Chapter 3: Opening the Immortal Isle (1)

Back inside the house, she gave up on the idea of going out and returned to the second floor to find some instant noodles.

"Sigh..." Qin Yueran held the noodles and sighed. "Let's just make do with this for dinner tonight."

"Host..."

"Huh?" Qin Yueran responded instinctively, only to realize the voice didn't come from inside her head, but from right beside her ear.

She turned her head, and a ball of white fur filled her vision, forcing her to go cross-eyed.

The sudden appearance startled her. She leaned back, finally getting a clear look at what was before her—a small white tiger cub.

"A flying tiger!" Qin Yueran gasped in shock. "Wait, the system?"

"Yes." Zero-Zero-Five looked quite embarrassed. "This is my skin form. Heh heh, majestic and imposing, right?"

Qin Yueran looked it up and down. A white tiger cub with big eyes was looking at her expectantly.

Her eyes lit up. She scooped up Zero-Zero-Five and held it high. "What a cute form!"

Feeling the warmth and fluffy texture in her hands, she added, "And it feels so soft!"

"Huh?" Zero-Zero-Five looked dazed. "Am I not cool, handsome, or majestic?!"

"Cool, cool, cool. Handsome, handsome. Extremely majestic," Qin Yueran said, distracted by the joy of cuddling something fluffy, though she didn't forget to humor it.

Fluffy things must be pampered!

"See! It suits me, Huhu, perfectly!" Zero-Zero-Five held its head high, looking very proud.

"Huhu?" Qin Yueran asked, puzzled.

"Oh, 'Zero-Zero-Five' is just my factory serial number. Every system gets a name generated when it's activated. I call myself Huhu, as in 'breath'." Zero-Zero-Five flicked its tail to explain. "Then I searched and found an animal called a white tiger, which is very cool and shares the 'hu' sound with my name, so I chose this white tiger skin! You can call me Huhu or Zero-Zero-Five from now on."

"Oh, okay, Huhu~" Such a cute name and form, oh my goodness, I love it. Pet ownership without the hassle!

"By the way, becoming a shop manager comes with a manager's meal, but since you aren't officially a manager yet, it hasn't been unlocked." At this, Huhu puffed out its chest. "But I pulled some strings for you!"

As soon as Huhu finished speaking, several boxes appeared in front of Qin Yueran.

She blinked, set Huhu down, and took the three boxes. Carrying them to the dining table, she opened them one by one: braised chicken, rice, and seaweed egg drop soup.

Huhu hopped onto the table and tilted its head at her. "Eat up."

Qin Yueran’s heart was captured by the cute creature again, but the aroma of the food was also irresistible.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony! Thank you, Huhu~"

She began to eat heartily. Perhaps because she had been hungry for so long, she felt the meal was exceptionally delicious.

Halfway through, she asked, "Huhu, don't you need to eat?"

At this, Huhu became visibly dejected. "A physical form capable of eating—that’s a different price point."

This skin was only affordable because of the system's first-purchase discount. It had originally wanted to buy an adult white tiger, but that skin was too expensive, so it had to settle for this one.

"Ah... I'm sorry," Qin Yueran apologized.

"It's nothing. We can use data to simulate the taste; it's quite good," Huhu said. "Once I have enough points, I can unlock more forms."

However, Huhu was a hoarder at heart—it loved to save, not spend. And although it had been paired with several hosts, only one had earned significant points, and that host had been killed by their partner after revealing the secret.

Looking back, it was a tale of bitter tears! Huhu's performance record was at the very bottom.

"That's so tragic!" Qin Yueran stroked Huhu's head to comfort it. "I'll try my best to live a long time."

"Huh?" The dejected Huhu looked up. "Did I accidentally say that out loud?"

"Mhm." Qin Yueran nodded firmly, looking at it with a smile.

Huhu felt embarrassed by her gaze and hopped off the table, scurrying away somewhere.

Qin Yueran’s mood had improved significantly. After finishing dinner, she stood up to take the food containers to the trash, only to find them automatically decomposing and disappearing.

*Quite eco-friendly,* she thought, heading to the sofa to rest before getting ready for bed half an hour later.

When she returned to her room while drying her hair, she found Huhu fast asleep on her bed. Qin Yueran raised an eyebrow and took her hairdryer to another room.

After drying her hair, she returned to bed. Thinking about all the strange events of the day, she drifted off to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Huhu woke up and noticed its new host hadn't pulled up the blanket. It sighed and dragged the quilt over her.

"I really am a great system!" After praising itself, Huhu crawled back into the covers and fell asleep tucked against Qin Yueran.

The next day.

Qin Yueran slept until past nine. After eating the manager's meal provided by Huhu, she headed downstairs to the Central Immortal Island.

As she stepped onto the island, the fresh air mixed with the scent of the sea washed over her. She felt every pore in her body open, breathing in greedily.

Closing the door, she opened the map and realized the island was quite large, with snow-capped mountains to the north.

She closed the map and opened yesterday's novice gift pack.

[Congratulations on obtaining: Hoe *1, Iron Pickaxe *1, Axe *1, Sickle *1, Appraisal Technique *1.]

Qin Yueran clicked on the package to check the "Appraisal Technique." As expected, it was something she could learn.

She clicked "Learn," and the book floating before her turned into a stream of light and dove into her mind. The skill now appeared in her personal information panel.

[Personal Information (Basic)]
Name: Qin Yueran
Age: 22
Identity: Owner of Central Immortal Island, Inn Manager (Pending Activation)
Vitality: 3.5/5
Advanced Info: (Click to view details)
Basic Skills: (Click to view details)
Special Skills: Appraisal Technique

She clicked on "Basic Skills," which contained all the skills she had learned or dabbled in during her real life. There was also a long list of locked skills, such as piano, driving, violin, and so on.

"Tsk, the points are all so low. I really haven't lived much of a life, have I?" Qin Yueran mocked herself.

Huhu, perched on her shoulder, heard this and rubbed against her cheek. "It's okay, Host. You'll definitely be able to raise them later."

Qin Yueran reached up and rubbed Huhu's little head. "Thanks. You can call me Xiaoran from now on."

Huhu tilted its head and said in a soft voice, "Xiaoran? Xiaoran! Heh heh~"

"Mhm!" Qin Yueran responded and went back to checking the Advanced Info.

[Advanced Info]
Vitality: 0/100
Mana: 0/100
Talent: 6/100
Comprehension: 5/100
Luck: ???
Learned: None

"Huhu, there's 'Vitality' in the Advanced Info too. How is it different from the basic one?" she asked.

"Think of the Basic Vitality as your general health. The one in Advanced Info can be increased with points; once maxed out, you'll be as eternal as the heavens," Huhu explained. "By the way, the Mana value works the same way—max it out, and you'll be invincible. As for Talent and Comprehension, they affect your learning speed for all skills and spells."

Huhu stared at her. "In other words, the higher these two are, the easier it is for you to learn." It paused, then continued, "Luck should have been visible at the start, but because you've encountered a great opportunity, Xiaoran, it's hidden now. Of course, it might suddenly appear again someday."

Qin Yueran could guess that "Learned" referred to skills and techniques, so Huhu didn't bother explaining further.

"Then, let's start clearing the land!"