A huge thank you to GreenKiTea for the kofis. Enjoy the chapters!

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In the dead of night, Jian Xingyi drifted off into a drowsy sleep.

Apart from the wind, no other sounds disturbed the surroundings.

Until…

Two shadowy figures crept silently toward Jian Xingyi and Shuixi’s tent.

Jian Xingyi slept soundly, oblivious, but Shuixi’s eyes snapped open instantly. Sensing the ominous aura, he immediately rose and drew his dagger.

He glanced at Jian Xingyi, who was sleeping against the tent. He had no intention of waking him, nor did he plan to make a move that might alert the intruders.

He wanted to see… what the people outside were up to.

Rustle…

Through the tent’s shadow, Shuixi saw the figures crouch down, place something, and then leave.

Once they were far enough away, Shuixi lifted a corner of the tent flap. What they had left behind was… a wind-summoning device?

Wind-summoning devices functioned oppositely to the wind-repelling device Houyi had given Jian Xingyi earlier. True to their names, wind-repelling devices drove away tornadoes to buy everyone time, while wind-summoning devices could summon tornadoes regardless of location—high-grade ones could even be used within guild premises.

Shuixi saw that this was indeed a high-grade device.

It seemed someone was determined to kill Jian Xingyi.

Shuixi shattered the wind-summoning device before entering the tent and gently patting Jian Xingyi’s shoulder.

“Hm…?” Jian Xingyi opened his eyes groggily.

“Wake up. Stay alert, but don’t move from your spot, okay?”

“Oh…” Jian Xingyi rubbed his eyes. Seeing Shuixi seemed to have a plan, he obediently didn’t ask questions and simply followed Shuixi’s instructions.

After waking him, Shuixi went back outside. He scanned his surroundings warily and spotted a fleeing figure not far away.

Shuixi immediately gave chase.

Now Jian Xingyi understood what was happening. He pretended to still be asleep, keeping his position unchanged, but quietly retrieved the rifle from his backpack and concealed it.

Rustle—

The next moment, the tent flap was flung open. A figure burst in, gun raised, the black muzzle aimed squarely at Jian Xingyi, ready to fire.

Jian Xingyi raised an eyebrow, about to fire, when suddenly—Bang!—the man collapsed, blood spilling and staining the tent floor.

Nearby, Shuixi stood holding his rifle in one hand while dragging an unconscious man with the other.

Jian Xingyi sat up. “What happened?”

Shuixi tossed the unconscious man near the tent. “Someone ambushed us. I came out and saw the wind-summoning device. Someone deliberately gave themselves away to lure me into chasing them. Probably a diversion tactic to get to you.”

An ordinary person would have panicked upon seeing the wind-summoning device. After all, even if the device was destroyed, as long as it was placed out there, it could still attract wind for at least a second.

The enemy’s disguise was quite good, but to Shuixi, it was still too clumsy. He immediately saw that the enemy was deliberately revealing their tracks, so he decided to lure both of them out at once.

“Why would anyone want to harm me…” Jian Xingyi pondered, “Or is someone trying to steal my resources again?”

“Asking will tell.”

Shuixi splashed water onto the unconscious man, then delivered a kick to his abdomen, jolting him awake.

The man tried to struggle after waking, but Shuixi pinned him down with a foot on his chest. “Don’t move,” he said coldly. “Tell me everything.”

The moment the man opened his eyes, he was met with a face like a demon, terrifying him into a stupor.

After all, Shuixi radiated a killing intent that he usually concealed.

“I, I…” The man trembled, stammering, “I don’t know anything…”

Glancing at his companion lying nearby with a gaping hole in his back, the man’s face drained of color.

Shuixi aimed the gun barrel at his temple. “One.”

“…!”

“Two.”

“Wait, wait! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” Tears welled up in the man’s eyes.

“It was… it was Houyi who ordered us! He said kidnapping Xinghe would force him to appoint us as leaders and let us demand any price!” The man sputtered rapidly. “He… he said to capture Xinghe alive! We didn’t harm him! Please spare us!”

Jian Xingyi frowned slightly.

He and Shuixi exchanged glances. Then Jian Xingyi said, “Tie them up and take them to the I-Cannot-Hear-You Guild, okay?”

Shuixi nodded, hastily staunching the bleeding from the other man’s gunshot wound before tying them both up and dragging them out.

“Please spare us! I beg you! We were just following orders! We had no choice but to comply with the Guild Administrator’s demands! We’re just ordinary workers! Really!“

”Please, don’t take us back! If we’re taken back, we’ll be expelled from the Guild!“

”If we’re expelled from the Guild at a time like this, how are we supposed to survive?”

The two pleaded incessantly.

Jian Xingyi paused.

Shuixi said coldly, “How they’re dealt with is none of your concern. Take them back and let the guild decide.”

Jian Xingyi nodded.

When they reached the gate, they froze. A massive tornado was approaching them from a distance.

Jian Xingyi stared in disbelief. “Just that one hit? The device actually activated?”

The tornado was only EF3. Theoretically, its wind speed shouldn’t uproot trees, so finding shelter should suffice. The problem was its sheer size—it nearly engulfed the entire military camp.

As the gale struck, Jian Xingyi nearly got blown away. Shuixi instinctively flung a rope around a nearby tree trunk with one hand while grabbing Jian Xingyi with the other.

He had to steady himself and Jian Xingyi, so the two bound individuals had long since been blown who knows where.

But even though they’d managed to “escape,” being tied up in this situation felt dangerous too. An EF3 tornado wasn’t lethal, but if those two, bound as they were, collided with something or fell into some place where they couldn’t struggle free… who knew what might happen.

If the instruments triggered the tornado themselves, then they were reaping what they sowed.

If someone was secretly manipulating events behind the scenes, then that person, to conceal their own objectives and prevent the two from being transported to the guild, was utterly disregarding their safety. Treating them as disposable pawns was downright selfish.

The roar of freight trains echoed all around as the pair were swept into the swirling black cloud, their bodies lifted into the air.

Jian Xingyi had gear in his backpack, but he felt that using the life-saving EF4 tent here would be a waste. As for the two EF3 umbrellas now open… they seemed pointless now that they were trapped inside.

Fighting the wind head-on would only lead to injury. Shuixi decisively let go of the rope gripping the tree trunk, wrapped his arms around Jian Xingyi, and held him tightly against his chest. Together, they were swept upward by the air currents.

Jian Xingyi felt trapped inside a pitch-black, spinning washing machine, dizzy and disoriented from the rapid rotation. The turbulent air made breathing difficult.

Jian Xingyi forced his eyes open to find himself and Shuixi trapped within a vortex of dark clouds and fierce winds. The whirlpool carried sharp wood splinters and small objects from the ground—colliding with them would be dangerous. Yet Shuixi shielded him, and with enough strength to dodge, they remained unharmed.

Jian Xingyi thought to himself: He’d previously encountered an EF0 tornado, but an EF3 proved surprisingly powerful.

Fortunately, the tornado arrived with great force but dissipated quickly. Soon, the wind speed gradually slowed, and the two were about to touch down.

Only then did Shuixi use the rope to grab a tree trunk and leap down, carrying Jian Xingyi to a steady landing.

“Phew…” Jian Xingyi smoothed his hair, which had stood on end from static electricity, and breathed a sigh of relief.

He had now witnessed a real tornado firsthand.

But almost the moment they touched down, before Jian Xingyi could even process what had happened, Shuixi vanished in an instant.

Startled, Jian Xingyi frantically scanned the area.

“Thud!”

Following the sound, he saw Shuixi seemingly kick someone off a nearby tree.

The person who’d been kicked lay curled up nearby, clutching their stomach and wailing.

Shuixi addressed Jian Xingyi: “This man was hiding here and summoned the tornado. He must be the mastermind behind it.”

Jian Xingyi also spotted the wind-gathering device rolling nearby. But upon closer inspection, he froze in shock.

“Dajin…?”

This…

Jian Xingyi was utterly speechless.

So it was true after all?

So Dajin orchestrated tonight’s scheme to get himself appointed? He sent his errand boy to frame him, then pin it on Houyi?

Jian Xingyi thought: If they hadn’t caught those two, they’d likely have planted something else to implicate Houyi. But they did catch them, so Dajin had no choice but to activate Plan B—summoning the tornado.

But he probably never imagined Shuixi would discover him.

Dajin grimaced, “You… how did you find my…”

It didn’t make sense… He’d hidden so well, even using stealth gear!

Dajin had underestimated Shuixi’s combat prowess, whether it was the initial plan A executed by his henchmen or plan B.

After all, Dajin likely never imagined that the bodyguard they assumed Jian Xingyi had hired would be Shanhai.

Jian Xingyi asked with some irritation, “Why did you do this? For the position of Guild Vice-President, even putting us and your own comrades in danger?”

Dajin stared at Jian Xingyi, his face finally turning ashen. He turned his head away, saying nothing.

It’s over.

Everything is over.

He had failed.

Jian Xingyi would certainly report his actions to the guild. He might not only lose his eligibility for the vice-president position but could even be expelled from the guild!!

Not only was he utterly defeated, but he might also be stripped of everything…

This… this…

Dajin gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot.

No…

Tonight’s events couldn’t be reported to the guild!

“I’ll fight you to the death—!!”

Dajin drew his finest rifle—

Bang!!

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Jian Xingyi stared blankly at the scene before him.

In his hand was the gun he’d reflexively drawn, still unloaded.

Before him stood Shuixi, who’d reacted faster than him, blocking the shot. Smoke still curled from the muzzle of Shuixi’s rifle.

Dajin had been shot through the chest by Shuixi, yet his back was also riddled with bullets.

Not far away, Houyi, who had just arrived, was also holding a smoking rifle, panting heavily.

Shot through front and back by the two, Dajin died instantly, with no chance for rescue. He probably never imagined he’d die like this—his eyes wide open, his dying expression one of utter disbelief.

“I… I haven’t lost yet…”

“Xinghe… choose me! I will become…”

Bang!

Dajin collapsed, motionless.

Houyi and Shuixi were both somewhat surprised.

Houyi said, “I… I just arrived and saw this situation. I didn’t think much of it.”

But his explanation held no trace of regret or remorse. Seeing Dajin dead, he even felt a hint of schadenfreude.

Jian Xingyi took a deep breath and said to Houyi, “He got what he deserved. I should actually thank you.”

If not for Shuixi and Houyi’s quick reactions, it would have been him lying on the ground now.

Jian Xingyi patted Shuixi, wanting to say thank you, but hadn’t every moment of their journey been like this? If he had to express gratitude, he’d have to do so countless times.

So he simply smiled.

Shuixi met his gaze, his eyes softening.

Jian Xingyi quickly activated his skill before Dajin mutated.

300 essence secured!

With this addition, Jian Xingyi now possessed a total of 930 essence points.

Moon led the others to search for the two subordinates who’d vanished into thin air. Houyi stepped forward. “Sorry… our conflict dragged you into this. We’ve caused you trouble…”

Jian Xingyi shook his head slightly. “How did you discover it?”

Houyi explained, “On a whim today, I went to organize the guild’s resource vault. Our guild has always stored quite a few high-level instruments for dungeon runs. I discovered two wind-gathering instruments labeled with my name and ownership had been stolen. My gut told me something was off, so I investigated everywhere. Sure enough, I uncovered tonight’s incident.”

Houyi gritted his teeth. “If Dajin had succeeded, I’d have been the one taking the fall!”

As they discussed, another group approached from nearby.

“You little brats!!” A middle-aged man strode toward them, his deep, powerful voice—perhaps amplified by his agitation—piercing their eardrums.

“You’ve lost your minds!!”

Houyi whispered, “That’s our Guild President, Lei Gong.”

Jian Xingyi thought to himself: Everyone in this guild seems to have a mythical flair.

Lei Gong stepped forward, extending his hand to Jian Xingyi first. “I’ve been away on an expedition these past few days and just returned. I had no idea Xinghe had graced us with your presence! Welcome, welcome!”

After Jian Xingyi grasped Lei Gong’s hand, he felt himself being shaken vigorously.

Lei Gong then glared at Houyi. “I was genuinely pleased that Xinghe visited us and even initiated trade. I intended to discuss business properly with him. But look what you lot did—bickering over trivial matters, scheming and plotting, and ultimately putting Xinghe in danger!”

Upon hearing these events unfold, Lei Gong nearly spat blood.

If these people wanted him dead, they could just say so!

He had no desire to become the next Liehuo!

What awaited those who offended Jian Xingyi’s guild? Blue Sky and White Clouds were one outcome; Wildfires Sweeping Across The Land were another. These clowns wouldn’t just suffer heavy losses—they’d be mocked across the public channel.

And yet the Guild Administrators, instead of helping, had turned their schemes directly against Jian Xingyi!

Just then, the low growl of a zombie interrupted Lei Gong’s tirade. He looked down and saw Dajin in the grass, and his entire body froze in shock.

Huh?

Houyi dared not act in front of Lei Gong, who was still reeling from shock. Seeing the zombie stagger to its feet, Shuixi shot it dead before it could reach Jian Xingyi.

Bang!!

The gunshot snapped Lei Gong back to reality. He glanced at Shuixi, whose face was cold and stern. First, he was shaken by the killing intent radiating from her. Then, he looked at the already rotting Dajin and was completely dumbfounded.

No wonder they say… You don’t mess with Xinghe.

Houyi murmured, “He got what he deserved.”

“Hmm…” Lei Gong shook his head helplessly.

Blinded by greed, reaping what he sowed—what else could he do?

Lei Gong turned to Jian Xingyi, carefully studying his expression. “I’m truly sorry. Please forgive us. Give us another chance?”

“I promise, trading with us will be highly profitable!”

Lei Gong pressed Houyi’s head down. “Apologize to him now!”

Houyi hastily bowed. “I’m truly sorry. The double commission I mentioned earlier… No! I’ll pay triple the handling fee. I won’t go back on my word!”

Now that Dajin was dead, Houyi had no rival left. The trade naturally fell to him.

But he dared not get cocky. If Jian Xingyi suddenly changed his mind and refused to sell, he’d become the guild’s biggest scapegoat.

“Triple?! Triple my ass!” Lei Gong bellowed. “Six times! We’ll pay six times the commission fee—it’s just two transactions. Houyi, what are you being stingy about?”

Houyi shouted, “Fine! Six times! Six times!”

Lei Gong: “Ten times! You pay triple, I pay triple, and the guild funds cover the rest!”

Houyi: “Fine!”

Jian Xingyi: “…”

Jian Xingyi: “Okay…?”

Perhaps feeling genuinely awkward about putting Jian Xingyi in mortal danger for nothing, Lei Gong offered, “I have some upgrade materials. Let’s add each other as friends.”

Shortly after, Jian Xingyi received countless upgrade materials from Lei Gong. Lei Gong chuckled, “Rest assured, trading with us makes you our ally and partner. If anyone bullies you on Flag-Raising Mountain or you need help, we’ll be there whenever you call!”

Jian Xingyi considered it and said, “I plan to buy a few plots of land on Flag-Raising Mountain for farming. I’ll need your help guarding them then. Is that okay?”

“No problem! Where exactly are you looking?” Lei Gong was secretly stunned inside. Buying land… Jian Xingyi’s upgrade system really was different from theirs. This wasn’t someone to mess with lightly!

Lei Gong thought to himself, guarding Jian Xingyi’s fields would be an honor.

Jian Xingyi replied, “Not sure yet, probably on the plains nearby. I’ll let you know once I buy it.”

The trouble with buying land in the wilderness was the risk of zombie invasions and destruction. But since Lei Gong had offered, that problem was solved!

He could now confidently invest resources in Flag-Raising Mountain.

Seeing Jian Xingyi’s visibly improved mood, Lei Gong finally exhaled. “I heard from Moon that you’ll be joining us on the Windchaser the day after tomorrow?”

Jian Xingyi nodded.

“Alright, then we won’t disturb your rest. Houyi will discuss the food details with you. See you the day after tomorrow!”

The others departed one by one.

Houyi stayed behind to discuss the food order quantities with Jian Xingyi.

Moon passed by Houyi, who called out to her, “Aren’t you waiting for me to return together?”

Moon glanced at the dead Dajin, shot Houyi a cold look, and turned to leave.

Houyi’s expression darkened.

After finishing his discussion with Jian Xingyi, Houyi also departed.

Silence settled over the area once more.

With several hours remaining before the system-designated dawn, Jian Xingyi and Shuixi found a clean tent to rest in.

Jian Xingyi pondered, “What’s the advantage of being Vice President? Why are they fighting so fiercely?”

He couldn’t recall Baizhou having any special privileges. In fact, Baizhou barely registered within the guild.

After a moment’s thought, Shuixi replied, “In this chaos, more power means more control. It’s like why you develop your skills.”

Jian Xingyi paused.

True. It was all about survival.

The more trump cards, identities, and tools one possessed, the greater their capital for staying alive. And it wasn’t just about surviving—everyone wanted to live better.

Shuixi continued resting.

Meanwhile, Jian Xingyi organized his food trade.

The crops in his fields were now ripe and ready for sale!

As before, potatoes occupied 20 plots. But this time, Jian Xingyi skipped lychees and ginger, allocating those fields to watermelons instead. After all, demand for watermelons had surged since the I-Can’t-Hear Guild emerged, so he dedicated 10 plots to them.

The remaining crops, including feed, each occupied five plots.

Jian Xingyi first prepared the orders for the Wildfire Guild, since they were self-sufficient. Liehuo could finally breathe a sigh of relief—no more commission fees to pay, just the guild’s 370,000.

Next came the fixed 1.05 million from Grapevine Peak.

Jian Xingyi discussed with Houyi: the I Can’t Hear You Guild had far more members than Grapevine Peak or Wildfire—around a hundred. They ultimately settled on 250 boxes of stir-fried potatoes with pork and 100 essential watermelons.

Combined, this totaled 780,000.

For the remaining food, Jian Xingyi listed two-thirds of the total in the Flag-Raising Mountain area. He noticed that areas like the one across the sea were simply too high-difficulty; Thousand Bells Snow Mountain had extreme temperatures, so few people went there. Peace Mountain and Lava Volcano were too easy, so they also had low traffic. But moderately difficult maps like Flag-Raising Mountain were the most popular. Since this area was packed with players and Peace Mountain and Lava Volcano were nearly saturated, Jian Xingyi focused on Flag-Raising Mountain.

For instance, 300 jars of the double-pickled radish and cabbage combo priced at 1000 dawn coins each—200 of those are in Flag-Raising Mountain.

100 jars of chili-pickled bamboo shoots at 1000 dawn coins each, and 100 watermelons at 3000 dawn coins each—50 of each are in Flag-Raising Mountain.

100 bowls of mung bean soup priced at 3,500 dawn coins—due to its special nature, 50 bowls are at Lava Volcano.

390 boxes of stir-fried potatoes with pork at 3,000 dawn coins each, all 300 boxes at Flag-Raising Mountain.

Since 1.39 million worth of goods were listed at Flag-Raising Mountain at once, the invisible transaction fees were enormous—after all, they promised tenfold returns. Jian Xingyi calculated they’d have to front him 2.775 million.

Good grief… that’s already more expensive than the goods themselves!

He could also charge 830,000 for the remaining two maps.

After a flurry of activity, Jian Xingyi finished listing all the goods. If they sold out, he’d earn a total of 7.2 million!

Jian Xingyi was very satisfied. His listing values kept increasing each time—a good sign, indicating his resources were growing ever larger.

Including recent mission earnings, his original 48.06 million would grow to 55.26 million if everything sold out!

Jian Xingyi felt utterly satisfied. Was it finally time to hit five figures?

First, he needed to secure the land—become a major landowner!

Jian Xingyi was brimming with determination.