Huge thanks to Green KiTea for the kofis. Enjoy these bonus chapters!

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Civil Engineering Brother replied instantly.

【Civil Engineering Brother: Hold on a sec, boss!】

He looked toward the door.

Right now, that screaming lily of the valley was still hanging under the eaves of his shelter.

Well, actually, it can’t really be called “one stem” anymore—to test the flower’s abilities, he’d already plucked it bare.

All that’s left hanging there now is a single, lonely flower, tied with a thin string, like a delicate little bell.

Setting aside the explosive silence that the little thing creates, it actually looks quite elegant. 

The branch of flowers given to him by the gaming big shot had nearly twenty screaming lily of the valley blooms. The Civil Engineering Brother sent one each to “Tranquility Yields Transcendence” and “Dare Not Open My Eyes.”

With the remaining ten, he held a raffle in his regular customer group. The customers who won have been giving feedback one after another. 

【Civil Engineering Brother: Gaming Big Shot, how many lily-of-the-valley flowers exactly?】

【I Love Survival Game: 1,298 stems of screaming lily of the valley.】 

Civil Engineering Brother gasped.

【Civil Engineering Brother: You mean flower sprigs, right? Is there a cluster of flowers on each sprig?】

【I Love Game Requests: Hmm.】

【Civil Engineering Brother: If I go by the numbers you gave me,  even if the average per item is a bit lower, the total number still tops 10,000.】

【Civil Engineering Brother: Game Pro,  with that many items, you’ve got to move them in bulk.】

【Civil Engineering Brother: I suggest you don’t send them to me to sell—post them on the trading board yourself.】

【Civil Engineering Brother: The screaming lily of the valley alert might be a bit loud, but it really works. Players—especially casual ones—don’t have to spend the whole night on edge, worrying whether monsters have invaded the shelter.】

【Civil Engineering Brother: With such a large quantity, you can set the price a bit lower so most people can afford it.】

【Civil Engineering Brother: It’s a great opportunity to promote yourself and win people over.】

Qiyu asked him in return:

【I Love Survival Game: Why are you telling me this? Don’t you want to make money anymore?】

Civil Engineering Brother could do that too—he’d even get extra benefits from the trade.

【Civil Engineering Brother: The Temple of the Gods isn’t easy to deal with. Although players are currently focused on building their own power and don’t interfere with one another, no one can predict what will happen in the future. You, as a big shot, should also work on building your reputation and standing.】

He could tell that this big shot wasn’t particularly well-versed in dealing with people from all walks of life.

【Civil Engineering Brother: I’m not exactly selfless either—I’ve gotten quite a few perks from you, Big Shot. I know the difference between a one-time feast and a steady stream of meals. I’d much rather ride your coattails year after year.】 

As a businessman, he knew all too well how rare it was to find a powerful and decent supplier in the gaming community. Whether for profit or just out of self-interest, he wanted the big shot to do well. 

【I Love Survival Game: Alright.】

【I Love Survival Game: Thank you.】

Civil Engineering Brother is a good friend, too. 

【Civil Engineering Brother: Haha, no need, no need. Just don’t forget about me if the big shot cultivates anything good in the future.】

After chatting with Civil Engineering Brother, he was thinking about how to price the screaming lily of the valley. A new message popped up.

【Civil Engineering Brother: Big Shot, just sell them one by one—make sure you remember that.】

Just thinking about how lively the regional channel would be tonight made him a little excited. 

Qiyu：“……”

Come to think of it, there was one thing he hadn’t asked.

He told the Civil Engineering Brother about how he’d turned the lily of the valley into seeds.

Civil Engineering Brother’s first reaction:

【Civil Engineering Brother: “Then we can keep doing this for a long, long time.”】

【Civil Engineering Brother: I’m really not good at growing flowers and plants. Why don’t you ask Old… Tranquility Yields Transcendence?】 

Qiyu then went to the group chat to ask.

【Dare Not Open My Eyes: The moment I saw that flower, I knew it was most likely the work of a top-tier player.】

【Dare Not Open My Eyes: Civil Engineering Brother was up to no good—he didn’t warn me, and when he let out a scream, it was right next to my ear; I almost went deaf.】 

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: It’s nice to have some excitement, but I actually miss the quiet.】

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: If we were on Earth, I could share some tips on gardening. But in this game, even the fertile forest soil can’t be used for growing anything, so my knowledge isn’t much use here.】

He didn’t get an answer, but Qiyu wasn’t particularly disappointed.

He never beat himself up over things. If he had a question, he’d ask it right then and there; if he still didn’t understand after asking, he’d just set it aside. Either the matter would eventually blow over, or he’d figure it out later. 

After all, the act of staying alive itself takes precedence over everything else; there isn’t much time left for overthinking.

And right now, life was simply too wonderful; he didn’t want to burden himself with unnecessary worries over trivial matters.

A message from “God Has No Form” also arrived.

【God Has No Form: Such a lovely flower—I like it.】 

【God Has No Form: Is there any difference between your current growing environment and that one? Perhaps you can analyze the variables. If you can’t figure it out, it might be because your abilities have improved.】

【God Has No Form: I suggest not looking at it from too scientific a perspective. After all, I’ve been alive for… ahem, so many years, and it wasn’t until I started playing games that I realized monsters decompose themselves when they die and can even turn into treasure chests.】

【God Has No Form: I really can’t understand it.】

【God Has No Form: I seek the gods within the game.】

【I Love Survival Game: In the Star Forest, we worship the Goddess.】

“The gods’ blessings.” Qiyu couldn’t hold back any longer.

He found this quite reasonable, so he stood up, walked over to the statue, mimicked Duo Ju’s posture, and solemnly expressed his gratitude: “Thank you for your blessing.” 

Back at the shelter.

He asked eagerly:

【I Love Survival Game: Is there anything good to eat tonight?】

【God Has No Form: Yeah, I ran into a big one today—it dropped quite a bit of meat. I’ll grill you a steak.】

【God Has No Form: Do you still want that baby bok choy?】

【God Has No Form: It goes well with the vegetables—tasty and visually appealing.】

Qiyu generously sent him 20 of them.

【I Love Survival Game: That’s for the two of us—is that enough?】

Dan Xingyu let out a wistful sigh.

He couldn’t believe how generous he was, especially since he probably had no idea just how precious and expensive fresh vegetables were to him.

Darn it, if Big Brother were just a year older, he’d seriously consider adopting him as his godfather right then and there. 

【God Has No Form: That’s enough. I promise to show off all my skills.】

Qiyu, filled with anticipation for dinner, got down to business.

First, he separated over a thousand stems of the screaming lily of the valley into individual flowers.

Since becoming a second-tier mage, his control over magic had become much more precise, making this task quite straightforward. Before long, over a thousand stems of screaming lily of the valley had been transformed into 【screaming lily of the valley x22,888】. 

It wasn’t really a surprise—perhaps it was the goddess’s blessing, or perhaps the blessing of the Golden Apple Tree. In any case, the lily-of-the-valley was thriving exceptionally well, with slender stems and plump blossoms.

Qiyu glanced at the region channel; there were now 83,788 players left in Region 01. If he could sell the entire batch, nearly everyone in the region would be able to buy one.

He thought for a moment and set a price that most people could afford—20 pieces of wood. 

He listed the item in the trading section for self-service purchase, accepting payment in 20 wood, 10 Green-Quality Resources, or 2 emerald crystals. Each person was limited to one purchase, and the buyer was responsible for the transaction fee.

After listing the item, he went to the region chat:

【I Love Survival Game: I’ve listed a batch of magical plants in the trading section. Check it out if you’re interested.】

【Cockroach Taste Is So Weird: Holy crap! It’s the gaming legend—let’s take a picture!】

【Roadside: Holy cow, what’s with this northwesterly wind today? Even the big shots are out and about.】

【Guest from the Traveler in the Misty Rain of Jiangnan: Screaming lily of the valley? The magical plant that Civil Engineering Brother gave away in the trading group—is that your item, Big Shot?】

【Liver Emperor: Holy crap, are my eyes playing tricks on me from all the grinding? Is the quantity “Du Shao”?】

【The More I Involution The Bitterer My Life Becomes: Over 20,000 units for 20 wood? Big shot, are you doing charity here?】

20 wood—that is, the yield from cutting down two trees.

Back when players were just starting out in the game, 20 wood might have been the result of many hours of hard work for a lot of people.

But now? Players who have made it through the beginner phase have, to varying degrees, improved their physical stats, and on the day of the trial, the game provided a batch of supplies.

Combined with the stats provided by equipment, chopping down trees has become a breeze.

It’s just as many people say: what’s the difference between setting a price and giving it away for free?

Another group is concerned with the quantity being sold. Listing over 20,000 screaming lilies of the valley at once—and still daring to sell them so cheaply?

【Waiting For A Millennium: @ILoveSurvivalGame, big shot, those magical plants—you didn’t grow them yourself, did you?】

After all, if it were a resource spot he’d gone through great lengths to find himself, there’s no way he’d sell it so cheaply. Qiyu admitted it readily:

【I Love Survival Game: Yes, I grew them myself. I might sell magical plants from time to time in the future.】

【My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens: Did you grow the bright sunflowers too? @ILoveSurvivalGame.】 The chat channel fell silent for a moment, then erupted with activity:

【Cockroach Taste Is So Weird: Whoa, the big shot “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens” is here too.】

【I Love Survival Game: Yeah, that’s right.】

【Sledgehammer Bludgeon: Aren’t those two big shots at odds with each other? How come they seem to get along so well?】

【Quiet As A Chicken: Isn’t that just because certain people in the Temple of the Gods are being too arrogant? What does that have to do with the big shot “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens”? With a guild that big, he can’t possibly keep an eye on everyone every day.】

【Reaching for the Moon in the Heavens: Wow, game big shots can actually mass-grow magical plants. Looks like it won’t be long before they take the top spot on the wealth rankings, too.】

Even though the regional chat channel was flooded with messages, the number of screaming lily of the valley in the trading section was dropping rapidly.

As many people have said, for the price of 20 pieces of wood, even buying a flower that’s not particularly useful can still make you happy, right? 

After all, they’re magical plants—system-certified ones can even warn of mutant beast invasions. You’ve got to buy at least one to see what it’s like.

The Temple of the Gods’ core members’ group.

The usual suspects who love to post in the regional channel and bask in the adulation haven’t shown up in the group today. Watching the enemy steal the spotlight is just too painful.

【Little Old Me: Is this guy suffering from “game addiction”? What’s in it for him to dump magical plants on such a large scale?】 

If it were him, he’d rather keep a small quantity to sell at a high price—even if it meant letting them rot in unused plots of land. 

【I Am Domineering: Just as I suspected, he’s nothing but a dumbass who got lucky and stumbled upon an opportunity. That “Shelter” ranking of his is definitely tied to his gardening skills. Haha, doesn’t he realize that if he sells them so cheaply this time, it’ll be hard for him to command a high price for his plants in the future!】