Aren't You the Top-Ranked Player? How Did You Become a 'Monster' Merchant?!

[Update schedule: When the novel appears on a ranking list, updates will follow the list, with a minimum of 15,000 characters every seven days! When it isn't on a list, updates come every other day. Leave of absence if something comes up.]

One-line summary: A top-ranked player who can't farm isn't a good merchant.

Six months after graduation, a global road survival game arrives.

Wen Qiu gets the worst possible start: the System kidnaps him.

System for Dragon Nation District 317, Sector 66: "Congratulations, lucky player. You have inherited Farm No. 43967."

Wen Qiu's face is expressionless. Oh, an unregistered farm.

After making it back to the road without incident, Wen Qiu chooses a vehicle and encounters two legendary duds in the vehicle world:

a handcart and a big rig.

He decisively turns to the last option... a pink carriage?

[A ghost carriage with ambition. In life, it was a symbol of royal authority, its tracks accompanied by glory. Yes, it says it will only ever submit to a noble runaway princess, even in death!]

The heavens want me dead!

Wen Qiu closes his eyes.

But just as he's about to grit his teeth and bet on the big rig, the overbearing carriage asks a soul-searching question:

["Do you have magical long hair?" No.

"Magical hands?" No.

"Have you been cursed or poisoned?" No!

"All right, last question. Do you have long legs, a slim waist... fair skin, good looks, and skillful hands? ...Yes, you do! You're a princess!"]

Wen Qiu: "...Can boys be princesses too?"

[Congratulations, player! You have earned the title [Everyone Is a Princess].]

[The princess's treasures must not be violated. Verbal proof of ownership for Farm No. 43967 detected. Claim confirmed. Farm No. 43967: successfully reclaimed!]

Wen Qiu: Huh? (◍>◡<◍)

That's right, I'm a princess!

Who cares whether they're a princess, prince, queen, or emperor? If they pay me and give me resources, I'll even call them my ancestor!

*

What does it look like to own a farm in a survival game?

Like this↘↘

Plant an apple core left over from a meal, and it grows into a golden apple tree that restores your vitality.

Plant chili seeds, and they grow into fire-spitting little peppers, one bite each to roast a monster.

Drink fragrant milk, and for an hour you randomly gain a body fragrance with a beneficial effect.

From then on, player [Butter Cookie] challenges the throne of the survival world's king.

Supporters: the survival world's four mascots, the top-ranked players in five regions, the leaders of the four oceans, the legendary fashion guru of the survival world, a legendary master artisan, the Monster Merchant Alliance, the carnival witches of the Lost Lords, the queen of the Elven Sanctuary...

(Voice-over: Um... friends and family in the back, please wait a moment. There's no room to stand here.)

At some point, a mysterious gourmet merchant appeared in the survival world. Rumor had it that the farm he owned was the world's most wondrous treasure, a source of youth and vitality where golden wheat waves rolled through every season and dragons made their homes...

Wen Qiu: That's me.

A player of incomprehensible wealth rose to the top of the rankings. They say the aroma of slightly intoxicating food reaches you before the mighty blade-light of a top player.

Wen Qiu: ...That's me too.

Players: "(staring, ) Aren't you the top-ranked player? How did you become a monster merchant? (in unison)"

"Monsters": "(gazing mournfully) Aren't you our merchant? How did you become the top-ranked player?"

"Well... it's fate."

(Current setting: Torrential Rainstorm...)

[Reading Guide]

□ Male-oriented, no romance. The protagonist is something of a lone wolf, but he will find companions he can open up to.

□ Changing settings + nested instances + exploring the survival world.

□ A road survival game story with hoarding and farming. Lots of furry creatures show up later. Fair warning: slow pace, and the road plays a smaller role. This isn't traditional road survival; later it focuses more on exploring the wider survival world.

(Blurb heavily revised, July 29, 17:34)

A female-led, no-romance survival story in the same series, coming soon

"Aren't We Supposed to Be Survivors? How Did I Become a Sea King!"

A magic farming and territory-building story.

Survivor friends, add it to your reading list so you don't lose track of it. Help Caicai get it started!

Coming-soon blurb:

Who says there's anything more miserable than having to ride a transport boat to a remote observation island during your vacation?

"Glug glug glug..."

[The global survival game has loaded successfully. Survivors deployed. Welcome, Survivor Yun Cheng, to the survival world of [Aetherland Continent]. Please do your best to survive.]

[Personal talent unlocked: Sea Witch's Blessing]

She was dropped into a lake without warning and nearly drowned.

After she was rescued, Yun Cheng looked at her white hair, the pearly tail floating in the lake, and the race attribute on her survival panel that kept changing before finally settling on [Human / Mermaid (?)].

Yun Cheng: "..." So she'd really become a mermaid, just as her advisor said she would have to make the ocean her home during her graduate studies.

*

She arrives in a massive survival game.

From the start, she has a safe house and a small patch of soil, and can build a territory of her own.

Though she has a fish tail, she can turn back into a human at any time.

Her starting strength is low, but she awakens a magical talent.

Her birthplace seems to be a lake island, with a lake, trees, and resources.

What more could she ask for? Yun Cheng wipes her face, grabs a hoe, and sets off on the path of farming, stockpiling, and building.

Bless the soil she finds in a treasure chest, and it turns into [Magic-Blessed Soil] with MAX adaptability.

Bless the glowing lantern flowers she collects while exploring, and they turn into magical plants with swollen bellies full of amber honey, which give birth to magical sprites.

Learn magic skills, make magic potions, grow magical plants...

This is normal, right? Isn't this how everyone farms?

Until...

Mermaids emerge from Moonlake. Bless them... no, she can't bless them.

Yun Cheng warmly welcomes this group of mermaids.

She gives them magical plants to eat and magical dew to drink, helps them increase their seaweed yield, and braids the little mermaids' hair, among other things...

She thinks she's treated them well, but the next moment, a group of mermaids respectfully presents her with a crown. Their leader tearfully and eloquently asks her to become their queen.

Yun Cheng: ?

Can someone explain how she went from ordinary farming and construction to being dressed in yellow robes and made queen?

Then the various sea folk, sprites, gemstone elves, and flower sprites all arrive. Looking at her crowded territory, Yun Cheng finally realizes:

Wait, is this normal?

The sea folk, elves, and sprites say in unison, "We swear to follow our king and uphold her glory."

Yun Cheng: "..."

Is it appropriate for a Blue Star human to lead a bunch of natives in a contest for territory and dominion in another world?

By the time she sits on the throne of the Sea King of Aetherland Continent, all the factions arrive to offer congratulations, and the people sing her name.

A lake island covered in traces of magic appears in the sky.

Sprites dance gracefully, elves and mermaids sing a hymn, and boundless waves surround the island. At the very center of it all, the king sits high on her throne: silver-white hair, shining golden eyes, an aura of sacred authority, and an unparalleled presence.

Countless races look up at her.

But no one knows that the new king, as dazzling as the sun, who has just risen in Aetherland Continent, is thinking:

Mom, I've made it.

-

This includes the other survivors.

Only after entering Aetherland Continent's survival world did they learn what it meant to be surrounded by danger and pushed to the limits of survival.

Frenzied beast tides, raging natural disasters, all kinds of contamination, hostility from the world's natives, and ambitious schemers watching them covetously...

Worst of all, while protecting their safe houses and developing their territories, they also have to watch out for fellow Blue Star humans who are survivors too.

Survivors: If it comes to it, let's just destroy everything and go down together. Who cares?

Then, all at once, they look up and see a lake island covered in traces of magic appear in the sky.

At the same time, they hear the following in their ears:

[The Elven King, on behalf of the elves, congratulates Her Highness Yun Cheng, Queen of the Merfolk, on her coronation as Queen of the Sea Folk!]

[The Magic Association sends congratulations to Madam Yun Cheng on advancing to Grand Magician!]

[The Witch's House sends a representative to offer blessings to Sea Witch Yun Cheng!]

[...]

[Congratulations to Survivor Yun Cheng on unlocking the hidden achievement: [Your King Has Arrived]]

The survivors are stunned.

Aren't we supposed to be survivors? How did she become the Sea King?

Bonus scene:

System: The survival era of Aetherland Continent, [Dawn Breaks], has officially ended. Aetherland Continent and Blue Star have officially established diplomatic relations. In keeping with the principle of building a better world together, we hope the people of both worlds will engage in friendly exchanges with open and tolerant minds.

Blue Star: Come home, child.

Aetherland Continent: Chengcheng is my child!

[Reading Guide]

◆ A mix of survival, farming, construction, territory development, hoarding, and a little conquest. Proceed with caution.

◆ A lighthearted story. The heroine is the only child of both worlds (not really).

(New blurb written October 12, 2026, screenshot saved.)

Thesis: Live! Feel! Make choices!