Early the next morning, Shen Yi was jolted awake by a kick.

Half-asleep, he was still lost in a sweet dream of fleecing his fellow Earthlings when suddenly his rear sank, a sensation of weightlessness struck, and he tumbled unexpectedly from the leaf. He was then caught by the thin thread around his waist, left dangling in mid-air.

Even though Shen Yi wasn’t prone to morning grumpiness, he was now seething with rage. What’s more, the culprit hovered nonchalantly above his head, arms crossed, looking utterly detached and enjoying the spectacle. Instantly, fury surged within Shen Yi.

Anger ignited his reason, and curses aimed at eighteen generations of ancestors were already on the tip of his tongue. But they were choked back by an emerald dewdrop that flew directly into his path.

A clear, sweet, and enticing aroma exploded across all his senses, stronger than any nectar he had tasted before. The temptation penetrated deep into his soul, making Shen Yi blind to everything else.

Craving nectar was a bee’s instinct; evolution was the instinct of all living beings.

When Xi Ye awoke, he saw the fat bee’s large posterior protruding from the crevice of the companion flower’s leaves. Satisfied that it hadn’t secretly fled, he decided to use the blood he had spat out yesterday as a reward, giving the little fatty a taste of something sweet.

Waste not, want not.

Shen Yi was indeed pleasantly surprised. Although this fellow had mentioned providing him with nectar yesterday, nothing was certain until it was actually consumed. With great effort, he shifted his gaze and looked up at the beautiful spirit floating gracefully in the air like an immortal. “Is this for me?”

The beautiful spirit didn’t speak, but his proudly tilted chin conveyed everything. Overjoyed, Shen Yi immediately flew forward and took a small sip.

“Experience +100.”

“Congratulations, host, on leveling up. Current level: 5.”

Having leveled up again, Shen Yi paused, feeling light-headed and surreal. Was leveling up really this easy?

Just a small taste had given him 100 experience points, almost ten times more than the paler nectar he had been drinking before yesterday.

His belly and Mental Sea felt warm and comfortable, his Spirit Core as if bathed in warm water, like a sprout breaking through the soil nourished by rain. Shen Yi stiffened his antennae in delight.

This was definitely good stuff—but how was it made? Was it also condensed from flowers? He hadn’t seen anything like it during his previous visits inside the flowers.

Still unaware that this emerald, translucent, and fragrant nectar had been spat out from a certain spirit’s mouth, Shen Yi cherished it dearly. He lowered his head and took another small sip, gaining 200 experience points. Suppressing his drool, he stored the remaining dew in his honey stomach.

This nectar was more effective than the previous one. He would save some for his subordinates to drink—perhaps there would be a pleasant surprise.

Shen Yi’s morning irritation from being kicked awake was gently soothed. Having received a favor, he felt obliged. Cheerfully, he flew up to the spiritual flower’s leaf and actively approached the proud spirit. “What do you need me to do?”

Hearing this, Xi Ye glanced down at him. After drinking his blood, the fat bee now had some spiritual energy fluctuations, but they were still pitifully weak. He said disdainfully, “You’re too weak.”

Before he could fully suppress the Thousand-Thread Vine, he couldn’t venture too far from his Destiny Flower. Naturally, he couldn’t go out to seek opportunities, nor did he need the fat bee to help conceal his Destiny Flower.

Thinking of this, Xi Ye suddenly realized: for the fat bee to hide his Destiny Flower, it would have to stay near the flower. Without the Thousand-Thread Vine as a restraint, could he really trust his Destiny Flower to this cunning little liar? Wouldn’t that be tantamount to suicide?

Xi Ye narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the seemingly obedient fat bee, his expression ambiguous.

Shen Yi felt the hairs on his back bristle under that stare, his heart pounding with panic. Unconsciously, he retreated step by step until he reached the tip of the leaf. Unable to bear his weight, the leaf bent like a blade of grass and suddenly drooped down.

Shen Yi let out a startled cry and was pulled up by Xi Ye, who looked extremely disgusted. “So stupid.”

Xi Ye hauled him up, held him in his arms, and petted him a few times, quite pleased with the soft texture. He thought to himself that since the little fatty had so many secrets, even if he was useless, keeping him around would be interesting. He’d keep him around for now.

Once he fully suppressed the Thousand-Thread Vine and evolved to three stars, the vine would remain under his control even when detached. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about this stupid bee trying to escape.

Xi Ye showed himself briefly before returning to the Flower Spirit Space. Before entering, he warned Shen Yi not to disturb him. Yesterday’s injuries were mostly healed, and this time he tightened the Thousand-Thread Vine—the fat bee wouldn’t be able to run even if he tried.

Relieved that he didn’t have to face the moody little menace, Shen Yi relaxed. He had originally wanted to ask if he could go check on his subordinates, but now wasn’t the right time. He’d have to bring it up later.

The little menace was probably also interested in his method of “creating” larvae, so he’d likely cooperate when the time came.

Shen Yi crawled back into the crevice of the spiritual flower’s leaves, found a comfortable position, and let his consciousness enter his Mental Sea. He soothed the soul points of his little followers one by one, then opened the system interface and went straight to the “Earth Portal.”

After carefully reading the guide, he learned that the powerful system had generated a website on Earth’s internet—his game’s official website. He could post text and video content in the backend to promote the game. Without promotion and hype, it was uncertain how many people would click on an obscure little game.

Additionally, Shen Yi could spend Mana to have the system forcefully push game ads to target customers.

“Attribute page updated. Please check, host.”

Shen Yi opened the attribute interface.

“Level: 5”

“Spirit Power: 100/100”

“Mana: 59/59”

“Poison Gland: 15”

“Mandibles: 10”

Shen Yi glanced at the various values. Among them, vitality had no specific number, only displaying a health bar with three segments.

After all, this was the real world—anything was possible. It probably couldn’t be like in games where a single strike would reduce a fixed amount of health. Life was immeasurable.

Ten points of Mana could push an ad to one target customer. His current Mana was only 59, enough to push to a maximum of five people.

Mana was equivalent to a mana bar; it could recover after being depleted. How long it took to fully restore the mana bar needed testing.

After browsing the “Earth Portal,” Shen Yi had a basic understanding. His heart felt like it held a restless rabbit, eagerly hopping around inside him.

Shen Yi couldn’t wait to start recording videos. The forest was full of beautiful scenery—just a casual shot could look like a fantasy epic. He wasn’t worried at all about attracting players.

Immersive free exploration, fantasy styles beyond imagination, unpredictable game directions… Once players got hooked, Shen Yi refused to believe anyone would want to quit.

Players would enter the game as bees. Shen Yi decided the trailer would start with the vast forest, then cut to the hive, followed by close-up micro-shots of his drone subordinates, then transition to scenes of the forest at night, showcasing the struggles for survival among insects…

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. Unable to contain himself, Shen Yi wriggled his butt, crawled out of the leaf crevice, and perched in front of the flower. Pacing back and forth, he hesitated repeatedly but finally couldn’t resist. He reached out a foot and tugged the thin thread around his abdomen.

At first, there was no response. Shen Yi swallowed and pulled harder.

“Trying to escape?”

A green flash accompanied a cold, angry shout. The furious spirit flew out of the Flower Spirit Space, his emerald eyes burning with sparks as he stared fixedly at Shen Yi.

“N-no,” Shen Yi stammered, intimidated by the overwhelming aura. “I wasn’t trying to escape.”

Xi Ye stared at him coldly without speaking. Shen Yi sneaked a glance: the little menace’s health bar had over a dozen segments, several times thicker than his own. Fighting was out of the question.

Steeling himself, he tentatively said, “I mentioned creating larvae to you yesterday. Do you remember?”

Xi Ye remained silent. Shen Yi quietly observed his expression and, seeing no sign of anger, continued, “I want to create larvae quickly. I’d like to check how the hive construction is going…”

Xi Ye’s eyes flickered for a moment, then he frowned and said coldly, “I don’t have time to play these games with you.”

He needed to recover his Mana quickly and subdue the Thousand-Thread Vine. Staying in the Flower Spirit Space was best for that.

“I…” Shen Yi twitched his antennae nervously and said hesitantly, “I could go alone.”

“I absolutely won’t run away,” he quickly added. “By following you, I get to drink Spirit Nectar every day. There’s no reason for me to escape, right? Besides, you already know where my hive is…”

Xi Ye snorted in amusement. Did this little liar think it was stupid? That shabby tree hollow had nothing to offer—abandoning it and fleeing would be the obvious choice.

But it was true that he might be reluctant to give up the Spirit Nectar. Given Shen Yi’s star rating, even the flower dew condensed within the Flower Fairy’s space would bring immense benefits to the plump bumblebee in a short time, not to mention the two times Xi Ye had fed him its blood.

However, Xi Ye raised an eyebrow, as if pondering something, then curved its lips into a smile and agreed, “You must return before dark.”

Shen Yi hadn’t expected it to agree so readily. Surprised, he perked his antennae up and only came to his senses after the beautiful fairy flew back into the flower. He called out toward the closed blossom, “Thank you.”

Accustomed to the little menace’s unpredictability and lack of empathy, this sudden show of trust left Shen Yi feeling unexpectedly honored.

The fairy didn’t remove the silk thread tied to him. Shen Yi took flight, trailing the long, thin strand behind him like a flowing ribbon. To avoid tangling in the plants, he flew a bit higher, seizing the opportunity to film an aerial view of the forest.

Later, realizing the peculiar thread wouldn’t snag on anything, he lowered his altitude. Flying too high without foliage cover would expose him to danger.

High above him, a green figure followed closely, its emerald eyes gleaming with an unusual light, like a cat waiting for a mouse to reveal itself.

While recording the forest’s wonders along the way, Shen Yi arrived at the tree hollow. His subordinates, busy collecting resin to build the hive, immediately sensed their king’s presence and swarmed around him, fluttering excitedly.

Shen Yi noticed their health bars showed only one and a half segments, and their level was 2. It seemed he could only observe other targets’ levels and health bars.

“Alright, alright, everyone back to work. There’ll be rewards if the hive is built well,” Shen Yi said, dispersing the bumblebees.

The tree hollow had been cleaned up, with some corners expanded, and the innermost wall was already coated with propolis, though its final shape was still unclear. This would serve as the foundation for attaching the honeycomb, and the bumblebees would build the comb layers along it.

The subordinates had also moved their aphids to the tenderest buds of the vines around the giant tree. Occasionally, a bumblebee would stop by to collect the honeydew the aphids secreted.

After inspecting the hive’s progress, Shen Yi began filming the busy bumblebees. Their striking black-and-yellow stripes, fluffy bottoms, and tirelessly fluttering wings, dancing happily amid the lush greenery, made for stunning footage.

Shen Yi called over the second-in-command, the one with the plumpest rear, and ordered it to gather nectar from a yellow flower below the tree.

To a bumblebee’s senses, the flowers below emitted signals of having been visited by their kind. The flower Shen Yi pointed out had long been stripped of nectar and pollen. The second-in-command quivered its antennae, confused.

“Just do as I say,” Shen Yi urged, shooing it into the flower.

The fluffy bumblebee obediently crawled into the blossom as commanded, its weight bending the slender stem. Only its round, fuzzy bottom was visible, swaying gently in the breeze.

Shen Yi captured this adorable scene.

By evening, seven comb cells had been built in the hive. Only three more were needed to complete the side quest.

As the subordinates returned to the hive one by one, Shen Yi counted them, and they gathered around him on a thick branch outside the hive, forming a circle.

Shen Yi plucked a heart-shaped leaf and released the Spirit Nectar he had been fermenting in his honey stomach all day onto it.

Almost as soon as the nectar appeared, the bumblebees caught its unique scent and grew restless. Having tasted it before, they had gained a hint of spiritual awareness and instinctively knew the nectar was beneficial.

This time, following his intuition, Shen Yi didn’t mix the Spirit Nectar with honeydew. He simply called the subordinates to come and drink.

The already excited bumblebees swarmed forward at his command, but the fragile leaf tipped over, spilling most of the precious nectar.

Shen Yi cried out in dismay, rushing forward only to watch helplessly as the valuable liquid spilled, his antennae twisting in distress.

From afar, hidden among the leaves, Xi Ye let out a mocking laugh. “How stupid.”

In an unnoticed corner, emerald droplets fell through the gaps between leaves and branches.

They finally landed on a low-hanging branch where a grasshopper, accidentally dropped by a bird at noon, had just breathed its last breath.

The Spirit Nectar seeped into its swollen abdomen.

The undeveloped eggs inside, like parched sprouts meeting rain, absorbed the droplets like sponges.

The healing blood of the Flower Elf, catalyzed by the Queen Bee’s enzymes, had encountered a tenacious will to survive, perhaps triggering some miraculous reaction.

Amid Shen Yi’s frustrated muttering and the fairy’s taunting laughter, a miracle was quietly unfolding in an overlooked corner.