Chapter 99: Picking Up a Free Long-Term Worker

After Lily Rhodes took out the special building, the miniature model in her hand quickly turned into a streak of light and flew outward. The moment it landed on the ground, it continuously expanded, eventually forming a complex, classically elegant pool.

Lily knew little about this kind of traditional architecture. She only thought the pool was incredibly large and beautiful. The water inside even flowed on its own, but it looked a bit empty, as if it were missing something. She released all the fish she had brought back into it.

She hadn’t carefully counted the exact number, but there were many. During the final stretch of the event, everyone had worked so hard that her ranking practically stalled. Seeing that, Lily had completely slacked off. She kept fishing but stopped exchanging her catches for Points, stuffing them all into the fish hold to bring back.

After she emptied the fish hold into the Thousand Carp Pool, the fish—which had been clinging to life with Healing Water—instantly became lively. Their dull scales regained their luster. From a distance, they looked like brilliant gems submerged in the water, sparkling brightly. Lily looked at the Thousand Carp Pool with a smile. It was no wonder so many people loved keeping fish, even spending fortunes on specimens with good appearances. They really were a sight to behold.

As she admired their beauty, she suddenly caught sight of a group of golden figures rapidly approaching. It was the school of Golden Fish. Besides them, there were Ink-Cloud Fish, Peach Blossom Fish that were only a few days old and tiny as a speck, Moonfish, and the Moonlight Broodmother.

Why had they come over? Wait, the Golden Fish were one thing, but how could Ink-Cloud, the Peach Blossom Fish, and the school of Moonfish survive out of water?

Before Lily could figure out what was going on, the fish arrived in front of her. However, this time, they weren’t aiming for her.

She watched as they all plunged headfirst into the Thousand Carp Pool. The moment their scales touched the water, they radiated a jewel-like luster. Had she not seen it with her own eyes, she would have suspected someone had secretly swapped her fish. Only then did she realize they were after the pool all along.

Watching the schools play in the water, Lily could feel their genuine joy without even needing to listen closely. The newborn fries, in particular, expanded at a visible rate. Although they hadn’t reached maturity, they were no longer tiny specks. The changes in the adult fish were even more dramatic. Their bodies grew larger, their scales turned more beautiful, and their fins became more elegant. The Moonfish, especially, had tail fins larger than their bodies, trailing behind them like soft, glowing silk.

Lily crouched by the edge of the Thousand Carp Pool and reached out to tease the little creatures. "I actually thought I was raising you all quite well before," she said.

She had genuinely believed she was taking good care of them, but compared to now, the difference was stark. It was simply incomparable. If it weren’t for this event where she brought back so many fish, the Thousand Carp Pool might have gathered dust in her inventory for ages. It seemed that whenever she obtained a special building in the future, she couldn’t just leave it in the warehouse, no matter how useless it looked. However, at the moment, the pool was the only special building she owned.

Lily didn’t stay by the pool for too long; she had other matters to attend to. Because the event lasted for three days, no one could use The Supreme Shop. It was fine for most items, which could safely sit in the warehouse, but not for fruits and vegetables. Given their rapid growth rate in the planting zone, any delay in harvesting would ruin their texture. Consequently, a massive stockpile of ripe produce had piled up in the warehouse over the past three days.

The vegetables and fruits needed to be sold quickly. As for the grains, many had ripened as well, but she planned to try something new with them.

A few days ago, The Supreme Shop had acquired a building blueprint called The Brewery. Its function was simple: brewing alcohol. She had constructed the building early on, but the problem was that brewing required grains. Frankly, aside from what she kept for herself, all her grains were pre-ordered. She had no surplus. To brew alcohol, she would have needed to open up a large new planting zone. But she had already maximized all available planting areas; there was simply no room left. The only way to get a new planting zone was to wait for Shelly to level up.

The alternative was to reduce her outgoing orders. She hadn’t made a decision before the new event started. But now, the three-day event provided her with three days’ worth of surplus grain—more than enough to start brewing.

With a thought, a large number of Crystal Cores flew out of the warehouse toward The Brewery, officially activating it. She wondered what kind of effects the alcohol brewed from mutated grains would have.

Lily wasn’t much of a drinker, but in the novels she used to read, protagonists always loved brewing. Their alcohol was usually incredibly popular and valuable, especially Spirit Fruit Wine. She might not drink, but she knew that alcohol was highly sought after among Survivors. After all, not everyone was struggling on the brink of death. Many Survivors, like herself, had no worries about food or water and lived even more comfortably than they had on Azurea. Once their basic needs were met, they pursued a higher quality of life.

She could use mutated grains to brew liquor and mutated fruits to make Fruit Wine. The combination of the two should yield great results. Watching The Brewery buzz to life, Lily thought that The Supreme Shop would soon have another blockbuster product.

With that in mind, she hummed an off-key tune as she returned to the courtyard. She had been so busy settling the fish and starting The Brewery that she nearly forgot the most important thing. Who exactly had won first place in the event? Was it Julian Bishop or Silas Jennings?

Rather than asking directly, Lily opened the leaderboard. The names of the top ten were highlighted in gold. Her gaze moved up inch by inch until it landed on second place. The name was Julian Bishop.

First place: Silas Jennings!

Seeing this, Lily couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Getting a long-term grunt for free was freaking awesome.

"I wonder what the rewards are this time," she murmured.

During the previous event, the rewards were made public. However, for this one, the prizes for the top ten remained a secret even now.