Chapter 43

After Lu Yu figured it out, he felt great and threw himself into the physical training in the training ground with full enthusiasm. With a boyfriend so capable, he couldn’t afford to lose. Even if he didn’t fight on the battlefield or hunt wild beasts, he couldn’t drag him down.

Following the instructions in the training ground, Lu Yu did some running exercises and muscle stretching exercises. Especially the muscle stretching exercises, he did them particularly diligently. To be honest, he really envied Tai Lie and the others for their toned yet handsome muscles. They looked so cool. However, it seemed like his body wasn’t naturally inclined to develop muscles. Even in modern times, he would occasionally go to the gym, and while his stamina seemed to improve, he couldn’t seem to build muscles.

Lu Yu suddenly remembered something. Back then, while other guys had female trainers at the gym, he always had muscular male trainers coming to him…

Lu Yu fell silent for a moment, then continued to train seriously.

After training for a few hours, Lu Yu returned to the control room, preparing to close the training ground and let everyone go to sleep, only to find new content on the panel.

[Low-level Dream Training Ground Upgraded]

[Basic Dream Training Ground Unlocked]

Huh? Upgraded?

Lu Yu took a look. Previously, he saw that upgrading the training ground required a certain number of trainees and duration. Tonight, with the people from the valley joining, they had trained all night, which was enough.

Lu Yu also came to a conclusion. The first upgrade of these new systems was relatively easy. Whether it was the first upgrade of the panel, the village, or the guidance system, they were all easily completed. However, the difficulty increased exponentially with subsequent upgrades, especially for village upgrades.

Lu Yu felt a headache when he thought about those new materials.

Forget it, let’s not think about that for now. Let’s see what new content there is in the Dream Training Ground after the upgrade.

Click to check.

The panel on the screen refreshed.

The first thing Lu Yu noticed was the “Training Ground Status Check” icon.

He clicked on it, and a list of everyone’s avatars popped up.

Lu Yu paused for a moment and then clicked on Tai Lie’s avatar.

Hmm, he definitely wasn’t just checking on what his “potential boyfriend” was up to. He was just checking out this new feature, Lu Yu thought confidently.

With his finger tapping, a screen suddenly appeared in front of him.

Lu Yu was surprised. So, the so-called status check was actually a real-time projection of the training ground’s status.

However, it seemed like this feature wasn’t very useful. Why would he need to look at this? He wasn’t a supervisor, and he wasn’t checking to see if anyone was slacking off.

Actually, whether it was the Matai people or the people from the valley, he had never seen anyone slacking off. Each one of them was eager to work hard.

Lu Yu didn’t dwell on it for long because his attention quickly shifted elsewhere.

On the screen, a tall and sturdy man was sparring with a virtual opponent. This virtual opponent looked the same as the others in the combat training, just a mechanical figure dressed in human skin. It couldn’t be damaged, and it didn’t give any verbal instructions, only making mechanical movements.

Even without using any techniques, Tai Lie could easily defeat this virtual opponent. However, he was still striving to apply the combat techniques demonstrated by the virtual opponent in his sparring.

His movements might not be very skilled, but his expression was determined and especially serious.

And he… looked especially handsome.

With his tense jawline, broad shoulders, sturdy abdominal muscles, and the hint of a mermaid line hidden behind his animal skin skirt…

As Lu Yu watched, his face began to flush. They say that a serious man is the most handsome, and there was some truth to that…

Hmm, this man was about to become his boyfriend!

The smile on Lu Yu’s face was almost uncontrollable.

Wait a minute!

Lu Yu suddenly remembered something.

If Tai Lie becomes his boyfriend, then their intimacy would be natural and reasonable, wouldn’t it? The upgrade of the panel would be like riding a rocket!

Lu Yu’s eyes sparkled.

In the future, he could have meals with Tai Lie every day, and they could even bathe and scrub each other’s backs together after eating. While dating, he could upgrade the panel! What a heavenly cheat!

Lu Yu was so happy he felt like he was floating.

Hold on, hold on.

Lu Yu took a deep breath, calming down his overly excited emotions. There were still other things to do now; he could be happy later.

Lu Yu glanced at Tai Lie on the screen again, closed the status check function, and turned his attention to the two new training programs that had opened up in the training ground.

In the combat training ground, in addition to the existing programs, there were now “Armed Combat” and “Low-Level Scenario Simulation.”

In the skill training ground, there were “Low-level City Defense Layout,” “Transportation Tools,” and “Ships.”

Lu Yu remained calm when he saw the two programs in the combat training ground, but he was pleasantly surprised when he saw the programs in the skill training ground.

They might not need the last one, the ship, for now, because there was no sea nearby, not even a decent-sized river for fishing or drinking water.

However, “Low-level City Defense Layout” and “Transportation Tools” were exactly what they needed at the moment.

The Matai village, said to evolve into a combat fortress in the future, had a rather touching upgrade progress. As for the valley, they had only built a few small wooden fences, which hardly provided any protection. This Defense Layout came just in time.

Transportation tools were also necessary. Unlike the Matai people, not everyone in the valley was endlessly strong, and it was quite challenging for them to transport the collected materials.

It seemed like they could arrange for people to start learning tomorrow! Lu Yu thought excitedly.

After seeing that there were no other new things, Lu Yu closed the training room and retreated, feeling satisfied, and went to sleep soundly.

As the sun gradually rose, Lu Yu woke up refreshed and got up to wash up.

As the cool water splashed on his face, Lu Yu contemplated a serious matter in his mind.

He had already decided to agree to Tai Lie last night. Should he just go over and tell him directly, or should he wait for Tai Lie to express something next time and then agree naturally?

After thinking for only a few seconds, Lu Yu made up his mind.

Forget it, why be so coy? Just go over and tell him directly. Although it might be a bit embarrassing, considering he had told Tai Lie several times before that he didn’t like men…

But he wasn’t a indecisive person. If he needed to refuse, he would refuse; if he needed to express his feelings, he wouldn’t hesitate. If it meant being contradicted, then so be it. He didn’t think Tai Lie would mind.

But it would be best to tell him alone…

Lu Yu made breakfast and discussed last night’s training situation with the others, sneakily glancing at Tai Lie who was quietly gnawing on meat.

He didn’t find an opportunity.

After eating, Tai Lie and the others went hunting.

Lu Yu could only do his own business.

He went to the valley and listened to the people there talk about their miraculous experiences in their dreams last night. Lu Yu first encouraged them with a few words, urging everyone to continue learning diligently.

Then he briefly mentioned the new projects, mainly explaining what Defense Layout and transportation tools were, and asked those interested in the new projects to talk to him.

Previously, the boy from the Blackwater Tribe, Shu Tai, who was skinny, had been able to eat more lately and occasionally exchange collected materials for some meat, so he had become much stronger.

He raised his arm, his eyes shining as he looked at Lu Yu. “Witch, I, I want to build Defense!”

“You want to build Defense?” Lu Yu was somewhat surprised. He advised him, “This might be a bit tiring. You’re still young. You could start by learning about containers…”

Shu Tai was very determined. “I will train hard! I want to protect the valley and the village!”

Lu Yu was taken aback for a moment. This child… seemed to see this place as a real home…

Lu Yu smiled. “Alright then.”

Let the child do whatever he wanted. Maybe this child had a special talent for building defense layout? Even if he didn’t have talent, Lu Yu believed that with his determination, he would definitely learn well.

“Thank you, Witch!” Shu Tai happily clenched his fist and waved it, his expression full of excitement.

After arranging the training matters, Lu Yu went to check on the fields where they were preparing to plant rice.

Yesterday, Lu Yu had already taught them how to cultivate the land, mainly weeding, turning over the soil, and building ridges. Finally, he instructed them to fetch water from the river and irrigate the dry fields, integrating them into suitable rice paddies.

These fields were not far from the river, so fetching water wasn’t too troublesome. In the future, with the development of tools like waterwheels, it would be even more convenient.

The rice paddies were ready, and Lu Yu evenly scattered the rice seeds.

After scattering them, Lu Yu clapped his hands and rubbed his waist.

Hmm, it was a little sore. He would let his “prospective boyfriend” help massage it later.

“Witch, what’s wrong?” asked by the people from the valley who were following him.

Why did he suddenly smile after rubbing his waist?

Lu Yu pursed his lips. “Ahem, it’s nothing. Well, let’s call it a day here. I’ll come back this afternoon to tell you more.”

Lu Yu was eager to go back.

If Tai Lie and the others caught prey in the morning, they would come back for lunch, then rest for a while before heading out again.

Lu Yu felt he could make use of the noon break.

He returned to the village with excitement. However, when it was time for lunch, Tai Lie and the others hadn’t returned.

Xia Cao looked at Lu Yu’s disappointed expression and thought he was disappointed that Tai Lie and the others hadn’t caught any prey.

She comforted him, “They might have caught a large wild animal. It takes a long time to ambush such animals. Witch, don’t worry.”

Lu Yu knew she had misunderstood, but he didn’t say much, just nodded. “Okay.”

For some reason, he vaguely felt that his impatience was a bit unreasonable, as if he had overlooked something, perhaps because of his anxiety.

Lu Yu suppressed this emotion and spent the afternoon as usual, teaching the people from the valley about farming knowledge, irrigation methods, weed control, and even how to make fertilizer, mainly using plant ashes rather than manure.

In the evening, he washed off the dirt from his body by the river and returned to the village, feeling clean and refreshed.

Just as he entered the village, he overheard two Matais whispering to each other.

Lu Yu didn’t intend to eavesdrop, but he caught his name in their conversation, causing him to slow down his steps.

“You mean the fruit Witch talked about?”

“It should be, round and red, still hanging on the tree.”

“That’s great. I’ll give it to Witch later!”

Hearing this, Lu Yu smiled. So they found a fruit for him. Judging by their description, it seemed like an apple?

He was about to step out when the two people started talking about something else.

“The food Witch eats is different from ours.”

“Because Witch’s body is different from ours.”

“Do you think… Witch will end up like those people, living for decades…”

The voice of the speaker gradually lowered.

Lu Yu’s head felt like it had been struck by a sledgehammer, and suddenly, as if enlightened, the unease in his heart became clear.

How could he… how could he forget such an important thing…

A gap between him and Tai Lie.

Lifespan.

He was just an ordinary person. In a few more years, he would be thirty, then over thirty, forty… He would age, and after a few decades, he would die.

But Tai Lie, he would remain strong for hundreds or even thousands of years before gradually aging.

If he really got together with Tai Lie, would he fear the separation of life and death, or would he fear gradually growing old and being abandoned?

Or perhaps, they would just have a short-lived romance and then break up?

But once they got together, could he control something as unpredictable as feelings?

Lu Yu’s heart tightened suddenly.