【Civil Engineering Brother: Is it “Need A Little Money To Save Me”?】

Qiyu：？

【I Love Survival Game: It’s him. How did you figure that out?】

【Civil Engineering Brother: Haha, because you, the gaming pro, don’t talk much usually and don’t seem very social. Aside from the few of us in this group, the only player I can think of who’s crossed paths with you is him.】

Add in labels like “not high on the leaderboard” and “lucky,” and it’s easy to figure out.

【Civil Engineering Brother: Of course, no problem. This group was originally set up for mutual support.】It’s just that not long after, things in the server got a bit complicated, so they stopped letting new members join. 

After getting a positive response, Qiyu went to reach out to “Need A Little Money To Save Me”:

【I Love Survival Game: I joined a small group where a few players are friends—they’re nice people. We can chat and trade. Do you want to join?】

【Need A Little Money To Save Me:! Yes! I’m in!】

Did Happiness Just Fall from the Sky? 

He’d finally managed to latch onto the right person, passed the big shot’s test—was he about to successfully infiltrate the big shot’s inner circle? 

Qiyu paid no heed to his jumble of thoughts and simply added him to the group chat.

【Civil Engineering Brother: Welcome, new member.】

【Dare Not Open My Eyes: Huh? Welcome, new member!】

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: Welcome, new member.】

Seeing this, Qiyu quietly added a comment from the back:

【I Love Survival Game: Welcome, new member.】

【Need A Little Money To Save Me: Wow! You’re all top-ranked big shots.  Hello, everyone—this little guy here pays his respects.】

……

“Need A Little Money To Save Me” was so quick to strike up a conversation that it was almost scary. 

Qiyu had only been in the group for two minutes when he saw that he had already quickly become close with the others, and they were already calling each other by their nicknames.

He quietly closed the group chat. Alright, by the time he opened it again, he’d probably look more like the newbie who’d been dragged into the group by Money. 

The social skills of Earth people are truly terrifying. He didn’t plan on going out this morning.

He’d get familiar with the shelter first.

In the treehouse’s main hall, there was a staircase leading upstairs—he hadn’t checked it out yet. He climbed the stairs, taking about a dozen steps, until he reached a wooden door.

He pushed the door open, and the room suddenly opened up before his eyes.

Qiyu stared blankly as the cold rain fell from the sky, only to be dispelled by an invisible barrier woven into his mage’s robe. He was now standing atop the glowing tree that supported the sanctuary.

The soft branches and leaves supported his body. Now that Qiyu was so far above the ground, he could easily gaze out into the distance. It was just like when he was being carried aloft by the wings, soaring through the sky.

When he was at the base of the tree, Qiyu could see clearly: his treehouse reached no higher than the middle of the giant tree. Through such a lush and dense canopy, there was no way the distance could be just a dozen or so steps.

What is this? A magic circle?

He closed his eyes and sensed a faint aura of magic around him.

Following the trail of magic, he gently touched a certain spot.

In that instant, the entire tree “came to life.” A brilliant light radiated from it, and obscure, mystical magical patterns appeared on its branches and every single tree leaf.

Qiyu withdrew his hand in shock: this massive tree, which served as his sanctuary, was actually a complete magical array. Can a magical array really do this?

What were my previous ones, then?

Not even the tip of the iceberg, he supposed?

Qiyu stared at *Advanced Magic Array Theory and Practice* in his backpack with shining eyes, wondering, “Could this book cover that?” 

Teacher, I’d like to learn!

He felt his way through the structure of the entire tree based on the flow of magical energy, but the magical array’s design was simply too complex for him to understand. In the end, he only managed to locate the “hidden” advanced magical energy tower.

What left Qiyu somewhat baffled was that the moment he located the energy tower’s mana seal, he instantly sensed the reason it had been hidden.

A clear sense of disdain: it was being scorned for being so huge and hovering right above the shelter, ruining the view. 

Qiyu actually thought it was pretty cool.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t modify this magic array, so the advanced magic energy tower was forced to remain hidden whenever the territory faced no threats. 

Qiyu loved this feeling of being high up, as if he were close to the sky. But at that moment, something else caught his attention.

He didn’t return to the teleportation gate; instead, he stood atop a tree dozens of meters high, spread his arms wide, and leaped down.

His body plummeted at breakneck speed, his wide mage robes flapping in the wind and rain, and Qiyu’s eyes shone with an astonishing intensity.

A pair of blue wings appeared out of thin air, catching his falling body; at that moment, the wind grew gentle, cradling him as he landed softly. 

That’s fun. 

Qiyu walked toward the garden; were it not for those bright eyes, no one could have told from his impassive expression that he was “calm.” 

This was the first time Qiyu had seriously examined the garden he’d received as part of the Level 3 Shelter upgrade.

Last night, after planting the flowers, he had been busy replanning his territory, planting ancient black trees, killing swifts, and constructing his new buildings.

But now that he’d taken the time to look closely, even with Qiyu’s refined taste, all he could do was walk around the garden once and then manage to utter two sentences:

“So many flowers.” 

“They’re really beautiful.” 

He approached each flower to check its name: smoke vine, daffodil,

Qiyu jotted down the names haphazardly and immediately went to check on the golden apple sapling.

Perhaps it really was because he was closer to the statue—the golden apple sapling’s head actually displayed the rare “in a great mood” status. 

“Praise be to the Goddess of Nature.” Qiyu placed his hands over his heart in a bow to the statue, then looked at the golden apple sapling and offered a sincere wish: “I hope you’ll grow up quickly.” 

Just then, he sensed a wave of resentment sweeping toward him.

Qiyu looked over in surprise and saw it was the seven-colored flower.

It looked even angrier than usual; its pink petals had retracted, and it had turned back into a puffed-up little bud.

【I want to cuddle with the Goddess too!】

 【Cuddle with the Golden Apple Tree!】

【Live in Xiangxiang’s garden!】

【It’s raining again—so annoying!】 

【So frustrating! So frustrating! So frustrating! So frustrating! So frustrating! So frustrating!】 

“……”

As he walked a little closer, a whole string of emotions flew past. 

Qiyu：“……”

His first thought was actually: If ranked by intelligence, the seven-colored flower is probably one of the top plants in the domain today.

Because it speaks the most clearly and expresses its emotions the most fluently.

Unlike the demon vine next door, which, despite having eaten so much, still just whines about being hungry. 

Qiyu fulfilled the seven-colored flower’s request and moved it—soil and roots and all—to the open space on the other side of the goddess statue, placing it on either side of the Golden Apple sapling.

The effect was almost immediate; he saw a string of pink heart-shaped bubbles rise from above the seven-colored flower’s head.

【Heart.】

Alright, the little grump is finally not upset anymore. 

Qiyu walked toward the small lake nearby.

He passed through a small field of mist star flowers and arrived at the rocking chair and fishing rod. 3 He sat down.

【Today’s catch has been collected. Please check your inventory.】

There was a splash in the bucket.

Qiyu turned to look and saw a silvery-white, unrecognizable object lying quietly at the bottom of the bucket.

【Moon Goddess Shell (Blue): An extremely rare species that loves to bask in the moonlight. After absorbing ample moonlight, it produces a rare variety of pearl, known as the Moon Goddess Pearl.】

【The Moon Goddess Shell is not edible; freshwater farming is recommended.】

Not edible, freshwater farming, basks in the moonlight.

Qiyu thought of the Forest of Stars, where it had been raining for more than twenty days straight: …How tragic—there’s no moon to dry things under at all.

He bent down, fished out the Moon Goddess Shell, and placed it in the small lake.

This lake was clearly not just an ordinary lake; who knows what strange alternate dimension it might lead to. Hopefully, the shell would find its own way out. 

He cast his fishing line into the water and, while fishing, checked the request panel. In the trading section, the 3,000 down jackets had already sold out.

Qiyu withdrew his earnings.

All the swift feathers were crafted into down jackets—a total of 1,200 sets—earning him 36,000 Level 1 Beast Crystals. 

Add to that the Beast Crystals earned from previously killing swifts. In his backpack, he now had a total of 72,032 Level 1 Beast Crystals and 2,650 Level 2 Beast Crystals. Alright, his wallet feels a little fuller now.

In other words, the Beast Crystals earned from selling Swallow feathers and crafting materials were actually not much less than those from killing the Swallows themselves.

And I still haven’t settled the accounts for the Swift Meat from the God Has No Form Dungeon. Swallows really are a player’s best friend. 

Qiyu looked regretfully at the ancient black tree in his territory.

From late last night through dawn today and up until now, his territory has been completely quiet.

Swifts are just too timid. 

He checked the zone chat and saw that many people were @-mentioning him, asking if he still had any down jackets for sale.

【I Love Survival Game: None left—I ran out of materials.】

【Be A Good Person: I snagged a down jacket set, hehe. But hey, gaming pro, you could do what Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Iron do—bring your own materials and charge a processing fee.】

Qiyu didn’t hesitate for a second:

【I Love Survival Game: That’s too much trouble. I’m not doing it.】

【A Stray By The Road: …Is this what a top player is like? He wouldn’t even bother making a profit, even with Beast Crystals.】

【Be A Good Person: Game Pro, let’s put the down jacket set aside for now—when will the screaming lily of the valley be restocked? And the bright sunflowers—when will they be back in stock?】

As soon as he said this, a wave of agreement swept through the region chat.

Qiyu looked at their comments and only then realized: the plants he’d sold had a 15-day expiration period. 

Since the bright sunflowers planted in the ground had never withered—and the screaming lily of the valley had even evolved on its own—he’d completely forgotten this fact.

【I Love Survival Game: It’s been raining nonstop—it’s hard to grow anything.】

Before the Constant-Temperature Magic Array was installed, the plants were all suffering from the “Low Temperature” debuff.

With the constant-temperature magic array in place, he could have continued planting, but he’d been busy with new projects every day lately and was completely absorbed in his studies. 

Especially since the Swift Points event started two days ago, he’d had no time for anything else besides grinding points, so he’d let it slip.

Even though he’s here, he still hasn’t had time to study the other two skill books he’s been longing to learn.

It was precisely because the Swifts seemed to have been scared off by being killed today—or rather, that’s why—that he finally had a little free time to take care of other matters. Just like him, God Has No Form was so busy that he had absolutely no time to handle anything else.

He was completely stunned by the 100,000 units of Swift Meat that had fallen from the sky. Once he recovered from the shock, he quickly sent a message to the group chat.

【God Has No Form: Message · Swift Meat—check this out, guys. How much is this worth in Beast Crystals?】 

【I’m Out of Here:? Swift meat—is 1g equivalent to 500ml of drinking water? Er Shen, this isn’t something we’d normally find in our server, is it?】 

【God Has No Form:? Why do you care so much?】

【Two Dogs Down There: Er Shen, I’ve actually been secretly suspicious of you for a long time. First it was the emerald crystal peaches, then the seafood feast, then the alchemical mini-AC, and now this Swift Meat…】

【The Sun Rises in the West: Exactly! We all suspect the same thing!】

【Just Now: We all suspect you!】

【I’m Backing Off: Er Shen, have you secretly married into a wealthy family behind our backs?】