Paine's world

By MATTHEW TIMCHO

A family of three through ancient times, through the war, can only take oil with wine, wandering the world together. Cold, can't add coat; Hungry, no land to buy bread; To rob people, no hospital to treat them.In this way, even if you cry to escape the famine, you still have to smile and believe that the future can bloom.

• Language: English
• Publisher: MATTHEW TIMCHO
• Release date: Jun 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088173930

Book preview

Chapter Three Little Red Riding Hood

Paine awoke in a terrible pain, and the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes were blood red eyes!

Uncle, you're awake. It was the voice of a little girl.

Paine was relieved. He looked at them carefully. The owner of the blood-red eyes was a little girl no more than four feet tall. The little girl had long blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, fair skin, and despite her harmless smile, her blood-red eyes made Paine nervous.

Is this a leap from the Eastern martial arts to the Western fantasy genre? Paine was puzzled.

Mother said you might not wake up until the evening, but Uncle you woke up early enough. The little girl said with a smile.

Paine forced a smile. You should say thank you for being saved.

Well, hello, little girl. Paine took a deep breath and said, Thank you and your mother for saving me. What's your name?

The little girl pout, Uncle you are very rude, do you want to ask someone's name without introducing yourself?

Sorry, sorry. Said Paine with a wry smile. My name is --"

Paine was about to say his name, but then he said, My name is Ronald.

In the months when Pan En lived in the Dajing Dynasty, although most of the time he was detained in Pan's house to drink medicine soup, he also realized that although the Dajing Dynasty was peaceful all over the world, there were rumors like Wenshu and Mare Town law. If there were any such power in the world, it would be a very dangerous thing to take the risk of telling someone your real name.

The little girl's eyes narrowed with laughter. "Uncle Ronald. Mom says you shouldn't tell girls their real names, but Uncle can call me Little Red Riding Hood.

"Little Red Riding Hood? Paine's pupils constricted as he remembered the tale of Little Red Riding Hood, which he had heard on the Blue Star in a previous life. It was a tale for all ages, for there were many versions of it, some of them very grim.

It can't be that bad. Paine looked carefully at the little girl before him, and saw that she was wearing nothing but a plain blue dress, and no red hat.

Hee hee hee, isn't it strange, Uncle? The one with the red hood is only for going out. Little Red Riding Hood was clever enough to guess what Paine was thinking.

Why are you lying in the forest, Uncle? You know, if mother hadn't picked you up, you might have died. The forest can be very dangerous. ' Little Red Riding Hood asked curiously. Is my uncle a lost traveler? Very few people usually get here."

Well, yes, I am indeed a lost traveler. Thank you and your mother very much. You have saved my life.

It's nothing. Mom said we should help each other. Little Red Riding Hood looked very happy.

May I ask if there are any towns nearby? Paine said he wanted to get a general idea of the world.

To get to the nearest town you'd have to walk through the woods and along the road for two days and nights. I've only been there once with Mother. Said Little Red Riding Hood, pouting. It's just me and Mom here. Mom said she was going to town to get some medicine for you before you woke up, but you woke up.

That would be so much trouble for you. I think I'm perfectly well, and I'll probably have to send your mother for nothing. 'said Paine.

It's okay. Mom will bring me my favorite preserves. Little Red Riding Hood looked indifferent.

Anyway, I owe you guys a lot. Thank you, little Red Riding Hood.

It's all right, Uncle Ronald. We should help each other, and if Uncle feels obliged to thank us, there is something he needs him to do.

She rummaged for something in her pocket, and after a long while pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. Little Red Riding Hood held up the paper for Paine to look at as he lay in bed.

There was still writing on it that Paine could not read at all, but he could still understand it.

Remember that, little Red Riding Hood.

Your grandmother she's, uh, sick.

Why don't you go and see her?

Bring the basket on the table.

But watch out for the Wolf.

Never take a long way around.

I don't know why, Paine only felt the words on this piece of paper can not say the strange, especially the last two sentences, there is a kind of creepy feeling!

The little girl smiled and said, Mother sent someone to visit grandma with wine and cake. I heard Grandma is very ill.

Paine asked tentatively. Where does your grandmother live?"

Deep in the forest. In fact, you only have to go straight down the road. Little Red Riding Hood shook her fist. Grandma is very strong. The forest is no match for Grandma. All Grandma has to do is stare at them and they'll run away.

What version of Little Red Riding Hood is this, when the grandmother is armed? Paine resisted the urge to make fun of it, and his thoughts raced through his mind. It was not some normal fairy tale world.

"So you want me to go with you? After all, it's dangerous for a girl to walk alone in the forest.

Yes, he said. Little Red Riding Hood admitted carelessly. It's boring walking in the forest alone. Originally uncle coma can only I a person on the road, now that the uncle woke up, you can go with me to see grandma.

Paine supported himself in a sitting position. He was as limp as if he had just run a marathon.

Uncle doesn't look very well. Said Paine. But you can't go alone. Let your uncle flex his muscles and go with you in a minute!"

Yeah! The uncle must know a lot of new stories from outside, and you can tell them as you go. The little girl looked pleased. Don't move, uncle. I have something for you. "And he hurried away.

Paine now had a chance to survey his surroundings. He was lying on a wooden bed covered with an unknown fabric. He was in a room of about twenty square meters, also of wood, and very simply arranged. Just a few POTS of never-before-seen plants.

It should be the guest room. Little Red Riding Hood and her mother should not be living in this room. Paine said with a bitter smile, he is not the first time to cross, as the saying goes, he has been much more skilled in crossing again.

If Yin-Yang says it's a game, there should be a mission board or something. Pan had years of experience in online games and novels in his previous life, though his first time in the Dajing Dynasty went awrong: He was seen trying to bleed an inkstone on the main table and was sent home to be given a potion for months because he was thought to be obsessed with the Yin-yang theory.

The panel! Goldfinger! Grandpa! Paine felt all over himself, and there was nothing on him except this suit, which he did not recognize.

It was the sound of shoes on the stairs, and Paine knew that Little Red Riding Hood's house was a building.

Little Red Riding Hood came in with a cake on the plate. Now, Uncle, this is Mother's cake. You will be strong after eating it! It was Little Red Riding Hood's breakfast.

That's not funny. "Said Paine politely. Though the cake looked very normal, he did not dare to eat it.

I can't eat your little girl's breakfast, you eat, you are still growing.

Little Red-riding Hood shook her head. Little Red-riding Hood doesn't want any more cake! Mother is tired of making cakes for little Red Riding Hood every day. Can you cook, Uncle?

Well, a little. Paine hesitated, then said.

That's all right, we will set out in a moment, the forest is full of food, as long as the uncle can cook, little red Riding Hood will have some to eat! He shoved the plate of cake into Paine's hand, Eat up, uncle, and let's start early!

The girl was so strong that Paine could not resist taking the dish, but as soon as he touched it he was stunned by the sound in his head.

Gift of Little Red Riding Hood. Player Pan gets a special cake (excellent). After eating it, she can recover quickly and has a 10% chance of slight health enhancement (only the first time).

It's finally here! Game beep! The plug-in is online!

In his excitement, Paine at once devoured the cake, licking it clean, even with the cream on the plate. Little Red Riding Hood laughed at his exaggerated way of eating.

Strangely enough, after the cake was eaten, a warm current rose from the stomach and spread all over the body, and soon all the pain disappeared. He tried to clench his fists, feeling better than ever.

There was another cue in my head.

Player Pan triggers special cake (excellent) weak physical enhancement effect, weak physical rise.

Thank you, little Red Riding Hood. Paine thanked Little Red Riding Hood very happily. I'm all right. Let's go!

Yeah! Little Red Riding Hood wants a different breakfast! 'said Little Red-cap excitedly.' I'll wait for you downstairs at the door, Uncle! '

And the little girl pedaled out of the room again, with her own fiery temper.

The power -- Paine got out of bed and did a few more positions, feeling as energetic as if he were eighteen again. It's a hard world.

His eyes darted around the room's cabinets. Do you want to do a little rummaging like old RPGS?

After five seconds, Paine decided to give up, not knowing what the world was like. Paine's sixth sense told him that the world was far more dangerous than Azz!

---

Chapter 4 So you are King Axe

Paine wandered about the room twice, and after a battle of ideas in his head, went straight out.

There is no mandatory task, just need to survive, let's focus on stability.

The stairs led out of the room, and down the stairs Paine could see two other rooms with locked doors, which must have been the rooms of Little Red Riding Hood and her mother.

Paine went down the stairs with a question in his mind. Looking at the arrangement below, it must be the living room.

Little Red Riding Hood was already impatient. She had changed into a red hooded dress and a red apron, and pulled up the hood. Uncle Ronald, we're ready to go!

No problem then let's go! There was no point in staying, so Paine decided to go out with Little Red Riding Hood.

'Let's go! Little Red Riding Hood ran excitedly to the table and picked up a basket, which was so tightly wrapped in cloth that it was impossible to tell what it contained.

Paine followed Little Red Riding Hood out of the room, her eyes narrowing in the strong sunlight.

Outside was a fenced yard, and to the east was a washing-place, where a few clothes still hung on the line. To the west there was a wood-chopping stump with an axe nailed to it, the blade of which had sunk deep into the stump, and a high pile of firewood beside it.

Paine thought of the Wolf in the story of Little Red Riding Hood, who had a weapon to defend himself against.

Can you borrow this axe, little Red Riding Hood? Paine stopped Little Red Riding Hood, who was skipping along. There are many dangers in the forest. An axe is good for protection.

Help yourself, Uncle Ronald. Little Red Riding Hood looked very agreeable. It's only a woodchopping axe. Mother and I never use it.

You never use an axe, Paine wondered. Did the firewood cut by the axe cut by itself? Or is Lao Wang next door to help?

Paine doesn't bother to ask. Anyone looking for rationality in a fairy tale must be crazy. I'm glad Little Red Riding Hood lent him his axe.

Paine reached the stump, took the handle of the axe in his right hand, and pulled it out, failing at first. Paine put his foot on the stump and pulled with both hands!

The axe did not come out with a splash, but Paine himself fell to the ground.

Little Red Riding Hood laughed. Uncle, that's not how you hold an axe.

Little Red Riding Hood put her basket on the ground and came slowly to Paine, with a sudden sense of foreboding.

The axe, which Paine could not pull out with either hand, was as light as a feather in Little Red Riding Hood's hand. She took it with one hand and turned to Paine, who was still sitting on the ground.

That's the way it's supposed to be held, Uncle. There was a chill in her blood-red eyes, and the axe flew lightly into Paine's neck.

Paine felt nothing but pain, and then he saw a decapitated body that looked vaguely familiar -- wasn't it himself?

"I'm dead? Paine felt that he could still think.

Another thief who tried to steal my axe, all to death! Little Red Riding Hood grinned.

I'm dead right now??

Before Paine could recover, he found himself standing in the drawing-room again. Little Red Riding Hood looked up at him and said, Uncle Ronald, we're ready to go!

?? What's going on here?

Player Paine triggers help from invitee. Number of reversals remaining: 2

So that's what this so-called opportunity to reverse course means. Paine's breathing got a little worse.

He was dead just now, and now everything is back to a few minutes ago. Isn't that the game of second life? Can you save it and start over?

But the beep had told him that he had only two more chances, and that if he didn't get killed twice he would be dead.

What am I asking you, Uncle?

Paine, who had just died at her hands, dared not cross the little devil.

He rolled his eyes and said, Sweet, clever little Red Riding Hood, we are going to go deep into the forest to see Grandma, is there any danger. Do you want something with you to protect yourself?

There are some nasty people in the forest. Little Red Riding Hood tilted her head to one side and thought. Uncle Ronald, you're right. I almost forgot my mother told me never to go into the forest without an axe.

No wonder she hacked him to death... So the axe is Little Red Riding Hood's weapon after all.

They went out into the yard, and with great ease Little Red Riding Hood took up with one hand the axe which had been nailed to the stump.

Paine, nervous that Little Red Riding Hood might turn into the decapitation maniac with the axe, slowed his pace as naturally as he could, keeping a distance.

Little Red Riding Hood, who had the axe, did not change, but placed it on top of the basket covered with cloth.

Uncle Ronald, let's hurry. If we don't get to Grandma's house before dark, we'll be in a lot of danger in the forest.

No problem, let's get going. Paine chimed in after him, and they opened the yard door and went out.

With a cry of joy, Little Red Riding Hood rushed ahead like a runaway husky.

Don't you lock this door, little Red-cap?

Paine looked puzzled at Little Red Riding Hood, who trotted along without turning back.

No, no one will come into the house! Those things from the forest come in looking for meat!

'said Little Red Riding Hood, still without turning her head.

A cold sweat broke out on Paine's back. Who were Little Red Riding Hood and her mother? If he had not woken up in time, and Little Red Riding Hood's mother had gone to town, and Little Red Riding Hood had gone to her grandmother's house, would she not be the food of the things in the forest who had stayed in the house? If he had refused to go and stay with Little Red Riding Hood in this house, the end would have been just as miserable!

But now we must catch up with Little Red Riding Hood. Paine looked at Little Red Riding Hood as she ran away and felt ill. He knew in his heart that if he did not follow Little Red Riding Hood, the end would be just as bad.

"Wait for me, little Red Riding Hood! Paine caught up with him.

One hour later:

Ha-ha -- Ronald is still in good physical shape. He's a real adult. Little Red Riding Hood wiped the sweat from her forehead with her handkerchief.

Paine lay panting like a dead dog on the mainland. No -- no, little Red Riding Hood, you're moving fast.

Just as little Red Riding Hood was about to say something, a low growl came from very near them.

The sweat pores of Paine stood up. The owner of this roar must have been a monstrous beast.

A few seconds later a huge brown bear, five metres long, appeared on the edge of the road. It growled menacingly at Little Red Riding Hood and Paine, and began to circle impatiently on the spot, waving its massive front PAWS against the air, as if there were a transparent wall in front of it, preventing it from coming.

The bear was so enormous that it was nearly as tall as a two-story building, and Paine had no doubt that the brown bear would crush his head with a single slap!

Big Stupid Bear! Little Red Riding Hood did not look alarmed. Why are you so angry? ?"

Little Red Riding Hood took out the axe from her basket and threw it straight at the giant bear.

The axe cut through the air and flew to the bear's head, cutting it in half, and then nailed it to a tree.

There was a cry of despair and anguish from the bear, which had just been alive, and it went limp and crashed to the ground, its limbs still twitching.

Given that the skull is one of the hardest bones in living things, the fact that Little Red Riding Hood's axe was able to slice off half of the giant bear's head is shocking.

Disrespectful! You are the Axe! Paine's palms were beginning to sweat. A Wolf would have been made into a fur coat.

---

Chapter 5 Ho-ho The Beast and the Huntsman

Little Red Riding Hood looked very happy. She trotted over with her basket, pulled out the axe nailed to the tree, and kicked the great dead bear.

Can you make bear PAWS, Uncle?

This... Nature will do it.

Paine wouldn't handle a bear's paw, of course, but with a man who could cut your head off with ease, you'd do anything you wouldn't.

But this fresh bear's paw is not to be eaten at once. It must be dried with paper, a large jar must be prepared, and the bottom must be covered with lime. Then a thick layer of wheat must be spread on the floor. When it is cooked, it is necessary to put on a thick layer of honey, boil it on a gentle fire for an hour, then wash off the honey, put the ingredients in place, and stew it with charcoal fire for three days and nights. After it is opened, it is the fragrant bear PAWS!

"Is it so much trouble?

Yes, it is. If you don't, the PAWS will be smelly and uneatable.

When Paine gave a very eloquent account of how to cook a bear's paw, little Red nodded. And what about other places, like this hind leg?

Paine despondents, for what he claims to know about cooking, which he does, is limited to instant noodles and frozen dumplings. In the past life in Blue Star, the most is to go out with friends BBQ, every time brush oil can make a fire. It was too much to ask him to take care of the freshly hacked flesh of a raw bear.

Well...

Just as Paine did not know what to do, he heard a patter of movement around him.

'Get back to the road! Little Red Riding Hood threw the axe into the basket and ran off towards the mainland, and Paine followed without much thought.

The noise around grew louder and louder.

"Ho ho ho ho ho ho! From the bushes behind him came an eerie breathing sound.

The strange breath made all the muscles in Paine's back tighten and his hair stand on end!

Fortunately Paine was not far from the road. Paine trotted back to the road in a few paces.

"You must be quick in the woods, Uncle Ronald. Everything in the woods has a good nose. You should have cut off a few pieces of meat and run to the road.

Little Red Riding Hood went up to Paine with a look of disapproval in her pretty little face and her blood-red eyes. Now we'll have no meat to eat, and that stupid bear will have to be fed to the ho-hos!

Ho ho beast? What is that? Paine was in shock.

A common forest creature, they are hatched in the dirt under the black willow trees, they look a little like a dog, and they say 'ho ho ho ho', so they are called ho ho beasts.

Uncle Ronald will look over his shoulder and know that the ho-ho-beasts are eating.

Paine caught his breath and turned away. He had prepared himself, but what he saw almost made him think he had passed through again.

Little Red Riding Hood was right. It did look like a dog, but it looked like a dog that had been skinned and rotted for months. It looked like a zombie dog.

Little Red Riding Hood, are you sure this ho-ho beast won't come and attack us?

The ho-hos, which looked very much like zombie dogs, were small, but they were far more stressful for Paine than the bear had been. Especially when they pulled the guts out of the giant bear and fought over the bear's intestines, making Paine nearly vomit.

Of course not. Little red riding hood holding your nose, smell coming let little girl doesn't like, yeah beast than Big Ben Xiong Congming much, don't rushed into the road at the time of the day.

A dozen ho-hos were frantically dividing the carcass, raising their heads and issuing warning ho-ho-ho noises to the two men.

What kind of creature is this ho-ho in the forest? Paine's heart cringed at the incredible speed with which the beast had eaten the giant bear to its bones.

Uncle Ronald, you have no common sense. 'said Little Red Riding Hood, in a tone that you could not help.' One ho-ho is not to be feared, but three ho-hos can try to hunt larger prey, and that big stupid bear must run away before he sees three ho-hos. A dozen ho-hos like that together would have few rivals in the forest."

So this ho-ho beast is equivalent to the status of the Wolf in the real world, so what would the Wolf in the story of Little Red Riding Hood be?

Go on. There's a safer clearing ahead where we can find some berries. Said Little Red-cap. There's a little pool over there where we can wash our faces and refresh ourselves."

The journey to the glade was smooth, and as Little Red Riding Hood had said, the ho-hos were too busy eating the bears to pursue them on the road. After a short walk they came to the glade.

Little Red Riding Hood became very happy as soon as she arrived, and instead of gathering berries, she was busy gathering flowers, as she said --

I want to make a basket of flowers for Grandma, so that she will be well soon. Grandma likes flowers best.

Paine thought that little Red Riding Hood would be a good boy indeed, if she were not so fond of attacking people with axes.

After a while Little Red Riding Hood came bounding back humming a song, but something strange was said about it.

"Liz Borton took the axe,

Gave her father 40 slashes.

When she realized what she had done,

She gave her grandfather forty strokes."

Paine was sweating. What kind of nursery rhymes is that?

Well, you picked a lot of berries, Uncle! Little Red Riding Hood is dying of hunger. Little Red Riding Hood laid the basket on the ground, and the cloth on the basket was now full of flowers, covering the hatchet with the bear's brains still on it.

Little Red Riding Hood picked up the berries Paine had washed and put them in her mouth.

Then he grimly said, It's so sour ���������������.

Before Paine could answer, a man's voice came from a distance. Is it Little Red Riding Hood?

Who is this? Paine wondered. His question was soon answered, however, when a middle-aged man in the costume of a hunter approached, with a bow and a quiver on his back, a full beard, curly linen hair, and a square, square-shaped face. He looked like an honest man.

It's Uncle Hunter. Little Red Riding Hood looked pleased, evidently having met someone she knew.

Paine was also relieved. It was the hunter, which was supposed to be a positive character in the story, but then he thought, what kind of person would this hunter be if Little Red Riding Hood had broken down into Little Red Riding Hood, the Axe King?

---

Chapter 6 The Big Bad Wolf

It is you, little Red Riding Hood. The middle-aged trapper with a Chinese face approached Little Red Riding Hood, and his eyes went to the side of Paine, who was still shirtless. This is...

I am -- Little Red interrupted Paine before he could introduce himself.

He's a traveler from the outside. His name is Ronald. He was lost in the woods. My mother found him. "Snapped Little Red Riding Hood.

A traveller from another country? The huntsman looked at Paine suspiciously. This is a rare visitor. By the way, what are you doing in the forest? The forest is not safe, and it is dangerous to be in the forest when it is dark."

Grandma is ill, and Little Red Riding Hood is going to see her. Little Red Riding Hood pointed to her basket on the floor. Mother has prepared wine and cake for Grandma, and Ronald is going to take them with me.

"It was the Lord