After hesitating for a moment, Qi Xu contacted the Retired Magical Boy—someone trustworthy and in need of supplies.
"Can you help me sell the Primary Automatic Water Condensers? You’d handle payments and tracking. I’ll make a batch in advance and send them to you. For every sale, you’ll get a commission—all materials except cotton."
Retired Magical Boy: "No problem, haha! Thanks, boss! I feel like I’m about to strike it rich!"
Invincible Black Tornado: "Mutual benefit! [handshake]"
Qi Xu immediately went to the crafting station and produced 20 Primary Automatic Water Condensers in one go, then shipped them straight to the Retired Magical Boy.
Soon, the Retired Magical Boy was already drumming up business in the chat lobby.
Retired Magical Boy: "Hey everyone! Handsome guys and beautiful ladies who want to buy Primary Automatic Water Condensers, come to me! @Invincible Black Tornado is super busy and might not reply, so I’m handling sales for the boss. Same price as before—officially endorsed, no scams!"
Qi Xu chimed in to support.
Invincible Black Tornado: "Yep, for any questions about purchasing the condensers, contact Retired Magical Boy directly."
Player 0718: "Why can’t this kind of amazing luck land on me? Boss, I wanna help with sales too!"
Retired Magical Boy: "Hey, bro, I just got this gig and haven’t even closed a sale yet! At least give me some support. Only 10 units left today—buy early, buy smart! You can skip meals, but can you skip water? It’s the essence of life! If you’re interested, act fast!"
Qi Xu thought the Retired Magical Boy was quite persuasive but didn’t dwell on it. Just then, Chinese Master Chef sent over some freshly roasted beef jerky.
Chinese Master Chef: "Finished it yesterday, but was missing the final seasoning. Just got it now—try it! The spicy rabbit heads will come tonight."
Invincible Black Tornado: "One word: incredible! So good."
Qi Xu only ate a small piece—partly because he was full, but also because overeating wouldn’t help. It took seven straight days of consumption to trigger the +1 Strength bonus.
Not all monster meat was edible or had special effects. For example, that wild boar from before? Useless. At least two-star monsters were needed. Better to ration carefully.
Chinese Master Chef then sent over some roasted python jerky.
"Wolf Warrior gave me this. Tastes great—try some!"
Well, this was another special monster...
Between the beef and python jerky, Qi Xu had enough for almost two weeks. Different types stacked, so he sampled a piece of python jerky too.
Also delicious—rich, crispy, a treat for the taste buds.
With colder weather coming, outdoor training would soon be harder. So Qi Xu stopped glancing at the screen and focused on his workout for nearly an hour and a half. He would’ve done more sets if not for worrying about next-day soreness.
Drenched in sweat, clothes soaked, Qi Xu treated himself to a refreshing shower, instantly feeling half his fatigue melt away.
Afterward, he brewed a cup of rose tea, savoring the feeling of being fragrant from head to toe.
Sure, smelling nice was useless in a survival game, but if it lifted his mood and boosted his morale, Qi Xu considered it worth it. Plus, his body did feel much better.
As he lay in bed, ready to rest, the Retired Magical Boy sent over the materials from the 20 condensers.
Qi Xu noticed the Retired Magical Boy hadn’t taken his commission—one material per unit—so he sent a "?"
Retired Magical Boy: "Boss, I’ll start taking commissions tomorrow. I can’t take advantage of you today—I didn’t do much. Buyers just dumped materials and placed orders without me even pitching or finding customers.
Tomorrow, tomorrow’s the day! That way, I’ll earn my keep without guilt. Otherwise, I’d lose sleep over it."
Qi Xu sighed heavily. Seeing how firm the guy was, he didn’t press further. Kind, overthinkers often had it harder than the selfishly carefree—but only for a time.
Qi Xu was already thinking of long-term collaboration.
With winter approaching, selling cotton coats or green-fur sets could be delegated to the Retired Magical Boy. Trust went both ways.
And Qi Xu was truly feeling the benefits of teamwork now.
Someone responded when he spoke. Someone baited the hook, someone set the mood, and someone reliable handled the grunt work—freeing him up for other tasks.
The uniquely human bonds formed through interaction also gave Qi Xu a sense of companionship, the joy of marching forward together.
This was something he’d never experienced in past games.
As Qi Xu closed his eyes in bed, the system announcement arrived.
[Dear players, how was Day 1 of the official period? Our Zone 888 babies did great—only 67 deaths!]
Only then did Qi Xu notice the player count had dropped again... Player 1212, once active in public chat and even clashing with Qi Xu, now had a blacked-out avatar.
[Tomorrow brings another dungeon! But this one’s trickier—still one-star, but on the harder side. Gauge your strength before signing up.]
Qi Xu mentally ran through all one-star dungeons, wondering which "slightly difficult" one was coming. As a dungeon fanatic and gambling addict, he’d joined every single one so far, betting his life each time. He knew them inside out.
[Dungeon name: "Take Me Home!" Players will be randomly paired with an NPC. Successfully deliver them to the target location to clear the dungeon, and the NPC will reward you!]
[But our NPCs are... moody. When angry, they might pull a knife. If your three core stats average below 60, you’re toast.]
[Oops, said too much~ Good luck! Sign-ups close in 10 minutes. Successful applicants enter at 6 AM sharp tomorrow.]
[As for you cowards skipping this dungeon? No loot boxes until it’s over! Hmph~ I hate cowards the most.]
.........
