Chapter 271 - 261: Elf and Sugar

Moira Lynch tried a few more times without success, so she decided to change her method.

Instead of pulling straight up, she started wiggling it left and right.

She loosened the surrounding soil before giving it a hard tug.

After some effort, Moira Lynch finally managed to pull out the first beet.

The beet looked like a radish that had been magnified several times and turned on its side. Its skin was black and covered in small bumps.

And unlike the crispness of a radish, the beet’s skin was thick and very tough.

Moira Lynch leaned in for a sniff. She couldn’t smell anything besides damp earth.

Seeing Moira Lynch’s success, the others immediately copied her technique.

Once they got the hang of it, everyone’s pace quickened. This was much easier than chopping the giant sugarcane before.

Before, they had to stay bent over, but now they could just sit on the ground.

There were fifty players in their group. With one person already eliminated, forty-nine remained.

With forty-nine people working together, their progress was incredibly fast, even if someone occasionally slacked off.

Soon, the beets piled in the clearing formed a small mountain.

Just as everyone was about to press on, they suddenly heard the sound of hurried footsteps from behind.

Two elves were walking toward them, but based on their figures, they didn’t seem to be Sea Sprites.

Moira Lynch turned to see two cyan figures appearing.

Unlike the Sea Sprites, who were blue all over, these two elves had white skin. Their clothes and even their pupils, however, were cyan.

[Dryad: Rare in number and unskilled in combat, but highly intelligent with powerful spiritual power. They are the epitome of wisdom among The Elven Race.]

As she watched the two Dryads, she noticed they each wore a gemstone on their forehead that swayed slightly as they moved.

Moira Lynch stared at the swaying gemstone. It looked incredibly familiar. In fact, it was identical to her Favor Gemstone, only smaller.

One of the Dryads scanned the crowd, their gaze finally settling on one person.

Moira Lynch followed the Dryad’s line of sight and saw MoonlitHorizon struggling to pull out a beet.

Apparently noticing Moira Lynch’s stare, MoonlitHorizon glanced her way before quickly looking away.

The two Dryads watched MoonlitHorizon for a moment, then began whispering to each other.

Their voices were so low that even if the players wanted to eavesdrop, it was impossible.

As for Moira Lynch, having guessed that they were most likely there for MoonlitHorizon, she turned her attention back to her work.

After the two Dryads finished their discussion, one of them waved over a robot and whispered a few instructions.

The robot nodded to show it understood.

The Dryad patted its head, promising it an extra meal for completing the task.

The two Dryads turned and left, and the robot returned to its post as if nothing had happened.

...

Two vegetable patches away from where Moira Lynch was working lay another clearing.

The players here were arranged in neat rows, each with a cutting board and a sharp cleaver in front of them.

Here, the players’ only task was to properly process the endless stream of various unknown crops brought to them.

Kai York and Hugh Finch had been assigned to this station.

Kai York skillfully picked up a washed beet and split it in two.

With practiced motions, he used the cleaver to peel and chop it.

Hugh Finch, beside him, was doing much the same, though he was processing a different sugar-rich crop.

It looked and smelled like a piece of ginger magnified more than ten times.

"Good thing I’ve been working out. Otherwise, a full day of this would completely wreck my arm," Kai York said, swinging his cleaver.

The cleavers might look thin, but they were not light at all.

"I wonder how the boss and Moira are doing."

"This game isn’t dangerous. As long as you don’t slack off, clearing it should be no problem. You don’t need to worry about them," Hugh Finch said.

Kai York nodded in agreement. "You’re right. Besides, for a girl with monstrous strength like Moira, this game is a piece of cake."

Hugh Finch just smiled.

Soon, the workday came to an end.

Kai York looked at his dinner: cake, more cake, and even a sweet drink to go with it.

After storing it in his Space Button, he took out a steamed bun and began to eat. Hugh Finch, beside him, did the same.

"I remember your second brother hates sweets more than anything," Hugh Finch said suddenly.

Kai York nodded. "He does. My oldest brother told me that when our second brother was a kid, he ate some candy and got chased by bees. He was stung all over his head and spent a month in the ICU. He’s been traumatized ever since. Just the sight of sweets makes him sick."

"He’d be miserable if he ended up in this game, then."

There were other players in their families, including Kai York’s second brother, Caden York.

At that, Kai York’s eyes shot wide open, but he quickly composed himself. "Well," he said with a resigned sigh, "all we can do is wish him luck."

With his second brother’s abilities, clearing the game would be no problem. He was just in for a miserable time.

Meanwhile, the very same long-suffering second brother Kai York had mentioned found Moira Lynch right after the workday ended.

"This is today’s dinner."

Moira Lynch, as promised, handed over two extra-large meal boxes.

Moira Lynch always prepared extra-large portions because players had big appetites.

Caden York happily left with his two meal boxes.

Seeing this, the other players grew restless.

At first, they didn’t mind eating the cakes. They were actually quite delicious, after all.

Besides, since the cataclysms on Caelus, most of them hadn’t had dessert in a very long time.

But no matter how good it was, nobody could stand eating it every single day.

Now, after several consecutive meals of it, their stomachs were starting to protest.

They had no way to test their blood sugar, but they were sure it was through the roof. Even their teeth seemed to ache at the mere sight of the food before them.

After a moment of hesitation, one player finally stood up and walked over to Moira Lynch.

"Hi, could I possibly trade some food with you?" the person asked.

Moira Lynch shook her head. "Sorry, I don’t have much left myself."

’I’d like to agree, but I didn’t miss the looks on everyone else’s faces. If I say yes this time, more and more people will come asking to trade. I have enough, but pulling out that much food at once would definitely raise suspicions and attract unnecessary trouble.’