"Ah?", Cook Four looked confused, but she still said, "Being able to help solve the Lord's problem is my honor!"
"Mm, I'm going out to soak in the hot spring now. Go to the kitchen and prepare something for me, then bring it over to the poolside!"
To push the flexing effect to the limit, Ethan added another instruction.
Cook Four naturally nodded, "What would you like to eat, Lord? Warming soup, ice gall sashimi, or something else?"
"I've had too much warming soup, I'm sick of it."
Ethan rubbed his bald head, thinking about what good food he still had in his backpack. Then his eyes lit up, "Oh right, I still have instant noodles in my bag. Cook a pack for me, then add a few pieces of ice gall meat and some snow monster meat."
"Understood, Lord."
"And one more thing," Just as Ethan was about to head out, he added another instruction, "Remember to put in two seasoning packets for my instant noodles. Last time that damn system gave me noodles without the seasoning on purpose. This time I'm getting my money's worth." [T/N: Umu, that hits hard.]
"Huh?"
Cook Four looked completely baffled.
But Ethan had already pushed the door open and walked out.
Although the weather outside was getting colder and colder, Ethan was wearing a self-heating fur coat, had just drunk a bowl of warming soup, and on top of that, his physique had been multiplied countless times, so he naturally didn't feel much cold.
Before, walking from the villa to the swimming pool area only took about one minute.
But now… after Ethan walked out of the villa, it took him a full five minutes just to reach the hot spring area, and the swimming pool was still another minute further ahead.
The size of the manor and villa really couldn't be compared to before.
After about seven minutes, Ethan finally arrived at the open space where the hot spring area and swimming pool met. On the already frozen pool, a red exclamation mark had appeared.
And on the open space by the pool, the hot spring area, there was also a red exclamation mark.
[Level 2 Swimming Pool + Hot Spring Area Combined Upgrade: You can upgrade both buildings in this area at the same time, merging the swimming pool into the hot spring cluster to directly form a cascading hot spring system flowing from top to bottom. The swimming pool will be located at the bottom of the hot spring cluster and can hold hot spring water, thereby creating a warm swimming pool. Upgrade requirements: Stone 9978/2000, Advanced Stone 275/100, Mud 10665/1000, Advanced Wood 621/100, Vines 2808/100, Bamboo 984/200, Water-type Beast Core 0/50, Earth-type Beast Core 313/50, Wood 332/20, Fire 6105/200]
"Holy crap!"
The moment Ethan saw the upgrade requirements, he froze on the spot.
'What the hell, how is it that I am not lacking anything except Water-type Beast Cores?'
'Where am I supposed to find Water-type Beast Cores in the middle of the night?'
After thinking it over, Ethan decided to go into the regional channel and see if he could squeeze something out of the players.
However, before Ethan could even send a message,
Mr. White suddenly appeared out of nowhere, walking over while burping, "Lord Ethan… burp!"
"Mr. White, what's up?" Ethan turned to look at him. "Do you need something?"
"Burp!"
Mr. White let out another burp, "It's nothing major. I just wanted to talk to you about selling those ice galls."
"Oh, no rush on that. The quantity hasn't been fully counted yet."
Ethan chatted with Mr. White half-heartedly, while the other half of his mind was still busy drafting how to squeeze more stuff out of the District Seven players, so he didn't pay much attention to what Mr. White was saying.
"What?", But Mr. White was shocked, "You haven't finished counting yet?"
"But didn't you already put all the ice galls brought back by the two Grand Magi into your backpack?"
"Could it be that Lord Ethan has other sources?"
"Hm?"
Although Ethan was multitasking, he still realized Mr. White was trying to fish for information. He immediately stopped his mental scheming and focused on dealing with him, "Other sources? Of course not. But ice galls aren't something that only appear for one night, right?"
"That's true," Mr. White nodded.
"So, I plan to have the two Magi go out again tomorrow morning and sweep another round," Ethan said with a fake smile, "We can tally everything together then. No rush!"
"That's great!"
Mr. White rubbed his hands excitedly, like he could already see mountains of gold and silver waving at him.
And at that moment, a spark flashed in Ethan's mind. Those mountains of gold and silver weren't right in front of him?
Why was he going all the way to squeeze the already poor District Seven players?
Now that there was someone else to fleece, of course he should fleece someone else first.
"Mr. White!"
Ethan looked at him with a smile, "Didn't you say you wanted to build a merchant guild circle that combines daily life, leisure, and business, right?"
"Merchant guild circle? That term is interesting," Mr. White nodded repeatedly, "Yes, Lord Ethan! I'm determined to build this merchant… circle!"
"So here's the thing!"
Ethan rubbed his hands together.
For some reason, Mr. White suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Unfortunately, by the time he thought about escaping, it was already too late.
"I've got a preliminary idea right now," Ethan said with a smile, "What do you think if, in the entertainment area of the merchant guild circle, we build a hot spring zone where passing caravans and mages or warriors who come to cultivate at the magic tree can soak, relax, and unwind?"
"That would be great!"
Mr. White's eyes lit up, "If we can create a merchant guild circle that combines leisure and entertainment, it will definitely attract more people."
"After all, those warriors heading to the magic tree can choose their exit point when they leave. If we build up some reputation here, tons of them will flock to us."
"Especially those who just came out of monster lairs, hungry and exhausted."
"If we can provide delicious food, like that warming soup you made tonight was great, and that roasted dragon meat with black oil fruit you made last time was also amazing."
"And after eating, they can enjoy a nice soak in the hot spring."
"I think even if we charge ten spirit stones per person, they'd be willing to pay."
"Mr. White, seeing how much you support this idea of mine, I know I've found the right person," Ethan said with a smile as he grabbed Mr. White's hand. On the surface, it looked like he was happy to find a kindred spirit, but in reality, he was afraid his sponsor might run away, "Right now, I'm just missing a tiny bit of materials to put this idea into practice! Since you support me so much, you'll definitely sponsor me, right?"
"W-What… materials?"
Mr. White was already getting a bit dizzy from being talked into it.
Especially after Ethan had painted so many big promises for him and shown him the backing of two Grand Magi, Mr. White had already set his heart on this project.
But what he never expected was that Ethan's [Freeloader Passive Skill] could activate endlessly once he gained someone's trust, completely unconditional and unrestricted, even more outrageous than his own merchant skills.
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