With Hua Yao's help, Guo Li exchanged a few words with Ye Miao in the group and then added her as a friend.

As a less developed territory, Guo Li had no reason to be shy with the more resource-rich territories. After adding them as friends, he directly expressed his desire to open the waterway. Ye Miao didn't want to refuse him, but after glancing at his gold treasury and considering his recent spending spree, he could only say, "You can open the waterway, but let's wait and see. I'm...not very financially secure right now."

Guo Li immediately said: "I can pay all the expenses!"

He wasn't just trying to be rich. Due to the relative scarcity of resources in J City, he had always taken a slow and steady approach to development. He wasn't outstanding in any area, but he had a lot of stuff.

After upgrading the territory to a city, Guo Li had no plans to build any schools or public security organs. In his opinion, the order before the end of the world was out of reach, and it was good enough for everyone to be able to live together now.

Therefore, Guo Li had saved up a considerable amount of money, enough to fully fund the construction of a waterway without any pressure. Furthermore, he was well aware of the differences between himself and City S and City T. In his eyes, Wuxia City and Overnight Rich City might be on equal footing with each other, but if they opened up a waterway with him, he would be unilaterally acquiring resources, with very little to offer the other party in return. Therefore, he had no objection to having him pay the full cost.

Ye Miao thought about it, but felt it wasn't quite right. On a whim, she said to him, "How about this? Actually, we have a city-level territory in T City called Tiaodeng City. I have a good relationship with the lord of Tiaodeng City, so I can help you connect. You two can discuss opening up shipping routes and both get what you want."

"That's fine." Guo Li certainly had no objection. As long as there was a navigable sea route to the larger territory, it would be a good thing for him.

In this way, Guo Li met Ye Miao through Hua Yao, and got to know An Ruoying through Ye Miao, and then had a private chat with An Ruoying.

About ten minutes later, An Ruoying created a small group and said in it, "Miaomiao, Good Morning City should open up to you. Guo Li and I will split the cost. We have agreed on it."

【Ye Miao】?

Guo Li and An Ruoying will share the cost of the flight with her. What kind of operation is this?

An Ruoying explained everything in detail: "We just made a plan to build a river channel from my place to J City. We have to cross the entire T City diagonally, and there will be extra fees for passing through the city. If we don't go through the city, we can only go a long way, which also costs extra. But if we go directly from your place, it will be very smooth, and it will be convenient for me to go there."

Then he added, "So we're just saving money for ourselves, don't be embarrassed. If you really feel bad... just waive the toll for us, hahahahahaha!!!"

Ye Miao thought about it and felt that it was a good idea. Everyone would benefit from it, so he could just waive the toll.

The three parties reached a consensus smoothly. An Ruoying sent someone on board with 500,000 gold coins without saying anything to Ye Miao. Ye Miao then directly planned the river channel with Guo Li, intending to open it first.

30 minutes later, the new river channel was completed, leading directly from City T to City J, connecting to several public rivers along the way. Ye Miao had an inexplicable thought that the scenery of some sections of the river should be nice.

In the small town of Tiaodeng, An Ruoying kept looking at the map, staring thoughtfully at the river that gradually extended from the two cities.

On the surface, cities and territories can freely open river channels, as long as both parties agree and the money is in place, they can be created with a single click. However, in reality, due to various special circumstances that incur additional costs and the limited funds of lords, many hidden rules are added invisibly.

Take the river channel that is currently being opened for example. First, Ye Miao was short of money, so he gave the opportunity to her. Then, she wanted to save some money, so she still chose to go through Ye Miao's side. Other lords should have the same consideration.

When this feature first launched, An Ruoying frowned at the map, imagining that with more city-level lords, the river channels would become a mess, chopping the previously normal map into countless irregular islands. But now it seemed that she was on the first level, while the system was in the atmosphere. The system had probably anticipated this situation, anticipated that players like them would "take advantage of the mechanism" and use various detours to save money.

If this continues, the future map will not be divided into ridiculous shapes by rivers. It will most likely develop into a map where territories are connected one after another, like beads on a string.

At the same time, this also means that territories with slow development have fewer opportunities.

This is how territory development works. The better it develops, the easier it is to attract talent, and the more talent there is, the better it develops.

Now that the river channel function has been activated, the major territories are gradually connecting with each other, and subsequent territories that upgrade are likely to be left behind. By the time they want to open a new river channel, the existing territories may have already met the needs and no longer need to add a new river channel. In this case, the new territories will either abandon this function or bear the full cost themselves, which will instantly double their expenses.

Combined with Ye Miao's previous analysis, An Ruoying felt that the system might actually be consciously promoting the merger of territories. And the means were rather cruel. To put it bluntly, it was suppressing the living space of small territories from all sides, forcing them to flee to large territories or face certain death.

Ye Miao was busy all day in the city of overnight wealth. He only had time to check his unread messages in the evening. He clicked on the page for applying to join the territory and found that there were 1012 applications.

She'd been processing new applications daily recently, and this was the first time the number had exceeded a thousand. This showed just how brutal this mode was, as many small territories were already unable to sustain it. Even the previous swamp mode, which had tested humanity, hadn't reached this level.

Ye Miao looked at the vacant places in his territory and saw that there were still more than 4,000 positions. He gritted his teeth and approved more than a thousand applications with one click.

She knew that from the perspective of developing her territory, she should have been selective, approving people based on merit, or at least choosing occupational categories to maintain a balanced membership. But the current situation was too special. These people who had flocked here might have just lost their original territory and become homeless. If she didn't approve their applications, they would have nowhere to go.

The weather is terrible now, with heavy rain every night. According to the game settings, prolonged exposure to rain will accelerate the decline of physical strength, cause illness, and the next step is death.

So now is not the time for her to pick people. The most important thing is to keep everyone alive as much as possible.

Not far from the city of Get Rich Overnight, a family of three took a walk around the area. Several caves were already occupied by homeless players, so they had to find another way to hide from the rain.

Arriving at the gate of Get Rich Overnight City, the three of them looked at the post station. Although the post station was at Level 4, it was already overcrowded.

The child, who was only five or six years old, didn’t quite understand what difficulties they encountered. He just felt very tired after running around with his parents all day and was yawning continuously.

The couple stared at each other in silence for a long time, their faces filled with worry. The wife made up her mind, "Let's stay in the inn hall for the night. We still have a few bottles of stamina potion. If our application is approved tomorrow, we'll join the Pure Land. If it's rejected, we'll quickly head to another territory to see if anyone can take us in."

"Alright," the husband nodded silently. There was no other way.

The three of them sat down in the hall. The child was hungry and nudged his mother's arm, asking for food. However, they were survivors who had escaped from the destroyed territory. They had no time to take anything with them, so they just grabbed their backpacks. The food in the backpacks was already exhausted, leaving only a few bottles of stamina and blood potions.

In the game, potions restore stats, but don't provide satiety. The mother hugged her child and looked at her husband bitterly, "I remember staying at the post station also allows me to go to the market. I'll take two bottles of blood-replenishing potions to the market and see if I can trade them for something to eat."

"I'll go." The husband sighed, stood up, took two bottles of blood-replenishing potion, and went out without saying a word.

Just as I reached the door, a message alert sounded: "Congratulations! Your application to join [Get Rich Overnight City] has been approved."

The woman and the child also saw the prompt at the same time. The man suddenly turned around and met his wife's excited face: "Passed!" The woman's voice trembled.

"Hurry, let's go in and find a place to stay!" The man walked forward, pulled his wife and children, and walked out in big strides.

"Okay... okay! Xiaopeng, come here!" The woman slowed down, a look of joy finally showing on her face. She hurriedly took the child's hand and went out together.

At the same time, many players in the post stations and caves also received the notification and flocked to the territory. Like believers flocking to a holy city, everyone's eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation.

In the city, the "street offices" of the four residential areas in the east, south, west and north have been basically established, and the property functions have also been merged into them. They are responsible for all major and minor matters related to the residents, and are paid monthly by the territory.

Ye Miao then informed them to send one person each to the reception hall, and he also temporarily hired two acquaintances as temporary workers to welcome the influx of new members.

So, when the dusty new members walked into the reception hall, they were greeted by smiling faces as warm as spring breeze. Deng Wei patiently introduced everyone: "Our territory can provide you with an interest-free loan of 500 gold coins for 15 days. You just need to pay it back within 15 days."

"The panels for housing purchase are over there. Besides buying, you can also rent, but it's still more cost-effective to buy. The housing prices here are really not expensive."

"If you're not financially well-off, I personally recommend applying for an interest-free loan first, then buying a thatched hut to settle down in, and then gradually moving up to a new house as you earn more money."

The new members listened attentively, analyzing their own situations in their minds. Some stopped at the loan panel, while others went directly to the housing rental and sales panel.

On the house rental and sales panel, four staff members sent by the street office were also giving introductions.

"Our north-facing community is closest to the Central Primary School, so it's considered a 'school district house'. Parents with children can consider buying here!"

"The south side is closest to the main gate, making it very convenient for going out. If you need to go out to hunt monsters and gather, I recommend staying here!"

"There are markets and scenic spots on the west side, which is more suitable for living. Those who want to do business can also consider it."

"The east side of the residential area is right behind the dock. If you want to do business or go fishing, you can live on the east side. Oh, and it's also not far from farms, farmland, and public security, procuratorial, and judicial departments. If you're looking for a job in these areas, the east side is a better choice."

The staff members chattered away, leaving the new members dumbfounded: "No wonder it's called 'Pure Land'! This doesn't sound like the end of the world at all! It's just a modern metropolis!"

In just a few minutes, the family of three who had just left the post station had already obtained an interest-free loan, bought a thatched house, and then carefully took out 30 gold coins and went to the grocery store to buy a low-priced dinner.

In the middle of the river a few hundred meters away from the pier, Lu Weiwei and Su Xinran worked together to pull up the fishing net. Dozens of fat fish jumped around on the deck, splashing water all over them.

"Hahaha." Su Xinran laughed, stepped aside, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said to Lu Weiwei, "I've calculated that 'Intermediate Fishing' doesn't require reading the line, so you can fish one after another, but you can only catch one fish at a time. 'Intermediate Fishing' takes three hours to net, but you can catch dozens of fish at a time, which is quite a lot."

"No matter what, renting a boat to fish like this is definitely profitable. Even if you hire someone to fish, you can still make a small profit."

Lu Weiwei thought for a moment and said, "What if I buy a boat?"

"You can buy a boat. I asked the boss. A fishing boat costs 8,000 yuan. It will take some time to make your money back, but in the long run it will definitely be more cost-effective than paying rent every day."

"Then let's buy one," Lu Weiwei said thoughtfully. "Actually, two or three would be fine. We usually either fish ourselves or hire someone to do it for us. When the farm is too busy, we can rent out the boats and collect rent. We're guaranteed a profit regardless of the weather."

"Okay!" Su Xinran smiled easily.

Neither of them seemed to notice how the farm grew and how they saved money step by step. But by the time they realized it, their savings had reached hundreds of thousands of yuan, and spending 10,000 or 20,000 yuan to buy a few boats was no problem for them.

Su Xinran immediately sent a message to Ye Miao. Ye Miao came out of the residential area and quickly gave the fishing boat to them.

Lu Weiwei got creative and went to see Lao Shuai, asking him if he could make some spray paint. Lao Shuai used his skill to make some for her, and she ran back to the dock and spray-painted the words "Xinwei No. 1" (Xinwei No. 2) (Xinwei No. 3) on each fishing boat.

"Damn, your hands are so steady, that's amazing..." Su Xinran was stunned. "You can spray words like this with your bare hands, how come I didn't know you were a walking printer?!"

"Well, actually, I originally wanted to study art," Lu Weiwei shrugged. "I started learning to paint when I was four and studied for eleven years. But when I was in the third year of junior high, my puppy died. I was devastated. I felt like painting wouldn't save animals..."

"..." Su Xinran was speechless for a moment, her face darkening. "Then learning painting really can't save the little animals."

"But veterinarians can, hahaha!" Lu Weiwei laughed. "That's why I studied veterinary medicine. But after all, I've studied for so many years, and everyone in the neighborhood knows that I'm the one who paints all the murals in our village, so I'm still as skilled as ever!"

In the residential area on the south side, Fang Yuming knocked on the door and waited for a minute. When he heard nothing, he sent a message. After receiving a reply, he walked towards the reception hall.

Deng Wei was busy in the reception hall. He was not in a hurry and waited patiently by the side. Occasionally, he also helped with some reception work and guided new members to find a place.

After a full half hour of busy work, the crowds in the reception hall, reminiscent of the Spring Festival travel rush, finally thinned out. Deng Wei breathed a sigh of relief, finally remembering there was such a living person. She turned around and said, "Fang Yuming, what's going on?"

"Yeah." Fang Yuming nodded and said businesslike, "There's a new dungeon. Do you want to play it? If you do, I'll form a team."

Deng Wei said cheerfully, "Fight, what dungeon?"

Fang Yuming: "Drifting."

"Rafting?!" Deng Wei was speechless. "What kind of fun is this? I've never heard of it before."

"I haven't played it either." Fang Yuming said, "I heard about it from other people in the territory, but their average level is only 60. We can definitely make it, and the rewards are said to be very good."

"Let's give it a try!" Deng Wei was tempted. "When are we going?"

Fang Yuming: "Tomorrow during the day?"

"Okay." The two of them hit it off immediately, and Fang Yuming just issued the team formation announcement directly in the reception hall.

Rafting required 8-12 people, and those who had previously done it said that at least 4 ranged personnel were needed. Fang Yuming set the recruitment conditions as required and recruited a few acquaintances to join the team. If nothing unexpected happened, they would be able to set off early tomorrow morning.

At the same time, Ye Miao, who had been busy all day, finally took a break. After careful calculation, he set aside a budget of 30,000 gold coins, clicked into the system store panel, and started buying some useless gadgets.

【Name：White Bench】

【Quality: Blue】

[Description: Convenient facilities where tourists can sit and rest.]

[Price: 500 gold coins]

【Name：Public trash can】

【Quality: White】

[Description: Although the garbage in the game will disappear automatically, it still feels nice to put some trash cans on the streets, right?]

[Price: 100 gold coins]

【Name：Vending Machine】

【Quality: Purple】

[Description: Various foods and medicines can be sold, a great helper for generating income for your territory.]

[Price: 2000 gold coins]

【Name：Seagull】

[Quality: White, blue, purple, gold appear randomly]

[Description: If you have a dock, why not buy some seagulls to make it more interesting?]

[Price: 1000 gold coins]

Ye Miao flipped through the pages one by one. At first, he just wanted to buy some white benches in bulk, so that he could put some in scenic spots and docks, as well as in small gardens in each community.

As for public trash cans, they are useless. They are just for decoration and a waste of money.

Vending machines are a good thing. You can put two at the pier first, and then put one more when the scenic area starts operating.

Finally she saw the seagulls...

She does have a pier, but there are seagulls on the river pier. Is that scientific?

...Forget it. Before the end of the world, she had seen a science fiction movie. In the movie, the earth stopped rotating, but the seagulls were still able to survive well①. This shows that the lack of sea here is not a big deal.

What's more, the Seagulls come in four different qualities, and they appear randomly after purchase? This is a blind box!

She will always worry about blind boxes.

Ye Miao spent a huge sum of 10,000 gold coins to buy 20 benches, another 4,000 gold coins to buy two vending machines, and finally spent another 10,000 gold coins to buy 10 seagulls.

After buying the seagull, she was very nervous and tremblingly clicked on the panel to check the properties.

As a result, among the 10 seagulls, there is one of gold quality, two of purple quality, and the rest are blue and white. But no matter what quality, the description is "The cute attributes of the seagull are waiting for you to slowly discover."

"...Is the system fooling me?" Ye Miao said angrily, then he went out with his backpack, walked to the pier, and directly scattered all ten seagulls.

Perhaps because it was already getting dark, the seagulls flew out and found a nearby tree to sleep in. Ye Miao saw that when they flew close to the tree, the system would automatically generate a small wooden house on the branch as a bird's nest. She was speechless at this seemingly meticulous but extremely unscientific setting.

The next morning, most players woke up naturally between 7 and 7:30. Some went out to buy breakfast, while others were busy sending their children to school. The territory soon became lively.

Most players with children in elementary school live in the "school district housing" on the north side, but some live on the east side because the east side is close to farmland, livestock farms, public security, procuratorate and courts, and not too far from schools, making it a compromise choice.

But now the pier is also on the east side. After Ye Miao released the seagulls, the entire east side community became the seagulls' territory.

At 7:25, a student-looking member walked out alone.

He is already in the fifth grade and no longer needs to be picked up from school. His parents put meal money on the table for him every day. He can take it when he goes out and buy his favorite breakfast along the way.

That day, he bought a hamburger and French fries from the nearby market in the east community, and ate them while walking to school, thinking about the exam.

In the apocalypse, why do we still have to take exams?

He sighed deeply, and the next second, a white shadow suddenly swooped down from the sky and pounced on the fries in his hand. He was startled, watching as many fries were thrown to the ground. Then the white shadow quickly flew away, taking away a lot of fries in its mouth.

"Huh?!" The student stared blankly at the fries... oh no, at the direction the bird had flown away, and mumbled, "Is that... a seagull?"

"Be careful when you go to the pier lately, there are seagulls there, always trying to get some chips."

Within half a day, the news spread throughout the territory, and someone even compiled a detailed strategy: "White-quality tarpon only eat French fries, blue-quality tarpon will snatch all kinds of brightly colored food in addition to French fries, and purple-quality tarpon love meat. Gold-quality tarpon are the most powerful, eating everything and even liking shiny gadgets like gold coins. When they see them, they'll rush down and fight with you to steal them."

Ye Miao was completely upset after hearing this analysis: What the hell, the reason Seagull divides the quality is because the higher the quality, the more likely it is to be snatched?!

System, you are really not a good thing.

But she had to admit that, while the seagulls were wicked, they did add to the fun of the territory. After breakfast, she went to the dock to patrol and saw many bored members squatting there, holding chips and watching the seagulls. If she hadn't known that animals in the game wouldn't die of overeating, she would have been very worried about the health of the seagulls.

After breakfast, Ye Miao returned to her residence and saw Chu Cheng waiting for her. She quickened her pace. Chu Cheng turned around and looked at her, "Do you have any plans for today?"

If you ask her this way, she actually has plans every day recently, and her territory planning is endless.

So she asked directly: "Do you need me for something?"

Chu Cheng said: "Well, there is a new way to play after the river is opened. Do you want to try it? I have found some people, but they are all long-range combat."

Ye Miao nodded when he heard this: "Okay, what's the game?"

Chu Cheng: "Drifting."

The author has something to say:

Notes:

① [Before the end of the world, she watched a science fiction movie. In the movie, the earth stopped rotating, but the seagulls were still able to survive.] This joke is a tribute to "The Wandering Earth 2".

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