Cooking meals had become increasingly rare in recent days.

Ji He opened the early market group chat.

As soon as she clicked in, the group, which was usually buzzing with people buying and selling, had turned into a discussion forum.

Everyone was talking about official players of the game.

[Vegetable Prince]: “I asked around. As long as official players register their information with the government, they have a chance to be promoted to civil servants. Not only will the state arrange a job for them, but they’ll also get two free meals a day!”

[Electronics Dealer]: “Holy crap! Bro, don’t tell me you’re one of them?!!!”

[Spring Blossoms (No Vegetables)]: “Brother, if you prosper, do not forget me! Do you remember how I always saved a spot for you when you were late?”

[Vegetable Prince]: “I wish. I got eliminated in the first round! My wife was pregnant, so I didn’t even go.”

[Fuqiang Buns]: “Heh, my son got in. That kid usually doesn’t say much, but turns out he was silently making big moves. Tonight, I’m going with him to register. Once he becomes a civil servant, I’m treating everyone to a meal!”

[Old Li the Grain Seller]: “Hey, you promised! You better treat us!”

[Fuqiang Buns]: “Of course! From now on, our family is counting on my eldest son to make a name for himself! @Chicken King, remember to save me five chickens for my banquet.”

[Chicken King]: “I’m doomed! My chickens are all dead! [Image]”

Ji He clicked on the picture and saw that the entire chicken farm was filled with dead chickens—it was an alarming number.

[Chicken King]: “I’m finished. Bankrupt. I took a nap this afternoon, and when I woke up, all my chickens were dead! I already called the authorities. They said they’ll come to collect and destroy them to prevent an outbreak.”

[Chicken King]: “It’s not just me. I messaged several other farmers, and their livestock—chickens, pigs, cows, sheep—have also died in huge numbers today! The government can’t even keep up with the collection. Don’t say I didn’t warn you all—stock up on food now! No vegetables, no meat, what are we going to eat?”

The chat, which had been lively just moments ago, fell completely silent.

Ji He was so startled that she quickly checked her spatial dimension. She needed to make sure her chickens and ducks were safe.

Inside the space, the animals were still alive and well, hopping around energetically, completely oblivious to the mass deaths happening outside.

Only then did Ji He breathe a sigh of relief. That scared her. She couldn’t afford for her livestock to get infected too.

She found Chicken King’s contact in the group and privately messaged him, asking if he knew any sellers of fish feed and wheat bran.

Chicken King was easy to talk to and quickly sent her a contact, mentioning that the seller was reputable and that fish feed prices had recently dropped significantly due to a clearance sale.

Ji He thanked him and soon struck a deal—half a jin of saltpeter and 50 jin of rice in exchange for a warehouse full of fish feed and another full of wheat bran.

The seller was overjoyed and asked Ji He to meet for the trade that night.

Livestock wasn’t the only thing dying lately—fish in the water were also perishing in large numbers due to rising temperatures.

With so many fish dying, hardly anyone was buying feed. The seller had been reluctant to throw it away but was worried it would spoil. He had been losing sleep over it, even growing new gray hairs.

Now, finally, someone was willing to buy—and they were offering 50 jin of rice!

He immediately decided to treat himself to a pack of instant noodles and a sausage for lunch.

After finalizing the trade, Ji He checked the game marketplace.

There were still plenty of unsold food items listed. Although they were selling, sales were slow.

It seemed that, for most people, the prices were still too high.

However, the 50 portions of Pralan she had listed had sold out in no time.

She even had several messages from buyers.

Ji He thought about it and decided to reply to one.

[Anonymous (Borrow 50 Billion More)]: “Hello, how many do you need?”

[Fitness Handsome Guy]: “1 silver coin each, I’ll take 100. Deal?”

Ji He didn’t even bother replying.

This guy must be an idiot.

She wanted to stay far away from fools.

Instead, she silently listed another 50 portions of Pralan.

While she was busy selling goods, more and more stores were popping up in the game marketplace.

Ji He took a quick look and then closed the interface.

No point in worrying—she didn’t have any silver coins to spend anyway.

Checking the time, she saw that there was still a while before her evening trade.

Ji He took out some Pralan and entered her spatial dimension.

Although she had gathered quite a lot from the forest, at the current rate of sales, she’d run out soon.

She wanted to see if she could grow it herself.

Since it was the most common plant on Piklari Continent, it shouldn’t be too difficult to cultivate, right?

She had found it growing on trees, so she decided to plant it on trees as well.

But as she stood before a fruit tree, she hesitated.

Pralan resembled moss—thin, light, and weightless. Ji He tried pressing it onto the tree bark, but as soon as she let go, the Pralan simply drifted to the ground.

Ji He: “…”

She had a bad feeling about this.

Unwilling to give up, she circled the tree several times, trying different methods, but the Pralan just refused to stick.

She even tried wetting it with water, hoping it would gain some adhesion.

But no, the plant was as stubborn as ever.

In the end, she had no choice but to place the Pralan at the base of the tree.

Maybe it had some special method of spreading that she didn’t know about?

She decided to leave it alone and see what happened. If it grew, great. If not, oh well.

Ji He left the space.

Behind her, the Pralan lay quietly at the tree roots, emitting a faint glow.

Outside, the sun had already set, and darkness covered the land.

People were starting to move around. Even though there was no electricity, plenty of alternative lighting tools were available.

Ji He checked the time—there were still thirty minutes before her meeting with the gas canister seller.

She put on her sun protection clothing, a hat, and a mask, slung on her backpack, and prepared to head out.

The nearest Beautify Supermarket was an hour’s walk away.

Hearing voices outside, Ji He stepped out and blended into the crowd heading out as well.

She wasn’t the only one—many others were also heading out, some in groups.

There were men and women, some dressed in sun-protective gear, others just in T-shirts and shorts. Most were young, with few older people among them—likely because the elderly couldn’t handle the heat and had taken shelter underground.

Ji He walked quietly among them. Even through her shoes, she could feel the scorching heat radiating from the ground.

No wonder no one went out during the day.

Despite the heat, people seemed to be in good spirits.

Groups gathered, chatting excitedly.

Their eyes shone with enthusiasm—it was clear that the topic of awakened players had caught everyone’s attention.

Undoubtedly, they would become the hottest topic for the foreseeable future.