The NPC and player votes were tallied, and Old He’s pot of red roses so dark they bordered on black won the title of this year’s Flower King.

After the winner was announced, the next order of business was the sale of flower seeds.

For each of the spring, summer, and autumn seasons, there were three types of flower seeds available, making nine types in total. Each type was sold in quantities of ten, for one silver coin apiece.

With everyone struggling to make ends meet, very few had even considered gardening as a hobby, with the notable exception of Shen Xin.

Thus, Zhang Yunyun and Chen Xingyun decided they wanted a piece of those flower seeds.

Do you want to garden, Shen Xin? We’re going to fight you for them! Whatever type you like, we’ll snatch that up!

Yet, just as Mayor Wang declared the start of the sale, Shen Xin stood.

“I’ll take them all.”

Zhang Yunyun and Chen Xingyun were stunned silent.

Fuck. No way she’s playing fair.

She’s going to take all the seeds? How rich is she?

Damn… money really does make you entitled!

Shen Xin had long noticed the shady intentions of the others; fortunately, she happened to be quite well-off and could afford to buy every single seed packet.

It was only ninety silver coins, after all.

After retrieving her seeds, Shen Xin left immediately with Jing Yan back to her farm.

As everyone watched their departing backs, astonishment filled their eyes.

“How come they left? Aren’t they staying for dinner?”

Zhang Yunyun once again brought up her earlier point. “Aiya, I already told you, she’s a big farm owner—of course, she doesn’t lack food.”

At this remark, Zhou Yi and Mingyue simultaneously looked up.

Realizing she had become the center of attention once more, Zhang Yunyun cleared her throat and continued fanning the flames.

After applying the medicine and finishing their meal, Jing Yan led Shen Xin to the cave.

This was Shen Xin’s first time entering the cave. After descending the stairs, the monster cave’s horizontal passages connected, and Jing Yan cleanly cleared the thirty rooms on the first level, leaving only a maze of empty stone caves.

Jing Yan had already mapped out the cave’s layout while hunting monsters, so if not for his guidance, anyone else who entered would surely become disoriented.

After circling around many unknown areas, Jing Yan stopped before a stone door that looked different from the others.

“It’s in here.” He once again confirmed their information and plan of attack.

“The slime boss has a total of five thousand HP, which is quite a lot, but the real difficulty lies in the smaller slimes’ ability to combine into a larger slime, creating a new boss.”

“So I’ll clear out the minions, and you focus on the boss. Is the buff still active?”

“Mm-hmm.” Shen Xin nodded.

“Let me check our gear one last time… all right, I’m opening the door now?”

Jing Yan held his dagger in both hands and swiftly pushed open the gate, leading the way into the boss area, Shen Xin following close behind.

The moment the door opened, a dull roar echoed from within the cave, and Shen Xin saw the entirety of the boss monster.

Standing face-to-face with a giant blue slime mold nearly two meters tall was awe-inspiring, to say the least.

The interior of the cave was pitch-black, with the only light coming from the glowing rings Jing Yan and Shen Xin had equipped.

The floor was covered in a thick, sticky liquid. Shen Xin held his sword in his right hand and a torch in his left, moving alongside Jing Yan.

Last time, Jing Yan had been caught off guard by the boss, but this time, he charged in and dealt over three hundred damage with a few well-placed strikes.

In response, the slime boss let out a roar and separated several smaller slimes from its body. Shen Xin swung his blade, alleviating some of the pressure on Jing Yan.

Watching his companion’s nimble maneuvers, Jing Yan felt confident enough to charge at the boss head-on.

The boss’s main attacks consisted of smacking, crushing, and swallowing players whole to suffocate them.

As its health bar decreased, the boss summoned smaller slimes faster and faster.

“Are you all right?” Jing Yan asked Shen Xin, sparing a moment to check on his companion.

“I’m good!” Thankfully, the Lian Hua Sword’s attack power was high enough to obliterate the smaller slimes with one slash.

How dependable.

Seeing that the boss was down to its last bit of health, Jing Yan swiftly dealt the final blow.

The slime boss toppled to the ground with a loud thud, and Jing Yan helped dispatch the last few smaller slimes. The two stood together, panting.

“Absolutely,” Jing Yan said, giving her a thumbs-up.

“You’re also very reliable.” Shen Xin took out her water bottle. She had no idea how many mobs she had chopped up just now, but she was exhausted.

“Let’s go, let’s see what the boss dropped. Like we agreed, you can choose first.” Jing Yan held the torch for Shen Xin and stepped aside, gesturing for her to select the loot first.

Shen Xin drank some water, then walked over to the boss, attempting to pick out the loot from the mess on the ground.

“Uh, these all seem to be the slimes’ drops…” Shen Xin mumbled, then looked up to see the giant slime boss’s carcass towering before her.

“… Wait, something’s not right here.” Shen Xin suddenly had a bad feeling.

“Wait—” Jing Yan also realized something. He quickly pulled Shen Xin back several steps.

“The boss didn’t turn into data! It’s not dead yet!”

At the exact moment, he pulled Shen Xin back, the fallen slime king rapidly grew in size by another half and emitted a colorful glow from its previously blue body.

“Fuck? Stage two?” After seeing the health bar above the slime boss’s head, which still boasted over fifty thousand HP, Jing Yan and Shen Xin cried out in dismay.

“Retreat!”

However, they were one step too slow. Not only did the slime boss have more health, but it also seemed to have gained some intelligence. The first thing it did upon entering the second stage was block the exit.

Jing Yan cursed under his breath and swiftly retreated with Shen Xin, attempting to lure the boss away from the entrance into the depths of the cave.

But the boss refused to budge, and even began attacking remotely with sludge it launched from its body.

“What do we do? Is there enough health medicine?!” Jing Yan and Shen Xin quickly parted ways, lest they both be hit at once.

“There isn’t! Fifty thousand health is way too much!”

Considering the boss only had five thousand health, they hadn’t brought many potions.

While fleeing, Shen Xin and Jing Yan studied the boss’s attack patterns and methods. Every three seconds, it attacked remotely, and every minute, it spawned ten new slimes.

Shen Xin began thinking up countermeasures, but against a fifty-thousand-health boss, all her ideas seemed futile.

“Tap, tap, tap,” Shen Xin clicked her tongue. “This is the first boss, and it’s already in the second stage? UOL is really too much.”

Jing Yan responded as he swung, “But it is certainly surprising; this is outside of player expectations.”

“Frightening!” Shen Xin retorted. Without a glowing ring, her torch didn’t light up as brightly as Jing Yan’s. Tripping over her feet, she nearly fell.

Yet the slime boss’s attack also struck her.

Health: -100.

Shen Xin quickly applied some medicine.

She only had 250 health points, three more attacks and she’d be dead!

Noticing her situation, Jing Yan felt a twinge of regret. Because of his arrogance and impatience, he had dragged someone else into the fray.

Injury simulations in Paradise were very realistic, and he had praised this aspect of the game before, but now he suddenly felt that its realism wasn’t necessarily a good thing…

“Ms. Shen! Do you have money?!”

Shen Xin was at first baffled by Jing Yan’s yell, but after a few seconds, she replied, “Yes! What do you need?!”

Jing Yan didn’t respond; instead, he rushed forward, slaying the smaller slimes as he went, and quickly traded a ring to Shen Xin once he reached her.

“Put it on! I’ll lure the boss away, you escape while you can!”

With that, he ran back toward the big slime boss, drawing its attention away from Shen Xin.

“What is this?” Shen Xin examined the ring Jing Yan gave her.

Damage Reflection Ring: Absorb attacks; all damage dealt to the wearer will be redirected to attackers. Remaining durability: (0/5).

Note: Upon equipping, this item will become bound to the player’s account. Durability will automatically replenish at a rate of one silver coin per point.

“Damage reflection?!” Shen Xin dispatched the small slimes before her, suddenly feeling emboldened by a daring plan.

Could she possibly turn the boss’s attack back on itself?!

Instantly, she dismissed the idea.

She had spent only 200 silver coins this morning on flower seeds, but the slime boss’s attack was only 100 damage points. Even spending all her money could only reduce its health by twenty thousand at most!

Money was truly only appreciated when it was needed.

Shen Xin thought about the unsold fish and crops back home, and her heart filled with regret. If she had sold just a little more before, she wouldn’t be in such a sorry state now. Or, if only the boss’s attack were just a bit higher…

Now that she had the damage-reflection ring, Shen Xin suddenly thought that the boss’s attack was too low. If it were just a few times higher, she could reflect its damage back onto itself and defeat it.

“Damage… Too low?!”

Shen Xin suddenly remembered another item she had shoved into her inventory: the damage-accumulation ring.

She quickly opened her inventory window.

Thank heavens! The prank item was still there!

This morning, while packing, Shen Xin hadn’t decided which box to put it in, so she’d simply kept it on hand.

The damage-accumulation ring increased the wearer’s damage intake by five times, and when used with the damage-reflection ring, would it reflect five times the damage back?!

“Dammit! How am I supposed to lead it away?!” Jing Yan’s frustrated voice rang out, and Shen Xin looked up to see the slime boss focusing its attacks on him alone, staying far from the entrance.

“Either way, I’m dying!” Shen Xin had nothing to lose; she put the two rings on her hands, reducing the number of silver coins in her inventory while simultaneously restoring the durability of the damage-reflection ring.

Jing Yan had already sustained injuries yesterday, and after fighting monsters for half a day today, his attack speed gradually slowed. As he calculated how to earn back the ten thousand points he’d lose upon death, Shen Xin suddenly charged toward the slimy boss’s area-of-effect attack.

“Shen Xin! Don’t get yourself killed!”

Jing Yan tried to call out to her, but Shen Xin turned around, her eyes first filled with surprise, then a crafty glint and excitement.

“Jing Yan! Help me kill these little monsters.” She turned back, her tone filled with an air of superiority. “This thing is going down today!”

Facing the spirited Shen Xin, Jing Yan’s heart skipped two beats.

This woman… how is she so cool?!

Not knowing what Shen Xin intended to do, Jing Yan helped her slay the smaller monsters. Soon, he realized her goal.

Shen Xin didn’t evade or block the smaller monsters’ attacks, but she also didn’t avoid the boss’s.

Of course, Jing Yan knew the effects of the damage-reflection ring, and his first reaction was: Unless Shen Xin is rich enough to sustain fifty thousand damage?

Looking up, Jing Yan was even more surprised.

He noticed that every time the slimy boss’s attack hit Shen Xin, it lost five hundred health points!

“Wow! How did you do that?” Jing Yan moved behind Shen Xin, helping her fight the smaller slimes.

“I have a ring of damage amplification, which allows me to take five times as much damage as usual,” Shen Xin explained, lifting her hand for him to see.

Jing Yan stared in disbelief, his mind reeling. “How does such a ring even exist?”

“It’s a prank item, and the one you saw is probably a power ring.” Shen Xin couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Who could’ve predicted that there would be a damaged reflection ring? Using these two together is just… perfect!”

Jing Yan pondered for a moment, then laughed as well. “What a coincidence!”

“Indeed.” Shen Xin reminded him, “Slay the smaller monsters so they don’t attack me; otherwise, it’ll be a waste of damage reflection.”

“Got it!”

The atmosphere that had been thick with the scent of death just minutes ago now changed completely. Back-to-back, Shen Xin and Jing Yan fought against the slime boss using their underhanded tactics.

Sadly, the boss had no emotional responses and could only continue to attack on auto-pilot. Had it been a more intelligent creature, it might have already conceded.

After all, the more aggressively it attacked, the stronger its foe’s counterattack would be.

When Shen Xin saw the boss’s HP drop to 300, she quickly tapped Jing Yan on the shoulder.

“Go, go! Hurry up and finish it off to gain your class experience!”

Shen Xin didn’t need to level up her combat skills, so it would be a waste of resources if she killed the boss herself. Her first thought was always to maximize efficiency, but Jing Yan heard something else entirely.

His entire mind filled with: Where did I find such an amazing teammate?! She’s seriously too good.

After repeated reminders, Jing Yan finally reacted, swinging his sword and reducing the boss to a mere blob of data.