Magic Farm 144

Chapter 144: A New Commission—To Team Up or Not?

In the days that followed, there was little change in the Forest of Stars. The temperature held steady at around minus twenty degrees, with only minor fluctuations.

At this temperature, given the players’ current physical attributes, it wasn’t particularly hard to endure. Aside from the initial discomfort when the temperature first dropped, everyone quickly adapted.

It was cold, yes, but there was no need to go to work, no need to stay up late, and everyone’s energy and spirits were excellent.

Aside from warming themselves by the fire and practicing the combat techniques they’d bought from Qi Yu, players didn’t have much else to do.

So, they started looking for ways to entertain themselves.

A wave of “artistic expression” swept through the District 01 regional channel. No one knew who started it, but soon people began posting pictures of the snowmen they’d built, and before long, most players were joining in.

Qi Yu more than once found Blue Star people truly fascinating: no matter the environment, they always seemed able to find some way to amuse themselves.

He, on the other hand, had not been idle these past few days.

The basic combat technique the players were learning wasn’t of much use to him.

He had the butler to give him private lessons.

Qi Yu had the butler teach him, one by one, all forty-nine forms of combat technique he knew.

He’d always had a good memory, and now, spending his days meditating under the Tree of Life and the Tree of Wisdom, his comprehension had soared to new heights.

While learning combat techniques, every three days he would go to the Earth Guardian for a sparring session.

There was also the “Basic Principles of Magic Circles” course he’d spent so many gold coins on.

Although he now had Teacher Egnoel, it seemed a waste to have only attended two classes after paying so much.

So, he continued with the lessons.

Teacher Karen seemed genuinely pleased to see him. The entire three-hour class was packed, not a minute wasted.

It was only after returning to the shelter that Qi Yu realized: what Karen was teaching didn’t seem like a basic course at all.

In short, he was busy every day. It might have looked like he didn’t have much to do, but he never had a moment to spare.

During this time, Shen Ben Wuxiang would come over every day via the teleportation array to dig snow.

Qi Yu also checked in on the situation in the Golden Sand Desert: similar to the Forest of Stars, but hot, with blazing sun every day.

It seemed everyone had entered a brief period of rest—uncomfortable weather, but no real danger.

The first week of the second month passed in this peaceful, fulfilling way.

That night, Qi Yu had just come back from getting beaten up by the Earth Guardian.

In the evening, he didn’t cultivate; instead, he took a shower, changed into comfortable pajamas, and happily hugged his blanket to sleep.

In the middle of the night, half-asleep, he noticed the noise outside had grown louder.

The north wind howled, as if it would overturn the heavens and the earth.

In his sleep, he frowned, instinctively hugging his blanket tighter. But, sensing no danger, he soon drifted into a deeper sleep.

It wasn’t until the next morning that Qi Yu realized something was wrong.

He opened his personal panel.

[Current Location: Forest of Stars.]

[Today’s Weather: Blizzard, -41°C ~ -37°C, Gale force 9.]

It had gotten even colder.

He opened the regional channel, his gaze sharpening.

The number of players in District 01 had held steady at 72,000 for some time.

But now, that number was 71,863.

[Cockroach Tastes Weird: We lost over a hundred people last night?]

[Grumpy Bro: Did anyone actually sleep well last night? That wind had me worried my shelter’s roof would get blown clean off.]

[Liver Emperor: Has anyone already gotten up and gone outside? Try chopping a tree.]

[Liver Emperor: @I Love Survival Game, boss, I’m seeing a restriction on logging. The trees I chopped yesterday haven’t respawned—there’s a 3-day cooldown.]

[Roadside Stray: Seriously? @Liver Emperor, with this weather, if you don’t keep the fire going, you’ll freeze to death.]

[Grumpy Bro: Man, you’re hardcore. It’s barely dawn! @Liver Emperor]

[Don’t Dare Open My Eyes: The temperature dropped at midnight, and the wind picked up. I saw players in the channel asking for help—their cabins’ durability was dropping fast.]

[Don’t Dare Open My Eyes: Probably those who never upgraded their shelters. I gave out some wood. Sigh.]

In this kind of weather, shelter problems meant hell mode for players.

[Cappuccino Please: I barely slept last night too. I saw those players talking. All I can say is, it was their own choice, can’t blame anyone else.]

[Cappuccino Please: I’m not great at the game either, and my luck’s bad—I couldn’t get enough blueprints, so my shelter’s still level one. But I listened to the advice from the experts, spent these days chopping wood and practicing combat techniques whenever I could.]

[Cappuccino Please: Last night, my fence and house kept showing durability loss, but I had enough wood to patch it up in time.]

[Cappuccino Please: Some of the IDs that went gray last night were always in the channel talking about how they refused to be wage slaves in the survival game, saying if they died, they’d just go back to Blue Star. I once tried to tell them to stock up on resources, but they cursed me out. Maybe now, they really have gone back to Blue Star.]

“Cappuccino Please” wasn’t usually active in the channel, so it was rare to see such a long message.

Many players read it and fell silent.

Of the 70,000-plus players in District 01, only a small portion had upgraded to level 2 shelters.

Most still lived in sturdy wooden cabins, and last night, more or less, everyone was affected.

But as Cappuccino said, when shelter durability dropped, the survival panel would issue a warning—even the deepest sleeper would be woken up.

Anyone who’d saved some resources and patched things up in time wouldn’t have been wiped out in one go.

Qi Yu read Liver Emperor’s message and immediately got up, dressed, and prepared to head out.

Passing the window, he paused.

The message bottle had returned at this moment.

He’d tried before to figure out the bottle’s return pattern, thinking if he could find it, he wouldn’t have to worry about missing its arrival when he was busy.

But after several tries, there was no pattern at all—sometimes it was gone for three days, sometimes for more than ten.

He didn’t open the bottle right away, but quickly jumped out the window, spread his Azure Wings, and in an instant was outside his territory.

It was cold.

Qi Yu was instantly reminded of the blizzards he’d seen on the Winter Icefield—just the same, a white world, wind whipping snow and ice against him.

Visibility was almost zero.

But he had the Guardian Mage Robe for protection, and in this area, he could find trees even with his eyes closed.

He reached a patch of forest and saw the familiar “Choppable” sign.

He took out his logging axe.

What used to take him half an hour now required only a single swing—the tree fell and instantly turned into neat piles of wood.

Qi Yu didn’t stop, clearing the whole patch and collecting all the wood.

But to verify Liver Emperor’s claim, he’d have to wait until tomorrow.

Flying back through the window into his room, Qi Yu felt like a thief in his own house.

He grabbed the message bottle from the wooden box.

Opened it.

[Duke Notting of the Kyra Empire has a young daughter. Her seven-year-old life is about to end. Her wish is to see a legendary elf.]

[Commission: Are you willing to play the role of an elf to fulfill the little girl’s wish?]

[This commission is a desperate measure. The bottle couldn’t find a suitable candidate. You may refuse.]

Qi Yu: ???

His first reaction was: Bottle, you’re making things hard for me, but you’re also being pretty considerate.

You want me to play an elf?

His instinct was to refuse.

But as his finger hovered over the options, he glanced again at the task description.

Seven years old.

His gaze lingered there for a long time, lashes fluttering gently.

So young.

Maybe because this was a “difficult” commission, unlike other tasks, there was no ten-minute timer for his decision.

It was as if he was being given plenty of time to consider.

Just then, a teleportation request flashed.

Shen Ben Wuxiang walked in carrying a food box.

Seeing Qi Yu, he asked, “Something troubling you?”

Qi Yu answered honestly, “Not really troubling, I just don’t know what to do.”

As he spoke, he made up his mind: accept.

A seven-year-old girl, at the end of her life.

He really didn’t want to refuse.

And besides that, there was something else that drew him in.

The setting—Kyra Empire.

He’d never been, but he’d heard of it. The weapons used by the alchemy automata in his territory were standard issue for the Kyra Empire’s army.

Although the butler could cook, Qi Yu had given all his ingredients to Shen Ben Wuxiang.

And… he had to admit, while the butler’s food was good, after a few days, he noticed it all tasted about the same.

Perhaps that was the limitation of alchemical life.

Shen Ben Wuxiang’s cooking was still better.

Since Shen Ben Wuxiang came every day to dig snow, he’d taken over as chef.

Today, he’d made two kinds of breakfast.

Cold noodles, sour and spicy and very appetizing, paired with chilled marinated beast meat and vinegar-dressed cucumber.

There was also steaming, milky-white soy milk, mild sweet tofu pudding, and plump steamed buns, both meat and vegetable.

The cold noodles were for Shen Ben Wuxiang himself. Even though his territory had a temperature control array, the heat and sun killed his appetite.

Considering that Qi Yu’s side was all ice and snow, he’d made a warming breakfast—just as Qi Yu’s soybeans had ripened, he’d developed several new dishes.

“Tell me, maybe I can help.”

Qi Yu picked up a bowl of soy milk. From his first sip, he fell in love with it.

He blew gently to cool it a little. “I received a commission.”

He explained the task, and then voiced his worry: “How am I supposed to pretend to be an elf?”

Shen Ben Wuxiang was surprised. “Kyra Empire? Is this how you took on tasks when you went exploring before?”

Qi Yu nodded.

“What a fascinating life,” Shen Ben Wuxiang marveled. “Your survival game seems like a different version from ours. Qi Yu the Traveler? Miraculous Encounters Around the World?”

He laughed, seeing the confusion in the local boy’s eyes.

When he finished, Shen Ben Wuxiang studied Qi Yu and said seriously, “Actually, I don’t think you need to pretend much. You already look pretty elven.”

Qi Yu said, “But I’ve seen Teacher Egnoel, and he doesn’t look like us.”

Shen Ben Wuxiang replied, “All the better. Just dress up like your teacher!”

Qi Yu hesitated. “Really?”

Shen Ben Wuxiang nodded confidently. “It’s just a cosplay commission. I’ve looked into it before—almost went pro.”

He hadn’t, only because he wasn’t of age and couldn’t take jobs.

“Tell me what your teacher looks like. Let’s see if we can recreate it.”

Qi Yu: “Silver long hair, braided, with a silver circlet, pointed ears…”

Shen Ben Wuxiang wrote it all down, nodding. “Sounds just like the elves I imagined.”

He hesitated. “But in the survival game, wigs and colored contacts are hard to get.”

Then his eyes lit up. “Aren’t you a mage?”

He gestured. “Can’t you use magic to make your hair longer or change the color?”

“I remember, during the racing event, your eyes could turn silver.”

Qi Yu: “…That was using spiritual power to alter them. Would that work?”

Shen Ben Wuxiang was sure. “Of course! It’s even better than contacts—it’s real.”

Qi Yu blinked, and in a moment, his pupils turned silver.

“Wow, that’s cool!” Shen Ben Wuxiang exclaimed, then quickly asked, “Does holding that state make you uncomfortable or use up a lot of energy?”

If so, they’d have to find another way.

Qi Yu shook his head. “No.”

It just took a bit of spiritual energy.

But this trick gave him some inspiration.

While Shen Ben Wuxiang was still thinking, Qi Yu tried casting a hair growth spell on himself.

Shen Ben Wuxiang watched as his friend’s hair grew longer and longer, flowing down to his waist like a special effect.

Black as a waterfall, so smooth it could star in a shampoo commercial back on Blue Star.

Unaware of his friend’s shock, Qi Yu marveled at how useful magic was.

He curiously gathered a handful of hair and tried again.

The magic from the source of ice and snow surged, and inch by inch, his black hair was dyed with the color of frost.

“Success!” He looked up at Shen Ben Wuxiang, delighted.

Shen Ben Wuxiang had gone very quiet.

Meeting Qi Yu’s gaze, he coughed, his eyes darting away for some reason.

Maybe it was just that his friend looked… just too dazzling.

Yes! Too dazzling!

Shen Ben Wuxiang finally found the answer and convinced himself.

It was so dazzling, he had to look away.

With the reason settled, he felt at ease again, and the strategist in him returned. “Perfect! Now all you need is the right clothes and styling.”

“Your mage robe is pretty good, but you can’t wear what you have on underneath.”

Qi Yu: “I’ve got that—I have a full mage robe set.”

He thought for a moment. “Actually, it looks a lot like what Teacher Egnoel wears.”

He asked Shen Ben Wuxiang to wait, then went to his room and changed into a green mage robe.

When he came out and glanced in the mirror, he was startled by his own reflection.

A moment later, his heart brimmed with confidence.

Because—just now, when he saw himself in the mirror, he almost didn’t recognize himself.

And, most importantly, his first thought was: I actually look kind of expensive now.

He swept over to Shen Ben Wuxiang like a light breeze.

Shen Ben Wuxiang’s hand, resting on the table, clenched reflexively, as if trying to catch something.

Qi Yu didn’t notice, and neither did Shen Ben Wuxiang.

“Perfect,” he praised, eyes shining as he looked at his friend. “Now, who could say you’re not an elf?”

With his hair grown out, Qi Yu’s head felt much heavier—he wasn’t used to it.

He said, “When I first started learning magic, my hair grew a lot every morning. It was so inconvenient. I had to cut it for days before it stopped.”

Shen Ben Wuxiang had him sit down, reached out, and took a handful of silver hair.

Maybe because of the ice magic, it was cool and silky, like a handful of moonlight.

He said softly, “I’ll braid it for you—it’ll be easier.”

Qi Yu was surprised. “You can do that?”

“Shen Ben Wuxiang, is there anything you can’t do?”

As soon as he said it, he fell silent.

Shen Ben Wuxiang was only eighteen, even younger than himself.

Knowing so many different things wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

The Blue Star regional channel looked so stable and prosperous—so why would a kid have learned so much?

Shen Ben Wuxiang grinned. “Of course. I used to braid hair for tourists at scenic spots during holidays—could make over a thousand yuan a day. My styles were way more creative than anyone else’s.”

He wasn’t exaggerating—his hands were quick and steady. Before Qi Yu even noticed, he was done.

Qi Yu moved, and sure enough, no stray hair fell.

Shen Ben Wuxiang turned his head, not looking at him.

“All done. I promise, no one will suspect a thing.”

Qi Yu felt the same.

He remembered something, raised his hand, and slowly formed a small piece of ice in his palm.

He shaped the ice into two pointed ears and placed them on his own ears.

“Now I have pointed ears too.”

Shen Ben Wuxiang shivered. “Doesn’t that feel cold?”

Qi Yu laughed. “It’s my magic—how could it be cold?”

He looked at Shen Ben Wuxiang. “I’m ready to go. If my experience holds, I’ll be back by tomorrow night at the latest.”

Shen Ben Wuxiang had long known he could travel for exploration, but this was the first time he’d seen him leave the territory.

And this time, to a completely unfamiliar place—the Kyra Empire.

He asked nervously, “There won’t be any danger, right?”

In a flash, a dark green cloak enveloped the glowing figure.

Qi Yu had put on the Guardian Mage Robe.

He pointed to the badge on his chest. “It will protect me.”

If nothing went wrong, the Kyra Empire should also have a Mage Association.

For some reason, once Qi Yu had donned the mage robe and his friend’s face was hidden, Shen Ben Wuxiang’s breathing seemed to return to normal.

“That’s good,” he said with a smile. “If anything happens, contact me anytime.”

He added, “Do you still have a teleportation scroll? If not, I’ll give you another.”

Qi Yu reassured him several times that he’d be careful, stay safe, and had all the supplies he needed.

He opened his panel and selected “Accept Commission.”

Soon, the sound of hoofbeats approached.

Just as Qi Yu was about to head over, the survival panel popped up with a message he’d never seen before:

[Detected: Player holds the “Hearts in Harmony” title. You may invite teammates with the same title to complete the commission as a team.]

[Invite?]

Qi Yu froze.

He spun around.

Shen Ben Wuxiang was right behind him, watching. “Did you forget something?”

Qi Yu said, “Not something—but a good friend.”

“Shen Ben Wuxiang, do you want to come explore a new world with me?”