Chapter Bonanza (8/10)

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The mountaintop area outside the temple wasn’t very large, and at that moment, snow lotuses blanketed the slopes.

【Co-op Quest Complete! Rewards have been sent to your inbox. Please check your messages!】

Jian Xingyi froze. He had imagined many possible outcomes—such as no reaction at all, or perhaps the good fortune of receiving double the snow lotuses—but he never expected…

Shuixi and Jian Xingyi, who were staring blankly at him, locked eyes. He asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

Jian Xingyi suddenly smiled.

As he smiled, it seemed he gradually realized something, and his face began to flush from his neck up to his ears.

The NPCs in this game really can be won over…

There’s hope!!

They have a chance to be together!

At that moment, Shuixi wasn’t using a disguise; he was showing his true face—the one Jian Xingyi preferred.

As Jian Xingyi looked at him, his heart began to race faster and faster. He paused for a long time, wrestling with his thoughts, before asking tentatively, “You don’t hate me?”

Shuixi replied earnestly, “I don’t hate you.”

Jian Xingyi hinted, “What’s the opposite of ‘don’t mind’?”

“?”

Shuixi cautiously confirmed, “Are you…?”

What does that mean?

“Ahhhhh!! Never mind, never mind! Don’t say it!” Jian Xingyi felt a belated wave of embarrassment. He clutched his head and leaped out of the circle, turning away to gather snow lotus with a mix of joy and social anxiety, fluttering about busily as if afraid to face the situation before him.

Shuixi: “…?”

Shuixi was a bit dazed.

But these past few days, Shuixi had also felt that something… wasn’t quite right with him.

He kept thinking of Jian Xingyi in different situations and at different times. At night during rest periods, he’d recall the feeling of Jian Xingyi lying beside him; during the day, while fighting monsters, he’d picture Jian Xingyi trying his best to help.

At mealtimes, he’d think of Jian Xingyi’s satisfied and happy expression while eating, which made his own appetite soar.

Being with Jian Xingyi always felt so relaxing.

Shuixi felt strange.

Even though Jian Xingyi had suddenly asked him to come here and they hadn’t done anything, he still felt satisfied.

Just getting a glimpse of Jian Xingyi would be enough.

These past few days, he had longed so very much to catch a glimpse of Jian Xingyi.

So right now, he was quietly watching him.

After seeing the statue, the interlocking circles, and the flowers scattered all over the ground, Shuixi had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

He furrowed his brow slightly, opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say.

Interlocking circles—hearts in harmony.

So Jian Xingyi didn’t dislike him; maybe Jian Xingyi even liked him.

To be honest… Jian Xingyi was someone who couldn’t hide his emotions or his thoughts. Everyone said his face was like a live-stream comment feed—so if he liked him, how could Shuixi not notice?

Jian Xingyi’s affection was open and straightforward, warm and radiant.

But Jian Xingyi was so good—too good—that Shuixi could never bring himself to believe someone that wonderful could possibly like him, and so he kept running away.

If Jian Xingyi knew the whole truth about him, would he still like him? If Jian Xingyi stopped liking him—or even came to hate him—what would he do then?

He had not only concealed his identity as Shanhai, but also hidden the part of himself that was Lu Yan.

Shuixi lowered his gaze, lost in a whirlwind of thoughts.

Meanwhile, Jian Xingyi was rushing to gather all the snow lotuses within half an hour while trying his best to stay calm.

Damn it!! Jian Xingyi, pull yourself together!

The other party looked completely unfazed—he couldn’t let himself lose his composure and give up the upper hand first!!

After glancing at the time, Jian Xingyi’s movements became even more hurried.

There were plenty of snow lotuses in this area; it could be said that his shortage of snow lotuses was temporarily solved. Once he planted these, would he still worry about not having enough?!

He happily collected essence points and dug up the snow lotuses.

【Collection Successful, Absorbed 【Essence】 x23】

【Collection Successful, Absorbed 【Essence】 x31】

【Harvest Successful, Absorbed 【Essence】 x21】

The essence value of these snow lotuses is so high…!

Jian Xingyi was originally only 200 points short of reaching 1,000 essence points, but now his total has skyrocketed to 1,400!

However, a new problem arose: he didn’t have enough farmland to plant all these snow lotuses.

His fields for growing food were already quite ample, but if he wanted to use the Hardening Potions now, he’d have to plant snow lotuses on a large scale—and then his fields would instantly become insufficient.

He needed more fields to maintain the income from his trading and to grow the snow lotuses.

Jian Xingyi was deep in thought when he suddenly froze.

All around him… There was actually land for sale?

Jian Xingyi hadn’t bought any land along the way because the Thousand Bells Snow Mountains were so resource-rich that players, beasts, and zombies roamed the area constantly—he hadn’t found a suitable spot.

But if it was here…

This was outside the Temple—no zombies, no beasts, and situated on a mountaintop. Ordinary players wouldn’t make the long trek up here unless they were doing the Colorful Flag quest; after all, reaching this height required some effort.

So if he planted some Snow Lotus here, other players wouldn’t find it strange.

Jian Xingyi took a look: 10 plots of A-grade farmland, 250 points, priced at 7 million. The overall stats were slightly lower than the land in the Chasing Winds dungeon on Flag Mountain, but it was also cheaper.

So Jian Xingyi pulled out his Management Vouchers and exchanged them for the land and farmland development permits. After the exchange, he still had 22 vouchers left—more than enough.

Yay!

Jian Xingyi looked at his new fields and felt extremely satisfied after planting the snow lotus.

As for the remaining snow lotus that hadn’t been planted, Jian Xingyi could only harvest them directly and store them in his backpack, waiting to synthesize potions later.

It seemed he still needed to find more farmland… otherwise, it simply wouldn’t be enough!

Next, Jian Xingyi tied the colored flags to the lama statue.

Thank goodness, he had finally gathered all five colored flags.

The rewards for the colored flag quest were said to be very generous, so many players would undertake it.

【Player 【Xinghe】 has completed the “Five Wisdoms” quest in the Thousand Bells Snow Mountain map. Obtained Auspicious Cloud White, Earth Yellow, River Green, Blazing Red, and Sky Blue. Progress: 5/5. Quest completed! Rewards: Dawn Coins x666666, Weapon Upgrade Materials x50, Special-Grade Management Voucher x1, Special-Grade Combat Voucher x1】

Dawn Coins are standard fare anyway, and Jian Xingyi just feeds the weapon materials to his backhand weapon to boost its A-rank experience.

7,600/10,000

Just a little more and he’ll be able to upgrade to S-Rank!

As for the rest…

Huh?

He actually has plenty of Management Vouchers. He’s obtained Combat Vouchers before and exchanged them for quite a few parts—either to craft guns, replace components, or feed them as weapon upgrade materials.

What exactly is this “Special Grade”?

Jian Xingyi clicked to open it and, after reading the details, discovered that Special Grade Vouchers could be exchanged for even more valuable items. Perhaps out of concern that players might not know what to exchange for, there was also an option to click “System Recommendation,” which would assess and suggest the valuable items the player currently needed.

Jian Xingyi clicked “Recommend” right away; after all, he didn’t really have a clue.

【Management Voucher Recommendation: 【Seed Synthesis Formula】】

【Combat Voucher Recommendation: 【Special-Grade Armor Upgrade Materials】, 【Special-Grade Combat Power Medals】】

Huh?

Jian Xingyi opened the descriptions and compared them carefully, then was instantly stunned.

If he purchased the Seed Synthesis Formula, his Synthesis Station would gain the ability to synthesize seeds. It was somewhat similar to the old SSR seed synthesis mode, where he could combine two seeds—for example, his surplus rice seeds—with a chance to produce another rice seed, a chance to get nothing… but also a chance to produce S-rank or A-rank seeds.

In a word, it’s all about luck!

That means from now on, he could use his excess seeds here to take a gamble. This would give him yet another way to “draw” cards, in addition to making wishes and drawing in the wild.

He knew it was a long shot, but… but…

What if? Right?

Not only that, but if the seed synthesis feature is unlocked, he’ll be able to use “Multiplier Synthesis.” This differs from the “Random Synthesis” mentioned above—Multiplier Synthesis simply increases the quantity of his seeds.

For example, if he combines two Snow Lotus Seeds, he’ll get ten Snow Lotus Seeds!

This way, he won’t just rely on A-rank fields to recycle seeds and essences; if he urgently needs certain rare seeds, he can simply synthesize them on the spot.

All in all, there are many benefits.

Since the system only recommended this, Jian Xingyi went ahead and redeemed it.

As for the combat redemption vouchers…

The 【Special-Grade Armor Upgrade Material】 allows him to upgrade his B-grade armor directly to A-grade without needing to feed it materials, while the 【Special-Grade Combat Power Medal】 can boost his combat power by one tier—meaning it goes from 86 to 101.

Jian Xingyi hesitated for a moment before finally choosing the armor.

Gaining more combat power didn’t seem particularly useful to him; his main strategy was to max out defense—after all, a weak player needs plenty of tools!

Plus, weapon materials were fairly common, but Jian Xingyi rarely obtained armor materials, indicating that armor was harder to upgrade. That definitely made the armor upgrade a better deal.

After finishing everything, Jian Xingyi felt extremely satisfied.

He had finally completed all the objectives in Snow Mountain!

Next, all that was left was to buy more land and chop down more trees…

Wait, no! There was still an email he hadn’t checked!

Jian Xingyi opened it.

【Player 【Xinghe】 and Player 【Shanhai】 have completed the 【Hearts in Sync】 achievement in the Circle of Unity! Reward: 52,000 Dawn Coins, 5 【Unity Anchors】, and the couple titles 【Exclusive to Xinghe】 and 【Exclusive to Shanhai】!】

Jian Xingyi: “???”

Huh?

What’s this “Shanhai” business?

Is the system glitching or something?

For a split second, when Jian Xingyi saw the words “Shanhai,” he didn’t associate them with the classic Chinese mythological concept at all. He just felt like he couldn’t read Chinese anymore—he was completely unable to process the information those two characters were conveying.

After opening the Heart Anchor, the system asked whether to send it to Jian Xingyi’s email or Shanhai’s email.

Couple titles can be used when others add you as a friend, view your profile, or chat with you. If Jian Xingyi used one, it would be 【 【Exclusive to Shanhai】 Xinghe】.

But to be honest, having the title constantly flashing in the chat channel was a bit of a social embarrassment, so some couples, like Cangshui and Wu Yun, didn’t use it. But if one day Meimei succeeded in selecting a consort, everyone believed that the person he chose would definitely display it 360 degrees, with no blind spots.

Of course, that’s not the point. The point is…

Jian Xingyi looked at Shuixi with a slightly stiff expression.

Shan… Shui.

Hai… Xi.

Shanhai…

Shuixi…

Huh…?

Ah.

Ah!!!!

“What’s wrong?” Seeing Jian Xingyi staring at him with a strange look, Shuixi stepped forward, puzzled.

“Shui… Xi…”

That call, winding and twisting, was brimming with emotion.

It made every hair on Shuixi’s body stand on end. The top player in the entire server felt a terrifying sense of oppression, causing even his usually sharp battlefield instincts to flash a red warning.

“Hmm…?”

Jian Xingyi’s gaze grew dark as he began to mutter to himself, “I hope I’m wrong… I hope it’s a system glitch… I hope none of this ever happened… I hope I’m dead…”

“Xinghe?”

Shuixi sensed something was wrong and was about to ask for details when they both heard the system’s voice.

【Teleportation is about to begin!】

Huh?

Jian Xingyi felt the ground vanish beneath his feet, and his whole body suddenly went weightless. He instinctively grabbed Shuixi, and Shuixi instinctively pulled him into her arms.

【The 【Grape Mountain Peak】 guild and the 【Long Live for A Hundred Years】 guild are beginning to merge. Guild members are temporarily unable to enter guild areas. Time remaining: 12:59:59】

【All guild members will be teleported to Dawn Town!】

“Thud!!”

The two of them crashed simultaneously into the center of Dawn Town.

The other players had actually been teleported normally, but since Jian Xingyi and Shuixi were on a mountaintop, the system made a calculation error. Their teleportation point was in mid-air, so they fell down.

Shuixi didn’t react immediately; he just instinctively pulled the person into his arms to protect them, letting his own back hit the ground.

So, at that moment, all members of “Long Live” and “Grape Mountain” saw the two suddenly lying in the center of Dawn Town. Shuixi… oh no, Shanhai was holding someone in his arms—and that person was Xinghe.

“……”

“……”

Silence. Silence was the Cambridge of this night.

Heiye, Baizhou, and Bai Jie—who had been discussing the details of the merger, specifically how to boost Bond Points and coordinate joint dungeon runs and resource farming across both sides—froze in shock.

Cola, Firelight, Nana, and the others stared with eyes wide as copper bells, looking as if they’d seen a ghost.

Haihai, Lone Wolf, and the Long Live members who’d gone to the Snow Mountains earlier suddenly realized.

Jian Xingyi looked around, then at Shanhai, whom he was pinning beneath him, and his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally sank.

Oh, so Shuixi really is Shanhai.

Oh.

Not bad.

It all fits perfectly.

Jian Xingyi sat up blankly, shattering into pieces in silence.

……

Aaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!

How could this happen!!!!

How could this be allowed!!!!!!!

Just then, the System’s voice rang out again.

【Congratulations! The 【Long Live for A Hundred Years】 guild and the 【Grape Mountain Peak】 guild have reached Bond Level 3! Shared resources: 30%. Reward: 66,666 Dawn Coins for all players!】

【Click to view the Contribution Rankings and Bond Details!】

Everyone received the notification sound.

Heiye, staring blankly, opened the Contribution Leaderboard, and a few lines of text appeared before everyone’s eyes.

【Contribution Leaderboard】

TOP 1: Shanhai, Xinghe

Contribution Points: 3000

TOP 2: Firelight, Le Ke

Contribution Points: 100

TOP 3: Nana

Contribution Points: 30

TOP 4: None

……

It was obvious to everyone that Firelight, Kele, and Nana had earned their points by helping out during the previous zombie surge. So, the remaining two people…

Huh?

Huh???

Kele rubbed his eyes, then looked at Shanhai, whose gaze was fixed on Jian Xingyi, and rubbed his eyes again.

“Firelight… I think I’m hallucinating in broad daylight.”

“Me, me too…”

One of the people involved—Shanhai—said softly, “Xinghe, I…”

The other person involved—Jian Xingyi—said with a smile, “Don’t call me Xinghe. My name is Yuehai.”

After saying that, Jian Xingyi turned and walked away, and Shanhai ran after him.

“Xinghe…”

Jian Xingyi turned around, gritting his teeth. “I’m not Xinghe. I’m Yuehai. Yuehai doesn’t know you.”

Everyone stood there dumbfounded, watching the two of them squabble and tug at each other, muttering something as they walked away from the fountain in the center of Dawn Town.

The mystery was solved: the mysterious man named Xinghe who had appeared on the public chat earlier was… Shanhai.

Firelight was filled with relief: “The captain is finally dating…”

Kele wore a pained expression: “This is so OOC!! Wait, no! If even Shanhai, an AI, can find a partner, what about me?!”

Nana snorted derisively, “While Shanhai dating is pretty shocking, you… tsk.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!”

The “Long Live” member was thinking to themselves at that moment: Xinghe is so impressive… not only is he a resource tycoon, but he’s also managed to win over the No. 1 player.

But the “Grape Mountain Peak” member had a completely different thought.

How on earth did that AI, Shanhai, manage to trick Xinghe—someone with such a kind and gentle personality, and a resource tycoon to boot—into falling for him?!

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

“Xinghe… let’s talk!”

Shanhai grabbed Jian Xingyi’s wrist and, unusually forcefully, dragged him into a nearby alley.

“Thud!”

Shanhai pinned Jian Xingyi against the wall, wrapping his arms around him so he was trapped between the wall and Shanhai’s body, unable to escape.

Jian Xingyi pressed his back against the slightly cool wall, looked up at the towering man before him, and lowered his eyes.

“What do you want to say?”

Shanhai took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“I get it.”

“Xinghe, don’t be like this… Don’t be mad, don’t ignore me.” Shanhai was unusually flustered; the invincible No. 1 player had finally met his Waterloo.

“I’m not…”

Jian Xingyi covered his face, his voice equally frantic. “I… I just…”

He wasn’t trying to be cold; it was just…

“Hm?”

“I just didn’t know how to face this, you jerk!!!” Jian Xingyi shouted, his eyes wide. “You’re way too much!! You actually lied to me for so long!”

How to put it? To see Jian Xingyi speak so loudly and so emotionally—even furious and beside himself—would have had Lone Wolf and the others shouting “OOC” if they’d seen it.

“I was wrong.”

“No wonder when we went to 【It’s Really Cold】 earlier, they looked so strange when they gave you membership access… So the Snow Mountain crew knew all along! The whole world has been in on this with you, keeping it from me!”

It all makes sense now!

No wonder Shuixi, as an NPC, was so powerful. No wonder the Snow Mountain guide was still being updated even though there were no Grape Peak members there. No wonder Lone Wolf and the others thought his motorcycle looked familiar…

Shanhai explained, “No, only Wu Yun, Cangshui, and Mao Tuan knew.”

“Because you deliberately hid your identity before…” Jian Xingyi covered his face and said, “I… I don’t know how to face you.”

Shanhai said softly, “Just like always.”

How could that be?!

The person across from him wasn’t an NPC—it was a living, breathing human being, and the very same Shanhai everyone talked about.

“Shanhai” felt so far, far away from him.

Nowadays, Jian Xingyi even feels nervous talking to Shanhai. In fact, even though he was so close with Lone Wolf, Haihai, and the others, he still had to rehearse his lines in his head before speaking; if the dialogue was a bit long, he’d get nervous and worry about messing up, let alone with Shanhai.

Not to mention he’d just completely lost it in front of Shanhai!!!

The overwhelming flood of information left Jian Xingyi’s mind in a complete jumble, his speech system in disarray. “Um, maybe we should just forget about it, haha… I, I…”

“You can’t forget.”

Shanhai gripped Jian Xingyi’s wrist and insisted, “Xinghe, you can’t forget.”

He would never forget the bright, delighted look in Jian Xingyi’s eyes when the snow lotus bloomed, and he looked at him.

He thought that if he couldn’t grasp that ray of light, he would be left in the darkness for the rest of his life.

Shanhai stared intently into Jian Xingyi’s eyes. “I’ve made up my mind. I want to try… even if…”

Shanhai didn’t finish his sentence.

Even if Jian Xingyi might come to hate the real him, he still wanted to try. What if?

Even if he might hurt Jian Xingyi… No, he wouldn’t.

He was no longer a tool for killing. He was Shanhai to everyone in the guild, and Shuixi to Jian Xingyi.

He could do this, even if he lacked confidence. But if he failed, running away would only lead to losing Jian Xingyi.

The moment Jian Xingyi said he wanted to forget him, Shanhai made up his mind.

—He would overcome it.

Shanhai slid his hand down gently, interlocking his fingers with Jian Xingyi’s palm. “Let’s get to know each other all over again. I’m Shanhai, and I want to stay by your side. Please give me a chance to continue adventuring with you.”

Jian Xingyi froze.

The man’s intense gaze made him feel a bit flustered. “Oh, uh…”

“Thank you.”

Shanhai lowered his head, and their foreheads touched.

“Xinghe, are you still mad?”

Jian Xingyi pouted. “…It depends on how you behave.”

“Alright.” Shanhai actually agreed with complete seriousness.

Jian Xingyi couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.

They were very close, their hands tightly clasped, foreheads touching, their breaths mingling… just like they used to be.

Jian Xingyi blinked, feeling the other’s familiar scent, and couldn’t help but feel a bit of a strange sensation.

“Holy shit!!”

A sudden voice rang out.

Jian Xingyi jumped in surprise and quickly shoved him away with a forceful motion. The sheer embarrassment propelled him to push the unsuspecting Shanhai two steps backward.

They turned to see Cola, Firelight, and Haahai standing outside the alley; that “Holy shit” had come from Cola.

A flicker of annoyance at being interrupted flashed across Shanhai’s eyes.

Kele stammered, “Oh my god, oh my god, that’s so out of character, that’s just crazy… Aaaah!!”

Firelight stood up straight, his righteous gaze tinged with a touch of innocence as he said, “Sorry, Captain!! We interrupted your intimate moment!! I’ll definitely never do it again!!”

Lone Wolf: “……”

Lone Wolf among the cats, Universe.jpg

The village’s last hope, Haihai, gave a nervous laugh: “Um, well, it’s like this—Ms. Bai sent us to find you. She said she wants to discuss some matters with you, supposedly regarding future cooperation and distribution after the guild merger. Could you please go see her…”

Shanhai resumed his usual aloof expression. “Alright.”

Jian Xingyi tugged nervously at his collar, making the already suspicious atmosphere even more so. He nodded frantically. “Oh, okay…”

After they left the alley, Lone Wolf looked at Haihai and scratched his head. “Didn’t Xinghe say before that he and Shui… and Shanhai were friends?”

Haihai looked at him with a tender gaze. “So when your big brother told you, you little brat, to step aside, do you get what he meant now?”

Lone Wolf: “……”

“Damn! So that ‘friend’ actually meant ‘boyfriend’!”

Jian Xingyi, who had just emerged from the alley, turned pale with shock upon hearing this. “No!! He’s not a boyfriend!”

Lone Wolf scratched his head. “Then what is it? A hookup?”

Haihai reached out and smacked Lone Wolf’s head. “Step aside, you little brat!!”

Can’t you guys just get along?!