Looking For the Liquor Worm (Part Ten)

He started with two stones, now he's flexing seventeen. But for a Gu Master? That's like, gas money. Literal pennies. 

"With my C-tier stats, my primeval sea's only at 44% capacity. Gu's drain my mana faster than it recharges. Refining a Gu means I gotta use power-ups, which means spending stones."

"The weaker the Gu's willpower, the less it resists, the easier to refine. But everything's got that survival instinct. Refining the Moonlight Gu? That's 5-8 stones, minimum."

"Refining the Liquor worm? That's 11-16 stones, bruh." Even though it's Rank 1 like the Moonlight Gu, it's a rare drop, so it's a harder grind.

So, with seventeen stones, refining the Liquor worm could leave him with six stones, or just one, giving off major "risky investment" vibes.

The moon was glowing, its light hitting Gooner Yue Village with that ethereal vibe. Bamboo houses were standing tall, like a jade aesthetic. A chill breeze was blowing.

Fang Yuan hit up the inn. Door was locked. He knocked.

"I'm coming! I'm coming! Who's hitting me up at this hour?" The inn worker grumbled, opening the door, giving off major "I'm not paid enough for this" energy.

Seeing Fang Yuan, his annoyance went poof. He bowed, smiling like a simp, "Ah, young lord! What a privilege to open the door for you, my king."

Fang Yuan nodded, face giving off major "I'm too cool for this" vibes, and walked into the inn, radiating that "don't talk to me" energy.

His whole vibe made the worker's smile go from "hi" to "please don't fire me." He asked, "My lord, you hungry? Want some late-night snacks? I can get the fry cooks working on a few beesechurgers if you'd like."

"Nah," Fang Yuan shook his head, like he was rejecting a lowball offer. "Just hot water. I need to wash off this L. We'll talk about my business proposal later on."

"Yes, my lord! Go to your room, king. Hot water on the way, ASAP!" The worker nodded, giving off major "I'm your biggest fan" energy.

Fang Yuan grunted and went upstairs, giving off that "main character walking away" vibe. The worker watched him, eyes glittering like he was looking at a rare NFT drop.

"A Gu Master... if only I had the talent to grind!" He clenched his fists, sighing like he just missed a limited-time event. His words reached Fang Yuan's ears, and he internally facepalmed.

A Gu Master's got that god-tier power-up, but the price is astronomical.

First roadblock? Money, obviously. Skibidi stones for leveling up, PVP, crafting gear, and trading.

No stones? No progress, no cap.

This money struggle? The inn worker wouldn't get it. It's a whole different level of broke.

Like, remember when Jiang Ya threw a fit about the hunters drinking expensive wine? He couldn't afford it, but they could!

That's the Gu Master life. Power comes with a price tag. Every stone counts, especially when you're a low-level grinder. The flex is fake, it's a constant grind for cash.

"And as you rank up, the resource grind gets even harder. Without a sugar daddy, cultivation is a nightmare." Fang Yuan thought, remembering his past life, giving off major "been there, done that" vibes.

He got back to his room, lit the lamp, and the inn worker dropped off the hot water, towels, and the whole spa experience.

After the worker dipped, Fang Yuan locked the door, washed up, and hopped into bed.

Even though he was tired AF, he was buzzing with excitement. "I finally got the Liquor worm, fr! It's rarer than the Moonlight Gu, 'cause it's a straight-up XP booster, like a cheat code!"

Fang Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed, pulling out the Liquor worm like he was unboxing a rare collectible. It was still snoozing, slightly bigger than the Moonlight Gu, soft and white like a plushie.

Under the lamp, it was glowing with that subtle shimmer, like a pearl's highlight. Two tiny eyes, like black sesame seeds, were perched on its chubby head, giving off major "cute but make it mysterious" vibes.

It was light in his hand, like a stress ball. When he sniffed it, it smelled like a fancy wine spritzer, not that cheap bamboo wine. It was a lowkey scent, almost non-existent. Fang Yuan took a deep whiff, like he was inhaling good vibes.

The wine scent went straight to his aperture, into his green copper primeval sea. The sea did a little ripple dance, absorbing the scent. A glow-up of pure, refined primeval essence was produced.

His usual primeval essence was emerald green, with that metallic copper drip. This new essence was pale green, more condensed, like an upgraded version, giving off that Rank 1 middle stage energy.

Fang Yuan smirked, feeling that power-up. "I'm just a Rank 1 noob rn. But with the Liquor worm's help, I'll be pumping out that Rank 1 middle stage essence. That's a serious glow-up."

But his smirk faded, like he remembered he had homework. "I haven't even unlocked the Liquor worm's full potential yet. Only when I make it my vital Gu can I use it on demand and get that max efficiency XP grind."

He started pulling green copper essence from his sea, wrapping it around the Liquor worm, lifting it like a drone, and started trying to rizz it up.

The Liquor worm, sensing major red flags, woke up like it just got jumpscared. It started thrashing like a fish out of water, trying to yeet Fang Yuan's primeval essence, giving off major "get off me" vibes.

"This Liquor worm's got that anti-cheat system on," Fang Yuan's face went serious, like he was facing a boss fight. His primeval essence was draining faster than his phone battery on 1%.

"I'm locking in, we're doing this." His eyes flashed with that "I'm not backing down" energy, and he kept pumping essence into the worm.

In the room, the candles were burning lowkey, shining light in the middle, leaving the corners in shadow, giving off that cozy horror movie vibe. The candlelight hit Fang Yuan's face, but his eyes were closed, focused on the worm like it was the last beesechurger for that day.

A steady stream of green-copper primeval essence, like a misty vape cloud, flowed from Fang Yuan, gathering and tightly wrapping around the Liquor worm, like it was a burrito. The worm hovered in the air, right in Fang Yuan's face, struggling like it was trying to escape a group chat.