Su Yao returned with a full load.

[With the completion of the task, congratulations to the host for obtaining a card draw chance *1.]

The hotel staff, having not seen strangers for a long time, were exceptionally enthusiastic upon seeing the three guests.

Su Yao first focused on the condition of Harrington's leg and described to the three weaponsmiths what she imagined a prosthetic limb would look like. After listening, the three weaponsmiths said that it was not a problem.

The three guests stayed, and Su Yao also lay down for three days after the exhausting journey.

On the morning of the fourth day, Su Yao could no longer stay in bed. She opened the newly acquired magic book and began to study magic.

Su Yao had completed the beginner, intermediate, and advanced volumes on using magic, establishing a very solid foundation in the field of magic studies. This time, learning from the new magic book was also going smoothly. However, what troubled her was that Felix had been acting a bit strange lately.

Since returning from the merchant mission, Felix had become noticeably strange. Whether Su Yao was resting or studying, Felix would frequently appear around her.

If it weren't for the fact that the affection level remained unchanged, Su Yao would have suspected that Felix had fallen for her.

"Felix, do you have something on your mind lately?" Su Yao couldn't take it anymore and decided to ask directly.

But Felix wouldn't be Felix if he could speak his mind.

He was a succubus without a mouth. When Su Yao approached him with questions, he merely shook his head indifferently and quickly left her sight.

Su Yao curiously asked Ya about it, but in front of Ya, Felix showed no change. "It seems like he's been appearing around A Yao more frequently, but the inn is only so big, and there's just this one place for him to wander around..."

Yazhen didn't feel anything different.

Hearing Ya say this, Su Yao also felt that she was making a fuss over nothing, so she simply put the matter out of her mind and slipped into the weapons workshop.

After spending some time studying magic, the crafting of weapons couldn't be neglected either. The three Peng brothers were eagerly waiting for Su Yao's custom-made creations.

The "Round Moon" event in November ended, and the Misty Forest fully entered winter.

Before the first snow fell, Su Yao had prepared the materials for the hot spring station and the stove.

"The system, start building, and pave the road as well."

After several "Full Moon" events concluded, the cement ground could once again form a complete path. This time, it was arranged to connect the hotel to the hot spring station, facilitating travel back and forth between the two locations later on.

[Received!]

The people in the hotel heard a loud bang, and suddenly there was a stove in the lobby.

"This is a little stove? So warm!" As an elf, Yaya was the most sensitive to cold in the inn. With the appearance of the stove, the inn warmed up, and she was the first to feel it.

The three Peng brothers had also been hiding indoors for several days due to the cold weather, and as soon as the stove appeared, they immediately gathered around to watch the commotion.

Peng Yi felt it for a moment before nodding, "It is very warm."

"Not only is it warm by the stove, but the entire inn is heating up." Zhan Xing had just seen off three guests to the southwest, and as soon as he entered the inn, he felt the warmth. "I went straight into my room just now, and it was warm there too."

Watching the staff only notice the stove, Su Yao sat behind the counter, resting her cheeks in her hands, her smile as radiant as a flower, and prompted, "Actually, there's another change."

She pointed in the direction of the hot spring station, "We can go take a look."

The hotel clerk and the guests immediately became curious.

"But is it related to the loud noise just now?"

After examining the stove, Robertson immediately concluded that it shouldn't be making that kind of noise, though the small stove was indeed exquisite: "You really have quite a few good things in your hands, girl. The household items you make are truly ingenious... it's just that your skills in developing combat weapons are a bit slow..."

Robertson had been at the inn for a long time and was much more at ease than before. Although he wasn't Su Yao's official mentor, he had guided her a lot, and like Sharp, he was considered half a mentor to her. Over time, no matter how excellent Su Yao was, she still made many mistakes in her studies, and Robertson began to be unreserved in his criticism.

With years of experience as a corporate worker, Su Yao had developed a thick skin. In the face of Robertson's attitude, she always responded with a smile, sweet-talking him in a coquettish manner.

Today was no different. Facing the masters who didn't delve into her secrets, she naturally had to be even sweeter. She charmed Robertson with her words until he was dizzy, and without caring whether it was dangerous outside or not, she headed straight out the door towards the hot spring station.

The rest of the staff quickly followed.

Before they even entered the Onsen Station, their noses caught a strong scent of sulfur.

Ya didn't like the smell, but she did enjoy the warmth of the place, so she hesitated for a moment and paused halfway.

Su Yao, walking behind, saw this scene. She stepped forward to ask Ya about it, thought for a moment, and took out a mint strip.

Small, just the right size for Ya to hold.

The scent at the tip of the nose turned into a minty aroma, which was much more pleasant for Ya. Happily, she followed the group and entered the hot spring station.

Su Yao chose a modern and commonly seen style for the hot spring station's decor. The seemingly rough yet actually smooth stones and the warm yellow lighting provided those from another world who came here with a novel experience.

"There is a unique simplicity here that makes one feel relaxed." Felix seemed to remember something, and after saying this, he fell into deep thought.

Su Yao didn't disturb Felix's thoughts; his behavior had been too unusual lately, and this wasn't the first time.

"Here is a map indicating all the sections of the hot spring station. Feel free to explore this area."

"Great!" Zhan Xing loved to dart around like a dragon, and it immediately became the first guest, diving into a certain pool and disappearing from sight.

The crowd dispersed, and Felix ended his contemplation and entered the single pool.

Stolen story; please report.

Su Yao didn't rush to enjoy it but first walked around from the door to the second floor. "System, isn't there something missing here?"

According to statistics, the hot spring station needs to be equipped with dining services.

"How much?" Su Yao knew that the three thousand gold coins during the construction process were not the end; it seemed this was just the beginning.

[Ten thousand gold coins to open a restaurant, one thousand gold coins to activate the food synchronization feature, allowing automatic synchronization with the inn; the same applies to shop prices; snack vending machines are cheaper, three thousand gold coins, and activating the synchronization feature also adds one thousand.]

If fully constructed, a hot spring station would cost twenty-nine thousand, not including the expenses for purchasing towels and other disposable items to stock the store..

[This host need not worry.]

[The construction of the hot spring station was successful. Congratulations to the host for obtaining a one-time essential item fragment for the hot spring station*1.]

The system need not worry, making Su Yao think something good was happening, only to find out after waiting a few seconds that it was just fragments.

[Once the dining facilities at the hot spring station are fully equipped, you can obtain the other half of the fragment. Two fragments can be combined to form all the necessary items.]

This has already reached the level of forcing in-app purchases!

Su Yao gritted her teeth!

"Ayao, are there no towels or anything here?" Ya suddenly flew out of a room, "Then Ayao, can you come with me to the hotel to get some?"

Although the road has been completed, safety hazards still exist on it, and with Ya's abilities, it is impossible to travel back and forth alone.

Su Yao touched Ya's wing with her index finger, and Ya instantly felt ticklish, bursting into laughter and collapsing into her hand.

"There's no need to go back and get it, everything is here," Su Yao said helplessly.

The system seemed to have been waiting for Su Yao to say this sentence, and as soon as she finished speaking, it immediately responded:

[Received the host's intention to build a hospital, twenty-nine thousand gold coins have been automatically deducted to construct dining facilities.]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining an essential one-time-use item fragment*1.]

[Fragment synthesis successful, essential single-use life products automatically stocked at the hot spring station.]

[Congratulations to the host for achieving 100% thoughtfulness at the hot spring station, earning the achievement title "Thoughtful Boss" and receiving *1 card draw.]

[Congratulations to the host for spending over a hundred thousand on construction, earning the achievement title "Spendthrift," and gaining one card draw.]

The first title was no problem, but the moment the second title appeared, Su Yao's heart ached instantly.

This was all built with my own money!

I'm sorry, but it seems like the source text is missing. Could you please provide the text you would like translated?

The hotel was indulging in pleasure when the Wolf Pack Mercenary Group officially allied with the other three northern powers.

After a few days of balance among the four major forces, the Wolf Pack Mercenary Group finally decided to target the Anxin Inn.

That's right, this alliance is aimed at the Anxin Inn.

After multiple failed attempts against Su Yao, Reese and Xi Ao put away their arrogance and carefully devised a good plan. They decided to take a different approach, using prophecy and joining forces with other powers to target the entire South.

To target the entire South, this was truly a ridiculously bold idea, but by applying the word prophecy, everything became reasonable. They didn't even need to concoct a reason to deceive this group of people completely.

However, the Wolf Pack Mercenary Group was still afraid that others would discover the treasure in the Misty Forest, so they came up with a somewhat plausible reason to announce at the negotiation table.

Rhys said, "Although we belong to different factions, we are all Northerners. When it comes to matters between the North and the South, if we are not united, the South might take advantage of the situation. Once war breaks out, many Northerners have gone to the South, taking away many of our resources, things that belong solely to us in the North. Why should they be taken to the South?"

Ris was speaking on behalf of the entire North, and his meaning was clear: he didn't want the South to take advantage of the North's chaos to snatch away its resources.

"Whoever becomes the final overlord, I think none would want to see the unique advantages of the North disappear, making the South no longer reliant on us."

The South has always been a step below the North, and if one day they were truly on equal footing, the Northerners would surely feel uneasy.

"So, that's why I gathered everyone and held today's negotiation meeting," Rhys shouted, spreading his arms wide. "Do you really want to see the North lose its advantage?"

"I believe everyone has braved the dangers to come here for the sake of our northern region as a whole. This is also why I, as a regiment commander, have personally come to attend this meeting. At the very least, I want you all to see my sincerity!"

The rest of the forces were represented by high-ranking officials, but the Wolf Pack Mercenary Group was led by their leader, Reese, in person.

Someone asked, "What does this have to do with the prophecy? Since the negotiations began, you haven't mentioned the prophecy again."

Xi Ao is not here, but he had already anticipated that someone would ask Lis in this way. It was also he who instructed Lis not to mention anything about the prophecy until someone asked proactively.

Things unfolded just as Xi Ao had said, and Lis admired him even more.

Liss silently noted this person, then began to speak the prepared words: "As for the prophecy, surely no one would believe it, so I was too embarrassed to mention it when I first met everyone. But since this official has asked, I will honestly tell you all that there is a prophecy indicating that the South will take advantage of the chaos to develop. This chaos refers to the chaos in the North."

Reese's words plunged the representatives of the other factions into silence. They not only had to consider the matter of limiting the development of the South, but also remember the words Reese spoke about the prophecy..