RHWHEG – Chapter 25 Beating My Teammates

With the system’s constant reminders, Yu Qunqing began implementing his renovation plan.

At present, the only parts of the garden that looked relatively tidy were the outer walls and the first small plaza closest to the east gate. In some areas, the mud was even as thick as a calf, making it nearly impossible to move.

He started clearing the lawn around the café plaza. First, he washed away the yellow mud and some trash to reveal the mottled grass underneath, then sowed Manila grass seeds. On the sloped edges, he mixed in tall fescue and ryegrass to stabilize the soil. The varying thickness and color of the grasses significantly enhanced the sense of layered visual depth.

At the lawn edges, he planted round, small-leaf boxwood spheres—likely system-generated, they were especially plump and springy, irresistible to touch.

Nearby, he selected some ornamental trees. The system’s suggestions were very detailed, so seasonal issues weren’t a concern. Yellow-flowered Hypericum, carefully pruned black pines in various shapes, and elegant purple magnolias were all arranged uniformly.

In the center of the lawn, he planned a flower bed.

“We need plants for decoration! Spend six hexagrams to decorate the community flower bed! Please choose one from ‘Fiery Azalea,’ ‘Alluring Blue Rose,’ or ‘Vibrant Baby’s Breath!'”

Considering the upcoming heatwave, he chose a batch of blue roses for a cooling visual effect.

The flower bed’s reliefs were styled in Western mythological motifs, surrounded by golden privet and red photinia clusters. Several automatic sprinklers were placed on the lawn, a small path was laid, and a few benches were added. The left-side lawn by the café was now fully renovated.

The right-side lawn was a free-decor zone, requiring gold coins or diamonds to purchase decorations.

Although Yu Qunqing had just received game compensation, he couldn’t splurge. He opted for the most practical decorations from the gold coin store: one gold coin per box-shaped hedge, buying 100 at once.

Then he began constructing a maze.

Who could resist building a maze in a decoration game?

To keep the scenery from being too monotonous, he bought hedges of different tree types and a 100-gold-coin treehouse to place at the maze center for resting. He installed streetlights (monthly card users could upgrade to the “Strange Moonlight” lamp). This area was now complete.

“Zone – Garden Lawn Plaza A, Exploration Progress 100%, Exploration Points Reward 100 (currently 820/1000).”

Next, he cleared the mud in the new area, renovated the floor tiles, and used up the hexagrams. The area was pleasant, but on the entire garden map, it was only a tiny leaf in size. The garden still looked ugly enough to make owner Yu Qunqing tear up, far from the standards expected of a riverside property.

He thought about the many superpowered individuals in the community. He needed a way to get them out earning money and attract more people here.

Upgrading the café to draw more customers was a good start.

This required building materials. He had over 7,000 on hand, but after reserving 2,000 for teammates, there wasn’t much left.

He first upgraded the kitchen environment, increasing the “deliciousness” factor. He added a smart oven, a fryer, and an attractive bread display case, allowing him to sell donuts. He also installed a fully automatic coffee machine and bought an ice maker from the gold coin store. Customers could now enjoy iced Americanos or regular lattes, with a taste slightly better than instant coffee.

Further kitchen upgrades required revamping the entire infrastructure. Yu Qunqing redecorated the first floor in a minimalist style, mainly using wooden furniture, replacing two outer walls with glass, and applying light-colored wallpaper elsewhere. He added small potted plants; the café’s exterior now looked barely acceptable. By this point, he had spent over 3,000 building materials.

As he selected kitchen equipment, an explosion sounded from the second floor of Building 4.

Yu Qunqing shifted his perspective and saw the second-floor therapy room completely overrun by vines. A group of pixelated little characters appeared outside, showing exclamation marks.

On the second floor, the doctor anxiously sought help at the door: “I see that plant mass causing many lacerations. I thought supplying more oxygen would help it, but perhaps it absorbed too much? I can only enrich oxygen, not remove it…”

“No,” She Lulang stepped out. He had been observing the garden from the fitness area. Everyone made way, knowing he was LV2.

For once, concern showed on She Lulang’s face: “Lin Luyi… I mean No. 061. His ability converts perceived pain into plants.”

Zhang Sanxi clapped his hands: “It’s the low-origin effect! This person is intoxicated by oxygen, so the pain woke him up, and then it got even worse!”

The doctor recalled that 061 had been in a vegetative state all along and couldn’t help but worry about the patient’s condition. He suggested, “I have morphine in my medical kit. Should we try it?”

She Lulang shook his head. “He’s allergic to most painkillers.”

Back when their team infiltrated the shelter’s laboratory, they had gone through a series of experimental subject numbers, only to find that there was no information on 061. Every other number, whether alive or dead, had been documented. Later, they found him at the bottom of a dried-up lake, thick vines thrashing around him like a legendary lake monster. Number 061 was restrained, with various sedatives buried in the mud. 061 wanted to sleep because of the drugs, yet wanted to kill from the unbearable pain. When 061 finally struggled back into human form, he had forgotten everything about being human—he only remembered that he was “Lin Lu Yi.”

“I will kill all of you!!”

The wretched cry echoed in everyone’s hearts. But it wasn’t sound waves traveling through the air; it was telepathy directly parsed by the human brain. This special ability was one of the reasons Lin Lu Yi became a target.

The vines had filled the entire room. Lin Lu Yi seemed to want to attack other therapy pods but failed.

She Lulang said, “Right now, we can only make him faint. The therapy pods here can relieve pain. The more time he spends in them, the more he’ll recover his human form.”

There were many words he held back in his heart. If he hadn’t known how much suffering his teammates had endured, he could have acted ruthlessly. But having witnessed all the tragedies firsthand, how could he bear to add more wounds to his teammates? Reality, unfortunately, was cruel. He could only move forward in deep guilt and sorrow.

“Ahhh—so painful! So painful!”

Hearing the wailing that couldn’t be escaped even by covering one’s ears, She Lulang remained cold: “I’ll fetch the fire.”

In their previous lives, fire had been used to make Lin Lu Yi faint from the pain. Now that they knew his weakness, they could burn less.

At that moment, Yu Qunqing quickly arrived beside the therapy room.

He gently tapped the door as if greeting. Then, a slight current surged out, controlled at low voltage and low frequency.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh—”

For some reason, the vegetative subject vomited from the electric shock. At least Lin Lu Yi’s attack stopped for the moment.

Yu Qunqing switched to the diamond store, selecting two fully enclosed therapy pods with a water-like density, each costing ten diamonds. In decoration mode, he placed them under the area where the vines were most tangled.

From the gold coin store, he bought an old CD player and a white noise sleep disc, then played it.

The vines tapped softly on the door.

For the final step, Yu Qunqing multitasked, using all remaining building materials to upgrade the café.

The café’s first floor was redecorated, with more tables added. The second floor opened quickly, styled as a light-luxury book café.

The biggest change was the café’s product range. From croissants to cheesecake to cookie daifuku, from iced Americanos to macchiatos, cappuccinos, and mochas. Finally, when milk tea was added, he exhaled in relief—indeed, cafés that sell coffee eventually sell milk tea.

Yu Qunqing clicked to place an order. Since he had also upgraded the intelligent delivery system, the milk tea could be delivered. A small robotic vehicle soon climbed upstairs.

Yu Qunqing opened the door and delivered the milk tea inside.

Perhaps due to some human memory in Lin Lu Yi, he became much calmer when drinking milk tea.

The doctor beside him self-righteously explained, “I see! Sweetness improves one’s mood!”

With these three methods combined, after more than ten minutes, Lin Lu Yi’s vines finally began to retract slowly, condensing into a mass—still not in human form. The milk tea on the table had mostly been consumed.

Yu Qunqing remained silent for a moment. “Do not wake him from now on.”

Everyone nodded silently.

Yu Qunqing didn’t leave. To prevent accidents, he stayed outside the therapy room, occasionally browsing the store for suitable math tutoring books—perhaps hearing them would make Lin Lu Yi want to sleep more.

As evening fell, Lin Lu Yi’s human features finally appeared, and Yu Qunqing visibly relaxed.

She Lulang also eased slightly but looked at Yu Qunqing with a more complex expression.

Yu Qunqing had once again saved Lin Lu Yi this life. She Lulang wasn’t surprised; in his mind, Yu Qunqing was still fundamentally a good person, just with methods not widely accepted.

What surprised him was that Yu Qunqing’s abilities this time were completely different from the last life. Was it due to the butterfly effect from reincarnation?

Could they still meet along the same trajectory as before?

She Lulang remembered: in their previous life, they became familiar because the shelter had assigned them to the same room. There was only one bed, and they would almost daily compete for it, annoyed with each other.

Now, Yu Qunqing had inexplicably brought him to the community—it was almost impossible for them to cohabit…

Yet She Lulang felt a fire burning inside him. Before seeing Yu Qunqing, he could suppress it. After seeing him, it burned more intensely. He couldn’t bear the thought of Yu Qunqing leaving his sight one night.

Calm down—you have an important teammate, Lin Lu Yi, still sleeping beside you.

She Lulang could only suppress his complex feelings with a sense of responsibility.

Unexpectedly, the next moment, Yu Qunqing sat down beside him.

Yu Qunqing signaled with his eyes, and some idle residents immediately moved ten meters away. The new residents all had the same thought: the mysterious boss of this community was negotiating with the LV2 expert from the shelter!

She Lulang saw Yu Qunqing’s cold yet slightly flamboyant expression and a faint curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Yu Qunqing said, “This is my community. How do you like it? Worth inviting you here, right?”

She Lulang replied, “I’ve seen many secrets. In exchange, I won’t pry further.”

Yu Qunqing thought: as expected, my deputy is careful and discerning. Gaining his trust is really difficult!

How can I invite She Lulang to live nearby?

Yu Qunqing said, “That experimental subject, number 061, has a very unique ability. I think it could be useful for my future actions. If you have no other matters, perhaps you could help me keep watch at night… we could discuss abilities?”

He was still arranging his words in his mind when he saw She Lulang nod. “We are allies, after all. Naturally, we’ll act together.”