Liehuo: 【Price is negotiable… If you’d kindly deign to visit us and discuss cooperation, I’ll have Sisi and Qingtian apologize to you in person!】

The so-called “double price” referred to the cross-region transaction fees Wildfire Guild would cover when Jian Xingyi sold food in the Lava Volcano Zone.

But these fees weren’t substantial; Jian Xingyi simply wanted more.

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, doubling the original food price still stung Liehuo a bit.

That’s why he was trying to think of other rewards to appease him. But whether they apologized or not, it made no real difference… He certainly wasn’t going to make a special trip to the Wildfire Guild’s headquarters just to hear their apologies!

If he could, he wouldn’t want to face these people at all!

Xinghe: 【Then I won’t be coming…】

Liehuo: 【Eh?!】

Liehuo: 【It’s not just that. We also have some abandoned farmland—not sure if it’d be useful to you. We have a few small gifts we’d like to offer as an apology. If you don’t mind… come take a look!】

Jian Xingyi paused.

Liehuo: 【I promise we’ll do our best to satisfy you!】

Are you kidding? If Jian Xingyi stops selling in their district afterward, and the blame for blacklisting him and covering for Sisi lands on their guild, how would they survive?

This isn’t a big deal—not even Grapevine Peak got involved. At most, they’d release a video. But for them… It’s huge! If they handle this poorly, they’ll lose the trust of the district’s players and the food supply they originally got from Jian Xingyi.

Liehuo: 【I admit I was too harsh earlier. I sincerely apologize to you. I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way. I realize my mistake now. I truly hope we can work together!】

Compared to these apologies, Jian Xingyi only wanted dawn coins and items to aid his farming. After pondering for a moment…

Xinghe: 【Alright】

Let’s see what the other side says.

Before that…

Jian Xingyi got up and went to the courtyard.

With feed secured, he could finally start raising livestock!

He tapped to develop the livestock area, and a small sheep pen instantly appeared in the courtyard.

Seems the system was pretty smart, assigning suitable spaces based on the animals Jian Xingyi owned.

But this pen was tiny. Jian Xingyi opened the details and discovered his pen was categorized under the Livestock Zone, with a “1” next to it—meaning he only had one Livestock Zone.

And his Livestock Zone was only at the initial D-grade, giving it a capacity of just 5. It looked rather run-down.

If he wanted to upgrade it to C-grade…

Jian Xingyi grimaced.

Not… again… essence… right…?

Playing this game was giving him full-blown essence PTSD.

Jian Xingyi nervously clicked the upgrade button to see what happened.

【Player, do you wish to spend 500 essence to upgrade D-grade Livestock Zone 1 to C-grade?】

…What the hell?

500?

Dude, you gotta be kidding me! Upgrading my D-grade field to C only costs 50 essence? Even upgrading C to B maxed out at 100!

Forget it, 5 sheep… that’s fine! Anyway, I only have 30 in my inventory!

But…

Jian Xingyi felt a bit troubled. Thirty sheep might be gone after a few harvest cycles. Seeds would inevitably run out someday. Even if he could always find rice, wheat, and radishes everywhere, wouldn’t the A-grade and S-grade crops like chili peppers, bamboo shoots, watermelons, and his feed eventually be exhausted?

Food would run out eventually, but what about the feed?

“Baa~”

The bleating snapped Jian Xingyi back to reality. He smiled as he poured the feed into the trough.

For now, it was enough. When you reach the foot of the mountain, a path will appear!

Anyway, in a little while, he’d have delicious lamb to eat. Life was full of hope.

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The next day, Jian Xingyi brought Lone Wolf and Haihai along.

Mainly because he feared they might suddenly switch sides and say one thing while doing another.

Returning to this scorching, desolate map—yet one with inexplicably generous rewards—Jian Xingyi felt a mix of emotions.

Many players noticed their arrival, and the regional chat channel immediately buzzed with activity.

【Xinghe has come to our zone!】

【Damn, is he here to reconcile with Wildfire and settle that Sisi business?】

【What if… Xinghe won’t sell us food because of past conflicts? We’re desperate for supplies!】

Jian Xingyi felt countless gazes fixed on him along the way. As they drew nearer, fear crept in, and he quietly retreated behind the two.

No, they wouldn’t come to beat him up again, would they?

He remembered the channel had already clarified things!

Jian Xingyi couldn’t quite discern the intentions of the outsiders. At that moment, he didn’t know why everyone was staring at him…

It was simply awkwardness.

Some wanted to apologize but dared not approach.

Others felt ashamed, while some, seeing Jian Xingyi seeming wary of them, felt like crying.

The big shot seems to despise and fear our guild!

“Xinghe…” A player tried to approach Jian Xingyi.

Lone Wolf and Haihai guarded him on either side, ready to draw their weapons.

Player: “…”

Regardless, they arrived at the Wildfire Guild’s office. The guild granted them visitor privileges, allowing them to come and go freely.

“Hello, Xinghe!” Liehuo matched Jian Xingyi’s stereotype—a burly man who seemed somewhat cunning but not overly shrewd.

His bowing and scraping manner made him look… slightly ridiculous at that moment.

Jian Xingyi scanned the room. Behind Liehuo stood several members of the Wildfire Guild, but Qingtian and Sisi were absent.

Liehuo whispered to someone beside him, “Where are those two? Tell them to come over!“

He then turned back to Jian Xingyi with a forced smile. ”Here’s the deal: we’ll record a video where they apologize to you and admit their past wrongdoings.”

In truth, Liehuo knew they were in the wrong. But he’d previously assumed Jian Xingyi was an easy target who wouldn’t cause trouble, so he’d naturally sided with his own people.

Little did he expect Qingtian would land him in such deep trouble.

It wasn’t until he checked the public channel that he learned from Peace Mountain players that this Sisi had previously caused the death of their former Guild President. Now, everyone in the Peace Mountain region was laughing at their guild for being such suckers.

While waiting for Qingtian and Sisi, Liehuo had someone bring Jian Xingyi a large box.

“A small token! Hope you’ll forgive us for our petty mistakes!”

The box opened to reveal an assortment of upgrade materials.

“We don’t have much to offer, so we’re putting our savings on the line,” Liehuo chuckled. “Use them yourself, give them away, or sell them—it’s up to you!”

Lone Wolf’s eyes widened.

Wow… these were indeed top-tier items! Enough to upgrade Jian Xingyi’s gun from B-rank to A-rank!

“We have another gift! Or rather… a deal.” Liehuo had everyone teleport to the back door. Near their guild’s exterior stood an abandoned guild building.

It seemed the earlier gift was merely a token of goodwill, a prelude to the main event—a bribe to win favor.

Jian Xingyi furrowed his brow slightly, growing wary.

“Here’s the situation. This guild, like Blue Sky and White Clouds before it, didn’t survive the previous system purge. Consequently, all its players mutated. Normally, when every player mutates, the guild automatically disbands and gradually vanishes. But this guild got stuck in a bug and somehow persisted.”

Jian Xingyi noticed there were still quite a few empty plots, but the players’ houses had vanished, leaving the place looking desolate.

“We speculated why this guild got stuck in a bug. After asking around, we figured it was because one player changed guilds right when the system shut down. So, when this guild was about to disappear, the system detected there was still a member left and didn’t close it. “

”Regardless, there are 20 shared plots here, so we put them to use. We got lucky snagging rice from the mall earlier, and one member happened to have casually leveled up some management skills.”

Jian Xingyi surveyed the 20 D-grade plots before him. They were somewhat dilapidated but still usable.

Players like him, with maxed-out management skills, could upgrade the fields with essences. But those without maxed skills had to make do with D-grade fields for planting, which meant they couldn’t list their produce for sale.

The rice Jian Xingyi had seen earlier in the lava volcano region was actually mixed with high-grade beast meat. The management skills those members had chosen were meat conversion skills, just like Sisi’s.

“We provide you with fields. You cultivate here, and we handle the care and security. All you need to do is share a small portion of your harvest with our guild—six for you, four for us. What do you say?”

So that’s how it is.

This was Wildfire’s true objective!

But calling this a “small portion” is a stretch…

After pondering for a moment, Jian Xingyi proposed, “Eight-two.”

He could manage without these fields, but they seemed more in need of his seeds, and…

Jian Xingyi added, “These fields are only D-grade. If I handle them, I’ll upgrade them to C-grade, ready for direct sale in the marketplace. You’ll need to pay me for the synthesis.”

Then, for a synthesis potion worth 3,000 dawn coins, charge them 10,000!

“Payment’s no problem!” Liehuo’s eyes lit up at the prospect.

Jian Xingyi: “So eighty-twenty split.”

Liehuo hesitated.

But Jian Xingyi’s nonchalant “take it or leave it” attitude made him feel uncertain. Jian Xingyi didn’t seem like a deceiver—his face couldn’t hide his thoughts. His indifference felt genuine.

After a moment, Liehuo grimaced and said, “Fine…”

Jian Xingyi broke into a delighted smile.

But this smile held no trace of cheap satisfaction—it was genuine joy.

Thirteen plots of land split 80/20 meant he only needed to invest a little seed money for extra harvests.

With so much land, he could plan his planting strategy much more effectively!

With all these fields invested outside his own property, rounding up, he could practically call himself a landowner now, couldn’t he?

Still, just to be safe, he needed to sign a proper contract with Liehuo this time. Otherwise, if Liehuo swallowed his food whole like Blue Sky and White Clouds had done, where would he go to cry about it?

Jian Xingyi seized the moment. “Since we’re splitting 80-20, what about the selling price?”

Double…

Liehuo’s face twisted even more bitterly.

But if he refused and the entire farm partnership fell through, what then?

Liehuo now regretted it so much his guts were turning green. If only he hadn’t been so arrogant at the start, Jian Xingyi wouldn’t have demanded such a high price! At worst, they could have peacefully listed the goods at his Peace Mountain prices.

Wouldn’t that have solved everything?!

Why did he have to shield Qingtian and Sisi, spreading those rumors?!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Those two troublemakers…

“Can… can we think about it some more?” Liehuo asked, his face twisted in distress. “Half really is a lot. How about a third?”

Jian Xingyi thought: They’re a top-ten guild. What’s this fuss over half or a third? They’re just being stingy. But they can definitely afford it.

Jian Xingyi shrugged.

He wouldn’t budge an inch.

Liehuo suggested, “Or how about this? I heard your combat power isn’t very high. We could help you rapidly grind up your combat points, or…”

Jian Xingyi replied, “I don’t need it.”

“…”

“Let me think it over. We’ll discuss it properly later. I need to handle Sisi’s situation first.” Liehuo felt his heart bleeding.

Liehuo grew increasingly furious, taking his losses out on Sisi and the other Guild Administrators he questioned, barely containing his rage. “Where are Sisi and Qingtian?!”

“Oh, right.” Only then did Jian Xingyi recall this matter. A hint of worry crept into his expression as he furrowed his brow slightly. “I already got splashed with dirty water by Sisi back in the Peace Mountain. Now this is the second time at the Lava Volcano. Surely there won’t be a third time?”

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, this time was bad enough. Although Sisi’s little schemes had actually worked in his favor, what if she popped up again like Xiao Qiang and caused trouble next time?

Liehuo even blurted out, “Exactly! I say we just take that Sisi out!”

Just then, Liehuo’s terminal alert sounded. He opened it and cursed under his breath.

Someone nearby gasped in shock, “Qingtian and Sisi… they’ve left the guild!”

Jian Xingyi froze.

Had these two… eloped? Was Qingtian so blinded by love that he was staging a “I’ll defy the world for you” scenario…?

“And… they took our guild’s food and a lot of resources with them!”

Liehuo glared angrily. “Damn that ingrate! I’m issuing a bounty right now. Tell everyone that Wildfire is hunting these two down. Kill them on sight!”

Liehuo turned to Jian Xingyi. ”Sorry, we’ll notify you once we catch them. We haven’t made them apologize to you yet!”

With that, Liehuo stormed off.

Now it was Jian Xingyi’s group who were relaxed, while Liehuo and the others were in a mad rush to find Sisi and Qingtian.

After all, they’d swiped their resources!

The trio exchanged glances. “Seems Liehuo and the others aren’t in the mood to sign a contract with us,” Haihai remarked cheerfully. “Why not seize this chance… to go harvest the Fire Spirit Divine Flower first?”

Jian Xingyi nodded like a little chick pecking at grain.

His essence! His Flower King!

The trio arrived at the cliffside halfway up the mountain where they’d left off. Just as they prepared to climb, they noticed the surrounding players bustling about, seemingly searching for something.

Haihai stepped forward to inquire and discovered… everyone was helping search for Sisi and Qingtian!

This bounty notice wasn’t confined to guild channels; players who saw it couldn’t resist lending a hand.

Jian Xingyi was taken aback. “Huh? Why is everyone searching? Sisi and Qingtian didn’t steal their resources.”

Haihai smiled as he looked at Jian Xingyi.

It was likely not just venting frustration, but also an apology to Jian Xingyi. They feared that if Sisi escaped, Jian Xingyi might refuse to sell food in the Lava Volcano area out of anger.

Of course, the most crucial reason… was that Sisi and Qingtian had absconded with the funds, and they were loaded with resources!

Now everyone finally had their chance. They didn’t have to care about whatever order Grapevine Peak preached or maintain any semblance of peace. They could hunt someone down without restraint and seize their resources.

Who would want to miss such a golden opportunity?

Talk about how fortune turns… Earlier, Jian Xingyi was blacklisted and expelled from the Lava Volcano Zone. But now, Sisi and Qingtian had torn away everyone’s masks, becoming the targets everyone wanted to beat.

Just then, Haihai suddenly received a text message.

Haihai asked, “Remember that wandering merchant who sold watermelons for Xinghe? He’s pretty sharp—said he ran into Sisi and Qingtian nearby and asked if we wanted the coordinates.”

Haihai calculated inwardly. Having killed players before, he knew robbing them was feasible. And if they found Sisi and Qingtian first, they’d gain control over the resources that had been swept away.

Haihai chuckled, “Let’s go beat them up ourselves.”

“Alright, alright!” Lone Wolf rubbed his hands together, eager to get started. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

The three of them revved their motorcycles and headed toward the location.

Sure enough, they spotted Qingtian also on a motorcycle, clearly trying to escape to another district, with Sisi on the backseat.

Lone Wolf fired several shots at Qingtian’s motorcycle tires, sending both Qingtian and Sisi tumbling off.

With no henchmen around now, Lone Wolf and Haihai surrounded him.

“Escape? Still trying to run?” Lone Wolf sneered coldly. “Finally got you cornered, kid!”

Lone Wolf immediately pulled out his terminal to record. “Apologize properly. If you show a good attitude and make Xinghe happy, we might just let you off easy.”

Lone Wolf shoved Jian Xingyi forward.

Sisi: “…”

Sisi shot the group a resentful look.

Qingtian seethed silently, unable to speak up.

“…I’m sorry.” Sisi was always adept at reading the situation. Now, stubbornness could get her killed at any moment. She had no choice but to admit, “It was me who slandered Xinghe in front of Qingtian and made him hunt them down.”

Haihai: “You knew your food could infect people, yet you still put it on the market. Then you slandered Xinghe’s food as contaminated. Is that true?”

“…Yes, but I had no choice. Blue Sky and White Clouds forced me into it. I’m just trying to survive now.”

Qingtian’s voice trembled with anguish: “Enough! They never intended to spare us!”

Haihai shut off the recording and raised an eyebrow at Qingtian. “Sacrificing everything to be hunted across the entire region for a two-faced ‘lover’—is it really worth it?”

Qingtian’s eyes blazed with fury. “Sisi and I are genuine! It’s you who pushed us to this!”

“Oh my.” Haihai turned to Sisi. “Here’s the deal: it’s Qingtian, not you, who’s being hunted across Xinghe. You still hold the recipes and resources—useful to Wildfire. After all, you’re just a low-tier combat player… Why not eliminate Qingtian and hand him over? Share some resources with us, and we’ll let you go.”

Sisi froze.

Haihai’s words sounded plausible, not like a bluff. Both Lone Wolf and Jian Xingyi looked at him with surprise, but they held their opinions, simply wanting to see what Haihai would do.

Qingtian sneered coldly, “Nice try! I…”

Bang!

The next second, Sisi fired a shot at Qingtian.

This was utterly unexpected. Qingtian’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Sisi.

Haihai chuckled incessantly. “I told you—she’s not as harmless as you think.”

“You…” Black blood trickled from Qingtian’s mouth. Clutching the gunshot wound over his heart, he gasped, “Why… I…”

Sisi rose, fixing a cold stare on Haiai. “Is that really true?”

Haiai shrugged helplessly. “Absolutely true. I’d never kill you…”

Anyway…

Bang!

Sisi froze, staring down at the gaping hole in her chest.

How… could this be?

Sisi couldn’t believe it either.

Was she… just going to die like this? Out here in the wilderness?

She turned to see Qingtian, eyes bloodshot and face twisted with hatred, using his last breath to kill Sisi.

Sisi had grown too accustomed to Qingtian obeying her every command, being utterly submissive. Even now, she’d forgotten to guard herself, leaving her back exposed to Qingtian.

Or rather, the idea of her own lapdog betraying her was beyond her comprehension. She’d never anticipated Qingtian would strike her down so ruthlessly.

After Haihai uttered those words, “Anyway, someone will help us kill them.”

With a thud, Sisi collapsed. Two corpses lay heaped together, their faces contorted in horror, blood mingling.

Haihai chuckled, “See? This counts as a love suicide.”

Lone Wolf and Jian Xingyi hadn’t regained their senses yet.

Ah… this… completely unexpected. They looked like they were destined to be together forever, yet they couldn’t withstand the test at all.

Jian Xingyi had imagined they might perish in a fiery battle, or that Sisi might be exiled, or that Qingtian would wage war against the guild. But he never expected… they’d tear each other apart like dogs.

Lone Wolf sneered with disdain, “What a hollow love…”

Jian Xingyi nodded in agreement.

Haihai patted both of them on the shoulder. “Come on, you’re still kids. What do you know about love?”

After players died, items dropped without them having to exert any effort. Now, piles upon piles of resources appeared out of thin air on the ground.

Haihai said, “Let’s just pick up the leftovers and give a token amount back to Wildfire.”

“Wuhu!”

“Wuhu!”

Earlier, they’d taken the gun Qingtian often used and listed it on the marketplace. After all, openly using a Wildfire guild member’s gun wasn’t appropriate.

Lone Wolf had frequently sold items for money before. As a high-level gun merchant, he handled the sales. The secondhand guns could only be used for a month, but they had excellent stats. They fetched 10,000 dawn coins, which the three split evenly.

Now, Lone Wolf picked up the other two’s guns again.

The three rummaged through their belongings. Jian Xingyi discovered Sisi had quite a few valuable items.

Her backpack was packed entirely with meat! This meat was hunted by the Wildfire Guild and processed through her recipes. Jian Xingyi took it all directly.

This meat would only become more delicious in his hands. Taking it back… not only would it provide everyone with a feast, but it held endless possibilities.

Not only that, but Sisi’s backpack also contained 10 Acceleration Pesticides, items that required snatching up in the mall.

These fertilizers differed from the magic potions sold in his VIP store. While the potions were expensive and scarce, they could instantly ripen crops. The store fertilizers, however, could halve cultivation time—though they required server-wide bidding and weren’t cheap either. Sisi must have spent her entire fortune to buy them, or perhaps they were gifts from her sycophants.

Regardless, these were valuable items. Knowing the Wildfire Guild would haggle over them later, Jian Xingyi took them outright.

Beyond materials, half of the players’ dawn coins would also drop. Considering Jian Xingyi’s dire need for funds everywhere, the two handed over all their dawn coins to him.

Jian Xingyi had already bled dry on the nectar and elixirs, and after various expenses plus the money the Lone Wolf sold to him, he was down to just 40,000.

But Sisi had 20,000, and Qingtian had 50,000—Jian Xingyi gained 70,000 all at once!

Player funds had limits and couldn’t be traded privately, but since both were dead, the dawn coins counted as loot, not currency.

While rummaging, Jian Xingyi accidentally activated a skill.

【Collection Successful, Absorbed 【Essence】 x300】

…??

Huh?

What did he just activate?!

Jian Xingyi looked around in terror.

There was only him, Lone Wolf, and Haihai here. The surroundings were so barren that there wasn’t even a blade of grass.

Where could a living creature have come from?!

Jian Xingyi recalled the moment and realized with horror he’d activated it on Sisi!

Oh my god!

But she’s dead, right?!

And 300… How is that even possible? Sisi couldn’t possibly have that high a favorability rating toward him!

Jian Xingyi’s face went pale. He hurriedly logged back in to check the essence description, hoping the system might have added a new tutorial.

【Death does not signify the dissipation of the soul. Mutation is the true erasure; oblivion is complete annihilation.】

Jian Xingyi: “…”

Oh. He understood.

So, the period after death but before mutation—this “golden moment”—was defined by the system as a living being.

And since the dead possess no emotions, they default to the maximum value of 300.

This… this is just too messed up?!

How to solve the problem of others disliking you, to gain higher favorability and essence?

Answer: Instead of solving the problem, eliminate the source of the problem—just kill them! Dead people can’t dislike you!

After death, all negative emotions vanish, leaving only the purest soul!

Well then…

Jian Xingyi quickly activated his skill on Qingtian.

Too late!

Qingtian opened his eyes, mutated into a zombie, and was promptly finished off by Haihai.

Clicking on zombies yields no essence points.

Jian Xingyi: “…”

Hmm.

But… unexpectedly gaining 300 essence points was still thrilling!

This was a one-time 300 points!

Jian Xingyi felt elated. This trip hadn’t been in vain. Not only had he become the “landlord,” collecting a pile of upgrade materials from Wildfire, but he’d also gained dawn coins, pesticides, beast meat, and all that essence.

He still needed 700 points to upgrade all his family’s fields to Grade B. He had 80 essence points left before, and now he suddenly had 380!

Yes!

Jian Xingyi stood up, his ambition burning bright. “Let’s go! We’re gathering Fire Spirit Divine Flowers! Once we’re done, we should be back in time to sign contracts with Wildfire and the others!”

Jian Xingyi had been preoccupied with his unfinished Fire Spirit Divine Flower side quest. Now that he’d finally made it here, he absolutely had to seize the opportunity!

After the trio departed, Haihai uploaded Sisi’s apology video. Soon, others discovered the pair’s “misfortune.” But by the time Wildfire’s guild members arrived, the scattered resources left behind had already been picked up by other players—truly a boon for the entire server.

Wildfire felt even more furious, yet they couldn’t say anything.

Sisi’s apology video remained displayed on the public screen, prompting many players to remark that even Wildfire could make misjudgments.

Perhaps when one’s luck is poor, everything goes wrong, but when good fortune blows in from the east, it tends to keep rolling.

When Jian Xingyi and the others reached the cliff, they hadn’t had time to harvest earlier, and they saw that the single Fire Spirit Divine Flower had transformed into twin blossoms.

The Fire Spirit Divine Flower’s petals were translucent, their colors vivid and eerie. Now fused as twin blossoms, their stigmas joined together, making the sight feel even more unsettling.

“Holy shit?”

Lone Wolf rubbed his eyes. “Two?”

“It’s true…”

The two turned to look at Jian Xingyi. “Doesn’t that mean you’ve collected all five at once? You can summon the Flower Queen and complete the mission right now?!”

Jian Xingyi was equally surprised.

“Seems like… yeah…”

Holy crap!

Jian Xingyi had obtained two crystals in the dungeon earlier, picked up one at the mountain’s base, and now had two more—exactly five!

“Summon it now! I’ve never seen the Flower King! Start thinking about your wish!”

Jian Xingyi’s eyes lit up. A wish!

He’d already asked the system for S-rank seeds before—now he could get an SS-rank one…

No, that wouldn’t be too much, would it?!

Jian Xingyi proceeded to synthesize them.

Afterward, all three of them were dumbfounded.

“Wow…”

A colossal flower burst forth from the barren wasteland before them, its fiery red petals glowing brilliantly.

This time, the petals weren’t translucent—they were solid, red as blood.

This flower, representing the Fire God’s twin eyes, now held a heart as large as a human face, gazing directly at Jian Xingyi.

【The Fire God, in His mercy, casts His gaze upon His devotee. He asks: O lost soul, what is your heart’s desire?】