Chapter 179: Time to Be Frugal

Chapter 179: Chapter 179: Time to Be Frugal

Zhang Wei Qiang smiled. "How could your aunt possibly have prepared all this in such a short time by herself? It’s not like she has three heads and six arms. Your mom and grandma got up to help, too. They just went right back to sleep after they were done, so you didn’t notice."

"I see." Gu Nuan Nuan nodded. As she was speaking, she heard the sound of an approaching vehicle and turned to look. A used, medium-sized passenger van came into view. It wasn’t slow; it quickly roared past them...

’I wonder if that’s the van?’

Gu Nuan Nuan was still speculating when she heard her uncle’s wry laugh in her ear. "See? That’s the van you said would give you nightmares. It’s already gone past, so even if you change your mind and want to ride it, you can’t."

Gu Nuan Nuan’s face instantly turned pale. She looked at the winding mountain road, with one side pressed against the mountain wall and the other a sheer cliff, and a terrible feeling welled up inside her. Her consciousness entered the Companion Space to ask Cao Cao, "Cao Cao, I have a really bad feeling that van is going to fall off the cliff. Tell me, if it does, can you instantly make the plants on the cliffside grow out and catch it?"

Cao Cao: "..."

"You can’t?" Gu Nuan Nuan’s heart sank as she closed her eyes. ’I knew it. In the end, I can’t save them.’ If the accident had happened before she saw the van, she could have pretended... But now... The thought that she and her uncle were about to witness the crash firsthand filled her with an unbearable sense of pity welling up from deep inside her.

"While I can’t make the plants grow out in an instant, it’s not like there’s no other way. It’s just—" Cao Cao stammered, nervously tapping together the two leaves on either side of its main stem.

"I know. It’s not enough energy, right?" Gu Nuan Nuan heaved a long sigh. She hesitated for a long while, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to say something like, ’Those are real, living people. You can’t be selfish. You have to exhaust every last bit of your energy to save them.’ She couldn’t sacrifice Cao Cao to save those people.

Compared to those strangers, she cared far more about Cao Cao. She knew that without energy, Cao Cao would fall into an endless slumber. ’What’s the difference between that and death?’

"Master, if you really want to save them, then I..." Seeing that Gu Nuan Nuan wasn’t forcing the issue, Cao Cao was deeply moved. It didn’t want its master to be sad, so it steeled itself, preparing to be generous this one time.

"Of course I don’t want to stand by and watch people die if I can help it. But you’re far more important than they are... Sigh, forget it. Let’s just drop it." ’Talking about it more won’t save them. It’s better not to say anything and avoid the heartache.’

Gu Nuan Nuan sighed.

"Master, I can actually spare a little energy." Cao Cao used a branch to indicate a size as small as the very tip of a leaf, the pained reluctance in its voice obvious. "When the time comes, I can instantly move the nearby trees and vines to intercept it. The price is that our energy reserves will be depleted by at least ten years’ worth... But by my calculations, that will still leave us with thirty or forty years to find a new energy source. If we’re lucky, that should be enough time."

’...Only a loss of ten years, with thirty or forty years left...’ Gu Nuan Nuan looked at Cao Cao and gritted her teeth. ’Saving a life is the noblest of all deeds. With so many lives at stake, and with the ability to do something, I can’t just stand by and watch... I have to at least try. I’ll save as many as I can.’

"Let’s do it. Cao Cao, keep an eye on that van. If it starts to fall, find a way to catch it... And don’t you worry. As long as there’s usable energy for you somewhere in this world, I’ll find it, even if I have to scour the heavens and the earth. I will not let you fall into that endless sleep."

Gu Nuan Nuan wasn’t actually certain about the specific details of the car accident her uncle experienced in her past life, so she could only give Cao Cao these general instructions for now. As she was thinking, she suddenly remembered that Cao Cao produced two beads of Plant Essence every day—one to nourish its own body and one for her. Producing Plant Essence also consumed energy, so she secretly resolved to be more frugal in the future. She couldn’t keep relying on Cao Cao for everything. She said, "Cao Cao, from now on, let’s conserve our energy. Until we find a new source for you, let’s not waste any on things that aren’t absolutely necessary. For example, the Plant Essence—from now on, just produce enough for yourself. The same goes for scanning our surroundings and fetching things remotely. I imagine those tasks I give you consume a lot of energy..."

’Even the phone I had in my last life had a power-saving mode to extend its battery life,’ she thought. ’I refuse to believe that conserving Cao Cao’s energy won’t extend its active time by another three to five years.’

"Master, if we really do that, I can last for at least another thirty to forty years! But... but then, wouldn’t I be useless to you? Over time, will you grow to resent me?" Cao Cao was both overjoyed and conflicted. Of course it wanted to save energy, but it wouldn’t be worth it if its master came to despise it.

"Another thirty to forty years? Heavens, why didn’t you say so sooner? Doesn’t that mean all the energy we wasted before could have sustained you for another three to five years?" Gu Nuan Nuan’s eyes widened. The thought of how she had casually ordered Cao Cao to perform all those energy-consuming tasks made her ache with regret. ’Wastefulness is a crime, especially when energy is so scarce.’ She secretly resolved that even after they found more, she would stick to the principle of conservation and give the extra energy to Cao Cao for its upgrades.

Not knowing what its master was thinking, Cao Cao heard her words and gave Gu Nuan Nuan a mournful look. "I was just afraid you would think I’m useless..."

Seeing Cao Cao’s expression, Gu Nuan Nuan’s heart softened. She sighed and gently stroked it. "You silly thing, who said you were useless? You’ve already helped me so, so much."

"It’s what I’m supposed to do," Cao Cao said, once again rejoicing internally that it had made the right gamble in choosing such a good master.

"Even if you couldn’t do anything else, you can still identify plants, and you have the Companion Space for storing things, right? Even if your space isn’t very big and the part I can use is even smaller, it’s still a space, isn’t it? If word ever got out that I had access to something like that, countless people would die of envy."

Gu Nuan Nuan’s words made Cao Cao laugh. "Master, didn’t you say we should never flaunt our wealth, and that the existence of the space must never be revealed to anyone?"

"Exactly. That’s why I can only wear my ’brocade robes at night’ and gloat in secret," Gu Nuan Nuan said with mock regret. Cao Cao giggled.

Gu Nuan Nuan stroked it again. "We’re bound by a Soul Contract. That means we will always, always be the closest of partners. That will never change. So from now on, you never have to worry about me resenting you, okay?"