Arrogant Before, Fawning After (Part 2)

Bai Qingxue's bright eyes flickered. Seeing that Shi Feng also intended to give her a gift, she felt a bit surprised. She found this person quite interesting; he wasn't as difficult to approach as she had imagined, and he seemed like a decent person.

"You, of all people, want to give Qingxue a gift? Do you really think she'd want it?" Zhao Yueru couldn't help but turn back, her bright red lips curling into an alluring arc. Her eyes were filled with mockery as she inwardly sighed at Shi Feng's overestimation of his own abilities.

What kind of things hadn't Qingxue seen? She didn't even bat an eye at luxury cars worth tens of millions, let alone items from a game.

At this moment, Shi Feng took a piece of paper from his bag. This blueprint was one of the drops from the BOSS, and he handed it to Bai Qingxue quite casually.

Seeing Shi Feng offer only a scrap of paper as a gift for Qingxue, Zhao Yueru couldn't help but coldly remark, "Are you playing us for fools?"

"Not at all," Shi Feng replied earnestly.

"Qingxue gave you a piece of Bronze Equipment, and you? You actually try to fob her off with a scrap of paper. Do you really think a piece of paper is worth more than Bronze Equipment? If this isn't playing us, what is?" Zhao Yueru grew even more indignant.

Heizi and the others behind Shi Feng broke out in a cold sweat.

Even if he didn't want to chat with others, he shouldn't toy with a goddess like this; wasn't he just asking for death?

They had clearly looted plenty of equipment in the Dead Silence Forest; it would have been easy to just hand over one of those. If the goddess got angry, even if she didn't take action herself, the surrounding players would tear them apart.

Just as disaster seemed imminent and Heizi was about to offer up his own Bronze Staff, Bai Qingxue gladly accepted the scrap of paper from Shi Feng.

Suddenly, the mouths of Heizi and his companions dropped open, forming perfect 'O' shapes.

The goddess actually accepted it—what on earth was going on?

"Thank you for the gift. I like it very much. Now, can we go somewhere quieter to talk?" Bai Qingxue smiled gently, expressing her gratitude.

Shi Feng smiled back and nodded in agreement. Watching her smile, it was truly a sight that could topple cities; it felt like brilliant sunshine, warming the heart and unforgettable for a lifetime.

"Qingxue, are you just going to forgive his rude behavior like that?" Zhao Yueru asked, looking at Bai Qingxue in confusion.

"It's alright, Yueru. This item is excellent, and I like it very much." After saying this, Bai Qingxue turned around to lead the way for Shi Feng.

Zhao Yueru was stunned. She truly couldn't understand what kind of spell Shi Feng had cast on Bai Qingxue. Was a scrap of paper really enough?

What exactly was this scrap of paper?

"Qingxue, what exactly did that guy give you?" Zhao Yueru asked in a low voice. Seeing the fire poker at Shi Feng's waist, she knew he couldn't possibly give anything valuable, yet Qingxue had accepted it happily, which left her deeply puzzled.

"An Alchemy recipe: Basic Strength Potion. After drinking it, a player gains 6 points of Strength for half an hour," Bai Qingxue said calmly.

"What?" Zhao Yueru was startled. "How could he have such a precious recipe?"

Alchemy was notoriously difficult to learn, and recipes were famous for their abysmal drop rates. Forget rare recipes; even common ones were scarce—the entire Snake of the Void didn't have more than a few. She had never even seen a recipe that could grant a player 6 points of Strength for half an hour.

If a current Level 2 player could gain 6 extra points of Strength, that meant 12 extra points of Attack. In a dungeon, that would be incredibly effective. For a guild that frequently cleared dungeons, the value of this recipe exceeded dozens of pieces of Bronze Equipment. Once the Basic Strength Potion went on sale, it would undoubtedly be in high demand. Yet, this Shi Feng had just given it away.

Could he not know the importance of this recipe? Zhao Yueru shook her head, dismissing the thought. Recalling Shi Feng's confident expression earlier, he surely knew exactly how valuable the recipe was to their guild.

Zhao Yueru turned to look at Shi Feng again, her cheeks flushing slightly. Thinking of what she had said earlier, she felt incredibly embarrassed. She had actually called such a rare recipe a "scrap of paper." Thinking of Shi Feng's smile, he must have been mocking her for not knowing quality when she saw it. This guy was truly detestable.

"Now you know. I told you he wasn't simple," Bai Qingxue said with a smile toward Zhao Yueru.

Just as Bai Qingxue and Shi Feng's group left, the surrounding players still hadn't recovered from their shock.

What was going on?

A rookie had actually received the attention of the goddess. Was this person really just a rookie?

"Boss Tian Wang, that rookie left with the goddess." Bu Yu Xia Ye felt a bitter taste in his heart. Seeing how polite the goddess was to Shi Feng, even an idiot could tell that Shi Feng was definitely not simple.

"Don't worry about it. I heard from others that the dungeon that rookie cleared was the Hell-Grade Dead Silence Forest. The Ice Goddess must be very curious about the difficulty of the Hell-Grade, which is why she came over to invite him," Tian Wang Hui Hui refused to believe he had misjudged the man. Shi Feng had to be a rookie who had just hit the jackpot—first by clinging to an expert's thigh, and now by somehow latching onto the goddess's.

At the Small Stone Pond, located more than 200 yards southeast of the Dead Silence Forest, the scenery was elegant with a babbling brook. Bai Qingxue and Shi Feng sat facing each other, while the others stood to the sides. With no one around to eavesdrop, it was the perfect place for a conversation.

"I wonder what Miss Bai wants with me?" Shi Feng asked calmly.

"The Dead Silence Forest," Bai Qingxue said, getting straight to the point. "I want the strategy for the Dead Silence Forest. Name your price."

"Heh, Miss Bai is overthinking it. How could I possibly have a strategy for the Dead Silence Forest? I merely ran the dungeon once," Shi Feng certainly wouldn't admit to having a strategy. That would inevitably invite suspicion. After all, God's Domain was built by the Main God System; even a beta tester couldn't possibly know the detailed strategies for dungeons. It might work to fool outsiders like Heizi, but it wouldn't work on Bai Qingxue. If he were to admit it too readily, it would definitely lead to trouble.

Bai Qingxue smiled enchantingly, her eyes sweeping over the team members behind Shi Feng before she said flatly, "If I'm not mistaken, the equipment on your team members came from the Hell-Grade Dead Silence Forest. Although your team has one or two skilled players, it's common knowledge that you recruited three Level 1 rookies on the spot. If you didn't know something, do you really think I'd believe such a team could clear the Hell-Grade Dead Silence Forest and walk away with so much equipment?"

"Let's be frank. I know you're a beta tester, and not just an ordinary one. You must have done quite a bit of research on the Dead Silence Forest; otherwise, since all data was significantly modified after the public launch, a beta tester without specific research could never have cleared the Hell-Grade Dead Silence Forest. As for why I'm certain you could clear it, this Basic Strength Potion recipe is the best proof. Don't worry, I won't reveal your secret." Bai Qingxue stared fixedly at Shi Feng, as if she could see right through him.

"Alright, you're right," Shi Feng shrugged, secretly letting out a sigh of relief. He hadn't expected Bai Qingxue to fill in the blanks with her own assumptions, which was even better.

"Then name your price," Bai Qingxue looked at Shi Feng with a smile, as if to say, Little guy, did you really think you could outsmart me? This lady knows everything.