Chapter 10: mysterious gift
As the two figures receded into the distance, Philip couldn't help but reflect. Just yesterday evening, the High Priest had assigned him to manage the medicine shop and sent him a wealth of study materials through some system. After reading them, Philip was utterly amazed.
Even when he was selling fake medicines in his previous life, he hadn't encountered so many tricks.
The High Priest was truly a good person. After all, Philip had to pay a daily fee to survive here, and he could take a 10% cut of the profits from selling to players.
The High Priest was so benevolent that Philip's face streamed with tears of gratitude as he continued to ponder.
Seeing a new player approaching, he quickly wiped away his tears and ushered them inside...
Laotan Pickled Cabbage and the others were unaware of Philip's inner thoughts after they left. They had arrived at the gates of the Goddess Temple.
As the largest building in the starter village, the entire temple occupied over 200 square meters and stood 20 meters tall. The entire structure was made of gray stone, forming a seamless whole.
At this moment, the sunlight happened to illuminate the gray temple, transforming its originally cold gray stone exterior into what seemed like pure gold. The entire temple glowed golden, appearing even more sacred and inviolable.
Not only were Laotan Pickled Cabbage and the others left in awe, but the viewers in the live broadcast were also stunned.
Laotan Pickled Cabbage was the first to recover, saying, "Viewers, this is the fruit of our one-day labor - the temple of the Goddess Nina. Inside, our goddess is enshrined."
With that, they stepped through the temple's large doors.
A tall and majestic statue of the goddess came into view, prompting an onslaught of comments from the viewers:
"So majestic! I will protect the goddess. You all get lost."
"Damn officials, give me a spot already. I want to play!"
"I envy the streamer for being able to play this game."
"You idiots, the goddess is mine."
...
Laotan Pickled Cabbage and the others had seen the goddess multiple times, but they were always left in awe of her majesty.
However, they had a mission to accomplish today and couldn't just admire the goddess.
Upon entering the temple, their game system prompted them: "Do you wish to pray? Prayer can grant experience."
Laotan Pickled Cabbage selected "Yes," and a prayer appeared on the game interface, which he had to recite.
"Oh Nina Yuketrahil, the Almighty Goddess of the World Tree. I offer myself as your follower..."
A minute passed quickly, and Laotan Pickled Cabbage finished his prayer.
The game system sent a message: "Congratulations, player. You have gained 2 experience points through prayer.
Note: As your level increases, the experience gained through prayer will also rise."
Meanwhile, Yuzhenhaochi finished his prayer beside him and curiously asked Laotan Pickled Cabbage, "How much experience did you get? I got 1 point."
"I got 2 points, one more than you," Laotan Pickled Cabbage replied grumpily. "This game is too stingy. There are more players than monsters, and we're stuck mining all day. It's too boring." He then said, "Come on, let's go get our mysterious gift."
Following the game system's guidance, Laotan Pickled Cabbage and the others found High Priest Anthony (Zhou Heng) in the temple.
At this moment, the viewers in the live broadcast also saw him.
The live broadcast chat exploded with comments:
"So handsome! This guy is my new husband now."
"As a guy, I'm almost tempted. This isn't scientific!"
"I need all his information in 10 minutes."
...
At this moment, High Priest Anthony (Zhou Heng) also saw them and waved enthusiastically, saying, "You're the player who ranked fifth on the contribution board yesterday, right? Have you come to collect your mysterious gift?"
"Yes, I have. I wonder what the gift is?" asked Laotan Pickled Cabbage.
"Well, originally we had prepared some good equipment for you, but yesterday we saw that you didn't even have a place to sleep. I felt compassion for you and decided to change the gift to a house.
Since you were ranked fifth yesterday, you will receive a 50-square-meter house. You won't have to pay for a hotel anymore," said High Priest Anthony (Zhou Heng) with a look that suggested they would definitely like it.
Land and houses are the pursuits of every Chinese person. Due to the increasing population, there are now 4 billion Chinese people, and houses are getting higher and higher, but the demand still exceeds the supply. Many young people can only rent houses to live in.
This game, which offers houses as a starting gift, is something that every Chinese person cannot refuse.
"No problem, I really like this gift," said Laotan Pickled Cabbage.
"That's great. Come and take a look. This is where your house is located," said High Priest Anthony (Zhou Heng), as a virtual map appeared in front of him, pointing to a building in the starter village.
Apparently, their house was located in this position.
Laotan Pickled Cabbage hurried to take a look and left after expressing his gratitude.
Zhou Heng was also very happy at this moment because he knew that houses were a great temptation for Chinese people.
This would definitely stimulate the players' fighting spirit.
Following the system's guidance, Laotan Pickled Cabbage and the others arrived at a building on the east side of the starter square.
The viewers in the live broadcast also saw this.
"This is a bit simple, just stones."
"This game is amazing. They distribute houses on the second day. I envy the streamer."
"I hate it! I shouldn't have listened to those trolls online. Otherwise, I would be playing the game right now."
...
Laotan Pickled Cabbage looked at the house in front of him and stopped interacting with the viewers in the live broadcast.
The house here was very simple, with only a door and a window from the outside, and it seemed to be made of gray stone, which looked quite sturdy.
When Laotan Pickled Cabbage walked inside, he saw that there was no furniture at all, indicating that players would need to furnish it themselves.
"Yuzhenhaochi" also followed him inside and looked around the room, saying with some frustration, "This is too simple. How can we rest without even a bed?"
"Wait, I think I've found something new in my system. Let me check," said Laotan Pickled Cabbage as if he had discovered something.
Laotan Pickled Cabbage then observed carefully.
[Player Housing Module Shop]
[Stone Bed 50 Copper Coins: Increases physical recovery by 10%]
[Stone Table 10 Copper Coins: No special effect]
...
[Exquisite Rosewood Carved Bed 100 Gold Coins: Increases physical and mental recovery by 200%]
[Customizable house exterior, priced according to the degree of modification, no upper limit]
Laotan Pickled Cabbage's mouth watered as he looked at these items, wishing he could buy them all if he had enough money. However, he was short on funds and could only afford to buy a stone bed, which cost 50 copper coins. After all, it was the most cost-effective option and came with a 10% increase in physical recovery.
As for other household items, Laotan Pickled Cabbage decided to make them himself and make do with what he had. Once he had more money, he definitely wanted to buy that exquisite rosewood carved bed.
As soon as he made the purchase, a virtual image of a stone bed appeared in the room, showing where it could be placed. Laotan Pickled Cabbage put it in the top left corner of the house.
In the eyes of Laotan Pickled Cabbage and Yuzhenhaochi, a stone bed suddenly appeared, 1.5 meters wide and 2 meters long.
"Yuzhenhaochi" asked, "Did the game give this to us?"
Laotan Pickled Cabbage rolled his eyes and said, "This game is so stingy. It can't be free. This cost me 50 copper coins. It hurts just thinking about it."
"So expensive! This is robbery! Does it have any special effects?" asked Yuzhenhaochi in surprise.
"Come and try it out," said Laotan Pickled Cabbage.
Yuzhenhaochi didn't hesitate and walked over to lie down on the bed. A small message appeared above his head, indicating that his physical recovery had increased by 10%, showing that this item was quite useful.
"In the future, you can come and rest here. You won't get sick again," said Laotan Pickled Cabbage, looking at Yuzhenhaochi lying on the bed.
"Isn't this a bit inappropriate? I'm a real man, you know," teased Yuzhenhaochi.
Laotan Pickled Cabbage quickly realized what he meant and gave him a kick.
"Get off the bed now," he said.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone