Chapter 49: The Second Batch of Pioneers

"Ma'am, shall I help you carry your vegetables home? Would you pay me one copper coin?" Deng Li Buduo followed attentively beside an old woman who was hobbling along while carrying a basket of vegetables, reaching out to take the basket from her hands.

"Get lost." The old woman glared at him, clutched her basket tightly, and poked the ground hard with her cane. "Young and able-bodied but won't learn anything good; you want to bully an old woman like me because my legs aren't good, snatch my vegetables, and run? Not a chance, ptooey!"

"..." Deng Li Buduo turned bright red with embarrassment and sheepishly retreated to the side.

Behind him, Zhang Bao and Zhang Dashan, who were each carrying a sign—one for "Kitchen God" and one for "Rice Divination"—exchanged a glance and shook their heads in unison.

Zhang Bao took out paper and a brush and quickly wrote in the notebook he carried with him: "Helping an old woman carry vegetables, failed."

"Little brother, shall I help you carry your firewood? Would you pay me one copper coin?" Deng Li Buduo intercepted a young man carrying firewood into the city to sell, offering a fawning smile.

"My whole load of firewood only sells for ten copper coins, and I'm supposed to give you one? Am I sick in the head?" The young man said "am I sick," but the way he looked at Deng Li Buduo suggested he thought *Deng Li Buduo* was the one who was sick.

Without waiting for a response, the young man shouldered his load and walked away with long, swift strides.

What kind of human nature is this!

Can't even bear to part with one copper coin; you're destined to be a woodcutter for the rest of your life!

Deng Li Buduo froze in place, cursing indignantly in his heart. In this day and age, why is it so hard to do a good deed?

Zhang Bao continued to record: "Helping a woodcutter carry firewood, failed."

At this moment.

A group of children had long since been following behind them, laughing and watching the commotion.

They recognized Deng Li Buduo, who had been singing "You love me, I love you," and they also recognized the four characters "Kitchen God Rice Divination" on the signs carried by Zhang Bao and his companion.

And so, they followed along out of habit.

In the eyes of simple children, wherever there is Kitchen God Rice Divination, there must be fun...

Sure enough.

They had only walked half a street before they learned a new game.

"Ma'am, shall I help you carry your vegetables home? Would you give me one copper coin?"

"Get lost, young and able-bodied but won't learn anything good; you want to swindle an old woman's vegetables, ptooey..."

Listening to the laughter and play of the children behind him, and seeing the crowd following behind Zhang Bao growing larger and larger.

Resentment continued to fester in Deng Li Buduo's heart. He straightened his back and secretly groaned. He couldn't keep doing this; if he continued like this, never mind ninety-nine tasks, he'd be lucky to complete ten.

He hadn't expected Lin Bai to actually arrange for Zhang Bao and Zhang Dashan to follow him and supervise.

Supervise if they must!

But they were also holding up signs to advertise for Chef God Rice Shop.

This bastard master was truly wicked to the core.

Furthermore.

The more he learned about Lin Bai, the more Deng Li Buduo felt that the hope of killing him was slim. If he hadn't poured so much effort into Lin Bai, he would have even considered deleting his account.

This was simply an impossible mission.

He even had an urge right now to log off and use his "Deng Li Buduo" master account to ruthlessly smear Lin Bai on the forums.

And then.

Delete his account and start over, treating Lin Bai as his lifelong enemy from then on.

Of course, there was also the dog-like game developer.

Log off?

A sudden flash of inspiration struck Deng Li Buduo's mind.

That's right!

He was already a master-level account; why should he honestly complete tasks according to the rules set by NPCs?

When it's time to use underhanded tactics, he should use them!

Thinking of this, Deng Li Buduo suddenly saw the light. He turned to Zhang Bao and the other man behind him and said, "I'm going to relieve myself. Wait for me for a moment, and we'll continue when I get back."

Hiding in the latrine, Deng Li Buduo hurriedly logged off and quickly posted a thread on the forum:

"Deng Li Buduo urgently seeking help online: New marketing campaign for Chef God Rice Shop, promoting positive energy, one-copper-coin good deed reality show. Requesting Jiamu City players to cooperate; there will be a generous reward afterward."

After creating a long-winded title, Deng Li Buduo detailed the marketing methods and the participation process in the post...

What is a player?

This is a player!

It was thanks to kind-hearted people that the Deng Li Buduo account had been hyped up. With his current fame, he could absolutely pull this off without Lin Bai ever finding out.

Come to think of it, this was also inspiration given to him by Lin Bai. As long as players kept appearing in front of him and performing a few scenes, then surely others would join in the fun and follow suit.

One copper coin.

You can't lose, you can't get scammed!

Spending one copper coin to join the fun is much cheaper than consuming at Chef God Rice Shop.

Deng Li Buduo discovered that his way of thinking was becoming more and more like Lin Bai's.

However.

This didn't seem like a bad thing. Lin Bai's way of doing things was truly quite efficient. If he weren't worried about social death, he would almost be reluctant to kill Lin Bai.

As soon as the post went up, a string of replies followed:

"Petting the dog head of Master Deng Li Buduo at close range."

"It's actually the real person!"

"Deng Li Buduo is truly a creative master. What virtue or ability does the owner of Chef God Rice Shop have to receive the help of Master Deng Li Buduo!"

"I have to say, as one of the first batch of Pioneers, Master Deng Li Buduo is definitely the most outstanding one."

"In three days, *Xianxia World* will release the second batch of Pioneer accounts. Let's group up and go to Jiamu City to worship the great Deng!"

"You have to be lucky enough to be selected first. The Game Company is too stingy, doing closed beta in batches. For such a popular game, they should just open it to the public. The leaders of the Game Company must have been kicked in the head by a donkey."

"May the great Deng Li Buduo bless me. I must be in the second round of closed beta. I can't wait to enter the game world and show off my skills."

"If I'm lucky enough to be chosen, the first thing I'll do in the game is help the great Deng kill his black-hearted boss and help the great Deng get the justice he deserves."

"Received. I am in Jiamu City, ready to support the great Deng at any time."

Browsing the replies, a sense of pride welled up in the heart of 【Deng Li Buduo】. This is the benefit of being a great god!

Master, oh Master!

So what if your talent is outstanding? You can't compare to your disciple who can use cheats!

However.

Are the second batch of closed beta accounts being released?

【Deng Li Buduo】 returned to the forum homepage.

Sure enough, a highlighted banner advertisement was hanging at the very top of the forum:

"The second batch of Pioneer accounts will be released in three days. There are 10,000 in total. Slots will be randomly selected from all registered players, fair and just."

"New game features launched:

1. Live streaming function opened for closed beta players; you can showcase your life in the other world to the outside world anytime, anywhere;

2. Live streaming tipping and interaction functions opened simultaneously.

3. Recharge channel opened (Blue Star Coin exchange for Xianxia World copper coins; 1:100).

New game features will be launched one after another.

Pioneers have an obligation to show the charm of the game to the outside world. Cooperation leads to mutual success. Please actively start live streaming. Wish everyone a happy game."

"Damn, we can live stream now?" The face of 【Deng Li Buduo】 suddenly darkened.

The pleasure brought by the halo of a great god vanished in an instant.

He knew his situation.

Don't look at how glorious he is on the forum; in front of Lin Bai, he is just a small shrimp, living without any dignity at all...

He can choose not to live stream.

But that doesn't mean others won't. At worst, there will be paparazzi live streaming a day in the life of the great god Deng Li Buduo at the Kitchen God Rice Divination...

Is the halo of the great god going to shatter so soon?

I am so unwilling!

No!

There are still three days!

As long as he learns Lin Bai's skills within three days and finds a way to kill him, the halo of the great god can still be preserved...

The Kitchen God Rice Divination is a cash cow now, and it is also a Spirit Realm node.

Even if he kills Lin Bai, even if he can't learn the subsequent skills.

As long as he can keep the restaurant, he won't lose out.

With the identity of Lin Bai's disciple, he can still cooperate with Qingfeng.

Moreover, three days later, with more players coming online, he can completely use the halo of 【Deng Li Buduo】 to gather a large group of players for his own use.

With money, you have everything; with fame, you have everything.

The 【Deng Li Buduo】 account must absolutely not be lost...

(End of this chapter)