Bai Qingxue's bright eyes flickered. Seeing Shi Feng offer her something too, she was a little surprised. She found him rather interesting, not nearly as hard to approach as she'd imagined, and actually quite decent.
"You think a guy like you can give Gentle Snow a present? Do you really think she'd want it?" Zhao Yueru couldn't help turning back again. Her red lips curved into an enticing smile, and her eyes brimmed with scorn. She secretly sighed at Shi Feng's overconfidence.
What kind of things hadn't Gentle Snow seen? She didn't even care for luxury cars worth tens of millions, much less things from a game.
Shi Feng took a piece of paper from his backpack. It was one of the BOSS's drops. He casually handed the blueprint to Bai Qingxue.
Seeing Shi Feng give Gentle Snow a scrap of paper and call it a gift, Zhao Yueru couldn't help snapping, "Are you making fun of her?"
"No," Shi Feng replied seriously.
"Gentle Snow gave you a piece of Bronze Equipment, and what do you give her? You try to fool her with a scrap of paper! Do you think a piece of paper could be worth more than a piece of Bronze Equipment? If that's not making fun of her, what is?" Zhao Yueru grew even angrier.
Heizi and the others behind Shi Feng broke out in a cold sweat.
Even if you didn't want to talk to someone, you couldn't mess with a goddess like this. Was he trying to get himself killed?
They'd clearly gotten plenty of equipment in the Dead Silence Forest. Wouldn't it have been easy to hand over any one piece? If the goddess got angry, even if she didn't do anything herself, the players around them would take them out.
Just as things seemed about to go wrong, Heizi was about to offer up his Bronze Staff. But Bai Qingxue happily accepted the scrap of paper Shi Feng had given her.
Heizi and the others' jaws dropped. Their mouths formed perfect O's.
The goddess had accepted it. What was going on?
"Thank you for the gift. I really like it. Now we can find somewhere quieter to talk, right?" Bai Qingxue smiled and thanked him.
Shi Feng smiled back and nodded. Seeing Bai Qingxue's smile was like watching a beauty turn and smile, captivating a hundred charms. It was like brilliant sunshine, warming the heart and staying unforgettable for a lifetime.
"Gentle Snow, are you just going to forgive him for being so rude?" Zhao Yueru asked Bai Qingxue, bewildered.
"That's enough, Yueru. This is a wonderful gift, and I really like it." With that, Bai Qingxue turned and led Shi Feng away.
Zhao Yueru was stunned. She truly couldn't understand what Shi Feng had done to Gentle Snow. Was a scrap of paper really enough?
What was this scrap of paper, anyway?
"Gentle Snow, what exactly did that guy give you?" Zhao Yueru asked quietly. She could tell from the club he wore at his waist that Shi Feng couldn't afford to give anything valuable. Yet Gentle Snow had happily accepted it, which left her baffled.
"An Alchemy formula for the Basic Strength Potion. After drinking it, a player gains 6 Strength for half an hour," Bai Qingxue said calmly.
"What?" Zhao Yueru was startled. "How does he have such a precious formula?"
Alchemy was difficult to learn, and formulas were notoriously hard to obtain. Forget rare formulas—even The Snake of the Void only had a few ordinary ones. They'd never even seen a formula that could grant players 6 Strength for half an hour.
If a level 2 player gained 6 Strength, that meant 12 more attack. It would make a huge difference in a dungeon run. For a guild that regularly tackled dungeons, this formula was worth more than dozens of pieces of Bronze Equipment. If they sold the Basic Strength Potion, demand would far outstrip supply. And Shi Feng had just given it away.
Could he really not know how important this formula was? Zhao Yueru shook her head, dismissing the thought. From the confident expression Shi Feng had worn earlier, he clearly knew how valuable the formula was to their guild.
Zhao Yueru turned to look at Shi Feng again, her cheeks flushing. Thinking of what she'd said earlier made her feel terribly embarrassed. She'd called such a rare formula a scrap of paper. Seeing Shi Feng's smile, she was sure he'd been laughing at her for not recognizing its value. That guy was awful.
"Now you know. I told you he wasn't simple," Bai Qingxue said with a smile.
After Bai Qingxue and Shi Feng's group left, the players around them still hadn't come to their senses.
What was going on?
A newbie had actually earned the goddess's attention. Was he really a newbie?
"Boss Tian Wang, that newbie left with the goddess." Bu Yu Xia Ye felt awful. The way the goddess had treated Shi Feng made it obvious even to an idiot that he wasn't simple.
"Don't worry about it. I heard someone say that newbie was running the Hell-Grade Dead Silence Forest. The Ice Goddess must have wanted to know what Hell-Grade was like, so she came over to invite him." Tian Wang Hui Hui refused to believe he'd misjudged Shi Feng. Shi Feng had to be a newbie, just a lucky one. First he'd latched onto an expert, and now he'd somehow latched onto the goddess.
The Small Stone Pond, more than 200 yards southeast of the Dead Silence Forest, was a scenic spot with a babbling stream. Bai Qingxue and Shi Feng sat facing each other while the others stood to either side. No one came over to interrupt or eavesdrop, making it a perfect place to talk.
"May I ask what you wanted to see me about, Miss Bai?" Shi Feng asked calmly.
"The Dead Silence Forest," Bai Qingxue said directly. "I want your strategy for it. Name your price."
"Ha ha, Miss Bai, I'm afraid you're mistaken. How could I possibly have a strategy for the Dead Silence Forest? I've only run the dungeon once." Shi Feng certainly wasn't going to admit that he had a strategy. That would only make people suspicious. After all, God's Domain was built by the Main God System. Even beta testers couldn't know a dungeon's detailed strategy. He could fool outsiders like Heizi, but there was no way he could fool Bai Qingxue. If he simply told her the truth, it would definitely cause trouble.
Bai Qingxue smiled sweetly and glanced over the team members behind Shi Feng. Calmly, she said, "If I'm not mistaken, the equipment your team members are wearing came from the Hell-Grade Dead Silence Forest. Your team might have one or two skilled players, but everyone knows you recruited three level 1 newbies at the last minute. You think I'd believe a team like that could run the Hell-Grade Dead Silence Forest and get so much equipment without you knowing something?"
"Let's be frank. I know you're a beta tester, and not an ordinary one. You must have studied the Dead Silence Forest extensively. Otherwise, after the public beta began and all the data was changed significantly, no beta tester without detailed research could possibly clear the Hell-Grade Dead Silence Forest. And the reason I know you can clear it is that Basic Strength formula—it's the best proof. Don't worry, I won't reveal your secret." Bai Qingxue stared intently at Shi Feng, as if she could see right through him.
"All right, you're right," Shi Feng said with a shrug, secretly relieved. He hadn't expected Bai Qingxue to come up with so many explanations on her own. That couldn't have worked out better.
"Then name your price," Bai Qingxue said with a bright smile, as if she were saying, So, you thought you could keep this from me? I know everything.