Lei Gong sighed heavily and said helplessly, “They’re all my members. I really wanted everyone to get along, but there are many things beyond my control. I didn’t even know Da Jin had done so many outrageous things—Houyi never told me either…”

Jian Xingyi cut him off immediately: “If Houyi had told you, would you have stood up for him and expelled Da Jin?”

Lei Gong was taken aback.

Jian Xingyi shook his head. “Because the incident hadn’t happened yet, even if he had told you, it wouldn’t have made a difference. On the contrary, it would have made the Moon feel humiliated and heartbroken, so he didn’t say anything.”

Because Lei Gong couldn’t make the decision for him.

Lei Gong lowered his eyes, his voice tinged with regret. “If I’d been decisive and ruthless from the start, perhaps Houyi would have chosen to speak up. Da Jin would have been banished, and the factional strife, the deaths, and today’s events wouldn’t have happened.”

But if Lei Gong had been a decisive and ruthless man, perhaps he wouldn’t have taken Houyi and the Moon in, and perhaps the Guild wouldn’t have grown as powerful as it is today, ruling over Flag-Raising Mountain.

But… times have changed.

The past is the past. Now that their guild is large and full of diverse voices, with plenty of gossip and conflict, perhaps he really should try a different approach.

Lei Gong looked up at Jian Xingyi. “I have a deal I’d like to make with you.”

Lei Gong respectfully invited Jian Xingyi to sit down at the table.

Jian Xingyi glanced at Shuixi, who also sat down beside him.

…Why does it seem like everyone just assumes Shuixi is his bodyguard? In some people’s eyes, he’s even a bodyguard from an “illicit deal”—that’s just ridiculous.

Lei Gong said, “Here’s the thing. Thanks to you and this gentleman… Mr. Shuixi’s assistance, everyone is very grateful to you both. Plus, you’re our food supplier—everyone is eating your food right now and holds you in the highest regard. Well… except for those few henchmen of Da Jin. So I’d like to invite you to become our… honorary Guild Administrator. Would you be willing?”

Jian Xingyi was taken aback.

Huh?

Since Honorary Guild Administrators are relatively rare and seldom used, few people besides the Guild President even knew the guild had such a position.

After all, there really aren’t many opportunities to use it. Essentially, it allows you to invite someone from another guild to enjoy the benefits of your own guild—and no self-respecting Guild President would want to do that unless the person could bring them significant benefits.

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, this is indeed a great perk.

The reason the “I Can’t Hear You” Guild has so many members isn’t just about numbers; resources and perks play a big part too. In other words, if Jian Xingyi became a nominal Guild Administrator, he could enjoy many of Flag-Raising Mountain’s perks, such as dungeon vehicles, countless wind-blocking items, and a steady monthly influx of dawn coins, resources, and items.

And if he ever found himself in danger, he would have the authority to call upon the members of the “I Can’t Hear” guild for assistance.

But Lei Gong wasn’t giving this away for free.

Jian Xingyi said, “You want to use my name to win over the masses?”

Lei Gong nodded. “At this point, I won’t beat around the bush. I’m willing to pay you such a high commission and share the profits with you because I need your reputation… You know other guilds are eyeing us greedily, wanting to poach you, and they’d prefer to see us torn apart. So as long as you become our nominal Guild Administrator and your interests are tied to ours, others will realize we cannot be shaken.”

Moreover… Da Jin was killed by Jian Xingyi and Houyi precisely because he framed Jian Xingyi. If Jian Xingyi becomes a nominal Guild Administrator, then when Lei Gong purges Da Jin’s remnants, no one can question it. If those remnants seek revenge… Fine. At worst, they’d simply offend Jian Xingyi later and lose access to his resources.

Who would dare do such a thing now?

Jian Xingyi said, “But you must understand that I am, at heart, a merchant. Even if I become a nominal member of your guild, if another guild invites me to trade or conduct business, I won’t refuse.”

Lei Gong paused, then finally said, “No problem.”

Lei Gong had a favor to ask, so he was at a disadvantage in front of Jian Xingyi; to be honest, he didn’t have much leverage in the negotiation.

Jian Xingyi agreed.

After signing the contract with Lei Gong, Jian Xingyi discovered that he had been granted access to the guild’s internal channel and the backend management page.

How strange…

Lei Gong looked at Jian Xingyi cautiously. “Well, now that you’re a Guild Administrator, I’d like to ask your opinion. What do you think should be done about Hera, Xiao Jin, and the remnants of Da Jin’s faction?”

After all, Hera had offended Jian Xingyi.

Jian Xingyi smiled. “I’ve already said it—I’m just a nominal Guild Administrator. You guys can decide these matters yourselves.”

Jian Xingyi didn’t want to interfere too much.

After Jian Xingyi and Shuixi left the office, Jian Xingyi thought to himself, “What a strange feeling.”

Shuixi wasn’t surprised by this.

At first, when Jian Xingyi started selling food, everyone was thinking of taking the opportunity to make a quick profit by stockpiling supplies, and they were also somewhat curious about Jian Xingyi as a player.

But back then, it was merely curiosity; many even looked down on Jian Xingyi, thinking he was just a lucky player with a combat rating of 6 who’d happened to acquire a lot of resources.

But now, after the Zombie Tide battle, everyone deeply understood that Jian Xingyi wasn’t just lucky, nor did he use underhanded methods—he was a genuine resource tycoon!

If they wanted to live a little more comfortably in the future, they couldn’t afford to offend him.

In fact, the ID “Xinghe” had now become a guarantee of a powerful guild’s strength.

It was only at that moment that Jian Xingyi realized this.

Jian Xingyi turned to Shuixi and remarked with a sigh, “I guess I’m half a big shot now!”

Shuixi couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. “You hold everyone’s lifeline in your hands.”

Food is, after all, very important.

After leaving the office, Jian Xingyi checked the status of his dandelions.

After raking in a fortune from the hill, his dandelion count had jumped from 100 to 497. Thankfully, the system was fairly smart—he only needed to blow a breath to count all those dandelions on the hill.

Now, he was just three short of unlocking the 500-dandelion reward.

Rumor has it that the rewards for the 500-dandelion milestone are more than sufficient; most players just take it easy and stop playing once they reach this point.

Jian Xingyi turned to Shuixi to discuss their itinerary.

“I’ve heard there’s nothing special on the mountaintop besides dandelions, and since it’s an EF5 zone, I don’t think there’s any need for me to go,” Jian Xingyi said. “Maybe we should set off for the Thousand Bells Snow Mountains?”

Thousand Bells Snow Mountain had been Jian Xingyi’s original destination—a place where he could soak seeds and buy land. Flag-Raising Mountain was merely a rest stop along the way, but he hadn’t expected to end up staying there for ten days.

Still, those ten days had been quite fruitful; he hadn’t expected to find good plots of land for sale at Flag-Raising Mountain.

Shuixi said, “Let’s take a good day to rest up and head there tomorrow.”

Thousand Bells Snow Mountain… was no simple place, and Shuixi hoped Jian Xingyi would be fully rested before heading there.

“Alright!” After all, Jian Xingyi was the Guild Administrator, so he could stay the night here without any qualms.

There were still vacant rooms at the office, so the two of them moved in.

Now that Jian Xingyi was a nominal member of the “I Can’t Hear” Guild, this place was essentially his home, so he could bring some furniture from his home here.

He packed his bed, bedding, and other furniture into his backpack, then unpacked them here to ensure he and Shuixi would be comfortable tonight.

After preparing the room, Jian Xingyi didn’t forget to go out for a stroll.

He wanted to see what differences there were between the plants inside the guild and those outside, as well as the plants that were “Long Live for A Hundred Years.”

【Harvest Successful, Absorbed 【Essence】 x2】

【Harvest Successful, Absorbed 【Essence】 x1】

It seemed that all guilds, regardless of level, had the same soil quality and plants.

Jian Xingyi did a quick calculation; he now had 1,510 essence points.

With 25 Grade A fields at his disposal, he no longer worried about running out of seeds for rotation. Although upgrading to Grade B would double the yield—and that would certainly be beneficial—it wasn’t urgent for him right now.

Rather than upgrading the fields, perhaps he should… shift his focus to the livestock zones?

His three livestock zones were all Grade C; upgrading them to Grade B required 1,000 essence points. While that sounded like a lot, Grade C meat increased attack power by 20% for both cold and hot weapons, whereas Grade B jumped straight to 50%!

The zombie tide hadn’t arrived yet, and everyone was conserving their strength while gathering resources, so filling-up potatoes and stamina-boosting watermelons were selling well, and he could even sell a small portion of side dishes.

But Jian Xingyi had a hunch: when the second zombie tide arrived, the market would be all about lychees and meat!

Currently, aside from lychees, only meat provides combat bonuses in his food inventory. So… he should focus on upgrading his livestock area next!

Jian Xingyi gritted his teeth and upgraded Livestock Area No. 1 from C-rank to B-rank, which now holds 20 sheep.

Moreover, with the next harvest, he could list his C-grade lamb for sale or ask 【I Can’t Hear You】 and 【Wildfire Sweeping the Plains】 if they wanted to upgrade, while the B-grade lamb could be given to Grapevine Peak!

Grapevine Peak would certainly not refuse, nor would they mind a price hike. They weren’t interested in foods with special bonuses like watermelon or mung beans, but as long as it provided combat bonuses, they’d take anything.

Jian Xingyi checked the inventory of young livestock in his backpack. The number of calves, cows, and sheep wasn’t particularly high, yet he hadn’t encountered any beasts on Flag Mountain—or perhaps… There were simply too many people here, so the beasts were naturally scarce.

It seemed he’d have to head to the Snow Mountains next to hunt some beasts and replenish his stock.

The first zombie horde was terrifying; he couldn’t go into the second one unprepared. Whether it was food or resources, he had to be fully prepared.

Jian Xingyi wandered around for a while and ran into quite a few people; most of them greeted him warmly, and even…

Just as Jian Xingyi was about to head back, he came across a small group of people.

The leader suddenly rushed up to him, crying, “Xinghe… please be magnanimous and save us!”

Jian Xingyi: “?”

The man sobbed, “We were blind to follow Da Jin before—we had no idea he was like that! We regret it now… please save us. I don’t want to be kicked out of the guild!”

“Yes, yes… We promise we’ll never cause trouble like Hera or Xiao Jin! We’ll be good and obey!”

“Right, right! Besides, I’m just a T3… I wouldn’t even have a chance to cause trouble, would I? I’m just a nobody in the guild. I don’t want to be purged… If I get kicked out of the guild, it’s a dead end!!”

Jian Xingyi paused, thought for a moment, and said, “Here’s the thing. Even though I’ve become a Guild Administrator, and Da Jin did indeed harm me, he’s dead now. I wasn’t involved in the subsequent handling of the matter, so coming to me won’t do any good.”

“But you can plead our case! If you and the Guild Administrator or the Guild President intercede, they’ll definitely listen to you!”

“Right, right! They all listen to you! Please help us, okay?”

“Please, you’re low-level too—you should understand our situation… We don’t know anything… We don’t want to get dragged into this purge!”

Jian Xingyi patted the leader on the shoulder and said gently, “I understand, but I also understand what Lei Gong and Houyi are thinking. From now on, aside from the already deceased Da Jin, Houyi certainly has no intention of targeting anyone else, so I’d actually suggest you go plead your case with Houyi.”

“Hmm…?”

Everyone looked bewildered.

What does that mean?

Jian Xingyi reminded them, “Among Da Jin’s remnants, there are those who can’t make up their minds, like Hera and Xiao Jin; there are high-level players plotting to flee; and there are helpless low-level players like you. It’s basically a tangled mess. But since the 【I Can’t Hear】 Guild is in the eye of the storm, the Guild President and Houyi—who’s already the Deputy Guild Vice President—won’t want the guild to fall apart. They control the guild’s resources and surely want what’s best for it more than anyone else. Launching a purge would be like starting a civil war. So if you can have a proper talk with Houyi, I think things will turn out for the better.”

As an outsider, Jian Xingyi was the one who saw things most clearly.

Lei Gong was worried about being collectively stabbed in the back by the remnants of the Day Jin faction—after all, there were high-level players among them—and he was also concerned that those people might defect to other guilds to cause trouble. Houyi’s intentions, however, were very pure; he simply hoped the guild could become a safe haven that could protect Moon.

“Ah…”

“Thank you, Xinghe!”

Everyone looked at Jian Xingyi with grateful eyes and said, “We understand!”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

After Jian Xingyi returned to the room, Shuixi asked, “Where did you go?”

Jian Xingyi: “I went out to look for essences and seeds, and I ran into some people…”

Jian Xingyi gave Shuixi a rough account of the situation.

“I wonder how things will turn out.”

After washing up, Jian Xingyi lay down, stretched, and sighed, “Small guilds are the best… nothing ever happens in a small guild. There aren’t many people on Grapevine Peak either; I wonder if they ever fight.”

After all, they’re all big shots.

Shuixi said, “No, everyone gets along really well.”

Jian Xingyi didn’t have to wonder for long; later that evening, the recent drama came to a resolution.

Before going to sleep, Moon came to find Jian Xingyi.

“I came… to thank you on my brother’s behalf, and I also wanted to say thank you myself.” Moon smiled. “Thank you, Xinghe.”

“Did something happen?”

“Just now, the remnants of the ‘Da Jin’ faction united. Led by one of their strongest players, they approached my brother to discuss coexisting peacefully from now on. They said that if they had a choice, they wouldn’t want to leave 【I Can’t Hear】, and they expressed support for expelling Xiao Jin and Hera—the ones who caused this trouble—from the guild. After Lei Gong learned of the whole situation, he gave those two some severance pay and kicked them out.”

At least the guild… is finally at peace.

And after this incident, Houyi’s standing within the guild skyrocketed. It’s likely that from now on, the power to make major decisions won’t lie with Lei Gong, but with Houyi.

“Without your help this time, we wouldn’t have been able to successfully eliminate this cancer that had been lurking in our guild for so long. Thank you. ” Moon gave Jian Xingyi a slight bow. “My brother actually wanted to come over in person to thank you, but he said he had an urgent mission to attend to and asked me to do it for him.”

An urgent mission?

Shuixi raised an eyebrow.

Moon and Jian Xingyi didn’t think much of it and continued chatting as usual, but Shuixi could probably guess what Houyi was up to.

—Cut the grass and uproot it.

This is the post-apocalypse, after all.

By tomorrow at the latest, before everyone heads out at dawn, they’ll discover that Xiao Jin and Hera have already “died in an accident.”

If he were Houyi, he’d kill those two without hesitation, too. Why leave such a danger for himself and Moon? Especially Moon.

Jian Xingyi asked curiously, “So, you and your brother… have you made up?”

Moon turned her head away, looking uncomfortable. “Oh, it’s not like we’ve made up or anything. It’s not the first time we’ve argued. It’s just… never mind him!”

“These are small tokens of appreciation from him… I hope you don’t mind them. ” After handing Jian Xingyi a bag of small gifts, Moon left, adding that she could see them off tomorrow as they set out for the Thousand Bells Snow Mountains.

She even knew a shortcut to the snow mountains.

After Moon left, Jian Xingyi also received a thank-you letter from Houyi. It was quite lengthy, essentially saying that if they ever needed any help in the future, he would certainly do his best.

Houyi: 【Well then, here’s to a fruitful partnership in the future, Xinghe.】

Xinghe: 【Same to you!】

Jian Xingyi opened the gift Moon had given him on Houyi’s behalf. It was all upgrade materials for his rifle. After Shuixi said he didn’t need any, Jian Xingyi fed them all to his rifle, boosting its experience by over 200 points in one go.

4600/10000

Glancing at his progress bar, Jian Xingyi sighed.

When would he ever be able to upgrade to S-rank?

But then again, you can’t expect a wild boar to eat fine bran; for someone with a combat rating of 86, an A-rank rifle was actually pretty good.

Just as Jian Xingyi was about to go to sleep, a system notification suddenly popped up.

【Congratulations to player 【Xinghe】 for achieving a Savior System achievement! Please open the Savior System to view details!】

Jian Xingyi: “?”

Huh??

Curious, Jian Xingyi opened the terminal. The Savior System page contained a profile, mission achievements, and the Wish Shop. Right now, there is a small red dot next to the mission achievements section.

Jian Xingyi clicked on it and discovered he had completed an achievement.

【Helped 163 out of 500 non-guild members survive. Reward: 666 dawn coins, 6,666 Savior Experience Points, 【Wish Bottle】 x1】

【Achieved Through: Became a nominal Guild Administrator to provide food and safety, preventing civil war】

Jian Xingyi: …?!

Does this even count?!

Alright, alright!

The system is just too good, isn’t it?!

The Savior System’s achievements are all about helping more people, but now that it’s the apocalypse, Jian Xingyi has enough on his plate just looking out for himself. He definitely has to prioritize his own survival first, but in the midst of doing so, he inadvertently completed a Savior mission—how isn’t that a good thing?

Jian Xingyi was over the moon.

However, regarding this Wish Bottle… he hadn’t yet thought of what to wish for.

And the wishes he’d previously written on the Wish Pool—such as obtaining an SS-rank seed or escaping the game—hadn’t lit up yet, meaning they couldn’t be fulfilled. So, until he came up with a wish, he’d better keep the bottle stashed away just in case!

Jian Xingyi felt a deep sense of security.

Not only did he have the Wish Bottle in his backpack, but there was also an unopened “Bag of Tricks,” and he hadn’t used the battle talisman for summoning spirits yet—he had no idea what those were like.

But having a few extra safeguards was always a good thing.

After tending to his rifle, Jian Xingyi lay down on the soft bed to rest.

He glanced at Shuixi. “Aren’t you going to sleep yet?”

Shuixi looked a bit hesitant. “Is this your bed?”

“Yeah, I moved in. I grinded my way to a high level before, so it’s really comfortable. You should try it.”

“……”

Shuixi silently watched Jian Xingyi. Was Jian Xingyi being so casual because he didn’t see him as a man? Or was it because he truly saw them as just the same kind of man?

Shuixi tentatively asked, “Do you usually sleep like this with other people, too?”

Jian Xingyi didn’t think much of it; he just lazily rolled over, hugged his pillow, and said in a soft, sweet voice, “No, only with you.”

“……”

With his eyes closed, Jian Xingyi didn’t notice Shuixi’s reddening ears. Seeing Shuixi suddenly fall silent, he explained, “I’ve never spent the night or gone on an adventure like this with anyone else before.”

Shuixi was taken aback at first, then suppressed the turmoil in his heart and asked, “Why?”

“Because I…” He’d originally wanted to say “socially anxious,” but that didn’t quite fit. After a moment’s thought, Jian Xingyi said, “I just prefer being alone. Getting too close to others makes me feel a little… um, uncomfortable?”

“Why?”

“I don’t know… Maybe I’m just used to it.”

After a pause, Shuixi asked, “Then why are you willing to do this with me?”

“Because you’re an NPC!”

…So it’s because I’m an NPC?

Shuixi lowered his gaze. If Jian Xingyi knew his true identity, would he refuse to continue spending time alone with him or going on adventures?

Would he fear him just like everyone else does? Even if he didn’t fear him, Jian Xingyi would surely be angry that he’d deceived him, wouldn’t he?

Would Jian Xingyi come to dislike him and be wary of him because of this?

Shuixi lay down beside Jian Xingyi, wrapping his arms loosely around him. He lowered his voice and asked, “Is it because I’m an NPC that you trust me not to… have any ulterior motives toward you?”

Jian Xingyi felt a sense of pressure. Opening his eyes, he saw a shadow looming over him. With Shuixi’s arm loosely pressed against him, he looked at the expressionless face—the features so close to his own—and felt his heart racing for no apparent reason.

“Well, I wouldn’t put it that way…” Jian Xingyi said blankly. “You’re very kind to me. Does that have nothing to do with your status?”

“In what way?” Shuixi pressed.

“I don’t know…” Jian Xingyi blinked. “In every way. What’s wrong with you?”

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, He must be crazy. How could he possibly sense… a sense of unease from someone as formidable as this?

It must be a delusion…

But Jian Xingyi still reached out and took Shuixi’s hand. “What’s wrong?”

The two lay side by side on the same bed, facing each other, very close together, their body heat transferring through their palms.

Shuixi chuckled softly. “Nothing. Let’s sleep.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mm.”

“Oh… Good night.”

“Good night.”

The next day, the Moon escorted the two of them out of the guild and all the way to the entrance of the mountain trail.

A signpost stood by the trail, its crooked lettering indicating that the Thousand Bells Snow Mountain lay ahead.

Moon said, “Walk a little further, and you’ll leave the Flag-Raising Mountain area and enter the Thousand Bells Snow Mountains. After walking a bit more, the temperature will change, and then you’ll see a small shop where you can exchange materials with an NPC, like winter clothes and such. Once you pass the shop, it’ll start snowing.”

Jian Xingyi looked at the girl chattering away and felt a pang of emotion.

When he first arrived at Flag-Raising Mountain, the first person he met was Moon. Now, it was Moon who was seeing them off—it felt like things had come full circle.

“Yeah, that’s about it. Oh, right!” Moon handed Jian Xingyi a small package. “This is a little token of appreciation from our guild. It’s nothing precious, but it should come in handy. Well then, goodbye! See you next time!”

“Okay, goodbye.”

Inside the small package Moon gave him were two campfires, two torches, a lighter, five syringes, and medications from the hospital.

Jian Xingyi put the items away and finally picked his last dandelion on the path, bringing his total to 500.

【Player 【Xinghe】 has blown away a total of 500 dandelions. Reward: 6,666 dawn coins. Received reward 【Wish of the Spirit】!】

Jian Xingyi’s eyes lit up. Hmm? What kind of reward is this?