Chapter 29: Torrential Rain from the Heavens

The chat channel was filled with voices predicting his downfall, yet Han Xing, the subject of all the heated discussion, simply drew his bow and shot arrows with a relaxed expression. At his feet lay several giant, pangolin-like monsters.

After half a day, Han Xing had arrived in what was known as the "Advanced Zone." Here, survivors felt as if they had left the protection of the newbie area. The clouds in this vicinity were larger—it was easy to encounter patches dozens of square meters in size—and the strength of the monsters within them rose sharply.

Han Xing did not take risks, nor did he rush to explore the larger cloud patches to compete for the rankings. The encounter in the Dark Elf territory was still fresh in his memory. He chose to play it steady, specifically maneuvering his floating island to approach clouds that were only ten or so square meters in size. Compared to the top three on the leaderboard, who were seeing jumps of dozens of square meters at a time, Han Xing’s progress could only be described as glacial.

But he was not anxious. It was only the second day since the points leaderboard had opened, and the current leader, "Whisperer," only had a little over 260 points. At this pace, with a maximum growth of 100 to 200 square meters per day, it would take at least three or four more days to reach 1,000 points.

Just as everyone was busy exploring, the sky suddenly darkened with thick clouds and rolling thunder at sunset. Every survivor instinctively stopped what they were doing and looked up. A single thought crossed everyone’s mind: It was going to rain.

Upon realizing this, the survivors were dazed for a moment, and then their faces broke into expressions of wild joy. If this rain actually fell, it meant the water supply crisis that had plagued them for days would be completely resolved.

This also sent a clear signal: Han Xing’s spiritual spring water would no longer be a necessity. While its healing properties remained unique, he would never again be able to set prices as he pleased.

*Rumble!*

Thunder rolled across the sky, and lightning flashed! The next moment, droplets of clear rainwater fell upon their heads. Then, the downpour intensified.

*Whoosh!*

As the torrential rain fell, countless survivors began to cheer excitedly in mid-air. Some even tilted their heads back, welcoming the rainwater with their mouths open. The air quality and environment of this world were excellent; even the rainwater had a sweet taste. The survivors let out bursts of hearty laughter. After days of water shortages, this was truly sweet rain after a long drought.

The clever ones immediately brought out every tool capable of storing water to stockpile for themselves. Those who lacked tools even dug pits in the ground to serve as containers. The chat channel was a scene of intense activity, with many survivors discussing the event excitedly.

"Wooo... it’s finally raining! These past few days have been a nightmare!"

"Oh heavens, we finally made it through!"

"I can finally take a bath. Even I was disgusted by the smell on my own body!"

"Let me smell..."

"???"

The survivors were shouting in excitement. The frenzy in the chat channel lasted for nearly half an hour before someone suddenly said, "Great, finally we don't have to buy Star River’s spiritual spring water at such high prices anymore. His prices were so exploitative..."

The local network suddenly fell silent for a moment. This was the first time someone had publicly called out Han Xing’s pricing as "exploitative." Before this, everyone’s opinion of Han Xing had been positive; he had even been elevated to the status of a savior for District 107. Even when his ranking dropped, it hadn't shaken his standing in the hearts of the survivors. After all, he held the lifeline of thousands of people in his hands.

But now, with the water problem solved, everyone suddenly realized that Han Xing’s role seemed less important.

A survivor named "Fireworks in the Dark" chimed in: "Actually, I’ve been wanting to say this for a long time. Star River’s prices were so high that one trade almost emptied out everything we’d gathered over the past two days... He didn't stop to think how we were supposed to survive the upcoming battles without equipment. He only cared about selling expensive water, completely disregarding our lives."

Just then, a survivor retorted angrily on the channel.

"Whirlwind Potato: @Fireworks in the Dark, you’re talking nonsense. If it weren't for Star God selling water these past two days, would you even be alive right now? Your pathetic life was saved by him, and now that you’ve got a bit of backbone, you start biting the hand that fed you?"

"Fireworks in the Dark: @Whirlwind Potato, what did you say? Star River’s water was expensive, that’s a recognized fact. Why shouldn't people be allowed to say it?"

"Whirlwind Potato: @Fireworks in the Dark, 'fact' my foot. You’re the only ingrate saying this, don't drag the rest of us into it."

"Fireworks in the Dark: I #@$*..."

The two began trading insults. Another survivor then added, "The brother above is right. Star River’s water was indeed priced too high. I traded a warrior’s skill book just to get less than 500 milliliters of water. Tell me, isn't that exploitative?"

"Whirlwind Potato" raged, "You guys are full of it! Why didn't anyone complain about the price back then? Why are you all jumping out now to bark like dogs?"

"Fireworks in the Dark" countered, "That Whirlwind Potato, is Star River your father? Why are you protecting him so much?"

"That's right, he is my father! Let me tell you, my father holds a grudge. You’d better watch out, he might write all your names down and never trade with you again!"

"Whirlwind Potato's" threat seemed to be effective. Recalling the previous incident with the Lei Group, the survivors who had been accusing Han Xing suddenly shut their mouths. At the same time, some onlookers stood up to offer a fair perspective.

"It wasn't exactly exploitative. Under those circumstances, it was already pretty good that someone could provide water at all."

"Yeah, if you thought it was expensive, just don't buy it in the future."

"Anyway, nobody is short on water from today on, no need to keep blaming others."

There were still many rational and sensible people in the local network, and they were all speaking up for Han Xing. The other side, those who felt the prices were high, also fell silent. The dispute gradually dissipated into nothingness. However, as the day passed, Han Xing’s monopoly was effectively overturned, and his popularity would wane accordingly. Even his fall from the top three no longer sparked much discussion.

Now, everyone’s eyes were on "Whisperer," "Black Hawk," and the others.

Han Xing naturally saw the discussions about him on the local network. His heart remained completely calm as he laughed, "This 'Whirlwind Potato,' when did I suddenly get a son as old as you? Talking as if it were true—I haven't even had a girlfriend!"

Cheng Jianyong and Shen Yun were busy exploring their floating island and hadn't seen the argument in the chat channel. Otherwise, given their personalities, they would have definitely been arguing with those guys until dawn.

However, at this moment, "Smart Little Sheep" suddenly sent him a message. Han Xing clicked on it and saw: "Hang in there, I support you." She also attached a cute encouragement sticker at the end.

A knowing smile appeared at the corner of Han Xing’s mouth. He guessed that this young girl must have seen the negative comments about him on the local network and was trying to cheer him up. Shaking his head, Han Xing didn't take their comments to heart. A sly smile crept onto his lips.

"Those guys, they don't think that just because they have water now, they won't be buying things from me in the future, do they?"

Suddenly, his smile vanished, replaced by a look of shock: "Crap, I forgot to bring the quilt in before it started raining! My bed and furniture are all soaked!"

At this current stage, Han Xing lacked building blueprints, so most of his furniture was kept in the open, placed directly on his territory. One heavy downpour had soaked everything.

...

After the rain, the wind shifted and the clouds parted. The next day, Han Xing continued to maintain his own rhythm, gradually clearing the small clouds in this area. His ranking dropped from fourth to sixth.

The current leader was still "Whisperer." After two days of sleepless effort, "Whisperer’s" territory points reached 348, leading the second-place "Black Hawk" and third-place "Papaya Star Spirit" by over fifty points. However, the changes in Han Xing’s ranking no longer provoked discussion. As the saying goes, the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment; people now felt that it was a decent achievement for Han Xing just to remain in the top ten.

By evening, Han Xing’s ranking had dropped out of the top ten as expected.

On the morning of the third day, Han Xing’s territory points were 260, placing him 13th. Meanwhile, "Whisperer’s" territory points had broken through 400 after a night of grinding. The second-place "Black Hawk" and third-place "Papaya Star Spirit" had also caught up; the gap between the three was now less than 50 points.

Everyone was buried in exploration. By the end of the third day, "Whisperer’s" points had broken through 600! The points for "Black Hawk" and "Papaya Star Spirit" had also surpassed 500. Now, in the chat channel, the reputation of these three was rising rapidly, and the teams they belonged to had started recruiting large numbers of people.