Following the player SUN to her home, Shen Jiali discovered it was merely a half-built glass small villa. The roof wasn’t even sealed yet, and furniture was sparse, making it look exceedingly empty.
In this game, players needed to go into the forest to chop wood and quarry stone, then use machines to generate wooden boards, and finally use the required quantity of wooden boards to craft various furniture items. Special materials like glass required fighting monsters to acquire blueprints and formulas before they could be synthesized.
In short, it was extremely troublesome.
[SUN: I used to co-habit with my in-game partner and lived in his house, so my own house is only half-finished.]
Outside the screen, Shen Jiali responded with a brainwave: Oh.
[SUN: By the way, do you have a partner?]
[Iron Bull Chrysanthemum: In-game? Real life?]
[SUN: Real life, of course. Aren’t you a new player?]
Shen Jiali pondered for a moment. Did Nan Liujing count? No, he was the original host’s husband.
[Iron Bull Chrysanthemum: None]
[SUN: ……Hmph]
Shen Jiali: ?
This “hmph” sounded somewhat like sarcasm?
Player SUN said nothing more, merely stating she was going to check the trading market to see if any guilds were recruiting, leaving Iron Bull Chrysanthemum standing in a daze before the half-built villa.
Whatever posture Iron Bull Chrysanthemum was in when SUN left was the exact posture he maintained when she returned.
Shen Jiali in front of the screen had waited until the end of time, and unable to withstand the creeping waves of sleepiness, slumped over the desk and fell asleep.
Followed by a bombardment of messages from SUN:
[Back, found a guild, moving now.]
[Speak.]
[Still there?]
[Shen Jiali?]
After Shen Jiali’s name popped up, it was frantically unsent a second later.
By this time, Shen Jiali finally jolted awake from the barrage of notification sounds.
Subsequently, Shen Jiali followed SUN to join a guild named “A Wood, Three Blossoms.” This guild had taken a fancy to SUN’s level-90 status and her set of expensive skins, which was why they reluctantly agreed to let her bring along Shen Jiali, a completely clueless little rookie.
As the top-ranked guild in the game, its large roster of three hundred members featured over half sitting above level 90; virtually all of the full-level players in the entire game resided here.
The heavy-liver, heavy-spender high-level players, decked out in exaggeratedly ornate skins, stood at the entrance of the municipal hall setting off fireworks to welcome the newcomers.
Amidst the lively atmosphere, Shen Jiali’s Iron Bull Chrysanthemum stood in the middle of the extravagance wearing his big tank top and flip-flops, motionless like a complete dullard.
In truth, Shen Jiali in front of the screen was already closing his eyes, his head nodding up and down like a pecking chick.
He couldn’t hold on any longer; it was 1 AM.
At that moment, the guild leader, clad in golden battle robes, walked up to Iron Bull Chrysanthemum, and a prompt box popped up:
[Guild Leader “Muyan” (暮煙) has sent you fireworks. Do you accept?]
The chat box below was extremely lively as well:
[Yiyi: Wow! Leader-gege is sending fireworks to the newcomer! A historically epic scene worthy of the record books!]
[Battle a Blossom: Hurry up and accept, newbie! Guild Leader-d大人 rarely shows up to welcome newcomers—your family’s ancestral graves must be smoking green smoke!]
[Share: Wuwuwu, the leader never sent me fireworks; is it because I didn’t deserve it joining at level 80!]
[Alder: Guild Leader Muyan is a super mysterious legendary figure! It only took him half a year to grind to full level, kick out the original leader, and seize power to become master of the house himself. So hurry up and accept, don’t be ungrateful.]
Dazed and half-asleep, Shen Jiali didn’t even read the words popping up on the panel, casually clicking one.
[Do you accept? No √]
Everyone in the guild: !
How is a newbie putting on airs? How dare he refuse the guild leader’s gift? Might as well kick him out straight away.
However, the leader didn’t seem angry, sending another gift request.
This time, the gift was a necklace: “Heart of Eternity.”
This time, Shen Jiali still dazedly and casually clicked one.
[Do you accept? Yes √]
The members couldn’t sit still anymore.
The necklace “Heart of Eternity” could only be synthesized by reaching full level, opening the highest-level map, and fighting the strongest zombie for three days and three nights to defeat it before harvesting its heart-apex blood.
How many people had never even laid eyes on this thing, alright!
Besides, money obtained through item trading in the market within this game could be cashed out! A single Heart of Eternity had a clear market price of 12,000. What on earth was so extraordinary about this black brute in the big tank top that made the leader favor him so much?
Resting his chin on the desk, Shen Jiali fought off drowsiness to express his gratitude, but the moment his hands typed out a single “X”, his eyes slowly fluttered shut…
Everyone watched as Iron Bull Chrysanthemum accepted 12,000 worth of items without even letting out a fart, clamoring for the leader to kick Shen Jiali out of the guild.
The next moment, a system prompt announced that Guild Leader “Muyan” had left the room.
It was getting late, and feeling the whole thing was rather pointless, everyone scattered from the municipal hall and returned to their respective homes one after another.
Only SUN and Iron Bull Chrysanthemum remained in the massive plaza, a pink Heart of Eternity hanging around his thick, dark neck as he stood there blankly.
SUN stood beside Iron Bull Chrysanthemum for a long time. Once the plaza emptied out completely, she suddenly clicked on the Heart of Eternity around Iron Bull Chrysanthemum’s neck, instantly pulling up the item details panel on screen, showing the necklace’s manufacturing method, selling price, and everything else in full detail.
Pondering for a moment, SUN suddenly left the plaza and boarded the plane.
The next day.
When Shen Jiali opened his eyes, a sharp ache throbbed in his jaw.
He had slept the entire night with his chin resting right on the edge of the desk.
At the dining table, Nan Liujing had a financial magazine spread out beside him as he slowly picked up his cup and took a sip of coffee.
Uncle Li stood off to the side, lowering his voice to ask: “Young Master, did you not sleep well last night? I notice faint dark circles under your eyes. Do you need me to change your pillow and bedding?”
“No need.” Nan Liujing sipped his coffee, his gaze shifting toward Shen Jiali across the table.
With one hand propping his cheek and his body leaning sideways, he looked thoroughly sleep-deprived, his eyes still peacefully closed.
His chin was flushed red, and one could easily imagine the posture he must have slept in last night.
Nan Liujing withdrew his gaze back to the financial magazine, casually turning the page and murmuring low: “Shen Jiali, what level is my account at now?”
Still keeping his eyes closed, Shen Jiali rasped out: “Level one.”
“It started at level one, and after a whole night, it’s still level one,” Nan Liujing sneered coldly.
“That’s because I’m not just a domestic liability; I’m also an absolute gaming idiot,” Shen Jiali said with utter nonchalance, once again candidly confessing the fact that he was completely useless.
To level up in the early stages as a new player, one needed to go into the forest to chop wood, quarry stone, and beat small monsters. Shen Jiali seemed to have done nothing all night except stand there in a daze.
Uncle Li helped Nan Liujing adjust his suit and get him ready to leave for the company. Before heading out, Nan Liujing didn’t forget to drop a reminder: “Don’t forget, level sixty. Work hard at home by yourself today.”
With that, he walked out the door without looking back.
Shen Jiali finally opened his eyes and carefully inspected the dining table, only to discover a plate of assorted fruit neatly arranged like a piece of art placed right on the table.
He slowly picked up a blueberry, rolling it on his fingertips and lifting it above his head.
It felt somewhat strangely and unreasonably bizarre.
Yet he couldn’t quite pinpoint what was bizarre about it.
Perhaps because the fruit platter looked too pretty, Shen Jiali made the rare exception of eating half the plate, then went upstairs to begin his leveling journey.
Pound-hammering trees in the forest with his fists like a dullard for half a day, on his return trip boarding the plane, because a prompt warned his inventory was overloaded, he needed to temporarily drop a portion of the timber and retrieve it on the next run.
Shen Jiali brought a fraction of the wood back to SUN’s place and just opened the map
Where was he supposed to go again, and what was he doing?
Tch, forgot.
Whatever, Iron Bull Chrysanthemum had worked hard too; time for a quick nap.
He’d take a nap along with him.
Just as he rushed back in front of the unfinished small villa, he saw a man draped in an exaggerated battle robe standing at the entrance. Above his head hovered the player nickname “Muyan,” accompanied by a glittering ID badge prefixing his name with the two characters: “Guild Leader.”
[Muyan: Iron Bull Chrysanthemum, do you have time right now?]
[Iron Bull Chrysanthemum: No.]
[Muyan: I’ll take you to do guild quests; leveling is faster that way.]
[Iron Bull Chrysanthemum: ……]
He already said he didn’t have time. Did people in the fictional book world all possess a setting where they just talked to themselves?
The next second, a streak of golden light flashed across the screen, and a cool older-sister character stepped out from the golden light, followed by an immediate system prompt in the dialog box: [Player “SUN” is online.]
Looking at the level displayed in front of SUN’s nickname, Shen Jiali fell into deep thought.
Last night she was level 90, and now she had reached level 94. Word had it that the higher the level, the slower the progression—where on earth had SUN run off to go wildly grinding while he was AFK?
Amidst his musings, several golden server-wide announcements flashed across the dialog box:
[Trading Market: Item “Consalez’s Eye” has been sold for 9800$]
[Trading Market: Outfit “Osmanthus Wine and Fine Tea” has been sold for 1999$]
[Toxic Swamp: The full-level zombie has been defeated, dropping heart-apex blood and the Demon’s Eye.]
At this moment, Guild Leader Muyan suddenly turned to face SUN, gazing at her in silence without uttering a word.
Until Shen Jiali spoke up, interrupting their affectionate mutual gaze.
[Iron Bull Chrysanthemum: How do you do the quests? I don’t know how.]
[Muyan: Follow me. SUN, are you doing quests together too?]
SUN didn’t speak, simply following Muyan and Iron Bull Chrysanthemum to the notice board at the municipal hall to pick up the daily quests.
The first quest was very simple: patrol near the guild and promptly clean up any eyes planted by other guilds, because rival guilds used planted eyes to judge when a guild’s alertness was lowest, seizing the opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop.
The second quest:
[Yueyue City: A heavy rain is approaching at 10:05. During the heavy rain, gathering redwood will offer a chance to obtain rare minerals.]
At this moment, a prompt suddenly popped up on the panel: [Guild Leader “Muyan” has sent you a Stoner SR25 sniper rifle. Do you accept?]
[Muyan: Take it, Yueyue City is dangerous.]
Shen Jiali obediently accepted the sniper rifle.
While picking up the quest, they happened to run into several other members. The group formed an eight-man team and embarked on their patrol route.
[Share: Don’t both newcomers need to go to work or school? Today is a workday, right.]
Shen Jiali didn’t speak; SUN said she was a freelancer.
They guessed that other players online at this hour were either college students, homebodies, or freelancers.
Of course, there was also the possibility of people slacking off at work.
The environmental design and creation of this game’s background were executed with immense care. Strolling across peaceful and warm grassy slopes felt immersive, and one could faintly hear the pleasant chirping of birds.
A row of neat tombs was situated on the mountain behind the guild, featuring varying tombstone styles with player nicknames displayed above them.
[Muyan: Returning players’ accounts aren’t recycled; they are all buried here, waiting for the day they return to the game to restart their accounts.]
Shen Jiali, who had originally lacked interest, gradually widened his eyes upon seeing this cluster of graves.
Even as a graveyard, these uniquely styled tombstones surrounded by warm-toned vegetation looked like a picturesque scenery from afar.
Clicking on the tombstones allowed one to read the amusing epitaphs left behind by players:
“Accidentally kicked the bucket, let’s start over! Not starting over anymore, the human world is so tiring.”
“Tell mom I love her very much; in the next life, I still want to be mom’s child.”
“Hey buddy, step back a bit you’re stepping on my eye.”
According to Muyan, the shapes and materials of these tombstones were personally designed by players over several consecutive days of heavy grinding before quitting the game, and some materials were so expensive they could only be bought with cash in the trading market.
Shen Jiali, stare—
Just imagining the scene: a player shutting themselves inside a room, guarding the machine while listening to the rhythm of its operational sounds, waiting to complete their own garden of life’s latter half this picture was simply heartwarming to the extreme and irresistibly alluring.
Want.
Intertwined among the trees, a string of small purple flowers hung from a branch, sparkling brightly.
Muyan suddenly pulled a stone axe from his inventory, hacking frantically away at a tree. The tree fell, and a prompt popped up:
[Acquired Guild Leader Exclusive Rendezvous of Wind Chimes]
At this point, a message suddenly popped up on Shen Jiali’s panel: [Guild Leader “Muyan” has sent you rare wind chimes. Do you accept?]
Shen Jiali: [No √]
Please stop sending things; he didn’t like owing people favors.
He had assumed the other party would understand if he refused, but the next moment: [Player SUN has sent you “Consalez’s Eye”, do you accept?]
Shen Jiali: ?
[Guild Leader “Muyan” has sent you Roman stone pillar blueprint recipes, do you accept?]
[Player SUN has sent you “Osmanthus Wine and Fine Tea” outfit, do you accept?]
Shen Jiali: ???
He had seen people comparing shoes, grades, and family backgrounds, but this was his first time seeing people competing to send gifts. Was it because he had been out of touch with society for too long? Why couldn’t he understand current pop trends at all?
He clicked “No” to the whole lot in one go, and Shen Jiali couldn’t help saying: [Stop sending them, I don’t like it.]
He truly had no interest in these props; accepting them would only leave them gathering dust in his storage cabinet.
If they really wanted to send something, build him a luxury graveyard instead.
At this moment, at the headquarters of Huanhai Electronics Group.
Secretary Yan gently knocked on Nan Liujing’s office door, and it was a long time before a “Come in” sounded from within.
Pushing the door open, she saw her CEO Nan sitting in front of his computer with a blank stare, dark circles under his eyes, and faint crimson bloodshot webs creeping through his eyeballs—obviously the portrait of severe sleep deprivation.
“President Nan, this is the feedback document from Mitsuba Trading, please review it.” Secretary Yan respectfully handed over the file.
In the past, Nan Liujing would personally take the documents and review them; all major and minor company matters had always been personally inspected by him, with no second person handling them besides his secretary.
This time, however, his gaze remained fixed on the computer as he spoke in a low voice: “Put it there, I’ll look at it later.”
Secretary Yan secretly sized him up twice, nodded, and retreated from the office.
As soon as she stepped outside, she immediately found the other secretary in charge of reception and asked with deep worry: “Did something happen to the company recently?”
The other secretary was puzzled: “Why ask that?”
Secretary Yan pondered for a moment and let out a long sigh: “Because President Nan’s face is terrifying. I don’t know what he was looking at on the computer, but it felt like the next second he was going to tear whatever was inside to pieces and devour it.”
As she spoke, she couldn’t help shivering involuntarily.