Magic Farm 111

Chapter 111: Gaining the “Farmhouse,” Gaining the “Tree of Life”

The moment this announcement appeared, every region in the survival game erupted into chaos:

[Holy crap, a green resource point reward for the entire server! Since when is this damn game so generous?]

[I Love Survival Game? I remember this bootlicker’s ID—he’s been on the server-wide announcements so many times, hasn’t he?]

[Zone 01, Star Forest—this is one bootlicker carrying a whole pack of freeloaders! Excuse me, is it possible to transfer servers in Survival Game? No offense, I just want to know what it feels like to be a dog.]

[Where’s our number one? Where’s the top player in our region? Look at the big shot in their region! That’s your goal!]

If the other regions were this excited, how could the players of Zone 01 be any less so?

[Cockroach Flavor Is Strange: Game boss, let me call you ‘Dad’ first as a sign of respect!]

[Grind King: Green resource point, awesome, thank you, game daddy.]

[Stray on the Roadside: From now on, I’m your loyal dog, boss. Wherever you point, I’ll bite. No hesitation.]

[Little Old Me: Game boss, you’re amazing!]

[Grumpy Old Bro: I got the reward and opened a little fish pond. It’ll provide fresh fish every day. Heh, if anyone wants fish, DM me for a trade. @ILoveSurvivalGame, boss, if you want fish, just tell me. I’ll give you some for free—this fish pond is all thanks to your good fortune.]

[Be a Good Person: I got a small grove, which can steadily produce green-quality wood. This is great—finally, I might have enough materials for a level 2 shelter. Thank you, my game dad @ILoveSurvivalGame.]

……

Qi Yu absentmindedly clicked into the regional chat, only to be scared off by the flood of “Dad” messages filling the channel.

Even with the groundwork laid by Shenben Wuxiang, he still couldn’t quite get used to the Blue Star people’s habit of calling everyone “Dad” at the drop of a hat.

He opened the Zone 01 Survival Squad group chat:

[Don’t Dare Open My Eyes: I knew it. Every time the game boss disappears for a few days, he’s cooking up something big.]

[Need a Little Money to Save Me: This is huge—he’s been holding back a nuclear bomb!]

[Serenity Leads to Distance: I guessed before that he might have a way to contact the outside world, but I didn’t expect he’d already explored so many places!]

Suddenly, Qi Yu received a private message:

[Serenity Leads to Distance: Good child, venturing alone into a completely unfamiliar world—you must have had a hard time, haven’t you?]

[Serenity Leads to Distance: My green resource point produced a magical creature called the Ironclad Beetle. Their shed shells can be used to forge and process weapons and equipment, increasing durability by 10%. If you ever need any, just come to me.]

No matter how powerful the “game boss” seemed in others’ eyes, to him, this was still a child far younger than himself.

What he thought of first was what this child must have paid behind the scenes for such success.

[ILoveSurvivalGame: Thank you for your concern, Teacher Serenity, but I haven’t had a hard time at all. I’m very capable, and the people out here are wonderful.]

This was why Qi Yu always showed extra respect to his elders.

Whether it was Tessa or Teacher Serenity, they both possessed a kind of gentle, embracing strength.

He checked his friends list.

Sure enough, Shenben Wuxiang, all the way over in Zone 88, had already sent his congratulations.

[Shenben Wuxiang: Congratulations, congratulations.]

[Shenben Wuxiang: This is way more impressive than an ordinary server-wide announcement!]

[Shenben Wuxiang: Now every player in every region can see this ranking—Zone 01, Star Forest, is known to all. And everyone knows, this glory was earned by “ILoveSurvivalGame.”]

[Shenben Wuxiang: A green resource point reward for the whole server—even I’m jealous after seeing it. I really envy the players in your region.]

[Shenben Wuxiang: Now the pressure’s on me. Game bro, do you know how many @ mentions I got in just the last few minutes?]

[Shenben Wuxiang: All of them grilling me, saying I’m not working hard enough, saying I’m getting lazy. If the number one in another region can do it, why can’t I?]

He sent a long string of messages.

[ILoveSurvivalGame: Don’t listen to them.]

[Shenben Wuxiang: Haha, I won’t take it seriously.]

[Shenben Wuxiang: I won’t bother you for now—I need to work hard too. Can’t let you leave me too far behind.]

[ILoveSurvivalGame: Good luck.]

Qi Yu had intended to exit the friends page, but after a moment’s hesitation, he added another line:

[ILoveSurvivalGame: You’re already the most amazing friend I have, Shenben Wuxiang.]

Shan Xingyu stared at this message, which was clearly a beat too slow, and seemed to see the little local guy on the other end racking his brains to comfort him.

He’d only meant to play the victim for a bit, but now he suddenly felt he might have gone too far.

[Shenben Wuxiang: Sigh, honestly, I wasn’t affected at all.]

[Shenben Wuxiang: Anyone who tried to be snide with me got shut down so hard they didn’t dare make a sound.]

He changed the subject:

[Shenben Wuxiang: I’ve never seen a purple resource point—what is it? Show me something new!]

[ILoveSurvivalGame: I haven’t opened it yet. I’ll tell you once I do.]

Qi Yu opened his personal inventory.

[Resource Point Gift Pack detected. Open now?]

Qi Yu selected “Yes.”

[Obtained green-quality resource: “Farmhouse.”]

[Obtained purple-quality resource: “Tree of Life.”]

Huh?

These two items were nothing like what Qi Yu had imagined.

The resource points he’d received before, like the Scarlet Maple Grove and the Emerald Peach Orchard, all steadily produced supplies.

He’d also gotten a small lake, which produced a blue-quality material every day and could be fished.

He’d assumed the rewards this time would be similar.

[Farmhouse: Building-type resource. Can recruit two farmer-class NPCs.]

[Tree of Life: A sapling born from the branches and leaves of the Elven Mother Tree, containing the power of the laws of nature and life. Prolonged contact deepens one’s understanding of these laws.]

[Would you like to place them?]

The farmhouse was a neat, square little house. Qi Yu placed it next to the well and the plot where he grew mutated plants.

He waited, but nothing seemed to happen—there was no sign of the two “farmer NPCs” anywhere.

Suppressing his curiosity, he placed the Tree of Life beside the small lake.

The instant the Tree of Life was planted, dense magical energy and life force flooded the entire territory.

Qi Yu looked up. The tree was about ten meters tall; in appearance, it wasn’t particularly eye-catching or beautiful, nor did it have any special features.

Yet to a mage’s eyes, the whole tree seemed woven from all kinds of magical elements, and the life force within it was so intense it seemed almost tangible.

He couldn’t help but walk beneath the tree and take a deep breath.

Both his body and spirit seemed soothed in that moment; his mind was crystal clear.

Training beneath this tree would surely yield twice the results with half the effort.

He hadn’t forgotten what he’d promised earlier.

[ILoveSurvivalGame: Info €€ Tree of Life. The material from the purple resource point is this.]

[Shenben Wuxiang: Whoa!]

[Shenben Wuxiang: There it is—the essential “tool tree” for every protagonist in Western fantasy novels! No wonder it’s a purple resource point. And its attributes are a perfect fit for your mage class.]

[ILoveSurvivalGame: Yes, it seems the rewards given by the system now are tailored to match the player’s class.]

The Tree of Life from the purple resource point would greatly benefit his magical cultivation.

And the “Farmhouse” seemed perfectly suited to his farmer profession as well.

Teacher Serenity had also mentioned earlier that the “Ironclad Beetle” from his resource point was useful for crafting weapons and equipment.

[Shenben Wuxiang: I had my suspicions before, but after seeing you unlock the reputation system today, I’m even more convinced—don’t you think the Survival Game is helping us integrate into this world?]

[ILoveSurvivalGame: Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. All we can do is live our lives as best we can.]

He remembered that on the very first day he entered the Survival Game, the system had said the only goal for players was to survive.

Coincidentally, that was his own life creed as well—to live on, no matter what.

Perhaps it was fate that tied him to the Survival Game.

Qi Yu felt his mood inexplicably lighten.

.

Opening the regional chat, Qi Yu found that the topic had shifted again.

Before, it had been all “holy crap” and “Dad” messages; now, everyone was analyzing the reputation rankings.

Qi Yu glanced at the content, opened the reputation ranking, and noticed a line at the bottom he hadn’t seen before.

[As region and territory reputation increases, the refresh rate of regional specialty resource points will also increase, and it will be easier to attract wandering merchants, trade caravans, NPCs, and others to visit.]

The regional channel was abuzz with discussion about this.

[Grind King: Wandering merchants? Trade caravans? NPCs? Come on out! Slimes! Goblins!]

[Jiangnan Misty Rain Guest: So far, it seems the Survival Game encourages players to develop their own territories. So if you haven’t staked out your territory yet, you should start working on it.]

[Squash Warrior: What territory? Don’t we all just have a little wooden hut?]

[Old Civil Engineer: The simplest way is to fence off an area—whatever you enclose becomes your “territory.”]

[Grumpy Old Bro: You can also get it from chests or as a reward. I got a magical plant hedge that automatically fenced off a territory for me.]

Just then, someone suddenly popped up.

[Little Old Me (Highlighted): Fellow players, I have something to report.]

He’d bought a top-post item visible to all players in the region, and as soon as he spoke, everyone else’s messages were pushed down.

[Cockroach Flavor Is Strange: ?]

[Grumpy Old Bro: What are you doing? About to spout more nonsense?]

[Little Old Me (Highlighted): @ILoveSurvivalGame, boss, are you there? This concerns you as well.]

[Little Old Me (Highlighted): Really, I mean no harm—this is a big deal.]

[Grind King: ? What are you doing? That highlight megaphone is expensive.]

Some people grumbled, but there was no denying that Little Old Me’s few sentences had piqued everyone’s curiosity.

Especially since this involved the regional number one, the “game daddy” ILoveSurvivalGame.

[ILoveSurvivalGame: ?]

[Cockroach Flavor Is Strange: Wow, he actually got our game dad to show up?]

[Grind King: Good evening, Dad.]

[Grumpy Old Bro: Good evening, Dad.]

[Stray on the Roadside: Good evening, Dad.]

A long string of “Good evening, Dad” messages queued up in the chat.

Qi Yu: “……”

[ILoveSurvivalGame: Can you all speak normally? I don’t want to be your dad.]

[Little Old Me (Highlighted): Game boss, you finally showed up.]

Seeing Qi Yu appear, Little Old Me felt reassured. He was certain that, at this very moment, this was probably the time when the most people were watching the regional chat.

[Little Old Me (Highlighted): I’m sure no one has forgotten the Calamity Rain incident. We lost many of our fellow players. Many thought it was an accident, a natural disaster—I used to think so too.]

[Little Old Me (Highlighted): But recently, I happened to learn the truth. With so many lives at stake, I can’t, in good conscience, keep this hidden. That disaster wasn’t an accident at all—it was man-made!]

[I Am Very Bossy: You can eat whatever you want, but you can’t say whatever you want. @Little Old Me, do you have any proof?]

[Old Civil Engineer: Exactly. And why are you dragging the game boss into this? Don’t make wild accusations.]

[Little Old Me (Highlighted): Don’t misunderstand—I’m not saying the game boss is a suspect. In fact, he was the biggest victim of all.]

[Little Old Me (Highlighted): That Calamity Rain was caused by @My Fate Is Mine, Not Heaven’s, who used a powerful cursed item to target the game boss.]

[Little Old Me (Highlighted): The game boss was strong enough to survive, but many other players in the region were caught in the curse’s backlash—some just lost their status, but others lost their lives.]

A single stone stirred up a thousand waves.