A huge thanks to Katy in Kofi for the kofis. Enjoy these bonus chapters!

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【Civil Engineering Brother: Should I list it right now?】

Civil Engineering Brother dropped a quick ad in the regional channel.

【Civil Engineering Brother: Hey everyone, a big shot in the game has kindly sponsored 2,000 plastic raincoats, priced at 1 emerald crystal coin each. I’ll set up a trading page shortly. Each player is limited to one purchase, and you’ll have to cover the transaction fees yourself. If you already have a raincoat, please don’t snap them all up—let those who don’t have one get a chance.】

Qiyu hadn’t had the zone chat open, but when Civil Engineering Brother spoke up, he noticed his interface flash several times. When he opened it, he saw Civil Engineering Brother’s message—it was actually glowing gold and pinned at the top of the chat channel.

Huh?

Is there a feature for that?

【Cockroach Taste Is So Weird: That’s so generous of you, big shot!】

【A Stray By The Road: 1 emerald crystal per piece? That top player is awesome!】

【Liver Emperor: The game big shot is awesome. I can finally take a break. Everyone, hurry up and buy raincoats—stop nagging me to make straw raincoats. I really can’t grind any more.】

【Irritable Brother: Hey, the raincoats people actually need are only 1 emerald crystal coin each. Ask that certain guild leader—don’t they feel ashamed?】

After posting that pinned comment, the Civil Engineering Brother listed all 2,000 raincoats in the trading section. They sold out almost instantly!

【Super Bubble Sound: I snagged it! Haha, it really only costs 1 emerald crystal coin.  Thanks,  Game Pro, and thanks, Civil Engineering Pro!】

【Hundred Demons Retrograde: Why can’t I buy it? What’s going on?】

【Civil Engineering Brother: Anyone who’s spoken ill of Gaming Master before has already been added to Gaming Master’s blacklist. I asked Gaming Master for the blacklist—since they’ve slandered him, they shouldn’t be allowed to buy our products either.】

The way he put it was practically a blatant show of taking sides.

Immediately, some people started grumbling, questioning whether it was too harsh to cut off someone’s only means of survival just because of a few offhand remarks. 

【Civil Engineering Brother: Don’t make a big deal out of it—we’re just not letting them buy stuff. Everyone’s survival is in their own hands;   we’re not responsible for that.】

【Cockroach Taste Is So Weird: I will always stand with the gaming expert!】

【Be a Good Person: Right? Even though the big shot really doesn’t like to talk in the channel, every time he sells something, it’s both essential and cheap. Take the screaming lily of the valley from before, or the raincoat the other time—wasn’t every one of those like doing charity?】

Qiyu didn’t know why the group was suddenly praising him out of the blue again.

【I Love Survival Game: I’m not doing charity—I wouldn’t do anything that loses me money. Even at 1 emerald crystal, I’m still making a profit.】It was his second time speaking up, and everyone seemed to have gotten used to it.

【Cockroach Taste Is So Weird: I get it. The game’s top player is a cold-hearted number one on the leaderboard—a cold-hearted boss who absolutely refuses to say a single kind word. He really is… I’m crying my eyes out.】

【Be a Good Person: I love it even more. Who wouldn’t want to support a leader who doesn’t spout sweet nothings but coolly sells supplies at a bargain?】

Qiyu clicked on “01 Survival Squad.”

【I Love Survival Game: Info—brocade flame feather set. Anyone need one?】

【Dare Not Open My Eyes: Awesome stuff! I want it, I want it!】

【Civil Engineering Brother: Want one +1. Game master, you really do have a magic bag, don’t you?】

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: Great stuff—how do I buy it?】

【I Love Survival Game: No need to buy anything—just give me some cotton. I already have Cashmere Flowers and brocade flame feathers.】

Dare Not Open My Eyes—every time he brews some weird potion, I’ll share it in the group. 

The same goes for “Tranquility Yields Transcendence”—whenever he crafts a weapon with decent stats, he’ll post it in the group to ask if anyone needs it.

Civil Engineering Brother is the group’s top news gatherer—he’s the one who collects almost all the regional updates. Whenever there’s something good in the deals he handles, he’ll notify the members of the small group.

According to Civil Engineering Brother, it’s a case of “tit for tat.” He could definitely afford a set of the brocade flame feather armor. He said that since there was no need to be overly polite, everyone just sent him a private message.

【Received 750 Cotton.】

Qiyu：？

He just hadn’t bought any extra cotton—yet it seemed like everyone was giving him extra large amounts, as if they thought he was short on it.

Maybe it was just a sense of friendship?

Ornaments don’t require cotton, but the brocade flame pillow needs 10 units of cotton, and the brocade flame quilt needs 20 units. For all three sets combined, it only takes a total of90 units of cotton.

He made three three-piece sets and sent them to the three people in the group. 

Then he made a set of quilt and pillows for himself and placed them on his bed. The quilt and pillows were fluffy and soft, complete with gold-flame-colored covers.

Qiyu reached out curiously and pressed down—his entire hand was swallowed up by the warm, fluffy quilt.

Was he going to sleep wrapped in such a comfortable quilt tonight? He was already starting to look forward to nightfall. 

The rest of the 01 squad were clearly equally surprised.

【Dare Not Open My Eyes: As soon as I got it, my room—which was like an ice cave—instantly warmed up.】

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: This comforter is so light—it holds the warmth, just like hugging a soft, cozy little heater.】 2 Shang was pretty direct:

【Civil Engineering Brother: Gaming pro, are you selling these?】

【I Love Survival Game: If I have enough cotton, I can sell 95 sets.】

He bought a total of 100 sets in Gold Hole City, and he already had the materials for one set.

He set aside two extra sets for himself, and the rest could be sold. 

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: How much cotton are you short? I still have some left.】

【Dare Not Open My Eyes: I have some too. I was originally planning to make a cotton quilt, but this quilt is way better than a cotton one.】

Qiyu tallied up the cotton he already had, plus what had just been shared in the group chat. To make all 95 sets, he was still 2,000 units short.

【I Love Survival Game: My original idea was that if they have their own cotton, they could bring it to me to trade. I’d give them a slightly lower price.】

He could buy enough cotton in Gold Hole City, but while there’s a low chance of obtaining other types of supplies from the brocade flame feather seeds, cotton is a resource that can be harvested from all of them. Having grown accustomed to bartering in the post-apocalyptic world, Qiyu naturally hoped to make use of everything else as well.

【Civil Engineering Brother: I don’t know the exact value of the brocade flame feather or the cashmere flowers, but they’re clearly mutant creatures or magically mutated plants. For top-tier players—the three-piece brocade flame feather set has a different target audience than raincoats, so it’s probably aimed at players near the top of the leaderboard. If you want to keep things simple, it’s easier to just craft them into finished items and sell them.】

【Civil Engineering Brother: Big shot, what price are you planning to sell them for?】

【I Love Survival Game: 20 emerald crystals.】

【Civil Engineering Brother:? 】

【Dare Not Open My Eyes: ?】

Even “Tranquility Yields Transcendence” couldn’t help but say:

【Kid, I know you mean well, but in a survival game like this, you really need to look out for yourself more.】

20 emerald crystal coins—that’s 200 units of wood. Never mind the top-ranked players; even among ordinary players who’ve survived this far, who couldn’t come up with that?

And it’s not just a single item—it’s a set that includes a thermal blanket, a pillow, and a decorative piece, all with special effects. Even Jesus himself would have to praise the Holy Father.

Qiyu realized what they had misunderstood. 

He explained:【I don’t even know those players—I wasn’t doing charity.】

The cost of one set is 8 gold coins. 

And 1 emerald crystal in Gold Hole City can be exchanged for 5 gold coins. By that calculation, it’s already a profit of more than ten times the cost. 

He gave a general overview, without mentioning Gold Hole City; he just said he had special channels through which he could buy the materials, and that the cost of these items wasn’t very high.

Tranquility Yields Transcendence: 【Kid, let me ask you a few questions. Is this “source” you mentioned something anyone can have?】 

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: Was it easy for you to gain access to this source?】

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: Once you know about this source, would it be easy to replicate?】

Qiyu thought it over. First, he’d need a drifting bottle. Then, a drifting bottle had just posted a commission, and the address for the commission was the Black Rock Mountain Range. Coincidentally, just outside the Black Rock Mountain Range lay Gold Hole City.

Plus, he had a high-level storage backpack filled with plenty of wood and mutated plants—items that could fetch a lot of gold coins, so he wasn’t short on money. As a certified mage, he’d received a substantial salary. 

Taking all this into account, he fell silent. 

To be honest, even if he were to do it all over again, he wasn’t sure he could replicate this outcome.

After all, the drifting bottle seemed unpredictable—the first time, it had brought him a good friend. If he tried again, it might not necessarily bring him a quest in the Black Rock Mountain Range.

And judging by the map he’d unlocked, a vast, endless gray zone lay between the Black Rock Mountain Range and the Star Forest. If it weren’t for the wilderness wagon provided by the quest, he wouldn’t even be able to make it out of the Star Forest on his own right now.

【I Love Survival Game: As far as I know, no one else has managed to do this yet. Even I might not be able to replicate it.】

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: So, you’re only considering the pure value of the items, but you’re forgetting all the other factors.】

【Civil Engineering Brother: That’s right. As a top player, if you sell your items a little cheaper than others, people will be impressed. But if you set the price too low, many will just assume the items aren’t worth much to begin with, rather than thinking you’re offering a discount.】

Tranquility Yields Transcendence and Civil Engineering Brother practically broke things down piece by piece to teach him carefully. 

They vaguely guessed that Qiyu probably wasn’t very old.

After spending more time with him, they realized that beneath the “aloof top-ranked student” facade lay a soul completely naive about the ways of the world. 

The members of the survival squad tacitly agreed not to mention a single thing, and each secretly resolved not only to refrain from asking but also to keep it hidden for Qiyu’s sake.

They didn’t want anyone to use it as a pretext to morally blackmail him. 

Qiyu was completely unaware of their thoughts; if he had known, he would certainly have strongly objected.

His naivety wasn’t due to innocence or kindness; it was purely because, in his previous life, his kind were too busy simply surviving to have time to learn the ways of the world. 

He might not be the most skilled at it, but when it came to tactics for dealing with mutated creatures and enemies, Earth certainly couldn’t hold a candle to him. 

So why on earth do they think he’ll come out at a disadvantage?