Lifespan and Classification of Embers

After introducing the various newly constructed production workshops, Jiu Cai Rong was beaming.

You could only say.

This game has too much freedom!

Everyone can find their own forging playstyle and do what they're interested in.

Jiu Cai Rong casually added, "Those lolis researching makeup and dressing up are a bit of a waste of resources. I'll talk to them about it another day."

Having worked under capitalists for so many years, Jiu Cai Rong's heart had long since grown as cold as theirs.

"There's no need for that. The meaning of life isn't just to create profit. After the manor's blacksmiths finish their daily quota, they can do whatever they want for entertainment."

Ning Zheng felt he was too utilitarian, only caring about profit and having a short-sighted view, and wouldn't be able to manage the manor well.

Ning Zheng felt like he was running an amusement park. Once you paid the initial fee of -2, you could play however you wanted and experience the local customs.

It was a kindness for them to help him work; he couldn't morally obligate them to pay him and also help him work, right?

What was the difference between that and the foolish act of paying your boss to work?

People were already too tired from their daily work, studies, and jobs. Now, taking time out to play games was for leisure, happiness, and to find that beautiful feeling of childhood.

Now, these blacksmiths not only had their bodies returned to the childlike forms of boys and lolis but also their minds. In the manor, they were building sandcastles, playing with forts, engaging in tower defense battles, playing hopscotch, jumping rope, and throwing sandbags, rediscovering the joys of childhood.

They couldn't strip away the most basic attributes of the game: happiness.

Furthermore, a master blacksmith could never be forged through enslavement and oppression.

People who were listless and only went through the motions of work couldn't create anything good.

To put it another way, those who haven't seen their true nature, who don't know who they are, and who haven't opened the Heaven and Earth Bridge are just listless mortals.

It was only through genuine passion that a person could forge works of art with a soul and reach the pinnacle in a field.

Ning Zheng conveyed these thoughts to him.

Jiu Cai Rong was enlightened, feeling that the old steward had lived for too long and seen too much, possessing great insight. He secretly thought:

"This game is too realistic! It's not like other games where you just equip items to forge. Here, with every hammer strike, the degree of passion truly affects a blacksmith's skill."

"In that case, I was too hasty. Looking at it this way, reading, seeing one's true nature, and opening the Three Flowers are necessary. No matter what kind of blacksmith, they must advance to become scholars. With a mind full of books and overflowing passion, their creations will have spirit. Otherwise, their craft will be too heavy."

He suddenly realized, "That's right, getting a scholar's diploma will make you earn more from blacksmithing."

It seemed that everywhere, a diploma was necessary to get ahead. Afterward, Jiu Cai Rong led Ning Zheng to the cafeteria, which was his proudest highlight.

"The cafeteria is our foundation. Eating well every day gives us the strength!"

Jiu Cai Rong proudly introduced, "We've created an Ingredient Compendium and done various identifications and pairings to treat our hardworking blacksmiths with the most delicious meals."

Inside the cafeteria.

"Yan Hua" was also there, carrying a basket and selling ingredients – a basket full of mushrooms and other miscellaneous items.

The God of Cookery frowned, "The colors are quite vibrant. Are they poisonous? Is this the Corpse-Colored Hallucinogenic Mushroom you found on the mountainside? Why is it called that?"

"Because it grows on corpses, and it's colorful."

At this moment, "Yan Hua" recalled, his eyes becoming hazy, "I licked it, and then I was transported to that winter night, and I saw my grandmother."

"You still remember your grandmother... Cough, I'll take it all then."

The God of Cookery, with professional skill, used a needle to dig out a tiny bit and licked it, immediately showing a look of intoxication.

"Mmm, the quality is indeed good. There are indeed good things in the wild forests on the mountainside. Our manor's wild plant ingredients are still scarce, after all, it's a place where people live."

This traveling frog can indeed go out and bring back materials.

This compensates for the defect of having only the manor as a map. The pet's outdoor gameplay can provide a continuous supply of materials.

Hearing this, "Yan Hua" was overjoyed, feeling like he had made a fortune. "You're an expert. After all, the more fragrant it is, the more poisonous it is."

The God of Cookery nodded and said seriously, "Indeed. There are gains and losses. This satisfies the palate, but the body will suffer. After eating this, you'll probably be running to the toilet uncontrollably."

"Yan Hua" hesitated slightly, worried about not getting a high price.

"Don't worry, I'll buy as much as you collect from now on. Let me tell you a secret: do you know why I compete for positions with other chefs and they can't beat me?"

"Yan Hua" asked curiously, "Why? Is it because your cooking is good?"

The God of Cookery smiled knowingly, "My cooking... well, it's mainly because everyone loves it. Why? My specialty is that the more poisonous it is, the more delicious it is! You wouldn't dare eat it in reality, but you can eat it here with peace of mind."

"I just time it right. By the time they finish dinner, they're about to log off. Who would know if they'll have an upset stomach later?"

"Let me tell you secretly, the more intoxicated they look while eating dinner, the more they'll be like a rocket shooting into the sky when they lie down in bed after logging off."

Yan Hua was stunned: "."

Jiu Cai Rong was also secretly shocked, thinking he had almost fallen for it.

Fortunately, when he designed the dormitories, the bunk beds, although two-tiered, were staggered.

The lower bunk was empty, otherwise, the poor brother on the lower bunk would have suffered every night!

Damn it, these scoundrels are impossible to guard against.

Jiu Cai Rong had a toothache.

Instead, he lost face in the canteen, which was the focus. This was clearly due to poor management and food safety issues.

Ning Zheng didn't have any harsh words for him. Instead, he looked at the dull-faced Jiu Cai Rong and felt he was aging prematurely, likely due to worrying himself sick these past few days.

If he were to personally act as the "planner" Little Ai mentioned, managing them and designing updates, he couldn't even imagine how much suffering he would endure.

"By the way, Steward, I heard that embers eventually disappear."

Jiu Cai Rong quickly and awkwardly changed the subject, focusing on "Yan Hua," who was currently in the canteen turning in quests. "Do you know how much longer this ember of his will last before it disappears?"

Most people wouldn't know.

But Ning Zheng, having spent so much time together and being experienced, quickly concluded after looking at the concentration of Yin energy on the other party, "Hmm, it will completely disappear in about a little over a month."

A little over a month.

Frankly, it was a huge profit!

The cost for "Yan Hua" was just ten magic coins for dying once.

He had already earned back far more than that.

However, expenses weren't calculated that way. It might take hundreds of deaths to even produce one instance of [ember], making the cost too high and not sustainable!

Furthermore, each revival became more expensive, and dying too many times would inevitably lead to exorbitant resurrection fees.

"Is there any possibility of making the ember permanent?" Jiu Cai Rong asked.

"If it's rooted in the earth vein, it can be permanent," Ning Zheng provided an answer.

Ning Jiaojiao, and even the fellow villagers of the entire spirit manor, were examples of being rooted in the earth vein and existing for a long time.

Embers were divided into two types.

The first type was like wandering souls, drifting around and gradually disappearing.

The second type was like bound earth spirits, unable to move and existing permanently.

In the state of being rooted in the earth vein, [embers] could not be killed by conventional means.

For example, if "Ning Jiaojiao" were killed, after a while, she would revive from the earth vein and inexplicably appear in the house again, looking for her brother to play games with.

It was like cutting down a plant; as long as the roots underground remained, it would grow back after a while.

Jiu Cai Rong's heart warmed upon hearing this. This was a way to permanently maintain an ember. "May I ask how to connect to the earth vein?"

Ning Zheng looked at him calmly. "Only powerful, high-level cultivators can communicate with the earth vein. Our Manor Lord might be able to do it, but why would such a being help a mere ember?"

He naturally couldn't do it. Only the demons of the original manor possessed such heaven-defying methods.

Jiu Cai Rong pondered.

At least the direction was clear.