Chapter 54: The Law of True Fragrance! (Bonus Update!!!)
What kind of special hobby is this?
Switch to the next team?
How much does Jiangnan enjoy annoying people?
Tang Qianya felt like she’d spent the past five days under the resentful stares of everyone around her!
Wu Liang: “Brother Nan! At this rate, snagging first place might be a bit tough!”
Jiangnan: “No worries, I’ve got it under control. It’s just Spirit Beads, isn’t it?”
The live chat exploded!
“Everyone’s fighting, and he’s taking photos? When will I ever be as awesome as my idol?”
“Why do I feel like I want to punch him?”
“Haha, that’s too epic! What kind of shady move is this?”
“No hunting spirit beasts? Just showing off? Is he about to self-destruct?”
…
By now, it was the fifth day since everyone entered the Ling Xu!
They’d also reached the fifth and final safe stronghold.
Beyond this point, no more safe zones were set up.
Most teams chose to base themselves around the safe strongholds—hunting spirit beasts during the day and returning to rest at night.
Few teams dared to push deeper, as safety at night couldn’t be guaranteed, and the risk factor increased dramatically.
Over the past couple of days, Jiangnan had wandered through nearly every nearby area!
He had a rough idea of the lay of the land.
That day, he again returned early to the safe zone to set up camp.
When the group teams dragged their exhausted bodies back to the safe stronghold,
an irresistible aroma filled the entire wilderness!
In front of the three-bedroom-one-living-room tent, a huge barbecue grill had been set up!
Skewers of meat were already on the fire, sizzling over the charcoal.
Seven or eight small tables were set up in the open space.
A large fan was blowing like crazy, spreading the fragrance across the entire camp.
Through a loudspeaker, Jiangnan’s voice repeated over and over:
“Come one, come all! Tianchi Special Big Meat Skewers!”
“Super fragrant! Top-notch!”
“Who the hell wants to buy some skewers?”
“Mommy! I want to eat barbecue skewers!”
“Eat! Eat the big ones! Is ten enough?”
“Enough! Thank you, Mommy! Mommy is the best!”
…
Tang Qianya covered her face in embarrassment!
She never thought she’d end up selling barbecue skewers inside a Ling Xu one day!
And that ad copy was way too cringeworthy, right?
Jiangnan had recorded the whole thing himself, even imitating a little girl’s voice perfectly.
…
The group teams were dumbfounded!
What’s going on?
They’d just returned to the safe stronghold and it felt like they’d stepped into a night market?
Running a barbecue stall inside a Ling Xu?
Are you serious?
So this is what he’d been messing around with for the past two days?
But damn, it smelled so good!
After five days of eating compressed biscuits and instant noodles, the moment they caught the scent, their drool started flowing!
Someone immediately asked, “How much are the skewers?”
Jiangnan waved his hand grandly: “One Black Iron-grade Spirit Bead per person. Eat as many skewers as you want!”
“Special discount for a full four-person team! Just three Black Iron-grade Spirit Beads!”
Group teams: ???
So he’s after our Spirit Beads?
No wonder he hasn’t been hunting spirit beasts for two days!
So this is his game?
Have you no shame?
Isn’t this blatantly fleecing us?
We go out and work hard to get Spirit Beads, and you sit here trying to rip us off?
No way! No way in hell!
But… but those skewers smelled so good!
What would they taste like?
How amazing would that be?
Wiping their drool, they said, “Whatever! It’s just three beads! Fine! We’ll just work harder tomorrow!”
“Bring on the skewers! Load ’em up, dammit!”
Teams that had decent harvests didn’t even hesitate—after five days of instant noodles, their mouths were tasteless!
In no time, all eight tables were full!
Some teams that couldn’t find seats just sat on the ground and started devouring skewers!
They wolfed them down like starving wolves, licking the skewer sticks until they practically sparked!
The other teams watched with envy!
Seeing the situation was about right, Jiangnan dropped another bombshell:
“Alright, folks, take a look! Iced Big Green Sticks! Meat skewers and beer—more you drink, more you’ve got!”
“One Bronze-grade Spirit Bead for a dozen beers!”
Someone was shocked: “Damn? Why so expensive?”
Jiangnan: “Mine are iced! And you still think it’s expensive? Try finding another batch of this in the Tianchi Ling Xu!”
At first, nobody was willing to buy.
But those skewers were way too salty!
Jiangnan had told Wu Liang to douse them with salt while grilling!
The thirsty teams eyed the iced Big Green Sticks still covered in frost!
“Screw it! Give me a dozen!”
“Boss, your skewers are way too damn salty! Could you go easy on the salt?”
Jiangnan: “Sorry, that’s how I do business—generous!”
“Add more! Pile it on! Cumin and chili flakes too!”
[Resentment Value +666 from Li Guang!]
[Resentment Value +885 from Han Jiaxuan!]
[Resentment Value from…]
Wu Liang was sweating buckets from all the work! Tang Qianya tied on a little apron and took up the role of waitress!
Spirit Beads kept rolling in!
Earlier he’d worried about not getting first place.
But now that the Tianchi barbecue stall was open?
Sorted!
No matter what, this was basically every team in the central route working for Jiangnan!
Blatant fleecing!
But so what?
People starving after five days couldn’t resist the aroma of meat skewers!
Meanwhile, Jiangnan was strolling around the camp with a skewer in hand!
“Hey, brother! Want a bite?”
That person scowled, grinding their teeth in hatred!
[Resentment Value from…]
“Ai! It’s delicious! Juicy when you bite into it!”
[Resentment Value from…]
He wandered over to Li Xiang’s group.
“Going to grab some? Your team has a decent haul. It’s not like you can’t spare three Spirit Beads?”
Li Xiang sneered: “We can spare them, sure. You can spare them too, so why not give them for free?”
Jiangnan curled his lip: “For free? Kid, you’re dreaming of eating farts, huh?”
Li Xiang narrowed his eyes: “Don’t get too cocky. Keeping this up, the school will come after you.”
Jiangnan shrugged: “Come after me? Did I break any rules? I’m just providing a service. They’re giving me the Spirit Beads voluntarily.”
Liu Quanwu pointed a finger at Jiangnan and yelled:
“I, Liu Quanwu, would rather starve to death! Die out there! Jump off this cliff! Than eat a single bite of your food!”
Li Xiang and Ling Feng both gave Liu Quanwu a thumbs-up! No doubt, brother, you’ve got guts!
Jiangnan sniffed: “Fine, don’t eat then!”
Then he turned and shouted: “Limited-time offer! Anyone who comes to spend gets a free shower!”
At those words, Li Muyan couldn’t hold back!
A shower?
After five days, she stank!
On the very first day, she’d gotten covered in mud!
For a girl, this was absolutely fatal!
“How about… we go eat too? Three Bronze-grade Spirit Beads—it’s not like we can’t afford it.”
Li Xiang frowned: “Wouldn’t that let Jiangnan take advantage? He’ll only get more Spirit Beads!”
Ling Feng muttered: “Even if we don’t give him any, he’s already locked in first place…”
Li Xiang: …
It sucked! But Li Xiang couldn’t swallow his pride.
“If you want to go, go yourselves!”
Li Muyan didn’t care about that—she took three Spirit Beads straight to the shower!
Ling Feng and Liu Quanwu exchanged glances.
Well, since the money was already spent, not eating would just be letting Jiangnan off easy?
Hmph! Watch us eat you broke and exhaust you, you bastard!
So the two brothers, Liu Quanwu and Ling Feng, crouched on the ground, chomping down one giant skewer after another.
“Ah, it’s so good!”
“How can it be this good?”
“Skewers are the best! Let’s eat more!”
Jiangnan: …
I’ll just pretend Liu Quanwu’s words from earlier were a fart.
As expected, nothing escapes the law of true fragrance!
This chapter is a bonus update for today. Don’t forget to give a five-star review, everyone! Add to your bookshelf so you don’t get lost! You guys are just too cool! Asking for bookmarks and five stars!