath his feet, a golden furry head peeked out.
The scene was harmonious and heartwarming.
The road conditions were poor, but Nan Yuan drove calmly, methodically steering, slowing down, and avoiding obstacles and bones on the road.
Only the bulging veins on his hands betrayed his unsettled thoughts.
Whenever his mood dipped, the lion lying by his legs would nuzzle against him.
This would remind him that she seemed to really like this silly lion.
If the lion's smooth fur got scorched, she would probably be upset. So, he would pull himself out of his negative thoughts and drape the heat-resistant suit over the lion.
He was getting closer to the only bustling area on the barren planet, or what used to be bustling.
Before the apocalypse, every planet had spaceship ports for arrivals and departures. Back then, the humans on the barren planet gathered near the ports.
Traces of the city and industrialization still lingered there, but now only ruins remained, devoid of any signs of life.
Returning to this familiar place, Nan Yuan's expression turned grave.
Tao Shushu gently pinched the cub's cheek, which was scrunched up like a steamed bun.
As soon as she touched his face, Tao Shushu saw the event log.
She was surprised to find that the cub hadn't eaten lunch today. He had been driving nonstop, only taking breaks to give the little lion some dried wolf meat and water, and to re-bandage its wounds. After that, he continued driving without a single pause.
No wonder he had covered four hundred kilometers in just a few hours.
Driving like this would wear out even the car, let alone the cub. Hmm, the cub really doesn’t take good care of himself.
Tao Shushu disapprovingly tugged at the cub’s ear.
She had arrived.
Nan Yuan instinctively glanced to the right, then, a pile of finely chopped wolf meat and bright red fruits appeared in front of him.
It was that person who had brought them over.
Nan Yuan stepped on the brake.
Only then did Tao Shushu feel satisfied, her own the cub shouldn’t go hungry or suffer from the cold.
As she watched the cub eat the wolf meat and fruits, a notification popped up on the screen: [Tomorrow night, the full moon will descend. Please complete Main Quest 2 as soon as possible: Help the cub find a base capable of withstanding the beast tide. Quest Rewards: 500 Gold Coins, Spaceship X1, Primary Clarity Card X1.]
Gold coins!
A spaceship?
Tao Shushu’s eyes lit up.
She had once thought the 1,000-gold voice pack was out of reach, but now, through their joint efforts, she and the cub had already saved up 272 gold coins. Completing this main quest would earn them another 500, and with just 200 more gold coins, she could finally talk to the cub.
Dreaming about the voice pack wasn’t entirely impossible.
As for the spaceship, the cub couldn’t stay on this barren planet forever. With the escalating mutations, the planet’s ecosystem would eventually collapse. Even if just for survival, the cub had to leave.
She couldn’t let the cub live a primitive, blood-drinking life forever, Tao Shushu wouldn’t allow it, wouldn’t accept it.
It seemed this quest was designed to provide the cub with essential tools.
Tao Shushu looked at the buildings on either side of the car. Who knew what mutated flora and fauna lurked in the city? But only places where human civilization once existed could potentially harbor safe bases.
They had no choice but to press on and explore further.
Tao Shushu checked the countdown on the screen, only 30 hours remained. Time was not on their side.
She ruffled Nan Yuan’s hair but didn’t stop him from continuing to drive.
Opening the system shop, she decided to stock up on supplies for the cub.
After all, she was a wealthy lady with 272 gold coins.
Unfortunately, god-tier items like the "Fisherman’s Sun Hat," which cost only 1 gold coin, were already sold out.
The game shop truly understood the art of microtransactions, budget-friendly treasures were always limited to one.
Tao Shushu didn’t splurge recklessly. She spent 4 gold coins on two health potions and immediately used one to replenish the cub’s vitality.
There was also a 3-gold coin anti-infection potion recipe in the shop.
After a moment’s thought, Tao Shushu bought it as well.
Then, remembering the little lion was injured, she purchased 5 gold coins’ worth of medicine.
Just as she was about to close the shop interface, she noticed something, the most basic version of an autonomous driving system.
The description read: An outdated autonomous driving system, created to solve mobility issues for armless individuals. It was phased out after artificial intelligence fully integrated into road networks, as it operates offline.
Offline capability meant the hostile human AI couldn’t connect to it, a perfect tool to free up labor.
Tao Shushu spent 20 gold coins, clicked "Confirm Purchase," and completed the transaction in one swift motion.
She picked up a fruit and was about to search for leaves to use its juice for drawing and conveying her thoughts when she noticed a stack of old newspapers and a piece of charcoal had appeared in front of the driver’s seat.
Who knew where the cub had dug them up from?
the cub had hastily finished his lunch and was back to driving. Tao Shushu casually handed the bright red wild fruits to the little lion, letting it hydrate and refresh itself.
Tao Shushu spent several minutes finally sketching out what she wanted to convey with crooked, uneven lines.
Afraid that her cub might not accept the autonomous driving system, she drew out the entire origin story of the system she had purchased with real money.
After finishing the drawing, she rubbed her sore hand and handed the paper to her cub.
She absolutely must save up enough to unlock the voice pack for verbal communication.
Ugh.
While her cub was reading the message, Tao Shushu reached out and patted the little lion.
Just then, she saw the little lion spit out the red berries, baring its teeth and making a face as if it had been poisoned.
Tao Shushu quickly patted her cub, urging him to check what was wrong with the lion.
To her surprise, her cub furrowed his brows, swiftly picked up the berries, and tossed them out the window.
Tao Shushu was puzzled, were those berries poisonous? But her cub had always eaten them eagerly before, finishing every berry she offered him.
Nan Yuan coughed lightly, covering his mouth with his hand.
He didn’t know why his first instinct was to dispose of the "evidence." By the time he realized what he’d done, it was too late to hide his actions.
The little lion was still sticking out its tongue and spinning in circles. Worried it might be poisoned, Tao Shushu quickly opened the system shop and tapped the purchase button for a health potion.
Just then, Nan Yuan raised his hand and tossed over two green berries.
The little lion swiftly caught them, sniffed, and gobbled them up one by one, clearly enjoying them.
Tao Shushu began to form a guess.
She tapped on the berries and noticed an "Explore" option.
Exploring once cost 1 gold coin, equivalent to correctly translating one classical Chinese passage. She could afford 2 gold coins.
First, she explored the green berries the little lion was happily devouring. The description was simple, ordinary berries, non-toxic, sweet.
Next, she explored the red berries, mutated berries, capable of replenishing moisture, but only animals severely lacking food and water would willingly eat them. They caused an electric, numbing sensation when consumed.
After reading the description, Tao Shushu was stunned.
So, the red berries she had judged by their appearance were actually terrible, each bite caused numbness and spasms. Meanwhile, the green berries she hadn’t valued at all turned out to be the rare ones with actual fruit flavor.
And yet, her cub had been gathering loads of red berries all this time.
Even when she fed him those electrifying berries, he hadn’t resisted and obediently ate every single one.
Tao Shushu couldn’t help but vigorously ruffle her cub’s hair. What an absolutely precious, well-behaved cub!
Nan Yuan coughed lightly again. He knew it, he shouldn’t have overreacted and thrown the berries away.
She's so clever, she must have noticed. And then she'll realize that because she keeps giving them, he's been eating these fruits all along. Like a pervert.
Nan Yuan felt his ears burning excessively. He rubbed them.


Author's Note:
The cub: I'm such a pervert, I've lost all my dignity.
Shushu: the cub is so adorable. As long as he's cute in a chibi three-heads-tall style, that's enough.