Famine 222: The Sword Suspended

The conquest of the amusement park world signified more than just the benefits the park itself brought.

Most importantly, Alice was willing to surrender the valuable method for forging second-tier gemstones.

That evening, Alice handed the booklet to Si Zhiyan. He skimmed it briefly, then passed it straight to the craftsmen, hoping to increase the production of second-tier gemstones.

The farm’s craftsmen burned the midnight oil, passionately studying the genius notes as they discussed and experimented repeatedly. Even late into the night, the workshop rang with the clash of fire and hammers. Everyone was brimming with excitement, eager to receive this spark of fire from the legacy of Hephaestus.

Thus, time flowed on, little by little.

In the blink of an eye, the seventh year of the famine game came to an end.

The start of the famine game was hardly a day worth commemorating, so there was no holiday to mark it. It was only the circles players marked on their calendars, one after another, forming a closed loop—nothing more.

In previous years, everyone merely exchanged a few tired congratulations: we’ve survived another year.

But this year, everything was different.

Though it was hard to truly celebrate the anniversary of this nightmare’s beginning, in many corners, people chose to add a small sense of ceremony without spending much effort or money.

New commemorative dishes were served in the cafeteria, the baths hosted a New Year’s event, and both the waterpark and amusement park were newly adorned…

People gathered in the safe, comfortable farm, sipping bubble tea and sampling snacks, their heads tilted back as they watched the sun and moon revolve once more.

On a raised platform by the hot springs, the logistics chief Yun Zhong held up his glass. “To a new year, to the beginning of a new life.”

Cheers answered from all sides.

Thus, the eighth year of the famine game began, rung in by the laughter and anxious joy of all, and the burning, tireless struggle of the craftsmen.

Some wished for a little festivity. As head of the household, Si Zhiyan had no intention of ruining anyone’s mood—he let them be.

But Si Zhiyan himself did not attend any celebration.

He stood on the terrace of the farm owner’s cottage, turning the pages of his calendar once more.

The Lord had said the selection game would run for exactly ten years.
This signified that only a little over a year remained before the final showdown.

At present, the farm had conquered fifteen world fragments of varying size.

Among them, only [Amusement Park] and [Heaven’s Fortune Land] were S-rank worlds; there were four A-rank worlds, including [Metropolis] and [Realm of Fantasy]; two were B-rank, with the rest C and D—hardly capable of providing real combat power for the final battle.

Players were gradually finding the knack, and their pace was quickening. But after all, the remaining worlds—especially the higher-tier ones—were dangerously difficult. The current output made this all too clear.

Obviously, at this rate, they were still far from being able to challenge the Lord.

In truth, Si Zhiyan knew that the current progress was already impressive.

After all, just a year ago, players had still been clawing for survival under the specter of the sinister, barely scraping by, merely hoping to live one more day, one more mission.

Now, a year later, players could already stand on equal footing with whole twisted world fragments, seeking out the core stories of each world, reliably conquering a new world every one or two weeks.

This was already a barely imaginable rate of progress.

…But it was not enough. Not nearly enough.

Strong as they were, their opponent was an even more daunting, ineffable existence.

This two-year deadline was like a sword suspended above all humanity’s heads, destined to fall—with no escape, no refuge, and not the slightest hope of luck.
By the day it fell, you had better be truly prepared.

Staring at the dwindling numbers, Si Zhiyan slowly let out a deep breath.

He glanced at his office, where a bare wall stood before him. Si Zhiyan pricked his finger, and with blood as ink, he scrawled several stark, striking characters:

[Countdown to the Lord’s Battle: 730 Days]

After today, it would become 729 days.

—He had to speed up.

His farm and his players had to become even stronger.

Yet, efforts to mass-produce the second-tier gemstone forging had so far been unsuccessful.

Under Wu Jing’s leadership, the craftsmen could not fully grasp all that was written in the manual. Some technical issues simply couldn’t be explained by a handful of lines.

The craftsmen pursued their research earnestly, compiling a list of problems at the end of each phase, which they submitted to Si Zhiyan, so he could coordinate with Alice. This back-and-forth had delayed quite a few things.

So Si Zhiyan went to negotiate with Alice, asking whether a few skilled workers could come to the farm to instruct the locals for a time, with generous compensation.

—But what no one expected was what came next.

The day after hearing the request, Alice, that pampered young mistress, didn’t say a word. She simply packed her luggage and moved directly into the farm’s industrial department.

“Not so easy to learn? Then I’ll come teach myself!”

The workers were taken aback, grateful beyond words.

Perhaps it was her craftsman upbringing, or maybe Supervisor Liu was just adept at reading the room. He’d listened closely to Miss Alice’s preferences and coordinated everyone he could, making sure the reception committee didn’t include any straight-laced old men, decorating everything with pretty pink trinkets and preparing precise afternoon tea.

When Alice arrived, Supervisor Liu led the craftsmen, red carpet and vehicles at the ready, to Hephaestus’ gates.

But when the door opened, they were all momentarily stunned.

Alice arrived alone, with a backpack half a head taller than herself. Her black hair was tied in a sharp, high ponytail, and she was dressed in a fitted black T-shirt and work pants.

With one long stride, she mounted the waiting vehicle.

Her first words upon meeting them: “Ah! Got it, thank you so much.”

The second: “Let’s go. Straight to the workshop!”

Supervisor Liu blushed with shame. “There was no need for Miss Alice to come herself—a few craftsmen would have sufficed. To trouble you personally is too much, really.”

Alice smiled. “What are you saying? You’ve already paid for this.”

She turned her head slightly, watching the clouds race by. “Besides… Si Zhiyan and I are friends. I don’t want to…”

The rest of her words were murmured, swallowed by the evening air.

Naturally, Supervisor Liu didn’t press her.

…………
……

Just as Alice’s energetic instruction began, electrifying news came from the Lava Lands mine itself—

The mine had been upgraded!

When the farm’s ranks first swelled with newcomers, a new problem emerged—

—The mine’s output could no longer keep pace.

When the worlds shifted over, Si Zhiyan’s mine was LV2, producing 130 of each gemstone per day.

At the time, the farm’s population was only several tens of thousands, so naturally there was no issue—a short wait, and everyone would have a stone.

But now, things had changed!

The farm’s population was already several hundred thousand, approaching the million mark, and the influence was spreading ever further throughout the famine game. The farm’s players were so strong that few died on missions; losses were minimal, and surviving players converged here in ever-growing numbers… And everyone was earning more coins.

Players thronged the shop windows, waving their newly fattened savings and shouting “Take my money!” eager for stronger gear.

The absurdly short supply during the last wave of second-tier gemstone sales said it all.

And so, while the queues and the lottery for waiting players grew ever more feverish, the LV2 mine finally upgraded to LV3, living up to all expectations.

[Ding! Congratulations, you have met the requirements to upgrade your mine!]
[Your mine is now LV3!]

[New ore added: Life Crystal]

[Current production: 1,550 of each ore per day]

[Mine upgrade requires 48 hours of downtime. Upgrade boost has been added to your backpack and will take effect when you select a time.]

1,550 of each ore per day!

The output had nearly quintupled! And just the name “Life Crystal” sounded so promising!

The moment the system broadcast the announcement, Si Zhiyan leapt to his feet in delight. Sensing something, he turned around just in time to see Bian Xu slam open the door and charge in from outside, slightly breathless and eyes shining.

Si Zhiyan opened his arms with a laugh and caught Bian Xu in a hug.

His golden retriever was always more enthusiastic than he was.

Bian Xu hugged Si Zhiyan tightly, exclaiming excitedly, “Everyone’s combat power should take a big leap now!”

He rattled on, “Let me do the math: the farm now has close to 900,000 players. If we don’t count the black holes, and armed every player with one of each ore’s weapon, we’d need just over 200 days to get everyone equipped…”

Si Zhiyan smiled, patted his back, and nodded.

Still, none of this was a surprise. After all, just like the upgrade from LV1 to LV2, the requirements for a LV3 mine were all about output—a matter of calculation.

So, what would the upgrade requirement be for LV4? How long would that take?

Si Zhiyan let go of Bian Xu and opened the mine’s system menu for a closer look:

[LV4 upgrade requirement: Unlock second-tier gemstone forging, and the daily output of second-tier gemstones must be more than half the total daily gemstone output.]

Si Zhiyan: “…”
Si Zhiyan: “Eh?”

Before he could say anything else, an urgent knock suddenly sounded at the door.

Before Bian Xu could answer, Supervisor Liu came rushing in with apologies and excitement, loudly proclaiming—

“Mr. Si! Mr. Si! Good news! Our craftsmen have succeeded!”

“We’ve found a way to mass-produce second-tier gemstones! And with Miss Alice, we’ve even improved the forging process—now the second-tier forges are faster than the first!”

“The test furnace just finished, and the results are in! Today’s yield of azure crystals is 150, and with our current number of craftsmen, all 150 can be refined in a day with second-tier forging!”

“Haha, from now on, there’s no need to bother with first-tier gemstones any longer. With this output, we can finally relax—thank goodness… Uh, no, I mean…”

Realizing he’d said too much in his excitement, Supervisor Liu coughed twice and hurried to change the subject.

For such a usually smooth-talking official, this was a rare slip.

Even so, this little episode didn’t dampen Supervisor Liu’s mood—he eagerly showed off a sparkling blue crystal to Si Zhiyan, holding it up for inspection.

“This is from the test furnace. Please take a look, Mr. Si—”

“Mr.…”

Yet instead of excitement, Si Zhiyan and Bian Xu looked slightly stunned, which left Supervisor Liu increasingly puzzled.

He slowly drew back his neck and, a bit nervously, murmured, “…Mr. Si?”

Si Zhiyan turned slowly, exchanging a glance with Bian Xu.

Just then, the system notification sounded at exactly the right moment:

[Ding! Congratulations, you have met the requirements to upgrade your mine!]
[Your mine is now LV4!]

[New ores: Feather Crystal, Crimson Blood Crystal, Golden Crow Stone]

[Current production: 4,000 of each ore per day]