Chapter 6: Infinite Emperor Body, SS Rank

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Yun Qimu’s lips, her mood lifting a little.

“I want to know—which Yun Qimu am I, really? And why do my dreams keep becoming reality?”

[That’s two questions. I can only answer the first: both Yun Qimus are you.]

Just then, a cheerful jingle sounded, followed by the mechanical voice of the system: [Ding—Congratulations, Host, binding successful. Now initiating the game: Build Earth Village.]

[As the player, you will be the first to join the game. Please create your in-game name.]

Yun Qimu, having been outmaneuvered, ground her teeth in annoyance and snorted coldly in her mind. “Yun Qimu. My real name. No changes.”

[Ding—Congratulations, player Yun Qimu, for creating the game account ‘Yun Qimu’. As the first player to log in, the system will reward you with a Lucky Gift Pack.]

[Ding-dong—Congratulations, player Yun Qimu, you have received the Lucky Gift Pack. It has been placed in your inventory. Please claim it promptly.]

Yun Qimu had a gut feeling that this so-called Lucky Gift Pack was anything but lucky, and a sense of wariness rose within her.

With a thought, a blue-glowing 16-inch light screen appeared before her eyes—just like the holographic games she’d played before.

“What are you daydreaming about, Dumb Qimu? What are we going to do about this evil servant?”

Yun Qiyu, cheeks puffed out in frustration, hopped up and down, waving his little fists in front of her.

Dressed in a tiny army-green suit, he looked like an angry little jumping frog.

Yun Qimu glanced at him through the light screen, raising an eyebrow with a smile. “Can you see what’s in front of me?”

“See what?” Yun Qiyu tilted his little head, scrutinizing her face with wide, shiny eyes. “There’s nothing there. Dumb Qimu, are you so hungry you’re seeing things?”

Yun Qimu: ……

She reached out and ruffled his hair with mock ferocity, threatening, “Stop calling me Dumb Qimu. Call me ‘Big Sister’.”

“Hmph! No way. You’re just dumb.” Yun Qiyu’s face flushed red as he tried to bat her hand away with his tiny fists.

Yun Qimu wasn’t bothered. “If there really is something in front of me, then from now on you can’t call me Dumb Qimu anymore. You have to call me Big Sister.”

“Impossible. There’s nothing there.” Yun Qiyu snorted, looking at her like she was trying to trick him.

“And what if there is?”

“Then I won’t call you Dumb Qimu anymore.”

Satisfied, Yun Qimu gave him a smile, then, in her mind, pressed a button on the screen.

Immediately, a blue-glowing dialog box popped up in front of Yun Qiyu: “Player Yun Qimu invites you to join Earth Village Construction. Do you accept?”

Yun Qiyu’s eyes widened, and he stumbled back three steps on his short legs.

The dialog box followed him, always staying at a comfortable viewing distance.

“Wh-what is that?” His voice trembled with fear.

“Well, let’s just say it’s my superpower. So, do you believe me now that there’s something in front of me?” Yun Qimu followed him, ruffling his hair with a smile.

This time, Yun Qiyu was so stunned he forgot to dodge, tilting his head up to look at her, his bright eyes shining. “You awakened a superpower? What kind of power is this?”

“Hmm, it’s a game-type power called ‘Build Earth Village’. Hurry up and accept.”

“Oh, okay.”

Yun Qiyu’s eyes went blank for a moment, but he was quickly captivated by this interesting ability. His chubby cheeks quivered as he answered cautiously, “I accept.”

[Ding—Please create your in-game name.]

Yun Qiyu’s eyes lit up, and he shouted, “War God General!”

“Ahem…” Yun Qimu choked, staring at him in disbelief. “What did you say? You, a little bean sprout, dare to call yourself War God General? You’re not even as tall as a battleship’s control panel!”

Yun Qiyu huffed, “What do you know? It’s called having big ambitions! I want to become an even greater War God General than Grandpa. That way, no one will look down on Mom for being an orphan, no one will bully Dad for being out of favor and treat him like a servant, and no one will say you’re a sickly weakling who won’t live past twenty. Anyway, I’m going to be such a great general that just one glare from me will make all the other kids pee their pants…”

Listening to his indignant muttering, Yun Qimu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but she was genuinely touched—her awkward little brother was actually pretty cute.

She let Yun Qiyu fiddle with his own interface and turned her attention back to her own main panel.

Her basic information was listed there:

Player: Yun Qimu

Age: 18

Mental Power: SSSSS+

Strength: 3

Agility: 7

Vitality: -1000 (Currently poisoned by Rouge Intoxication, continuously losing HP. Even a mosquito bite could trigger a chain reaction and kill you. Your life is more fragile than an ant’s. Hurry and buy medicine to restore your vitality!)

Five Senses: (Vision: 5; Smell: 5; Hearing: 5; Taste: 10; Touch: 10)

Skill Cards: 0

Weapons: 0

Inventory Slots: 110

Yun Qimu: ……

Just looking at the Vitality stat, she could feel the system’s malicious intent toward her.

She tore her gaze away and opened the Lucky Gift Pack.

[Ding-dong—Congratulations, player Yun Qimu, you have received a “Village Building Token.” Quickly exchange it for a house and start building your beautiful Earth Village!]

[Ding-dong—Village Building Token detected. Village Chief’s Exchange Shop is now open.]

At the same time, a new tab appeared on her interface: next to “Player Info” was now a “Host Info” tab.

She clicked it. Inside, there was only a single, simple entry:

Village Buildings: 0

Aside from that, there was just one big, bold, gold-lettered button: “Exchange Shop.”

The four characters gleamed ostentatiously, impossible to ignore.

Yun Qimu narrowed her eyes, her sense of foreboding growing stronger, but she steeled herself and clicked it open.

She saw…

Sturdy Wooden Cabin: 100 Spirit Coins (Special Reminder: 1 Spirit Coin = 100 Energy Coins)

Elegant Bamboo House: 1,000 Spirit Coins

Impenetrable Stone House: 10,000 Spirit Coins

Golden House of Hidden Beauties: 100,000 Spirit Coins

……

All the way up to the “Spirit Stone House for Ultimate Comfort,” which shot up to a whopping one billion Spirit Coins.

Yun Qimu: ……

Just as she suspected, this damn system was a total scam—trying to fleece her down to her underwear.

A billion! And not even in Energy Coins, but Spirit Coins, which were worth a hundred times more. Even if she sold the entire Exile Star, she couldn’t scrape together that much money.

Broke Yun Qimu clutched her chest, feeling suffocated. “I choose to sleep rough under the stars.”

[No, no, how can you build a beautiful Earth Village without a house? That’s against the construction regulations.]

“But I have no money.” Yun Qimu spread her hands, looking perfectly shameless.

The system hesitated, clearly troubled.

At last, it made a difficult decision, its mechanical voice full of pain: [Fine. Seeing as the host is truly penniless and there’s no wool left to shear, if you can gather the raw materials yourself, the price of the house can be halved.]"