28: Chapter 28 System Upgrade

A blood-red light shot up into the sky, dyeing the entire firmament a bewitching crimson.

Chen Ergou was sent flying by the shockwave, rolling several times on the ground before coming to a stop.

Ignoring the pain in his body, he scrambled to his feet and looked toward the center of the explosion.

"Xiguang! Xiguang!"

His voice was trembling.

With such a terrifying explosion, and Ye Liuli still inside the Wolf King, could she... could she still be alive?

The smoke gradually dissipated, revealing a huge crater at the center of the explosion.

The corpse of the Demonized Wolf King had been torn to pieces, its flesh and blood scattered everywhere; the scene was extremely gruesome.

Amidst that pile of flesh and blood, a silver figure slowly stood up.

It was Ye Liuli!

Her armor was stained with blood, and her silver-white hair had also been dyed a dark red, but she was still alive!

"You... are you okay?" Chen Ergou, both surprised and delighted, scrambled over to her.

Ye Liuli cast a cold glance at him and reached out to wipe the blood from her face. "A mere self-destruction is not enough to kill me."

She said it lightly, but Chen Ergou clearly saw her legs trembling slightly—she must have been terrified in that instant just now.

"How did you dodge that just now?" Chen Ergou asked curiously.

Ye Liuli did not answer, merely silently pulling a handkerchief from her backpack to wipe the blood off her body.

Chen Ergou didn't press the matter, just grinned and gave a thumbs-up. "Awesome! As expected of the Iceberg Empress!"

Just then, a golden light descended from the sky, enveloping Ye Liuli.

[System Announcement: Congratulations to player "Xiguang" for killing the Demonized Wolf King! The defense of the Novice Village is a victory!]

[System Announcement: Player "Xiguang" receives the following rewards: EXP +100,000, Gold +5,000, Reputation +1,000, and the rare equipment "Wolf King's Heart"!]

[System Announcement: All players who participated in the Novice Village defense battle receive the following rewards: EXP +10,000, Gold +500, Reputation +100!]

Three system announcements rang out in succession, and the entire Novice Village erupted into a frenzy.

"We won! We won!"

"Long live Goddess Xiguang!"

"That's so badass! Slaying the Wolf King with a single sword strike!"

"Is this the strength of the number one player in the entire server?"

Players cheered and jumped for joy, some so excited they were moved to tears.

This defense battle had been incredibly difficult; they had almost thought the Novice Village was going to fall.

At this very moment, Chen Ergou's stall was already surrounded by people.

"Boss! Do you still have any regret potion? Give me ten bottles!"

"I want a shrinking cookie! It looked so cool when Goddess Xiguang used it earlier!"

"Are there any rebound wristguards left? I want to buy one!"

"clairaudience potion! Give me five bottles!"

Players scrambled to buy Chen Ergou's goods, fearing that if they were a step late, they would be snatched up by others.

Chen Ergou was busy to the point of being overwhelmed, collecting money and handing over goods, his mouth unable to stop smiling.

"Don't rush, don't rush! There's enough for everyone!" While greeting customers, he calculated in his heart how much he would earn this time.

One bottle of regret potion sells for 50 gold coins, ten bottles is 500; one shrinking cookie sells for 100 gold coins, twenty cookies is 2,000; a rebound wristguard sells for 300 gold coins, ten pieces is 3,000...

"I'm rich, I'm rich!" Chen Ergou smiled until his eyes narrowed into slits.

In less than ten minutes, his inventory was bought out.

Looking at the tens of thousands of gold coins that had appeared in his backpack, Chen Ergou felt like he was walking on air.

"Boss Ergou! Is there any stock left?" a player asked, unwilling to give up.

"It's gone, it's all gone," Chen Ergou waved his hand. "Sold out for today, please come early tomorrow!"

The players dispersed in disappointment, but more and more people had already started discussing Chen Ergou's goods on the world channel.

"The goods at that Ergous Stall are too magical!"

"The regret potion can really make monsters regret!"

"The shrinking cookie is also super useful! It's just that the side effects are a bit of a pitfall..."

"The rebound wristguard is simply an artifact!"

Chen Ergou looked at the discussions on the world channel, feeling wonderful inside.

His fame had finally spread!

Just then, a system prompt that only he could hear rang out.

[System Prompt: Host's cumulative sales have exceeded 100,000 gold coins; the [myriad worlds stall system] meets the conditions for an upgrade!]

[System Prompt: [myriad worlds stall system] is upgrading...]

[System Prompt: Upgrade complete! [myriad worlds stall system Lv.3] unlocked!]

Chen Ergou felt a roar in his mind as a large amount of information flooded his brain.

[myriad worlds stall system Lv.3]

[New features unlocked:]

[1. Item Synthesis: Can synthesize two or more items into a new item. The synthesized item will inherit some characteristics of the raw materials and may produce new effects.]

[2. Batch Production: Can produce multiple identical items at once; production efficiency increased by 500%.]

[3. Auto-restock: After setting the inventory limit, the system will automatically replenish out-of-stock items, no manual operation required.]

[New item unlocked:]

[Time Pocket Watch: Can pause time for 3 seconds; during this period, only the user can move. Side effect: Unable to move for 5 seconds after use. Price: 1,000 gold coins.]

After reading the system introduction, Chen Ergou was so excited he almost jumped up.

"Item Synthesis? Batch Production? Auto-restock? This is too awesome!"

He couldn't wait to open the system interface and start studying the new features.

The item synthesis interface was very simple: just put two or more items into the synthesis slot and click the synthesize button.

The system would randomly generate a new item based on the items put in.

"Shall I give it a try?" Chen Ergou was eager to try.

He took a bottle of regret potion and a shrinking cookie out of his backpack and placed them into the synthesis slot.

[Synthesis Materials: regret potion + shrinking cookie]

[Synthesis Result Prediction: Unknown]

[Start synthesis? Cost: 100 gold coins]

"Synthesize!"

A flash of light passed, and a new bottle of potion appeared in the synthesis slot.

[Regret Shrinking Potion: Causes the target to fall into deep regret while shrinking their body size by 50%. Duration: 30 seconds. Price: 200 gold coins.]

"Holy crap!" Chen Ergou widened his eyes. "This is possible too?"

He was extremely excited and tried other combinations.

rebound wristguard + clairaudience potion = Clairaudient rebound wristguard (While reflecting damage, one can hear the attacker's inner monologue).

truth cookie + chaos dice = Chaotic truth cookie (Forces the target to speak the truth, but the content will be randomly scrambled).

elastic shoes + regret potion = Regret elastic shoes (Jumping power is greatly increased, but after landing, the user will regret jumping so high).

Every synthesized item opened Chen Ergou's eyes.

The effects of these items were both bizarre and practical; they would definitely sell for a good price!

[System Prompt: Congratulations to the host for obtaining the title [Novice Village Guardian]!]

[Title Effect: Within the Novice Village, all stats increased by 20%, NPC favorability +50.]

Chen Ergou looked at the newly obtained title and nodded with satisfaction.

Although this title only took effect within the Novice Village, its effects were quite good.

"Ergou."

A cold, clear voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

Chen Ergou was startled. He turned around and saw that it was indeed Ye Liuli.

She had already cleaned the blood off her body, changed into a new set of armor, and her silver-white hair had been combed neatly again, restoring her appearance as the Iceberg Empress.

"Guild Leader Xiguang?" Chen Ergou scratched his head. "Do you need something?"

Ye Liuli looked at him, silent for a moment, then said indifferently, "This time... thank you for your goods."

Chen Ergou was stunned for a moment, then grinned. "No need to be polite, we're partners, right!"

Ye Liuli didn't speak, just nodded slightly, then turned and left.

Chen Ergou watched her back, always feeling like she had something she wanted to say, but in the end, she didn't say it.

"Strange woman..." he muttered, then continued to study the system's new features.

Just then, a private message popped up.

[Sword Saint Xiao Wuchen: Come to the west corner, this old man has something for you.]

Chen Ergou's eyes lit up.

The Sword Saint was going to give him something? What kind of good thing could it be?

He packed up his things and walked toward the west corner of the Novice Village.

But what he didn't know was that behind him, Ye Liuli was standing under a large tree, silently watching his back.

"This guy..." she whispered to herself, her earlobes slightly flushed, "is actually quite interesting."