Chapter 211: Christmas Night, Gathering to Brew History

Based on the idea of industrial upgrading and outsourcing to reduce burden, Ji Ming's extended thoughts came up with another matter.

Although aiming for higher profit, the talisman armor at this stage will definitely be hyped as luxury goods, marketed with hunger tactics in Sunshine City, one piece at a time.

But once I expand my stall later, it will surely return to the basics of general armor and be promoted among players.

Rather than waiting until then to busy ourselves with production, it's better to start now cultivating the basic talent capable of making talisman armor.

The iron exterior armor part is nothing to worry about; Weiermo is already gathering a team.

At this stage, only the talisman lining remains, or rather, we lack manpower for drawing the talismans.

So Ji Ming added a printed copy of his hand-drawn excellent version of the calming symbol seal at the end of all the potion guide manuals.

However, to lower the difficulty for players to discover Easter eggs, he also deliberately put on the market a piece of parchment that looks useless but is altogether very suspicious.

"Come on, let's see if there are any genius players in the player circle."

After confirming the system was operating without error, Ji Ming released an announcement to all players about the new feature launch.

And at the moment the handicraft workshop went live, the wooden buildings around crackled with flashes of light, and countless players arrived at the battlefield as if by teleportation.

"Discount, I'm here, damn it!"

It really is a battlefield, after all, the initial discount and first-kill rewards were just too tempting.

Even players with no interest in it will come running to join the crowd, hoping to get a free reward.

One after another, they chased each other, all wanting to be the first to step inside.

But the fastest in the crowd was the gourmand who, upon landing, frantically stacked Barbarian Charge; he charged into the workshop like a wild bull.

Following the red carpet on the ground, I quickly found the guide NPC in charge here, a……

A humanoid creature formed from intertwined grass and leaves, with a deer's head on top?

Ah, who cares!

After catching his breath, he quickly spoke to the second player to arrive, who was still dazed.

"Brother, got any good stuff!"

???

As soon as those words were spoken, all the players present were shocked, and the gourmand reacted as well.

"No, no, I've been watching too many cop shows lately—I mean, is there a good price!"

Ge Ruisen couldn't understand the slang of another world, couldn't be bothered to think, and simply laid out the handicraft workshop's special goods list.

On the left are the finished potions.

These include the original three generations of Rejuvenation Elixir, and the limited-sale Poison Gas Grenade.

And the four basic auxiliary potions that were previously previewed with the Mysterious Merchant and are now on the game store.

And finally, there is the workshop-exclusive oral healing potion—Rejuvenation Elixir IV.

On the right are the potion ingredients.

The stuff here is more varied and miscellaneous; Ji Ming put everything from his storage onto the shelves, useful or not.

His idea is simple: since players can mix Poison Gas Grenade and Poison Mushroom Extract to create a bio-chemical nuclear bomb, who knows what other crazy DIY things they might come up with.

As for how the effects will turn out… anyway, they all love courting death, so let them try it themselves.

After posting the relevant screenshots on the public channel, the gourmand bought a bottle of Rejuvenation Elixir IV at a discount.

Finding a less crowded spot, he squatted in a corner, fiddled with the camera, and started a live stream.

"Brothers, even though it's not the same time or place, Lao Ba I'll give everyone another performance of drinking Rejuvenation Elixir."

He had previously live-streamed drinking the three earlier tiers, each effect stronger than the last, bringing him a lot of show impact.

And now this latest version of Rejuvenation Elixir IV, same price but no extra amount, is definitely a more potent, exquisite delicacy for the taste buds!

He didn't even need to unscrew the cap; he nonchalantly smashed the bottle mouth with the back of his knife.

"Oli ge, cheers, brothers!"

After gesturing to the viewers in the live room, the gourmand tipped back his head and gulped down the bright red liquid in one go.

With a crisp gurgling sound, his eyes widened suddenly and he shot up to his feet.

——The abstract youngster stood at attention!

【What the hell, what show is this again?】

【Scared the hell out of me, I was about to fall asleep to ASMR】

【Brother, why are you still using this to sleep】

In the suddenly surging barrage, the gourmand opened his mouth but still made no sound.

On the contrary, his expression flickered between joy, regret, recollection, and remorse…

【Huh?】

【The streamer's lines!】

【Damn, what are you doing with all that eye‑squeezing and face‑making?】

Even the MCN watching the whole thing panicked, hurrying to urge him from the backstage.

【Brother Eight, don't keep us in suspense—this hype comes fast and goes fast, hurry up and finish your words so we can make a quick buck!】

The gourmand, however, still had a vacant stare, remaining motionless for several seconds.

Then he suddenly pulled out a water bag and began pouring water into the potion bottle with force.

Breathing hurried, he sipped cautiously while intermittently…

"Ah… brothers… this stuff is… too… damn… delicious…"

【Damn, worried about disturbing the family with AI subtitles, your endless ellipses made me think I'd entered the wrong place (sweating soybeans)】

【No, the proper version still needs to add a red heart to set the mood—this is nowhere near that】

【Wait, I'm also a longtime cop‑show fan; why does this state feel somewhat familiar?】

【Could the streamer really have let something slip just now? After Lei Ge and Walnut, is Yangyue Prison going to get another freebie?】

【Police have been notified; streamer, remember to open the door promptly later.】

The barrage was vicious, the foodie was so scared he almost spat out the water in his mouth.

"Holy shit, you guys stop talking nonsense! This thing is really delicious!"

However, the price of a bottle of Rejuvenation IV is still high; without an ultra-low discount, the vast majority of players wouldn't buy it even if they had enough funds.

Therefore, more people turned their attention to the materials store, comparing prices and starting discussions.

"Is the update efficiency really this high? A potion that only appeared yesterday is already open for crafting today!"

"Maybe the game officials saw the Pioneers market set up by players and want to help us expand the item list so it's not too shabby."

"I just calculated that if we master the brewing skill, buying raw materials here and making it ourselves can save more than half of the exchange points."

"So it seems that besides the tech-savvy guys who can do blacksmithing and carpentry, medical students who have studied medical texts will also become hot commodities among players."

And as a science-stream player who once led the development of extracting toxins from several mushrooms, 【Da Pen Gu】 also rushed to the handcraft workshop right away.

However, his goal definitely wasn't some first-release special offer, but rather the basic formula manual outside of the raw materials and finished potions.

At this stage, a total of eight types have been opened: the four variants of Rejuvenation Liquid, and the basic potions of Strength, Speed, Healing, and Mana.

After some thought, he ultimately chose to purchase the formula for the Strength Potion.

But when the transaction was completed and the item was delivered to his hand, it wasn't a blank sheet or a scroll, but a beautifully packaged little booklet.

Da Pen Gu opened the cover and read a few pages; sure enough, unlike what he imagined, brewing the potion is actually not simple.

It almost throughout requires the alchemist to do timed, quantified, step-by-step; to get better results, one must be as strict as a machine.

Wait, machine……

"How is it? Can you understand it?"

Da Pen Gu was still pondering when a somewhat familiar inquiry suddenly came from beside his ear.

He withdrew his thoughts, turned his head, and saw…… oh no, of course it was Wai Shu, who had obtained the Alchemist profession.

"You came too? I feel this potion system is still somewhat complicated… By the way, which formula did you buy?"

Ji Ming deliberately showed a hint of regret.

"The reward I actually received includes this; I originally thought I could monopolize the whole closed beta, but I didn't expect it to be made public the next day."

"There's nothing to be done; game planners are basically idiots."

He replied offhandedly, and Da Pen Gu enjoyed reading another page, but suddenly felt the atmosphere was a bit strange.

"Brother, why aren't you speaking?"

"I……"

Ji Ming could only make up an excuse for himself again.

"Actually…… I still have a slight advantage; besides these eight potions, there is also an 【Attack Potion】 that is my exclusive, right."

Da Pen Gu's eyes lit up upon hearing that.

"Attack potion? Sounds powerful, brother, how much are you selling your formula for?"

……

"Uh, didn't you read the operating instructions on page two of the manual? You can't sell it."

Ji Ming naturally had already considered what to do if a player tried to undercut him by directly selling his formula.

First, regarding player-to-player.

At least during the closed beta, only players who purchased the formula could successfully brew the potion; private transactions, even if brewing succeeded, would not yield the potion and would be confiscated.

Then, regarding player-NPC interactions.

Relying on the system's harmony function, he added another restriction for players.

——Any attempt to share game secrets will be considered cheating and will be automatically avoided unconditionally by the game system.

So in the following three hours, some players' IQ seemed to suddenly drop by about half.

Almost in every chieftain's tent on the underground plains, there would be a mysterious guy feeling smug.

"Chieftain, I have a very important secret to tell you……"

And when the chieftain, deep in thought, lowered his head and leaned in, he would hear the other party speak each word solemnly.

"I am throwing money."

After repeatedly emphasizing it several times, they would still take a deep breath, feeling proud and satisfied.

"How about it, how much money is this secret worth?"

Dumbfounded Piggy Hero. jpg

So……

【Thank you, these are just personal actions of some Pioneers, unrelated to any player group or organization】——Underground City Pioneers Joint Announcement.

Since the potion-making skill has already been spread, as the sole alchemist among players, Ji Ming definitely needs to come here himself to check things out.

One aspect is to confirm whether a genius player like Da Pen Gu can successfully learn the corresponding formula, so that this large-scale outsourcing isn't in vain.

The other aspect is to supervise, so players don't treat potion-making like playing with mud, and within three days blow up the nice handcraft workshop into a foul blessed land.

Moreover, the most important point is that he wants to know whether poison gas bombs as a byproduct are a general stage of operational failure, or his own peculiar exclusive.

And after repeatedly reading the instructional manual, Da Pen Gu purchased the corresponding materials and also came to the free trial alchemy station to begin production.

Besides being professionally suited, this person is definitely also someone who can cook in real life.

Plating, grinding medicine, heating the pot and boiling water—his actions, although not as skilled as Ji Ming's, are definitely more steady at the start.

However, after adding the first herb, he suddenly scratched his head.

"Maybe it's because my hometown is Cantonese, but why does it feel like I'm stewing soup?"

Looking at rows of alchemy stations and players scrambling with various materials, Ji Ming nodded.

Hmm, indeed…… Speaking of which, won't the gang give this place a nickname like New Oriental or something?

Hard to say.

Having a foundation, brewing a basic model, and with sufficient detailed reference material for reference, Da Pen Gu's first potion brewing is a piece of cake.

After simmering for three minutes and no more bubbling sounds in the pot, he lifted the lid; the pot's bottom was glossy and also a beautiful red mass.

He first took out the manual and checked it for a long time, found that the product's quality fully matched the description, then hurriedly used a wooden spoon to stir and pour it into the bottle.

Da Pen Gu swayed it toward the light source, but the joy on his face gradually faded.

Although Ji Ming could tell at a glance whether the potion succeeded, as a player he couldn't.

He could only frown in puzzlement.

"What does it mean to define this? Do I have to taste it myself to see if it's a strength potion?"

"Ah, this is simple!"

The Death God appeared here at some point, and without a word picked up the bottle and took a gulp.

"Hmm, that's right, this is the strength potion!"

Having said that, he rushed off to the next place in a hurry.

But Da Pen Gu succeeding once doesn't mean others can.

Just after taking a small sip, the Death God immediately began turning red all over, and finally, due to chaotic qi and blood surging, exploded and died.

Fortunately, the speed of sending the corpse back to the revival pool is fast; otherwise today we'd have to do some violent dirty work……

And Da Pen Gu's first successful refinement doesn't mean he can succeed the second time.

Especially since he was overconfident, he actually decided to conquer the Rejuvenation First Generation in one go.

It might be that the sudden foul smell made him dizzy, or perhaps the sharply increased difficulty left him flustered.

In short, he omitted something when adding the subsequent medicine, causing the formula and procedure to become completely unbalanced, resulting in a failed refinement.

But strangely, the remaining liquid completely evaporated after the explosion, leaving him not even a drop.

Gone?

Watching Da Pen Gu hurriedly take out the manual to review the steps while cleaning the desk and reciting the whole text, Ji Ming patted his shoulder.

"Brother, you keep studying; I'll go see how the others are doing."

He wandered around the vast space like an instructor, checking things and occasionally giving pointers to the players.

But he found that not only Da Pen Gu, but also other players attempting to challenge the Rejuvenation Liquid series potions all ran into problems.

"Good heavens, I feel like I'm brewing excrement!"

"There's poison in the excrement! District D~"

"The Production Team's bad taste is going too far!"

Besides creating a stench that spread across a new world, causing Ge Rui Sen to hurriedly summon plant life to purify the air, each and every one yielded nothing.

It seems this kind of weird thing really belongs only to oneself; if others want it, even if they deliberately make mistakes they can't get it……