C5 Buy Life

"What is this? It looks like a countdown timer. Is it a bomb? Will it explode and kill me when I run out of money to recharge?"

Everett tapped the digits instinctively, and to his surprise, the system popped up another screen.

[Life Countdown: You have been granted a one-month life protection period. Remaining time: 312 minutes and 43 seconds. Please proceed to the mall to recharge and purchase life.]

"Damn it!"

Everett's face drained of color. He was out of money!

He hurriedly accessed the recharge section of the Merchant Shop, hidden at the top of the seed shop's page.

[Recharge System: Please select the content you wish to recharge.]

The recharge system page offered three options: phone battery, phone calls, and mobile internet.

Looking further, he found a less conspicuous option: [Life Protection Recharge].

Everett slapped his forehead, feeling overwhelmed.

Everett came to a stark realization: money isn't everything, but without it, you're nothing.

"A hundred yuan a day, that's three thousand a month. Phone battery, internet, and calls come to one thousand five hundred a month. To stay alive for a month, that's four thousand five hundred yuan. But I'm in the desert—where can I possibly earn that kind of money?"

Everett was at a loss for words.

At dawn, a gentle breeze swept through the desert. Leaning against a dune, Everett watched the golden sunrise piercing through the clouds, a breathtaking spectacle.

Before long, the sun rose, bigger and redder than the sun back home—a sight Everett had never witnessed before.

The desert was an endless chain of dunes, shimmering golden in the sunlight, creating the illusion of a world made of gold.

"It's so beautiful!"

Fatty Wang had woken up, standing and rubbing his bleary eyes, his hair in disarray, utterly captivated by the sun rising in the east.

"If even Fatty Wang, someone with no appreciation for culture, finds it beautiful, then it truly must be."

Everett had always believed that.

"Ah, how did a field of wheat sprout up here?"

Fatty seemed to have just noticed the Bellhand Lawn that Everett had planted on the ground, and he was utterly astonished. Everett laughed and gestured to the lawn, "This isn't wheat, this is the Bellhand Lawn. Fatty, ever seen a golf course?"

"No, what about it?"

"Ahem, ever seen a villa community?"

"Nope, what's your point?"

"Forget it. Just remember, Fatty, starting today, this desert is going to transform into an oasis! From now on, I'm the master of this desert. Please address me as..."

Everett gestured to Fatty, who scratched his head, pondered for a moment, and then ventured, "The King of Sea Pirates?"

Everett had always been puzzled about why he had such a brother and why he had brought him to the desert... No, it wasn't for the meager amount of discharge pay in his pocket.

"The King of the Desert!"

As Everett declared this, Fatty began to applaud. The dawn's light bathed Everett, and for a moment, he was under the illusion that he saw countless subjects cheering, hailing him as the savior of the desert people. He even imagined the president of the Confederate Nation prostrating before him.

"Everett, let's head out before the storm hits!"

Fatty's voice snapped Everett out of his reverie.

"Head out? Where to? We've lost our home, why go back? Isn't this desert magnificent? Look at this stunning sunrise, the striking cacti, the undulating dunes. Isn't this better than our old home?"

Everett challenged Fatty, who unzipped his backpack and looked at Everett expectantly.

"Where's my ten thousand yuan?"

"The money? Oh, that went to seeds. Just look at this expanse of grass. In less than a month, it'll be lush and green. Then we can invite tourists to come see it and make a fortune!"

"My money! How am I supposed to get back without my money? You might be homeless, but I'm not!"

The cool morning breeze made Everett shiver as he lit a cigarette. He believed that one should aspire to greatness, not just scrape by in mediocrity. He asked Fatty if he agreed. Besides, hadn't his two straw huts been burnt down by a cigarette butt?

Moreover, Everett felt he was the chosen one. The desert had chosen him, the Ironwharf had chosen him. With endless treasures buried beneath, all Everett had to do was overcome the immediate challenges and cover the desert in green. Then, wouldn't the boundless oil fields and wealth at the edge of the desert all belong to him?

"I've conquered the desert, and by doing so, I've avenged my parents. This is a vengeance I must carry out!"

Eventually, Everett managed to persuade Fatty. Pointing to a vast expanse of green grassland and the endless terrain beyond, he declared, "Fatty, from this day forward, we're the lords of this desert!"

Fatty pulled out a pen and scribbled a lengthy note on a piece of paper before handing it to Everett.

"Sign here as proof. You owe me ten thousand yuan. Moreover, if we succeed, I'll own the rights to the largest oil well in the desert!"

Everett took a drag on his cigarette and accepted the pen. "A small oil field is nothing. Heck, I wouldn't bat an eye if you asked for the whole of Ironwharf right now. After all, the desert isn't mine to give!"

The priority was to secure Fatty's free labor. In these times, finding someone willing to risk their life in the desert with him was no small feat.

After the contract was signed, Fatty looked at Everett and inquired, "Everett, what's our next big move?"

Everett gestured towards the desert and suggested, "Let's turn this place into a tourist resort first!"

Indeed, adhering to the system's mission was never a mistake.

Upon hearing this, Fatty gazed out at the desert and exhaled deeply. "Everett, how can we possibly transform this into a tourist destination?"

"Don't worry about that. It's April now, and my grandfather's diary mentioned a calm period from April to early May. See how peaceful the desert is? It's definitely the calm period. Now, take our camels to Limesvilles and stock up on all the supplies you can find. I'll handle everything else."

Fatty, still somewhat skeptical, looked at Everett and asked, "Everett, you're not sending me into a sandstorm to get killed over money, are you?"

Disappointed by the lack of trust, Everett retrieved a weathered, leather-bound diary from his backpack. Flipping it open, he pointed to the first page and reassured Fatty, "See for yourself. Isn't that what my grandfather wrote?"

After perusing Everett's grandfather's diary, Fatty's doubts dissipated. The next morning, after hydrating with cactus water, he led the camel towards Limesvilles.