Teacher by day, Farmer by passion

Chapter 21 Farm updates:

After packing up the food, Ace and Shan Yifeng walked Liu Mei home. The sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows along the road. Liu Mei skipped ahead, carrying the small food bundle carefully in her hands.

When they arrived at her house, Liu Mei turned to them with a bright smile. "Thank you, Teacher! Yifeng! I'll see you tomorrow!"

Ace gave her a small nod, while Yifeng crossed his arms. "Make sure to tell your mother how great I am for helping carry the food," he said with a smirk.

Liu Mei stuck her tongue out. "I'll tell her you were grumpy the whole time."

"I wasn't grumpy!"

"Yes, you were!"

Ace chuckled, cutting off their playful argument. "Go inside, Liu Mei."

She made a face at Yifeng before turning and running into her home, disappearing behind the door.

Ace and Yifeng started heading back, the road now quieter without Liu Mei's chatter.

For a while, they walked in comfortable silence, but then Yifeng kicked a loose stone on the path and sighed dramatically. "You know, Teacher, I think Meier should listen to me more."

Ace raised a brow. "Oh?"

"Yeah! I'm older than her, and I'm super smart." Yifeng puffed up his chest. "But she never listens! She just does whatever she wants. Even when I give her really good advice!"

Ace smirked. "Like what?"

"Like..." Yifeng paused, thinking. "Like how she shouldn't be so trusting! She believes everything people say. One time, she got tricked into giving away all her snacks just because someone said they were 'tasting experts.'"

Ace snorted. "And you didn't help?"

"I tried! But she said, 'Sharing is good, Yifeng!'" He imitated her voice in an exaggerated tone, throwing his hands up. "And I was like, 'No, Meier, not like this!'"

Ace shook his head, amused. "And what happened after?"

"She cried when she realized they tricked her." Yifeng sighed. "So I had to go beat them up and take her snacks back."

Ace raised a brow. "You fought them?"

"Of course! It was the principle of the thing, Teacher! You can't just go around taking advantage of people like Meier."

Ace hummed thoughtfully. "And did you win?"

"...No." Yifeng deflated. "They were older. But I did get the snacks back! So it still counts as a victory."

Ace chuckled. "You care about her a lot."

Yifeng huffed. "Well, yeah. She's my friend."

Ace glanced down at him. The boy was walking with his hands stuffed into his sleeves, his expression a mix of pride and embarrassment.

"...That's good," Ace said after a pause. "It's good to have people to care about."

Yifeng glanced up at him, then looked away, kicking another rock down the road. "...Do you have people like that, Teacher?"

Ace's steps slowed slightly.

Yifeng peeked up at him, his eyes shining with curiousity.

Ace thought for a moment before looking at him, answering. "I do."

Yifeng blinked, then grinned. "Then if anyone tries to trick you, I'll go beat them up too!"

The bot gave a slow nod. "Precisely."

Ace frowned in thought. That... actually made a lot of sense. He had been treating the farm like a game mechanic, assuming everything would remain static. But if the system was built to be more realistic—

Wait.

His gaze flickered to the feed container. "What exactly are you feeding them?"

The bot tilted its head. "A special blend created from unused system resources."

"...You're telling me you're making animal feed out of leftover system data?"

The bot nodded. "Efficiency is key."

Ace didn't know whether to be impressed or concerned.

Host Profile:

Level: 10

Talent: Semi-Common Talent [note: don't stop chomping those spirit apples!]

Rank: Peak Warrior

Assets:

Plot of Lands: 19

Tree-Grow Plots: 4

Gold Credits: 162

Farm Animals:

Spirit Chicken: 14 (level 1), 6 (level 2)

Spirit pig: 4 (level 1), 1 (level 2)

Spirit cow: 3

.....

.....

"162 gold credits? That's it?"

Ace stared at the number, his expression shifting from disbelief to exasperation.

He turned to the Spirit Bot. "Are you seriously telling me you used my gold credits to make animal feed, gold credits is leftover system data?"

The bot nodded, unbothered. "Yes Master, gold credits are just leftover data from the system that failed to visualize it's worth."

Ace rubbed his temples. "So, let me get this straight—you took my system funds, turned them into livestock feed, and now you're acting like it's some grand efficiency plan?"

The bot inclined its head. "Precisely."

Ace let out a long sigh. He had been worried about missing notifications, but clearly, the Spirit Bot was making executive decisions without him. At this rate, he'd wake up to find it running the entire farm on its own.

"Fine," he muttered, waving a hand in resignation. "But next time, at least tell me before you start reallocating my funds."

The bot remained silent for a moment before responding, "Acknowledged."

Ace had a feeling that acknowledgment meant absolutely nothing.