Ma Lin suddenly felt a pang of hunger.
Only then did he confront a serious problem; to survive here, he needed food. But where could he obtain it?
These two stamina fruits were grown by watering trees with the Great Demon Chicken Egg's urine. What watering method can he use when there's no urine left tomorrow?
On the other hand, how can I get back home? I don't want to stay here; it's creepy in the desolate wilderness. I feel safer in a rented apartment.
Even though it's cold in the rental, all I have to do is shout "I am the dog servant," and I can transform immediately; it won't be cold anymore, and I can even show off my running ability to others.
Luckily, he still had a task to complete.
And it was to bring the Great Demon Chicken Egg its hat.
But how?
After thinking for a while, he noticed that in the "Servant's Book," the text of this task was bolded and highlighted, so he tried to tap it with his finger.
Actual tiny words appeared.
"You need to conduct a sacrificial ritual to return the hat to the master. Fill its urn with half a liter of water, sprinkle the water on the ground to draw a circle, add two inverted triangles, place the hat in the center, and then sing 'Master, master, I love you' a hundred times. The master will then be able to locate you on his own and take the hat. Task reward: a door."
He thought to himself, a portal?
Can I go back after completing this task?
Well, that's good. It seems the Great Demon Chicken Egg only needed me to fetch its hat. Once I've got the hat, I don't need to linger here anymore. A portal will lead straight to my bedroom, and that will be the end of it.
Come to think of it, this sleep paralysis has really been rather mystical.
The "Servant's Book" hovered in front of him, and he saw a task prompt appear on the cave floor. A circle with a diameter of three meters with two opposite triangles inside; he was supposed to draw this figure.
Where would he get water?
He held the pot, which still smelled atrociously, thinking the Great Demon Chicken Egg's urn was truly despicable.
The "Servant's Book" guided him to grab a lot of snow from outside and put it into the urn.
Then, a few steps to the right of the cave, he found a pile of kindling and pulled out a bunch of twigs to bring back to the cave, propping them up.
But how to light a fire?
The "Servant's Book" intructed: Please chant the command 'Master, lend me some fire' to use a basic fire spell, which consumes 1 contribution point.
Ma Lin thought to himself, when you live under someone's roof, you have to bow your head, but what exactly is this contribution point?
He murmured softly, "Master, lend me some fire."
It sounded extremely awkward.
Then, he felt a scorching power surge through his right hand. He quickly extended his palm toward the twigs.
Soon a blaze sprouted, igniting the wood.
The fire grew fiercer, and the stench from the urn intensified.
How could burning a urine urn smell good?
He went to the entrance of the cave and flipped through the book again, quickly finding the page that recorded the contribution points.
"Dumping the master's urine pot, reward: 2 contribution points."
Total contribution points: two.
A dark line instantly twisted across Ma Lin's forehead.
With only two contribution points, which only suffice for lighting a fire twice, this could be troublesome. Without fire, how will one survive in the wilderness?
But then, thinking of the task to retrieve the hat which would allow him to open the portal and return home, the lack of fire seemed to not be a problem after all.
So he felt somewhat relieved.
He first drew the circular pattern with a six-pointed star on the ground with sticks.
Once the snow in the urn had melted, he held the pot and sprinkled water onto the ground. True to its nature as a chicken egg's urn, the water didn't spill randomly; he managed to successfully draw the Array.
He then placed the sleeping cap in the very center of the Array.
For the sake of returning home, he could disregard face and dignity.
He started hopping and singing around the Array, "Master, master, I love you,"
Looking positively mad.
After singing a hundred times, the sleeping cap vanished in a burst of light, and the voice said, "My servant, you are truly loyal, and it touches me; I reward you a door."
It was the familiar voice of the Great Demon Chicken Egg.
Ma Lin waited, eager to know where the portal would appear so that he could hurry back.
But it never showed up.
Where's the door?
As he wondered, he turned to see an additional door in his cave, now wide open.
So it referred to this door!
He didn't know why, but he felt extremely bad.
Approaching the door, he reached out and closed it.
He discovered a very complex bolt setup.
It gave him a very secure feeling.
He fastened the bolt. The door panel and frame were connected together by a set of metal rods.
Why was this door designed to be so sturdy?
He opened the door, stepped out, and then closed it from the outside.
He heard a 'click', as if a lock had engaged.
Then the color of the door began to change, blending into the surrounding environment.
This place no longer looked like it had a door, but seemed to be just a rock.
Ma Lin reached out to touch where the door had been, feeling only the cold stone.
He suddenly panicked, frantically feeling around, trying to open the door again.
Fortunately, the prompt rang out again: "To open the door, recite the passphrase 'I am the servant dog of my master'."
Swallowing his humiliation, he recited, "I am the servant dog of my master."
Then the door reappeared before him and opened.
He pushed the door and went in.
Regardless, the safety issue was now resolved.
The cave, because of the burning of the urine pot, smelled awfully smelly. He left the door open, hoping the odor would dissipate.
This door was sophisticated, featuring a large mirror that could be used to spy outside, while the outside could not see inside.
He wasn't sure if leaving the door open was safe, or if wild beasts would spot the cave.
The original owner of the cave obviously wasn't afraid of wild beasts, which is why there wasn't even a door to begin with.
But for the life of him, he couldn't understand why an immortal demon would live here, and why it suddenly couldn't return, even unable to take its sleeping cap with it?
Either the egg was lying, and it wasn't as formidable as it boasted, and it certainly had some ulterior motive for bringing Ma Lin here.
Or, what it said was true, and there must be dangers in this world that even it was powerless against.
He opened the System Book, which was the "Servant's Book." The page on contribution points had a new record.
"Retrieve the master's hat, 5 contribution points."
"Sing 'Master, master, I love you' a hundred times, 1 contribution point."
Ma Lin thought for a long time. Contribution points must be important, he must find a way to accumulate them. How to accumulate them?
He started singing 'Master, master, I love you' without shame. After a hundred times, indeed, the contribution points increased by one.
This great demonic egg liked flattery?
The coat wears out, but flattery's always in fashion.
Ma Lin sang 'Master, master, I love you' repeatedly without shame, not counting how many times, until his throat was dry and smoking, and his contribution points had increased to eighteen. It couldn't go up anymore, singing further was in vain.
He felt extremely tired.
And incredibly hungry. He quickly ate a stamina fruit.
Truly, the effect was remarkable; immediately he was no longer hungry, and his strength started to quickly replenish. Then he felt very thirsty.
There were absolutely no bowls or cups in the cave.
He went out and found a thick stick, taking his canine dagger, and chopped it in half with a swish.
The dagger was really sharp, and he began to wonder. Was it dangerous to carry the dagger on his belt? Could he cut himself accidentally? He might even lose his life.
He whittled a wooden bowl from the thick stick, filled it with snow, and brought it back into the cave to melt by the fire, then drank.
He then found a tree stump, effortlessly chopped it down, hollowed it out, and filled it with a good amount of snow, placing it inside the cave.
He closed the door.
The cave was pitch-dark.
Thankfully, the System Book still glowed.
After consuming the stamina fruit, he felt not just satiated but a bit overstuffed. It was miraculous.
Outside, the snow continued to fall, the wilderness profoundly silent.
Sitting there, he began to feel lonely and a profound sorrow.
How on earth am I going to get back?