Chapter 132: A 5-Star Favorability Friend

After some back-and-forth chat, Chen Xiyi was promptly ushered off to rest. It was said he must be tired from his long journey.

Chen Xiyi really wanted to say he wasn’t tired; he wanted to chat some more.

Just that brief conversation earlier had boosted several people to 3-star Friends.

But he knew this was just an excuse.

For the Salvation Society, it wasn’t the time for casual talk. They needed to deal with the mess. While the sudden disappearance of the Min City Army had saved Gui City from immediate peril, the city was still in ruins. Everything needed rebuilding.

Plus, they had to stay vigilant against another attack from Min City.

So, apart from Chen Xiyi having free time, everyone else was swamped, practically run off their feet.

If Li Zhao didn’t suspect Chen Xiyi had some connection to the vanished army, he might have roped Chen Xiyi into helping instead of sending him to rest.

Chen Xiyi didn’t idle either. After looking over the room, he began digging down to create an Underground Shelter.

He definitely couldn’t just lie down on the bed and sleep; that would mean sleeping until tomorrow.

Sleeping, for Chen Xiyi, meant skipping to the next day – though coma-like states didn’t count, as they were negative statuses you couldn’t skip.

He didn’t make the Underground Shelter luxurious. It had just a bed, the Home Protector, and walls. Nothing else.

It was just a teleportation point; no need for fancy decoration.

After finishing, he quickly climbed back up and put the floorboards back.

This didn’t take long. Most of the time went into installing a wooden ladder and torches. The digging itself took hardly any Time; his Alloy Pickaxe removed 1 unit per swing, taking less than a second each.

If not for the worry of needing the ladder to climb back up, he’d have used multiple pickaxes simultaneously for much faster efficiency.

Completed quickly, everyone outside was still busy. Chen Xiyi simply focused on bug-fixing and further studying the White Cloud Method.

Time flew, and it was evening before Li Zhao came over, looking weary.

“The city needs rebuilding. I got swept up in work until now. My apologies for the poor hospitality, Brother Chen,” Li Zhao said apologetically.

Chen Xiyi acted magnanimous. “Understandable, given the circumstances.”

“I ordered them to prepare a simple meal to welcome you. Gui City doesn’t have much to offer right now; I hope you don’t mind its simplicity,” Li Zhao added.

“A welcome meal? Sure, why not,” Chen Xiyi replied, though he’d planned to ask about the emails right away before leaving.

He knew it wasn’t the best time to increase Favorability; most minds were preoccupied with post-war reconstruction, not idle chatter. Notice only Li Zhao had come?

Li Zhao led him to a side room. Only three dishes and a soup were set out, clearly squeezed from the city’s meager remaining supplies.

“The city’s truly lacking; this is the best we can offer, Brother Chen,” Li Zhao said, pouring them each a small cup of coarse wine. Even this seemed scarce after Gui City’s three-month siege; pulling this together likely relied on Li Zhao’s authority.

“No worries at all. What I eat isn’t important,” Chen Xiyi stated.

“You’re truly untroubled. Solving this mess feels overwhelming,” Li Zhao said bitterly, downing his cup.

“You just need to believe in yourself. I really think you can…”

Seeing this, Chen Xiyi immediately started painting grand pictures and giving uplifting speeches—basically persuading him.

“I appreciate your words of encouragement, Brother Chen,” Li Zhao could only take Chen Xiyi’s persuasion as simple comfort.

Mid-conversation, Chen Xiyi suddenly shifted topics. “Did you receive the items I sent a while back?”

“Ah, you mean the amulet and pendant? And the food! Thank you so much for that food! One serving genuinely filled someone for a whole day! It helped us conserve a lot of supplies,” Li Zhao replied naturally.

“What I wanted to ask was… How did you send things to me? And how did you receive what I sent?” Chen Xiyi pressed directly.

This confused Li Zhao. What did he mean ‘how’?

“I just… sent it normally, and received it normally,” Li Zhao could only state the obvious.

Chen Xiyi realized it. To Li Zhao, it was just the normal process of mailing letters. Anything logically impossible—like how letters went in and out during a siege—was completely ignored.

Weren’t the Min City troops supposed to be blocking everything outside?

“Nothing else seemed strange? Like how the letters got through or past that massive army?” Chen Xiyi persisted.

Now Li Zhao looked even more puzzled. It seemed entirely normal to him. Why wouldn’t it be?

“You just mail them. What’s the issue?” Li Zhao asked.

Li Zhao’s answer made one thing clear to Chen Xiyi: Li Zhao saw absolutely nothing abnormal. He considered it perfectly natural.

“Holy moly! Something’s clearly wrong here,” Chen Xiyi thought.

Chen Xiyi then asked more questions: where Li Zhao found what he’d sent, or how Li Zhao knew he liked those things specifically.

Li Zhao answered each seemingly normally, yet the answers felt fundamentally illogical.

After a series of questions, Chen Xiyi understood. Anything related to Home Game friendship mechanics caused the other party to rationalize violations of ordinary logic as perfectly normal. Even others nearby likely wouldn’t notice anything weird.

Otherwise, when Li Zhao produced all that food claiming it came from Chen Xiyi, someone would surely object: “The Min City Army is everywhere outside! How could mail get through?”

“Brother Chen,” Li Zhao asked suddenly, “Was vanishing the Min City Army… your doing?”

This abrupt turn caught Chen Xiyi off guard.

“Yep, it was me,” Chen Xiyi instantly admitted.

Li Zhao showed no surprise. Someone had tipped him off, and coupled with his own deductions, he was already ninety percent sure.

He didn’t ask why Chen Xiyi had given him such a dismissive excuse earlier. They’d been in public then; admitting to removing an army straight up wouldn’t have been appropriate.

“Seems you didn’t just come to visit. You saw my letter and came to rescue me, didn’t you?” Li Zhao wasn’t a fool. Chen Xiyi arrived almost right after his suicide letter was mailed, ‘chatted’ with him, and casually disposed of the besieging army.

“Just a small thing. Aren’t we friends?” Chen Xiyi wasn’t surprised Li Zhao figured it out. Ignoring the impossible mailing issues, Chen Xiyi’s arrival right after the army vanished, plus someone reporting his actions to Li Zhao… it was obvious to anyone sensible.

Li Zhao was clever; of course he’d see it.

[Your conversation with Li Zhao, President of the Chamber of Commerce, went harmoniously. Li Zhao’s Favorability towards you +50. Current Favorability: 5 Stars]

“Li Zhao, representing the people of Gui City, thanks you, Brother Chen!” Li Zhao swiftly stood and gave a deep, formal bow.

The bow itself was whatever. What shocked Chen Xiyi was Li Zhao’s Favorability instantly hitting 5 Stars!

“It’s what friends are for. No formalities! Just write to me if anything comes up later,” Chen Xiyi quickly replied, wondering what potential new features a 5-Star Friend might unlock.

It seemed reaching 5 Stars dissolved any barriers for Li Zhao. He sat back down, chatting openly and complaining about the city’s troubles.

How Chen Xiyi managed to simply vanish a massive, fully-armed army, leaving only empty gear behind? Li Zhao didn’t ask. He trusted Chen Xiyi.

“Mind me asking,” Chen Xiyi said casually, “Why did Min City attack Gui City in the first place? Something going on there?”

Li Zhao sighed. “No specifics. They refused to talk to us. But plainly, they just wanted Gui City. Commander Qian of Min City controls three cities, forming a strategic triangle. They have vast troops and supplies. Expansion was inevitable.”

“Gui City is wealthy. Warlords came and went rapidly; none held power long. After our constant infighting left us weak, Commander Qian struck. Gui City wouldn’t be this messed up if the previous Warlord hadn’t been such a coward—fleeing at the mere rumor of trouble.” Li Zhao analyzed the likely reasons based on intel and deduction.

Chen Xiyi’s expression clearly conveyed: “What? Is it really that complicated?”

For Li Zhao and others, it definitely was.

For Chen Xiyi? His mind processed: “Three cities… Would be a bit messy to eliminate everyone in one go.”

He could devise diplomatic or political strategies—playing distant states off nearby rivals, maneuvering deals… But why bother with complex, slow methods needing negotiation when he had a much simpler Power approach?

“You make solid points,” Chen Xiyi mused. “Here’s a thought: If I eliminated Commander Qian’s core forces… Could you control the situation then?”

Analysis? Screw analysis! He’d started humble—scheming carefully, even experimenting in tombs—specifically to avoid prolonged subservience. He built Power for steamrolling fights. If accumulating Power meant still playing the coward, why bother accumulating Power at all? He might as well skip that step and just play the coward immediately.

Permanent solutions were best. Just wipe them all out.

The fates of the Humanitarian Chamber of Commerce, the Salvation Society, or even Gui City itself didn’t concern Chen Xiyi. He only cared about Li Zhao and Mi Hong staying alive.

Those two provided him tangible benefits. Helping them was worthwhile.

He pondered. What if Li Zhao’s influence grew? Wouldn’t that potentially bring him more resources? Truly valuable things—items with deep Historical Connotation, Qi Refiner legacies—required significant establishment support to locate and collect. How else could you gather them? By banging your head?

Li Zhao fell silent. He hadn’t expected Chen Xiyi to play for stakes this high—killing Commander Qian outright.

“Probably not feasible,” Li Zhao said after thought. “Gui City’s military strength is depleted. Even if I send people to take over… The non-core troops would likely just seize control themselves or try to depose us. It’d be like a snake swallowing an ox; we’d implode.”

This problem seemed even simpler to Chen Xiyi.

“What if… no one capable of deposing your people remained?” Chen Xiyi countered.

Now it was Li Zhao’s turn for a mental “Holy moly!” What exactly was Chen Xiyi planning now?