Server 01 Regional Channel. 

【Cockroach Taste Is So Weird: It’s starting, it’s starting—that guy is at it again. Guys, guess how many points the gaming god will rack up before he stops this time?】 

【Liver Emperor: Holy crap, look at how fast those points are rising. Has some kind of slaughter mode been activated? How am I supposed to know when a survival game releases a new mode?】

【Traveler in the Misty Rain of Jiangnan: Maybe it’s a “massacre mode” created just for the Gaming Expert. (Lighting a cigarette.jpg)】 

【A Stray By The Road: A reasonable guess is that it’s in the diamond chest from upgrading to a Level 3 Shelter. You must have gotten some powerful gear or item,  which is why the kill rate would have skyrocketed.】

【Twilight Morning Song: That makes sense, I guess… But even if you got the most powerful item,   you’d still need that many Swifts to kill.】

【Traveler in the Misty Rain of Jiangnan: I’d like to know too. I’ve practically filled my territory with items and potions to attract mutated creatures. Since I can’t go out hunting at night, I have to wait for the Swifts to come to me. Has some top player in the game grown some kind of mutated plant specifically for Swifts?】

The numbers on the leaderboard now fluctuate with every refresh—it’s nothing short of “terrifying.” 

Some of the snide remarks that were still floating around during the day have now completely vanished.

Especially those who had been using the excuse “it’s just a lifestyle class” to save face—it seems they’ve finally realized one thing: So what if someone plays a lifestyle class? When I attack them, will they be any harder to kill than hundreds of thousands of Swifts? 

At night, they can’t go hunt Swifts in the Star Forest, and everyone can stay safe in the shelter.

There are tens of thousands of players in the entire regional channel, and right now, their biggest source of entertainment is staring at the leaderboard to see how fast the top player’s score is rising—and wondering when it might finally slow down.

As one of the top players on the leaderboard put it:

【Whether it’s a potion or some special item effect,  it can’t possibly last forever, right?】

【Even if the effect lasts forever, the top player is only human—he’s bound to get tired, right?】

Qiyu really is human.

But his energy tower was not.

However, the energy tower has one major drawback: it burns through magic crystals. 

Of the 11,900 Level 1 magic crystals he mined from the magic crystal vein in the resource zone, he sold 10,000 to buy those ridiculously expensive Three Books.

After using the remaining Level 1 Magic Crystals to fully charge the 200 energy towers in his territory, the supply was practically depleted. A single energy tower at full charge can launch 100 attacks.

Having just finished roughly organizing his territory, he thought to myself that he was a farmer who could finally take a break. Watching the points pour into his territory in a never-ending stream, he gripped his staff tightly.

Oh well, his mana can be restored. But the energy in the energy towers depletes with every use.

Conclusion: It seems I’m the one who can actually save money.

Moreover, from another perspective, it would be a waste to let the “Inspiration” status that the screaming lily of the valley had cast on himself go to waste.

Having convinced himself of this, Qiyu swung his staff and promptly killed the new wave of swifts as they entered the energy tower’s range.

After killing them for a while, Qiyu belatedly realized: As a self-sufficient lord, am I, in a way, no different from the demon vine? 

The good news was that although swifts were mutated magical creatures born during the rainy season, they were essentially living beings of flesh and blood. But just as in the Black Ancient Forest back then, once they became living beings, they were capable of experiencing the emotion of “fear.”

Upon realizing that this mysterious and alluring domain was littered with the “corpses” of countless of their own kind, the Swift’s relentless assault finally came to a halt.

Qiyu breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at the demon vines swirling in a concentrated area.

The blood-red main vine had grown as thick as an adult’s arm, its color as deep and crimson as blood; the thorns on the vine were sharper than knife blades, glinting with a chilling, menacing light.

From the main vine, countless tendrils—like tentacles possessed of a will of their own—were flailing excitedly, having finally had their fill. 

It had grown so much tonight.

At this point, the demon vine finally looked a bit more like a “demon.”

Qiyu felt a mix of emotions as he quietly turned his head to look at it: the demon vine’s appearance also reminded him of some of the mutated plants from the apocalypse.

Fortunately, after the demon vine had enjoyed itself for a while, it realized no new “swifts” were coming. With no more food in sight, it stood down from combat mode.

The vines retracted rapidly; the thick tendrils instantly became slender, the spikes retreated into the stem, and the blade-like leaves transformed into plump, cute shapes……

Like a breathtaking magic trick, Qiyu watched in disbelief as the vine—which had been wreaking havoc just moments ago—became weak, pitiful, and helpless in less than half a minute. 

In comparison, its lush green leaves and pure white flowers seemed to be trembling in the face of a raging storm, as if their spirit had been crushed, scattering into the mud. 

Qiyu:……

Truly breathtaking. 

He opened the survival panel and was startled by his score.

1st Place: I Love Survival Game, 244,688 points.

2nd Place: Reaching for the Moon in the Heavens, 56,331 points.

3rd Place: My Fate Is Determined by Me, Not by Heaven, 40,001 points.

He remembered the last time he checked the leaderboard was right after he returned to the shelter; at that time, he had over 160,000 points. Later, upgrading the shelter took up a few hours. 

So, during this evening—what time was it?

When Qiyu finally glanced at the interface, he realized it was already past midnight.

He felt weak and limp at the moment, but perhaps because he’d consumed several rounds of the screaming lily of the valley’s encouragement, his spirits were actually quite high. 

After collecting all the loot from the territory and confirming that the Swifts wouldn’t launch another large-scale attack for the time being, he slowly made his way back to the treehouse.

He took a hot shower and put on the new four-piece set he’d opened from the treasure chest.

The newly acquired four-piece set was light green, embroidered with familiar botanical patterns that perfectly complemented the style of the treehouse. 

Qiyu also brought out the embroidered carpet.

It was a huge white rug—when spread out on the floor, it almost completely covered the entire bedroom floor. 

Qiyu took off his shoes and tentatively stepped onto it. The plush, soft texture made it feel as though the entire bedroom floor had turned into a second bed. He sat down, intrigued, and found it felt just a little more comfortable than sitting in a chair.

Sitting cross-legged like this, leaning against the bed, he began sorting through the supplies in his backpack while also checking the messages on his survival panel. Right now, inside his backpack, there was a total of Swiftlet Meat x 103,000 and Swiftlet Feathers x 110,000.

Qiyu had noticed before that when killing Level 1 Swifts, the drop ratio of Swift Meat to Swift Feathers was close to 2:1.

The difference in loot between Level 2 Swifts and Level 1 Swifts seems to correspond to the levels of Beast Crystals.

Aside from these two materials, the more valuable Beast Crystals were at 36,032 for Level 1 and 2,650 for Level 2.

The drop rate for Beast Crystals from killing Swifts is approximately 5:1.

Each Level 1 Swift yields 1 point, and each Level 2 Swift yields 5 points.

In other words, those 240,000 points likely came from about 180,000 Level 1 Swifts and just over 10,000 Level 2 Swifts. After doing the math himself, Qiyu was taken aback by the numbers.

No wonder the Star Forest had seen almost no trace of other mutated creatures lately.

Such a massive number—and that was just what he had killed on his own; there were so many other players on the leaderboard as well.

Even though Swifts are generally high-level and have strong attack power, encountering these mutated creatures in the forest—even if they outnumbered him—could still wear an opponent down to death.

However, aside from encountering a Swallow Commander near the Black Ancient Tree the first time, Qiyu hadn’t come across another one in the past two days. Logically speaking, with such a large population, there should be higher-level Swallow Commanders appearing from time to time.

Qiyu pondered for a moment. Perhaps it was because of the event—to accommodate the other players in the area? Had the Swallow’s entry been restricted? 

He casually opened the Points Store.

After purchasing a Level 3 Shelter blueprint, he now has over 120,000 points left. 

Originally, aside from the shelter blueprint, farmland was his top priority.

But now that he’s unlocked the “Farmer’s Domain” skill, he can save those points.

The remaining items—basic building upgrade blueprints, basic plant seed packs, and random furniture mystery boxes—all seemed quite appealing.

Qiyu bought one of each item that caught his interest. 

【Obtained 1 basic building upgrade blueprint, 1 basic plant seed pack, 1 random furniture mystery box, and 1 basic food mystery box.】

The most expensive item, the basic building upgrade blueprint, costs 1,000 points; the Seed Pack costs 500 points; and both the Furniture Mystery Box and Food Mystery Box cost 50 points each. A total of 1,600 points were spent. 

First, open the Basic Plant Seed Pack.

【Obtained one pack of common sunflower seeds and one pack of common soybean seeds. Obtained one pack of moonlight grass seeds.】

【Sunflower Seeds: Planting these yields a Common Sunflower.】  

 【Soybean Seeds: Planting these yields a Common Soybean.】 

【Moonlight Grass Seeds: Plant these to grow the magical plant Moonlight Grass. Moonlight Grass is a magical plant that emits a silvery-white glow; long-term cultivation improves soil quality. It has high economic value and is commonly grown as an ornamental plant in major cities.】

Qiyu’s eyes lit up. This gift pack might seem useless to others, but to him, it was nothing short of a treasure. He bought another pack.

【Obtained one pack of common strawberry seeds and one pack of common cherry seeds. Obtained one pack of honey crystal flower seeds.】

【Strawberry Seeds: Plant to grow a common strawberry plant.】

【Cherry Seeds: Plant to grow a common cherry plant.】

No need to mention the honey crystal flower—Qiyu already has a field of them in his territory.

So this Basic Plant Seed Pack must always contain two types of common plants and one type of magical plant. No wonder it sells for 500 points. 

After stowing the seeds in his backpack, Qiyu opened the furniture mystery box.

【Obtained Floor Lamp x1; style can be selected.】

What is this?

Qiyu looked at the long list of terms on the survival panel—including “Princess Style,” “Forest Style,” “Anime,” and so on—and, after careful consideration, selected “Minimalist.” 

An object about as tall as he was appeared out of thin air.

It resembled a pillar, topped with a pale yellow, gauze-made oval lampshade, and indicated it could be connected to a Shelter Energy Card for use.

Qiyu found the switch. Click.

Soft light streamed down from above.

Qiyu figured out how to use it all on his own: now he could sit under the lamp and read his magic book. What a great find.

Next, he opened the beginner’s food mystery box.

【Obtained Braised Beef Instant Noodles x1, Pickled Cabbage and Beef Instant Noodles x1, Spicy Beef Jerky x1, Potato Chips x2, Chilled Carbonated Drinks x2.】

A pile of colorful items appeared before him.

Qiyu cradled the pile of food in his arms and examined it for a moment; it all looked delicious. Oh, it finally dawned on him—he hadn’t had dinner yet today.

He thought for a moment, opened the survival panel, and tapped on his dining companion. 

【I Love Survival Game: …】 Wondering if God Has No Form was asleep yet.

【God Has No Form: Have you finally finished inspecting the new territory, Lord?】 

【I Love Survival Game: You’re still awake? Come on, let me treat you to something delicious.】 

【I Love Survival Game: (pic) (pic) (pic)】

【God Has No Form: Wow, ice-cold soda! Instant noodles! I’ll have the pickled cabbage and beef flavor!】

Qiyu generously sent over a bottle of ice-cold soda and a pack of pickled cabbage and beef instant noodles, along with a free box of potato chips. God Has No Form immediately sent a communication orb request.

Qiyu accepted the call.

He heard a “pop.” 

Dan Xingyu’s cheerful voice drifted over: “Half a month ago, I never would have imagined that one day I’d be staying up all night eating junk food in a survival game.”