Gan Lan woke up at eight in the morning. Since her biological clock was set to this time, no matter how late she slept, she would always wake up at this hour.
She struggled to get up, her entire body aching. Her arms, in particular, trembled slightly just from being lifted. It seemed she couldn’t skimp on the Advanced Recovery Agent after all.
After brushing her teeth, Gan Lan carefully took out the recovery agent. She popped the cap and drank it down with a heavy heart. The tiny bottle held barely one mouthful, yet that single gulp cost a million!
She was basically drinking Credit Points. Credit Points! How could her heart not bleed?
Looking at the empty bottle in her hand, Gan Lan still transferred two million Credit Points to Yan Yifei. She could skip paying for the meal, but she had to pay for the Advanced Recovery Agent.
The Advanced Recovery Agent was truly effective. Even though it was just a tiny sip, the results were incredible. The moment it went down, a warm sensation spread through her body, and her aching muscles began to recover. Even her groggy, sleep-deprived mind was now much clearer.
What a miraculous future, what a miraculous potion! If only it were a bit cheaper.
Regaining her energy, Gan Lan started simmering the broth. Today was another day of selling rice noodles.
She went on the Star Network shops to look for ingredients. She wanted to see if there were any golden-red fruits so she could extract the pigment and add it to the cream. Alternatively, one golden fruit and one fiery red fruit would also work, allowing her to gradually apply the colors later.
Gan Lan flipped through the shops, browsing quickly, and finally found the ideal colors she was looking for.
Golden Liquid Fruit and Flame Fruit—both were fruits of the future that Gan Lan had never seen before.
Gan Lan tried cutting open the Golden Liquid Fruit. Inside, a golden liquid slowly flowed out, carrying a rich, fruity fragrance. The golden hue was exactly what she wanted.
Gan Lan picked up half of the Golden Liquid Fruit and took a sip. Wow! It tasted faintly of honey, but not overwhelmingly so—sweet but not cloying. This was it!
Gan Lan immediately placed an order for several boxes, then moved on to try the Flame Fruit.
Cutting the Flame Fruit in half, she revealed its entirely fiery red flesh. It had a unique fragrance mixed with a faint milky scent. It was absolutely superb!
She took a small bite and chewed. It was slightly sour, like eating yogurt, yet its color was a vibrant fiery red. How fascinating.
Order, order! These two fruits were the winners. She bought several more boxes. Because the Phoenix was huge, she needed a massive quantity. These fruits were quite expensive, costing her over a hundred thousand Credit Points in total.
Gan Lan exited the shop and glanced at its name—Exotic Fruits. No wonder no other stores had these fruits. It turned out their production volume was low, which explained the steep price.
After receiving the fruits, Gan Lan instructed the robots to process them and extract the pigments.
Then, she turned on her live stream. "Good morning, everyone. Today, we’re going to finish our incomplete masterpiece."
Surprised Beggar Chicken: [It’s not early anymore, junior! It’s almost eleven o’clock. I was so sleepy last night that I couldn’t hold on and went to bed early. Because of that, I didn’t get to see the birth of the Phoenix carving with my own eyes. I’m regretting it so much right now.]
I’m Too Stressed: [Streamer, you’re really blowing up! You’re trending! No, wait, your Phoenix is trending! Look, the viewer count in the channel is about to break ten billion today!]
Gan Lan glanced at the viewer count. There were indeed over eight billion people, and the number was still steadily climbing.
Faced with this situation, she was already somewhat unfazed. Time was simply too tight for her to get excited.
I’m really poor: [I’ve got my eyes on this Phoenix. Are you selling it, streamer? Ten million!]
Melon-Eating Spectator: [And here I thought this was the work of a Culinary Master from the Sunny Day Restaurant or some master sculptor. Turns out she’s just a college freshman. That’s actually pretty impressive.]
Don’t panic: [Streamer, will you sell this carving for fifteen million?]
System Notification: [Congratulations to the streamer for receiving 999 Cosmic Starships from ’Handsome Mingyu’. A network-wide broadcast has been triggered.]
Network-wide Broadcast: [’Handsome Mingyu’ says to the viewers of ’Huaxia Barbecue Stall’: "You dare compete with me over something with just ten million? Show some real strength!"]
Wu Mingyu’s broadcast completely dominated the entire screen.
Live Stream Viewers: [...Fine, you’re the richest, okay?]
For a moment, those who had been clamoring to buy Gan Lan’s Phoenix carving went as quiet as mice. They stopped talking, but they didn’t leave the stream either.
Sky Blue: [Well, that was quite overbearing, but what’s so great about spending your parents’ money? Go earn it yourself if you have the skills! Scumbag!]
Handsome Mingyu: [My family is rich, and my parents are happy to spend it on me. What, are you jealous? Poor loser!]
Hot Pot Balls: [Hmph! Is being rich a big deal? My family has money too!]
Feiran: [Yep, my family is the poorest ^^]
Princess Yan is the cutest: [Son, our family isn’t poor. If you run out of money, Mommy will give you more ^^]
Sky Blue: [Sorry, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud, hahahaha!]
The comments in the stream were lively and chaotic, but Gan Lan had already turned them off, so she didn’t see any of it. Her mind was entirely focused on the cream.
She slowly added the Golden Liquid Fruit pigment into two large vats of white cream that the robots had whipped up, stirring gently until it was evenly mixed. The resulting brilliant golden hue was exceptionally beautiful. The robots also came over to help, so it didn’t take much time. Soon, both colors of cream were ready.
Hmm, it feels like I’m missing a color, she thought. Gan Lan lowered her head in contemplation, then carefully inspected the Phoenix statue cake again, looking it over from head to tail.
It was then that she remembered she was still missing a crimson-gold color, which was meant for the Phoenix’s claws.
Gan Lan went straight back to the Star Network shops to search for edible crimson-gold pigments or natural ingredients with that color, just to see if there were any available.
She actually managed to find some and immediately placed an order. With all the preparation work complete, she got her hands dirty, starting from the head and slowly working her way down.
The golden head gradually faded into a fiery red. Although she only needed to manage two colors, creating a smooth golden-to-red gradient required meticulous attention. She concentrated fully, applying the colors with great care.
It took over an hour just to finish coloring the head. Next, she took out two tiny, transparent golden beads she had specially made earlier. They were filled with the liquid from the Golden Liquid Fruit and wrapped in a special edible outer film, giving them an iridescent, vivid, and dazzling appearance. These were to be used as the Phoenix’s eyes.
After that came the coloring of the Phoenix’s chest, back, and belly. The belly was painted gold, while the back was done in fiery red...
"Lanlan, it’s time for lunch," came the gentle male voice of the robot, San.
Called out by San, Gan Lan instantly snapped out of her intense, hyper-focused state. She set down the piping bag and shook her slightly sore hand. "Got it, I’m going."
Fortunately, coloring was simpler than carving, so by the time San reminded her, Gan Lan had already finished the entire body. It looked like she would be able to complete this masterpiece today.
Princess Yan is the cutest: [This is so pretty! I love it so much! Dear streamer, I want one too. Can I pre-order one? ^^]
Roast Meat Bibimbap: [You probably won’t have a chance anytime soon. The streamer is heading to Banan Star tomorrow to participate in a competition, so she won’t have time to make any. I really want one too, but even if she made one, I couldn’t afford it. *Sobbing* T.T]
Elderly Handsome Man: [Even though it’s a work-in-progress, you can see this little girl’s solid foundation. Will you sell it for 1.5 billion?]
The stream’s chat had already started a spontaneous bidding war, but Gan Lan was completely unaware. She hadn’t turned the chat back on, nor had she enabled gift notifications. After hurriedly finishing a bowl of rice noodles, she went right back to work.