Thanks to GreenKiTea for the ko-fis. Enjoy the bonus chapters.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

At Grapevine Peak, the server’s top guild—unofficially recognized as the de facto leader of the End Times era—had always conducted itself with integrity, upholding principles of fairness and protecting the weak.

Jian Xingyi felt collaborating with them offered far greater security. For starters… at least they weren’t constantly trying to squeeze every last advantage! Plus, gaining the protection of Grapevine Peak—what an immense benefit that was!

After a long, grueling tug-of-war with Wildfire’s scorching flames, suddenly encountering such a straightforward client left Jian Xingyi overjoyed.

Xinghe: [My side should be fine.]

Firelight then discussed the details with Jian Xingyi.

Since Grapevine Peak Guild only accepted T1+ players, and there were only about a hundred T1 players server-wide, it wasn’t as massive as Wildfire. With just over seventy members, Firelight ordered 160 boxes of stir-fried potatoes with pork to cover the guild’s two-day consumption.

Potatoes provided satiety bonuses, while meat offered protein and sustained fullness. Each box contained substantial portions—far more than just a single potato—ensuring everyone would be well-fed.

…It was even quite extravagant.

Jian Xingyi’s external price was 2500, but Grapevine Peak was willing to pay 5000 dawn coins. When the time came, Jian Xingyi would simply list the order for Grapevine Peak, and Firelight would use guild funds to purchase it.

Firelight: [We’ve already added each other as friends. If you ever need our protection or combat strength, you can contact me. To prevent abuse of privileges, let’s be clear: valid requests must come solely from you—no one else, okay?]

They also established frequency limits and general conditions. Otherwise, if the entire guild decided on a whim to drag them along as escorts, it would be utter chaos.

But ultimately, Firelight and Jian Xingyi trusted each other deeply, so these arrangements worked out fine.

Their terms were straightforward, so…

Xinghe: [If my schedule allows, I’ll try to give you extra meals whenever possible ^^]

Firelight: [Great!! Thanks in advance!]

After finalizing the arrangements, Jian Xingyi couldn’t help but sigh.

So basically, the moment he goes live, he’ll instantly get 800,000 from Grapevine Peak. Is this what they call the world’s disparity? Grapevine Peak pays out 800,000 every two days, while their guild nearly went down the drain over a measly 200,000 earlier.

Xinghe: [You guys are so rich…]

Firelight: [Not as rich as you imagine. This isn’t easy for us either, but everyone’s willing to grind for coins to buy food.]

After all, Grapevine Peak did not lack combat power—it’s food they lacked.

Firelight: [So, we’ll wait for the food in two days. The zombie tide starts in four days, and this batch of supplies is crucial for us.]

Xinghe: [Understood!]

Firelight then shifted to another topic.

Firelight: [Would you mind sharing your experience with the Nectar of Immortality? Of course, this might involve your secret skills—you can choose not to share, or share and ask for a reward from us. No pressure!]

Jian Xingyi pondered. Ultimately, the only information everyone needed was that he’d obtained the Fire Spirit Divine Flower. But how he acquired it… he could keep that skill vague.

After all, this flower spawned randomly—a matter of chance. Without his skills, ordinary people would likely just observe and gamble by pounding stone walls.

So, regarding rewards, was there anything particularly special he could snag?

Upgrading the pistol to a rifle also required five rifle attachments. Among the pile of attachments Wildfire had given him earlier was one A-grade rifle muzzle, so he still needed four more.

But these things were incredibly precious, and Jian Xingyi felt awkward about asking for too much.

Xinghe: [Can I request any other A-grade rifle attachment besides the muzzle?]

Firelight: [Sure thing, dear~ We’ll arrange it right away~]

Jian Xingyi was both amused and exasperated. There was one question he’d been curious about for a long time.

Xinghe: [Are you a Guild Administrator of Grapevine Peak?]

Why did it feel like he handled all the miscellaneous tasks on Grapevine Peak, especially the strategy section?

Firelight: [Yes, but our guild’s Guild Administrators aren’t like typical ones. Most guilds have high-powered Guild Administrators as council, but here, we have too many tasks. So lower-powered Guild Administrators serve as council, working like oxen and horses, while high-powered ones lead combat squads into battle.]

Jian Xingyi thought to himself: Grapevine Peak only accepts T1+ combat power. So even the “low combat power” Firelight mentioned—including himself—would still be incredibly strong compared to ordinary people.

Firelight: [So I’m just the guild’s workhorse, hahaha!]

Jian Xingyi: “…”

If it were anyone else, Jian Xingyi might have interpreted this as sarcastic snark or corporate drone self-deprecation. But he’d met Firelight in person—the guy seemed genuinely not the sharpest tool in the shed. He’d completely missed Sisi’s advances earlier, and though he’d gleefully blown her off, he was undeniably… a bit slow on the uptake in certain areas.

Jian Xingyi then shared some of his nectar experience with Firelight.

Firelight: “…”

Listening to Jian Xingyi recount his experiences, Firelight found it utterly bizarre. So why does their boss do good deeds anonymously?

This player still thinks he’s an NPC!

Even when the boss sent him and Xinghe to retrieve the guide, he’d repeatedly warned them not to reveal his identity as a Shanhai.

So strange! What exactly is the boss thinking?

After telling Firelight about the nectar, Jian Xingyi also shared his experiences on Peace Mountain.

Firelight: [The teleportation array sent you back home? That’s weird… But it sounds like a clue for 01 and 02. Thanks for sharing, we’ll investigate. We’ll let you know if there’s any progress~]

After ending the conversation, Jian Xingyi happily obtained an A-grade grip.

He stowed the accessory away, reuniting it with the rifle barrel in his backpack.

After all, pistols couldn’t sustain rapid fire. Only with a rifle could he achieve sustained bursts—Jian Xingyi was eagerly anticipating it.

Only after exiting the chat with Firelight did Jian Xingyi notice Liehuo had also sent him a message, which he’d missed earlier while engrossed in his conversation.

Liehuo: [How did double become five times?! Boss, that’s way too much…! Please be generous and don’t hold it against us!]

The transaction fee, to put it plainly, is a 30% levy on the first three cross-region trades a player makes. The system deducts this percentage of the item’s price to regulate cross-region trading.

Players could cover this fee themselves or have someone from that region pay it. Traditionally, when cross-server buyers snatched up items, they’d handle the fee as part of the transaction.

Jian Xingyi had always interpreted this as “free shipping.”

Now he wanted the Wildfire Guild to cover his shipping—but that meant 30% of the fee multiplied by five.

Now, under public pressure, Liehuo must negotiate with Jian Xingyi to let him buy supplies. If the zombie tide hits and everyone can’t get food, won’t all the blame fall squarely on Wildfire’s shoulders?

But Liehuo couldn’t fathom where Jian Xingyi got the nerve to demand five times the fee, nor did he know about Jian Xingyi’s dealings with Grapevine Peak.

He wondered if Jian Xingyi was just bluffing—if so, he couldn’t back down.

Liehuo had actually been trying to convince himself that double the fee was acceptable, better than facing the wrath of regional players. But then Jian Xingyi demanded five times the amount.

This instantly felt unbearable to Liehuo once more.

Jian Xingyi then returned to tending his fields and livestock pens.

He thought to himself that this batch of food wasn’t just a special order from Grapevine Peak to prepare for the zombie tide—he needed to get himself properly ready, too.

Only if the entire guild defeated the zombie tide could everyone survive.

Jian Xingyi knew he couldn’t contribute much during the zombie tide itself—he wasn’t a fighter and could only hide behind everyone else. After the group battle, he’d even have to ask Lone Wolf and the others to guard his house for him.

So all he could do was ensure everyone had the strength to fight. For instance, by preparing food supplies for the zombie tide—that was a fair exchange!

Since Grapevine Peak had confirmed the purchase and paid 800,000, the funds for the fence were now fully secured.

Jian Xingyi thought, given this, his next shipment would be sold exclusively to Grapevine Peak. He’d sell a small portion in the Peace Mountain District, and the remainder would be reserved for internal guild consumption.

Liehuo: [Is there really no way to lower it further… How about triple? This is the biggest compromise we can make.]

Jian Xingyi merely shook his head.

It seemed his connection with the Lava Volcano District was destined to remain elusive—at least for now. He’d originally planned to make a killing by distributing the food elsewhere, but now he truly had no leeway to sell there.

Xinghe: [Sorry, the next shipment won’t be sold cross-region.]

Liehuo: [?!]

Xinghe: [After all, your guild already has a small portion of the food from my fields. You’re powerful enough to manage without my share—that’s what the Guild President told me before.]

With that, Jian Xingyi ignored Liehuo’s messages and returned to inspecting his fields.

For now, his lava volcano zone crops wouldn’t change anytime soon—mainly radishes, bamboo shoots, and chili peppers. Selling them all would bring in a steady 110,000.

As for his three C-grade plots and ten B-grade plots, he typically used the C-grade ones for feed crops, while the B-grade plots were dedicated to six potato plots and four watermelon plots.

None of this required major adjustments. However, due to the Grapevine Peak orders, Jian Xingyi felt he needed to focus more on livestock farming.

The Grapevine Peak order specifically requested meat. Currently, he was using meat scavenged from Sisi’s place, but that supply would eventually run out. He needed to upgrade his livestock area…

500 essence points…!

Hmm…

He’d also have to go hunting outside specifically to find more animal cubs. Otherwise, upgrading the livestock area’s capacity would be pointless.

After finishing his chores, Jian Xingyi headed to the Lava Volcano area that day.

Peace Mountain really didn’t offer much beyond the elusive 01 and 02 at its peak. He’d realized this while climbing yesterday. Rather than waste a day ascending, he might as well gather resources at the Lava Volcano instead.

The problem with the Lava Volcano was that its essence was genuinely scarce.

He spent the entire day toiling and managed to scrape together… 50 points of essence from his meager 48.

Oh well, better than nothing.

After nightfall, Jian Xingyi returned home to rest. Just as he lay down in bed ready to sleep, his entire stock of goods finally sold out.

Sure enough, sales were slowing down.

But… with only four days left until the zombie tide, he’d just raked in 680,000! Jian Xingyi was thoroughly satisfied.

His total earnings now stood at 1,282,000. He only needed another 318,000 to upgrade all his fences. He could easily let Heiye and the others off the hook—he intended to earn every last coin from the zombie tide.

【Ding!】

【Congratulations! Player [Xinghe] has earned over 1 million in the marketplace. Merchant Level upgraded to 2. Open the Grand Merchant interface to claim your reward!】

…!

Here it comes!

Jian Xingyi had been eagerly anticipating this moment. He immediately opened the Grand Merchant interface with a satisfied smile. Upon entering the page, a pop-up appeared announcing his Level 2 upgrade reward.

【Congratulations! Player [Xinghe] has reached Merchant Level 2. Your highest-tier farmland is currently Grade C. You have obtained [Grade C Farmland] x2!】

Jian Xingyi jumped off the bed in excitement and dashed to the courtyard.

Last time he leveled up, the system gave him Grade D farmland. He expected the same this time, but unexpectedly received Grade C instead—pretty smart!

Two empty plots appeared in the courtyard, bringing his total to 15 fields!

After claiming the field reward, Jian Xingyi excitedly opened the VIP Store to see what new items had unlocked. At Level 1, he’d loved the unlimited Synthesis Liquid, which could merge two D-grade fields into one C-grade field.

What about Level 2 this time?

【Advanced Magic Synthesis Liquid: Combines two C-grade fields into one B-grade field】

【Remaining Stock: 5】

【Next Refresh: 30 days】

【5000 dawn coins】

Jian Xingyi: “?!?”

The D-to-C synthesis liquid had a stock of +99, making it effectively unlimited. But the C-to-B version was so scarce! Still, even with a limited quantity, it could at least fill his current essence shortage!

After deducting store income, Jian Xingyi had previously raided quite a bit from Qingtian and Sisi, leaving him with 130,000 in his private vault. So he bought three synthesis liquids.

Forget the Lava Volcano Zone. His home currently had five C-grade fields. Jian Xingyi had a bit of an obsession with this, so after pondering for a moment, he reluctantly spent 50,000 dawn coins to add a new D-grade field.

Fields could be claimed as rewards or exchanged with vouchers, so Jian Xingyi disliked expanding through the most basic method. Spending 50,000 made him feel like he was getting ripped off.

But he still had money left, and his OCD flared up, so he went ahead with it.

His remaining essence was exactly 50 points. After upgrading this D-grade field to C-grade, he now had six C-grade fields.

After spending all his essence, he had just over 60,000 dawn coins left, but Jian Xingyi was still thrilled.

The value of the fields far outweighed this cost!

Once he had an even number, Jian Xingyi immediately combined these six fields into three B-grade fields.

After completing this series of actions, Jian Xingyi’s family now owned 13 B-grade fields.

So satisfying!

He clicked on the field details and discovered that because all his fields were now Grade B, he had unlocked the ability to upgrade to Grade A!

Jian Xingyi clicked in with curiosity to see what made Grade A fields special.

【Grade A Fields: Land that becomes eternal memory. Yields double, and harvested crops can yield essence and seeds, completing nature’s cycle.】

…?!

Yay???

In other words, if upgraded to Grade A, Jian Xingyi wouldn’t have to worry about running out of seeds for bamboo shoots, potatoes, or feed. Once planted, they’d continuously self-recycle, producing identical seeds that could also be harvested for essence.

Is this too good to be true?

Upgrade? Absolutely must upgrade!

【Essence Required for Upgrade: 500】

…

Yay???

…Upgrade my ass.

Jian Xingyi was numb. So now upgrading both the breeding zone and farmland requires 500 essence points each?

This is a death sentence!

Jian Xingyi currently owned 10 C-grade lava volcano farm plots, 13 B-grade household farm plots, and one D-grade breeding zone.

That’s all he has.

To progress further now? 500 essence is the starting price.

Ah…!

Jian Xingyi felt like crying without tears.

Does this game even have a graveyard? A cemetery? Maybe he could lurk around the graves—each corpse yields 300 points.

Alright, that’s not practical.

Jian Xingyi took a deep breath and resignedly swiped to the Merchant section.

Earlier, he’d been distracted by the Synthesis Fluid and skipped straight to the farmland listings. Now he returned to continue scrolling down.

Only one item remained below.

【Greenhouse: Transplanting farmland into a greenhouse provides crops with perfect care and optimal temperature conditions, boosting their yield.】

[Stock: 1]

[Next Refresh: 30 days]

[50,000 dawn coins]

Huh?

What’s this?

Jian Xingyi tapped the details.

[Greenhouses are exclusively for special S-grade delicate crops. Currently unlocked and usable varieties: 1]

【Variety: Lychee】

Jian Xingyi: “!!”

So that’s it! He knew it!

No wonder his lychee yield was so low—it required specific temperatures and equipment, namely this greenhouse, commonly known as a plastic tunnel, to thrive!

But… 50,000 dawn coins are so expensive!

Jian Xingyi glanced at his remaining funds: 62,000.

Ugh.

But what choice did he have?

If the lychees thrived and yields increased, the profits would far exceed 50,000. Moreover, once this greenhouse was built, he could cultivate other equally delicate seeds he might acquire in the future.

This was a worthwhile long-term investment.

Jian Xingyi gritted his teeth and bought the greenhouse.

In an instant, the wealthy 130,000 Jian Xingyi became the penniless 10,000 Jian Xingyi.

【Ding!】

【Player purchased [Greenhouse] x1, will be delivered to the courtyard!】

The next moment, Jian Xingyi saw a new… square structure appear in his yard.

Huh?

A section of his yard was suddenly marked off with red lines, delineating an area. Approaching, Jian Xingyi found a “Under Construction” sign planted there.

Confused, he wondered if the system was still processing.

But when he tapped it, he was stunned to discover he had to build the greenhouse himself.

…Swindler!

【Ding! The Merchant VIP Mall has sent you a message. Please check!】

【Greenhouse Construction Manual: Players must gather sufficient materials and submit them all at once for the Merchant System to begin construction!】

【Required Materials: Steel x10 Glass x10】

Jian Xingyi froze.

Where on earth was he supposed to find raw steel and glass? He couldn’t exactly go to Dawn Town and smash the glass out of buildings—the system wouldn’t allow that.

【To assist players in gathering rare materials, the system has unlocked the Material Synthesis feature!】

Following the newbie guide, Jian Xingyi checked the Synthesis Station and found a new section had indeed opened.

He could synthesize 400 pieces of wood into 1 steel, or 200 pieces of wood into 1 glass. Wood was easy enough—just grab an axe and chop some in the wild.

Wait, hold on.

What the hell?

400:1

200:1

10 steel and 10 glass…

That means a total of 6000 wood…

Jian Xingyi slowly crumbled, fading away.

The only consolation was that the axes in the shop were only 10 bucks each.

Jian Xingyi bought the axe and went to sleep with a death wish.

The next day, he was going to fight for Lychee to the bitter end!

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The next day, Jian Xingyi, determined to fight for Lychee to the death, headed to the Lava Volcano Zone with his axe.

Peace Mountain had already been stripped bare. The Lava Volcano Zone had less essence, but there might still be a chance. Plus, Jian Xingyi hoped to stumble upon wild beasts to hunt. So he asked Haihai and Lone Wolf, who were also in the Lava Volcano Zone, which area had more beasts.

The zombie tide was approaching. Most guild members were now exhausting themselves gathering resources and grinding combat power in preparation.

Lone Wolf and Haihai were currently still in the Lava Volcano Zone, working on their Fire Spirit Divine Flower side quest. This meant they could quickly come to Jian Xingyi’s aid if anything happened. Otherwise, they probably wouldn’t have wanted him venturing alone into maps beyond Peace Mountain—it was far too dangerous.

Upon arriving at the Lava Volcano, Jian Xingyi noticed the map’s atmosphere felt different than before.

Perhaps because the zombie tide was only three days away, everyone had grown tense again. Many were out gathering resources or grinding combat power.

Jian Xingyi was much the same.

He wanted to boost his lychee production before the zombie tide—it would definitely be a huge profit, and he needed it himself.

The zombie tide would last five days—he absolutely needed at least five lychees for himself!

Given past friction with players in this area and his current decision not to sell food, Jian Xingyi planned to find a remote, uninhabited spot to chop down trees.

After checking guides, he learned remote areas had higher beast encounter rates. Following the path, he cut deeper and deeper into the wilderness.

Trees in the game didn’t vanish upon felling, so Jian Xingyi couldn’t see any immediate effect—only a few pieces of wood appeared in his backpack.

Jian Xingyi initially tried to conserve energy, swinging the axe lightly. But… the system couldn’t detect it.

He then applied normal force, and a piece of wood instantly appeared in his backpack. If he chopped with great force, he’d get two pieces at once.

Jian Xingyi chopped away diligently, working hard as a lumberjack.

An hour later…

Out of shape, Jian Xingyi clutched his waist, panting heavily.

He’d eaten the leftover watermelon before starting, but still felt exhausted.

So… so exhausting!

He dared not imagine what would have happened without that watermelon—would he have collapsed by now?

For a moment, Jian Xingyi desperately wished he could hire someone to chop wood for him using his food supplies. But that wasn’t possible—this system only worked for him.

Jian Xingyi took a deep breath. For Lychee!

He and Lychee were sworn enemies!

Damn it! I’ll chop! Until! The! End!

Two hours later…

Chop… can’t chop anymore!

Jian Xingyi collapsed beneath a tree, drenched in sweat. He slumped like a dog panting with its tongue hanging out, his clothes soaked through. He gasped for breath, his body feeling like it had no bones left.

Help me… this lava volcano is still hot.

Jian Xingyi opened his backpack. Currently, it contains… 817 pieces of wood!

Meaning, over the past three hours, he’d chopped intermittently—one swing, then a rest—totaling nearly eight hundred axe strikes.

Truthfully, if not for physical limits, he could have swung more—but that wasn’t…

Jian Xingyi regulated his breathing. His arms had gone numb, and his palms felt rough.

He realized he needed a proper rest before continuing.

After all, before this, he’d been just an ordinary office worker—barely exercised, gasping for breath, even when climbing stairs.

Ah, well, consider it physical training to prepare for the zombie horde.

Jian Xingyi rested under a tree for a while, eating a boxed meal.

After a bit, having finished digesting, he was about to get up and resume his lumberjack duties when he heard a sound…

A pig’s squeal?

Jian Xingyi’s eyes lit up.

Perfect, perfect! After chopping all morning, finally, some signs of beasts!

His meat!

Jian Xingyi grabbed his gun and sprinted forward.

The pig squeals came and went, so he could only roughly follow the direction.

After chasing for a moment, Jian Xingyi pushed through the grass and saw a scene not far away that made him pause.

Huh…?

Not far off, a man leaned against his motorcycle, leisurely eating fruit under a tree.

The man wore a black jacket, his features sharp and cold.

Grapevine Peak had been preparing for the zombie tide these past days, but Shanhai’s combat power had reached its limit. No one had asked him to lead a raid today, so he’d come here intending to hunt some uninfected beasts.

He was simply enjoying a rare, relatively leisurely moment.

Jian Xingyi froze.

This was… Shuixi?!

Shanhai—or rather, Shuixi—also paused upon seeing Jian Xingyi.

But Jian Xingyi was overjoyed. “You… you’re not just confined to dungeons after all?!”

He’d thought he’d never see Shuixi again outside the Tongxin Anchor Point!

Shuixi: “…”

Oh, almost forgot—he had an NPC persona here too.

Jian Xingyi chuckled. “What are you doing here?”

Shuixi pondered for a long while.

“Stand by.”