Ning Zheng watched the scene of over a hundred people dancing like a bonfire party and just shook his head.
The taste buds of creatures are different; for them, even soil tastes delicious.
If he were to eat soil, he would truly throw up.
Besides, is it really the best food of their lifetime?
They were just too hungry for too long; everything they eat seems like the best.
Hunger is the best seasoning.
Ning Zheng was actually a bit envious of them, unlike him who had to work hard to find meat, catch River Demons, and supplement his diet for cultivation.
He got up and took a turn, inspecting the whole manor, then prepared to go down the mountain.
He wasn't worried about this group of little blacksmiths going down the mountain and mistakenly entering those Spirit Manors to die.
Because the manor has an Illusion Array, Ning Zheng was very "lucky" to walk out of it back then, to reach the Spirit Manor below.
After Ning Zheng took a tour and came back, he found they had already eaten their fill, each with their bellies round and full of Guanyin Soil, ready to continue working overtime. They were quite diligent.
But they were unaware.
In the second half of the night, there is no specific work.
Ning Zheng planned to order them to "log off" and sleep; after all, you can't stay up late playing games either.
Because each person can only lose -2 Qi Fortune Value a day, playing for an hour or a whole day makes no difference, so naturally, he let them log off early.
Moreover,
he planned to observe for a while.
He always felt these newcomers seemed somewhat emotionally unstable.
If he didn't watch closely, who knows what they might do during night shifts in the manor once he went home?
This wasn't about him judging others harshly; it was just that after he secretly observed a circle, he found they were born with remarkable talents, a part coming in braying about "how can a great man born between Heaven and Earth…".
Fortunately, he was prepared; all the good stuff in the manor was already moved back to his home, including tens of thousands of Magic Coins in storage, which now made Ning Zheng affluent, enough to make some Great Cultivators envious.
And these people secretly, under the guise of rebuilding the dormitory, nimbly rummaged through boxes and chests, desperately searching for treasure chests in the ruins.
They peeled several layers off the ground and didn't tire of it.
The sight of them leaving no grass behind while occassionally stashing away small trinkets, lost Magic Coins, sharp knives, and awls, stuffing them into their trousers and sneaking glances around, was more perverse than those Demon Ghosts.
Though these things weren't worth much, barely reaching a hundred Magic Coins, it made Ning Zheng start to wonder what on earth was wrong with that world?
Just over twenty years passed, and the world before he transmigrated feared to be experiencing a horror resurgence.
He was actually interested, wanting to secretly observe more, to see which kind of monster from the Classic of Mountains and Seas they were.
Unease began to fill his heart.
He started to worry a bit about their mental state.
[At seven o'clock, everyone will be forced to clock out and sleep.]
Ning Zheng had already prepared a game notification, sending it to everyone through Ai.
After all, he had now learned to use the development team's name to issue simple announcements through Ai.
Continuously, on his way out of the manor, Ning Zheng listened to them forming groups and chatting everywhere.
"Logging off at seven during the beta test? We've only played for 11 hours, is this looking down on our Immortal Cultivation Faction?"
"Exactly, we haven't experienced much."
"Let's talk about it tomorrow when we log on again. For now, let's find a place to get some sleep."
Everyone was physically exhausted, but mentally extremely hyper, chattering noisily.
Some even lit a bonfire, gathered around to sing, chat, and date, like a tiring day of military training at school ending with everyone singing and performing around a fire.
"Have a bite; this grilled piece smells amazing, like gluten." A Child near the campfire held an iron stick with a lump of mud, roasting it until golden.
It seemed someone was developing other food systems, like Mud Chicken.
There was also a secret Dark Crab King Burger with wriggling worms, weeds, and stones sandwiched inside.
And others drinking from soil bowls, calling it a large chocolate tartlet, downing the chocolate bowl with soup in one gulp, claiming it was super delicious.
When Ning Zheng passed by, they enthusiastically invited him at the bonfire:
"Steward, come and try some."
"Yes, come tell us country bumpkins who haven't seen the world about interesting stories, customs, and cultures from various places, so we can broaden our horizons."
"Indeed, we're not afraid of hardship; we'll stay up working."
They were extremely warm, hospitable, and cheerful.
Ning Zheng smiled and declined, expressing that no matter how rough life was, he wouldn't eat soil.
But watching, he indeed felt a bit hungry.
These years have been really frugal, having something to fill the stomach was already good, let alone pursuing various types.
Meanwhile,
Jiucai Rong and a few assistants were making plans.
They were observing everywhere, writing and drawing, full of fighting spirit and anticipating the future.
"In the future, we need to divide a food area, source specially, and designate a batch of professional cafeteria chefs, after all, forging is tiring."
"Yes, designate a food area to prevent them from eating and drinking everywhere, then unknowingly sourcing from that spot..."
"Humph, such a waste of food, standing on a mountain of chocolate, salad, cake, and mustard, filthy and repeatedly wasting food."
"Of course, the extraordinary world may have extraordinary ingredients, extraordinary earth, extraordinary metals, possibly tasting better. We should pay attention when digging holes."
"Indeed, is this about mining treasure and discovering a higher-grade food area? That's too interesting!"
Ning Zheng just listened, feeling amused, and continued walking.
He then saw someone squatting in a corner of the half-finished stone dormitory, seemingly engaged in some small business with others.
It seemed to be the popular Su Yuniang.
"Sister, the dormitory isn't finished today! How shall we sleep tonight?"
She held up a small O-shaped stool she dug up:
"I recommend using my simple toilet stool, sit on it and enjoy a squat-style sleep. When you log in tomorrow, you'll feel fresh, or else the weather forecast tomorrow will definitely predict a localized downpour."
"It's not that the suspended iron bed is unaffordable, but hollow toilets are more cost-effective."
The woman being marketed to looked shocked.
Su Yuniang: "Sister, you wouldn't want tomorrow's weather forecast to come true, right?"
A moment later, she successfully made a sale, leaving Su Yuniang rather pleased, grasping a Magic Coin.
"A little game, how could it stump me?"
"I've learned game strategies just like Jiucai Rong."
"This is the ultimate technique of a blacksmith, forging and designing. He designed the dormitory brilliantly, I earned a little from designing stools. Both have a bright future."
"It proves that human wisdom is infinite."
"Even the monstrous gods are showcasing their Divine Techniques."
"Those who don't understand are still eating soil around the fire. Those who do understand are already making money."
Ning Zheng passed through these small groups of monstrous gods, "It seems their adaptability is strong; they can live well on their own, no need to worry."
"Besides, the bustling environment filled with laughter."
"Is truly nice."
He locked up the manor's gate, the laughter and chatter behind gradually faded, the night mingled with loneliness slowly engulfed him again.
He went down the mountain, walked a stretch of mountain road, and the sky gradually darkened completely.
Soon enough, he arrived at his yard gate at home, knocked on the door.
Then directly took out the key and unlocked it to go in.
Today went much smoother than expected, returning home faster as well, just in time for dinner.
Inside, the flickering candlelight of the fish-oil lamp highlighted Ning Jiaojiao, slowly chewing on meat with creepy crispness, mumbling, "Mmm, you're back."
Clank.
He shut the night wind and chill outside the door.
Ning Zheng ruffled Ning Jiaojiao's head, sat down to eat, and smiled, "Yes, I'm back."