Chapter Eight: The Three Zhu Sisters

Snowfield Desert.

Northern Sector 7, Bone Sands.

Two girls moved swiftly, keeping low as they darted through the heaps of bleached bones.

The girl leading the way wore a dark red fitted outfit, her hair pulled into a high ponytail, a blue ribbon tied at her waist—she looked every bit the sort of person brimming with energy.

The other girl, a little shorter, had shoulder-length hair tied back with a cord. She was slender, dressed in black, her figure long and lean, and her chest gave away little of note.

The girl with the high ponytail was called Zhu Qing.

She was currently a second-year student at Qiqiang Martial Academy.

The other girl was Zhu You, a freshman at the same academy.

The two were sisters, though not twins.

Recently, Zhu Qing had chanced upon an opportunity to make some money.

After testing it out, she found it feasible.

So she brought her younger sister along to catch this wave of fortune.

The monsters here were mostly level four or five, nothing too dangerous for Zhu Qing, who was already at level fourteen. It was, in short, a highly cost-effective venture.

Zhu You was mainly here to help her sister.

At first, she had no idea what they were up to; it wasn’t until they entered the snowfield that her sister finally told her the truth.

“What? Two hundred contribution points each time?”

“That much income?”

Zhu You was astonished at her sister’s words.

After all, two hundred contribution points was no small sum. Exchanged for Federal credits, it was well over twenty thousand.

Although inflation was certainly higher than before, for a student, that was still a significant amount.

“Do you think I’d lie to you? I’m your sister,” Zhu Qing replied. “Ever since the western pasture’s dimensional gate hit a snag in clearing, there’s been a need for antidotes. These venom sacs and snake skins have shot up at least fivefold in price. And with these monsters gathering to lay eggs, there’s only a short window—if we’re late, we’ll miss out.”

“Haven’t you noticed there are more high-level explorers around here lately? I specifically picked the Bone Sands in Northern Sector 7 to avoid them. If we work hard, we’ll make a solid profit. And when our youngest sister gets into the academy, her three years of tuition and living expenses will be taken care of.”

Zhu Qing adjusted the red edge of her outfit as she spoke, her pace never slowing.

They had one more sister, Zhu Ke, about to graduate from high school.

Their father had always wanted a son, but ended up with three daughters. After his untimely death, all the family’s burdens fell to their mother and eldest sister.

Their youngest had only recently taken the academy’s preparatory exam.

Based on her results, she’d likely join them at the same martial academy.

Tuition wasn’t cheap. The family had already sold everything to send Zhu Qing there, and as the eldest, she naturally felt responsible for the household.

Though both Zhu Qing and Zhu You were girls, they moved with remarkable efficiency.

Soon, they discovered a medium-sized sandworm nest.

While they didn’t possess limitless area-of-effect skills like Yi Shen, they could rely on their level advantage to defeat the monsters.

It took them about twenty minutes to clear the nest.

Unlike Yi Shen, the girls left the battlefield spotless. Zhu You even carefully plucked a single glowing grass nestled in a hidden spot.

Children from poor families matured early—every scrap of loot mattered.

If it meant making a few more trips to sell the spoils, so be it. Their time was cheap; what mattered was making money while they could.

Yi Shen, on the other hand, focused mainly on gaining experience.

He darted through the valleys at breakneck speed, now able to detonate firebombs among the monsters with ease.

In just two or three minutes, he could clear an entire nest, including the time taken to collect and dismantle the spoils.

Magic was the art of explosions—Yi Shen was beginning to understand it all.

...

“Sis, there aren’t any monsters left here.”

“It looks like a fight happened, and not long ago, either.”

Zhu You pouted, disappointment evident.

She’d been excited to come out and make money with her sister, and they’d already made a decent start.

But before she could even enjoy it, someone else had beaten them to the spot.

The battlefield was pitted and scarred, clear signs that at least one team had swept through, and with such wide-ranging skills, there had to be a professional among them.

Even professionals were now competing for such small gains—Zhu You pouted, a little disheartened.

“There’s nothing we can do. That’s just how things are now. More people will be coming soon,” Zhu Qing said, surveying the aftermath of Yi Shen’s sweep and reaching the same conclusion as her sister. She ruffled Zhu You’s hair, signaling they should move on.

She planned to search the area a bit more with her sister. If they ran into a team specializing in collecting venom sacs, perhaps they could sell their own haul at a discount and save the trouble of hauling it.

If there were no monsters left, she’d take her sister deeper into another area—they needed to bring back as much loot as possible.

They hurried on.

At last, atop a sandy slope, they found another nest—this one home to both dune worms and snow snakes.

This nest was much larger than any they’d seen before. Just a glance revealed over a hundred monsters, some grown dune worms, some recently hatched snow snakes—a sure sign this was an egg-laying nest.

If they could clear it, today’s profits would be considerable.

“There’s someone over there.”

As they drew closer, they saw a young man on the hill, backpack slung over one shoulder, eating as he fiddled with a tablet.

Zhu Qing looked around. At first, she thought he must be part of a team. Most explorers entered the other world in groups; a duo like her and her sister was rare.

But there was no sign of anyone else—the boy was truly alone.

He had a delicate, youthful look, and up close was rather handsome. Zhu Qing, cautious, approached slowly.

She wanted to sound him out.

After all, he’d gotten here first and was probably a fellow academy student. She had no desire to start a conflict.

With so many monsters, it was risky; she wanted to see if he would team up to clear the nest, even if it meant taking a smaller share of the materials.

Zhu You’s thoughts, meanwhile, were much simpler.

—This boy is really handsome.

Her cheeks flushed pink.