Once the shop opened, potatoes for 5 copper each immediately became the hottest item.
WaiBiBaBu, the farming player, didn't hesitate—he took every silver coin he had earned from construction tasks and blew it all in one go, buying 200 potatoes straight.
Not a single weapon.
Not a single consumable.
Just potatoes.
Then he happily ran off to begin his grand farming career.
Liang Chuan almost laughed out loud.
This guy… was turning Genshin: Launch into a farming simulator.
Most players were busy exploring the world, desperate to quickly experience 100% hyper-realistic supernatural powers.
But the life-occupation players like him?
They were fully committed to their side hustle, and loving every second of it.
Honestly? With farmers and chefs this dedicated, the base's long-term development was in good hands.
After the farmers finished sweeping up the food section, a wave of other players flooded the shop.
Everyone had some spare coins saved up, waiting specifically for the store to open so they could spend.
Within minutes, a massive queue formed in front of Liang Chuan's makeshift stall.
And in just one hour of shop operations…
He was completely numb.
Every second of that hour, he repeated the same movement:
hand item → take coin → hand item → take coin…
"Yeah… no.
I absolutely need a puppet NPC to do this."
He massaged his sore arm.
"There's no way I'm collaring Natlan locals to stand here as shopkeepers.
That's a straight-up rebellion starter."
Half a day of shopkeeping later, everyone's wallets were drained.
Unsurprisingly, the bestsellers were:
Bandages
Small Vitality Potions
Energy Drinks
Healing items.
The cost of dying in this game was simply too high.
Free-to-play players couldn't afford resurrection.
Even when they saved up some bio-energy, they immediately sold it on the trading platform for credit points.
So keeping their HP safe was priority number one.
And with no healing magic yet available—
even mages could only conjure a tiny flame—
these consumables were their only lifeline.
Once the shop closed, Liang Chuan stepped outside the stall's boundary, automatically shutting it down.
He immediately hung a wooden sign:
"The shop will open for ONE random hour each day."
No way was he standing there more than that.
One hour was already his limit.
"Recruiting for a 100-man raid! Anyone want to clear a Hilichurl camp?!"
From inside the Stone Shelter, Liang Chuan heard someone shouting.
He looked out the window.
The caller was—of course—UID 01, the first player, FireFlameYan.
He stood in the middle of the base, waving his arms:
"We found a Precious Chest in the Hilichurl camp!
But there are way too many mobs—we can't break in!
Healers, tanks, DPS—come join!
Loot will be split by market value!"
He also broadcasted the same message in world chat.
A nearby player asked:
"Don't you have a stealth class?
That assassin guy—'OneSwordToTheThroat'?
Why not send him in to grab the chest and run?"
FireFlameYan's face twisted.
In the team list…
OneSwordToTheThroat's portrait was dark.
"He tried," FireFlameYan explained painfully.
"He used his invisibility—Gale Step—and reached the chest.
But the moment he started the chest-opening animation…"
He sighed deeply.
"...the system counted it as an offensive action.
He de-stealthed instantly.
A Wooden Shield Hilichurl slammed him straight into a wall, and the mob swarmed him to death."
He added miserably:
"And even though he wants to spend money to revive, there isn't enough bio-energy circulating in the market yet.
So… he's stuck dead."
More players gathered around.
"This game's leveling curve is busted.
Doing main quests gives like ten times the EXP compared to grinding monsters."
"Yeah. Killing a hundred mobs barely gives any EXP. Digging dirt and hammering bricks gives more."
FireFlameYan retorted loudly:
"Sure—but where do you get BIO-ENERGY if you never leave base?
And aren't you curious what's inside a Precious Chest?!
What's the point of a huge open-world if all you do is sit in the base and build houses?!"
That got people thinking.
Building the base was important.
But never exploring a hyper-realistic fantasy world?
That felt like missing the whole point.
One by one, players started volunteering:
"Count me in! Archer class—just crafted a bow. My DPS is solid!"
"I'm a Titan tank! Got armor, helmet, and an axe. I can stand front row and soak hits!"
"I'm a Hydro Mage. My abilities suck, but I'm rich!
I'll pay for everyone's consumables!
But all equipment drops are MINE.
Also: high price for bio-energy and in-game currency!"
In minutes, FireFlameYan's raid filled up to almost 100 people.
Back in the Stone Shelter, Liang Chuan frowned slightly.
"System, they can only form a 100-man raid at most? Isn't that kind of small?"
System:
[There are three team formats:
Party — 10 players
Raid — 100 players
Guild — 1000 players (expandable through guild level upgrades)
]
"What about loot distribution?"
System:
[Bio-energy from kills is split evenly.
Equipment drops can be set to:
Free Loot / Round Robin / Need Before Greed / Roll / Auction.
Guild mode stores all resources in the Guild Warehouse for the Guild Leader to distribute.]
Classic MMO design.
Liang Chuan nodded.
"One more thing. Can I issue more quests?
Like daily commissions—kill a few monsters, collect items—
to keep players active and increase retention?"
If possible, he would give them enough quests to fill five screens.
After all, the system paid for the rewards.
He paid nothing.
And the ones suffering…
would just be the players with obsessive need to clear their quest log.
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