Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

The deer laughed and thought to himself - what was described is really the present moment.

……

After investing materials and upgrading the kitchen level, it became much more spacious.

The things that can be produced have been upgraded to a higher level, and work efficiency has increased dramatically.

The same is true for the number of NPCs that can be hired, and the number of places has been increased from one to two.

After the upgrade, many players’ backlog and queued orders were immediately processed.

In other words, the few or dozens of silver coins paid by each person were accumulated at a faster rate.

"Do you want to upgrade to level three?" asked the deer.

"No, those materials are still scarce and command a high premium."

"Okay—how about continuing with the treasure map?"

"No, it's time to start doing dungeons and mastering specializations... But before that, go update your equipment first."

As he spoke, Yu Man already had an idea and took her to the commercial street of the NPCs.

The NPCs in the main city can currently produce up to level three items.

This is the current upper limit for players until the workshop and player skills reach a higher level.

But in theory, the equipment of this class is enough to handle all the contents of the island of Shimla Bakken.

So it doesn't matter even if there is a premium. Yu Man plans to make a set of third-level ones for both of them and use them continuously.

"Wait a minute—if I lose the fight and get picked up by someone, wouldn't that be a big loss?" The deer worried.

"Then just win the fight."

There was a strange persuasiveness in Yu Man's matter-of-fact voice.

They stopped in front of the blacksmith shop.

Felt iron, bellows, tongs, hammers and hard tools of all kinds.

Charcoal piled up into small mountains, iron of various uses and appearances.

There is also a large box filled with old equipment that is used as a storefront.

The middle-aged craftsman, who was only wearing a fireproof apron, put down his cigarette out of boredom and looked up: "If you don't want to buy or place an order, don't come over to look." His voice was very cold.

But this is probably the warmest place in Shimla Bakken.

Yu Man asked: "I want to make a sword, these are the materials."

From the previous adventures, and the scarce circulation in the trading house, two people were still able to gather enough third-level materials.

Those things were poured onto the table in a scattered manner. The blacksmith was very knowledgeable and knew Yu Man's target at a glance.

"...With this recipe, does the customer want to make that kind of...bloodless longsword?"

"Well, can you do it?"

"Although we rarely receive orders like this... we should be able to do it. The core enchanting materials... I counted, a total of ten pieces of any third-level flesh and blood. I have them! We can do it."

"Then please."

The blacksmith immediately threw the smoke into the furnace, as if to ignite the fire therein.

He stood up, stretched his body, and prepared to start working. "By the way, who are you going to give this cruel and bloody weapon to? I can calculate the optimal size."

"It's for this person." Yu Man pointed at Xiaolu, her expectant face suddenly turning confused. Yu Man continued, "Don't worry, she's actually a big brother, she's not afraid of these things."

025·Do you want to play the game?

Cruel...bloody? Xiaolu was a little confused.

She watched with her own eyes as the blacksmith took away the wood, steel, leather, cloth... all kinds of enchanting materials -

The remaining ten kinds of flesh and blood were placed on the table, exuding an ominous aura.

They were all hunted in the forest before, and they were some kind of monsters in their lifetime.

After death, the body becomes pieces of cut flesh without bleeding.

Therefore, they emit a strong fishy smell and are steamed by the temperature of the blacksmith shop, which is very unpleasant.

"...Is this going to be used as my weapon?" the deer asked fearfully.

"Well, I designed a style for you, and the core is this thing."

The blacksmith also started working——

He called his apprentice to turn the blower, and with the help of high-quality charcoal, the fire quickly became strong.

The bright and dazzling fire heated up the steel bars.

Then it's the blacksmith's turn to perform, using a hammer to shape the softened steel bar into a basic prototype.

But the next step is to give the material magical properties.

This uses up all enchantment materials, which are all of an evil nature.

The recycled sword embryo was in a state of "needing to eat", emitting a strong ferocious aura.

"Okay—" the blacksmith called to another apprentice.

The blacksmith used the tongs in his left hand to hold the sword blank in place, while the chisel in his right hand was placed on the center line.

With each swing of the apprentice's hammer, the chisel left a groove of just the right depth in the strip.

Then, a kind of flesh and blood was fed to the sword.

“I’m really eating…”

The deer was fascinated by it because it was his weapon.

And this is also a scenery that I have never seen in reality.

But Yu Man was different. She had no idea about the manufacturing process of third-tier novice equipment, so she just took the opportunity to explain, "Brother, you're going to put all your specialization points into this weapon."

"But...this thing seems a little evil?"

"A player's path doesn't have to be bright and glorious."

Yu Man continued.

"Our team has no healers, and with just the two of us, our output is naturally insufficient, so this weapon can make up for both of these problems."

"Output and treatment?"

"Yes, tanks are generally strong control and defensive characters, but their damage output is very low. This is the norm, but not required."

Yu Man pointed at the bloodless sword that was gradually taking shape——

"This thing is different. It sacrifices control and defense in exchange for powerful damage output, and each attack comes with lifesteal healing. It's very powerful."

Hearing this, the deer was smarter than expected and she immediately grasped the key point.

"I see. Regarding defense, I'll rely on that skill gem, 'Lake Mirror'."

"Yes."

As for the lack of control ability, there is no need to talk about it.

Yu Man and the ice staff on his back are the trust and answer in the deer's heart.

The weapon gradually took shape, and it devoured the last bit of flesh and blood before it was satisfied.

Then, the magic power it exhaled and spread around the steel bar, dyeing the steel with its color.

It turned into a scarlet, dull two-handed sword, emitting a strong ominous aura.

"Customer, come and try adjusting the center of gravity." The blacksmith was very satisfied and continued.

"Center of gravity?"

"A weapon's center of gravity is very important. Generally speaking, it's about saving effort and making it easier to use. Go ahead and adjust it."

After saying this casually, Yu Man gently pushed her, but did not forget to add a pat of encouragement... But when the deer moved forward, Yu Man suddenly froze, looking down at her hands, with some troubled brows... Would a lone player do such a thing?

It didn't take long before the weapon was officially formed after the center of gravity was determined and adjusted.

A third-level bloodless longsword—a two-handed sword.

It was almost as tall as the deer, but the blade was as slender as she was, with a long sword groove.

It has four skills.

"Calling Demonic Nature": Powerful single-target damage.

"Turn into Flesh and Blood": Devour the blood and flesh of the enemy's wounds to heal and strengthen the user... This is a passive skill.

"Singing Shadow": Powerful long-range group damage.

"And the ultimate skill—'Bloodless'—is also the origin of the weapon's name."

Yu Man introduced the last skill, which is also the most critical one.

"—Conclude a pact with the weapon, willingly allowing its blood to be devoured in exchange for a strong resonance with it, borrowing demonic power to replace blood."

"...So terrifying?"

"Yeah, but it's actually just a simple and crude enhancement skill."

During the use of "No Blood", the player will become very powerful, the recovery ability will increase dramatically, and the use of skills will have almost no consumption.

Although the price is that there is a period of weakness after the skill ends... and the skill cooldown time of "No Blood" itself is very long.

"I also have a big move." The little deer had a simple mind and his eyes lit up at this word.

but--

"So, when I'm not around, you can still play solo efficiently on your own." Yu Man added.

The deer's excitement about getting a new weapon was dampened by these words.

She pondered for a moment, then typed, "Is there ever a time like that for a fixed team?"

"There are always some, like during holidays, when you're sick and need to rest." Yu Man said as a matter of course.

"Oh, yes... New Year's Eve is here."

Is that so? Yu Man paused for a moment, then remembered that Senior Cat had reminded him that the day after tomorrow would be Spring Festival...

That means, tomorrow... that is, the day after waking up, you will feel the atmosphere of New Year's Eve.

As for myself, apart from sending a blessing text message to my father to see if I can get some rice to eat, I also chat with Senior Cat for a few minutes... and then continue to work hard in the game. It's so cruel.

But Yu Man also knew that for normal people, those were real days.

The same is true for the fawn.

An atmosphere that seemed natural to Chinese people suddenly became real and lingered in this other-worldly game.

So—the deer spoke first.

"Hey, brother, I need to take New Year's Eve off. I can't play games except in sleep mode. I need to celebrate the New Year."

"It's okay, it's okay. I'm busy with giving and receiving red envelopes during the New Year, and I'm also helping out with the New Year's Eve dinner. We'll see each other when I'm in sleep mode tonight."

After saying this, Yu Man blushed. Because it was all lies, complete lies... but there was nothing she could do.

Xiaolu had no objection: "That makes sense. Happy New Year, good brother. Keep an eye on your gaming equipment, don't let your relatives' kids tease you."

"Happy New Year to you too, bro."

"Then can we two brothers still play for a while now?"

"Of course, of course. Let's get all the equipment first, and then we can go to Gaga to run a dungeon and try out our skills. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

After saying this in a cheerful voice, Yu Man kept the second half of the sentence and the silence in his heart.

"This new outfit is my new clothes for the New Year."

……