Although he’d seen God Has No Form use the teleportation gate every day, this was the first time Qiyu had used it himself. As he approached the gate, a gentle resistance stopped him.

A notification popped up on his Survival Panel:

【Do you wish to request entry into the other party’s territory?】

Qiyu chose to request entry.

The resistance quickly vanished. He surmised that God Has No Form must have approved his request to enter the territory. He simply took a single step forward. 

The scene before him changed instantly.

No flowers, no forests—the view of the Golden Desert was wide open. With nothing to block the view, the landscape stretched out before him as far as the eye could see, as if he could look directly to the ends of the earth. 

From where Qiyu stood, he could easily see far into the distance—endless waves of golden sand, glistening like scattered gold in the sunlight. 

It truly lived up to its name, the Golden Desert.

At the same time, Qiyu instantly understood why Dan Xingyu had said it was so hot he’d lost his appetite: even with the temperature-regulating magic array in place, compared to the Star Forest, even here, the air was astonishingly dry.

God Has No Form stood right beside him.

“Dan Xingyu, good morning.” 

Dan Xingyu stared at him, his eyes wide and unblinking: “You look so fresh-faced today, Qiyu. Are you really older than me?”

He looked so fresh and dewy that he seemed completely out of place in the Golden Desert. 

Looking at it this way, the survival game wasn’t entirely without its merits. He thought, at least the player selection was spot-on. I Love Survival Game—you can tell at a glance that he’s a player from the Star Forest.

Qiyu: “It’s true—I’m already nineteen.” 

He held up the oversized flower basket in his hands: “I brought you a gift!” 

“It’s a little cold—be careful.” To keep the ice lotus at the bottom from melting, he was using ice and snow magic to maintain it. 

Dan Xingyu carefully took it and glanced at it: “Wow!” 

He was clearly thrilled with the gift: “Believe it or not, the treasure in this basket—in our 88th server, even if you listed it for 100 gold coins, there’d be people willing to buy it.”

Before Qiyu could answer, he continued on his own: “But forget 100 gold coins—even if someone offered 1,000 gold coins, I still wouldn’t sell it.” 

He led Qiyu inside, asking him along the way, “Have you had breakfast yet?”

Qiyu shook his head.

When he turned his gaze back outside, Qiyu realized he was standing on a very, very large open-air balcony.

Walking further in and pushing open two exquisite, heavy doors, he found himself in a bedroom. 

Qiyu was surprised: “Did you set up the teleportation gate inside the room?” 

Strictly speaking, the balcony wasn’t considered part of the bedroom, since it was separated by a door.

But the only passageway connecting this massive open-air balcony to the outside world was the door leading to the bedroom.

In other words, whenever Qiyu came to find Dan Xingyu, after passing through the teleportation gate, no matter where he was going, he would have to pass through Dan Xingyu’s bedroom. 

Dan Xingyu explained, “Because this is the spot in the entire palace with the best view and the most beautiful scenery. I’m telling you, you should stay until the afternoon—once the sun reaches this side, that’s when you’ll see the true Golden Desert.” 

“It sounds beautiful,” Qiyu said, letting his imagination run wild. “Actually, even now, it’s already quite lovely.”

It was a landscape completely different from the Star Forest.

“Your bedroom is huge,” Qiyu remarked, his gaze sweeping across the immense room.

He had originally thought his own room was quite large, but compared to Dan Xingyu’s, it was nothing.

The most eye-catching feature was the large bed right in the center. Qiyu took a quick estimate and figured it could easily accommodate five or six people. The overall style of the bedroom was quite opulent, with a thick, shaggy carpet covering the floor. 

Qiyu hesitated for a moment, but Dan Xingyu simply pulled him along and stepped onto it.

Feeling the sensation of his shoes sinking into the carpet, Qiyu asked in genuine confusion, “Dan Xingyu, don’t you think it looks really hot?” 

“Don’t even mention it,” Dan Xingyu said with a pained expression. “I’d love to tear it out too. But this carpet came with the shelter when it was upgraded—we can’t damage it.”

It really does look hot just to look at it.

If it were just one room, that would be fine—he didn’t have to sleep in the master bedroom—but every single room in the entire palace was set up exactly the same way. 

Still, this thing does have its advantages.

“Since it came with the upgrade, it has a self-cleaning function. If it weren’t for that, I’d find a way to tear it out no matter what.”

As they spoke, the two finally made their way out of the bedroom. Passing through a labyrinth of corridors, they arrived at the dining room.

Dan Xingyu placed the flower basket in the center of the table and asked Qiyu, “Do you mind if people find out you came to the Golden Desert today? Also, can I show off the gift you gave me?” 

Qiyu shook his head.

Was visiting a friend something to be ashamed of?

With his approval, Dan Xingyu was satisfied.

Qiyu thought that, given Dan Xingyu’s personality, he’d probably be taking all sorts of photos to show off by now. But he simply asked, “If I leave it like this, will it melt?”

Qiyu: “I’m using magic to keep it in place—it won’t melt.” 

“That’s good.”

Dan Xingyu: “Sir, our distinguished guest, what would you like for breakfast? You can order right here.”

He even bowed slightly, performing a proper gentleman’s bow: “I am your personal butler for the day, Dan Xingyu, and I am here to serve you wholeheartedly.” 

Having come from the post-apocalyptic world, the country bumpkin had never seen anything like this before, so he stared at Dan Xingyu with curiosity, looking at him over and over again. 

Jue walked over to play along: “I’d like some dumplings.” 

The word “dumplings” had been swirling around in his head all day yesterday. 

They had inexplicably whetted his appetite.

Dan Xingyu thought for a moment: “It’d be too late to make them fresh for breakfast. I just opened two boxes of dumplings from the mystery food boxes—would you mind eating frozen ones?”

Qiyu shook his head.

He’ll eat just about anything.

Besides, anything you get from a survival game is bound to be delicious! 

So, for their first meal in Dan Xingyu’s territory, the two sat at an ultra-luxurious dining table large enough to seat dozens of people, each holding a box of frozen dumplings and ate them with great relish. 

After eating their fill, it was time for today’s main event!

Dan Xingyu circled the flower basket once and began taking photos from every angle, posting them all in the Zone 88 regional chat channel. 

Although the survival interface allows you to take photos, it doesn’t have a function to save the images. 

He even tagged all members in a small group chat.

【God Has No Form: Go check out the photos in the region channel.】 

【With My Retreat: ???】

【God Has No Form: Can’t be bothered to take them twice.】

Fist-sized strawberries and clusters of beautiful, large cherries are piled high on sparkling ice flowers. 

The flower baskets used as containers are made entirely of real plants—a true luxury in District 88—with petals and green leaves so fresh they look as if they were just plucked from the branches.

【Life Without a Phone Is Tough: Holy crap! Is this strawberry for real? Can you show it off to me? I’ll just eat it!】

【With My Retreat: Er Shen, you little rascal, are you going to eat this?】

【God Has No Form: I want to share some exciting news with everyone: one of the game’s top players came to visit the Golden Desert today. This is the gift he brought me.】

【God Has No Form: He’s way too kind. I told him there was no need for all this, but he insisted on getting up early to pick the freshest strawberries and cherries for me. He’s even using magic to keep the ice underneath frozen, just so I can enjoy the freshest, best fruity sensation.】

【God Has No Form: And the dessert in the middle—you might not know this—is his absolute favorite. He’d been saving it all this time but insisted on bringing it over to share with me.】

【God Has No Form: Such a precious gesture—I can only let you all take a look.】

“……”

The 88th District channel fell silent; everyone sat there quietly watching this person’s performance. 

A long time later.

【Life Without a Phone Is Tough: You! Never mind, it’s Er Shen. Him! Never mind, it’s Er Shen. This person! Never mind, it’s Er Shen.】 

【Eternal Night: They just dropped by to be polite and brought a gift—and you’re actually taking it so seriously?】

【God Has No Form: Oh my, there aren’t any lemon slices in here, so how come I smell something sour?】

【With My Retreat: Er Shen, is the gaming pro by your side right now? If so, be sure to pass along my admiration for him—it flows as endlessly as the mighty river. We’d love to have the Gaming Pro come visit our Golden Desert.】

As soon as “With My Retreat” spoke those words, the 88 Server members, who had been so thoroughly outplayed by Dan Xingyu that they’d been itching to curse but couldn’t bring themselves to do so because they’d actually benefited from him, sprang back to life.

【Jasmine Green Tea: I’m here to publicly declare my admiration for Gaming Pro. Wishing Er Shen and Gaming Pro a friendship that lasts 99 years.】

【The Future Is Long: Exactly, exactly. Er Shen, you and the gaming pro need to stay on good terms once you leave. You’ve got to hold on tight to this powerhouse once he’s gone!】

【Low Battery: Welcome, gaming pro! Hope you have fun in the Golden Desert.】

Even Eternal Night isn’t making snide remarks anymore.

【Eternal Night: Welcome, gaming pro. Players in Server 88 thank you for your help.】

Since Qiyu couldn’t see Dan Xingyu’s in-game interface, Dan Xingyu read these comments aloud to him one by one.

“These ungrateful brats have never shown me this much enthusiasm,” he teased with a laugh. “They’d all love nothing more than to kidnap you and drag you over to Server 88 to dethrone their number one player.”

“Then thank them for me.”

“But I can’t go to Server 88,” Qiyu replied earnestly. “Star Forest is my home—I still like it a little better.” 

Dan Xingyu was so charmed he gave a little shiver. 

It was clear they were all just having fun. But this local kid always took things so seriously, saying all these cute little things in a very earnest tone. Sometimes, he was genuinely curious: what kind of upbringing could have shaped Qiyu’s personality like this? 

Having finished showing off and conveying the players of District 88’s welcome to Qiyu, Dan Xingyu coldly closed the survival panel, completely ignoring the group of kids who were wailing in frustration after being provoked by him.

Boys their age have such hearty appetites they could eat a whole cow—and Qiyu and Dan Xingyu are both professionals, to boot. Having just finished breakfast, the two happily polished off more than half the desserts and fruits in their basket. 

The feeling of having his stomach filled with delicious food was so wonderful that Qiyu almost forgot what he was there to do. Fortunately, he had a good memory—it was just a close call; he wouldn’t have actually forgotten.

He took out the Bow of Idelan from his backpack.

Dan Xingyu’s eyes lit up. “What a beautiful bow!”

Qiyu chose not to hide the equipment’s stats from him, and in the next second, Dan Xingyu saw the bow’s level.

【Semi-Divine Artifact.】 

Dan Xingyu: ???