Heart of Creation

Especially after having just spent two hundred and fifty thousand game coins.

Cheng Shuili coughed twice and was just about to say something when Hu Lailai stepped forward and grabbed her: "Don't stand on ceremony with me! We're practically old acquaintances now. That young lady mentioned earlier that you wanted to see this week's rotating inventory—come on, I'll take you there!"

With that, she pulled them along without giving them a chance to object.

Cheng Shuili felt a bit helpless, but she had no choice but to follow along.

Three items were still displayed on the counter. Cheng Shuili had originally had no intention of buying anything, but as she looked up, her gaze was quickly drawn to the object in the center.

That thing... it looked just like a Heart of Creation.

Hu Lailai noticed her gaze and immediately followed it to the item in the middle. She paused, and a look of realization flashed across her eyes: "You purchased a Heart of Creation last time you were here, so you'll definitely be able to use this Heart of Creation."

Heart of Creation?

Cheng Shuili was stunned for a moment. She took a closer look at the object before slowly opening her mouth to ask: "How many game coins for this?"

Hu Lailai didn't answer, merely smiling with a slightly bashful pursing of her lips, "Is this the only thing you want?"

She wasn't even going to tell her the price?

This person...!

Wasn't she a little too savvy when it came to social graces?

The Heart of Creation she bought previously had cost seventy thousand game coins. This thing would definitely not be cheap; it might even be more expensive.

And this fox-race beastman was just going to give it to her without batting an eye?

They were all just working people, and Cheng Shuili really felt a bit guilty. She raised her hand, intending to refuse, when she heard Su Rui ask: "Manager Hu, what will you do if you run out of game coins?"

Cheng Shuili silently lowered her hand and gave Su Rui a look that said, "You understand me."

But Su Rui didn't actually understand what that look meant at all.

That didn't matter, though.

Upon hearing this, Hu Lailai's gaze toward the two of them softened significantly. If she had previously been acting only to return a favor, she was now genuinely interested in becoming friends with them.

"Human, you are one person who is completely different from all the other humans I have met."

That sounded rather strange.

Cheng Shuili muttered to herself but did not interrupt her.

"You can rest assured. While this might be a trivial gesture for you, it has been an enormous help to me."

"What I said before was true, but there is one most important detail I left out. Hu Lielie, myself, and several other siblings—we are all cousins and competitors. Although the Ten Thousand Beasts Merchant House is vast, only one fox makes the real decisions."

"We cousins are all striving for that position. Even though Hu Lielie is accustomed to trampling on others to climb up, he has a sharp eye for business and has never made any major mistakes, making him my greatest rival. Now that he has committed a major error and been suspended, he has effectively been removed from the competition."

Hu Lailai lowered her voice, her eyes filled with irrepressible gratitude: "Helping me was more than just letting off some steam; you directly cleared away my greatest obstacle. This favor is worth far more than one hundred thousand game coins."

She patted the back of Cheng Shuili's hand: "So, please, you must accept this gift. This is not only my personal thanks, but also a form of investment in the future. I believe that being on good terms with you will be beneficial to both me and the Ten Thousand Beasts Merchant House."

"And you don't need to worry about me running out of game coins. I am the eldest daughter of the Ten Thousand Beasts Merchant House. Even if I'm just a small manager now, I will definitely make something of myself in the future."

Since it had come to this, Cheng Shuili no longer pushed back.

She did indeed need this Heart of Creation, and since Hu Lailai had already spoken so transparently, refusing again would only make things feel distant.

"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony."

Cheng Shuili took the box containing the Heart of Creation, feeling the weight of that one hundred thousand game coin value, and said solemnly, "I will remember this kindness, Manager Hu."

Hu Lailai smiled, "Is there anything else you want? Fruits and vegetables—I remember you used to come buy them often, and rice as well."

She winked at Cheng Shuili, "Since you've spent so many game coins, as our Tier 3 VIP customer, I certainly have to give you a little something extra."

Seeing Cheng Shuili about to say something again, she interrupted directly: "Don't worry, I still have that much authority."

She insisted on packing a bit of every vegetable and fruit for Cheng Shuili, while Su Rui followed behind, calculating the game coins based on the listed prices.

These gifts alone were worth nearly ten thousand game coins.

Cheng Shuili herself was left feeling dizzy by the sheer scale of the gift.

If she had known the "letter of commendation" would be this effective, she would have written a few hundred words more.

Fortunately, the outcome was quite good; it could be said that everyone was happy.

The attendant from the merchant house helped Cheng Shuili and her companion load the fruits and vegetables onto their vehicle, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and politely bid farewell to the big spender.

Cheng Shuili waved, watching the merchant attendant leave.

Su Rui closed the carriage door, shutting out the clamor of the trading post outside.

The two looked at the supplies piled in the corner, both feeling conflicted.

"What an... unexpected turn of events," Cheng Shuili whispered to herself.

Su Rui finished counting the supplies and walked over, agreeing: "Indeed, I didn't expect Manager Hu to be so generous."

She suddenly frowned slightly, speaking more than usual for once: "But Boss, that internal family competition she mentioned... it sounds quite complicated. If we get too close to her, will we run into trouble?"

Cheng Shuili smiled and sat down on the carpet.

She had just used a vehicle cleaning card, so there was no need to worry about anything in the car being unclean.

"You're worrying about nothing, Miss Su."

She replied calmly, "This is a highway survival game, not a complex social game. What does the beastman family have to do with us?"

Besides... the wolf-race couldn't even contact her, their King, let alone the fox-race trying to trouble two humans.

Thinking of this, she checked the time; two hours had passed.

Cheng Shuili felt a burst of energy. She stood up, instructed Su Rui to tally the fruits and vegetables they had bought and report the numbers to Qi Wanyi, and then headed into the underground storage room.

Su Rui stared at the vegetables in the car for a while before looking at the air and asking: "How am I supposed to tell her?"

The boss occasionally had some unreasonable arrangements, but in such situations, they only needed to do what they could.

Su Rui thought this, picked up Cheng Shuili's paper and pen to record the quantity and types of vegetables, and then returned to the driver's cab to drive.

As for Cheng Shuili, she arrived at the underground storage room only to realize she was early; the Unidentified Shadow Seed was still ten minutes away from maturing.

This time wasn't exactly long, nor was it short, but there was no need to go back and forth.

She simply rested her chin in her hands and squatted in front of the Unidentified Shadow Seed, watching and waiting for it to mature.