12. Smallville: Junimo

20.

Aria's farm has been expanded with a mod, and its area is larger than the original map.

Moonlight kissed the cultivated land beside the cabin, casting a silvery glow on the sprinklers. Aria planted the strawberry seeds she'd bought for Easter. Suddenly, she remembered she should prepare a batch of sap collectors.

It is now the 13th day of spring, and there are still 14 days until summer. If you want to plant endless hops in the summer to start your brewing business, you must first prepare a lot of brewing barrels.

Aria had left behind a variety of tree species during her initial clearing of the wasteland, giving the farmer an unusually abundant supply of materials for making small barrels. She pulled a copper ingot straight from the red-hot furnace and combined it with forty pieces of wood to craft a sap collector. Repeating this process over and over again, she crafted a dozen or so in the blink of an eye.

Resin is collected once every eight days. Today, hanging the collector on the tree counts as one day. Aria is naturally happy to collect enough oak resin earlier. She looked up and saw that there were only two hours left until two o'clock in the morning. She decisively put a dozen collectors in her pocket and went out.

To the west of the farm is the forest area she planned. The trees in the forest are shadowy, and countless branches are intertwined like a spider web above Aria's head. When she looks up, she can see the bright moon and sparse stars through the gaps between the branches... Tomorrow should be a good day.

The nights were always windy, and Arya could feel a chilly breeze brushing against her back as she walked. The rustling of leaves in her ears was like a prelude to the approach of a ghost. Walking alone in such a place at night could easily lead to fear, but as a player, Arya felt no fear.

...What's more, the farmer's grandfather is still here.

Old John's grave is located in the northwest corner of the farm. Although it is on the same level as the cabin, it is far away from the residence. Perhaps he wanted to protect the farm and did not want to disturb his descendants too much, so he chose this quiet place.

There was no candle lit on a gray shrine. Aria stepped over a tree root exposed on the ground and hung a small kerosene lamp she brought with her on the shrine - now it looked less deserted.

Seeing the graves of "relatives" in the forest has never been a horror story. Aria patted the stone next to the shrine, as if reminiscing with an old friend: "We meet again." She opened one file after another, and her grandfather's grave was still her grandfather's grave. This was probably the only thing that would not change.

“I haven’t really figured out this game yet. I’m still exploring everything. The map feels much bigger than before, and the NPCs are more vivid. It’s quite interesting.”

The light from the kerosene lamp reflected in Aria's eyes, like a elusive star.

"I actually still have some questions that I need your answers to, but time flies by so quickly, so there's nothing to worry about... I'll be able to see you in the third year anyway."

As if responding to her words, something slowly emerged from behind the shrine. Its shadow stretched immensely long under the kerosene lamp, revealing a terrifying, cylindrical monster that stretched infinitely.

——Aria reached out and rescued the little thing from the gap between the shrine and the wall.

The Junimo resembled a green apple with skeletal arms and legs, and lay almost weightless in his hand, so the farmer squeezed it unconsciously.

"Ji!" The four small lines of hands and feet instantly stretched straight, and the "green apple" began to struggle in her hands.

"Sorry! I pinched you by mistake." Aria realized she was feeling something, so she lowered her head to blow on it, kneading the soft little thing. The green Junimho struggled to sit up, then accidentally rolled over into Aria's palm, revealing what could barely be called a belly.

It looked tired and hungry, as if it had come a long way to get here. Aria had no raisins to give it, so she had to pour some water from the canteen in her equipment bar.

After the Junimo licked the water from her palm, the farmer noticed that it was carrying a small piece of paper. A long piece of wild grass served as a connection between the Junimo and the parchment. The old paper that was originally rolled up was flattened and torn, and it looked like a miniature bag on its body.

"My goodness, you look like you've been kicked out." Aria laughed. She flicked her fingers to untie the burden that was too heavy for the Junimho, and unfolded it to reveal a slip of paper covered with dense runes.

This thing looked somewhat similar to a dwarven scroll. She quickly flipped through the confusing note and discovered that the task page originally labeled "???" had been updated.

Say hello to ??? (Progress: 1/4)

Aria knew this situation. If you played Zuzu City or other large mods, it would be easy to encounter the miserable situation of having to talk to a hundred people one by one in the initial novice mission.

So this is a preview of a new map? Aria wanted to ask Junimo, but the little creature in front of her didn't seem to be able to speak like its companions. She shook it slightly, and the little green apple's eyes showed mosquito-like eyes, as if it was about to faint.

Forget it, let her explore on her own. Aria hadn't forgotten her mission of hanging the sap collector. She knew the little green apple would leave on its own soon. After placing it on the ground, the farmer squatted down and asked:

"Can we leave tomorrow? I'll buy you some raisins tomorrow morning."

Although Aria could build a dryer immediately with the materials she had, grapes could not be picked in the spring. She could go to the market and ask - she just needed to ask Aunt Susan for help in building a barn.

The Junimo blinked its small eyes, as if its mind was weighing the relative importance of "raisins" or "coming home a day late." However, this mental struggle didn't last long. It raised its slender little hand towards Aria and began to dance.

It's done.

Aria liked them very much. When she spoke to the Junimos, her tone always slowed down unconsciously, and it was as gentle as the moonlight on the stream. "Will it be cold here tonight?"

Green Apple shook its head, not knowing how its tiny legs could support its weight. It staggered back to the shrine and shrank into the crevice.

Aria turned the button on the gas lamp to brighten it up a little.

Whether the Junimo understood or not, the farmer waved at it and gave it a human smile.

"Go to bed early."

…

Considering that there would be more Junimos visiting in the future, Aria bought three pounds of raisins from the grocer.

After installing the mod, NPC reactions are more realistic. The grocery store owner Jackson praised Aria's performance on Easter: "I saw it all. You moved like a little cannonball that day!"

He waved his hands, imitating the gesture of high-speed bullet flying into the sky in front of his eyes. Although the gesture was weird, Aria understood it and laughed out loud in applause.

"No way! The speed limiter is right there. I just look a little more agile than the others. You're exaggerating."

Jackson shook his head and said seriously, "No, you ran over here so fast! You ran over so fast! It made my eyes blurry. Could it be that I already have presbyopia at my age?"

The grocer boasted without hesitation: "I think you should compete with Superman." He laughed so hard that the ceiling almost lifted up: "Maybe Smallville will have its own Superman!"

Ever since he received several gifts from her, the grocery store owner liked this younger generation more and more, and felt that comparing Superman to the little girl in front of him was the highest compliment.

Unexpectedly, Aria tilted her head and asked curiously, "What is Superman?"

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2024-06-19 23:59:18 and 2024-06-21 20:59:51~

Thanks to the little angel who threw the grenade: the name is not important 1;

Thanks to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: 10 bottles of suicide; 5 bottles of Liyedu; 4 bottles of Qiu Yihehua; 2 bottles of Verity; 1 bottle of 51822616, Riddler Get Out of Gotham!, A Tao, and Ye Zi;

Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!