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So let's keep this fire burning! Keep showering the book with those precious Power Stones, and together we'll unlock even more epic moments, twists, and battles! Your support means the world to me â let's make this adventure unstoppable! đđ„
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Shan Liang's POV
The snow was melting at last.
For months, the world had been wrapped in white silenceâevery breath visible, every step crunching under frost. Now, the sun returned, spilling golden heat that dripped from the sky and sank deep into the thawing soil. Water trickled down slopes, gathering in clear rivulets that sang to the earth. The air smelled faintly of damp moss and old wood freed from its icy prison.
Children darted barefoot across muddy paths, laughing as the snow's last traces surrendered to the warmth. Hunters stretched their limbs in relief, ready to roam freely again. The entire settlement felt like it was breathing after holding its breath for too long.
But Shan Liang's heart wasn't on the scenery. She had been waiting.
System, she thought quietly. You saw everything this winter⊠right?
As if answering her unspoken words, the familiar golden text shimmered into her vision.
[Primary Task â "Preserve Life Through the Cold" â Assessment complete.]
[Result: Success.]
[Reward issued: Knowledge Module â "Foundations of Agriculture I" (grain storage, drying, basic pest prevention).]
Shan Liang felt a warm pulse in her mind, as though an unseen hand had placed a seed of understanding there. Images, concepts, and practical steps for storing grain, drying crops, and keeping pests away unfurled in her memory as if she had always known them.
But the messages weren't done.
[Optional Chain Bonus Task â "Extend Preservation Methods to Three Settlements" â Assessment complete.]
[Result: Success.]
[Reward issued: Knowledge Module â "Irrigation Principles & Crop Rotation (Intro)".]
Again, her mind bloomedâthis time with the image of fields organized into rotation cycles, of channels carved to lead water to crops in a steady flow. It was like seeing the future.
Before she could dwell on the joy of success, another chime rang in her mindâsharper, more resonant.
[Hidden Task detected.]
[Analyzing Host's winter activitiesâŠ]
[Analysis complete.]
The words that followed made her blink in disbelief.
[Hidden Task â "Spread Life Beyond Boundaries" â Completed.]
[You exceeded original objectives, carrying preservation methods to settlements beyond initial targets and saving a significantly greater population than expected.]
[Additional Rewards issued:]
[Spread method to at least 5 settlements: Reward â Knowledge Module "Calendar Systems & Numeric Foundations".]
[Spread method to at least 10 settlements: Reward â Knowledge Module "Meditation Techniques & Meridian Opening for the Human Body".]
[Spread method to at least 15 settlements: Reward â Knowledge Module "Town Planning & Academy Establishment".]
Shan Liang's breath caught. "Fifteen?" she whispered aloud. She hadn't realized how far the knowledge had traveled after she'd started. The chain of people teaching others had grown far beyond her reach.
A rush of pride filled her chestâless for herself, and more for the nameless faces who had carried the spark forward.
She called Xie E over. "Do you know what this means?" she said, her voice trembling with both shock and joy. "It's not just us. Entire settlementsâdozensâwill make it through next winter without losing half their people to hunger."
He listened silently, then gave a rare smile. "Then it was worth all the cold and walking."
The System wasn't finished.
[New Primary Task â "Foundation of Knowledge & Preservation".]
[Knowledge is the cornerstone of civilization. Without it, progress is lost in a single bad season, and generations must begin again. A central settlement must be establishedâone capable of producing, preserving, and protecting knowledge.]
[Explanation: An Academy is a structure dedicated to the collection, teaching, and safeguarding of accumulated understanding. In every civilization that has risen beyond primitive survival, knowledge preservation has been the difference between fleeting sparks and enduring flame. An academy ensures that discoveriesâfarming techniques, crafting skills, medicinal practicesâare not lost when their discoverers pass away. It trains new generations, multiplies what a single mind can accomplish, and accelerates growth by building upon what is already known. Without such a place, knowledge scatters like leaves in the wind.]
[Task Objective: Locate a suitable site for a permanent settlement capable of sustaining an academy for knowledge preservation and protection.]
[Task Duration: 2 years.]
[Reward: Will be issued in stages according to progress milestones.]
Shan Liang's mind turned over the System's explanation. She thought of how much had already been lostâsongs half-remembered, tools abandoned because no one knew how to remake them, healing herbs misused after a healer's death. An academy could change everything.
But before she could think further, a new set of words appearedâunexpectedly not directed at her.
[Secondary Task issued â Host: Xie E.]
[Objective: Establish a protective organization to safeguard settlements, the academy, and its people from future threats.]
[Explanation: Knowledge is as fragile as it is valuable. Without defenders, even the greatest academy can be burned to ash in a single raid. The Protector Organization will train and unite those with talent for combat, ensuring the progress of civilization is not erased by unforeseen calamities.]
[Duration: 2 years.]
Shan Liang glanced at Xie E. His brow was furrowed, but there was a steady glint in his eyes. "Looks like I have my own orders now," he said.
"Then we both have our work," she replied softly. "I'll find the place where our future will grow. You'll make sure it's safe."
The thawing earth squelched under their boots as they left the settlement days later, packs slung across their backs. The scent of wet pine filled the air, and the distant roar of a swollen river reached their ears.
They were searchingâfor fertile ground, for strong allies, for people with talent worth nurturing. The road ahead was uncertain, but the knowledge in her mind and the weight of her mission gave Shan Liang's steps a quiet determination.
Above them, the sky was impossibly blue, and somewhere, the God of Wisdom was watching.
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