Opening the Grand Merchant system page, the first thing he saw was the two plots of land—standard practice.

Jian Xingyi already owned countless A- and B-grade plots. To be honest, these two plots… even if the system were to grant him an A-grade one this time, it wouldn’t make the slightest difference to him.

Jian Xingyi sighed.

The old Jian Xingyi was dead; the one standing here now was Niu Huluxing! A mere two plots of land… Wait a minute?!

【Player 【Xinghe】 Merchant Level upgraded to 4. Scanning the player’s current resources. Reward: 2x A-grade plots, 2x B-grade livestock zones】

Jian Xingyi: “……”

He admitted he’d spoken too loudly earlier!

Father System!

Father!

Hurrah!!

Jian Xingyi didn’t bat an eye at the two plots of land, but at the two livestock zones, he dropped to his knees in gratitude.

And… they were actually B-grade!!

Jian Xingyi was overjoyed; he hadn’t expected the system to be so generous.

But come to think of it, he’d finally managed to level up his Merchant rank. Given the resources he currently possessed, they couldn’t possibly just give him two plots of farmland, could they? Otherwise, it wouldn’t even count as a reward.

Jian Xingyi now had five B-grade livestock zones!

He immediately placed the lambs and calves, so his sheep and cattle each occupied two livestock zones, raising 40 animals at once, while the dairy cows took up one zone.

After claiming the standard rewards, Jian Xingyi rushed straight to the VIP Store. Back when he was Level 3, the VIP Store only had potted sprouts, shovels, and axes, but their utility was immense.

Now…

Jian Xingyi opened it to take a look.

【Excavator: Sir! Times have changed! Who’s still digging with a shovel, one scoop at a time? Let the machine showcase the spirit of the new era!】

【Stock: 2】

【500,000 dawn coins】

【Chainsaw: Sir! Times have changed! Who still uses an axe? Let the chainsaw showcase the spirit of the new era!】

【Stock: 2】

【500,000 dawn coins】

Jian Xingyi: “……………”

Wow, that’s a lot of gold.

But this is amazing!!!!

This is truly a great item!

Absolutely, absolutely. Axes and shovels are great, but they’re just too inefficient! It was fine before, but now that the demand is so high, having machines do the work really saves time and effort! Even though there are only two left in stock, it’s enough to make Jian Xingyi jump for joy.

It’s just… a bit pricey.

Jian Xingyi swallowed hard.

Jian Xingyi continued scrolling down.

【Vines: Stronger than you think】

【In Stock: 999+】

【100 dawn coins】

Jian Xingyi: “?”

What on earth is this?

It’s clear this is something plantable, just like the potted sprouts, but he was already confused by the green vine—and now vines have appeared?

And judging by the images, the Green Vine and the Vine aren’t the same.

The Green Vine he’d grown had large, dense leaves, more like a fern, but the Vine had small, sparse leaves and a massive, sturdy stem.

In any case, he’d buy two and give them a try.

Items in the VIP Store are definitely top-notch. The A-grade Green Vine seed he got earlier was surely a quality item too—it just wasn’t edible, so he hadn’t figured out a use for it yet.

Generally, only 2–3 items are unlocked per tier in the VIP Store, and that’s usually where it ends. But then… there were more items?

Jian Xingyi was a bit surprised; it seemed to be an extra reward.

Scrolling down, Jian Xingyi discovered… that he still couldn’t make sense of what was there.

【KY: ?? Refreshing and practical?? Farming is hard work, but the rain nourishes the soil??】

【Remaining Stock: 999+】

【1,000 dawn coins】

【0.01: ?? Lightweight and breathable?? Shields against danger but not against the shape and warmth of love??】

【Remaining Stock: 999+】

【1,000 dawn coins】

Jian Xingyi: “???”

Jian Xingyi stared at it for a full two minutes before it finally clicked.

It…

finally…

clicked…

!!!

Holy crap!!!!

This has absolutely nothing to do with management!!

Plus, the system would detect his current situation and gradually distribute supplies based on his needs; all he had to do was complete the mission progress bar to claim the rewards.

So… what on earth was the system thinking, giving him these items!!

And 999+ in stock……

So lewd and chaotic!

But then again, if he listed this stuff in the marketplace, it’d probably sell like hotcakes at a high price, right?

To put it bluntly, this thing might even sell like hotcakes on Kongtong Mountain…

But he has some dignity!

Or should he just give it to Haihai to sell, and then split the profits? Haihai looks like he has no shame… Ugh, I mean, he’s just more laid-back.

……

No, it’s still pretty embarrassing.

Jian Xingyi decided to ignore it for now. He bought the excavator and chainsaw he’d been eyeing, then tried planting some vines.

After finishing all that, Jian Xingyi shut down the terminal, grabbed a cup of coffee, and went out to find Shuixi.

“Do you like coffee?”

“Mm, thanks.”

Jian Xingyi smiled. “This is black coffee. If you don’t like it bitter, I can add milk for you.”

“That’s fine.”

Before long, the two heard the sound of an engine; Meimei and Xiao Rong arrived in a new car.

“Sorry to keep you waiting!” Meimei jumped out of the car. “We’re fully prepared this time and brought plenty of supplies, so even if we run into a blizzard or something on the way, it won’t be a problem.”

Xiao Rong scolded, “Guild President, don’t be a jinx.”

“Ooh-ooh-ooh…” Meimei meekly pecked at the ground like a chick.

Xiao Rong said apologetically, “Sorry, we’re a bit late—we were busy shaking off a certain clingy person.”

Her tone carried a hint of resentment.

Early that morning, Meimei’s three suitors had all clamored to come along. Meimei couldn’t possibly bring all three—there wasn’t enough room in the car.

Faced with having to choose just one, the three men launched into a bizarre competition. Seeing that they were about to come to blows, Meimei had no choice but to drag Xiao Rong out with her.

So Xiao Rong, serving as a shield, was now seething with anger.

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, “This guild wouldn’t last a day without Xiao Rong.”

Besides, Jian Xingyi had a feeling that Xiao Rong and Firelight would get along great; they both gave off the same vibe of corporate drones.

The two got into the car.

The engine roared to life, and the group headed toward the mountainside.

Mao Tuan had already gone ahead to 【It’s Really Cold】; Meimei just needed to meet them there.

On the way, Meimei introduced Jian Xingyi to the people of importance: “The Guild President of 【It’s Really Cold】, 【Cang Shui】, is a very gentle and kind person. We’ve received a lot of help from him in the past, but recently, due to health issues, he’s gradually handed over the guild to the vice-guild master 【Wu Yun】, who is also his partner. 【Warm Cotton Coat】 Guild President 【Mao Tuan】 might have a bit of a hot temper and be impulsive, but he’s actually a really good person. You can think of him as a simple-minded, muscle-bound ‘bitter man’.”

……A ‘bitter man’? What kind of new adjective is that?

Oh right, Jian Xingyi suddenly remembered the gossip Xiao Rong had shared earlier: Mao Tuan had started his own guild out of sheer heartbreak after failing to win Cang Shui’s affection—especially since Cang Shui ended up with Wu Yun.

Meimei said, “Besides discussing your business, we might also talk about merging.”

Jian Xingyi asked curiously, “The merger limit is exactly three. Are the three of you guilds planning to merge?”

After all, there are only three guilds in the entire Snow Mountain.

“That’s my plan, but it mainly depends on the other two, especially 【It’s Really Cold】! The big shots make the decisions; I won’t force it! If it happens, it’d be best for us since we’re relatively weaker, but it’s understandable if it doesn’t.” Meimei smiled, his attitude positive: “Oh well, but they’re all really nice people, so I’m sure it’ll go smoothly!”

“But if we merge, the car park will be moved up to the mountainside with us. Players coming to our map would have to go all the way up there to rent a car—it feels like it’d be more of a hassle. Oh, Xinghe, you said your friends are coming too?”

Jian Xingyi nodded. “Probably within the next couple of days.”

Xiao Rong said, “Now that the Grapevine Peak guide is out, quite a few people should be trickling in over the next few days, right? If there are too many people, we actually won’t be able to personally assist everyone like this. Whether the car park is on the mountainside or at the foot of the mountain doesn’t make much difference.”

“True. But then again, how did the people at Grapevine Peak find out? Besides Xinghe and Shuixi, no one else has come by these past few days…”

“Maybe the big shots came and went without a trace, and we just didn’t notice.”

Jian Xingyi paused, feeling a bit puzzled. That was pretty strange.

So even Meimei and the others didn’t know?

As the car drove on, Jian Xingyi collected quite a bit of essence points along the way; adding them up, he now had 60 points.

The trees around Thousand Bells Snow Mountain were unbroken, and the essence points weren’t low either; Jian Xingyi was quite satisfied.

Upon arriving at the 【It’s Really Cold】 base, two men came out to greet them.

Meimei introduced them to Jian Xingyi. One was a tall man with rugged features—Mao Tuan, the Guild President of 【Warm Cotton Coat】.

The other was a handsome, sun-kissed young man with a muscular build—Wu Yun, the vice leader of 【It’s Really Cold】.

Wu Yun smiled. “Welcome to 【It’s Really Cold】! Come on, let’s head to the office first.”

Mao Tuan looked around. “Where’s Cang Shui?”

Wu Yun shook his head. “He’s been obsessed with building walls lately. He’s left these guild affairs to me.”

Mao Tuan snorted derisively. “Mergers and food procurement aren’t trivial matters. You’re leaving them to a wet-behind-the-ears kid like you? You wouldn’t happen to be hiding him on purpose so he wouldn’t have to see me, would you?”

Wu Yun rolled his eyes and said with a smile, “Tsk, tsk, tsk. How terrifying! Do middle-aged men really have such dirty minds? You know full well about Brother Cang Shui’s health. He doesn’t like seeing people right now—and certainly not an outsider like you.”

Jian Xingyi stood to the side, munching away on watermelon.

Meimei stepped in to smooth things over. “Oh my, Cang Shui has indeed been obsessed with building lately. It makes perfect sense that he wouldn’t want to see us.”

Meimei turned to Jian Xingyi and said, “Rumor has it that Wu Yun and Cang Shui are actually top-notch engineers in real life. Now that the ‘Free Construction’ feature has been unlocked, Cang Shui is probably trying to figure out a way to build that’s both cost-effective and sturdy. This is a huge deal—if he succeeds, we’ll all benefit!”

Speaking of which, Wu Yun immediately chuckled, “We were on the same project team before. Brother Cang Shui is my senior—he’s the one with the real talent. I’m just here to lend a hand.”

Mao Tuan snorted coldly, “I hope so. He’s so young—who knows if he’ll even know how to take care of others…”

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, If someone really could figure out the best construction method and was willing to share it, it would benefit all players on the server and improve the overall survival rate.

Wu Yun came over to grant Shuixi and Jian Xingyi visitor permissions so they could enter. For convenience’s sake, Mao Tuan also planned to grant them 【Warm Cotton Coat】 permissions while he was at it.

But upon seeing Shuixi, Wu Yun, and Mao Tuan were taken aback.

Huh…??

Shuixi had mentioned earlier that while there weren’t many people on Thousand Bells Snow Mountain, it was teeming with experts. For instance, there were only 11 players in the entire server at full combat power, three of whom were on Grapevine Peak, and Thousand Bells Snow Mountain also accounted for three, namely Wu Yun, Cang Shui, and Mao Tuan.

These max-power players had battled on the PvP arena for years, so when Mao Tuan and Wu Yun saw Shuixi now, they both furrowed their brows slightly.

Having sparred for so long, they were more familiar with each other’s killing intent and physiques than their actual faces. So even though Shuixi had disguised himself, the two still felt that this person… looked so much like Shanhai?

Shanhai pulled out his terminal to show them, raising an eyebrow slightly.

The two looked at the ID labeled “Shanhai,” then looked back at Shuixi.

Wu Yun, sensing the tension, cleared his throat and said, “Uh-huh, it’s all set.”

What’s going on here… what is this person doing? Is the emperor out on an incognito tour?

After the group sat down in the office, Wushan wasted no time and got straight to the point: “Before we discuss with Xinghe how much cargo to take, we might need to decide whether to merge first. I’ll say this upfront: Brother Cang Shui and the Guild Administrators don’t mind merging.”

Mao Tuan said, “Our guild agrees to the merger, too. Realistically, there are only the three of us in this region. We’re in a relationship where we’re in this together—if one falls, the others suffer. Whether we merge or not is just a formality. Now that we’re merging, we can even save on the cost of the walls.”

The two turned to look at Meimei.

Meimei was overjoyed. He clasped his hands together and said, “Of course, I have no objections! Thank you, big shots, for looking out for me!”

Jian Xingyi stared in disbelief.

A merger is such a huge deal, yet these three guilds decided to merge on the spot—even with an outsider like him present—and resolved it in a mere minute!!

The three turned to Jian Xingyi. “Now that we’ve merged, we can discuss food supplies.”

Resources and permissions aren’t shared after a merger, but they can be granted on a one-to-one basis. Since these three guilds were already close, they would likely purchase food from Jian Xingyi all at once for easier management.

Meimei raised his hand and said, “We absolutely need ginger soup. It really works wonders—it’ll help us continue exploring the snowy mountains and gathering wood.”

Wushan stroked his chin and said, “We’ll also need some staples. I heard Xinghe provided potatoes to other guilds?”

Mao Tuan: “Don’t forget the food that boosts combat performance!”

With a combined total of about 400 members across the three guilds, they opted for the more affordable baked potatoes rather than stir-fried potatoes with meat. The final food list was decided as follows:

800 boxes of baked potatoes at 2,000 dawn coins each as the main staple;

800 bowls of ginger soup at 3,500 dawn coins each as an essential for exploration;

50 cans of coffee at 3,500 dawn coins and 50 boxes of stir-fried lamb at 7,000 dawn coins as special combat-boosting items, to be given to specific members only when necessary;

In other words, Jian Xingyi could earn 4.92 million in this map!

As for transaction fees, 【It’s Really Cold】 was also willing to cover them.

Jian Xingyi’s mind was racing with calculations. Currently, his merchant operation—which runs every two days—can generate 16.5 million. After deducting the transaction fees for Flag Raising Mountain and including Thousand Bells Snow Mountain, he can earn roughly 20 million!

This 20 million is the cumulative earnings from fixed orders across four maps and six guilds—a fortune generated by his 125 B-grade fields, 25 A-grade fields, 5 B-grade livestock zones, and 1 B-grade pond.

If this trend continues, with 20 days remaining until the second zombie tide, he can list items 10 more times, meaning he could earn a total of 200 million!

That’s certainly a lot, but based on current estimates, stacking bricks to full capacity would require 400 million for a single side of the fortress. Perhaps future research might uncover ways to reduce the number of bricks needed, but that’s just one side—and the guild has four sides in total.

Jian Xingyi sighed inwardly. Perhaps he’d have to find ways to increase his inventory—like buying land in the Thousand Bells Snow Mountains. And he didn’t know if a new region could be opened in the short term to attract more customers.

But Jian Xingyi felt that worrying about dawn coins here was pointless. Even if he did manage to scrape together enough coins, he wasn’t sure he could secure the necessary wood and zombie kills.

So, money needed to be made, but rather than just plowing ahead blindly, he should focus on three things: first, figuring out how to reduce the number of bricks and tiles required; second, paying attention to wood gathering and zombie kills; and third, tackling all three simultaneously!

The remaining members also began to worry and discuss the wall issue. Since three guilds were merging, they weren’t just reducing one wall—currently, the three guilds had gone from needing 12 walls to needing to jointly build 8.

Listening to this, Jian Xingyi started to get envious.

Merging… that really is a good idea.

“By the way,” Wushan said, looking at Jian Xingyi, “what are your plans next, Boss? Are you going to stay here for a while to gather wood? You’re welcome to spend the night here or borrow a vehicle—whatever works.”

Jian Xingyi shook his head: “I’m heading out to gather resources in the wild next. I won’t be staying overnight.”

Wushan: “Oh… I see. There should be a lot of players coming here to gather resources lately.”

Meimei: “But I haven’t seen anyone from Grapevine Peak yet. Have you guys?”

Mao Tuan and Wushan exchanged glances.

They silently looked at Shuixi, then at each other.

Although they were rivals for someones affections, at that moment, they both reached a consensus.

First, Shanhai is not someone to mess with. Since he’s not some villain with sinister motives, we’d better not expose him.

Second, we’re genuinely curious—what’s his agenda? Could it be… that the Kongtong Mountain magic is working?

The two stared at Jian Xingyi in horror.

What kind of monster is Big Brother Xinghe? It’s one thing to have so many resources, but can he even recruit Shanhai to his side??

But upon reflection, it seemed impossible. Wasn’t Shanhai famous for being an AI bot? When they faced off in the arena years ago, they couldn’t beat him no matter how long they fought. That’s why everyone agreed that Shanhai’s unassailable status as the top fighter was due to his inhuman killing intent and combat style.

If it wasn’t for personal feelings, then maybe there was some kind of quid pro quo… right?

Shanhai bending over backwards for a pittance?? That sounds terrifying too!!

Those unaware of Shanhai’s true identity—like Xiao Rong, Meimei, and the people from Shengqi Mountain earlier—would simply wonder what the relationship between the two was: bodyguard? Lover? Friend?

But those who knew Shanhai’s true identity could only think… this is just too damn surreal!

No matter how you look at it, Shanhai is not the type to willingly follow someone else around in silence. If the people at Grapevine Peak knew that the mysterious bodyguard following Xinghe all this time was Shanhai, they’d all scream “OOC” in unison, convinced that Shanhai’s body had been possessed.

That’s right. Jian Xingyi is no longer just an ordinary player. After unlocking four regions and reaching the top of the survival leaderboard, he’s become just as famous as Shanhai. So lately, the general chat has been abuzz with speculation about who the mysterious figure behind Jian Xingyi really is.

【Is that person a hired bodyguard, or…?】

【A player from Flag Raising Mountain whispered, “Big Shot Xinghe clarified that it’s not a bodyguard but a friend, but I’ve been lucky enough to see them together—they act so close, it doesn’t look like friends at all!”】

【A player from Kongtong Mountain chimed in, “I don’t even need to put on my Kongtong Mountain glasses—they’re clearly a couple!”】

【Hmm… so who is that person? Conspiracy theory alert: could it be some beauty sent by a guild to seduce a resource tycoon into stealing resources?】

【So, is this a beauty trap to trick Xinghe into merging guilds or poaching members?】

【You guys above, hahaha…】

The discussion on the general chat was lively; aside from the two people involved who weren’t hanging out there, everyone else probably knew about it.

Meimei continued, “Oh, if you want to gather resources, should we take you guys…”

Before he could finish, Mao Tuan immediately interrupted: “Oh come on, Meimei, why are you worrying about them? Think about yourself!”

“Huh? But…”

“Meimei, come take a look at this with me. Come on, come over here…”

In short, that’s how it went.

After that, Jian Xingyi and Shuixi also left.

Although Shanhai didn’t need help from the people of Thousand Bells Snow Mountain, the map was still useful. Wushan marked the surrounding danger zones for the two areas with abundant wildlife and frequent avalanches—then mapped out the most efficient route to the summit and lent them a vehicle.

Shuixi drove while Jian Xingyi studied the map.

The closest point along the route was a coniferous forest, which Wushan had marked in light red, indicating it was a moderately dangerous area. The danger stemmed from the abundance of wild beasts, but Jian Xingyi currently needed to hunt to replenish his farm’s inventory, and there was also plenty of wood to gather in the forest.

So their destination was indeed the coniferous forest.

“Once we’re in the coniferous forest, we can tackle the dungeon nearby… then head to the summit to collect all the colored flags.” Jian Xingyi frowned. “I wonder if we’ll be able to gather enough wood along the way.”

Shuixi said, “You can never have enough wood.”

“…You’re right.”

While studying the map, Jian Xingyi posted a status update on the guild channel to let everyone know they were safe.

Xinghe: 【I’m halfway up the mountain. It’s really cold near the guild. We’re heading to the coniferous forest to gather wood now】

Lone Wolf: 【Oh, okay! Haihai and I have already reached the foot of Thousand Bells Snow Mountain. We’ll gather wood as we climb up and meet up with you guys! We’re traveling in a small group, so we’re moving a bit slowly】

Xinghe: 【Ooh ooh】

Heiye also updated everyone on the latest developments.

Heiye: 【Everyone… ever since the merger announcement went out, almost every guild in the Peace Mountain region has been asking us if we want to merge! With Xinghe on our side, we’re the hottest commodity around!】

Jian Xingyi was a bit surprised.

That’s true…

Come to think of it, they have plenty of resources.

Lone Wolf: 【So has the Guild President decided who to merge with?】

Heiye: 【This naturally requires careful consideration. I plan to carefully screen the options and then hand the list over to @Xinghe for review and decision. If there really isn’t a suitable candidate, we don’t have to merge.】

After all, if an ordinary guild merges with them, even though it means one less wall to grind against, it’s still essentially taking advantage of Jian Xingyi.

Lone Wolf: 【Honestly, if you ask me, unless a guild of Grapevine Peak’s caliber comes looking for us, we shouldn’t just merge with just anyone. What if we end up in a bunch of trouble, or run into some scoundrels eyeing Xinghe’s resources? That’d be even more of a headache!】

Xinghe: 【Mm-hmm, I know what I’m doing.】

Soon after, the car arrived at its destination. Since vehicles couldn’t enter the forest, the two got out and continued on foot.

Sure enough, the forest was full of wood and essence points!

【Player 【Xinghe】 Collects Wood x3】

【Player 【Xinghe】 Collects Wood x6】

……

【Collection successful, absorbed 【Essence】 x5】

【Collection successful, absorbed 【Essence】 x4】

……

Jian Xingyi buzzed around like a busy little bee.

“Oink…”

Just then, the two heard the sound of a wild boar.

Jian Xingyi’s eyes lit up.

Not far away was a little piglet running for its life.

Jian Xingyi and Shuixi followed the tracks and caught up, only to find another sow ahead.

Shuixi said, “There might be a pig den around here.”

“Huh?!”

Yay!