Bonfire Party, a Lively Mountain Villa

Ning Zheng watched the scene of over a hundred people dancing with their hands and feet like it was a bonfire party, and merely shook his head.

Creatures had different taste buds. To them, even dirt tasted delicious.

If he took a bite of dirt, he really would throw up.

Besides, how could it be the best food they had ever eaten?

They had merely been hungry for too long, so whatever they ate felt like the most delicious thing in the world.

Hunger was the best seasoning.

Ning Zheng was actually rather envious of them. Unlike him, who had to painstakingly find meat to eat, fish for River Monsters, and replenish his flesh to cultivate.

After getting up and making a round to inspect the whole Mountain Villa, Ning Zheng prepared to head down the mountain.

He was not worried that this group of little Blacksmiths would go down the mountain and blunder into those Spirit Manors to their deaths.

The Mountain Villa had a maze formation. Back then, Ning Zheng had only reached the Spirit Manor below after getting out of the maze formation with extraordinarily "good luck."

When Ning Zheng returned after his round, he found that they had already eaten and drunk their fill. Every one of them had a round, bulging belly stuffed with Goddess Soil, and they were preparing to stay up all night and keep working. They were quite diligent.

But they did not know.

There was no specific work for the latter half of the night.

Ning Zheng planned to order them to "log off" and sleep. After all, one could not play games through the night.

Since each person could only gain -2 Luck Value per day, playing for an hour was no different from playing all day. Naturally, he should let them log off early.

And besides.

He intended to observe them for a while first.

He always felt that these people had just arrived, and their emotions seemed rather unstable.

If he did not keep an eye on them, who knew what they would do at night while working the night shift in the Mountain Villa after he went home?

It was not that he was judging gentlemen by the measure of a petty man. He had secretly observed them for a while and discovered that they were born with imposing brows and prominent horns. The moment some of them came in, their mouths were full of, "A true man is born between heaven and earth—how can he..."

Fortunately, he had prepared for this long ago. He had moved all the good things from the Mountain Villa back home, including the tens of thousands of Magic Coins that had been stored there. Ning Zheng was now wealthy enough to make even some great cultivators green with envy.

And these people were secretly rummaging through the ruins under the pretext of rebuilding the dormitories, turning over boxes and chests with practiced ease as they searched for treasure chests.

They had peeled back several layers of ground, yet still took endless delight in it.

With that barren look where not even a blade of grass could grow, they would secretly hide little ornaments, stray Magic Coins, daggers, and awls from time to time, frantically stuffing them into their crotches while darting shifty-eyed glances everywhere. They were far more perverse than those demons and strange monsters.

Although those things were not valuable, worth less than a hundred Magic Coins at most, they still made Ning Zheng begin to wonder what exactly had happened to that world.

Only a little over twenty years had passed. The world before he transmigrated had likely undergone a terrifying resurgence as well.

He was quite interested in secretly continuing to observe them and seeing which kind of monster from the Classic of Mountains and Seas they were.

Unease spread through his heart.

He was somewhat worried about their mental state.

At seven o'clock, everyone would be forced to clock out and sleep.

Ning Zheng had already prepared a game announcement and sent it to everyone through Xiao Ai.

After all, through Xiao Ai, he had already learned how to issue simple announcements in the name of the production team.

As Ning Zheng left the Mountain Villa, he heard them splitting into several groups and chatting everywhere.

"Logging off at seven during the closed beta? We've only played for eleven hours. Are they looking down on us immortal-cultivation fanatics?"

"Exactly, exactly. We haven't experienced so much yet."

"Let's talk about it when we log in tomorrow. For now, let's find somewhere to sleep."

Everyone was physically exhausted, but mentally exhilarated, chattering noisily.

Some even lit bonfires and gathered around them to sing, chat, and arrange blind dates. They said it felt like being utterly exhausted after a day of military training at school, then gathering together to sing and put on performances.

"Have some. This smells incredibly good when roasted, kind of like gluten." A boy sat before the bonfire, wrapping a lump of mud around an iron rod and roasting it until it gleamed golden.

It seemed that some people had begun developing other food systems as well, such as something called Mud Chicken.

There was also the Secret Dark Crab King Burger, stuffed with wriggling earthworms, weeds, and stones.

Others held earthen bowls of soup, saying it was called a Giant Chocolate Egg Tart. They claimed that gulping down the chocolate bowl and soup in one mouthful was incredibly delicious.

When they saw Ning Zheng passing by, they even warmly called out to him by the bonfire.

"Steward, come have a taste!"

"Yeah, come tell us country bumpkins who have never seen the world about interesting tales and local customs from different places. Let us broaden our horizons."

"Yeah, we're not afraid of hardship. We can stay up and work."

They were remarkably warm and hospitable, generous and forthright.

Ning Zheng smiled and refused, saying that no matter how hard his life became, he would not eat dirt.

But just watching them really did make him hungry.

These past years had been truly frugal. Having food to fill his stomach was already good enough—how could he have the mind to fuss over all kinds of varieties?

Elsewhere.

Jiu Cai Rong was making plans with several assistants.

They were observing everything around them, writing and drawing, their faces filled with fighting spirit and longing for the future.

"In the future, we need to mark out a food area for gathering ingredients, then assign a group of professional cafeteria cooks. After all, blacksmithing is exhausting."

"Right, mark out a food area so they do not eat, drink, piss, and shit everywhere, only for us to unknowingly gather materials from that spot."

"Hmph, what a waste of food. There's such a huge Food Mountain made of chocolate, salad, cake, and mustard, yet we're stepping all over it, getting it filthy and constantly wasting food."

"Of course, this extraordinary world may have extraordinary ingredients, extraordinary dirt, and extraordinary metals. They might taste even better. We can pay special attention when we dig tunnels."

"Yeah, isn't this like Gold Miner and Treasure Hunter—digging out higher-level food areas? That sounds way too fun."

Ning Zheng could only laugh helplessly as he listened, then continued onward.

He then saw someone crouching in the corner of a half-finished stone dormitory, pulling others over as though she were conducting some small business.

It seemed to be the rather popular Su Yu Niang.

"Ladies, the dormitory isn't finished today! How are we supposed to sleep tonight?"

She held up a little stool dug into an O shape.

"I recommend my Simple Toilet Stool. Sit on it and enjoy a squatting-style sleep. When you log in tomorrow, you'll wake up clean and fresh. Otherwise, tomorrow's weather forecast will definitely call for localized heavy rain."

"It's not that a Hanging Iron Bed is unaffordable—it's that a Hollowed Toilet gives you better value for money."

The woman being pitched to stared in shock.

Su Yu Niang said, "Sister, you don't want tomorrow's weather forecast to come true either, do you?"

A moment later, she successfully made the sale. Su Yu Niang happily clutched the Magic Coin in her hand.

How could a little game possibly stump me?

Like Jiu Cai Rong, I've found a game strategy too.

This is the essence of a Blacksmith: forging and design. He made a splash by designing dormitories, while I made a small profit by designing stools. We both have bright futures ahead.

It just goes to show that human wisdom is boundless.

All manner of monsters and demons were showing off their abilities.

Those who did not understand were still gathered around the bonfire eating dirt, while those who did already started making money.

Ning Zheng passed through these little groups of monsters and demons. "Looks like they're highly adaptable. They'll make their own lives work. There's absolutely no need to worry."

"But this bustling atmosphere of laughter and joy."

"It's wonderful."

After locking the Mountain Villa's gate, the laughter and cheerful voices behind him gradually faded away. The night, mixed with loneliness, slowly submerged him once more.

After going down the mountain and walking along the mountain path for a while, the sky gradually became completely dark.

Before long, he arrived at the gate of his home courtyard and knocked on the door.

Then he directly took out his key, unlocked it, and entered.

Today had gone much more smoothly than expected, and he had gotten home far earlier too, just in time for dinner.

Inside, Ning Jiaojiao sat beneath the Fish Oil Lamp's flickering candlelight, taking little bites of meat. Crunch, crunch—it sounded especially eerie. With her mouth full, she mumbled, "Mm, you're back."

Click.

He shut the night wind and cold outside the door.

Ning Zheng rubbed Ning Jiaojiao's head, sat down to eat, and smiled. "Yeah, I'm back."