I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Ingredient Drop

Taking the shortcut back was a journey of about two kilometers.

It was the transition from spring to summer.

Wildflowers bloomed extravagantly along the path, and the air was filled with the songs of birds and the scent of flowers, creating a truly delightful mood.

As he neared the village, farmland and vegetable patches gradually became more common.

One patch was planted with eggplants.

As Li You passed by, he noticed the leaves of several eggplant stalks were riddled with holes.

’They’ve been infested with pests. The leaves have all been eaten.’

Soon enough, Li You found the culprit.

It was a twenty-eight-spotted ladybug.

Some ladybugs are beneficial insects, while others are pests.

Carnivorous ladybugs, like the seven-spotted ladybug, are beneficial.

Meanwhile, herbivorous ones like this twenty-eight-spotted ladybug are pests.

Li You reached out, planning to flick it away.

Suddenly.

”Qualifying scene for a game instance detected. Game instance generated.

Instance Name: The Destructive Twenty-Eight-Spotted Ladybug!

Trial Mission: Eliminate twenty twenty-eight-spotted ladybugs.

Mission Completion Reward: 500 jin of Flour (Quality: Superior) (Can be used to make Yangchun Noodles).

Enter game instance?”

Li You froze.

’So this is how game instances are generated.’

His shock quickly turned to elation.

Completing the mission would reward him with 500 jin of superior-quality flour.

This was one of the exact ingredients Li You needed right now.

With these 500 jin of flour, he could make Yangchun Noodles. At the very least, he wouldn’t have to go out and buy flour himself anymore.

Besides, this was superior-quality flour, the kind you couldn’t necessarily buy at the market.

The crucian carp from the gorge had only been rated as medium-quality by the system. This meant the system had incredibly high standards for ingredient quality.

Most of the flour at the market was probably just low-quality; even medium-quality was rare, let alone superior-quality.

The quality of the flour would directly impact the quality of the final noodles.

The better the flour, the better the noodles.

So, Li You was absolutely thrilled.

’And the game instance is this simple?’

’Killing twenty of them? That’s child’s play!’

’I could just squish them with my fingers.’

”Enter game instance.”

Li You made his choice without a moment’s hesitation.

In an instant, everything before Li You’s eyes began to blur and warp.

When the world solidified again, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar environment.

’What’s going on?’

’Aren’t I supposed to be killing twenty-eight-spotted ladybugs? Why am I somewhere else?’

’Where am I?’

Li You looked around carefully, realizing he seemed to be in a strange jungle.

Towering green trees surrounded him, their canopies stretching toward the sky.

Not far off, an even taller tree with purple branches stood out.

Just as Li You was wondering what was going on, he suddenly felt something’s gaze lock onto him.

A chill ran down his spine.

’What now?’

Li You cautiously turned around and saw a behemoth staring at him menacingly.

It was a massive monster.

Its body was hemispherical and reddish-brown, covered in fine, yellowish-brown hairs.

It appeared to have a pair of elytra on its back, which were covered in black spots.

’What kind of monster is this?’

’Wait...’

’This monster looks... kind of familiar.’

’Holy shit!’

’Isn’t this a twenty-eight-spotted ladybug?’

’How did it get so big?’

’A twenty-eight-spotted ladybug this huge? How the hell am I supposed to kill that?’

’Wait...’

’No, that’s not right.’

’The twenty-eight-spotted ladybug didn’t get bigger.’

’It’s me... I’ve shrunk.’

Li You understood.

The towering green trees around him weren’t trees at all, but blades of grass.

And that enormous tree with purple branches was the eggplant stalk.

’So, I haven’t changed locations.’

’The location is the same, but my body has shrunk countless times over.’

’In that case, this game instance isn’t going to be so simple after all!’

’How am I supposed to kill a twenty-eight-spotted ladybug that’s bigger than me?’

’It’s more likely to kill me.’

’I was too hasty!’

”System, System, can I exit the game instance?”

’I wonder if I can still communicate with the System in here.’

”Yes. The Host may choose to exit at any time.”

’I can communicate with the System, and I can leave whenever I want.’

Li You felt a great sense of relief.

”System, what happens if I’m killed by a monster in the game instance?”

”If the Host dies in a game instance, you will be forcibly ejected. You will also lose all items obtained within that instance. There will be no effect on the Host in the real world.”

Li You’s heart leaped with joy.

’As long as it doesn’t affect me in the real world, I’m good.’

’Losing all my items doesn’t matter.’

’I can just work hard to get them again next time.’

With that, there was no need to worry or be afraid.

Still, even with that assurance, the game instance felt so real that Li You had no desire to experience death here.

The thought of dying was still terrifying.

So, he had to do everything he could to stay alive and figure out how to complete the trial mission.

Besides, the only way to get the reward was to complete the mission.

’But can I really kill this thing in front of me?’

”As this is the Host’s first time entering a monster-slaying game instance, the Host is being gifted a set of beginner equipment to aid in killing monsters. The equipment is stored in the Storage Pavilion on your personal information panel. The Host may view and equip it at will.”

’A monster-slaying instance? Are there other types?’

”Yes. There are many types of instances. The Host will be able to experience them all in the future.”

’Oh, really!’

’That’s something to look forward to.’

’But first, I need to finish this instance.’

The system gifting him a set of beginner equipment was another pleasant surprise.

Li You opened his personal information panel.

”Qi and Blood: 50

Attack: 2

Defense: 2

Agility: 5.”

’So I have stats.’ The four attributes were easy enough to understand.

The most important stat was Qi and Blood.

His total Qi and Blood was 50. When it dropped to zero, he would die in the game instance.

The stats only applied within the game instance.

He then opened the Storage Pavilion, and sure enough, there was a set of equipment inside.

It consisted of five pieces: a weapon, a helmet, a chestpiece, pants, and boots.

Equipment could boost his stats.

With a mental command, Li You instantly equipped all five pieces.

They fit him perfectly, as if they were custom-made.

The moment he was geared up, Li You felt a surge of power course through his body.

His body also felt incredibly light.

He checked his stats again.

”Qi and Blood: 100

Attack: 5

Defense: 4

Agility: 10.”

All his stats had increased.

’This feels so real!’ Li You grew excited.

He looked back at the twenty-eight-spotted ladybug.

’It has stats, too.’

”Monster Name: Twenty-Eight-Spotted Ladybug.

Qi and Blood: 20

Attack: 1

Defense: 3

Agility: 4.”

’So this thing just looks scary. Its stats are actually pretty pathetic.’

’Low attack, high defense, and average agility.’

’It’s way weaker than me.’

’What’s there to be afraid of then!’

’Time to kill!’

Li You raised the longsword in his hand and charged.

The beginner weapon gifted by the system was a longsword.

The twenty-eight-spotted ladybug didn’t retreat. Instead, it spread its wings and charged right at Li You.

’This thing clearly has no brains.’

Li You leaped high into the air and brought his sword down on the ladybug’s head.

CLANG! It was like striking an iron plate.

’Its defense really is high.’

’But it still lost two points of Qi and Blood.’

This made Li You even more excited!

’The impact feels so real! I’m actually fighting a monster!’

’This is way more thrilling than fighting monsters in a video game!’

’Again!’

Li You raised his sword to strike again, but the ladybug suddenly opened its mouth and spat a stream of black flame at him.

’Holy shit!’

’It has a magic attack!’

Caught off guard, Li You couldn’t dodge in time and was hit by the black flame.

A real sensation of burning spread through his body.

It was painful.

His Qi and Blood dropped by one point.

’Good thing its attack is low.’

’Otherwise, that hit would have cost me several points of Qi and Blood.’

’Looks like I need to be more careful.’

Having landed a hit, the ladybug seemed agitated and spat another stream of black flame.

This time, there was no way Li You was going to get hit again.

He dodged to the side, quickly closed the distance, and slashed with his sword.

A direct hit.

It took off five points of the creature’s Qi and Blood.

’A critical hit!’

Li You was even more ecstatic. Taking advantage of his superior agility, he repositioned himself several times and landed a few more consecutive blows.

Finally, he successfully killed it.

”Successfully killed one twenty-eight-spotted ladybug,” the system announced.

It felt great. ’Too bad it didn’t drop anything, though.’

’No matter. On to the next one.’

Li You was about to search for his next target when he realized he didn’t have to.

The targets were already charging him.

What’s more, three twenty-eight-spotted ladybugs were attacking him at once.

’Three at once?’

’Couldn’t ask for more.’

Li You raised his sword to meet them.

After a fierce battle, he successfully slew all three ladybugs.

He’d been hit a few times himself, losing five points of Qi and Blood.

He had 94 points of Qi and Blood remaining.

”That really hurts!” Li You grimaced.

The pain from being hit was real and intense.

”Item Drop: 100 jin of Pork Bones (Quality: Superior).”

The announcement made Li You so ecstatic that he instantly forgot about his pain.

’Finally, a drop!’

He hurriedly opened his Storage Pavilion.

Sure enough, he saw 100 jin of pork bones inside.

This was the ingredient needed to make the broth for his Yangchun Noodles.

He would get the flour after completing the mission, and now he had a drop for the broth ingredients. If a few more ingredients dropped, he wouldn’t even need to go shopping at the market.

It was a wonderful surprise.

Just then, several more twenty-eight-spotted ladybugs charged him simultaneously.

’Bring it on!’

Li You raised his sword and met the charge.

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