Spinning cocoons?
Dragged by Janet toward the artificial cave, Chuck was stunned.
Those wild silkworms, barely the size of a finger joint when he found them, were already spinning cocoons?
It hadn't even been ten days, had it?
But when Chuck stepped into the cave and saw the thumb-sized, dark-colored cocoons scattered on the wooden rack he built, and the layer of mulberry leaves beneath chewed full of holes, he stroked his chin thoughtfully.
These cocoons were clearly smaller than the ones from the large white silkworms in his memory, and the silk quality looked poor. Obviously, they weren't good enough for reeling silk or weaving cloth yet.
This suggested that Janet's [Human Rancher] bonus, which increased production efficiency, might not simply boost silk output per worm, but rather accelerate their growth rate, indirectly increasing yield by raising the frequency of harvests.
Wait...
Thinking of this, Chuck paused, realizing something. He turned to Janet.
"How are the ewes doing?"
"Nothing too obvious, but I can already feel the fetuses. It's much faster than I expected," Janet said, her smile fading into a serious expression. "Julia told me the crops on this island grow ridiculously fast. It seems the animals are the same?"
As expected.
Chuck nodded. After a moment of deliberation, he spoke.
"These silks can't be used yet; we need to selectively breed and optimize them. The number of wild silkworms is still too low, so for the first batch, don't be too strict. Focus on increasing the population. Coordinate with Julia on mulberry leaf consumption. I'll leave the rest to you."
"I understand. Don't worry, Baby~"
Janet leaned in with a smile, standing on tiptoe to peck his cheek, bringing with her a waft of mature, milky fragrance. While she had no experience with silkworms, selective breeding was second nature to her.
Chuck naturally placed his hand on her massive breast. The dampness against his palm made her pause. She remembered that due to the morning combat training, she hadn't had a chance to release the milk pressure for the two busty MILFs.
But they had just woken up not long ago, and Chuck, having just returned from digging sand, was feeling a bit thirsty.
He patted Janet's fleshy buttocks and whispered in her ear.
Her beautiful eyes lit up with excitement. She turned, giving him a motherly smile, and nodded slightly.
"Okay, Mommy will wait for you..."
...
Leaving the artificial cave, Chuck lit the furnace and stared into the dancing flames, deep in thought.
Although Janet's exclusive bonus described increasing "yield," the result was the same as Julia's: increasing growth speed. However, the multiplier was double—5x for Janet versus 10x for Julia (before the [Other Shore Trial] enhancement).
Chuck now had a rough guess for the reason.
For crops, the harvest was usually just the crop itself. But for animals, besides the animal, there were byproducts. Goats produced milk; silkworms produced silk.
And the animal itself corresponded to mutton, and... silkworm pupae?
Faster animal growth meant resources like meat and pupae would also be boosted. It also meant shorter breeding cycles, increasing the efficiency of selective breeding.
In Chuck's view, this was far better than simply boosting byproduct output.
Thinking of this, Chuck scratched his head.
Silkworms laid many eggs. In just one or two cycles, the population in the cave would hit the limit supported by the current mulberry trees. Based on his discussions with the two mares, that number could reach thousands.
At that scale, aside from the few kept for breeding, the rest would be processed for silk, leaving behind a massive amount of pupae—like pitting cherries.
Honestly, while he knew they were high-quality protein and common in street food, Chuck had always been resistant to eating bugs.
Fried? Roasted? Supposedly both worked?
He'd decide when the time came.
As the furnace temperature climbed, Chuck didn't add charcoal immediately. Instead, he took out a clay pot and poured the sand onto the workbench.
The synthesis prompt appeared as expected.
[Detected: Sand and Gravel. Nearby smelting facility detected.] [Synthesis Prompt: This sand is formed from river sediment. To smelt it, it must first be washed and filtered.]
Just as he thought.
Chuck already had experience washing sand with seawater using the workbench to get quartz sand—it was required for the refractory bricks when upgrading the kiln. Besides, the quartz sandstone he had been cutting was likely composed of the same stuff. Not a rare material.
Tossing two corals waiting to be burned into the furnace, Chuck fetched a reserved pot of seawater and started the washing process directly through the workbench.
While the workbench worked, Chuck washed his hands at the water tower and went to the awning.
Wiping his hands dry with a cloth Kaoru handed him, Chuck sat on the bench. Standing before him were two smiling, topless mature women.
They had been waiting for a long time.
Literally "topless" and "leaking."
The mature beauty on the left, the red-haired mare on the right. Two pairs of magnificent peaks, each with its own charm—one with shy, inverted nipples, the other with prominent, textured nipples.
But both were equally massive, equally leaking droplets of milk, and equally veined from being engorged overnight.
Both women looked at Chuck with expectant, loving gazes.
"Good baby, Mommy is here to feed you~"
"So full, Hubby... help me."
Facing their requests, Chuck nodded happily. Surrounded by the rich scent of milk, he raised his hands to cup the two heavy, fleshy mounds approaching his face.
"Sorry, I was busy this morning. I'll relieve you properly now."
...
Nowadays, the schedule for Chuck and the women was vastly different from modern society.
Without electricity or streetlights, their routine naturally aligned with the sun—rising at dawn and resting at dusk.
Chuck woke around 4 or 5 AM with the sun; the women woke an hour or two later. Dinner was around 6 PM at sunset, and even after their nightly activities, they were usually asleep by 10 PM.
For modern people used to 9-to-5 jobs and nightlife lasting until 2 AM, there was definitely a "jet lag."
Everyone—Chuck, Julia, the Gu mother and daughter, and the Japanese girls—had gone through an adjustment period. Jiang Qi, who had been on the island for only a day, was no exception.
"Mooohhh hoooo hoooo..."
In the storage room, Jiang Qi, still sleeping in, was suddenly woken by a strange noise outside. In her daze, she couldn't identify what creature was making it.
Low, husky, and cracking.
Jiang Qi immediately thought of the livestock pen below the platform. Without thinking much, she threw off her blanket and climbed out of bed groggily.
Rubbing her sore eyes and yawning, she put on socks and shoes over her soft, slender feet, tidied her clothes and hair, and walked out of the storage room with floating steps.
On the dining table in the main room sat a bowl and chopsticks with breakfast.
Jiang Qi realized everyone else had eaten; this was saved for her.
Crispy pancakes fried to a golden brown, wrapped around jerky roasted until it sizzled with oil, sprinkled with pepper and salt, paired with fresh wild vegetables, half a boiled sweet potato, and a cup of cooling herbal tea.
With the acquisition of herbs, oil, salt, pepper, and chili, plus Yitong's improving cooking skills and fresh ingredients, the household's meals were becoming truly delicious.
Looking at this exquisite island breakfast, even Jiang Qi, fresh from civilization, felt her mouth water.
But she didn't sit down immediately.
Living under someone else's roof—especially an ex-boyfriend with a complex relationship—meant she had to be polite. Even if she couldn't repay the kindness yet, expressing gratitude was basic manners.
So she turned to go outside, intending to see what everyone was doing. But just as she pushed the door open, the noise that woke her sounded again, right in front of her.
And a scene that nearly made her jaw drop appeared before her eyes.
Her ex-boyfriend, Chuck, was sitting on the bench under the awning like an emperor. And the mature beauty named Yitong Gu, along with the foreign big sister named Janet—two voluptuous women—were standing topless on either side of him. Faces flushed, eyes rolling back, they lifted their massive breasts and fed them into Chuck's mouth.
Chuck sucked left, then right, his mouth and face covered in white fluid. Occasionally, he would knead them with both hands, causing both women to squeal in high-pitched pleasure as milk sprayed through his fingers.
This exaggerated scene, far more shocking than the sounds she heard last night, froze Jiang Qi in place like a statue.
Until a snowy hand rested on her shoulder, snapping her back to reality.
She turned to see a pair of smiling blue eyes.
"Surprised?"
Hearing Julia's question, Jiang Qi didn't know how to answer and nodded blankly.
Julia smiled, took her wrist, and led her back into the stone house, closing the door behind them.
She sat Jiang Qi down at the dining table.
"Sister Jiang Qi, honestly, I have a question for you."
"...What?"
"Why do you think you're not good enough for Darling?"
As Julia's words fell, Jiang Qi's pupils trembled violently.
Her expression shifted. She opened her mouth to answer, but seeing Julia's serious face, she swallowed the lie on the tip of her tongue.
She lowered her head, looking at the grain of the table. After a long silence, she finally whispered.
"I'm sorry."
Julia wasn't surprised. A trace of sympathy appeared in her eyes.
She gently held Jiang Qi's soft hand. With her limited vocabulary, she deliberated for a while before whispering.
"No matter what, we are your companions now. If you need help, just ask, okay?"
Hearing this, emotion flashed in Jiang Qi's eyes.
But it didn't take long for her to adjust. Her relaxed, cheerful smile returned.
"It's fine. If anything, I've already received so much care. Although I knew he was living 'happily,' I didn't expect this happily... I really underestimated him!"
Saying this, Jiang Qi blinked and tugged at Julia's sleeve.
"So, those two sisters... are they about to give birth?"
"No, they aren't pregnant."
"Huh?"
The unexpected answer stunned Jiang Qi again, shattering her basic medical knowledge.
"Don't be surprised yet. You'll probably see a lot more 'magical' things in the future."
Julia thought for a moment and summarized.
"Whether it's this island or Darling, everything is magical. Just don't think too much about it~"
...
It didn't take long for Chuck's mouth and the clay pots to drain the four milk-filled peaks.
Refreshed, Janet and Yitong shared some intimacy with Chuck before returning to their posts with light steps and satisfied smiles.
Chuck sat back on the bench, patted his belly, burped, and looked at the two pots of milk in his hands with raised eyebrows.
Since Janet started lactating, the milk reserves in his storage had grown even faster. Including today's batch, it probably exceeded thirty liters.
That was equivalent to two large office water cooler jugs!
So much milk not only took up storage capacity but also occupied many containers. Honestly, it was becoming a burden.
Checking the time left on the synthesis orb, Chuck slapped his thigh and stood up.
He couldn't drag this out any longer. If he didn't find a way to process it, it would only become more troublesome.
Time to make some cheese!