Famine 174: Payment

Pa-da, pa-da!

The sleek black hole crystal in Alice’s hand leapt down and merged with its companions, bouncing about in all directions.

If you looked closely, you could tell them apart. The forged black hole crystals were smooth and lustrous, translucent all over, like hardened water gleaming with light. The unrefined black holes, by contrast, were still a bit rough around the edges, like raw crystal.

[Buzz… ding!]
[?]
[Tap-tap!]

The little black holes huddled together in a crowd, forming a pile with the polished, gleaming one at the center, chattering away.

After a while, they pushed the smoothest little black hole proudly to the front.

Clink!
A flurry of sparkling fragments trailed behind it as it strutted forward, leading the rest of the little black holes with a self-satisfied air.

Bian Xu laughed. “Looks like its status just went up.”

Tap!

“From today on, you’re the King of the Black Holes!” He pressed two fingers together and high-fived the little black hole with his fingertip. “You’ve reached the pinnacle of mineral life, my friend.”

“That’s proof that Miss Alice’s forging is first-rate,” Si Zhiyan nodded approvingly, but when he looked up he was startled. “Miss Alice?”

Alice was pressing her palms against the coffee table, leaning in so closely she was nearly lying on top of it, staring intently at the bouncing little black crystals.

Her elaborate dress was bunched up in a mound, utterly disheveled. She couldn’t even be bothered to blink; her eyes were stretched wide, bloodshot, with none of a lady’s composure left.

“This…,” she stammered, pupils trembling, “this is impossible…”

“This isn’t right?!” Alice suddenly sat bolt upright, jabbing a finger at the little crystals and shouting.

[?]
The crystals, not understanding, all tilted left together, as if in collective puzzlement.

“This can’t be happening!! It isn’t right!! These are magical ores with spatial power! Spatial power! There’s even a touch of world essence here!” Alice’s voice was fraying at the edges, as though her entire worldview were being shattered. “Do you know how many years it took me to piece together the materials for this castle?! I had to collect them bit by bit throughout the entire Hunger Games world… No—never mind, of all the materials I’ve ever seen, none of them—NONE—holds as much spatial energy as this little guy!”

“I was about to trade an entire tower just for this one stone!”

“This many?! How—how can you possibly have this many?!”

If Bian Xu hadn’t been blocking her, Alice might well have leapt across the table and grabbed Si Zhiyan by the collar.

“What do you mean, mass production?!”
“Where do you mine these? Paradise?!”

As Alice lost control, the air around her bristled with a bloody aura. At some point, a chainsaw had appeared in her hand, and with a buzz, she powered it on.

“At the farm—well, come to think of it, the farm really does resemble paradise… No, wait, that’s not the point! Calm down! That’s a chainsaw—!” Bian Xu simultaneously sprouted a tangle of vines to shield Si Zhiyan from the young lady, all the while shooting frantic looks at Yu Yao. Yu Yao could only respond with a helpless smile.

Perhaps sensing there was no real malice, the little crystals were undaunted—if anything, they were more curious, scampering and bouncing about in the vine enclosure.

The black hole king even managed to sneak out, lodging itself in the tousled mass of Bian Xu’s hair, settling contentedly as if it had found a new nest.

…

Si Zhiyan pinched the bridge of his nose, exhausted.

……

After a bout of chaos, Alice finally calmed down, allowing Yu Yao to help her back onto the sofa opposite.

“Ahem… Sorry, I lost my composure.”
The young lady’s dress was still disheveled as she awkwardly clasped her teacup, head lowered, sipping tea while Yu Yao, behind her, stared studiedly at nothing.
“I didn’t scare you all, did I? I-I’m terribly sorry… Some aspects of my abilities can make my emotions a little unstable…”

Bian Xu ignored the black hole king’s protests as he coolly plucked it from his hair and tossed it back into the vine basket.

Alice sighed. “You really are wealthy, sir farm owner…”

At that, Yu Yao coughed behind her, and Alice sat up hastily. “Ah! Please don’t get the wrong impression—I have no intention of using any improper means to take what’s yours…”

“It’s all right.” Si Zhiyan gave a relaxed smile, leaning back with legs loosely crossed and hands on his knees.

After a moment’s thought, he added, “And even if you did, that would be all right.”

“I only need to know one thing: you’re smart enough to tell the difference between one full meal and every meal being full.”

“That’s enough for me.”

Alice was briefly at a loss. “…Ah, you’re right, of course.”

Si Zhiyan smiled. “Now, let’s talk business. Our daily yield is 130 gems. Are you able to handle that amount?”

Alice visibly reeled at the number, but after a moment’s shaky calculation, she looked up and said, “Well… To forge stones like these I’d have to use my own special technique—the enchanted water bath forging method. One batch uses a whole cauldron of magic water; the quantity isn’t an issue.”

“But, honestly, the cost of the enchanted water bath is incredibly, incredibly high. If you average it out, the projected commission per gem would be 5,000 credits. Since you’re willing to supply food, I can bring it down to 4,000 each. But with large-scale forging, if a batch is overloaded, there will be a certain loss rate—I have to make that clear.”

She shook her head apologetically. “That’s already the friends-and-family rate; I really can’t go any lower.”

Si Zhiyan hesitated slightly, frowning in thought.

The price was, to be honest, rather high.

Given that this was a unique technique in the Hunger Games world, 4,000 credits per stone was still within reason.

But the farm’s production capacity was significant.

Prior to the recent upgrade, the LV1 mine produced 130 gems per day, split between red and blue crystals in a set ratio.

But after the upgrade to LV2, two new mines had been added, each specializing separately.

This tripled the pace to gems per day.

The boost had every farm player celebrating.

After all, up to now, of the farm’s two hundred thousand players, only about 2,600 had been lucky enough to obtain gem equipment. Farm gems were still the most stable—indeed, the most rapidly appreciating—hard currency in the exchange.

Still, every silver lining had its cloud. For Si Zhiyan, at 4,000 credits per black hole gem, the daily expense was… 520,000 credits a day.

Si Zhiyan: …

How many zeros was that?

He possessed the most time-honored of all working-class virtues:
Poverty.

After a moment of silent calculus, Si Zhiyan said, “You want some black hole gemstones, right?”

“!” Alice lifted her head at once, holding her breath, her eyes shining with disbelief and unhidden anticipation. More than ever, she looked just like a child.

Smiling back at her, Si Zhiyan said, “You can accept your fee in black hole gems.”

“It’s all right, we can spare a portion for you—we’ll still have enough left.”

“For every ten black hole crystals we have you forge, you get to keep one. Any forging failures or losses—those come from this share, as payment or otherwise.”
“In addition, the farm would like to keep a permanent portal open for Hephaestus Castle. Not only will this facilitate transportation, but all castle residents are welcome at any time to dine at our farm. Many dishes are both cheap and delicious—you won’t be disappointed.”

“Will this arrangement work for you?”

Alice once again sprang up, slamming the table and crying out with excitement, “Really!!!”

…And Si Zhiyan braced himself against the urge to scoot back from the volume.

“Not a problem at all—I want to eat egg tarts every day! Wait, no, let me do the math on that magic water cost… so expensive…”
Alice scratched her head furiously until all her careful braids came undone, then jumped off the sofa to pace the floor,
“But then, gemstones with such high magical resonance must have a group effect—wielded together, their benefits must multiply… At this rate, we might even be able to further expand the castle’s subspace… My savings, my inventory…”

Her last muttered complaint was almost a wail…
The cost of that magic water really was no joke.

Si Zhiyan took a sip of tea.

In the end, Alice took a deep breath, hair rumpled, and plopped back onto the sofa to declare, “Deal!”

Her cheeks were bright red as she reached out eagerly. “We have a deal! Thank you, this is going to be a great partnership!”

These were the most precious spatial gems in existence!
And they were adorable, too!

Plus, she’d be able to eat delicious meals and desserts!

An opportunity like this wouldn’t come again!

“Deal.” Si Zhiyan shook her hand with a bright grin.

Just like that, the agreement was sealed.

……

Returning to the farm, there was much to be done after the war; many affairs had long been overdue.

With Bian Xu, Si Zhiyan set out at once to visit the players who’d been wounded in the recent battle.

They were all gathered in the central square. After reporting to Si Zhiyan, Li Cui’e had used public farm funds to commission Ye Xianqing to purchase several giant transparent medical pods from the advanced main god marketplace for the use of the injured.

When Si Zhiyan arrived, everyone was resting on sickbeds. Ye Xianqing, assisted by a handful of players drafted as medics, was making rounds inside the pods, but hurried over to greet him:

“Mr. Si!”

In the Hunger Games, even injured players were enhanced—those still alive tended to be active and lively. With the main god marketplace at hand, even wounds that would mean permanent disability before the apocalypse could be repaired with artificial limbs, granted enough credits.

Si Zhiyan’s visit alone was enough to boost spirits. Some sat up immediately, others waved, and a few chanted the farm owner’s name, voicing their emotions, until the pods resounded like a festival.

One wounded player, a very young lad, was missing half his body but could still move. He struggled to sit up and tried to reach out to shake Si Zhiyan’s hand.

Both of the boy’s hands looked as if they’d been scraped clean by something, surviving only thanks to defensive gear, now so battered and bloodied that even bandaging them was difficult.

Without hesitation, Si Zhiyan lifted his coat hem, knelt gently beside the bed, and firmly took the boy’s hand.
He never hesitated, not for a moment.

A hush instantly fell over the room.

The boy burst into tears, lost for words.
Behind him, many other wounded had red-rimmed eyes.

Si Zhiyan took a slow breath, smiled at the young man, then raised his face. Taking advantage of such silence, he made a few announcements to everyone:

First, during everyone’s recovery, all meals would be free—three meals a day plus a midnight snack; order whatever you like, so long as there’s no waste, and the farm would cover every expense. Later, staff would come to take requests for the menu.

Second, for those left with irreversible injuries, the farm would take responsibility. Once wounds had stabilized, anyone with missing limbs would get farm-funded B-grade mechanical or biological prosthetics, ensuring their future dignity and quality of life. If someone had personal savings and wanted to spend extra credits for a higher-grade limb, the cost of the B-grade prosthetic could be converted into credits and deposited into their account to make up the difference.

Third, two days from now, there would be a memorial service in the central square. Rewards would be given according to merit, and compensation for injury or death issued accordingly. Whether a player fell in battle or was honorably wounded, everyone here was a hero of the farm, a hero of humanity.

Humanity would never forget them.