Chapter 248: Chapter 165: These NPCs Are Really Wild (Second Update)_2

His repeated attempts at painting had allowed him to find some sense of touch, and afterward, the speed should increasingly pick up, and the quality of the paintings should also continue to improve.

He had never imagined that the skill he used to feed himself could also become a moneymaker in the game, reflecting how a game with high freedom is truly splendid, offering endless ways to have fun.

Upon learning that Liuzi intended to stay for a while to paint and earn money, the elephant bartender immediately offered that Liuzi could temporarily live there, waiving the room charge and providing three meals a day.

Others who had obtained Liuzi’s paintings also stated they could help promote his work, ensuring that he would be kept too busy to put his hands together.

Some animals helped Liuzi set prices, indicating that if the quality was consistent, then a hundred faith was a suitable price.

A hundred faith was the average weekly salary here, and spending a week’s salary on a painting sounded crazy, but considering that nobody had painted here before, a hundred faith was an outright bargain.

In fact, the residents felt that Liuzi was selling himself short.

When Liuzi painted a few food pictures for advertising purposes, helping the elephant bartender by affixing them at the entrance, passing residents immediately gathered around, asking what kind of technology it was and why it had such an effect.

When they learned that these were actually masterpieces by a “legendary and great squirrel lord blessed by the Goddess of Art” themselves, the residents of Star Harbor were boiling with excitement.

Although they didn’t understand why the subject didn’t wear clothes, it was art, definitely not dirty pictures!

They should view these dirty pictures through the lens of art, and must not think dirty thoughts!

They began to queue up, and the previously moderately busy tavern thrived due to Liuzi’s temporary stay, with many citizens who obtained the paintings even feeling that the tavern should be decorated.

After all, this was the first stop after the arrival of a saint, and it should be renovated to match its sacred status.

Sitting in his spot, Liuzi could earn a hundred faith in five minutes, then raised the price to one hundred fifty, and eventually to two hundred.

After staying there for two days, working six hours a day in the game, both in the morning and in the afternoon, he easily accumulated over seventy thousand faith.

This money was enough for him to purchase a second-hand cargo ship, hire some crew, and then happily continue trading.

Satisfied with his profits, Liuzi announced his readiness to leave and head to the next trading post, and though the locals regretted his decision, they still chose to respect his choice.

That evening, the elephant bartender held a grand farewell party; Liuzi had a few drinks during the event, and then returned to his spaceship to rest.

But the next day, to his surprise, he found his spaceship surrounded.

Spineless Hedgehogs, donned in power armor, encircled his ship with the Planetary Governor standing outside, looking troubled.

Seeing Liuzi awake, the hedgehog stepped forward and whispered apologetically, “I’m really sorry, but I can’t defy the Priest. You’ve been arrested.”

Puzzled, Liuzi looked at the Governor and asked, “What did I do wrong?”

“Illegal seizure of artworks.”

Hearing this charge, Liuzi was shocked.

He was a model young man, always playing games by the rules, a universe apart from the goofballs who shouted about robbing banks as soon as they entered the game.

Since arriving here, he had conscientiously brought love and joy to the residents; what did they mean by accusing him of illegally seizing art!

Besides, every single painting was his own creation; what did they mean by seizure in the charge!

Seeing Liuzi’s incredulous face, the Governor said with difficulty, “I’m sorry, but I really can’t do anything. I’m just a Planetary Governor, but the Priest has the backing of a True God and controls multiple planets; I can’t oppose it.”

“Fine, you guys have guts, but next time I’ll come driving the Star of Destruction and sweep you all away.”

“I’m truly sorry, and when you come to wipe us out, I’ll tell you where the Priest’s house is. As long as you wipe that out, we don’t care about anything else.”

Seeing the Governor in this state, Liuzi realized that he too was a pitiful little creature.

However, being arrested was just another way to play the game, potentially involving some hidden plot line, so Liuzi could only sigh and follow the Governor to the jail.

But when they got into the vehicle, he realized he wasn’t being taken to jail, but to the center of Star Harbor.

There stood a pure white tower. It soared into the clouds, with colored lights stretching from the base all the way to the spire atop the clouds, making the White Tower twinkle with wonderful and mystical lights at all times.

From the outside, it looked narrow, seemingly just ten meters in diameter, but it stretched up to tens of thousands of meters, making it look like a thin line reaching out to the edge of the world from afar.

The eccentric structure indicated that the material was of extremely high quality, otherwise it could not have sustained such an oddly beautiful construction.

Being taken straight there, Liuzi was escorted by the Governor onto the tower’s elevator, which then ascended rapidly and reached the top in over ten seconds.

Looking down from the top, the world below was covered in thick clouds, and here one could see the curvature of the planet, leaving Liuzi baffled as to why he had ended up in this place.

After delivering him, the Governor was taken away by someone and vanished.

Before leaving, the Governor whispered, “Take care of yourself, don’t act rashly, I’ll figure out a way to rescue you.”

“Thank you, but why are you helping me so much?”

“I really like your paintings.”

“Oh, I see.”

After the Governor was gone, Liuzi finally had the chance to look around and observe the structure of the place.

The room at the top was surrounded by breathtaking views, while inside it was filled with all sorts of art pieces.

In the circular room, the walls were plastered with various artworks from the past, but most of them were somewhat scorched, looking as if they were improperly stored.

And at the center of the room stood a white marble statue of a human woman.

She was dressed in overalls, currently holding a paintbrush and gazing into the distance pensively. Although Liuzi didn’t know who she was, he still felt a sense of intellect and artistry emanating from her.

After staring at her for a while, Liuzi started to feel an itch in his hand.

The statue of the woman seemed to possess a special magic; simply looking at her for a bit sparked his thoughts and gave him an urge to sketch her out.

Normally, when seeing the opposite sex, he would feel nervous, and this was even the case in games.

But for some reason, this statue was like a source of inspiration for him, making him want to paint.

Just as he was searching the entire room for paper and a pen, an aged voice rang out, “In the drawer on the left.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Finding the paper and pen, Liuzi looked at the statue for a long time before he picked up the paper and pen and began to sketch seriously.

Though it was just an ordinary charcoal pencil, Liuzi felt his right hand was incredibly flexible, and before long, he had detailed her features onto the paper.

Before he could admire his masterpiece, the sketch was snatched from his hands.

Three guards clad in power armor shoved him aside, and his artwork was now held by a spineless old mouse. And this was no ordinary mouse but the very same one disguised as a Spineless Hedgehog that he encountered upon his arrival.

The old mouse, showing signs of age, carefully studied Liuzi’s drawing, silently appreciating it before finally nodding slightly and saying, “Very good.”

“No kidding,” Liuzi said disdainfully.

The bold attitude riled up the three guards, but the old mouse gestured for them to be quiet and then said to Liuzi, “This is the Goddess of Art, our revered deity.”

“Oh,” Liuzi said indifferently, “What’s that got to do with me?”

“Although She is the Goddess of Art and frequently blesses us, we have yet to fulfill Her wish and present Her with the perfect piece of art. Embarrassingly, despite the many blessings I’ve received, this is the best I could do.”

Seeing what the old mouse pulled out, Liuzi drew a sharp breath, thinking that if the mouse had attended kindergarten, he might have had better results.

But the three guards didn’t seem to realize how poor the item was, still speaking with faces full of admiration, “As expected of the Priest.”

“Don’t say that, I know my level. Young squirrel, I only have one request, and that is…”

Liuzi thought the mouse was going to ask him to stay and become a priest, but what came next was unexpected.

“That is to leave your brain as my tool for creating art!”

Hearing the mouse’s request, Liuzi felt the NPCs in this game were truly wild.