Thanks to GreenKiTea for the kofis, enjoy the bonus chapters!

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The difficulty of the main gate was… somewhat beyond the guild’s actual level.

For instance, other guilds of similar level to Long Live for a Hundred Years faced a grim night. Without powerful allies to assist them, they had to concentrate more manpower on the main gate, leaving the other three gates to suffer fiercely.

Jian Xingyi listened to Heiye’s broadcast while fighting alongside Cola to repel the zombie tide outside the gate.

Heiye seemed to be trying hard to keep his tone calm, but the critical situation inevitably tinged his voice with a hint of urgency.

“Don’t panic! Keep your formation!”

“Right, right! Front row follows Akita, back row follows Baizhou! Got it!”

“Feiyi, check the lights—they’re expensive!!”

At the main gate, Nana was in a killing frenzy. The woman above him swept through the zombie horde with a spear—fast, ruthless, precise, yet orderly amidst the chaos.

Shanhai diving into the zombie horde to kill seemed absurd because he faced eight giants plus a sea of corpses. This behavior certainly couldn’t be encouraged. But Nana, facing a small splinter group within the guild, efficiently dealt with the scattered zombies.

With the Firelight providing cover, the two quickly mowed down every zombie that emerged from the crevices within the guild.

The fence was beyond saving, but fortunately, Firelight swiftly rolled the lamp to his side, preserving the Ark’s beacon.

As the zombie tide neared its end, another giant inevitably appeared.

Firelight remained crouched on the wall, continuing to mow down the zombies inside, while Nana, having completed her task, joined Jian Xingyi and Cola to take on the giant.

Just like the previous two, the giant was swiftly dispatched.

As the colossus fell, the group acted in perfect coordination: Firelight remained behind while the other three split up to reinforce the three gates.

Jian Xingyi arrived at Akita’s position. Sure enough… not a single fence remained intact, and several zombies still lingered within the guild’s interior.

Baizhou, startled by Jian Xingyi’s arrival, instinctively shielded him behind her.

Having consumed the lychee, Jian Xingyi possessed high attack but low defense. Thus, no matter how chaotic the situation, both Baizhou and Akita remained vigilant to protect him.

With Jian Xingyi’s assistance, the giant at the side gate was also swiftly dealt with.

Fortunately, only one giant appeared at the side gate as the battle drew to a close…

After the battle ended, Jian Xingyi stared blankly around him.

Everyone was now covered in grime, bearing wounds, and looked utterly shaken.

Baizhou gently pressed his hand on Jian Xingyi’s shoulder. “Let’s go. Assemble at the office.”

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The atmosphere at the office was far gloomier than yesterday.

The public channel was equally bleak.

Tonight… many would inevitably die.

Heiye briefed Jian Xingyi on the battle situation.

Currently, the fences at all four main gates… none had been spared.

The main issue was that it was impossible to guard against everything. No one had anticipated zombies suddenly appearing inside the guild.

Truthfully, the number of zombies inside wasn’t absurdly high—certainly fewer than those outside. But everyone had assumed safety lay behind the barriers. As long as the zombies didn’t cross the line, there was hope. So when the undead suddenly appeared behind the barriers, right beside them, their psychological defenses shattered instantly.

Fortunately, all the team leaders knew lanterns were valuable, so they instinctively kept theirs close, saving Jian Xingyi’s 500,000 credits.

If the lanterns had been lost, too, that would have meant a 2 million credit loss.

As Heiye fell, the mood grew increasingly somber.

Casualties had finally occurred today. One person on Feiyi’s side died on the spot. It was said he had positioned himself poorly, getting dragged and bitten by a zombie that emerged from a crevice… His body was even torn apart.

Everyone could picture the gruesome scene just from hearing the details.

Only those present knew that before dying, the man had cried out curses at Feiyi, the team leader.

Jian Xingyi noticed Feiyi’s face had turned deathly pale. His left arm was also injured—but… was it a gunshot wound?

What happened?

Meanwhile, on the Lone Wolf and Haihai’s side, another player had been bitten and infected during the chaos.

This player was currently tied up and isolated in a small room nearby. Having no family or close ties, his closest friends were inside keeping him company.

Jian Xingyi paused, then asked softly, “Is there no way?”

Heiye shook his head gently. “Infected players can take the 【Higanbana】 item to purify the infection, but it’s extremely rare. It’s a lifesaving item, and our entire guild… doesn’t have any.”

The player inside could only wait to die.

Seeing everyone’s grim expressions, Firelight shook his head. “Honestly, your guild is only level 20. One infection equals one death—that’s actually a good outcome.”

Tonight, Grapevine Peak might witness another infection incident.

Other guilds… likely weren’t faring much better.

Lone Wolf sat motionless nearby, probably consumed by guilt. He glanced at the small room and silently walked away.

Akita and Haihai paused briefly before following him.

Feiyi also left.

After resting for a while, Heiye intended to continue compiling battle statistics and discussing countermeasures. But seeing several members hadn’t returned, he frowned. “Baizhou, go check on Lone Wolf and the others. They seemed to head left. Xinghe, could you please call Feiyi back? He went east.”

“Oh…”

To be honest, among these Guild Administrators—excluding Akita, whom he’d only met for the second time today—Feiyi was the one he knew least. When he’d checked Feiyi’s essence value earlier, he’d even gotten a 0. That was his only 0.

But there was nothing he could do about it now.

Jian Xingyi found Feiyi in a corner outside the office.

Jian Xingyi noticed Feiyi’s face looked truly awful and cautiously asked, “Are you okay?”

Feiyi might need someone to talk to. The usually aloof man unexpectedly initiated a conversation with Jian Xingyi. Pointing to his shoulder, he asked, “Do you know how I got this wound?”

“I don’t know.”

Feiyi’s coldness differed from Shuixi’s. Shuixi’s detachment stemmed from a sense of unnecessary interaction—no emotion, no response. Perhaps because he was an NPC, it felt utterly flat.

But Feiyi’s coldness carried resistance, even impatience.

This made Jian Xingyi somewhat afraid of him, always finding it hard to speak. Yet this time, Feiyi had said quite a lot.

Feiyi said, “When Wenwen was surrounded by zombies, I gave everything I had to save him. While rescuing him, I directed everyone to assist me, but not a single person helped. Not one. Everyone was screaming, panicking, and running for their own lives.”

“Before Wenwen died, he cursed me, saying I was the one who killed him.”

“After Wenwen died, all I could do was throw myself into the fray and command the others to fight off the zombies. But at first, everyone was like scattered sand. Some fired wildly and accidentally shot me.”

Jian Xingyi didn’t know what to say.

Feiyi was the only high-level combatant there.

Feiyi scoffed, “This guild was originally founded by Heiye, Baizhou, Chacha, Akita, and Lone Wolf. I joined later. Maybe that’s why I was the only one fighting alone. Our gate might have been abandoned.”

Jian Xingyi hurriedly said, “Um, I don’t know your situation or your relationships, but I can guarantee Heiye would never deliberately target you! Losing a gate means failure for everyone. This concerns the guild’s survival! Lone Wolf and Haihai aren’t as strong as you, so they teamed up. As for Akita…“

”Enough, no need to explain. In the end… being weak is the original sin.“ Feiyi shrugged. ”Our guild is too weak. My teammates… best not to mention them.”

Jian Xingyi opened his mouth, then finally said, “Heiye and the others want us back to discuss countermeasures.”

“Mhm.”

After everyone returned, Heiye took a deep breath and bellowed, “Alright, everyone! Stop wearing those mournful faces! It’s not time for that yet. There’s no reason to give up here! Fighting might mean death, but it might mean survival. Not fighting, giving up—that means certain death!”

“But Guild President…” someone stammered, “Rather than being torn apart by zombies or infected, I’d rather die comfortably at home…”

Heiye choked, stunned by the statement, momentarily speechless.

Jian Xingyi frowned slightly.

Perhaps swept up by the atmosphere, or maybe simply unable to bear it any longer, he stepped beside Heiye and declared, “I’m low-powered… By the way, let me set the record straight: my combat rating isn’t 6, it’s 56!”

Everyone looked up at him with confusion.

Huh…?

Jian Xingyi took a deep breath. “I’ve made it this far with a combat rating of 56. Everyone here is stronger than me. Why should we give up now?”

Someone spoke up: “But Xinghe, you’ve proven yourself just by getting this far. Even with your low combat rating, you have so many resources, food, and still plenty of money… You’ve already surpassed many big shots.”

Jian Xingyi retorted, “But you just said it yourself! I have so many resources, food, and money. Since I’ve surpassed so many big shots, why should we give up? What kind of logic is that!”

“…”

Firelight chuckled, “Well, that’s true. When we compiled and analyzed the strategies for the zombie tide, we noticed many guilds couldn’t finish building their fences this time, and few bought enough lanterns. Everyone’s been living in luxury without realizing it… We at Grapevine Peak are now trying to lure Xinghe over to us.”

Firelight’s tone was gentle, his expression soft, but his words were ruthlessly blunt.

Jian Xingyi glanced at the injured captains like Feiyi and Lone Wolf, then at the Heiye players struggling to pull themselves together, and finally at the panicked ordinary players. His voice was sincere yet resolute: “When the zombie tide comes, everyone must pull themselves together if they want to survive.”

As an outsider—or rather, the latest recruit to this guild—Jian Xingyi suddenly saw many issues during this undead tide… perhaps even ones Heiye himself hadn’t noticed.

Thanks to Heiye’s initial kindness, many members—including himself—had been picked up because their low combat power made them unwanted elsewhere.

They’d taken in too many at first. When he first joined, he’d even been shunned by Lone Wolf and the Guild Administrators—they genuinely couldn’t support everyone!

Low combat power meant a huge disadvantage from the start in this game. Being looked down upon was normal. If Jian Xingyi hadn’t developed his management skills, he’d still be relying on others’ kindness and handouts to scrape by.

But…

Jian Xingyi said, “Many of us low-powered players think we’re just waiting to die. But since this game truly wants to kill us, shouldn’t we strive to do what we can before death comes? Shouldn’t we figure out how to survive? Relying on others, giving up when it fails, doing nothing but waiting for death… When death finally comes… won’t we regret it? Or are we low-powered players just destined to die, with no effort worth making?”

Everyone froze.

Neither Heiye nor the others expected the socially anxious Jian Xingyi to suddenly speak so much.

Jian Xingyi murmured, “But I refuse to accept it. I feel… since I’m a noob, I should live each day to the fullest—eat well, live well. When I face difficulties, I’ll try to overcome them. You don’t gain management skills just by lying around clicking at home. I have to face danger too. But it’s okay. I’m so weak, I might die tomorrow, or even the next moment. So why not try? Maybe I can get one more satisfying meal. Right?”

Everyone fell silent.

Jian Xingyi said, “The captains lead our charges and battles. I’ve repaired the fences and bought lanterns for everyone. I can fix the damaged fences again! So we won’t die immediately.”

Jian Xingyi opened the Zombie Tide Store. “Look, everyone! They even have cannons!”

“One million credits. I don’t know how much I can raise myself, but we’ve got each other, right? Our top priorities now are gathering funds and finding solutions! We can pool our money, train formations, or study the terrain. There’s strength in numbers, and with me handling logistics, we already have an advantage in startup capital!”

Chacha, as an ordinary member, stood up and said, “Exactly…! Xinghe handles logistics, and the Guild Administrators are captains, but we can’t just take things for granted! To put it bluntly, we could easily just give up and lie down. If I were Xinghe, seeing everyone with no fighting spirit, I’d rather transfer to the Grapevine Peak Guild! There’s no shortage of places to go!”

“I still have 20,000 dawn coins left in my account. I’m putting every last one into the guild treasury! If we don’t make it through this, hoarding dawn coins is meaningless!”

“Alright, I’ll contribute 30,000! That’s everything I have!”

“I’ll put in 10,000!”

“I… I only have 3,000… Is that okay?”

Everyone grew excited, the gloom lifting instantly.

“Great! Great! Great!” Heiye clapped his hands. “Strength in numbers! Once everyone’s rested and recharged, we’ll start intensive training! As for this money…”

Heiye turned to look at Jian Xingyi. “You handle it!”

Jian Xingyi nodded.

At that moment, both Heiye and the others, including those from Grapevine Peak, looked at Jian Xingyi with a hint of astonishment.

No one had ever imagined that Jian Xingyi, who usually seemed timid and gentle, would step forward and speak so decisively when pushed to the limit, becoming everyone’s spiritual leader.

Traces of social anxiety still lingered in Jian Xingyi. For instance, when he spoke… he couldn’t bring himself to look at the others.

Though he stood on the platform delivering powerful words, he stared at the floor.jpg

Thus, he remained unaware of the gazes fixed upon him below.

Jian Xingyi might appear frail, but his core… was incredibly formidable.

In the words of the Lone Wolf, he was likely so weak that he radiated a fearless, reckless abandon.

Afterward, everyone dispersed to rest and recuperate. Four hours later, Heiye roused them for regrouping—likely to commence special training. Of course, Jian Xingyi was exempt.

Upon returning home, Jian Xingyi first briefed Heiye on the Feiyi details, requesting his continued support. Then, surveying his farmland densely planted with crops, he began calculating expenses.

The lamp was saved, but now he needed 1.6 million to repair the fence—the most urgent priority.

Next was the cannon.

If the system dared list a cannon in the shop for 1 million… even lychees only sold for 15,000! That meant this item must be incredibly useful.

A cannon for 1 million…

Jian Xingyi thought to himself: To survive the next three days, the cannon was non-negotiable!

Every guild member contributed their dawn coins. Jian Xingyi glanced at the total and was startled.

Unbelievable… Though none were wealthy, and the funds from the Guild Administrator and Heiye had already been spent on bullets, the guild still managed to pool together roughly 1.4 million.

That meant over fifty members had contributed an average of over 20,000 each, though some gave more and some less.

This practically emptied everyone’s savings, but…

Now was the moment for a last stand.

Two days had passed, and the day to deliver the order to Grapevine Peak had arrived!

Jian Xingyi sent the lunchbox he’d reserved in his backpack earlier to Grapevine Peak.

After the 800,000 yuan deposit cleared, Jian Xingyi now had 2.2 million credits available.

Jian Xingyi thought it over. He first spent 1.6 million credits upgrading the fence, leaving him with only 600,000 credits.

After hesitating for a while, Jian Xingyi decided to use up the remaining pesticides he had previously obtained from Sisi.

He reorganized his fields and prepared to sell directly, aiming to make money quickly.

This time, he planned to sell more food to the Lava Volcano Zone. Peace Mountain was likely saturated with everything except lychees, while players in the Lava Volcano Zone had only purchased his food once.

As usual, Jian Xingyi harvested his fields in the Lava Volcano Zone and prepared to list everything for the same Lava Zone buyers.

Since his target buyers were in the Lava Zone, this time he chose to plant more watermelons. Both A-grade plots were filled with watermelons, yielding a total of 60. After all, the Lava Volcano Zone has its peculiarities. Players here suffer from an environmental debuff due to the scorching heat, meaning their rewards are more substantial—a mixed blessing, really. So during the current zombie tide, they’d likely be willing to pay for watermelons, a food that guarantees stamina endurance.

For the remaining two A-grade plots, Jian Xingyi planted lychees.

Lychees sell well at this time, but unfortunately, his greenhouse could only accommodate two plots, so he had to use the highest-yielding A-grade fields.

Total lychee yield… 80!

Using two A-grade plots boosted output beyond previous levels. Jian Xingyi decided to split the harvest: half for Peace Mountain, half for Lava Volcano.

The rest were potatoes. Since the Grapevine Peak plot still had two days for natural growth, Jian Xingyi used pesticides to harvest them immediately and sell them off quickly.

After harvesting, he had 200 boxes of stir-fried potatoes with meat. Jian Xingyi glanced at the quantity. Even if he targeted the general public at Lava Volcano, it was still quite a lot…

After all, it was the zombie tide period—a time when money was needed.

Jian Xingyi began to think.

Currently, there were three types of people.

First, those who felt hopeless, thinking they were going to die anyway, so they might as well buy something delicious to reward themselves.

Second, the wealthy big shots who weren’t short on cash. They’d buy food like Cola, but they were few and far between.

Third… were the people Jian Xingyi needed to figure out how to reach. This group believed they had to save every penny to survive the zombie tide. Because they still held out hope of living, they wouldn’t part with even a thousand yuan.

Jian Xingyi came up with a plan.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Half an hour later, food items appeared in the Lava Volcano Zone.

72 cans of mixed radish pickles, 16 cans of chili-pickled bamboo shoots, 60 watermelons, 40 lychees.

And… 200 boxes of stir-fried pork with potatoes bundled with discount coupons?

【Discount Coupon Details: Due to the seller’s urgent need for funds, a -500 dawn coin discount coupon will be included with every 2500 dawn coin purchase of stir-fried pork with potatoes. Next time the seller lists items, you can DM them to designate a buyer for direct price deduction. This way, you’ll never worry about missing out on ultra-rare food during special periods—and get even better deals!】

Just some shady merchant tactics, he supposed.

But this scheme undoubtedly targets the third category of players Jian Xingyi finds troublesome—those focused on long-term development.

Some in the Lava Volcano Zone are thrilled.

【Holy crap! Xinghe just listed tons of food in our zone!】

【Watermelon…! Perfect, perfect! I’m literally too overheated to fight properly. Who understands? Our zone already has a built-in debuff, and now this zombie tide has made everything even hotter. They’re literally trying to kill us! What’s the difference between this heatwave and the one in the Nectar Dungeon?】

【It’s lychees! I heard Peace Mountain players rave about them before—said they hit every time, even with eyes closed. Perfect against giants. Finally snagging this magical food!】

【So expensive… but worth it. Can’t afford cannons, but lychees? Totally doable.】

At first, everyone was skeptical about the lychees’ effectiveness, but after a night of chaotic fighting… they really work!

Even at fifteen thousand, some still gritted their teeth and bought them.

Others sighed in frustration.

【Is this what being a big shot is like? So envious, so jealous… Even in times like this, they still have so many goodies. Meanwhile, my guild last night… lost so many people.】

【Don’t say that. The big shots listed all that food to make money for gear to fight zombies. We’re all in the same boat…】

【Forget it. I’ll just buy some to eat. At least I can enjoy a few good bites before I die.】

Regardless, all items eventually sold out, totaling 1.392 million. But Wildfire’s 30% commission multiplied by five added another 2.088 million to Jian Xingyi’s costs.

Jian Xingyi: “…”

Good grief.

Turns out the fees cost more than the goods themselves. Jian Xingyi felt a bit embarrassed at first, but then he thought about his recent harvests. Wildfire had taken quite a lot of food, so the guild members must have eaten their fill—after all, it was 20%. That made him feel a bit better.

He listed the remaining 40 lychees in the Peace Mountain District and made 600,000.

Jian Xingyi calculated: this shipment had depleted his entire pesticide stock—his final harvest and trade before the zombie tide. He was now completely out.

Still, the outcome wasn’t bad. After accounting for all goods and fees, he’d earned 4.88 million dawn coins.

Adding the 600,000 raised by his guildmates, he now held 5.48 million!

Unless he took out a loan, this represented his last remaining funds.

At that moment, Jian Xingyi received a system notification.

【Congratulations! Player 【Xinghe】 has earned over 5 million in the marketplace. Merchant Level upgraded to 3. Open the Grand Merchant interface to claim your reward!】

Merchant Level 0 to 1 required 150,000, Level 2 required 1,000,000, and Level 3 required 5,000,000.

This transaction netted Jian Xingyi 4.88 million. His previous two deals were 1.15 million and 1.007 million, totaling 7.037 million. He had indeed surpassed 5 million!

Jian Xingyi’s eyes lit up, overcome with emotion.

This merchant level upgrade couldn’t have come at a better time…

Hope the Level 3 shop has some good stuff…!

Preferably something that can save lives!