My Orc Husband Dotes on Me Excessively

Chapter 9:System Mall

“You take the stone bed. I’ll sleep right here.” Baize pointed at the newly laid floor mat, locked in a silent standoff with Anluo. As soon as she received the beast hides, she’d eagerly spread them out to make a bed on the ground. Yet just as she finished arranging it to her satisfaction, Baize returned with picked fruits. His reasoning sounded noble: Females were delicate and must not sleep on cold stone ground. But Anluo could not bring herself to act so selfishly—relying on his shelter while seizing the owner’s bed. The two remained deadlocked. The standoff broke when the cub suddenly threw himself onto the hides. Baize snatched him up lightning-fast, only to find the little one already snoring softly. Seeing Baize refuse to back down an inch, and knowing she had important errands to run tomorrow, Anluo surrendered first. She carried the cub and climbed onto the stone bed. Only two thin layers of hide lined the stone bed, hard and uncomfortable. It was her first night in the Lion Tribe, and she could not fall asleep for ages. To pass the time, she seized the chance to fiddle with the newly unlocked System Shop. The System Shop was split into four main tabs. The first was the Flora & Fauna Archive. The second was the Shopping Mall, filled with daily necessities for food, clothing, shelter and travel—though all icons were grayed out and locked. She tapped one item, and nothing happened at all. After asking Erbao, she learned it cost ten points just to unlock three products, with extra points required to purchase them. Worse, only three items could be unlocked per day. Anluo fell speechless. Even the cruelest miser could not be more exploitative than this system! Holding back her frustration, she opened the third tab: the Shopping Cart. This was her favorite feature! Items bought from the System Shop could be stored here, and it could even hold objects from the outside world, acting like a portable personal storage space. Its only downside was its limited capacity. Each cart slot held a maximum of three items, regardless of size, and there were merely ten slots in total—hardly enough storage for everything she needed. Still, it was far better than nothing. The final tab was Personal Profile. It displayed her portrait, height, weight, age, physical condition and more, much like a full medical report. There was also a counter labeled Points. As Anluo suspected, these points were the currency used for shopping. The previous day, she’d begged Erbao to advance her fever-reducing medicine and anti-inflammatory pills to cool the cub’s fever. Now her point balance sat deep in the negatives, a full seventy points below zero. She’d barely unlocked the System Shop and already ended up in debt. Staring at all the usable goods she could not buy, she forced a smile while her heart wept silently. The more she thought about it, the heavier her melancholy grew, chasing all trace of sleep away. She stayed wide awake the entire night. Dawn broke at last. Too restless to sleep, Anluo rubbed her stinging eyes and climbed out of bed. Baize sat awake in the cave’s corner as well. Beastmen possessed unhindered night vision and hearing. Every restless shift and huff from the sleepless little female had not escaped his sharp ears. Or perhaps the sudden presence of two extra people in the cave made him uneasy, leaving him equally unable to rest. Their eyes met as they stood by the cave entrance. Embarrassed, Anluo waved awkwardly. “H-Hi! Good morning!” Baize frowned slightly, confused by the odd gesture. Yet judging by her gentle expression, he guessed it was a greeting, and nodded back. “Go rest some more. I’ll roast meat for you,” Anluo offered. She already felt terrible relying on Baize’s cave for shelter; she wanted to keep busy to ease her guilty conscience. She had considered finding a separate cave to move into. But until she fully integrated into the tribe, she would not leave Baize’s dwelling. The tribe held many beastmen, and she and her brother were scrawny and vulnerable in this unfamiliar land. She did not wish to suspect others with malice, yet she dared not let her guard down carelessly. Beastmen had no custom of eating breakfast, so Baize stared blankly at her words, thinking she must be starving.Baize had long grown used to living alone as a solitary beastman. Unlike those with mates who stockpiled food inside their caves, he kept nothing but the fruits traded the day before—there was no other food to be found. After a moment’s thought, Baize spoke. “There is no meat here, only yesterday’s fruits left. Have some to tide you over.” Anluo froze for a beat before catching his meaning. “I’m not hungry. I was worried you’d lack energy to hunt on an empty stomach…” Baize’s features softened instantly. “Very well. I will keep some food stored in the cave from now on.” He paused, a faint note of regret in his voice. “Food only stays fresh for two days. I will keep small portions, so I won’t grieve too much if it spoils.” Anluo blinked. “Alright, I’ll leave it up to you.” Though she had not slept a wink all night, her mind was startlingly clear. She had sorted through every scrap of the original host’s memories during her sleepless hours. It turned out the Tiger Tribe chieftain’s family had sheltered the girl far too thoroughly, coddling her until she knew nothing of the world. She had not grasped even the most basic survival rules of the Beast God Continent. Her every thought revolved around flaunting her status, bullying the weak, and gorging on food—utterly useless. As for herself? Though she used to write novels, she had never touched beast-world stories or studied them closely, leaving her woefully ignorant about this primeval land. To avoid blowing her cover, Anluo resolved to speak little and act more… and steer clear of sharp-witted beastmen. Once Baize left, Anluo ruffled her messy hair, tied it into a loose ponytail, and headed to the stream for a quick wash. Since neither she nor her brother had come of age, they were exempt from both the foraging and hunting parties. As long as they stayed safe, they were free to wander as they pleased. Anluo planned to nibble a little fruit then venture into the nearby forest to see what she could find. Mid-bite, the cub suddenly sat bolt upright, his round big eyes fixed unblinkingly on the fruit in her hands, and blurted out out of the blue, “A-jie, I think I saw Father and Mother.” Glancing at the dazed little boy, Anluo assumed he’d dreamed of their parents from longing, and paid it no mind. She shifted his attention. “That must be them coming to visit you. Come have some fruit—we’re going into the forest to look for soap pods today.” Sure enough, the cub’s focus drifted immediately. He threw off the beast hide mat and trotted quickly to her side. The fruit was enormous, far too big for Anluo to finish alone. She had sliced half off with her bone knife and set it aside earlier, and handed it to him the second he drew near. Despite his young age, the cub had a far larger appetite than her. He polished off the half fruit in a flash, licking his lips longingly afterward, yet behaved sensibly and asked for no more. Fearing he would overeat, Anluo did not offer him another piece. She finished her own fruit quickly, took the cub to wash their faces at the stream, notified Jutu of their plans, and the pair set off for the forest outside the tribe. The woods held untold hidden dangers. For their first trip out, Anluo dared not wander far, sticking close to the tribe’s perimeter. Weeds and wild flowers grew thick everywhere, and every plant caught Anluo’s eye as a rare treasure. Unfortunately, every bloom and herb she plucked was rejected by Erbao. Just as her spirits sank, she spotted several clusters of bright red, round fruits up ahead that looked incredibly familiar. As she stepped closer to pluck one for inspection, a sharp beep echoed inside her head, followed by Erbao’s voice. [Ding~ Ancient Mutant Fruit – Chili Peppers detected. Reward: 10 Points. Would you like to archive this specimen?]