On the outskirts of the town's main territory, Zhang Xiaoli took advantage of the peaceful period to do her best to kill monsters and collect items. Every five days, she would spend half a day setting up a stall at the market to sell the dropped items. At the same time, she tried to reduce her expenses as much as possible. Finally, she saved up 5,000 gold coins, which was enough to buy a red brick yard.
But as a person who lives frugally, Zhang Xiaoli doesn't like to spend all her family's wealth on one thing. Even if it is a big thing like buying a house, she still hopes to have some surplus on hand.
Therefore, she planned to save another three to five thousand gold coins first. It didn't matter if she lived in the stone house for now. The stone house also had some attribute blessings. Although it was not as good as the red brick house, it was enough for her.
This kind of life is stable and full of hope, much better than the previous life in Red Maple Village.
Zhang Xiaoli was grateful for all this, but she had a few more worries these past few days. She happened to chat with someone she knew well about her missing husband, Xie Liang, and openly mentioned his previous attempt to murder Zheng Minhui to steal his resources. Later, she learned that Xie Liang had apparently died at the hands of a territory NPC.
At this point, the member who had been discussing this with her realized that he hadn't thought it through and felt a little embarrassed. He hurriedly made up his mind, "Actually, I don't know if it was Xie Liang. It's just that these two things happened right after each other. Zheng Minhui told the boss that he was attacked, and the boss arranged for combat NPCs to patrol the territory. Then, outsiders attacked the members and they were killed by NPCs. But it's not necessarily the case... After all, Pure Land has always been very famous, and there are often people who want to come here to rob the town members. How can it be such a coincidence!"
This actually made sense. For a territory as large and renowned as Get Rich Overnight Town, minor friction with outsiders was inevitable, and Xie Liang wouldn't necessarily be the one to die.
But Xie Liang was nowhere to be found, alive or dead, and these words pierced Zhang Xiaoli's heart like a thorn, making her think about him day and night and unable to sleep or eat.
After thinking about it for two days and two nights, Zhang Xiaoli finally couldn't stand this torture anymore and decided to find out the truth.
In the evening, the members who went out to kill monsters and collect materials returned to the territory one after another. Zhang Xiaoli asked a few senior players where Ye Miao was and then went to look for him.
Ye Miao was sorting supplies in the warehouse. Seeing that the number of gold coins had increased a lot, he thought about upgrading the defense turret first, so that the task of upgrading the territory would be completed, and then he could slowly save up enough gold coins for the upgrade.
There was a knock on the warehouse door. As a key location for storing territory resources, the warehouse had strict access control. Simply put, of the members of the "Get Rich Overnight Town," only Ye Miao and Chu Cheng, who was authorized by Ye Miao, could enter and exit freely. The others were the NPCs under Ye Miao's name. Because the NPCs were absolutely loyal to her, there was no need to worry about any problems.
So Zhang Xiaoli was naturally blocked outside the door. She knocked twice. Ye Miao put down what he was holding and opened the door of the warehouse. Seeing that it was a completely unfamiliar member, he politely said, "Hello, is there something you want to talk to me about?"
"...Yes." Zhang Xiaoli nodded nervously, twisting her hands unconsciously together.
Ye Miao didn't think much of it, as many members felt the same way when they first met her. She walked out, closed the warehouse door behind her, and asked in a friendly manner, "What's going on? Tell me."
Zhang Xiaoli took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and closed her eyes. "Do you remember someone named Xie Liang? I heard from others... he tried to rob another member near the territory, but was killed by a territory NPC on patrol."
After a pause, she opened her eyes and said, "It was before I joined the Get Rich Overnight Town."
Ye Miao was stunned. Her first reaction was that how could she remember the person killed by the NPC? Then she found that she actually remembered this person.
Even if other members were nearby, they wouldn't see the names of players killed by NPCs. However, she could see the NPCs she had killed and the detailed list of their loot on the dashboard. Xie Liang was also the first person killed by the patrol team after they were formed, so naturally, he left a lasting impression on her.
Ye Miao couldn't help but sigh, looking at Zhang Xiaoli: "Come with me."
"Is this true? Is this true?" Zhang Xiaoli followed her and asked anxiously. Ye Miao did not answer and went straight to the gate of the territory.
Many people were returning to the territory at the moment, and the area around the gate was bustling with activity. Ye Miao, walking in front with a sullen expression, followed by someone who kept asking questions, attracted many members' attention. When they recognized the person in front as the lord, their curiosity grew even greater.
So after Ye Miao took Zhang Xiaoli out of the gate, a lot of people had gathered in front of the gate to watch, all wanting to know what had happened.
Ye Miao opened her backpack, pulled out a pair of purple swords, and threw them in front of Zhang Xiaoli. "This happened. Xie Liang endangered the lives of the territory members. As the lord, I can't just stand by and watch. I did nothing wrong, and I don't feel like I owe you anything. But if you're still angry..." She glanced at the purple swords in front of Zhang Xiaoli, "Then let's duel. If you win, you'll get your revenge, and if I win, I'll solve the problem."
She spoke in a cold tone, but she knew deep down that this seemingly fair method was not fair at all. Because her fighting power was too strong, she could defeat Zhang Xiaoli in less than three moves. Even if she was unarmed, Zhang Xiaoli would have no chance of winning.
But—she never meant to be fair when she said these words!
Xie Liang wasn't a good person in the first place, ambushing innocent players around her territory. As a lord, it was her duty to protect her own members. Zhang Xiaoli could be dissatisfied and resentful, seeking revenge in any way she could, but questioning her after joining her territory was ridiculous. What kind of outcome did Zhang Xiaoli want from such a question? Was she trying to use moral coercion?
But Zhang Xiaoli didn't move the two swords in front of her. She stood there uncomfortably, shaking her head: "I won't fight you. I know I can't win."
"Then what do you want?" Ye Miao stared at her. "Xie Liang was the one who caused the trouble first. I can't possibly compensate you. Even if I could afford it, I wouldn't."
Her attitude was extremely tough, and after she said it, she even felt that it might be a bit too much. After all, there were a lot of people watching, and there were always some saints.
Fortunately, the whispers that reached my ears were: "Exactly, how can we compensate for something like this? They're coming to kill us, what else can we do if we don't kill them quickly to protect our own people? Should we give him a moral education?"
Zhang Xiaoli stood there in a daze: "Actually...actually I know he has changed. He wanted to kill Zheng Minhui to steal his resources. I was there that day and I was terrified."
Ye Miao's expression remained unchanged.
Zhang Xiaoli smiled dumbly. "You're a good person, and the territory you established is also very good. It's a place that gives people a sense of hope... Before joining your territory, I never imagined that this kind of life could exist in the apocalypse."
Ye Miao looked at her motionlessly.
"I'm asking these questions today... simply because he's been gone for a long time, and I want an answer. But I don't hate you, nor do I hate the NPCs in the territory. In the apocalypse, people change, and this time it's him who changed. I'm sad, but he's wrong, and that's what he is."
Zhang Xiaoli breathed a sigh of relief as she spoke, feeling suddenly relieved. On the one hand, she could finally let go of the things she had been worrying about, and on the other hand, after saying all this, she found that she was no longer consumed by impulse or anger.
She lowered her head and smiled at Ye Miao: "Thank you for telling me frankly, I will leave the territory on my own. I have been very happy here recently, thank you everyone."
After she finished speaking, she wanted to turn back to the territory. Ye Miao was startled and asked her, "Don't you hate me?"
Zhang Xiaoli turned back and answered firmly, "Yes, I don't hate you. If I were you, I wouldn't tolerate this kind of thing either."
"Then why do you want to leave?" Ye Miao asked again.
Zhang Xiaoli was stunned and didn't know how to answer this question.
Ye Miao took a deep breath and spoke slowly, "Xie Liang isn't a good man. I killed him, and we can settle the matter completely at this point. If you don't hate me, I won't force you to leave. There's no need to make this so complicated."
Zhang Xiaoli's face turned pale with shock: "Aren't you afraid that I'm not a good person and will cheat you in the future?"
"...You have to have that ability." Ye Miao said slowly.
Zhang Xiaoli: “…”
That makes sense. Even if she is given another 20 years, she may not be able to defeat the lord.
Zhang Xiaoli suddenly realized that sometimes the magnanimity of a strong person may not just be "magnanimity", but when the strength is strong enough, many things that mean "the sky is falling" to others may not be worth caring about at all in her eyes.
The small tense situation ended here. Ye Miao returned to the warehouse to continue working on what he had just done. Thinking about Zhang Xiaoli's matter, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that he really didn't have to worry.
Regardless of her combat power, she also felt that what Zhang Xiaoli had just said was true. Besides, in the apocalypse, there were always many surprises. As her territory grew larger and her population increased, members like Zhang Xiaoli, who were her old enemies, would become increasingly unavoidable. She couldn't possibly identify them all, so it was best for everyone to relax.
Moreover, on the other hand, if the person who really wants to "avenge" hides in the dark, she can't catch him. On the contrary, if someone like Zhang Xiaoli says it openly, she will not be threatening.
Thinking back to Zhang Xiaoli's words about her territory being "a place where people can feel hope," Ye Miao felt a little elated. Life, rich or poor, has its own way of living, but being able to make people feel hope is what matters most. The fact that Zhang Xiaoli could still say such words even after losing her husband to her showed that she had truly managed her territory well!
Peaceful days always pass by especially quickly. The members of the territory methodically kill monsters and collect resources. In the blink of an eye, 15 days have passed.
On the morning of the sixteenth day, yellow sand filled the air outside the barrier's protective shield. From the outside, the still pristine barrier looked like a giant semicircle embedded in the ground.
"What the hell? Is the new mode a sandstorm?!" The members who had gotten up early and left their rooms stared blankly outside, soon starting to curse. "Damn it! The previous modes either affected gathering or monster spawning, so one side always managed to survive. But a sandstorm... a sandstorm blinds the eyes, right? What can you do if you can't open your eyes? Is this a deliberate attempt to deplete everyone's resources?"
Others said, "It's not necessarily blinding... It's just a game, maybe just a visual effect. You see, there's always some dust on the floor, but if no one sweeps it, it doesn't accumulate, and it certainly doesn't make you sneeze."
"That's true. But even if it doesn't blind you, it will definitely affect your visibility."
Indeed, now, looking out from the territory, one can only see about three or four meters away. In the past, the scenery outside the territory was picturesque, with fruit trees, rice fields, and hills not far away visible.
At a table in the small market, Zhang Tingting and her teammates ate breakfast while looking out the window. They sighed wistfully, "Let's go for a walk after breakfast. I wonder if this awful weather will keep getting weirder. If it doesn't, we'll be living off our savings for the next fifteen days."
As soon as he finished speaking, an announcement visible to the entire territory popped up.
[Ye Miao] The situation is unclear. All members, please do not leave the territory for the time being. If you must leave, you will bear the consequences at your own risk.
Zhang Tingting was stunned when she saw the announcement. The members next to her were speechless and asked, "Are you still going out?"
Zhang Tingting immediately shook her head. "I'm not going out. The boss never lets anyone down. It's right to listen to her. It won't take too long to kill the monsters."
After confirming that the announcement was successfully sent to the main territory, Ye Miao pressed the "Confirm CC" button and sent a copy of the same announcement to the base. Then he reminded An Ruoying: Don't let the members go out for the time being. The visibility in this sandstorm mode is too low. I'm afraid there may be other dangers. Wait for my news.
An Ruoying replied quickly: OK!
In the villa building next to Ye Miao, the head of the stronghold, Chu Cheng, had just temporarily handed over the affairs of the stronghold to Li Chenqi yesterday and ran back, wanting to take a two-day vacation.
His original plan was to ask Ye Miao to go out and kill monsters together in the next two days. If the new mode was not friendly, they would not go to T City to fight the dungeon, and they could just fight outside the territory. He didn't expect that the new mode would be a sandstorm, and they couldn't even get out of the door.
Chu Cheng sighed, got up, tidied up briefly, and planned to go to the kitchen to make breakfast. Just as he reached the first floor, there was a knock on the gate.
He was stunned for a moment, then quickened his pace to open the door. It was Ye Miao outside.
Ye Miao got straight to the point: "Do you have any other plans today? If not, I'll call a few more people and we can go out together."
This was exactly what Chu Cheng wanted, and he blurted out, "No arrangements, I'll do as you say."
Then he asked, "Why are you restricting everyone from going out?"
"The visibility is too low. I'm afraid the system will cause trouble in the wind and sand. It's the end of the world. Doesn't this atmosphere look like zombies will appear at any time? It's always better to be cautious." Ye Miao said in a light tone.
As for the real reason, of course she had seen this mode before. The system did cause trouble in the wind and sand. Monsters with high attack speed attacked players in the sandstorm, appearing and disappearing without a trace. Low-level players would even be knocked down and torn to pieces.
Chu Cheng looked at the yellow sand outside the protective shield and said, "Then I'll make breakfast as soon as possible."
"Let's go to the market to eat, it's faster." Ye Miao said, "I'm restricting everyone from going out. I need to tell everyone the reason, so it's better to hurry up."
"Okay." Chu Cheng nodded and sent a message to all his VIP clients, saying that they would follow the lords to investigate the situation outside the territory. Today's breakfast service was cancelled and would be automatically postponed. Everyone expressed their understanding.
The two walked into the market. Ye Miao habitually ran to Hu Haomiaolin's place to eat wontons. While eating, she sent messages, calling Chu Cheng's old teammates Yi Hang, Chen Qibin, Shen Ruhuan, and the control department leader Deng Wei. During this time, her eyes swept across Fang Yuming's name, and she hesitated for a second after looking at the glaring "Level 90", and decided to forget it.
At 7:42, the six of them walked out of the territory together. Outside, the sky was filled with yellow sand, and visibility was so low that if you stretched your arms out straight, you could barely see your fingertips. But there was no blinding effect, it was just a thick yellow haze.
The six of them were very cautious, walking very slowly, observing their surroundings as they moved forward. After walking about a few dozen meters, they faintly heard a strange sound in front of them, a bit like the sound of a rope being drawn through the air, but it seemed not very clear.
"Be careful." Ye Miao stared at the direction where the voice came from and reminded in a low voice. The six people also slowed down their pace.
Suddenly, a black light rushed out from the yellow fog, like a snake hanging in the air, and rushed straight towards Ye Miao!
Ye Miao's eyes glared, and she immediately retreated, only to be hit again. Then, she watched as the thing quickly retreated, as if it were playing backwards, back into the fog.
【-170】
The damage caused was not worth mentioning, but Ye Miao felt uncomfortable on his forehead. He wiped it and got a hand full of mucus.
She then glanced cautiously to the side, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw no signs of any negative effects.
Then, "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sounds were heard one after another, and seven or eight black shadows rushed out at the same time and attacked the team.
Ye Miao's pupils suddenly shrank, and he shouted urgently: "Retreat!"
Instantly, the team members reacted simultaneously, sprinting towards their territory. Their quick reaction deflected the incoming shadow, which missed and landed heavily on the ground, sending up a cloud of dust.
Ye Miao glanced sideways and finally saw what was attacking him - it was a few huge tentacles, pitch black in color, much thicker than the mutant earthworm king at that time, and it made a hole when it hit the ground, and it was obviously faster and had the ability to drag.
But what is the real body behind the tentacles?
As Ye Miao was thinking, a scream suddenly rang out in his ears: "Ah!!"
She turned abruptly to see Deng Wei being grabbed by the backpack strap. Without hesitation, Ye Miao thrust her sword at the tentacle, ducking to avoid another. Seeing the tentacle tugging at the backpack wouldn't let go, she resorted to backhanding it and severing the strap. The tentacle instantly retracted, pulling the backpack away and vanishing.
"Oh my God!" Deng Wei was terrified. Ye Miao took advantage of the tentacles before they could strike again and pulled her away, "Let's go!"
Deng Wei woke up as if from a dream and didn't dare to stay for a moment.
But compared to Chu Cheng and the other four archers, Deng Wei and Ye Miao's melee agility was not enough. Deng Wei's level was much lower, and she quickly distanced herself from the archers.
Several tentacles attacked again. Ye Miao heard the clear sound of wind in the dust and made a quick decision: "Chu Cheng!"
Chu Cheng turned around and saw Ye Miao pushing Deng Wei over. "You two should protect her!" At the same time, he dodged three attacking tentacles in succession, spun in an arc, and ran to the left. "I'm going to see what this thing is!"
"Ye Miao!" Chu Cheng's voice sank. He looked up and glanced, then pulled Yi Hang over to protect Deng Wei, and quickly chased in the direction of Ye Miao.
The difference in agility allowed him to quickly catch up with Ye Miao, and because his tentacles were chasing forward, after they circled for a while, the surroundings became very quiet.
But this silence did not last long. Soon, the "whoosh" sound approached again. Chu Cheng quickly pushed Ye Miao and retreated to the other side to avoid the attack.
"Run in an S line!" he shouted. Ye Miao understood and continued to run in an S line towards the direction of the tentacles.
"Bang, bang, bang!" The tentacles kept hitting the ground around them, making small holes one after another. Then they retracted and attacked again, repeating the cycle over and over again.
After running about a hundred meters, the surrounding environment suddenly changed.
The original yellow sand disappeared, as if there was a prototype barrier in the middle, with only ordinary fog in the barrier, and it was not too heavy.
Ye Miao and Chu Cheng stopped one after another, raised their eyes at the same time in the fog, and took a deep breath.
In the fog, there was the "real body" of the tentacles. They were only a few dozen meters away from it, but they didn't know how to describe this thing.
It seemed to be composed of hundreds of thick tentacles, tangled together and spiraling upwards to a height of more than a hundred meters. The tangled tentacles were still twisting and turning, and the suction cups were opening and closing. It was very uncomfortable to look at, but also had an inexplicable shock.
In a brief moment of shock, a description flashed through Ye Miao's mind: indescribable.
You're playing Cthulhu, right?!
The next second, the tentacles that had just stretched out when they stepped out of the dust retracted again. Ye Miao made a quick decision: "Run!"
While the tentacles had not yet fully returned, the two men turned around and ran into the dust again, running towards the territory without looking back.
This time, they were once again pursued by the tentacles, nearly being pulled back. Chu Cheng pulled out a variety of rare arrows with special effects and fired several at them, but none of them could inflict significant damage to the tentacles. Only the momentary pain of impact could temporarily slow the tentacles.
Finally stepping into the gate of the territory, Ye Miao suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and fell to the ground.
Chu Chengchi walked in as soon as she came in, bent down and supported his knees, panting as he looked at her: "Are you hurt?"
"No..." Ye Miao was also panting, "It's just... too disgusting. That thing is full of tentacles! How can it be shaped like that? Why is it still not talking about Ke's food!!!"
"Hahaha." Chu Cheng couldn't help laughing. The few people who had returned earlier gathered around him. Deng Wei was still scared when she thought about the scene of her backpack being pulled. She asked anxiously, "What did you see? What kind of thing is that tentacle? An octopus?"
"It's not an octopus, it's..." Ye Miao had just started to speak when the message alert dinged. She subconsciously clicked on it to check. Seeing this, Chu Cheng continued, "Let the boss take care of it first. I'll go over and explain it to you."
Chu Cheng walked away with them, explaining the situation to the other members of the territory who were gathered around him. Ye Miao looked at the message window, his brows furrowed.
The message was sent by Li Chenqi. Since Chu Cheng came back for vacation, the stronghold was temporarily under the charge of Li Chenqi.
[Li Chenqi] Boss, I'm sorry, the members of this base may still not trust us enough. After your announcement, some people still insisted on leaving, and I couldn't stop them...
This is actually not surprising. Ye Miao remembered that when the insect nest mode was first started, some people ignored her advice and insisted on going out, and she couldn't stop them.
Good words can't persuade a damned ghost. When you encounter something like this, you can only use your life to teach others a lesson.
What made her uneasy was the next message:
[Li Chenqi] They must have died outside quickly. I heard screams. But strangely, around the time they died, a lot of gold coins appeared at the gate to the territory.
[Li Chenqi] I looked carefully and found that they were indeed just ordinary game coins. There were no traps, so I put them away. There were a total of 57,000 gold coins.
Ye Miao inexplicably broke out in a cold sweat, thought for a while and asked him: How many players went out in total?
[Li Chenqi] ...five or six, six or seven. I wanted to stop them, but they just rushed out. I didn't have time to count how many people there were.
Ye Miao: Okay, I understand. Thank you for your hard work. Try not to let everyone go out anymore. If you don't have enough supplies, please let me know and I'll find a way to bring people over.
[Li Chenqi] It should be enough. It was a peaceful period before, and everyone stockpiled a lot of supplies. There are still things in the warehouse that the boss hasn't taken away. If it's just for 15 days, it should be no problem.
[Ye Miao] Okay, I'll contact you anytime. Chu Cheng might not be able to get through this for a while, so I'm relying on you.
[Li Chenqi] Don't worry! I definitely won't let you down!
Ye Miao smiled, closed the dialog box with Li Chenqi, and sent a message to An Ruoying: Yingying, I went out to check, there were tentacles attacking in the wind and sand, and the speed was very fast. It looked like they wanted to sweep people away directly, but the players who went out were all of a relatively high level and came back safely. Only one person had his backpack taken away.
Yingying?
An Ruoying stared at the panel for three seconds, then held her cheeks happily: Oh Miaomiao, call me Yingying!
Then he replied seriously: "I'm glad you're all back safely!" What are the properties of that tentacle? Can it be destroyed?
[Ye Miao] It seems to have no weaknesses. Also, we went to see what the entity behind the tentacles was. The result was... well, a bunch of tentacles, with a very Cthulhu-esque style. And it didn't show me any attribute panel, so it looked like it was unkillable.
[An Ruoying] Damn, how do we play?
[Ye Miao] At the moment, it seems best to just stay in hiding.
Then, before revealing more information, she hesitated for a moment and asked: Let me ask you a question. If you choose any member of the territory to sacrifice, you can get 1 million gold coins. Do you want it?
[An Ruoying] Does sacrifice mean sending him to death?
[Ye Miao] Yes.
[An Ruoying] Of course not. I can earn gold coins slowly, and there's no rush to level up. Why would I want to send someone to die? The members of my territory are all pretty good.
[An Ruoying] But if this quest appeared while there were death row prisoners awaiting execution in the territory, I would definitely be tempted... Does such a quest really exist?!
If such a task really existed, she would be jealous. Because her territory had been peaceful recently, she was destined not to earn this much money. On the other hand, Ye Miao might still have to deal with the core personnel of Hongfeng Village. It would be like Qin Shihuang eating small peppercorns - winning was numb!
Seeing her say that, Ye Miao dared to tell her: There is no such mission. The current situation is that there was an accident at my base. Several members ignored the advice and insisted on going out, and soon died.
[An Ruoying] Damn, why didn’t you listen to people’s advice and eat a full meal? How could you be so stupid!
[Ye Miao] After they died, 57,000 gold coins appeared at the entrance of the stronghold.
【An Ruoying】?
[An Ruoying] What does this mean? Where does the money come from?
[Ye Miao] It's directly refreshed. My thoughts might not be completely correct, but from the current situation, it seems that the process of players picking up drops from monsters has been reversed - if the player is killed by the thing outside, the territory will receive a reward.
[Ye Miao] So as a lord, you can also understand it as "sacrifice."
[Ye Miao] If we're willing to sacrifice territory members, we can directly receive gold coins, ranging from a few thousand to tens of thousands. If it takes one million gold coins to upgrade a small town to a city, then we can directly upgrade by sacrificing 100 of our 3,000 members.
【An Ruoying】Damn.
[An Ruoying] Wait! How can you still be so calculating? Calm down!!!
[Ye Miao]...I'm not tempted! I was just giving an analogy. Also, I want to say, we wouldn't do something like this, but what do you think other territories would do?
After this message was sent, there was silence for at least half a minute.
Half a minute later:
[An Ruoying] Stop talking... I'm going to have a nightmare...
[An Ruoying] This damn system is playing with human nature ahh ...
Mint Perfume Village.
The sandstorm arrived suddenly, leaving everyone confused. So after breakfast, a few members still went out the door, tested the wind and sand, and found that it was not blinding, so they turned around and called on everyone to go out and kill monsters and level up as usual.
The originally hesitant players came out together upon hearing this, but after just a few minutes, screams suddenly broke out.
Some members who had just walked out of the gate stopped in fear and stared at the yellow sand, but they could not see any movement.
Finally, several players who had been walking in the front stumbled back and threw themselves in front of their companions with terrified eyes: "Run! Run! Go back!"
Before he could finish his words, a tentacle suddenly came out and a player was dragged away.
At the same time, the pile of gold coins that had just appeared out of thin air at the gate of the territory grew again.
The player inside the door noticed it immediately and reached out to touch it, but found that the gold coins were in an "unable to be picked up" state. Only the lord and players with high-level permissions could collect them.
"Where did this gold coin come from?" The players looked at each other in confusion.
Someone quickly speculated, "Could it be... the drops from the backpacks of those who just died? Since it's too dangerous outside to pick them up, the system just collected them for us?"
"How could the system be so considerate!" The person next to him frowned. "Besides, how could the drops only be gold coins? The equipment, food, potions in the backpack, and even the skill cards I've learned will all drop out."
"That's right..." The person who had spoken earlier scratched his head. "I don't understand. But since only the Lord can pick it up, let's ask the Lord to come and take a look. And since we can't leave, we have to think about what to do next."
"You're right." The members around agreed, and someone immediately ran to the residential area to invite the lord.
Little Red Riding Hood settlement.
The apocalypse continues to this day, and there are not many settlement-level territories left, and most of those who still remain at this level are not strong enough.
So when they saw the dust rising outside, dozens of players in the Little Red Riding Hood settlement all looked dejected: they had limited resources, and the food they had stored was definitely not enough to last for 15 days, but the situation outside looked so difficult that it would be difficult to kill monsters and collect food. What should they do?
After a brief hesitation, a team gritted their teeth and went out. They felt that even if the visibility was low, they still had to try to collect resources. They couldn't just starve to death in the territory.
Seeing this, the other members also formed their own teams and prepared to go out. However, before the second team walked out, a scream was heard not far away: "Ah!"
"ah!!!"
Almost every scream stopped immediately and disappeared without a trace.
Then, some gold coins appeared out of thin air inside the gate of the territory, forming a small pile.
"What's going on? Let me go and take a look!" A level 67 melee mage who prided himself on being one of the strongest in the territory strode out of the door to look for the team just now.
Three minutes later, there was another scream.
The amount of gold coins inside the territory's gate silently increased.
"What's going on?!" The players were terrified. Chen Siwen, the settlement lord, walked to the gate, squatted down, looked at the gold coins, and then recalled the screams from before. "It's broken!"
She gritted her teeth, stood up and told everyone, "Something's not right outside. These gold coins are most likely compensation or rewards for the members who died... Anyway, don't go out yet. A few people, help me count the supplies we have and see if we can survive this. As for these gold coins..."
She glanced back at the small pile of gold coins. They were just normal coins, the only currency in the game, but she felt as if they were stained with blood, which was chilling.
But given the current situation, I can't worry about that. Those players have already died, and if this money can save others, then don't worry about anything else.
Chen Siwen took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "I'll manage these gold coins. I'll store some in the warehouse for future use, and distribute some to everyone. Everyone, please be frugal with them. This model won't be easy."
"Okay..." The players responded sparsely, the screams of the deceased members still echoing in their minds, leaving them with a lingering fear.
Sweet Orange Village.
Lord Zhou Xian also quickly discovered the new game mechanism because of the deaths of his members. After finding out that the deaths of seven members were exchanged for nearly 80,000 gold coins, his eyes lit up.
He had completed all the territory upgrade tasks a few days ago, and only needed to spend another 300,000 gold coins to upgrade the village to a town.
This money was originally enough in his warehouse, but the expenses of completing the territory upgrade task were also very high. Zhou Xian didn't want to run out of money, so he didn't want to touch the last few hundred thousand gold coins.
He had originally wanted to wait a few days before upgrading. Since the members had to hand in their supplies anyway, 300,000 wouldn't be hard to come by. Besides, he could still attack other territories, and that money would be free.
But now there are dangers everywhere outside, so the attack on the territory must be slowed down.
If you lose 7 members, you will get 80,000 gold coins...
Zhou Xian felt that losing more than 20 members would not be a big loss for his territory with a total population of 1,000.
"The F-rank members themselves haven't contributed much to the territory, but now they finally have the chance to do so," Zhou Xian muttered to himself as he sat on the sofa on the first floor of the villa, a smile curling his lips. "I think they're willing to sacrifice their lives to make the territory stronger."
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