The Icebreaker

If this were truly the case, being limited to only two hours each time she entered the beastman town would be far too short!

Cheng Shuili stopped wasting time. She picked up a European bread with the tongs nearby and asked, "How many game coins is this?"

Bao Chi's eyes widened. This was the most expensive item in his shop. Ordinary beastmen wouldn't even glance at it, and humans wouldn't even dare to ask for the price!

But this human was different.

She was the biggest customer Bao Chi had ever served! Bar none!

If anyone at this moment could afford this European bread, it would only be this human standing before him.

Bao Chi carefully squeezed out a three.

Cheng Shuili smiled. "Three hundred game coins? I'll take all four of these!"

Bao Chi shook his head frantically. His face turned completely red, and under Cheng Shuili's stunned gaze, he couldn't spit out a single word.

However, he didn't need to say anything more.

Cheng Shuili had already guessed it. Was it actually three thousand game coins? Three thousand game coins for one?!

How is that not daylight robbery?

Even if the attribute points gained were permanent, they were only granted once.

Her Abyss Ring still contained the Konjac Snack she had obtained right at the start; that item granted +5 to all attributes! It lasted for three hours! And it could even be stacked!

Cheng Shuili had obtained that for free without spending a single game coin.

A single European bread actually cost 3,000!

There were four in total, which added up to twelve thousand game coins.

Cheng Shuili, who had always considered herself quite wealthy, thought: "..."

No, her net worth was indeed quite high; the equipment she used to eat cost 9,999 game coins, after all.

At this moment, Cheng Shuili desperately wished that Bao Chi would trigger a bug!

Was there no favorability bug in this game?

A bug where Bao Chi's favorability toward her suddenly skyrocketed, and he became so proactive and insistent that he had to give her these European breads for free, and perhaps even throw in another twenty thousand game coins for good measure!

Cheng Shuili remained silent for a solid moment.

Bao Chi was even more terrified to speak; his face, which had just been red, had now turned pale.

Mom, humans are truly terrifying!

Did he offend this person? Was this person about to attack him?

Please, no, he still wanted to live a good life!

Cheng Shuili didn't know what the beastman was thinking, but she knew that if she let him keep thinking, the potential cooperation would likely fall through.

She hesitated for a moment, then coughed lightly and asked, holding onto a final shred of hope: "Is it three thousand game coins?"

Bao Chi jolted, and only after realizing what she asked did he nod gently.

Cheng Shuili covered her eyes with her hand.

Three thousand!

Why is it three thousand!

At this moment, Cheng Shuili felt genuine remorse!

She hadn't been ruthless enough in milking money from others.

She had plenty of materials on hand; what she lacked were game coins. Next time she processed items for others, she shouldn't just charge 5 game coins; she should charge 10! Or even 20!

Cheng Shuili pondered for a moment and decided to buy one to test it out. After all, it was an item that added attribute points, and such things were incredibly rare.

She hadn't encountered it last time, which meant this was a matter of fate.

Cheng Shuili picked one up, placed it in a bag, and walked to the counter, looking bitter.

"I'll buy one of these first."

She needed to see if it was worth the price. If it provided significant bonuses, she would buy them even if it meant going broke.

As for the cooperation...

Cheng Shuili paused. No, she had to make this happen first.

Bao Chi was happy. It was true that this was his masterpiece and the most fragrant, delicious item in his shop, but it was just too expensive!

Beastmen couldn't afford it, and humans couldn't afford it either. Everyone would ask for the price and then never mention buying it again.

Some with bad tempers would even hurl insults at Bao Chi.

Bao Chi felt wronged and heartbroken, but he couldn't express it.

This human was the first!

The first human to appreciate his craft! The first human to acknowledge his pricing!

"Hu-human, you are a good person."

This sentence was also stuttered. Cheng Shuili waited patiently for a long while before she clearly heard the beastman hand her a "Good Person Card."

Cheng Shuili: "..."

She didn't really need that kind of thing.

Something more tangible would be better.

Bao Chi seemed to hear her inner thoughts. He looked at her with teary eyes for a while, then suddenly said: "You are the first human to acknowledge me, so I can give you one European bread for free."

Give her one European bread for free...

Music to her ears!

This was the sound of heaven itself!

Cheng Shuili's eyes lit up. This was worth three thousand game coins—who wouldn't love that?

Actually, she wanted to jump up and down to express her inner joy, but she was afraid of scaring the timid little stutterer, so she forced herself to restrain it.

She smiled very reservedly, carrying an air of ladylike grace that didn't quite suit her.

Bao Chi couldn't tell; he only knew that this human was very happy, and he was happy too.

After paying, Cheng Shuili didn't rush to eat. Instead, she smiled and asked Bao Chi: "This is our second time meeting. Can we cooperate now?"

【Initiating a cooperation invitation to the beastman NPC. Note: Insufficient favorability may lead to failure.】

The prompt was identical, but Cheng Shuili's mindset was completely different from last time.

Last time, she had no confidence at all, but now she was completely certain of success.

As expected, Bao Chi nodded gently.

【Beastman NPC Bao Chi has agreed to cooperate with you!】

"Congratulations to player Cheng Shuili for achieving the first-ever cooperation with an NPC across the entire server, earning the unique title 【The Icebreaker】. Would you like to make a server-wide announcement?"

"Title 【The Icebreaker】 equipment effect: Innate favorability with beastman NPCs increases by 5. When trading with NPCs, they will be more willing to offer you discounts."

"As the first player to successfully cooperate with an NPC across the entire server, you are rewarded with a silver chest x1"

【Detected that the player is in a special scene. The silver chest has been delivered to your vehicle!】

That's quite considerate.

Another first for the whole server?

Cheng Shuili hadn't expected this at all. She tried to press her lips together, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

What a long-awaited server-wide announcement.

Cheng Shuili chose "Yes" directly.

The next moment, all players heard the system broadcast simultaneously!

【Congratulations to player Angry Crow Takes Flight for being the first to unlock the achievement "The Icebreaker" and becoming the first player across the server to establish an alliance with an NPC! Trust is the scarcest resource in the apocalypse! But there are always those who can prove that only through cooperation can one travel further. Other players, can you also break down barriers and win the trust of NPCs?】

Dragon Country’s Third Region, Partition 666.

"What the hell! You can cooperate with NPCs in this game?! I tried to bring weapons into the trading post yesterday and was chased by that beastman guard squad for three blocks!"

"Where did the idiot above come from? Don't you know weapons aren't allowed in the trading post?"

"Wow, it's him again, it's this Crow! Since the server opened, he's been the only one! And now it's him again!"

"Alright, there's nothing left to say! You all heard it, right? There might be many big shots in this channel, but there is only one true god, and that is Angry Crow Takes Flight!"