Chapter 47: The Well-Behaved Little Loli
For the next few days, Xu Xiaofeng found herself surprisingly free.
All she had to do was pop by the Qingfeng Chamber of Commerce each day to check in on the progress. The rest of her time was spent as usual – chatting, goofing off, and counting her money – just waiting for her VIP card to expire so she could head to the main city.
She wasn’t about to waste her time wandering around the Imperial Capital, especially since using the teleportation array costs money. And traveling from the remote Falling Leaf City to the Imperial Capital? That would cost a pretty penny!
Sure, a few coppers wouldn’t break the bank for Xu Xiaofeng, but being the frugal gal she is, she didn’t want to go on a wild spending spree like her spendthrift little sister.
Since she didn’t frequent the Imperial Capital, she had no idea that the folks in the outer city, particularly the adventurers, were in a chaotic uproar thanks to her grand spending spree.
Originally, the Sunfruit was being bought at a decent price of 10 silver coins each, but after the merchants drove the price down, it was more like 7 or 8 silver coins. Now? The Qingfeng Chamber of Commerce was offering over 40 silver coins per fruit!
Talk about a markup! That was a five or six-fold increase!
I mean, come on! Sunfruits grow right in the hills just outside of the Imperial Capital! All you had to do was find them, pick them, and keep an eye out for any wandering monsters.
Most folks didn’t bother picking them before because of all the hassles involved; after accounting for losses, it was hardly worth the trouble – just barely enough to scrape by. But now? It was practically like picking up money off the ground!
Sure, they had to meet some quality standards, but no worries! They had professional pickers lined up and provided everyone with temporary storage for the fruits, complete with the best equipment!
A mere two or three of those fruits could net you a gold coin. Even after factoring in costs and manpower, they’d still rake in a hearty profit.
Soon enough, every adventurer’s guild had notice boards plastered with recruitment ads, and common folk from all over were joining in.
Experienced fruit farmers became hot commodities, with offers hitting a staggering ten gold coins per day. Farmers, gardeners, and even those growing the weirdest plants were being snatched up at high prices.
Farmers, after all, are usually jack-of-all-trades! If it involves some manual labor, they’ve got it covered.
Now, while it wasn’t exactly a stampede, the daytime foot traffic in the outer city had definitely dropped as everyone headed out to the fields.
To counter this, the city gates issued a warning, trying to dissuade citizens from flocking out and citing dangers outside, claiming all the fruits had already been picked.
As if! People were still pouring out in droves!
Danger? Please! The real danger was going to be the monsters facing off against us humans!
Picked out? Who’s to say? What if there were still some left behind?
Even Ryan, the usually laid-back tavern owner, was flabbergasted when he received reports about the ongoing madness.
What? Too many ideas floating around? Maybe a bit of trouble brewing?
Edward, what on earth did you throw my way?!
Even before Xu Xiaofeng had made her grand entrance, she had already planted a surprise on him, and boy was it…
Actually quite delightful!
Who could resist that cute little girl calling him “Grandpa” in the sweetest voice?
He simply had to spoil her!
Thoughts swirling, Ryan quickly penned a letter and sent it off with a buddy.
Edward, on the other hand, was entirely unaware of Xu Xiaofeng’s recent escapades. He didn’t spend much time in the Imperial Capital either, so naturally, he was surprised to see how obediently she’s been behaving lately.
What really blew his mind was that Xu Xiaofeng seemed to be working harder than ever — sneaking out to practice swordplay outside the city every night and doing so for longer than before.
Look at this little girl growing up!
It’s like Edward found his inner proud dad with feels.
Meanwhile, Xu Xiaofeng was indeed putting in the work. She was grinding those levels!
Her trip to the main city was just around the corner; she didn’t see the need to hold back on leveling up.
Her reputation as a player would be revealed sooner or later, so why not boost herself beyond the reach of others?
If only slightly stronger than other players, there would always be gossip and envy circulating around. But if she was strong enough to be out of reach? They wouldn’t even have room to be jealous!
The Imperial Capital is vast! Even if she encountered trouble she couldn’t handle, she could always dodge it.
As long as she wanted to hide, no one would ever find her.
So, on the second day, which just so happened to be the day her VIP card expired, around 9 PM game time (a.k.a. 5 AM reality time), a notification chimed in the minds of all the players still online.
Ding! Congratulations, player “Wind,” you’ve leveled up to level 10, achieving the milestone “First Glimmer of Brilliance!”
Ding! Congratulations, player “Wind,” you are the first player in the entire game to reach level 10! You’ve received the title “One Step Ahead,” the accessory 【Little Red Flower】, and a 5% increase in reward synchronization!
“Wait a second!” Xu Xiaofeng screamed inside her head, “Sister Tong! Why didn’t you let me choose whether to hide my achievement? You’ve totally set me up for this mess!”
She didn’t even have time to check out the rewards; she just knew she’d gotten the short end of the stick again.
The system seemed to roll its eyes: “You’re already on the leaderboard; hiding it is pointless!”
“Uh… true, but Sister Tong, you know me—I don’t like to be in the spotlight! I’m not one of those show-off types!”
“Oh please! You totally are.”
Sister Tong ignored her, and Xu Xiaofeng pouted as she looked at her rewards.
The title was whatever; just a little bump in reputation, which really did her no good.
Reputation mainly affects interactions with NPCs. A higher reputation could boost their fondness for you.
But she was already hitting the internals; what did she need that for?
Unless she could somehow accrue a billion reputation, allowing her to become an honorary royal member? Yeah, right!
Moving on to the second reward — 【Little Red Flower】.
This… gives off serious “Good job, little one! Here’s a shiny star!” vibes…
“Sister Tong, is this accessory a fixed reward?”
“Nope, it suits you perfectly.”
So you just picked it out for me?
Come on! I’m a grown college student, not some kid in elementary school!
Xu Xiaofeng wanted to curse, but once she saw the properties and effects of the accessory, she changed her tune instantly.
“Sister Tong, you know what? I think this is actually perfect for me. Thank you, Sister Tong!”
【Item Name: Little Red Flower
Item Rank: Purple Epic
Item Level: No Restrictions
Item Properties: Click for Details
Item Description: You’re the best! Experience gain efficiency increased by 5%.】
It was the kind of accessory Xu Xiaofeng had been lacking, relatively hard to come by – typically, with no level restrictions.
This meant that if you had a good accessory, you could use it straight until the game closed down.
And this Little Red Flower would be irreplaceable before hitting max level.
Though it was called a Little Red Flower, it was more of a subtle red hue with an overall white shade, perfectly complementing Xu Xiaofeng’s golden hair.
“I’m definitely the best! Ugh, I’m so awesome! Hahaha!”
Xu Xiaofeng struck a victorious pose, hands on her hips and laughing out loud.
Meanwhile, Edward, hiding nearby, was totally baffled.
What’s happening here? Did the kid practice so hard she knocked her own brain loose?
Wait a second!
Edward focused closely on her aura.
Aha! She was about to break through!
The truth was, whether it was the past or present, Xu Xiaofeng was still too weak for Edward, so he hadn’t noticed it til now.
“This girl is leveling up at lightning speed; maybe I should prepare something for her.”
