Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

"My adventurer profession, the shipwright, got stuck at level six. It seems there's a hidden advancement requirement."

"Well, now even the greatest craftsman is stuck at level six... Everyone is looking for hidden conditions."

"The requirements for being a shipbuilder aren't difficult. You just need to make a certain profit through maritime trade using your own ships. Once you meet the requirements, you can advance to level seven. For levels seven to eight, you need to personally conduct trade and earn ten times the profit. Pretty complicated, right?"

“…I see. There’s a strong correlation.”

Liu Tong Qi Hua felt a little dizzy, but he could taste the wine.

It is not bitter, but has a light sour fragrance, blooming in the mouth in a rich and flavorful way.

70's words revealed mysteries - which also fascinated her.

"I've barely made it to Rank Eight thanks to the support of a large guild. I've also figured out the requirements for reaching Rank Eight and Rank Nine: the variety and quantity of goods you handle. You need to meet certain standards and achieve even greater profits."

Liu Tong Qi Hua was astonished. Although these conditions were all expected, this player had actually figured it all out? He'd actually made it this far? He was even... already considering the promotion to Ninth-Rank Shipwright?

"Ninth level...?"

"Yes, I heard from Xiaolu that Uncle Eel is planning to set up a large chamber of commerce to replace the 'Youshi Chamber of Commerce'. I also plan to help run it and try to advance to the ninth level... or even the tenth level."

"The Great Chamber of Commerce..."

"Of course, Uncle Eel probably won't easily agree to such a big thing, so I'm still preparing the gift."

She pointed to the warehouse—

"Nana, did you know that each major city has its own specialty?"

"You mean materials? Like a forest island, where the main production is wood?"

70 shook his head, but smiled confidently. "It's dye. One hundred main cities, a total of one hundred colors. I plan to monopolize this as a gift to Uncle Eel in exchange for admission to the new Chamber of Commerce."

……

ps

(I didn't expect to suffer from insomnia. I went to death for a while and wrote a chapter. I'll go to sleep after lunch and write the next one when I wake up... Moon Crow, don't be like that!)

212 The day is bright

"……what?"

what?

dye?

monopoly?

Even though the alcohol had taken effect and made Liu Tong Qihua's brain dull, she instantly woke up after understanding what 70 said.

Even woke up in shock.

As a normal gamer, she is well aware of the drive to pursue appearance.

Even she herself, before meeting Yu Man, had carefully chosen the outfits for herself that were in her favorite black tones.

She even used coal to paint her gear black in an attempt to replace dye.

Although it will fade soon, she is still willing to do it.

And those dyes that can actually change the color of equipment and match the appearance to the hue you want without having to worry about fading... This player in front of me actually wants to monopolize them?

"But... I didn't know... this was the main city's specialty." Liu Tong Qi Hua knew nothing about it.

"Right—no one knows. This is a secret I learned through trade after ascending to the eighth-rank shipbuilder."

Perhaps Yu Man knew? But Liu Tong and Qi Hua didn't dare to say it out loud. Besides, it made no difference whether they said it or not.

After all, what 70 wants to do is consistent with Yu Man’s interests.

"Each major city island is protected by a so-called god, who bestows different colors upon them... Similar to dye vats, they are held by the lords, rulers, kings, and other beings of each island as altars for their deities."

"So how do players get dye?"

Although 70 has no combat expertise and can even be said to be an ordinary person with no combat ability, she is more in-depth in the trade field of the Old World than anyone else.

Perhaps she was proud of it, or perhaps Liutongqihua were one of her own in her eyes.

She shared this priceless secret that concerned players all over the world without hesitation.

"Each island has different aspirations, but once a certain relationship is reached or certain conditions are met, one can claim to be a believer of the same deity, and then borrow the altar and draw inspiration from it."

"...It sounds a bit strange." Liu Tong Qihua always felt that something was wrong.

"It's actually quite strange. The reason for acquiring colors isn't trade, but rather to spread them. For example, the several jars of dye on my ship are actually seen by the locals as something called 'faith.' Applying them to foreigners means that they, too, have undergone a certain degree of...baptism."

Liutongqihua didn't understand, and just asked from a player's perspective: "Can there be attribute bonuses or passive bonuses?"

"nothing."

After denying it, 70 realized that the girl in front of him didn't understand, so he didn't continue the topic.

As for the things that I feel strange about, I will try to ask her when I chat with Yu Man about the Chamber of Commerce.

……

Chatting about simple realities and games, Liu Tongqihua sometimes listened and sometimes tried hard to share.

She felt more and more that the girl in front of her named 70 was extraordinary.

70 is only one year older than him, but he is completely different from a country boy like him. His strong presence, overwhelming self-confidence, and thoughtful heart make Liu Tong Qi Hua feel as if everything has been seen through him.

The setting sun sank into the sea early.

Instead, a waning moon hangs in the sky, and an endless road stretches across the sky, shining with exceptional newness.

"This is the new expansion pack you opened." 70 pointed to the sky.

"To be honest, I was just a bystander and didn't do anything. I don't know what it means."

"It means your era has begun." 70 said with a smile, but then asked, "But, Qihua, didn't you play the game?"

"……Contest?"

"For the Kaifa Cup, the auditions are over, and the main competition has already begun, right? I'm surprised you didn't participate. As far as I know, many top players from all over the world went. We, Xiankan, also sent two teams, and both passed the auditions."

Liu Tong Qi Hua shook his head and said there was no such arrangement.

Yu Man did say that she wanted to have a competition with her, but she also seemed to have said that the competitions currently being held were all small and not worth participating in.

But even so, if you win this small competition, everyone can get hundreds of thousands of dollars... It's incredible.

So—just how grand was this grand competition Yu Man was talking about? And…what level of training would she need to reach to participate? She didn't dare to even think about Yu Man's level, and the only one who came close, Xiaolu, had a specialization and equipment that she couldn't catch up with simply by trying...

Ugh.

"70, what's the level of your guild's team?" She wanted to find some reference.

"Team One is led by Brother Teng, with Ni Xiaolu as the core. The five of them are the best here. They've all reached the top 100 in the arena... which is pretty good. Team Two is made up of people my dad signed up everywhere, so I don't know much about them..."

Top 100 in the arena...Okay, I have a direction to work towards.

"But, Nanaka, your reputation outside is that you love to criticize others, be sarcastic, and pressure your teammates. How come I can't sense that?"

Liu Tong Qi Hua's face suddenly turned red, and he wanted to speak - but he held back.

She lowered her head out of habit and tried to type a reply to the question.

"That's different. I'm not good at speaking, but I can express myself very well with words. As for trolling people? Most people play stupidly, and of course I can't stand it, so I can't help but type and comment. That's all, it can't be said to be my fault."

"……I see."

70 looked at the long string of speeches popping out of her head and immediately understood the mystery.

She is quite an entertaining person.

70 deliberately asked again: "When you team up with Uncle Eel, do you type like this too?"

"...Me? Suitable?" Liu Tong Qi Hua even hesitated while typing.

Oh, drinking.

Let’s drink.

……

We arrived at our destination on a 70-year-old luxury merchant ship—earlier than expected.

That was when the sun was rising.

Roku and Chika saw an island called "The Beginning of Daylight".

They deliberately deviated from the route instead of going directly to Shimla Bakken just to allow the passengers to dock.

But they soon realized that this was a wrong choice.

"Brothers, what's going on?"

"My magic is out of control and I feel so scared."

"Yes, there is a higher-level being, and our instinct is to feel fear."

"Is it the legendary Ice Prison Dragon? But it feels even scarier than that."

Near the island, all the passengers, including Liu Tongqihua, felt a chill.

The intense fear turned into bone marrow, gnawing at everyone deeper in their skin, flesh and bones.

But soon, everyone, except for their perception, saw an incredible scene.

swirl.

A huge, terrifying, downward-turning vortex...frozen.

Not only that, the vortex seemed to be struck by someone's sword, splitting apart in an extremely heroic manner.

Including the vast sea areas around it, there are strange walruses of all sizes in every place.

The magical turbulence around was extremely frightening. Even this masterpiece of a ship would be severely damaged if it dared to enter it.

"Is this a battlefield?" Liu Tong Qi Hua was surprised.

But as she got closer, after skirting a frozen, hacked-to pieces of wave, she discovered the creator of all this.

Or rather, heard it.

"—Brothers—stop...stop hitting me, my magic power is all gone!"

It was Yu Man's voice.

Soon, several voices rang out one after another.

"You two-faced migratory aquatic! You said the same thing before, and then you froze us into the sea!"

"Brother, it's so fun to fight with you."

"Promise Keeper, why don't you summon other reflections of the Old World? Although we've lost three times, I seem to have a chance of victory this time."

Liu Tong Qi Hua leaned out of the deck and could vaguely hear those familiar voices.

What's very strange is that it seems that three people are working together to besiege Yu Man...

Liu Tong Qi Hua immediately said to 70, "Well, just leave me here. There's ice all around, so we can walk across."

"...This is the only way. We can't go any further... Have a pleasant trip, and say hello to Uncle Eel, the deer, and the ice dragon for me—see you next time. We're friends now."

Bearing the fear, 70 is still decent.

Liu Tong Qi Hua leaped down, and the solid ice supported her.

Without waiting for her to wave goodbye, the entire frightened merchant ship immediately turned around.

"Well, time to go and see what this is all about."

……

Yu Man regretted his foolish behavior very much.

I want Xiaobing and Xiaolu to fight each other to practice their fighting skills... So far, there is no problem.

The "fate changer" shows up to join in the fun, and it ends up being two against one... To be honest, it's not a problem up to this point.

But the problem is - Yu Man actually wants to watch from the side and have fun.

This is wrong.