Since he didn’t need to water his crops today, Shen Xin decided to fish for a bit longer. By the time she returned to the village, the shop was almost closed.

“Did you get caught in the rain? Come warm up inside.”

Old He was hanging items on a rack when he saw Shen Xin trudge over from the rain and quickly invited her inside. He had been doing some rare business lately, so he no longer treated players with his usual aloofness.

“The NPCs’ emotional responses are pretty well done…”

Although the UOL Corporation loved to engage in shady practices, it couldn’t be denied that their games were of high quality, which was why their players tolerated their shenanigans.

“What are you hanging up there, sir?”

Shen Xin noticed that there seemed to be some new items in the shop.

“Oh, it’s raining today, so I was afraid water might leak into the storage room. I went to check it out and ended up finding these.”

The items hanging at the very front were umbrellas and raincoats, priced at three and five silver coins, respectively.

Shen Xin touched her straw hat, feeling quite fortunate to have chosen the profession of farmer…

“It’s too bad hardly anyone goes out in this rain, so not many items sold.” Old He sighed and pointed at the backpacks beneath the shelves. “You always buy a lot when you come, so you must be quite rich? Why don’t you take a look?”

“Backpack?” Shen Xin glanced at the backpacks arranged neatly on the bottom shelf, seemingly no different from her own. Only when she held one in her hands did she discover the hidden mechanism.

The bags were made of a higher-quality material, lighter in weight, and each had twenty storage compartments.

Each compartment could hold ninety-nine of the same item. The larger the backpack, the more items it could contain, which naturally made them more convenient. With one of these, she wouldn’t need to worry about conserving space on her trips to the beach, and she could even stock up on more wild herbs.

She’d also be able to make fewer trips to the fishing cabin while fishing, and potentially catch a few more fish.

“This is the upgraded version; we also have the high-end model.” Seeing Shen Xin’s interest, Old He swiftly handed her the backpacks arranged at the very front.

Shen Xin opened one and gasped, “Thirty compartments!”

The high-end backpack boasted an incredible thirty storage compartments. This was truly unbelievable.

Old He proudly continued, “This model not only has a large capacity, but it can also change color. You can choose from lady-pink, gay-purple, or shady-black, and even design your own pattern.”

Shen Xin was speechless. This level of customization wasn’t necessary, but the thirty compartments were undeniably enticing. She rubbed the hundred-odd silver coins in her bag and asked confidently, “How much?”

“I just knew you’d be interested.” Old He adjusted his glasses, then gave a heartbreakingly large number.

“100 silver.”

Shen Xin’s breath caught. Suddenly, she didn’t feel as confident.

Fuck, 100 silver? That’s enough for five hundred loaves of bread!

She tried to console herself. “Do you offer any discounts?”

Old He’s face stiffened. “This shop does not offer discounts.”

Shen Xin gritted her teeth. She had to think long term: buying a thirty-square-meter backpack would definitely be worth it!

Fortunately, today’s eel harvest was bountiful. Shen Xin steeled herself and paid 100 silver, obtaining an upgraded backpack.

【 Please note: Each player can only possess one backpack. Do you wish to move your items from [Backpack] to [Upgraded Backpack]? 】

“Confirmed.” The switch was made, lightening the weight of the bag on Shen Xin’s back while leaving her with an empty standard backpack in hand.

She had no use for the standard backpack, so Shen Xin sold it to Old He for five silver.

Shen Xin stared at him, speechless.

Dammit, I can’t believe this big-eyed, bushy-browed guy is such a crook.

Having made a handsome profit, Old He grinned widely and rearranged the backpacks on his stand, moving the standard variety to the back.

“Hm?” Shen Xin glanced at the other backpacks and asked Old He suspiciously, “Did you run out of upgraded backpacks?”

Old He replied, “I’d love to have one too, but these are all that remain from when our ancestors fought monsters. They’re dwindling in number; we no longer have any high-tier bags, and we only have nine upgraded versions left.”

So not everyone could exchange their bags for a high-tier one.

Shen Xin suddenly felt that his purchase had been worth it…

Damn! How could he think this way?! Just a moment ago, he’d felt like he’d been cheated, yet now he wondered if Old He was an incarnation of the UOL game developers, playing psychological warfare on him.

Regardless, getting the high-tier bag was definitely a good deal. With the remainder of his money, Shen Xin bought ten units of strawberry seeds, fifty units of broccoli seeds, and forty units of green bean seeds, then spent the last sixty-three coins on three loaves of bread.

Earnings trickled in, but expenses poured out…

With his satchel full of seeds, Shen Xin rushed back to his farm to plant them.

After harvesting the radishes in the morning, the plowed fields hadn’t disappeared; he could simply scatter the seeds right over them. Shen Xin saved himself the effort of tilling the soil again and finished planting by 8:18 PM, having completed the side quest by 8:30 PM.

The past few nights, he’d been busy until midnight, so suddenly having free time felt odd. Shen Xin fished for a while at the riverbank, trying to make every minute count and not waste any stamina.

At the same time, Bibi lay on the second floor, watching the rain outside. “It’s raining today. Let’s close the shop tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Yun Yuwei and Qin Chengyue had finally found Peach Blossom Town by following the night lights, as mentioned in their quest.

“Hurry, hurry, find the hospital, I only have 10 health points left!”

Yun Yuwei, who had contracted the illnesses of [fever], [parasite], [weakening], and [infection], was on the verge of losing his mind from panic.

Qin Chengyue wasn’t in a good state either, but he could only carry this burden forward and knock on every door in search of help.

Deep within the forest, a figure darted past, gathering dozens of slimes together, then swung his dagger, killing them all at once.

【 Congratulations, player! Farmer profession level +1, received [Iron Hoe Blueprint], has a 30 percent chance of double harvest when reaping crops. 】

【 Congratulations, player! Fishing skill level +1, the chance of catching high-level fish increased to 30 percent. 】

“Leveling up once a day—that’s way too fast. Isn’t the UOL’s value setting a bit unreasonable…” Shen Xin pondered for a moment. Yesterday, she had mainly caught eels, which counted as high-level fish, so her fishing skill had risen rapidly.

As for her farmer level… She had harvested crops and planted a bunch of more expensive items, so she had earned a significant amount of experience points. Overall, the level-up system seemed reasonable, and it would likely be more difficult to advance in the future.

“My score is still first.” Shen Xin glanced outside the window. “Too bad it’s not raining today; I’ll have to water everything myself.”

The 14 white radishes planted on the second day of spring had matured.

With the talent bonus, Shen Xin’s luck was boosted. He pulled out a total of twenty radishes, five of which were high-quality.

He also harvested seven bundles of spinach from the five units he’d planted earlier; three were medium-quality, and there were no high-quality ones.

After putting the crops away in his inventory, Shen Xin opened the daily side quests.

【 Side Quests 】

Clear five green slimes (0/5).

Catch three red porgy fish (0/3).

Combat and fishing side quests… Shen Xin finally realized that these side quests were deliberately designed to guide players to understand the game’s various features.

It was only thanks to Old He’s reminder that Shen Xin knew about the existence of fishermen; if he hadn’t received that notification, the side quests would have led him to seek out the profession.

This was perhaps the last vestige of conscience in the game.

When Xiao Feng woke up, he discovered that the daily quest for today was fishing.

“Fishing? How do I fish?”

He had chosen the profession of carpenter, and the town’s mayor had arranged for him to apprentice under the village’s old carpenter.

“Master, how do I fish?” Xiao Feng asked.

“Fishing? You should ask Old Li. Head down the river, turn left at the sea, and it’s just a few steps from there.”

“Thank you, Master!” Xiao Feng didn’t leave after asking for directions; instead, he went to the kitchen, where a pretty young woman was making breakfast.

“Xiao Feng, are you going out?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Then be careful on your way!”

With their conversation over, Xiao Feng opened his quest handbook, delighted to see that his favor with the carpenter’s daughter had finally increased by half a heart.

Daily conversations could earn him one favor point at a time, and although progress was slow, he was confident that he would catch up to the NPC eventually, given his proximity.

When they arrived at the fishing cottage, a few people were scattered across the pier fishing.

It seemed most players had received the fishing quest today.

“Maybe everyone has the same side quest? What happens if I don’t complete it before the day ends…?” Shen Xin pondered, but she had never neglected side quests before, so she didn’t know what would happen if one wasn’t completed on time.

Although the ocean was vast, it was practically impossible to catch anything in shallow waters, so one could only fish at the pier.

Shen Xin picked a corner to stand in and heard a man next to her rambling incessantly.

“Dear audience, fishing in this game is really difficult. It’s not because I’m bad at it.”

“Look, the fish’s shadow disappeared in the blink of an eye.”

“You know my gaming skills; I’m at least decent, but this is just impossible.”

From these few snippets, Shen Xin confirmed that this person must be a professional gamer, possibly a streamer in real life.

Impressive, truly impressive. This game didn’t allow players to communicate with the outside world, so even without receiving feedback from his viewers, he could still make it feel like he was interacting with them.

In a way, it was like Shen Xin’s stream, where he conversed with his imagined audience while playing.

But with so many people watching, Shen Xin couldn’t be as relaxed as Xiao Feng, who was completely at ease in front of the camera.

“It came off the hook again!” Xiao Feng complained to the air, adopting a crazed expression. “Dear viewers, I’ll tell you right now, this game is not meant to be played by humans. Once it’s released, you have to try it for yourselves! Don’t forget to buy the game!”

【 What a blatant advertisement. 】

【 Xiao Feng, are you being paid by UOL? Stop acting. It’s time to show your true skills! 】

【 You guys might be thinking too much. Xiao Feng isn’t pretending to be bad; he really is bad. 】

【 Do I lack games? No, I lack a gaming pod! 】

【 Do I lack gaming pods? No, I lack money! 】

【 Me too, me too. 】

A flood of “me too”s rolled down the comment section until someone noticed that the player next to Xiao Feng was behaving rather oddly.

【 Holy crap! Look at that huge flounder! 】

【 What’s that? Holy crap, such smooth movements! 】

Fuck, she caught another one.

Fuck, she caught five big ones in a row. Is she a fishing master?

As a single dog with thirty years of practice, my hand speed is no match for hers.

Sorry, but I suddenly have the false impression that fishing is actually super easy…

Xiao Feng, are you messing with us? Fishing doesn’t seem that hard after all?

Wait, other players can’t catch anything either.

Where is this little miss streamer’s channel?! I must watch her first-person view!

Aside from Shen Xin’s channel gaining over three hundred viewers in a flash, Xiao Zhou, who was lurking in the background, suspected the system had once again generated fake data.

Xiao Feng also noticed a pro player showing off their skills nearby, holding up a flatfish almost as long as her arm, which made the sardines on his hook look incredibly puny in comparison.

“An amateur with pro skills?” Xiao Feng walked over to ask her for tips, only to hear Shen Xin mutter, “Tsk, these are all high-level fish. I want low-level ones.”

Xiao Feng fell silent.

Fuck, she’s a pro poser.