After the battle ended, the general chat channel was abuzz with discussion.

If the freedom is that high—if players can choose to arbitrarily build structures within a smaller area or simply repair the walls—then… that really puts strategy to the test.

Bai Jie spoke decisively: “Don’t overthink it. There are fewer members in Long Live than on Grapevine Peak. My suggestion is that you just move over here.”

Everyone immediately understood—this meant reverting to the previous formation.

The combined area of the two guilds was simply too vast. Although there were plenty of people, the difficulty was high! Consequently, the length of the walls made defense a real challenge.

But if Long Live moved over, then everyone’s defensive perimeter would be the same as before: just the four sides of a single guild.

Heiye stroked his chin and said, “I’m fine with this plan; it would definitely make things easier for us. But… do we have enough permissions to do this?”

The two immediately opened the guild page to check.

Moving a home to an empty plot within a merged guild required certain permissions, so Jian Xingyi took a look as well.

【Bond Level 1: Can share 10% of wall resources】

……

【Bond Level 8: Can share 80% of wall resources】

This was the level they had fought hard to reach in order to share resources. They had originally thought it was the highest level, but unexpectedly, two more levels were unlocked after reaching Level 8.

【Bond Level 9: Can share the other party’s farmland and open land】

【Bond Level 10: Can freely exchange supplies between guild and personal backpacks】

Jian Xingyi checked their experience points again.

Level 8 requires 12,000 experience points. After surviving a night of the zombie tide, their experience had risen to 12,305.

Level 9 requires 13,000.

The entire guild had been running high-difficulty dungeons every day for nearly a month, and half of the experience points needed to reach 12,000 had come from Jian Xingyi and Shanhai’s consistent contributions. Now, a single night of the zombie horde had yielded 305 points—a truly bountiful harvest. It seemed the zombie horde not only offered generous rewards but also allowed for rapid leveling.

But even though the gains are substantial, they’re still a ways off from reaching Level 9.

Yet only once they reach Level 9 can they share farmland and open plots.

And if they level up to 10, everything becomes shareable—for instance, trading between both sides becomes much easier. Jian Xingyi can send goods directly to them, and Firelight can transfer money instantly; exchanging supplies between the two sides would be just a click away. But the goal of Level 10 is clearly much further off.

“This… is quite a gap,” Heiye scratched his head.

Firelight was still fixated on the pecking incident. He turned to look seriously at Jian Xingyi and Shanhai. “Boss, Xinghe, maybe kissing really does work? Every single point of experience is crucial right now.”

Jian Xingyi: “……”

Shanhai: “……”

Cola couldn’t help but chuckle.

Oh my god, Firelight, this kid.

Jian Xingyi’s ears and neck turned bright red. He mustered his courage, took Shanhai’s hand, and said, “See… it doesn’t work. It’s still 12305.”

Firelight stroked his chin and analyzed seriously, “According to feedback from other guilds to our strategy team, if you’ve held hands or hugged before, that’s already been counted. It has to be the first time you do something for it to generate new data. But since there are too few cases, we can’t use them as a reference or verify it…”

Jian Xingyi’s face turned even redder.

Holding hands and hugging—they definitely, definitely had done those before. But as for other things… they couldn’t possibly have done those!

Heiye spread his hands. “Too bad Baizhuo and I are in the same guild—I can’t help verify it either.”

Firelight sighed. “Alright.”

Bai Jie chuckled. “Come on, stop obsessing over this. Let’s focus on how to boost our Bond Value quickly instead. Since this zombie wave offers a lot of freedom, there aren’t any restrictions on us going out. Dungeons and such are still available, so we can still go out and kill bosses.”

Heiye nodded. “That’s right. Even if we can’t move before the next day’s zombie wave hits, we can at least move during the last two days. Otherwise, this wave gets harder every day, and it’ll be tough on us.”

“Then let’s fix the city walls first,” Bai Jie said. “We’ll cover the costs.”

“We couldn’t possibly accept that…” Heiye rolled his eyes. “Well, then, we’ll have to trouble you. Hehe.”

This could be considered Grapevine Peak’s welcome gift. After all, following that night, Grapevine Peak truly felt the difficulty level had dropped.

At least it had dropped to a level comparable to the first zombie tide. Otherwise, if it had been even harder than before, they would have certainly suffered casualties—Grapevine Peak had already lost one person during the first zombie tide.

Exchanging Dawn Coins for lives—that was a bargain.

With a goal in mind, everyone proceeded to discuss how to allocate personnel to quickly earn Bond Points.

Shanhai and Jian Xingyi remained a team and were free to act independently.

“But remember not to overexert yourselves. Do your best, but come back early to rest—we still have to face the zombie tide tonight,” Bai Jie said, furrowing her brow. “It’ll get harder from here on out. Don’t let your guard down.”

Afterward, everyone adjusted their strategy based on the gains from the first night’s zombie horde. Once the discussion was over, the meeting adjourned.

Only Shanhai and Jian Xingyi remained in the conference room. Since they were a team, Jian Xingyi didn’t leave until Shanhai did, sitting obediently in place and waiting for his input.

Shanhai paused for a moment, then suddenly leaned his face close to Jian Xingyi’s.

Jian Xingyi: “……?!”

Shanhai glanced at the terminal and whispered, “It’s still 12:305…”

Jian Xingyi: “……!!!”

Oh my god!

What on earth is Shanhai trying to do?!

He’s not really going to…!

Now?

Right now?!

Aaaaaah!!!

Why so sudden!

Jian Xingyi froze in place, too scared to move.

Shanhai placed one hand on the chair behind Jian Xingyi and gently cupped his chin with the other.

Jian Xingyi: “!!!!!”

Shanhai took a deep breath. His grip was very, very light; he wasn’t restraining Jian Xingyi at all. If Jian Xingyi wanted to pull away… he could do so at any moment.

Shanhai’s movements were also slow—slow enough for Jian Xingyi to think and refuse.

But he didn’t.

Seeing Jian Xingyi looking at him with such docile eyes, not moving a muscle, Shanhai couldn’t resist for even a moment.

He leaned down and gently planted a light, fleeting kiss on the side of Jian Xingyi’s cheek.

Jian Xingyi: “……!”

Oh!!!

So it was just a kiss on the cheek after all. That was a close call! I thought…

Wait, no!

A kiss on the cheek is still mind-blowing!!

What is Shanhai playing at?!

Huh?!

Jian Xingyi felt his whole body flush red, and, overcome with embarrassment at his own thoughts, he quickly pushed him away and stood up. “Um, um, let’s go back and sleep for four hours before we go out again!”

“Okay.”

“G-goodnight!”

“Goodnight.”

Jian Xingyi fled the scene as if escaping.

Back home, Jian Xingyi’s heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.

He rubbed his cheek.

Hmm.

Even more absurdly, Jian Xingyi and Shanhai proceeded to check the terminal.

【Bond Value: 12,315】

He opened the history log.

【Long Live 【Xinghe】 and Grapevine Peak 【Shanhai】 contributed Bond Value x10】

Jian Xingyi: “……”

Divine Gold!!!

Does it actually work?!

Firelight immediately sent Jian Xingyi a private message.

Firelight: 【I told you it would work, didn’t I?!】

Jian Xingyi: “……”

Thanks for the invite. I’ve totally lost face now.

I really want to leave this game!!

I really want to leave this world!!!

Bai Jie then sent Jian Xingyi a private message as well.

Jian Xingyi nearly fainted—could Bai Jie be here to gossip too?!

Fortunately, Ms. Bai was quite reserved; she messaged Jian Xingyi on serious business.

Repairing the walls within the “Long Live” zone could only be done by members of their own guild. Bai Jie offered to help cover the costs, so Jian Xingyi still had to list an item in the marketplace and designate Bai Jie as the buyer—that way, the Dawn Coins would flow into Jian Xingyi’s pocket.

After the transaction was completed, Jian Xingyi received 200 million, enough to buy 20 sacks of cement and repair 50 bricks—that is, the section collapsed by the zombies.

Jian Xingyi let out a heavy sigh.

This is quite a generous gift…!

Grapevine Peak has really gone all out, which shows their sincerity.

It was a good thing Grapevine Peak was willing to lend a hand; otherwise, Jian Xingyi wouldn’t have had a clue where to find 200 million.

But this wasn’t a sustainable solution—cement was far too expensive!

Grapevine Peak had money, but they couldn’t just squander it recklessly. One night of “Long Live” costs 200 million, and Grapevine Peak itself costs another 200 million. If the zombie horde struck even harder the next night, the price would be even higher—they simply couldn’t keep up like this.

Rather than focusing on repairs, they should prioritize boosting their Bond Points. After relocating, they can reduce brick consumption and shrink the perimeter.

If they try to shrink the perimeter before moving, it’s like exposing players’ homesteads to the zombie zone—and once a homestead is destroyed, it can’t be repaired.

Once a home is completely destroyed, the player loses access to the terminal backend. Without the terminal, what’s the difference between that and death?

That’s why everyone prioritizes killing zombies the moment they enter the home’s perimeter.

This fortress battle… isn’t just about defending the guild—it’s about defending our homes!

After receiving Bai Jie’s sponsorship, Jian Xingyi immediately heard the system’s “ding-ding” notification sound.

【Congratulations to player 【Xinghe】 for earning over 1 billion in the marketplace! Your Merchant Level has been upgraded to 5. Please open the Grand Merchant page to claim your rewards!】

Jian Xingyi: “?!”

R-right…

How had he never thought of this cheat method before?!

Jian Xingyi was overjoyed.

He had already earned 130 million Dawn Coins prior to this, and subsequently earned 750 million for the guild to build the walls. Now, with Bai Jie’s 200 million added to that, his Merchant Level—which had been stuck for so long—had finally leveled up!

Now… he could finally list his stockpiled food in the new region!

Jian Xingyi happily opened the Grand Merchant page.

【Player 【Xinghe】 has upgraded to Merchant Level 5. Scanning existing resources: Reward—4x Grade A Farmland, 4x Grade B Pasture】

Yes, yes, yes!!!

That’s two more than the Level 4 farmland and pastures!

Jian Xingyi didn’t care much about the fields, but the livestock zones… even just B-grade ones had him dropping to his knees in gratitude, practically calling out “Daddy.”

Now, including his original 10 livestock zones and 1 pond, he had a total of 15!

He had no idea when he’d be able to fill his homestead’s farming zone limit, but he really wanted to buy livestock zones in Volcano Town.

Wait… there’s something more important right now!

Jian Xingyi hurriedly opened the in-game store page to see what goodies were inside.

Usually, the store would detect what he needed and stock items to help him out. Jian Xingyi was eager to see what kind of assistance and power-ups the system would provide for this zombie horde.

【Bond Quest Card】

Jian Xingyi: “?”

Huh?

【Description: Can money buy true feelings? Yes, it can.】

Huh??

【Stock: +99】

【100 million Dawn Coins】

Huh????????

Chapter 94: The Scheming Merchant’s Tricks

Jian Xingyi rubbed his eyes, just in case he was seeing things.

How much??

One hundred million??

That’s really… way too expensive!

Jian Xingyi was drenched in sweat.

Although money can’t buy true friendship, one hundred million is really excessive.

Regardless, Jian Xingyi still clicked on the details to take a look. If this item could instantly level them up to Level 9… hmm, maybe he could discuss it with Bai Jie and see if they could all chip in?

But since Bai Jie’s massive investment this time was a welcome gift and a gesture of gratitude for lowering the difficulty, Jian Xingyi didn’t want to keep taking advantage of Grapevine Peak by constantly asking them to foot the bill. After all, they were benefiting from Grapevine Peak’s high combat power. If the partnership involved unequal contributions, it would inevitably lead to a breakdown, disagreements, or even arguments.

Jian Xingyi certainly didn’t want that.

Jian Xingyi opened it and found that this Bond Mission Card contained a task: completing it would grant Bond Points.

【Mission: Five players from different guilds successfully clear the dungeon!】

【Bond Points Earned: 200】

Hmm…

200 points.

In the 12,315/13,000 system, 200 points is actually quite a lot—after all, even a night of zombie hordes would only net about 300 points at most.

So selling it for 100 million sounds reasonable.

Jian Xingyi decided to set it aside for now and save up until he had some extra money.

Jian Xingyi continued scrolling down.

【Advanced Pot Sprout: Can grow anything from the Plants vs. Zombies encyclopedia. There’s a small chance of rare plants appearing, but a high chance of withered plants! It all depends on the player’s luck! Plants from the advanced version can climb up walls, sharing the same fate as the bricks—when the bricks thrive, they thrive; when the bricks fall, they fall.】

【Remaining Stock: +999】

【300 Dawn Coins】

Jian Xingyi: “……!”

The Pot Sprout is actually back?!

During the last zombie wave, he made a fortune with the Pot Sprout, but now that it’s a Fortress Battle, Plants vs. Zombies plants can no longer be used. After all, planting them within the guild’s territory has no effect, and planting them outside the guild means they’ll be crushed by zombies in a matter of minutes—it’s incredibly awkward.

So this time, everyone was limited to using Cherry Bombs and various other bombs.

In reality, Jian Xingyi had been using a few plots of land to grow pot sprouts all along. When he first learned he could purchase land outside his home, he spent 150,000 to buy 10 plots of Grade B land totaling 50 points on the slopes of Peace Mountain.

That was just an experiment with randomly bought land. The location was mediocre, and there was no guarantee it wouldn’t get overrun by beasts or zombies any day. Therefore, Jian Xingyi used it to grow pot sprouts that he didn’t mind losing. He’d already stockpiled quite a few purple SR and common R plants in his backpack. He hadn’t started synthesizing SSRs yet, but with the second zombie wave upon them, there didn’t seem to be much need for synthesis anyway.

Because these potted sprouts wouldn’t be needed for the time being.

Even if he were lucky enough to draw another Charm Mushroom, the Intelligent Giant across from him simply couldn’t be charmed. After the first night, the system sent everyone an email formally introducing the Intelligent Giant.

In the system’s classification, this giant is known as…

【Godfather: A zombie endowed with intelligence, massive in stature, capable of commanding other zombies.】

Clicking on the details revealed that the 【Godfather】 is immune to the effects of pot sprouts plants and other charm items from other dungeons. His body is incredibly tough and cannot be killed; the only way to defeat him is to pierce his brain.

So Jian Xingyi didn’t plan to synthesize any—he just kept them stashed in his backpack in case he ever needed them.

Perhaps because the Pot Sprout wasn’t being used, the shop offered him an upgraded version.

This upgraded Pot Sprout was custom-made for this zombie horde! The price of the upgraded version has gone from 100 to 300, but it’s still a bargain.

Jian Xingyi happily bought it right away, planted it, and planned to list it for sale along with the food later.

Scrolling down any further would take him to the end of the page.

After browsing the marketplace, Jian Xingyi naturally moved on to managing his livestock area and fields.

Jian Xingyi first raised cattle and sheep in the new livestock area, then began harvesting.

He finally reached the harvest stage for his fields. After harvesting, not only could he complete guild orders and merchant items, but his merchant level had also reached 5—meaning he could now list items in the new region: the Rainforest Mountains beyond the Snow Mountains!

Jian Xingyi’s heart raced.

In other words… he could make even more money in the new region!

It was just a shame he’d never been to the Rainforest Mountains before and had no idea what conditions were like there—he’d only heard it rained constantly.

Since he hadn’t been there before and didn’t know any guilds or players there, Jian Xingyi would have to cover the transaction fees himself. But compared to the money he’d make from the goods, the fees weren’t a big deal.

Desperate for cash, Jian Xingyi thought it over and decided… to throw a big event.

Half an hour later, everyone saw Xinghe—a rare sight on the general chat—promoting his event.

Xinghe: 【Good evening, everyone! The clearance sale to coincide with the second zombie wave is about to begin!】

Xinghe: 【First wave! The upgraded version of Pot Sprouts!】

Jian Xingyi was the first to list the upgraded version of the “pot sprouts” along with a description. The original version sold for 1,000; this upgraded version was priced at 3,000.

Although the price was higher, the “pot sprouts” had saved the lives of many guilds and players during the last zombie wave. Everyone knew just how effective it was, so many even felt that 3,000 was a bargain.

【The upgraded version can actually wrap around walls? And you don’t have to worry about zombies destroying it—it shares durability with the bricks. This is way better than the last one!】

【Ahhh, Big Shot Xinghe is here to save us again!】

Everyone had been sighing and lamenting in the general chat, since things had already gone… pretty badly on the first night.

Many had already fallen during the first night of the zombie horde, but in this apocalypse, sacrifice has become a daily occurrence—everyone still has to keep moving forward.

Now that Jian Xingyi has suddenly come online and listed these items, it has undoubtedly given everyone a lot of hope.

If you can’t afford 1 million for cement, how could you possibly not afford 3,000 for a pot of sprouts?!

【Xinghe is seriously amazing. No wonder Grapevine Peak and Long Live formed an alliance!】

【Huh?? Rainforest players are in shock—the two big shots from your server actually merged?】

【Yeah! A powerhouse alliance! Xinghe’s guild merged with Grapevine Peak! I honestly don’t know who to envy right now!】

【Wait, I’m just saying… why didn’t Xinghe just join Grapevine Peak directly?】

【That wouldn’t work, right? Grapevine Peak’s guild system is set up so only T1+ players can join! Plus, Grapevine Peak has its own way of operating—they can’t just hand over a guild’s warehouse and funds for Xinghe to develop and play with, can they?】

While everyone was discussing this heatedly, “pot sprouts” was being snapped up like crazy.

【Guys, go easy on us!! You’re moving way too fast here?!】

【Wait a minute?! Rainforest players are in shock x2—how come we can buy this too? It’s in our server’s store as well!!!】

【Aaaaaah, no way?? Has Big Shot Xinghe finally unlocked our Rainforest server? Does that mean we’ll be able to buy food and buff items too!!】

【@Xinghe @Xinghe Have you finally unlocked our Rainforest server? When will the food go on sale?】

Jian Xingyi replied.

Xinghe: 【That’s right, just unlocked it. Going on sale now.】

With the zombie tide currently underway, Jian Xingyi planned to list twice as much food as usual, including lychees and more meat. He’d stockpiled a full backpack of lychees and meat, and now he could finally sell them!

His sugarcane had also ripened, and Jian Xingyi couldn’t wait to give it a try.

Sure enough, when he stir-fried the sugarcane with lamb, beef, or pork, the 50% bonus to melee and ranged attack power for Grade B meat increased to 60%! Originally, Jian Xingyi sold stir-fried meat for 7,000, but now he could raise the price to 10,000.

Out of curiosity, Jian Xingyi combined the lychees with sugar to make lychee juice.

Lychees provide 100% accuracy—what would adding sugar do?

【Lychee Juice: Grants 100% accuracy upon consumption and increases penetration by 30%.】

Jian Xingyi: “……!!”

Holy cow!

Since the stats couldn’t be increased any further, it just provided a new effect instead??

100% accuracy is already insane enough, but penetration… that means when facing tough zombies like Giants or Godfathers, the bullets will be even more likely to pierce right through them!

This is a huge help!!!!

This effect… It’s insane! Way too insane!!

Even Jian Xingyi, who isn’t good at fighting, got goosebumps reading this description.

It was well worth the effort he put into building a greenhouse for the lychees, planting them nonstop, and having them take up space in his backpack. During the previous zombie horde, lychees were the most reliable food source he had—and now they’re proving to be just as useful!

He used to sell lychees for 15,000 each, but now Jian Xingyi is selling lychee juice for 30,000 per bottle!

After the synthesis, Jian Xingyi listed them for sale immediately.

Since it’s a zombie tide, Jian Xingyi adjusted his inventory, listing only food items useful for this situation.

Large quantities of sugarcane stir-fried pork at 10,000 Dawn Coins—which boosts weapon stats—are currently what everyone needs most.

Large quantities of lychee juice at 30,000 Dawn Coins, with 100% accuracy, are also in high demand.

Medium quantities of roasted potatoes at 2,000 Dawn Coins are affordable and filling. As for why roasted potatoes aren’t listed in large quantities, it’s because Jian Xingyi considered that most people would likely buy the stir-fried pork with sugarcane first—since it provides both a bonus and fills them up—and might not buy potatoes after purchasing the meat.

Medium-sized Sugared Watermelon Juice for 3,000 Dawn Coins, to replenish stamina.

Medium-sized Sugared Coffee for 3,000 Dawn Coins, to boost energy.

As soon as Jian Xingyi listed these items, they caused a sensation in the public chat.

【Wait, what?? Holy crap… Holy crap! I thought that lychee juice was ridiculous at first—is this a rip-off? But the moment I clicked on it, my hand was faster than my brain, and I bought it! Without a single moment’s hesitation!】

【Folks, think about it: 30,000 coins—that’s expensive, right? But this 30,000 can save your life and last you a whole day!! Buy, buy, buy!】

【Forget the lychee—that meat buff is insane too! Think about it: if your gun has 100% accuracy, and every bullet you fire gets +60% damage and +30% penetration, how game-breaking is that? How much of a game-changer would that be?!】

Everyone went on a mad buying spree.

Jian Xingyi wasn’t worried about the rush. He’d been stockpiling his lychees for a month and had been raising livestock in his 15 farming zones for a month—all for this very moment!

To build hype, Jian Xingyi also announced an event he’d been planning for a long time on the public channel.

After deducting guild revenue, he currently only makes about 20 million per item listed, but both Cement and Bond Cards are priced in the hundreds of millions. Therefore, he needed to find a way to earn more money. So…

Xinghe: 【In addition to the Potted Sprouts, all food items purchased from me today will receive a 10% discount! Don’t miss out!】

Xinghe: 【Plus, the first ten people who spend over 1 million can screenshot their transaction history and DM me to claim a special prize!】

Jian Xingyi shared what he called the “special prize.”

—It was a snack grab bag containing 10 cans of Coke and 10 bags of potato chips.

Jian Xingyi had finally figured out a use for all these snacks!

Selling them cheap felt like a loss, and selling them at a higher price meant no one would buy them. So… why not just give them away? Not only would it spread joy and boost sales, but it would also free up space in his inventory.

After all, Jian Xingyi could always restock behind the Peace Mountain Air Wall later.

【Holy crap?? Holy crap!! Does Big Shot Xinghe really have everything?!】

【Aaaah, I’m going to have my guild buy them all at once! Damn it, go easy on us—don’t sell them that fast!】

【Soda! Potato chips!! Aaaah, I want them so bad!】

After the first night of the Zombie Tide, players from Peace Mountain, Lava Mountain, Flag-Raising Mountain, Thousand Bells Snow Mountain, and Rainforest Mountain were in a frenzy in the marketplace.

Jian Xingyi’s terminal didn’t stop for a single moment.

10 million, 20 million, 30 million, 50 million……

Jian Xingyi’s eyes sparkled as he watched his Dawn Coin earnings keep soaring.

His previous transaction, including guild profits, had been around 30 million. Now, even though he hadn’t sold all his goods yet, his earnings had already skyrocketed to 50 million in just one hour!

And it was still rising—and that didn’t even include the Dawn Coins from the “Pots Sprouts” yet!

At the same time, Jian Xingyi’s Savior System notification sounded.

【Congratulations to player 【Xinghe】 on upgrading the Savior System from Level 0 to Level 1!】

Huh…?

Why did it suddenly level up?