Chapter 89

The Cold Soldier City dungeon launched later, but its vast territory has seen its fair share of large-scale ghoul outbreaks throughout history. The Zhongsu Town Farm ghoul outbreak quest has become less popular with the passing of its veterans.

After all, the spread of the ghoul tide that the players were worried about did not happen.

The three major guilds remained silent, leading to a lot of speculation on the forum. As time went by, it gradually boiled down to two possibilities.

First, there was a rumor that Chumo had appeared in Zhongsu Town. When Chumo appeared, even the top of the list showed up, so strangling an SSS-rank ghoul was no problem.

Secondly, according to the rules of the game, each mission has a limited execution time. Once the mission expires, the ghoul boss in the mission will be recycled by the system and disappear.

In the Zhongxu Farm mission details, the [Time Limit] field reads "None." This doesn't mean the mission will be extended indefinitely, just that the deadline is indeterminate. That SSS-rank, madly transformed ghoul lacks intelligence and hasn't made any noise yet; it's likely been recovered by the system.

Regardless of which possibility is true, the fact remains that the ghoul tide has not spread. Players in Lengbing City no longer need to worry about a ghoul suddenly appearing next to them while they're sleeping or offline, sending them into a deep sleep.

This game can still be played.

However, the old guy who was promoted to Legend was unable to enter the Ghost Ruins, and hundreds of people seeking help poured into the Lost Ones section. These two reasons led to the frequent appearance of posts discussing farm tasks in the forum.

Discussions often end in vain, after all, no one knows that the "survivors" that night were not lucky at all.

They were soaked in a jar of highly toxic pickles, and their bodies looked a little uncomfortable.

Fortunately, under the rules of destiny value, these uncomfortable days will be over in a few days.

"Boss, a total of 137 people have gone offline today, and the number of surviving bodies has dropped below 100."

This was expected. An Rou nodded and asked, "Have you fed them all?"

Paopao replied, "Hey, Wangba was the lowest level, so I got some extra points, and the level was finally raised to A. Boss, now except for Brother Baofu, all our employees are A-level."

Turtle...

Every time An Rou heard this name, she couldn't help but frown: "Isn't it Zhang Dafenfen? Why does it have the surname Wang?"

Paopao chuckled, but his expression quickly darkened. "Old Zhang said that he wanted to commemorate Da Hammer, so he had all his ghouls change their surnames."

Old Zhang is Zhang Da, currently the most senior employee on the farm. As for the big hammer, it's naturally Wang Da.

An Rou's heart moved. With Zhang Da's dull personality, how could he even say the word "remember"?

She immediately shook her head. After that night, she'd observed Zhang Da carefully. He was indeed more human than before Wang Da's death, but only with a certain inexplicable emotion. In terms of how human he was, he was less than one-tenth as human as Wang Da.

"Boss," Paopao suddenly asked, "What do you think? If Lao Zhang and the others' levels are raised again, will they fully awaken their intelligence like Dahammer did? Maybe... ghouls are also a type of NPC. Maybe all ghouls share a database, and then Dahammer will return?"

Since when, Wang Da has become not a monster in the game standing on the opposite side, nor a colleague and subordinate who is like a tool, but more like a wonderful ghoul friend.

An Rou couldn't help but laugh when she heard this: "Awakening of spiritual wisdom? Do you think ghouls are demons that can cultivate?"

Paopao scratched his head, looking depressed.

An Rou sighed, "Okay, let me tell you the truth, Wang Da didn't disappear. To be more precise, there is a ghost named Wang Da in the game, but there is no person named Wang Da."

Paopao was startled at first, then confused: "I don't... understand..."

"It's normal that you don't understand." An Rou squatted down and touched Bao Fu's huge forehead. "It took me many days to figure it out. Wang Da was upgraded to A on the day of the flour mill mission. Let me ask you, did you think it looked like a human at that time?"

Paopao frowned and recalled for a long time, and found that he really couldn't remember when Wang Da started to change.

On the other hand, An Rou was afraid of human hearts, so she didn't show anything on the surface about Wang Da's level increase, but she cared a lot about it secretly.

She asked again, "You said that day that Bao Bao didn't want to eat souls. You must remember that, right?"

Paopao nodded repeatedly: "I remember, I remember. That's why I asked Dachui Lao Zhang to eat more."

"That's right. Bao Bao doesn't want to eat souls because he knows he's on the verge of a level breakthrough and doesn't want to enter a dormant period. Refusing to eat is just one manifestation. There's another..."

An Rou carefully chose her words, "I don't know whether it was intentional or not, but Bao Bao, as the ghost mother, passed her will to Wang Da. And it was because Wang Da received this will that his personality changes suddenly accelerated."

Run and open your eyes wide.

What kind of fairy tale is this?

No, it wasn't a fantasy. The Ghost Mother could control the ghouls she split into. This was a setting in the game, but the method of control was beyond everyone's imagination.

Paopao was shocked and said, "Boss, are you saying that Brother Baofu is Dahammer? After Dahammer absorbed Brother Baofu's will, he became his... clone?"

But Anrou shook her head again.

Paopao's inference was logical, but unfortunately it was not true. After all, he didn't know about the conversation between her and Wang Da.

Wang Da doesn't know what he is.

"To use your analogy, it was Baobao's will that awakened Wang Da's spiritual intelligence, but Wang Da didn't know he was Baobao. Perhaps, Baobao didn't know he was Wang Da either. It is it, and it is not it."

Paopao felt even more dizzy after hearing this.

An Rou didn't know how to explain further. After all, these were just her analysis of the vague connection between her and sudden wealth.

"In short, Bao Bao isn't a normal ghoul. Wang Da is Wang Da because of it. Just treat Wang Da as if he hasn't truly disappeared."

Paopao looked at the terrified face on the ground that was larger than a house and called out tentatively, "Sledgehammer?"

"Gululu..." Baofu opened his mouth wide, like a black hole.

Paopao swallowed his saliva and laughed dryly: "Let's just treat it as a rich old man."

He didn't doubt An Rou's words, but he just couldn't understand them. However, his melancholy mood had faded.

After running away, An Rou stepped on the forehead of sudden wealth.

"Baobao, go on patrol."

Bao Fu grunted, and his frightened face turned into a moving carpet, carrying An Rou and starting to wander around.

After several days of costly and laborious reconstruction, a brand new farm rose from the ruins.

Originally there were only eight acres of land, but now it has expanded to one hundred acres, fifty acres of which were bought cheaply from Hengbatong, and the remaining half...are all idle wasteland anyway, so An Rou took them without any guilt.

It cost nearly 1 million gold to completely clean up the hundred acres of wasteland.

The farm's layout remained largely unchanged despite expanding more than tenfold. The central bungalow was abandoned, its walls too thin to be habitable. The mayor's house was relocated to the center, where An Rou unceremoniously occupied it.

The fish pond was transformed into a non-fish pond, its area doubled, and it was equipped with a water boardwalk and a pavilion in the middle of the lake. The fish pond was then moved further away, nestled in the middle of a fruit forest.

The pickle shed was also relocated to the left of the mansion, across from a flower field. The flowers in the flower field were all separated from the courtyard of the mansion. They were relatively sparse at present, but after the soil quality was improved, they bloomed vigorously and were very pleasing to the eye.

The wooden shed that once housed pickled vegetables was abandoned and replaced with a two-story building, renovated from a shop that An Rou had acquired. Upstairs and downstairs were filled with pickle jars, more than 500 of them. Initially, there were barely enough to soak the bodies, but after a few days, most of them were empty.

An Rou shook her head as she passed by the Suancai Building. "The vacancy rate is a bit high. We need to find a chance to recruit some tenants."

The chicken coops and duck sheds have also been expanded and, like the fish ponds, have been placed in the orchard. The use of biofertilizers can save some money on improving soil quality.

The highlight is around the pond.

To the west is a mansion, to the east is the Hongyun Bathhouse and the Great World Dance Hall, to the north is the Hongyun Trading Company, Nianfeng Steamed Bun Shop and a hair salon, and to the south is the Yong'an Hotel and the Hongyun Hotel.

Yong'an Hotel focuses on food, while Hongyun Hotel focuses on accommodation, complementing each other.

The other buildings acquired by Anrou are arranged in a circular pattern along the east, north, and south sides, forming three rows in total, flanking two small streets. Walking through them, it feels like being in a small town.

However, most of the buildings have been idle for a long time and look old, especially the business, dance hall and Hongyun Hotel, which were riddled with holes after three ghoul waves. Repairing them is a delicate job. Even if the plasticity of daily props is used, it has not been completed yet.

As for the staff dormitory, it was moved from the farm gate to the west side of the pond, behind the mayor's house.

The farm is generally arranged in a circular shape, with the mansion and pond as the core, the second floor consisting of various buildings, the third floor consisting of fields and orchards, and the fourth floor consisting of wasteland that has not yet been developed and utilized.

Compared with the modern farms in An Rou's impression, it is still far behind, but the scale of more than 60,000 square meters of land covering 100 acres has far exceeded expectations.

It's almost a miniature town.

An Rou walked around the farm without touching the ground, then nodded. She had Bao Fu stop by the pond and then sent him out on his own to patrol the farm.

The third ghost technique awakened by the sudden wealth upgrade is called "Night Travel", which is a flying skill that can disguise the farm as a dark cloud.

When they were halfway through the flight that night, they found that high-level players were approaching from all directions, so An Rou asked Bao Fu to stop behind a deserted mountain to avoid exposing their tracks by meeting them in the air.

I checked the map and found that this place was under the jurisdiction of Guangyuan Town, District 11. Like Zhongsu Town, it was also located on the edge of Lengbing City. I guess there had been a similar ghoul outbreak there, leaving the area around Yuyangling Mountain completely deserted and desolate.

It's a perfect place to stay.

An Rou simply decided to rest for a few more days and avoid the limelight.

However, no matter how remote this place was, it was still a safe zone; it was impossible for it to be completely deserted. In the past few days, if someone happened to pass by, An Rou would kill them without caring whether they had discovered the farm or not.

Fortunately, the only people who pass by such places are players. As long as ordinary players lose their game qualifications and cannot access the forum, they will not be able to make any waves.

As a result, patrolling became a 24-hour job for Baofu. Fortunately, he was a ghoul, so he had no concept of sleep and did not feel tired.

Seeing Bao Fu's face disappear into the ground, An Rou looked up at the Yong'an Hotel and shook her head.

The farm was complete, but it lacked one crucial thing - electricity.

Without electricity, the buildings were gloomy even during the day, making her feel like she had built a ghost town.

Fortunately, there are not only her and Paopao living on the farm now, and it is sometimes quite lively.

For example, now.

An Rou turned her head and looked across the pond. A group of people were gathered at the gate of the mansion, making a lot of noise. One of them had an angry voice that was obviously louder than the others - Heng Ba Tong.

An Rou raised the corners of her mouth and walked across the water boardwalk.

The clattering sound of high heels approached, and everyone else subconsciously shut up, except Heng Ba Tong, who was unaware and continued to make noise.

"Why should we change the plaque? This has been handed down in the town for hundreds of years! We can't change it. If you want to change it, you'll have to walk over my dead body..."

He felt a chill on his neck, and his aura was quickly extinguished by the cold water.

An Rou scratched his neck with the Seven Souls Sword and said with a smile, "Oh? Then I'll give it a try?"

Heng Batong's face turned pale. After he was forcibly moved to this farm along with the mansion, he was not afraid of anyone except An Rou.

After all, whether it was An Younian, Mei Hong, or the other security guards, they were all his subjects. Only An Rou was the knife hanging behind his neck.

"Boss An..."

An Rou glanced at the person who spoke.

Tian Rui quickly changed his tone, "Farmer, the plaque is already finished, but Zhen... Heng Ba Tong is desperately trying to stop us from replacing it, so that's why the progress has been delayed."

"You're a traitor!" Heng Batong cursed, swearing, and then, mustering the courage to look An Rou in the face, "You can't change it. This 'Zhongsu' plaque has been hanging there for hundreds of years. It's a tradition of Zhongsu Town!"

His toughness impressed An Rou.

Before An Rou could say anything, Leng Hanli interrupted, "Heng Batong, open your eyes and look around. Is this Zhongxu Town? You think you're such a big shot with an official hat on your head. Do you think Zhongxu Town wouldn't be Zhongxu Town without you and this shabby plaque?"

It was his wife who jumped out first to slap him in the face.

An Rou glanced over with interest, and Leng Hanli had a pale expression and looked indifferent.

This woman is much more aware of current affairs than the mayor of a town.

"What do you, a woman, know?" Heng Batong was so angry that his face turned red and his neck thickened. "Madam, don't meddle in men's affairs!"

Leng Hanli said indifferently, "Your life is in the hands of a woman. Think before you speak. Do you think that her employees are just your useless security guards? No, they are neither destiny nor human. They are all ghouls. Don't you understand by now?"

Heng Batong was shocked.

He had realized the connection between An Rou and the ghoul earlier than Captain Li and Tang Lang. How could he not understand? It was just... he was reluctant to accept the truth.

The gap between being the head of a town and being a servant is too big.

Heng Batong lowered his eyes to look at the dagger that was obviously the weapon of the Chosen One, swallowed his saliva, and finally stopped talking.

An Rou smiled and patted his face with the Seven Souls Sword, then turned to Tian Rui and said, "Hang it up."

A brand new plaque was hung above the gate, with four large golden characters "Yong'an Villa" shining brightly.

An Rou looked at it with satisfaction and put the Seven Souls Sword back into her sleeve. Seeing this, Heng Batong tried to retreat secretly, but his back hit a wall of flesh. Before he could react, his arm was already locked behind him.

An Rou looked at him and said, "Since you have contradicted me so many times, you can escape the death penalty, but you can't escape the punishment of life. It just so happens that Guolin is short of someone to take care of the chickens and ducks, so you can go."

"Take care of chickens and ducks?" Heng Batong's eyes widened in disbelief. "You want me to raise chickens and ducks? An Rou, you..."

"Your wife just finished speaking, and you've already forgotten it? Your memory isn't very good, Mr. Mayor."

Heng Batong's body stiffened, he turned his head, and caught a glimpse of Zhang Da holding his arm out of the corner of his eye.

This taciturn man is also An Rou's subordinate... No, this is a ghoul...

Heng Batong swallowed again, unable to utter a single word of objection. Zhang Da easily grabbed his short, plump figure by the collar and dragged him towards the orchard.

"Bah! I've disliked him for a long time. What a shitty mayor. He's even more ruthless than a ghoul!" Li Xiang spat on a melon seed shell.

An Rou glanced sideways, her eyes wandering over the melon seed shells scattered all over the ground. Li Xiang understood and hurriedly went to clean them up with a wry smile.

Mrs. Xiang stood beside him, holding a handful of peanut shells in her hand. Seeing this, she chewed a peanut and muttered disdainfully, "A coward who only eats soft things and fears hard things."

Li Xiang heard it, but also didn't dare to say anything.

Just then, Heng Bobao trotted out from the gate of the other courtyard and waved to An Rou, "An Rou, it's time for dinner! Uncle An made paper-wrapped chicken wings today, and they're so delicious!"

Everyone looked over in fear, then turned back to examine An Rou's expression. Leng Hanli, in particular, hadn't shown any emotion even when her man's life was hanging by a thread. Now she seemed to be hesitant to speak.

On the entire farm, apart from the farmer's father, only Miss Heng dared to call An Rou by her name.

Heng Bobao was completely unaware and was still waving: "Come quickly, it will be cold soon!"

An Rou's expression didn't change at all. She smiled and replied, "You go first. I have something else to do."

Leng Hanli let out a long sigh of relief.

Unexpectedly, Heng Bobao said "Oh" and then asked, "By the way, where's my dad? Mom, have you seen Dad?"

An Rou looked at Leng Hanli quietly.

Leng Hanli straightened a strand of hair that fell from her forehead and said calmly, "He volunteered to take care of the chicken coop."

Heng Bobao's mouth opened into an O shape, and after a moment he came back to his senses, with a look of surprise on his face: "So Dad also likes rural life so much, that's great! An Rou, I was worried that he couldn't stay here and wanted to take me back to Zhongsu!"

Tian Rui was standing by the door. When he heard what the eldest lady said, he felt it was hard to put it into words.

The mayor wants to leave, but can he? Why... still doesn't she understand the situation?

To put it nicely, these people were the first residents of Yong'an Farm, and to put it bluntly, they were prisoners - the farmer made this very clear on the first day.

"What are you still standing there for? Didn't you hear that dinner is ready?" An Rou said.

Except for Leng Hanli, everyone else fled.

An Rou looked at her with a smile: "Do you have anything to say?"

So many people were brought to the farm without any preparation, surrounded by ghosts. Even the security guards were scared to death. Instead, three women were the calmest: Meihong, Xiangsao, and Leng Hanli.

Meihong and Xiangsao had already worked for Anrou and had long since sensed their boss's extraordinary abilities, so their composure was understandable. But Leng Hanli...

I can only say that she is worthy of being the mayor's wife, and she can always maintain a dignified and decent image.

Leng Hanli stood a meter in front of An Rou, not looking away, and bowed slightly: "Thank you to the farmer for being so kind and sparing his life."

She wasn't as indifferent to Heng Batong as she appeared. That was why she reached out and slapped Heng Batong's face before An Rou could make a decision, forcing him to bow his head so that he could walk down the stairs smoothly.

An Rou smiled and said, "Don't get me wrong, I don't keep idle people on my farm. Keeping Heng Ba Tong will certainly be useful."

These words made Leng Hanli hesitate.

"You want to ask about Bo Bao?" An Rou guessed her concerns. "Bo Bao is spoiled and can't work. But she is useful. With her around, the farm will be more lively. I'm curious, why don't you care about yourself?"

Leng Hanli felt relieved, her expression relaxed, and she answered frankly: "I will do whatever the farmer asks me to do."

An Rou nodded: "You are very sensible. The mayor of Zhongsu Town is Heng Batong instead of you. I feel bad for you."

She looked around Leng Hanli twice and suddenly changed the subject: "What if I let you use your beauty to seduce the Destiny One?"

Leng Hanli is less than 40 years old. She has been living a life of luxury for many years and is in excellent condition. Compared with Mei Hong, who is a few years younger, they are equally matched and each has her own merits.

Mei Hong can control the players by her intuition, and with Leng Hanli's superior mind, she can naturally do the same.

Leng Hanli's hair didn't even tremble as she calmly replied, "As you command."

An Rou smiled, gently patted her half-naked arm with the hand holding the handkerchief, and took out the Seven Souls Sword again.

"Do you recognize what this is?"

"The weapon of the Chosen One."

An Rou nodded: "Beauty is a weapon for us women, but things that can be solved with the weapons of the Chosen Ones are definitely not ours to solve with beauty.

"Madam Leng, apart from your beauty, you are much more useful than Heng Ba Tong. It just so happens that our other courtyard is short of a housekeeper, so how about you come?"

-

The dining hall in the villa is very large, with two large round tables.

An Rou, An Younian, Paopao, Qiaojie, Meihong, Manager Jin, Manager Liang, and Heng Bobao sat at the same table, which was considered the main table.

Starting from tonight's dinner, Leng Hanli will have an extra seat at the main table.

Baozi, the waiter at the steamed bun shop, Li Kangfu, the chef at the Yong'an Hotel, Xiang Sao and Li Xiang from the Hongyun Bathhouse, Qingqing and Aya, two shampoo girls from the Gentleman's Barber Shop, Ding Liang, Manager Liang's apprentice when he was still the housekeeper, and Tian Rui, the captain of the security forces, sat at another table.

In addition, there were about twenty security guards divided into two shifts, who took turns standing guard in various places on the farm and eating at their posts.

Including Heng Batong who took care of the chickens and ducks in the orchard, there were 41 living people living on the farm.

The ghouls eat souls, not the food. According to An Rou's request, except for Zhang Da, who can move freely, the other eight ghosts can only huddle in the staff dormitory. Of course, Bao Bao is also free.

Halfway through the meal, An Rou tapped the table lightly, and everyone put down their chopsticks at the same time in silence.

"I have an announcement." An Rou swept her gaze over the crowd. "The reconstruction of the farm is almost complete. Now that you have settled down on the farm, you must forget your identity as Zhongxu people. From now on, no matter who asks, you are all from Yong'an Farm. There is no such thing as a hometown."

Everyone looked at each other in silence.

"Everyone should memorize this employee code. Every morning and evening for the next three days, you will be assessed on your memorization."

Paopao stood up and took out the employee rules that had been prepared long ago from the prop column. He placed a handful of gold coins on it, turned them into a stack, and distributed them one by one.

This is the second edition of the code based on the Yong'an Hotel. The content is basically the same, but the coverage has been expanded from the "Yong'an Hotel" to the entire "Yong'an Farm".

Another new item was added, which was what An Rou said, "I am no longer a Zhongsu person."

Before everyone finished reading, An Rou continued, "Also, from today on, all stores will be renamed Yong'an. Hongyun Commercial Bank and Great World are all things of the past. Do you understand?"

"I heard it clearly." The first to respond were Meihong and Manager Jin, the earliest employees.

Leng Hanli, Tian Rui and others lagged behind slightly and nodded calmly: "I heard it clearly."

By the time they finished eating, it was already dark. An Rou had no habit of exploiting her employees. Besides, the farm had no electricity or light, making it inconvenient to work, so she simply let everyone do their own thing.

With the opportunity to get rich quickly, there is no need to worry about anyone trying to escape.

No one dared to flee, and they all hurried back to their rooms as soon as it got dark. After all, everyone knew that the farmer had many ghouls, and everyone was afraid of running into one in the dark.

Most of the buildings were under renovation and reconstruction, so the 41 people lived in the courtyard. Fortunately, the courtyard was large enough and had enough rooms to accommodate them.

It could be said that the mayor's house had never been so bustling since its construction, and never had so many people living there. This delighted Heng Bobao so much that he would visit every night, even though he was often met with cold shoulders.

Paopao followed An Rou to the room - the original Leng Hanli's yard.

"Boss, today's renovations cost a total of 4.123 million gold, mainly spent on the dance hall and the hotel. These two places are large and the materials used are high-quality. The two previous ghoul waves caused severe damage..."

Paopao started to report the expenses.

An Rou listened silently without any reaction.

Paopao waited for a moment, then scratched his head. "Boss, we've already spent over 20 million gold these past few days. Isn't that... too much? It's okay. I haven't touched a cent of my bonus yet. How about returning it first and then calculating the difference after deducting the cost?"

After Anrou deposited the gold she'd earned that night from the farm mission, she discovered it totaled a staggering 80 million gold. She gave Paopao a 4 million gold bonus. Paopao was stunned by the sum, and it took him two days to process his sudden multi-millionaire status.

Of course, multi-millionaire is just a concept converted into currency. If a young man who has just reached adulthood suddenly has an extra 20 million in his account, he will definitely be investigated.

He obediently followed An Rou's advice, did not withdraw his money rashly, and had no plans to lie down and enjoy his retirement. Instead, he worked even harder.

An Rou came back to her senses and shook her head: "What belongs to you is yours. But I also want to remind you about this matter. Your level is still low. If you die accidentally, the amount of money you leak out will be huge. If you are worried, you can deposit it with me first."

Paopao was originally at the lower silver level. After experiencing the super-large ghoul tide on the farm, although he didn't kill many ghouls, the experience he absorbed allowed him to break through to the upper silver level in one fell swoop, and he was only one step away from gold.

For ordinary players, it is not low.

But living on a farm filled with A-level ghouls, he was truly insignificant. Especially since the farm also harbored a top-tier ghoul, Baofu. If the clues were revealed, they would only attract top players, making him useless.

After receiving the huge bonus, he was ecstatic for two days, but then he began to feel worried. If others knew he had so much money in his account, his appeal would probably be no less than that of an SSS-level overnight rich.

Hearing An Rou say this, Paopao scratched his head embarrassedly: "Okay, thank you, boss."

An Rou emphasized: "Don't think too much, I'm not cheating you of your bonus."

Paopao nodded repeatedly: "Of course, of course."

He transferred the money in a hurry.

An Rou's thoughts were finally brought back to her senses. She frowned and looked at him for a few times: "Boy, this is what you were thinking, right? Are you embarrassed to say that you are of low level?"

"Why do you say it out loud..." Paopao muttered softly.

An Rou smiled helplessly. Compared to 4 million gold, how much is a man's face worth?

She got down to business: "The farm is almost finished, but there's still one crucial thing missing."

"Electricity?" Paopao responded quickly. After all, An Rou had asked him to not only repair the building's electrical wiring during the renovation process, but also to improve the wiring structure as appropriate.

He showed a headache expression: "Boss, things like generators are really hard to find."

An Rou slowly exhaled, "It's hard to find a generator. The power plant is so big, it should be easy to find, right? If it doesn't work, let Bao Bao go cut a power plant back."

"Hiss——" Paopao took a breath of cold air.