Love Bitstream: Chapter 20 - The Wind on Mount Guguan Is So Cold
Chapter 20: The Wind on Mount Guguan Is So Cold
Chi Zhen was utterly speechless. “No, seriously, stop losing your minds. Endless Time gave it to me yesterday. He just doesn’t like growing things.”
[Then why didn’t he give it to someone else? Why you specifically?]
Chi Zhen explained, “Because I’m a Spirit Cultivator. Spirit Cultivators have talent bonuses for growing things.”
[Oh.]
[Oh.]
[Oh.]
Looking at the wall of “Oh” filling the screen, Chi Zhen had no response and decided to ignore it.
He first went to the marketplace to check the price of Nüyi’s Flowerpot. There was only one listed. Price: 500,000 spirit stones.
Chi Zhen nearly coughed up blood.
So expensive! Somebody save me!
This flowerpot could only be used to grow certain rare plants, such as Zhuyu Grass, Xun Grass, Xunhua Grass, and other valuable species. These rare flowers and herbs could be crafted into beautiful dyes that changed the color of cosmetic outfits, making them highly sought after by appearance-focused players. On top of that, Nüyi’s Flowerpot could only be obtained one way: as a rare drop from a thirty-player raid. The drop rate was extremely low. As a result, its price had always remained outrageously high.
Other than that, the flowerpot didn’t really serve any major purpose.
You could use it to grow vegetables, sure. But vegetables grown in the flowerpot actually yielded less than those grown in normal soil.
And once something was planted inside, the pot became bound to the planter and could no longer be traded.
Think 500,000 spirit stones is too expensive?
Sorry. There was only one flowerpot on the entire marketplace. Sometimes there weren't any at all. Plenty of people wanted them.
Fashion players were willing to pay any price for a new outfit color.
The flowerpot’s value had been driven up entirely by appearance enthusiasts. The chat was having a field day.
[Holy crap, that’s expensive. No wonder Endless Time gave the seed to you. #doge]
[Endless Time: That was close, almost went bankrupt.]
[The devs are evil. Imagine picking up this seed yourself. Would you even plant it?]
[I’d rather spend 500,000 spirit stones on materials and gear. Why would I put it in this pot and serve it like some ancestor? One wrong move and it dies on you.]
[What could it possibly grow? None of the rare materials currently on the market are worth more than 500,000, right? It’s not like it can grow a weapon.]
[Impossible. There’s no system in Quest for the Azure Heavens that lets plants grow equipment. The only things that can be grown are materials, and specifically materials classified as plants.]
Every complaint about the developers and the flowerpot reflected Chi Zhen’s own thoughts exactly. He nodded. “Exactly. What kind of precious material could possibly be worth half a million spirit stones?”
As he said this, he casually turned around, clicked on the warehouse NPC beside the marketplace NPC, and withdrew 500,000 spirit stones.
Before the viewers could even process what was happening, Chi Zhen’s hands were already moving at lightning speed. He bought the flowerpot instantly, looking as though he was terrified someone else might snatch it away first.
Question marks flooded the screen.
Chi Zhen retrieved the flowerpot and explained: “Friends, tonight we’re spending 500,000 spirit stones in anger. Let’s gamble on what this Nameless Seed actually grows into. Think of it as an unboxing stream!”
[I don’t believe a word you say.]
[Xiao Chi, do you remember that you earned those 500,000 spirit stones one vegetable at a time?]
[Remember that cooking stream where you burned a Dragonfish worth 1,000 spirit stones and had to sell it to an NPC for ten? You spent half an hour cursing the developers afterward.]
[Turns out even the stingiest man is willing to spend money for the person he likes.]
“Don’t talk nonsense,” Chi Zhen said. Without the risk of Endless Time and the others suddenly dropping by his stream today, he felt much more relaxed.
“Put your hands on your conscience and tell me honestly. When the developers write something like ‘Maybe it’ll grow into something good,’ and use that tone, aren’t you curious? I’m a gaming streamer. Sacrificing my own 500,000 spirit stones to satisfy everyone’s curiosity is my duty!”
[Last time we told you to buy 500 treasure chests and do an unboxing stream, do you remember what you said?]
[Fun fact: 500 treasure chests are still cheaper than one Nüyi’s Flowerpot.]
[Stop talking. He’s down bad.]
[Streamer, being a game streamer is wasting your talent. Go write scripts in Hengdian. Your shipping game is top-tier.]
Chi Zhen looked serious. “Friends, I’m genuinely streaming gameplay here. Let’s stop talking about shipping. Endless Time and I aren’t even close. If you joked about me and my real-life buddies, I wouldn’t care. I can take it. The problem is that Endless Time and I barely know each other...”
[You don’t know there’s a type of ship called a crack ship?]
[Xiao Chi, stop arguing with chat. The chaos goblins aren’t listening to anything you say.]
Chi Zhen sighed. There was no helping it.
Carefully carrying the flowerpot, he returned to the guild realm. He ceremoniously washed his hands, burned incense, and planted the Nameless Seed with utmost reverence.
[System] Player [The Light Boat Has Passed] has successfully planted [Nameless Seed]. Please cultivate it patiently and care for it diligently. Maybe it’ll grow into something good.
It was still that same infuriating description.
Chi Zhen clicked his mouse and picked up a watering can. He poured water onto the flowerpot—
[System] Watering failed. Try watering the [Nameless Seed] with snowmelt from the Mount Guguan snowpeak! Remember to water it once every day. The [Nameless Seed] will grow better that way!
Chi Zhen nearly coughed up blood again.
What exactly is this Nameless Seed?! Why isn’t water from the guild realm river good enough? Why is it so ridiculously precious? And why does it specifically require snowmelt from the top of Mount Guguan?!
Climbing Mount Guguan took over ten minutes. According to the game’s mechanics, a full watering can could be used multiple times. However, if left unused for a day, the water inside would disappear.
In other words— To water this stupid seed, Chi Zhen would have to climb Mount Guguan every single day, travel all the way to the snowpeak, and haul back a canteen full of snowmelt.
[You planted an ancestor, not a seed.]
[Hahaha! If this thing takes forty-nine days to grow, doesn’t that mean the streamer has to climb the mountain for forty-nine days? The devs are masters of torture!]
Chi Zhen wanted to curse the developers too. But he was making money from streaming this game. No offending the official developers. Endure!
He grabbed some snacks and potions that granted warmth buffs, picked up the watering can, and prepared to depart.
“Alright, friends, enough talking. Today’s a chill stream anyway, so let’s go climb a mountain for exercise.” He drew a teleportation array and glanced at the chat. “Hm? There are ladies watching, too? Alright, alright. Brothers and sisters, let’s get moving. Think of it as a workout. I’ll also show you the scenery of Mount Guguan along the way.”
Ten minutes later—
The Light Boat Has Passed was being battered head-on by a blizzard. The wind was so fierce he could barely keep his eyes open, and his cheeks had been blown red.
What snowy mountain scenery? The entire world was a gray-white haze. Aside from the snow swirling through the sky, nothing could be seen. The Light Boat Has Passed clung tightly to the cliff face, terrified that one careless step would send him tumbling down.
Dying wasn't the real problem. The real nightmare was having to climb all the way back up from the beginning.
The powerful headwind and terrible visibility made the ascent vastly more difficult.
Chi Zhen sighed in admiration. “The game engine for Quest for the Azure Heavens is seriously amazing. Look at this wind. If we climb at a slight angle, we'll save some energy.”
As he climbed, he chatted with his viewers.
“Why not come back tomorrow? Friends, first of all, once a plant is planted, it needs to be watered immediately if you want it to grow well. I can't skip the first watering, or my 500,000 spirit stones will go straight down the drain. The sunk cost is too huge, so I have no choice but to keep climbing. Secondly, I've been to Mount Guguan several times already. Honestly, this is the first time I've encountered a blizzard this severe. It's actually pretty fun. The game's engine is ridiculously good. The physics effects are incredible. Even the warmth buff from food gets reduced under this kind of extreme weather. Good thing I'm the type who worries about worst-case scenarios—I brought ninety-nine warming snacks and potions.”
After saying that, Chi Zhen had The Light Boat Has Passed eat another Spicy Grilled Fish.
Twenty minutes later, The Light Boat Has Passed finally reached the Mount Guguan snowpeak. He took out his watering can and filled it with snowmelt.
After putting the can away, he didn't immediately leave. Instead, he pulled out some firewood from his inventory, tossed it onto the ground, lit a campfire, and then took out a chunk of beast meat he couldn't even remember packing. Calmly, he began roasting it.
[???]
[When did you pack firewood and beast meat?]
[You seriously keep firewood and beast meat in your inventory at all times? Always ready to lure out Zhēng?]
[Question: Who currently needs materials dropped by Zhēng?]
[As someone who watched the previous episode, I can answer: Endless Time.】
[He's so in love.】
“No, that's not it,” Chi Zhen explained. “I already climbed all the way up Mount Guguan. Since I'm here anyway, why wouldn't I try to see if Zhēng shows up? This week's reset already happened, so Zhēng has respawned too. Maybe I'll get lucky. The materials it drops are worth a lot of money. This is a casual stream, what's wrong with farming some materials? I'll play a little longer and then go to bed. Editing videos all day completely exhausted me.”
[Report! People from Way of Heaven are coming to hunt you again, Xiao Chi!]
[Huh? Where'd you hear that?]
[I'm in Way of Heaven. They're gathering people in guild chat to come to Mount Guguan! Someone's been lurking in your stream~ The moment you left the city, they started planning to kill you~]
[Your Way of Heaven guild is incredible. Complete chaos.]
Chi Zhen wasn't worried. “It's fine. Even if they start climbing now, it'll still take them twenty minutes to get here. This mountain is ridiculously hard to climb today. I'll roast meat for a bit longer and see whether Zhēng—”
[System] Friend [Endless Time] has logged in.
Chi Zhen paused mid-sentence.
Before the chaos-loving viewers could flood the chat, a furious roar echoed across the snowy mountain.
A crimson figure appeared amid the endless white storm.
[No way! No way! Hasn't the meat only been roasting for two minutes? Zhēng already spawned? Last time I roasted meat for half an hour and didn't see so much as a ghost!]
[Is the streamer cheating or something? How is this possible? He's encountered Zhēng twice already!]
[Just confess, Xiao Chi. You're secretly one of the game's developers, aren't you? You've given yourself cheat codes!]
All sorts of ridiculous theories appeared in chat, but Chi Zhen didn't have time to read them.
He immediately sent Endless Time a private message.
[Friend] The Light Boat Has Passed: Encountered Zhēng at Mount Guguan. If needed, party up and kill quickly. People are coming to kill me.
A party invitation from Endless Time arrived almost instantly. Chi Zhen accepted at once.
After forming the party, Endless Time didn't waste a single word. Fifteen minutes later, he was already standing on the Mount Guguan snowpeak.
The blizzard still raged around them.
Chi Zhen couldn't help but admire him. “How is that speed even possible? He climbed all the way up here in just over ten minutes. What a monster.”
[No. I think the real monster is the guy who soloed Zhēng for fifteen minutes waiting for backup.]
[Take a look at yourself, bro. You're not worse than Endless Time. What's with all the hero worship?]
[Hurry up and kill it! Way of Heaven is still climbing!]
[Way of Heaven is blessed to have a traitor like the guy above.]
Then came the increasingly seamless teamwork between the two. Their coordination seemed better than ever.
Together, they quickly finished off Zhēng. Almost the exact moment Zhēng collapsed, the members of Way of Heaven finally reached the snowpeak.
Before they could even start trash-talking, Chi Zhen moved like lightning. He instantly assigned all of Zhēng's dropped materials to Endless Time. Then he immediately left the party. Immediately drew a teleportation array. Immediately teleported away.
The Way of Heaven players had only managed to type: "The Light Boat Has Passed, today we're going to make you pay—" before The Light Boat Has Passed's figure went—Whoosh! —and vanished.
The Way of Heaven players were left staring at Endless Time. Awkward silence.
One by one, they deleted what they'd typed. Then they started typing again: "Endless Time, how are you going to explain this one—" They had just finished typing. Before they could hit Send— Whoosh! Endless Time disappeared too.
The only thing left between heaven and earth was the howling blizzard.
The wind on Mount Guguan was so cold. The snow was so icy.
The members of Way of Heaven stood there in tears.
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