Chapter 31: A Knock at Midnight

"I'm not making this up! My cousin works for the boss, he told me! The boss has retired scouts under him; it's just a matter of time before they all gather together!"

"Let me ask you, if his men have all crossed over, why would they still listen to him?"

"The boss promises a million reward to each person! Extra bonuses for collecting supplies or treasure chests. If it were you, wouldn't you do it?"

"A million reward, wow! Who wouldn't want a job like that? Maybe we'll get to go back in a few days."

"I want in too. Can you ask the boss if he's still recruiting?"

"I can ask for you."

If Ye Da hadn't received Da Li's message, he might have doubted what these people were saying.

But he had gotten a text from his brother, so he believed this could really happen...

Some bosses, if lucky enough to arrive with their subordinates...

They could indeed hire players to work for them.

So, could he do the same...?

The thought barely flickered in Ye Da's mind before he dismissed it.

Those men were willing to risk their lives for the boss because they knew his background, knew he could pay a million reward.

But no one would believe the promises of an ordinary worker, offering nothing but empty checks.

It seemed...

Even in this world, talented and extraordinary people abounded.

But it had nothing to do with Ye Da. He merely observed, then quickly returned to his own business.

Using bamboo tubes to craft cola bottles, Ye Da picked the smallest bamboo joints.

Each cup held less than a hundred milliliters.

Because of the buy-one-get-one-free deal, his lunchboxes quickly sold out.

Ye Da collected twenty-five units of fine timber!

[Treehouse Ultimate Upgrade: Fine Timber 83/100, Fine Flax 0/1, Fine Nails 1/1. Can be upgraded to Supreme Treehouse (also known as Portable Treehouse. When you want to move, you can store your house in a special space, carry it with you to a safe location, and reassemble it.)]

He still needed seventeen units of fine timber and one unit of fine flax to upgrade his treehouse to a portable one.

Just a bit more—Ye Da still had plenty of ingredients and could make a few more lunchboxes to sell.

But Ye Da was truly exhausted now, unable to keep going.

Besides...

Tonight, a chilling air current would sweep through; Ye Da had to prepare early.

He definitely didn't want to be awakened by the cold in the middle of the night!

Especially since the ground inside the tree hollow was all mud.

Mud is fine during the day, but at night, it would sap a massive amount of heat from his body.

So...

Ye Da decided to build a basic kang bed!

The method was simple: dig a man-sized pit in the ground, put all the burning charcoal inside, lay bamboo branches over it to support his weight, then cover it with earth.

As long as there were air passages at both ends of the pit, the charcoal would keep burning underground, continuously transmitting heat to the surface.

Then Ye Da would sleep as comfortably as on a northeastern kang bed—even if a cold current hit at night, with his down jacket and the kang bed, snow outside would be no problem!

After finishing the kang bed, Ye Da added some dry branches to the campfire, making it blaze even brighter.

With plenty of charcoal as fuel, the ground quickly warmed up.

Ye Da stretched out comfortably, wrapped himself tightly in his down jacket, and drifted into deep sleep.

But in the middle of the night—

Knock knock!

Knock knock knock!

Ye Da was awakened by the sound of someone knocking at the door.

He didn’t react immediately, still half believing he was at home, so he instinctively asked, “Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

A gentle female voice answered.

But it was precisely this voice that startled Ye Da awake, cold dread slithering up his spine like an icy serpent, making him shiver.

If the voice outside had been a man's, Ye Da would not have reacted so strongly.

But...

Ye Da lost his mother when he was very young.

According to his father, his mother died.

But Ye Da knew that his mother couldn't endure his father's domestic violence, so when Ye Da was very little, she left with another man.

Ye Da remembered, during a nap in elementary school, his mother stood by his bed and spoke to him.

Her voice was as gentle as this.

But when he opened his eyes, there was nothing there.

Ye Da asked his teacher, but the teacher said no one had come to see Ye Da, and that he must have just been dreaming, unable to distinguish reality from dream.

That day after school—

His father picked him up, saying they were going to attend an aunt’s funeral.

But that aunt’s parents were Ye Da’s maternal grandparents. Only later did Ye Da learn that the so-called aunt was his mother.

And his mother had died in a car accident the day before.

Ye Da later talked about it with classmates...

They said his mother had come to see him one last time before leaving.

That memory became Ye Da’s nightmare for years, especially whenever he thought of his mother, gentle whispers like those in a dream echoed by his ears!

But now...

Time: 3:30 a.m.

Ye Da glanced at the time on the light screen—it was deep in the night, and once again, he heard that gentle whisper.

How could he not be terrified!

Knock knock.

The person outside, seeing Ye Da didn’t respond, started knocking again.

Ye Da, startled, stayed silent this time, quickly scanning his surroundings, suddenly realizing he wasn’t at home but in...

A battered and chaotic treehouse.

Debris littered the ground, food scraps everywhere, and the campfire flickered uncertainly!

“This isn’t a dream.”

Ye Da clutched his pounding heart, cold sweat forming on his forehead, muttering to himself, “I’m still in the Mist World, so outside...”

At that moment, Ye Da didn’t know whether to call the thing outside a person or something else.

Knock knock knock... Is anyone there?

The gentle female voice sounded again, “I’m also a player. I was attacked by a wild boar and lost consciousness in the wild. I just woke up and can’t find my way back. I finally saw firelight here, you...”

“Could you help me?”

“...”

Ye Da still said nothing.

Though the ‘female player’s’ story was believable,

He still refused to take the risk.

Whether the thing outside was human or ghost, as long as he didn’t open the door, even Nie Xiaoqian herself wouldn’t be able to do anything to him.