"No..." The assassin shook his head in despair.

According to Red Maple Village's rules, it would be difficult for a junior member to even save up 800 gold coins, let alone 8,000. But looking at the attitudes of the three people before him, he knew that if he didn't pay, his only option would be to hand over the card, or risk his life.

After struggling for a long time, the assassin felt that there was still hope, so he had to resign himself to his fate and handed over the card.

"Very good." The leading melee fighter nodded with satisfaction, and without saying anything more, he turned around and went back with his two men.

The assassin breathed a sigh of relief, then fell into great confusion again.

He has already withdrawn from the Red Maple Village, and now his lottery card to join the Pure Land has been taken away. What should he do?

After standing there hesitantly for a long time, the assassin chuckled twice, then suddenly turned around as if he had made up his mind and walked towards the Pure Land.

If he really couldn't live anymore, he wanted to see what the legendary "Pure Land" looked like before he died.

Besides...

Perhaps he was driven irrational by the desperate situation, and suddenly a bit of luck appeared in his heart, like a mindless self-protection, which made him think that if he applied directly to join the Pure Land, he might be approved.

Driven by this obsession, the assassin continued on his way to the Get Rich Overnight Town. It was evening when he arrived at the gate, the busiest time of the day in the town.

He stared blankly from the gate. Not far to the left, the market was bustling with activity. The sounds of hawking and conversation intertwined, creating a yearning atmosphere of everyday life. On the other side, directly opposite the gate, residential buildings nestled against the cliff face, a scene of tranquility and peace.

It is worthy of being called the “Pure Land”.

The assassin was filled with sorrow, looking at the scenery in front of him in a trance. He took a deep breath, opened the panel as if possessed by a ghost, and pressed "Apply to Join".

In the bedroom, Ye Miao heard the notification tone of applying to join the territory and immediately clicked on the panel.

She hadn't been so diligent in processing member applications before, often waiting two or three days before checking them all together. But this time, she handed out the lottery cards herself, and her attitude immediately became positive. She didn't want the new members who won the lottery to have a bad impression of waiting after arriving at the territory.

However, this time, when she clicked on it, she found that it wasn't a winner. The application he submitted didn't include a winning card, nor did he mention winning anything. He simply listed his various attributes in detail, revealing almost all of them to her.

"The attributes are pretty good." Ye Miao clicked his tongue softly and pressed "Agree".

After the territory was upgraded to a small town, the upper limit of the number of people was 3,000. She could be more generous when letting people in. As long as she felt it was okay, she didn't have to refuse.

Outside the territory, the assassin suddenly saw the gate in front of him become "enterable", and even his heart beat faster.

He stood there in a daze for a long time, still unable to believe it. He carefully raised his foot to test it out, and when he found out it was real, he finally walked in.

As he stepped through the gate, the enviable world of fireworks suddenly seemed closer. The assassin stared at it intently, and unknowingly walked into the bustling small market. Listening to the familiar yet unfamiliar hawking sounds, he suddenly wanted to cry.

His mood had been very up and down today. When his raffle card was snatched away, he thought everything was over, but unexpectedly, half a day later, he finally joined the Pure Land.

The assassin finally couldn't hold back, as if a nerve was suddenly touched at some point, and he burst into tears.

The players around him were silent for a while and turned to look at him.

Someone came forward and asked, "Hey, brother, what's wrong?"

Some people whispered, "What's going on? What happened?"

Then, the assassin heard someone placing a bet. "Want to place a bet? It must be a new member, and they're excited about the friendly atmosphere here."

assassin:"……"

There is no need to say it so bluntly!!!

At 7:30 in the morning, when most players had just gotten up and had breakfast, Zhou Lulu had already packed up and was ready to go out and kill monsters.

When she came back yesterday, she specifically found a remote and deserted path and successfully avoided the people she didn't want to see. When she went out today, she secretly wondered which way she should go to ensure safety!

However, not long after walking out, a familiar figure appeared on the path.

Zhou Lulu stepped back suddenly, her face pale.

The person opposite sneered, "Beautiful lady, why are you taking the small road instead of the main one? Who are you trying to avoid?"

"You..." Zhou Lulu's eyes were filled with fear. The other party approached slowly, and the purple long sword at his waist frightened her: "Hurry up, don't waste time."

Zhou Lulu bit her lower lip tightly, and after struggling for a few seconds, she silently took off her backpack and took out the items dropped by monsters killed yesterday and gave them to him one by one.

As she was about to close her backpack, it was snatched away. The man took a look, reached in, and pulled out a handful of gold coins.

"Give it to me!" Zhou Lulu tried to snatch it, but he dodged her. She argued angrily, "Didn't I drop it yesterday? It's all my remaining savings!"

"Savings?" The other party scoffed. "Until you pay off your debts, every gold coin you have belongs to the territory."

After saying that, he threw the backpack back to Zhou Lulu, turned around and left.

Zhou Lulu stood there, staring blankly at everything around her, feeling an indescribable regret in her heart.

She wondered, if she hadn't been so naive and hadn't left without considering the consequences, would she not be so sad now?

A few days ago, Jingtu distributed lottery cards, and she was lucky enough to win the grand prize. She set off that night and arrived safely in the middle of the night.

She thought that this would be the end of the nightmare, and that the territory with its harsh system would have nothing to do with her from now on. However, she never expected that this was just the beginning of another nightmare.

The people from the old territory found her the next day and told her that the card was a territory resource worth 10,000 gold. They asked her to either return it, pay with money, or pay with her life.

Zhou Lulu was so scared that she collapsed. After begging repeatedly, she finally got the opportunity to "pay in installments".

Later, those people would always appear on her way back to Get Rich Overnight Town, and no matter how many monsters she killed, they would take all the drops. So even though she joined the "Pure Land", she was still working for others, and it seemed that her life was even more miserable than before.

After the other party left, Zhou Lulu was still stunned for a long time, then wiped her tears and returned to Get Rich Overnight Town, trying to find another way out for herself.

She thought, she couldn't keep working for others like this, and she also didn't want to be bullied by others. She couldn't win a head-on fight, but maybe she could make them unable to find her, making them helpless and furious!

Driven by a desire for survival and revenge, Zhou Lulu found the livestock pen and tentatively asked Su Xinran, "Excuse me...are you still hiring?"

"Recruit." Su Xinran blurted out, and turned around after answering. Seeing that it was her, she was stunned for a moment, "Have I seen you before?"

"Yeah." Zhou Lulu nodded. "A few days ago, you guys were catching ducks by the lake, and I was killing monsters nearby. We met once."

"Oh, right, right!" Su Xinran also remembered, and then she was curious, "I see you are quite good at fighting, a serious combat player, why do you want to join us?"

"I..." Zhou Lulu lowered her head and was silent for a while before saying, "My previous territory was blackmailing me. Whenever I went out, they would rob me. So I wanted to find a job that didn't require me to leave the territory, so they couldn't do anything to me."

Lu Weiwei, who was busy feeding the sheep nearby, also looked over when she heard this. Su Xinran and she exchanged glances, and Lu Weiwei nodded first. "You can work with us, but we pay you a fixed salary every day. It's definitely not as much as what you can earn from monster hunting."

"It's okay." Zhou Lulu said softly.

For her, the money earned from killing monsters is useless since she can't keep any of it.

"Okay, then come if you want." Su Xinran nodded, thought for a moment and said, "But you have to go somewhere with me first."

Zhou Lulu was stunned: "Where are we going?"

"Don't worry, we won't leave the territory." Su Xinran smiled, walked up to her, took her hand and went to the residential area, then knocked on the door of a three-story villa.

Ye Miao opened the door and saw Su Xinran. He hurriedly invited them in and took two drinks from the cabinet in the living room and placed them on the coffee table: "Here, our new product - Raw Coconut Latte! Try it!"

"Thank you, Boss!" Su Xinran casually thanked him and took a drink. Zhou Lulu was obviously reserved, sitting there with her hands and feet tied, feeling awkward in every pore.

Su Xinran took a big sip of the raw coconut latte, and the rich sweetness immediately made her feel refreshed. Then she looked at Zhou Lulu: "Hurry, talk to the boss."

Zhou Lulu: “?” What did you say?

Su Xinran raised an eyebrow: "How did you get bullied by your previous territory? Tell the boss where and when they robbed you nearby."

"No, no..." Zhou Lulu was inexplicably frightened and stood up and wanted to leave. Ye Miao looked at her coldly and said, "Stop."

She looked at Su Xinran, then at Zhou Lulu: "Is this true? Then you must tell me."

Zhou Lulu didn't cry, but her face looked uglier than if she were crying.

"Don't be afraid. I guarantee your safety." Ye Miao said calmly, "On the contrary, if you don't say anything, no one will be able to protect your safety."

"I..." Zhou Lulu was speechless for a moment, then finally spoke incoherently, "They said, they said the lottery card I got was a territory resource, worth 10,000 gold coins, and that I had to pay them back. And then... and then... these past few days, whenever I was on my way back to the territory after killing monsters, they would appear. No matter which road I took or what time it was, they would come. Someone must be deliberately following me..."

Ye Miao thought for a moment: "Have you ever tried to hide from them?"

"I tried." Zhou Lulu nodded. "Last night... I took a less-traveled path and avoided it. But this morning, they blocked me right there on that path!"

This really sounds like someone is following me.

Ye Miao smiled and said, "Let's go. Go out and kill monsters as usual. I won't be too far away from you."

Zhou Lulu was stunned.

Five minutes later, an announcement was issued in the territory reception hall: If any new member is robbed or blackmailed by the original territory, please inform the lord [Ye Miao] in time.

After the announcement was made, Ye Miao followed Zhou Lulu out the door.

Zhou Lulu didn't encounter any troubles throughout the entire day, including when she returned to the territory for lunch at noon, there was no hindrance.

In the afternoon, she went out again, first to the nearby orchard, then went around the hill behind the orchard, and went to the lake behind the mountain to kill monsters.

As they continued to farm, night gradually fell. Zhou Lulu used her skills to kill several gray dwarves in front of her, picked up the dropped items, calmed her mind, and returned to the town of overnight wealth.

She soon passed the hill again. When she passed a thick tree, a figure walked out slowly: "We meet again."

Zhou Lulu subconsciously took half a step back.

The person in front of him said with a relaxed expression: "Give it to me!"

Zhou Lulu, unusually tough, didn't take off her backpack, but instead looked at the other person indifferently: "Do you really think the claim that the lottery cards are territory resources is tenable?"

The other party raised an eyebrow: "Are you going to die?"

"That was clearly given to customers by the business team! I drew it myself!" Zhou Lulu shouted angrily, but the next second the other party rushed forward and strangled her neck.

"Cough cough——" Zhou Lulu coughed continuously due to being pinched, so she simply took out her magic wand and smashed it hard.

The opponent happened to be of the same class as her, a melee mage, but his stats were much higher than hers. Therefore, the attack did no damage, but only angered him. Zhou Lulu was grabbed by the collar and slammed into the tree.

Seeing the thick tree trunk was within reach, Zhou Lulu closed her eyes in despair. However, at the critical moment, there was a sudden sound of wind beside her, and the next second, Zhou Lulu was suddenly released. She stumbled two steps and held onto the tree trunk.

She looked over in surprise. The melee mage who had come to blackmail her seemed to have been kicked head-on and was now clutching his face, unable to get up. Meanwhile, his health continued to drop: [-300] [-300] [-300]...

Not intending to let the opponent lose blood or die directly, Ye Miao took a few steps back. Five seconds later, the effect of the skill [Nightmare Invasion] ended.

Ye Miao crossed his arms: "Who told you that card is a territory resource? Be smart and get out of here now. Don't come looking for trouble again, or I guarantee you'll be killed if you come."

The melee mage, who was kicked so hard that he saw stars, finally got up and sneered, "What's it to you?"

"?" Ye Miao laughed, "Have you ever heard a saying?"

Melee Mage: "What?"

Ye Miao said seriously: "The final right of interpretation of this event belongs to the card issuer."

The mage was stunned, as if he finally realized who she was. Then, an irrational spirit of not admitting defeat made him swing his staff and attack. Ye Miao clicked her tongue twice and made no attempt to dodge. When he was only two steps away from her, she suddenly approached and twisted his arms behind his back.

-300

-300

-300

Numbers popped up above the mage's head again. This time, Ye Miao did not retreat, but just waited leisurely, waiting for him to be killed.

After more than ten seconds, the mage rolled his eyes and fell to the ground, and his equipment immediately exploded.

There are a total of 2,000 gold coins, three cards, three pieces of purple equipment, and various materials.

Ye Miao glanced at Zhou Lulu and said, "It's yours. Next time you encounter something like this, be more clear-headed. Ask for help when you need it, call for help when you need it, and don't just try to hold on."

After Ye Miao finished speaking, he turned around and left with big strides.

In the blink of an eye, the auction house had already existed for three days. After the initial excitement, everyone quickly realized a problem: this auction house is now a "city-level auction house", but in the map of T City, it seems that they are the only small town level, which means that they are the only ones with an auction house.

So in the end, it seems they can only entertain themselves?!

Two days later, another small town finally appeared on the map. After hearing the news, all the members' first reaction was to run into the auction house immediately to see what the other party was selling inside.

Then they saw:

[Item: Star Pattern Robe]

【Quality: Purple】

Durability: 300/300

[Starting Price: 3000 Gold Coins]

[Minimum price increase per time: 300 gold coins]

[Deposit: 3000 gold coins]

【Auction period: 7 days】

[Item: Flame Longbow]

【Quality: Purple】

Durability: 300/300

[Starting Price: 2500 Gold Coins]

[Minimum price increase per time: 500 gold coins]

[Deposit: 5000 gold coins]

【Auction period: 14 days】

[Item: Wind Boots]

【Quality: Purple】

Durability: 300/300

[Starting Price: 3500 Gold Coins]

[Minimum price increase per time: 100 gold coins]

[Deposit: 3500 gold coins]

【Auction period: 14 days】

…

The anticipation on the faces of the members who had arrived with great enthusiasm quickly turned to surprise, and then to anger: "Fuck? Are you sick?"

"Are you crazy because of poverty?!"

"How dare you sell it for two thousand five or three thousand?!" Both new and old members started cursing, as if everyone suddenly had a collective amnesia at that moment, forgetting that the prices in their own territory have always been ridiculously low.

So, of course, no one in Overnight Rich Town would participate in the other party's auction - who would participate if the price was two or three times higher than their own? Anyone who buys is a big fool!

However, this does not prevent everyone from putting their own things on the shelves and enticing others to pay.

Many players even specifically put up equipment that is exactly the same as their opponents:

[Item: Wind Boots]

【Quality: Purple】

Durability: 300/300

[Starting Price: 1000 Gold Coins]

[Minimum price increase per time: 50 gold coins]

[Deposit: 1000 gold coins]

【Auction period: 3 days】

[Item: Star Pattern Robe]

【Quality: Purple】

Durability: 300/300

[Starting Price: 1200 Gold Coins]

[Minimum price increase per time: 100 gold coins]

[Deposit: 1200 gold coins]

【Auction period: 7 days】

The price contrast was too stark, and as soon as the items were put on the shelves, they immediately caused a crazy price increase.

After hesitating for a long time, tailor Meng Xiaomeng took out a piece of equipment that he had originally planned to put away and walked into the auction house to consign it.

This is a cloak that can be used by assassins, archers, and ranged mages. She is a tailor and wants to keep it in her closet because it is of gold quality that she accidentally found while making clothes a few days ago. She wants to sell it but doesn't know what price to set, so she has to put it aside for now.

But now that there are auction houses, she should be able to sell it at a reasonable price.

Meng Xiaomeng uploaded the item and filled in various information, and the system immediately generated a panel:

[Item: God's Cloak]

【Quality: Gold】

Durability: 300/300

[Starting Price: 5000 Gold Coins]

[Minimum price increase per time: 100 gold coins]

[Deposit: 5000 gold coins]

【Auction period: 3 days】

As soon as the item was hung up, his own territory exploded first: "Holy crap, a golden cloak?! Damn it, I have to try it!"

An assassin walked into the auction house, saw the cloak, and immediately bid on it.

Then the news spread slowly, and all the archers, assassins, and ranged mages in the territory who had decent financial resources came to watch.

Since Meng Xiaomeng set the "minimum bid increase each time" to only 100 gold coins, many people participated in the bidding without hesitation. As for the deposit, although it was 5,000, it would be returned unless the item was won but failed to be sold. Therefore, everyone did not have to worry about anything and joined in the fun happily.

There was also an explosion in another town.

There were no professional tailors in their town, and even purple clothing was rare, let alone gold. Therefore, this golden cloak immediately attracted the attention of all high-level players. Not only did assassins, archers, ranged warriors, and mages bid for it, but even warriors and priests, who were completely unsuitable for the job, came to bid.

Ye Miao watched as the price of the cloak soared from 5,000 to 10,000 overnight, and continued to rise. She happily calculated her income: the auction fee was 10%, which meant at least 1,000 gold coins. Once the cloak was sold, Meng Xiaomeng's monthly income would definitely exceed 10,000 gold coins, and she could collect another 5% tax...

Happy, Meng Xiaomeng, you make more money! It would be best if this cloak alone could sell for a hundred thousand or eighty thousand!

At the same time, Ye Miao's resource accumulation was also proceeding in an orderly manner to achieve his goals.

She had a good stockpile of materials, medicines, and food, but even more of it was, of course, gold coins. Gold coins had once been the hardest thing for her to save, but now the territory was developing steadily, and taxes, post station accommodation fees, official store sales, and private residence sales all brought in a considerable amount of income.

Before she knew it, 15 ordinary days had passed, and Ye Miao's gold coins had exceeded 300,000 again, as if she had spent no money on upgrading the town.

On the 16th day, when Ye Miao got up, he had forgotten how to count the days. He went out and strolled leisurely in the small market, planning to have a good breakfast and then go out to kill monsters.

Until one member walked out the door first and exclaimed at the gate: "Fuck, why is it so hot?!"

The market was not too far from the gate, and the customer flow had not yet reached its peak. His shout attracted many people in the market to look over.

Three minutes later, the player came running back, furious: "Something's wrong! Something's wrong today!"

"It's incredibly hot outside! My stamina is dropping like crazy, and even my equipment's durability is decreasing!"

"I can feel the heat of the ground through the soles of my shoes!"

His series of complaints sparked a flurry of discussion. Ye Miao heard someone say, "Hot weather? I think it's happened before?"

"Hey, now that you mention it...it seems like it has appeared before!"

"Frost Giants! When the Frost Giants were around, it was super hot during the day! Are the Frost Giants coming out again?!"

"But...back then, the boss was able to defeat the Frost Giants. Now, more than a month has passed, and I'm even less afraid when I come back!"

"What if the Frost Giant also upgrades?"

“…”

Ye Miao ignored the members' discussions, took a deep breath, and walked towards the door.

The moment I stepped out of the door, a heat wave hit me. It was only seven o'clock in the morning, but it was as hot as the scorching noon during the Frost Giant era.

It's not that the Frost Giants have returned.

Ye Miao did not stay outside. He turned around and went back to the territory, walked into the warehouse, picked up pairs of boots and stuffed them into his backpack, then took them to the territory grocery store and found Da Zhuang to consign them.

The author has something to say:

This is outrageous. This virus seems to be really giving me time to update.

Until 1:30 this afternoon, my body temperature was still 39.3, and I was dizzy with fever. I thought I could stop updating tonight.

Then, at 3 p.m.: 36.7

Me: ...Omicron, you’re kidding me, right?

====

I'll give out red envelopes to 50 random comments on this chapter.