Thanks to Green KiTea for the kofis, enjoy the bonus chapters!

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No way!

If I don’t explain clearly, everyone’s misunderstanding will only deepen!

Jian Xingyi explained, “He’s an NPC. He helped me clear the Nectar and Jade Liquor instance before. Maybe it was a dungeon reward or triggered some special event—anyway, he gave me some items. Basically, when I’m in trouble, he comes to help me.”

Everyone remained skeptical.

But Jian Xingyi had genuinely cleared the Nectar and Jade Liquor instance.

Maybe the business tycoon had some special cheat?

Come to think of it, surviving this zombie tide was entirely thanks to Jian Xingyi. Worrying about his safety… seemed a bit odd.

Did the tycoon need their concern?

Lone Wolf scratched his head. “Well… if you want to go alone, go ahead. Anyway, wherever you’re heading next, there should be other guild members there.”

If anything really happened, there’d be backup.

“Mhm…!” Jian Xingyi exhaled in relief.

“Then…” Haihai asked curiously, “It’s just an NPC. Why are you blushing?”

“…”

“Honestly, I don’t know either.”

After discussing the guild’s future plans, Jian Xingyi headed back.

With a clear direction now, he dashed straight to the courtyard upon returning home.

His goal was to make money, so he just needed to plan how to sell all his goods!

With the zombie tide just ending, it was prime time for trading. After all, surviving players would likely enjoy a brief period of relative wealth and be more generous with themselves—maybe even splurge on something to reward their efforts.

Jian Xingyi also requested leniency from Grapevine Peak, promising to resume trading in two days and compensate them with extra food supplies.

After all, during the previous zombie surge, all his fields were planted with Pot Sprouts.

Jian Xingyi planted his current seeds across 50 plots of land.

5 plots each of white radish, carrot, bamboo shoot, chili pepper, watermelon, and mung bean.

He allocated 2 plots for feed, 1 for lychees—since it wasn’t a zombie tide now, few would pay such high prices for them. At most, big shots might stockpile them or eat them themselves. He also planted 1 ginger plot as a test, since he hadn’t unlocked the Snow Mountain region yet.

For the remaining 16 plots, Jian Xingyi planted the most practical staple crop—potatoes. Not only did Grapevine Peak’s orders require them, but he needed stockpiles for himself, and they sold well. After all, potatoes provided the greatest satiety and even had a satiety bonus.

After planting, Jian Xingyi suddenly realized…

Huh?

Jian Xingyi stared blankly at his livestock area.

How… how come all his animals seemed ready for harvest?!

Jian Xingyi dashed over to the livestock area at lightning speed, his eyes widening as he locked gazes with the cows and sheep.

The “Harvest” option had actually appeared!

Yay!

Jian Xingyi was overjoyed.

After the zombie horde, he’d finally get to eat some delicious lamb—wasn’t that a reward in itself?

Beast meat was meat too, and edible, but honestly, it was just edible.

Lamb was different. Meat harvested directly from the animal itself was bound to taste better than the beast meat Jian Xingyi had forcibly converted using his recipe skill.

His livestock pen could hold 10 animals total—he kept 5 sheep and 5 dairy cows. Jian Xingyi still had 34 sheep, 30 cattle, and 30 dairy cows left in his inventory.

After clicking “Harvest,” Jian Xingyi saw 50 portions of mutton and milk appear in his inventory.

Eager to try it, Jian Xingyi immediately crafted a serving of grilled lamb and a portion of hand-pulled lamb with chili dip at the synthesis machine. He paired it with a glass of milk, beginning his first meal after the zombie tide ended.

Sitting in the courtyard, Jian Xingyi savored this moment of tranquility.

With everything prepared, he first speared a piece of hand-pulled lamb, dipped it in chili, and popped it into his mouth.

The thick slices of mutton were substantial, marbled with fat and lean, retaining their natural savory flavor after boiling. The tender meat pulled effortlessly from the ribs.

Coated in chili, the meat was incredibly appetizing—even with grease dripping from his mouth, it never felt greasy.

Lamb is meant to be savored for its pure, meaty flavor!!

Jian Xingyi closed his eyes in bliss, his legs bouncing rhythmically.

That single bite warmed his body and recharged his energy.

One simply must eat meat!!!

After devouring the succulent hand-pulled lamb, Jian Xingyi picked up a skewer of more intensely flavored lamb.

Fresh off the grill, the fat glistened golden-brown, sizzling with oil. Jian Xingyi took a hearty bite—“Mmm!”—the chili-dusted lamb was piping hot and wonderfully chewy.

Jian Xingyi felt as if he were floating on air.

Mmmmm… pure bliss…

This authentic mutton was truly different from beast meat—it was in a whole different league!

When he grew tired of the richness, Jian Xingyi took a few sips of milk. The milk was fresh, sweet, and aromatic, with a silky, rich texture. Its fragrance made Jian Xingyi so happy he wanted to scream.

What was once a simple beverage had become a luxury in the apocalypse.

This was the first time Jian Xingyi had drunk anything other than plain water since entering this game. Rounded up, he could say he’d had bubble tea, and it felt like his whole day had just gotten brighter.

And…

After preparing the food, Jian Xingyi realized that this lamb and milk seemed to have bonus effects.

He’d been too eager to cook and eat it earlier, but now, satisfied, he carefully examined the food description in her backpack.

【Grade C Meat: Consumption increases melee and ranged weapon attack power by 20%】

Previously, the game hadn’t assigned grades to wild game or hunted mutated beasts because they weren’t technically “meat.” Now, with meat sourced from the farm, Jian Xingyi finally had a grading system.

Higher-grade meat provided greater attack bonuses, regardless of type.

Well… this is fantastic!

Attack bonuses differ from accuracy or stamina boosts—the latter aren’t universally useful, and powerhouses like Grapevine Peak’s leader certainly don’t need them. But attack bonuses? Everyone needs them, whether you’re a noob or a pro. Who would ever complain about more? It’s like how gun prices on the auction house depend on their attack bonuses.

Milk also had a bonus.

【Milk: Increases immunity by 50% upon consumption】

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, this one is rather optional. After all, it’s not about avoiding zombie infection, just preventing regular illness.

Now that everyone has combat power bonuses after entering the game, they rarely get sick. Even if they do, they can tough it out.

So milk’s selling point probably isn’t the bonus—it’s… the first drink in the apocalypse!

In short, both meat and milk seemed like surefire sellers.

Jian Xingyi thought, Unfortunately, his livestock farm was only C-grade, meaning low output and minimal level bonuses. Upgrading it had already cost him 500 essence points to go from D to C. To reach B-grade now would require… 1000 essence points?!

Jian Xingyi: “…”

Why not just rob someone?

That’s too much!

He didn’t have enough essence to splurge like that. Besides, if he had 1000 essence points, wouldn’t it be more cost-effective to upgrade two A-grade fields instead?

Jian Xingyi decided that for now, expanding his breeding area with dawn coins was a wiser investment than upgrading.

No time to waste!

Since the breeding area offered substantial benefits, rivaling those of the planting area, it had to be upgraded!

The initial livestock area came pre-installed with the system. To expand further, he’d have to purchase additional zones. Jian Xingyi bought another livestock area, costing him… 500,000.

Jian Xingyi felt a twinge of pain.

Even though he had plenty of dawn coins now, he couldn’t just throw them around!

Sigh, upgrading the breeding area was far more expensive than upgrading the planting area.

Buying new farmland only costs 50,000, while a new livestock area demands 500,000. Even the base upgrade level for farmland started at a mere 50, whereas livestock areas began at 500.

Outright robbery!

Jian Xingyi whined as he tended to the cattle in his backpack.

Livestock Area C-1 housed 5 sheep and 5 dairy cows.

Grade D Livestock Area 2 has 5 cows. Jian Xingyi thought he’d better hurry and gather 500 essence points to upgrade before these calves grew up.

It takes over two weeks for these animals to reach harvestable size for the first time—quite a long wait. But once grown, they can be harvested 5 times, and only the first harvest takes that long; subsequent ones come every four days.

After eating his fill and finishing up in the livestock area, Jian Xingyi planned to wash up and go to bed.

Before sleeping, Jian Xingyi opened the chat window to ask Firelight.

Xinghe: 【New ingredients are here! Should we upgrade the beast meat to lamb? Lamb tastes better and has a 20% attack bonus, but since it’s new, we only have 160 boxes. It’ll be pricier too.”】

Jian Xingyi pondered. How much should lamb and milk sell for?

Besides, the situation had changed. His food supply wasn’t as scarce as before, so he planned to adjust prices.

After all, looking back, Jian Xingyi realized many prices were unreasonable. For instance, both Chili Pickled Bamboo Shoots and Potato Stir-Fried with Pork Slices were priced at 2500 dawn coins—clearly unreasonable since everyone needed Potato Stir-Fried with Pork Slices more. Another example: Roasted Potatoes and Mixed Pickled Radish were both 1000 dawn coins.

This situation arose because his ingredients were limited back then.

Things are different now.

Rounding it up, he’s practically a local big shot.

Firelight quickly replied.

Firelight: 【Whoa, a 20% bonus is that much? Let me check~ Hold on.】

A moment passed.

Firelight: 【Got it. Since your lamb can’t make 160 boxes, we’ll skip the upgrade—it’d be unfair otherwise. But that 20% bonus lamb sounds tempting! We’d like to buy extra from you. That way, people can grab it before raids or outings. Can you share the price?】

Jian Xingyi: “!!”

Kids make choices, but big shots want it all!

Jian Xingyi pondered for a moment and flipped through the recipe book.

Xinghe: 【The more flavorful hand-pulled lamb is 5500, while the cheaper but still delicious braised lamb is 5000.】

Firelight: 【Oh, then the basic braised lamb will do. How many servings can you provide?】

Xinghe: 【50 boxes per batch.】

Firelight: 【Okay, no problem! Any other ingredients?】

Jian Xingyi gave a brief overview of his food offerings.

However, Grapevine Peak had already secured its daily meals with potato and pork stir-fry. For the remaining portions, they would likely prioritize effect bonuses.

Yet none of the other dishes offered the effect bonuses they urgently needed, so they decided against them.

Firelight: 【That’s all for now. Ping me if any new ingredients come up~】

Xinghe: 【Got it!】

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, this was truly a huge win.

It seemed the zombie tide on Grapevine Peak was also a huge win for them, because they were spending even more generously! The original 800,000 for stir-fried potatoes with pork slices, plus 250,000 for braised mutton, totaled 1,050,000.

So his mutton was now exclusively contracted by Grapevine Peak.

Jian Xingyi thought to himself that he had to hurry and upgrade the breeding area. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even be able to fulfill Grapevine Peak’s orders, let alone sell any extra.

After handling this large order, Jian Xingyi was about to shut down the terminal and go to sleep when he noticed the Guild President of Wildfire Sweeping the Plains, his “old friend” Liehuo, had come looking for him.

Liehuo: 【Big shot~ Good evening~~ Got a minute? Wanna talk business?】

Jian Xingyi raised an eyebrow.

Seems the big win wasn’t just from Grapevine Peak—Wildfire Blaze, ranked in the top 10 for both categories, was also a solid prospect.

Xinghe: 【Hmm?】

Liehuo: 【Well… I saw in Firelight that Grapevine Peak has been ordering supplies from you all along.】

Xinghe: 【Hmm!】

Liehuo: 【So… could you give us a backdoor deal too? We’d like to establish a long-term, stable business relationship with you!】

Jian Xingyi thought to himself: Wildfire Scorching Plains really is a goldmine.

The old Liehuo used to drag his feet even when paying processing fees, but now he’s eager to do business.

Xinghe: 【What ingredients do you need?】

Liehuo: 【Just filling food and watermelons for dungeon runs!】

Jian Xingyi considered for a moment.

Xinghe: 【Actually, compared to watermelons, I have better ingredients for your Lava Volcano dungeon runs—mung beans. They’re only 500 dawn coins more expensive than watermelons, so 3500 total. Interested?】

Jian Xingyi briefly explained the benefits of mung bean soup to Liehuo.

Liehuo: 【Hell yeah, I’ll take it! I’ll take it all!】

Xinghe: 【Alright. In that case, I’ll upgrade your 10 C-grade plots in the Lava Volcano Zone to B-grade. Then I’ll plant 3 plots of potatoes, 1 plot of watermelon, and 1 plot of mung beans there. That way, we won’t need to split the harvest 30/70 anymore—I’ll sell you all the food grown here.】

Jian Xingyi was thinking like a pure, unadulterated profiteer.

After all, splitting the harvest 30/70 meant he’d still lose out on three parts of the food. Better to spend a little money upgrading their fields—after all, this skill was hard-earned and now priceless.

Upgrade their fields, then sell them all the food—he’d pocket 100% of the profits.

Wasn’t this a win-win?

After enduring so much, including surviving the zombie hordes, Jian Xingyi wasn’t about to hold back now.

Liehuo pondered for a long moment.

Liehuo: 【Alright, no problem!】

Jian Xingyi then asked Liehuo if he wanted to add game meat to the potatoes. After all, Jian Xingyi had plenty of game meat.

However, this would skyrocket the price. Jian Xingyi currently sells roasted potatoes for 2000 dawn coins and potato chunks with meat for 3000. Wildfire Scorched Earth wasn’t Grapevine Peak after all. After crunching the numbers, they decided against the upgrade. They settled for the most basic roasted potatoes—after all, potatoes themselves were quite filling.

Xinghe: 【Then every two days, you’ll immediately receive 120 boxes of roasted potatoes, 20 watermelons, and 20 bowls of mung bean soup from the fields. After I harvest them, I’ll list them in the mall for your purchase. The total cost is 370,000 dawn coins per batch. Is that acceptable?】

Liehuo: 【No problem!!】

After finishing the conversation with Liehuo, Jian Xingyi immediately went to the VIP store to buya  Synthesis Potion to upgrade the farmland in the Lava Volcano Zone and planted the food needed for Wildfire Sweeping the Plains.

After doing all this, he only had 42.27 million dawn coins left, but he was still in high spirits.

High investment, high returns.

This meant he could now reliably receive 1.05 million from Grapevine Peak and 370,000 from Wildfire Scourge every two days—a combined 1.42 million.

And that didn’t even include the items he’d listed in the third district.

Money truly made things easier. With more capital, he could compound his wealth and pursue even larger ventures.

Once he’d earned enough and secured his land, he could begin constructing the guild’s fortifications. As always, whatever he invested in building the defenses would be doubled back to him after victory in the zombie tide—a highly profitable venture.

Only after handling these scattered tasks could Jian Xingyi finally lie down to sleep.

Huff…

The zombie tide had ended, rewards collected, fields and breeding zones tended—finally, a proper rest…

Jian Xingyi slept straight through the entire day.

He’d lain down at dusk, only to wake the next day… in the middle of the night.

Jian Xingyi: “…”

Well then…

Jian Xingyi curled up in his blankets, drifting in and out of sleep until morning, when he finally stretched with renewed vigor.

But then Jian Xingyi heard it… the low growl of a zombie?

Jian Xingyi jolted awake, leaping straight out of bed.

What the hell…!

During the zombie tide days, Jian Xingyi had barely slept. Even in his dreams, he’d hear the sickening, terrifying screams of the undead, and every day he had to face hordes of those monsters.

Now that it was finally over, hearing that sound again made Jian Xingyi think he was still dreaming, not fully awake. For a moment, he felt disoriented.

“Thud—”

The sound of something crashing over outside sent Jian Xingyi bolting out the door in terror.