Chapter 34: Game Rules (2nd Update)

Mushroom was stunned.

A second playthrough?

"I Love Farming" looked directly into Jiang Ye's eyes and said, "You know what a second playthrough means, right? If you're willing to team up with me, you'll become second place on this server's leaderboard."

Of course, first place would go to I Love Farming himself.

Mushroom couldn't help but think: this Big Shot is pretty confident.

"I see," Mushroom gave an awkward smile and said, "If I become second place, do I get a prize?"

Jiang Ye was a lazy mushroom, a salted-fish-style mushroom. Having finally crossed over into a farming game, all he wanted was to enjoy the farming life, with no intention of trying to outdo anyone.

Mushroom thought to himself, do I even need to compete in farming...?

I Love Farming's calm expression stiffened slightly. After a brief silence, he said, "No prize."

Mushroom: "..." Well, then...

I Love Farming smiled. "But at least you won't die as fast."

Mushroom was caught off guard.

I Love Farming waved at him. "Think it over. I'll get going now. You can reach me anytime."

I Love Farming didn't push Jiang Ye further. He picked up his harp and left the small inn, apparently headed for the outskirts.

Mushroom looked out the window and muttered to himself, "What a weird guy."

This Big Shot is so weird. No wonder ordinary people can never become Big Shots.

"Oh no, it's getting late. I need to go shopping!" Mushroom slung on his mailbag, skillfully made a copy of his underwear, then headed out and biked to the small supermarket first.

He needed to make a metal slime sticky board, and he still had a lot of things to buy.

Mushroom entered the small supermarket, grabbed a shopping basket, and wondered how many sticky boards he should make and how many sets of materials he'd need.

"Eggs ×3"

Mushroom picked up three eggs. Better safe than sorry—three sets of materials should do it.

Mushroom quickly grabbed all the materials, checked out, and biked to the temple grove.

The sunlight today was brighter than yesterday's, and the grove didn't look as gloomy. And the singing...

Mushroom felt he was starting to get used to it. The Bokoblin's off-key singing wasn't so bad anymore, and it wasn't that scary either.

The grove wasn't good for biking, so Mushroom put his bike away. Next up was the crafting step.

"Do you want to craft a metal slime sticky board?"

"Metal slime sticky board created successfully!"

Exactly as Jiang Ye had guessed, the metal slime sticky board looked just like a cockroach sticky trap—a fairly large piece of cardboard.

The sticky board smelled amazing—sweet and savory. Mushroom held it up, and his stomach let out a loud growl. He was so hungry. No wonder it could attract metal slimes—it was a deadly temptation for mushrooms too.

Jiang Ye carefully picked a hidden spot, and following the instructions on the sticky board, tore off the protective film and stuck one side of the board to the ground.

The sticky board was like double-sided tape—the other side was super sticky too. That way, when a metal slime was lured over, it would get stuck tight to the board with no way to escape.

"I need to be careful," Mushroom said. "I can't get stuck myself."

After setting the sticky board, Mushroom jumped aside, crouched down, and waited quietly.

Time ticked by.

Ten minutes later, Jiang Ye heard someone talking.

—So yummy, what's that smell?

It sounded like a cute little girl's voice. Mushroom didn't dare poke his head out. He parted the weeds and peeked out secretly.

A metal slime was lured over, getting closer and closer.

—Wow! It's my favorite flavor—strawberry and chocolate!

—Huh? Where's the strawberry part?

—Ah! What is this? It's so sticky! I can't move.

Jiang Ye never expected the sticky board to work so well, easily trapping a greedy metal slime.

Mushroom didn't hesitate. He raised his gold-forged hero's sword and charged out.

—Wah, you sneaky human!

—Help! I'm trapped!

—Please don't kill me!

Mushroom ran over and saw the metal slime crying pitifully, struggling left and right, unable to get free, with no companions hearing its cries and coming to help.

"Uh oh..."

Mushroom held up the hero's sword, thinking, this metal slime is even cuter than a little rabbit. How could he bring himself to kill it?

"No, no," Mushroom muttered to himself. "If I don't kill it, I won't get the slime oil."

—Don't kill me, please don't kill me!

—Please don't kill me. I'll give you slime oil!

The metal slime, speaking in a cute little girl's voice, trembled like a soft jelly.

Mushroom was surprised. "You can give me slime oil directly? Then I'll let you go."

—Really? That's great!

The metal slime asked Mushroom to start a campfire nearby. Mushroom was confused, but he still took out some firewood and a flint, and got a campfire going.

The campfire crackled, and Mushroom felt a little warm.

The metal slime wiggled around.

—Almost done, almost done.

—Just a little roasting and we'll have some slime oil!

The Metal Slime was soon sweating from the roast, like a fatty slice of pork belly sizzling over the fire, its droplets hitting the ground and instantly forming slime oil as shiny as mercury.

"Slime Oil x1"

"Slime Oil x1"

"Slime Oil x1"

The mushroom tentatively picked up the slime oil, grabbing ten at once.

The little girl Metal Slime was already roasted to the point of flushed cheeks, looking like she was about to keel over from heatstroke.

The mushroom doused the campfire and said, "That should be enough."

The Metal Slime looked up at him with pleading eyes and asked, "So, can you let me go now?"

The mushroom nodded.

With a gentle press, the sticky board shattered and vanished, and the Metal Slime was free.

Whoosh!

The Metal Slime bolted!

The mushroom couldn't help but sigh, "Still runs that fast, huh." But hey, at least he wouldn't get his arm bitten off by the Metal Slime.

It wasn't even noon yet, and the mushroom had already scored ten slime oils, so he biked back to town.

He biked straight to the jewelry store and burst in, shouting, "I've got the slime oil! Please fix the sapphire crown!"

The jewelry store was dead quiet, with someone sitting behind the counter.

That person shot a disdainful glance at the mushroom as he burst in and said, "Oh, it's you."

The mushroom was taken aback, thinking, "That's my line!"

Sitting behind the counter wasn't the elegant Gem Appraiser—it was Mr. Feng Jiawen, the owner of the art shop.

The mushroom was stunned, pulled up his map to double-check, and confirmed he hadn't taken a wrong turn—this was definitely the jewelry store. Could the jewelry store have gone out of business? Please, no.

Just then, the jewelry store door swung open, and in walked the Gem Appraiser.

Feng Jiawen stood up from behind the counter and said, "Your customers are still so low-class. How can you do business with just anyone? You're gonna get scammed sooner or later."

Feng Jiawen walked to the door, opened it, and stepped out, muttering, "Don't ask me to watch the store anymore. You're nothing but trouble."

The Gem Appraiser closed the door, smiled at the mushroom, and said, "Sorry about that. That was my uncle. He's just like that."

The mushroom suddenly got it and pulled out the slime oil.

The Gem Appraiser was pleasantly surprised and said, "You actually got it! I'll fix the crown for you right now. It'll be quick!"

The mushroom nodded excitedly and made to sit down and rest while waiting for the crown to be repaired...

"Done." The Gem Appraiser handed the brand-new crown back to the mushroom.

The mushroom hadn't even sat down yet, still frozen in the motion of sitting, as he took the crown.

He examined it closely—the shattered sapphire crown was completely restored, not a single crack, looking brand new.

The mushroom put it on to test it out, and it fit just as well as before.

"Thanks so much," the mushroom said.

The Gem Appraiser shook his head and said, "Something this beautiful—please take good care of it."

"I will," the mushroom said with a nod.

Leaving the jewelry store, the mushroom had other things to do—namely, craft the solar panel, get the battery, and then use the battery to craft the automatic sprinkler.

"Craft a solar panel?"

"Solar panel crafted!"

The mushroom went back to the inn, crafted a solar panel, and set it by the window.

"How the heck do I use this?"

No switch, no button, no manual.

Jiang Ye just opened the social channel to ask around.

"Social"

"Mushroom Soup": How do I use the solar panel? How do I make a battery?

"You've Got Nothing to Do": Solar panel! You actually made it?

"Sleep at Two": Doesn't the solar panel need slime oil? You got the slime oil?

Everyone was drawn out by the mushroom's post, all complaining about how hard it was to get slime oil. Most people hadn't even made the solar panel, so of course they had no clue how to use it either.

The mushroom thought to himself, "Looks like I'll have to figure this out on my own."

"Social"

"I Love Farming": Just put it in the sun.

"I Love Farming": It'll generate one battery in 10 hours.

The mushroom was about to close the social channel when he spotted the reply from "I Love Farming."

"The Cold-Faced Pig-Raising Succubus": Is that the Master?

"Cats Not Allowed to Block Doors": Is this the number one player on our server's leaderboard?

"You've Got Nothing to Do": Seems like it! The real deal, in the flesh!

"I Love Farming" showed up on the social channel for the first time, and so many people swarmed to worship the master that the chat scrolled so fast Jiang Ye's eyes went blurry.

Jiang Ye replied with a thanks, but it was quickly buried under the flood of enthusiastic responses.

"Ten hours, huh." The mushroom patted the solar panel. "That's longer than copying underwear."

"2:00 PM"

The mushroom glanced at the time—still a long while until dark, so he couldn't afford to waste any time.

“Let’s take a trip to the library.”

Jiang Ye hadn’t been to the town’s library yet. Looking at the map, it was pretty out of the way.

He’d promised Dorin to help find the key and release the Chief Deity. He couldn’t just talk the talk without walking the walk.

The key was hidden somewhere, but Mushroom had no clue where, or even where to start looking. Asking Mr. Mayor directly would almost definitely be a dead end.

After mulling it over, Mushroom decided to hit up the library to see if he could find any books on the town’s history. Maybe there’d be some clue about the key in there.

Mushroom left the inn, grabbed his trusty bike, and headed for the library on the map.

The library looked beat-up and creepy, like a haunted house. Luckily, the sun was out, which took a lot of the creep factor away.

A sign saying “OPEN” hung on the library’s old, beat-up door.

Mushroom pushed the door open and stepped inside.

It was dead quiet.

Not a soul in sight.

The air had a faint dusty smell. Seemed like hardly anyone ever came here.

The library had three floors, packed with giant bookshelves everywhere. No computers, so you had to hunt for books by the categories on the shelves—super inconvenient.

Mushroom craned his neck and started searching from the first floor.

Math, music, painting, cooking...

Nope, none of those.

Mushroom took the spiral stairs to the second floor and hopped onto a ladder.

“Found it!”

A whole bookshelf was dedicated to Sun Town’s history, going all the way back to ancient legends.

The books were caked in dust, and some spines were so worn you couldn’t even read the titles.

Mushroom pulled down a beat-up book and opened it.

“Wait, what the heck is this book?”

This old book wasn’t about Sun Town’s history at all—it was...

—“How to Become a Tailor in 7 Days: DIY Sewing (Underwear Edition)”

The mycelium froze mid-motion putting the book down, and Jiang Ye’s eyes lit up. Wait, what? Making your own underwear!

“Why didn’t I think of this before?” Mushroom muttered. “If I can make my own purple briefs, I can make as many as I want!”

What a nice surprise.

The mycelium flipped through the pages, and Mushroom was totally into this book.

Sure enough, it had the cutting and sewing instructions for briefs.

“First, I need to get some fabric,” Mushroom read carefully. “I also need a workbench, which I’d have to get custom-made by the carpenter. I wonder how much that’ll run me.”

Then he’d need to pick up a bunch of little stuff, like a measuring tape, chalk, scissors, and edge-sealing liquid.

“So complicated...” Jiang Ye knew jack about sewing, and Mushroom’s head was spinning just from reading it.

After cutting and sewing the briefs, he’d need to dye them. Otherwise, no purple briefs.

The dyeing process was a pain too—he’d need a dye vat and dye.

“Dye again...” Mushroom was getting a headache.

“So you’re into sewing,” someone said.

Mushroom jumped and looked down. Someone had appeared on the second floor without him noticing, standing right by the ladder, looking up at him.

The guy was holding his signature harp.

It was I Love Farming.

Mushroom quickly shut the book and hid it behind his back, feeling guilty. He definitely didn’t want anyone finding out about the purple briefs—he’d totally be mistaken for a pervert.

Mushroom coughed and said, “Just browsing.”

He grabbed a few more books off the shelf as cover.

I Love Farming said, “What kind of books are you looking for? I can help you find them. I know this place better than you.”

“No need,” Mushroom said, shaking his head.

I Love Farming smiled and said, “You don’t have to be so on guard with me. Last time I offered you slime oil and you turned it down, so I brought you a new gift. Please, you gotta take it.”

Mushroom thought, this Big Shot is really weird, he’s got it out for me.

Mushroom declined, saying, “I really don’t need any gifts.” Mainly because Jiang Ye had no idea what to give back.

I Love Farming pulled a gift out of his item slot and said, “Here you go.”

“Purple Briefs x10”

A whole ten brand-new purple briefs!

Mushroom: “!!!”

Mushroom was so shocked he almost fell off the ladder. Briefs! Purple briefs!

A smug smile spread across I Love Farming’s face as he said, “You need these, right?”

The mycelium almost lunged for the briefs, but Mushroom held himself back with a huge effort and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about...”

Jiang Ye decided to play dumb!

His heart was pounding. This Big Shot was way too mysterious, like he knew everything.

I Love Farming said, “You don’t have to hide it. I know exactly what’s going on with you. When you enter this game, there’s a small chance you’ll end up as something other than human.”

Mushroom sucked in a breath. He’s found out my secret!

I Love Farming went on, “Actually, I ran into your exact situation in my first playthrough, so I know exactly how to fix it.”

Mushroom stared at him, totally stunned.

"Did I Love Farming also turn into a mushroom? Or did he become something else?"

I Love Farming didn't explain, only saying, "Raise your charm value to 99P, and you can switch your appearance freely, returning to a human form. That's why you're collecting purple briefs—each pair is worth 1P charm value."

Mushroom was speechless. "..."

Jiang Ye was at a loss for words; everything I Love Farming said was true.

I Love Farming continued, "Actually, besides purple briefs, there are other items that can increase charm value."

Mushroom's curiosity got the better of him. "What else?"

I Love Farming seemed to have been waiting for that question and explained helpfully, "For example, diamonds."

"Diamonds?" Mushroom blinked in surprise.

I Love Farming said, "Diamonds can also increase charm value—just eat them."

Mushroom: "..." Is this big shot pulling my leg? Wouldn't swallowing a diamond send me straight to the hospital?

And diamonds are even rarer than purple briefs. Jiang Ye grumbled inwardly. He'd just stick to collecting purple briefs.

"In the early stages of the game," I Love Farming continued, "briefs and diamonds are the easiest items to come by. Of course, there's also a shortcut you probably don't know about."

Mushroom listened intently.

"You don't need to accumulate charm value at all." I Love Farming flashed a mysterious smile and said, "You know the Chief Deity of Sun Town, right? He's also our server's god."

Mushroom certainly knew—the Chief Deity had his head cut off and was locked in the temple, waiting for players to find the key to release him.

I Love Farming said that this world consists of different servers, with a total of 89 servers, theirs included.

Mushroom nodded; on the leaderboard, their server was second from the bottom...

During the Spring Day newbie protection phase, they couldn't contact players from other servers, only getting glimpses of other worlds on the leaderboard.

"Each server has its own Chief Deity, and each server's town is different, so naturally the deities differ too," I Love Farming said.

Mushroom thought, no wonder he's a second-playthrough player; he knows a lot. Just not sure if he's telling the truth or making up stories.

"We're in Sun Town, and there are corresponding Moon Town, Star Town, and so on." I Love Farming raised his hand, pointing vaguely in the air: "Far away, there are also many isolated islands—Lava Island, Desert Island, Rose Island, and so on."

Jiang Ye blinked; Rose Island—wasn't that the homeland of the Chief Deity that Dorin mentioned?

"In short," I Love Farming said, "the task for each server during Spring Day is to release the Chief Deity. Then the storyline branches based on players' choices. A server's strength largely depends on the deity's power. The Chief Deity is the source of our energy."

The conversation seemed to drift, and I Love Farming smiled at Mushroom before saying, "If you can make the Chief Deity infatuated with you, he'll be willing to do anything for you. With just one word from you, he can turn you from a mushroom back into a human."