The next day at noon, the Long Live A Hundred Years office bustled with members gathered around a long, connected table for lunch.

The guild had at least fifty members, but no more than a hundred. Jian Xingyi’s former guild, Blue Sky and White Clouds, was already at capacity, which was why they were trying to kick out low-powered members to recruit stronger ones.

But the Long Live A Hundred Years itself only had just over fifty people.

Every guild had an office building, essentially a shared space. Now, Long Live For A Hundred Years had turned theirs into a communal dining area.

Heiye held a porcelain bowl barely filled with white rice and addressed the group: “Honestly, even if we take a step back, the new recruit I want to bring in could just take care of his own food. Think of it as him taking up a spot.”

These communal meals were meager—just a few bites of plain rice or fruit. Having any food at all was a blessing; expecting dishes was unrealistic, and meat was a distant dream.

A youth—also a Long Live A Hundred Years Administrator—frowned. “I disagree! Joining the guild means sharing honor and disgrace, advancing and retreating together. What you’re suggesting is no different from keeping a useless dog! Oh, but dogs can guard the house. This guy? He’s a weakling with a combat rating of 6.”

The youth sported a row of ear studs, flamboyant golden curls, and a baggy hoodie. His features were as sharp and bold as his attire.

He was the one who had argued most fiercely against it in the guild admin chat earlier—Lone Wolf.

“What’s this about being useless? We all started out this way,” Heiye chuckled. “As long as they’re good people, that’s all that matters!”

Lone Wolf snorted coldly. “Good people? How do you judge that? With things so chaotic out there, how dare you just randomly take in people of unknown origin!”

Another Guild Administrator, a man with refined features and an aloof demeanor—Feiyi—added, “Besides, Baizhou said we’re out of supplies.”

“I know. You mentioned it in the group chat that day.” Heiye turned to Baizhou. “Details?”

Baizhou was Heiye’s wife—both in real life and in the game—and she managed the guild’s resources.

Baizhou shook her head helplessly. “We were waiting for you to return to discuss this. The other day, Lone Wolf tried to trade our hunted goods with an NPC for food, but it failed. We’ve exhausted all the NPCs in this area that accept trades.” The wheat our guild planted won’t be ready for harvest until five days from now. That means… we’re currently eating the last meal stored in our warehouse. Our next meal depends on the wheat ripening, which is five days away.

Heiye paused.

“Ah…”

Everyone’s mood sank a bit.

Their guild wasn’t exactly elite to begin with. Only a few members possessed high combat power. While the rest weren’t as weak as Jian Xingyi, many still had combat ratings below 100.

That’s precisely why Lone Wolf and Feiyi, the guild administrators, refused to recruit any more low-power members. It wasn’t about looking down on them—they genuinely couldn’t afford the burden.

Their energy was limited, and they’d already been pushing themselves to the limit in the outside world.

Feiyi’s arm was still wrapped in bandages, and Lone Wolf had a sprained ankle. Sometimes, scavenging for food meant not only fighting zombies and beasts but also guarding against treacherous individuals with ulterior motives.

Seeing the gloomy mood and heavy atmosphere, Heiye smiled reassuringly. “Ah, it’s fine. These next five days will be tough, but we’ll try to go out more often to find food! Maybe there are spots we’ve overlooked? Lone Wolf and Feiyi can go hunting on the hills behind tomorrow. Those capable of fighting should go out and find their own solutions. Those who can’t, come find me. We can figure something else out. We’ll get through this, relax, relax!”

After everyone finished eating, Baizhou and Heiye walked back side by side.

Once they left the office, Heiye’s face fell.

He was worried too. If even he, the Guild President, felt disheartened, the morale of those below him would only be worse.

Just then, Baizhou suddenly leaned close to Heiye’s ear and asked, “Where did you hide them?”

Heiye: “?!?”

Heiye: “How did you know? Did you find them?”

Baizhou smiled warmly at Heiye. “I didn’t find them, but don’t I know you?”

Heiye felt like crying. He grabbed Baizhou’s hand pitifully. “Don’t say it.”

Day chuckled softly. “If I were going to say it, I would’ve said it already.”

After a pause, Baizhou added, “But you need to think this through carefully. Don’t break everyone’s hearts.”

Heiye glanced up at the sky. Since the sun had fallen, the sky no longer held any distinction between black and white—only endless crimson remained. To gauge the time, one could only roughly estimate by the depth of the red glow or check the system time on their terminal.

After a moment’s observation, Heiye simply sighed heavily.

“I’ll figure something out. Right now, gathering food is the priority.”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Two days later, the crops finally ripened completely.

Jian Xingyi hummed a tune happily as he tapped to harvest, gradually filling the grid in his backpack with rice and white radishes.

Five plots should have yielded a decent harvest, but poor quality meant much of it spoiled. Jian Xingyi packed away the rotten produce too—unfit for eating, but useful as fertilizer.

After absorbing some nutrients, the soil improved slightly… just a little bit.

Better than nothing, I guess.

Just then, Heiye sent him a private message, saying he’d gathered some food during his recent outings.

Heiye: 【How are you holding up? Want some fruit from me? Well, the situation isn’t great… I might only have one fruit to give you…】

Jian Xingyi paused, feeling touched.

Not only had Heiye secretly brought him in, but he also worried whether he had enough to eat.

Xinghe: 【I’m fine. Please give it to others who need it more, Guild President.】

Xinghe: 【Are you okay? Need help?】

Jian Xingyi wondered—did Heiye mean he was facing difficulties when he said things weren’t great and only had a fruit? Well, he happened to have some food here to repay him.

After all, if not for Heiye, he might have died out there.

Heiye: 【It’s fine. Just take care of yourself.】

Jian Xingyi gently pinched his thumb, unsure. Did Heiye not believe he had food, or did he genuinely not need help?

Jian Xingyi thought, Food is never a bad thing, right? Who doesn’t love to eat? He’d better bring some to Heiye. Besides, he wanted to treat himself to a feast today, celebrating his first successful harvest since entering the game.

Jian Xingyi stepped into the courtyard.

Apart from the empty farming area and the rice field freshly resown, Jian Xingyi’s courtyard was deliberately arranged beautifully. All around were wisteria vines and flowers that bloomed eternally, never withering, thanks to the virtual world.

In the center of this flower-filled, fairy-tale-like courtyard stood a table and chairs, with a synthesis station nearby.

Jian Xingyi happily selected the finest rice and radishes from the harvest, synthesizing a bowl of steamed white rice, a bowl of fragrant, glistening braised pork with white radish, and a plate of stir-fried white radish.

The main dish, braised pork with white radish, featured meat not from the fields but from that day’s wild boar. With the synthesizer’s help, it became edible. Though the boar’s low level meant the flavor was merely decent, it was more than enough to fill Jian Xingyi with happiness.

His first proper meal was ready!

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Five minutes earlier.

Feiyi and Lone Wolf went hunting at Peace Mountain. Their haul was meager, and Lone Wolf’s leg injury had worsened.

Since they’d gone to Peace Mountain, they entered the guild through the back gate.

The back gate was rarely used, seldom seen by anyone. Moss covered the walls, and they struggled to push open the iron gate.

“I told you this was a bad idea,” Feiyi sighed. “Why did we have to come this way?”

But once the gate swung open, both men froze.

Hidden behind the back gate, nestled in the grass, stood a… luxurious mansion. So extravagant it clashed completely with the game’s style, making them wonder if they were hallucinating.

“Someone lives here?”

“Doubtful. And how could such a luxurious house exist?”

The two felt something was off. Could it be haunted? Or was the system glitching again?

No!

Realistically speaking… could there be intruders?!

Regardless, both went on high alert, guns raised as they cautiously approached.

The closer they got, the stronger the scent became… of meat?

They exchanged bewildered glances.

Swallowing hard, they followed the aroma to the backyard, which resembled a hidden paradise.

Beyond the wall lay withered grass and weeds; within, birds sang amidst blooming flowers.

A young man stood tinkering at a synthesis station, a table nearby laden with delicacies.

He radiated an air of serene tranquility, seeming less like someone surviving an apocalypse and more like someone savoring life—a stark contrast to the two men outside, filthy, disheveled, and utterly bedraggled.

In the courtyard, Jian Xingyi was checking what else he could synthesize at the machine when he turned to find two men standing outside the wall, watching him warily.

“Who are you?!”

Lone Wolf aimed his gun at Jian Xingyi.

Jian Xingyi jumped in fright.

He’d been… discovered…!

This was bad!