Crossover: In Little Garden, Proving Godhood with One Proof for Eternity

"You're a merchant, but instead of thinking about how to exploit us, you're looking out for our feelings."

"What a strange person."

Snow White knew a thing or two about human merchants. As far as she knew, humans were greedy, and even the heroes in their myths were no exception.

But Qin Qi seemed different from the humans she knew. She followed the waterway farther and farther, seeing more animals and phantom beasts along the way.

These animals and phantom beasts willingly put in their own labor to help, and in return, they earned a reward.

Snow White came to a lake, where she met the unicorn. After they talked, both were surprised.

"Lady Water God, did you lose to that human too?"

The unicorn watched the lake Qin Qi had promised him gradually fill with water, then stepped into it.

Feeling the cool water, he immediately let out a comfortable whinny. It had been a long time since he had enjoyed a soak in a lake like this.

"Yes, I lost when we competed in a test of skill."

"Unicorn... don't tell me that human built this lake for you?"

Watching the unicorn play in the water, Snow White suddenly thought of something and spoke.

"Yes, the human did promise me this. Even though I lost to him too, he still built me a lake."

"He said it was called... a mutually beneficial business deal, and that only by doing business this way could it keep going for a long time."

The unicorn didn't understand much about human affairs, but he thought Qin Qi was a pretty good person, much better than those humans who were always trying to catch him.

"Is that so?"

Snow White couldn't help being a little lost in thought after hearing the unicorn. From the information she had gathered, Qin Qi was a very capable merchant who kept his word.

Then what he had said about making her name spread far and wide and opening a forest market at the end of the world was true too!

Snow White couldn't help looking forward to what this place would become in the future!

Meanwhile, Qin Qi had returned to Little Garden's city and was sitting in his shop, eating breakfast with Black Rabbit.

"Shopkeeper, there's something I don't understand. Is there anything special about that forest?

"Why did you go to so much trouble to develop it?"

Black Rabbit was puzzled. As she saw it, the land wasn't worth that much. The terms Qin Qi had offered must have far exceeded its price.

"Right now, the land isn't worth much, but what if you look further ahead? Rabbit, do you know what the East Side's climate is like?"

Qin Qi asked with a smile as he ate.

"The East Side is peaceful and has a lot of land. Out of the four sides, it's the best suited for farming. Hmm, that's about it, right?"

Black Rabbit thought for a moment before answering.

"I asked about the climate, specifically the climate conditions related to water."

Qin Qi looked at the silly Black Rabbit and shook his head. This rabbit wasn't suited for business; she didn't have the talent for it.

"Water... the East Side gets relatively little rainfall. It doesn't have the North Side's heavy snowfall, and there's no great river running through it like there is in the South Side."

"Even though there's frequent artificial rain, water resources still aren't very plentiful. It can't be helped; that's just how the region is."

"But what does that have to do with business?"

Black Rabbit knew Little Garden quite well, as one would expect of Little Garden's rabbit, but she still didn't know what Qin Qi was getting at.

"You silly rabbit."

Qin Qi gave Black Rabbit's ears a vigorous rub, then began to explain:

"The East Side's water supply looks sufficient now, but it actually all depends on that great river outside. If there's a drought and the river starts running low, there's bound to be a serious problem."

"Although the East Side's seventh-level outer district has waterways, buying water costs money, and only mid-level communities and above can afford it."

"And if the drought lasts a long time, only upper-level communities will be able to keep buying water."

"The mid- and lower-level ones will have to go outside to fetch water, but by then the great river will have dried up. Think about it, Black Rabbit."

"What will the water supply in my hands become at that point?"

Qin Qi smiled as he spoke. All the animals in the forest thought they had gotten the better end of the deal, but in truth, Qin Qi hadn't lost out either.

Trading what he had in abundance for what he lacked was the foundation of Qin Qi's business.

"Then... it'll be gold in the water!"

"There are loads of communities throughout the East Side's seventh level. They need water every day for drinking, cooking, bathing, and watering their fields!"

"Even if you set the price really low, you could still make a fortune!"

Black Rabbit's ears shot upright. She counted on her fingers for ages, but couldn't make sense of it at all. That, that was such an enormous number!

Her eyes were spinning! For a moment, that enormous number had gone straight to her head.

Chapter 25: Laplace's Little Demon, news in the Thousand Eyes newspaper!

"But Shopkeeper, how do you know there'll be a drought? If there isn't one, won't all your effort be wasted?!"

Black Rabbit suddenly spotted the problem. All of this depended on a drought happening. What if it didn't?

"First, if it doesn't happen, I'll just make a little less at most. I definitely won't take a loss."

"Second, have you forgotten which community I belong to?"

Qin Qi said.

"Which community... Thousand Eyes!"

Black Rabbit's eyes widened. The Thousand Eyes community wasn't just an enormous commercial community; it was also an intelligence community.

Whatever the news was, they could always learn of it first and predict it ahead of time, seizing the initiative.

"Besides, even if there's no drought, the plants I've grown in my forest will be ripe just in time for the South Side's harvest season in a few days. I can make a fortune selling them then too."

"And I can grow medicinal plants and sell them cheaply to the people in the North Side. That can make money too."

"I can turn the forest into a forest market where towns and countries outside Little Garden's city, as well as wanderers, can come to gather supplies."

"No matter what happens, I won't lose money. The only difference is whether I make a little more or a little less."

Qin Qi had never planned to rely on selling water alone. He had multiple channels, and by proceeding steadily, he definitely wouldn't lose money.

"Shopkeeper, you're really amazing. No wonder you have so many shops on the commercial street."

"Shopkeeper, you're... you're one of those profiteers!"

Black Rabbit couldn't help exclaiming after hearing Qin Qi out. Although Qin Qi wasn't all that powerful in terms of strength, when it came to business sense,

Black Rabbit couldn't compare with him at all. Qin Qi was making money from the current plague, and he was already prepared for his next opportunity to make money in the future.

Meanwhile, Black Rabbit was still working to pay off her debts.

"Hey, what do you mean, profiteer? Rabbit, if you don't know how to speak, then don't!"

Qin Qi was immediately displeased. He grabbed Black Rabbit's ears and spoke angrily.

"Ow, ow, that hurts! Shopkeeper, I was complimenting you! Everyone says profiteers are the best at making money, and you're the most profiteering of all!"

Black Rabbit clutched her head with both hands, looking pitiful. She had only been praising the shopkeeper.

"From now on, don't just throw a word around as soon as you learn it. You can call me clever, great, or a master of calculation, but don't call me a profiteer."

"If other people hear it, it'll ruin my reputation."

Qin Qi released Black Rabbit's ears, sat back down, and spoke.

"Yes."

Black Rabbit was on the verge of tears, but a moment later, something suddenly occurred to her. "Huh? Shopkeeper, shouldn't this be a business secret?"

"Is it really okay to tell me so readily?"

As soon as Black Rabbit finished speaking, she hurriedly covered her mouth. Oh no, I spoke out of turn. Why did I have to go and ask that?

"Stop covering your mouth. It's fine."

"I couldn't tell you before I made the contract with those guys in the forest, but now that it's done, it doesn't matter if I tell you."

"I've already secured the key resources. Even if others know, there's nothing they can do."

Qin Qi lay down and stretched. He had prepared everything that needed preparing and hadn't left a single opening.

Even if others found out, there was nothing they could do to him. They would still have to obediently buy his water.

As for anyone who wanted to seize it, sorry, they could take that up with the phantom beasts and wild beasts in the forest. He had already made an agreement with them.

Want to seize the water? Go fight Snow White one-on-one. If they could defeat the five-digit Snow White, he could even give it away for free.

"Oh, that's good, that's good."

"Huh? Wait, if a drought really comes, what will happen to our community?!"

Black Rabbit first breathed a sigh of relief, then grew anxious again. Their community was No Name, even lower than a lower-level community.

If a drought really came, they would be the first to die of thirst!

"Don't worry. Work hard for me, and when the time comes, I'll sell you water. Hmm, I'll even give you a one-percent discount."

"Consider it an employee benefit."

Qin Qi yawned. He had eaten his fill and dealt with everything he needed to deal with, so he could finally settle down and rest for a while.

"I can't afford it even with a one-percent discount!"

Black Rabbit complained. Just as she finished, she noticed that Qin Qi had closed his eyes and fallen asleep. She quietly went into a room to look for a bedsheet or something similar.

"Thank you for your hard work, Shopkeeper. Good night and sweet dreams."

Black Rabbit gently covered Qin Qi with the sheet. Having followed him around everywhere, she knew how hard he had worked on this trip.

She admired Qin Qi's business acumen and was also surprised by his willpower and ability to get things done.

"If Shopkeeper joined our community, it wouldn't take long for him to help it rise again, would it?"

Black Rabbit sat beside him, watching his sleeping face. She couldn't help fantasizing about Qin Qi joining their community.

Then their community began to rise, gradually growing prosperous, and their former companions all came back.

"Hehehe."

As Black Rabbit thought about it, she began to giggle foolishly, but a knock at the door soon interrupted her fantasy. She hurried outside.

"Shh! Shopkeeper's asleep. Keep it down!"

Black Rabbit held a finger to her lips and lowered her voice.

"I'm Laplace's Little Demon. Today's newspaper is here. Please sign for it."

Lapuko, an avatar of Laplace's Demon, was a tiny fairy. She held a newspaper as she spoke.

"Shopkeeper's asleep. You can give it to me."

Black Rabbit signed for it, then watched Laplace's Little Demon fly into White Night Yaksha's shop next door to deliver her newspaper.

She took the newspaper inside.

"There's even a newspaper within Thousand Eyes? I've never heard about that before. What's written in it?"

Black Rabbit looked at the newspaper curiously. The biggest news was that the plague in the North Side was still spreading, and it would probably take a long time to bring it under control.

At the same time, the unrest and fighting were growing worse. The entire North Side could be said to be on the verge of chaos.

Reading further, she found intelligence about some other regions, things for sale, and a joke.

Black Rabbit laughed for a long time after reading it. Finally, she saw a listing for something being sold.

"Vampire Leticia for sale! Lady Leticia!"

Looking at the picture in the newspaper, Black Rabbit recognized her at once as Leticia, a former companion from their community!