There's certainly nothing wrong with this approach. Before the apocalypse, people often saw adoption requests on Weibo, often following the pattern Song Feifei described: explaining the situation clearly and then playing up the sympathy.
However, those messages are generally about rescuing kittens and puppies. Orphans need to go through legal channels and cannot just look for people online.
The two hit it off immediately and quickly wrote a draft back home. Writing this kind of thing was no pressure for two college students, and just twenty minutes later, the announcement was sent out from the reception hall.
In the announcement, everyone can see that it must first pass Ye Miao's review. Ye Miao usually passes it directly, but this time he took a closer look.
Announcements posted on the territory are usually brief and concise, stating the need in a few sentences. However, this one has 300 to 400 words, and it looks densely packed in the pop-up window, making it hard not to notice.
After reading it from beginning to end, Ye Miao's heart sank and he frowned.
Then she clicked "Allow to publish", took a screenshot, sent the content of the announcement to An Ruoying, and went out and went directly to find Song Feifei who posted the announcement.
It had not been a few minutes since she saw the announcement. Ye Miao thought about it and walked directly towards the reception hall. Sure enough, she met Song Feifei and Fang Siyu who were on their way back to the residential area.
"Good afternoon, boss!" The two people didn't expect Ye Miao to come to see them, but they still took the initiative to say hello.
Ye Miao stopped and said, "Are you busy? If not, please come over. I have something to ask you."
Song Feifei and Fang Siyu looked at each other, and Fang Siyu said, "Not busy." Ye Miao nodded and took them back to his villa.
The three of them settled down in the living room. Ye Miao served them juice and coffee and inquired in detail, "What's the matter with your announcement? Is someone from Tianju Town looking for you?"
"Yes." Song Feifei said, "It's not just us they're looking for. The old members from Tianju Town should all know about this."
Ye Miao asked again: "Did they come here just these past two days? In other words, that girl's parents must have just died?"
Song Feifei: "It seems like my father passed away a long time ago...my mother died recently. I'm not sure about the details."
Ye Miao: "Besides these, didn't the people over there say anything else?"
"Anything else?" Song Feifei and Fang Siyu were both stunned for a moment, then shook their heads in confusion. "Nothing else... What did the boss want to ask?"
"For example." Ye Miao paused, "How did her mother die? Was she... sacrificed to the monster outside?"
"Ah?!" Song Feifei and Fang Siyu were dumbfounded.
Ye Miao frowned. "Didn't the people in Tianju Town who wanted to help say a word? Then wouldn't it be convenient for you to ask? This matter is very important."
"We can ask..." Fang Siyu was speechless.
There was nothing wrong with asking, but she wondered, if the cause of death was truly so horrific, someone would have spoken directly about it. How could they have omitted it?
Ye Miao said: "If you can ask, then ask. If you can't, that's fine. I will find another way to figure this out."
"Okay." Both of them nodded. Song Feifei said, "Then let's ask first. If we have any results, we'll tell the boss."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work. But that child..." Ye Miao paused. "Adopting a child is a big deal. If anyone contacts you, come and ask me. We have to find her reliable parents. We can't take her in and end up putting her in a bad situation, right?"
"Okay!" The two agreed. After Ye Miao explained the situation clearly, he didn't keep them for long. He chatted with them for a while and then sent them away.
Before they left, the message prompt had been popping up for a long time. Now Ye Miao finally had time to take a look. When he clicked it, he saw An Ruoying going crazy.
[An Ruoying] Aa ...
[An Ruoying] There's something wrong with this! Absolutely! I don't believe this kind of coincidence exists!
[An Ruoying] If he hadn't sacrificed the players, I would have called him Daddy from now on! ! !
[Ye Miao] No, no, no, calm down! Logically, even if he didn't sacrifice players, Tianju Town isn't a good territory, and he's not a good person either. Don't blindly acknowledge him as your father.
【An Ruoying】QAQ.
[An Ruoying] So what are you going to do about this? Any ideas?
[Ye Miao] I've asked the old members of Tianju on my side to inquire about it, but it's quite strange that they didn't mention it directly before, so I plan to find out the details myself.
[An Ruoying] How to explore?
Ye Miao smiled and didn't reply. Instead, she directly opened the small group of three people that she had created earlier. In addition to her and An Ruoying, there was also Zhou Xian.
She spoke frankly: @ZhouXian, I heard from the members of your territory that there's an orphan over there, a four-year-old girl. Can't you take care of her? I've found foster parents for her. I'll pick her up tonight!
In Tianju Town, Zhou Xian, who had just completed the territory upgrade, was looking through the tasks for upgrading the city and doing the math.
The direct cost of upgrading a small town to a city is 1 million gold coins, but in addition, the task of upgrading facilities also costs money, so the total cost is about 2 million gold coins.
2 million - Zhou Xian felt a little annoyed looking at this number, because although he had upgraded the town, there were monsters outside and he had no way to recruit new members. The actual total number of members in the territory could only be temporarily maintained at the current level of more than 900, and the upper limit of 3,000 people was actually a fictitious number.
With only 900 members, it would be a bit of a drain on their strength to have to sacrifice 200 of them. It would also likely cause public outrage and lead to a disastrous outcome.
Zhou Xian weighed the pros and cons, feeling both regretful and angry. Suddenly, a message popped up, and he clicked it with a frown. The moment he saw the message, his heart trembled.
Then, he read the message carefully four or five times, not daring to miss a single word. Only then did he gradually feel a little relieved, thinking that Ye Miao just wanted to help and had no other intentions.
That's right, Ye Miao shouldn't know about those things. Because after he completed the sacrifice and saved enough money, he immediately started upgrading, and then told the members that after the upgrade, the lord would unlock new privileges and be able to view the chat history of all members, including private chats.
Now the tentacle monster that eats people without leaving any bones is still outside. Everyone is afraid of being pushed out by him, so of course they won’t talk nonsense.
Zhou Xian took a breath and replied calmly, "Yes, there is an orphan. Did they ask you for help? Actually, I can find someone to take care of her, but since you've already found adoptive parents, it's fine to leave her with them."
The hidden meaning behind his words was actually that he hoped Ye Miao would not interfere. Although a four-year-old child might not understand what happened yesterday and might not be able to explain it clearly, it was safer for him to stay with him.
Zhou Xian had made up his mind. If Ye Miao really decided to come pick them up, he would push the little girl out as well and then give Ye Miao a reason. Anyway, the sandstorm mode still had 12 days left, so it was normal for a child to not survive such a brutal mode.
However, Ye Miao had no intention of "stopping at the right time." If Zhou Xian hadn't previously expressed his desire for an alliance, since they were strangers, she wouldn't have been able to initiate it. But now that the two sides had interacted, even if it was polite, it gave her reason to be blunt.
She said lightly, "I've already found the adoptive parents, so just leave it to me."
【Zhou Xian】That’s fine too.
[Ye Miao] Then I will pick him up tonight.
【Zhou Xian】……Wait.
He stared at the dialog box for a moment, pretending to be concerned. "Tonight? But there are monsters outside now, it's very dangerous. Why not wait a while until this mode ends? I can send it over."
[Ye Miao] It's okay, I've tried, it's safe at night, I'll pick her up tonight. Please keep her safe for the next half day!
Half a minute passed after the message was sent before Zhou Xian replied: OK, no problem, I'll wait for you.
Ye Miao glanced at the screen and laughed, then closed the group chat and found Liu Ying from the address book: Psychology team, get ready, we need your help with something again, price is negotiable!
【Liu Ying】Okay, wait for the task to refresh!!!
Singing Camp.
By the third day of the sandstorm, the small territory, with a maximum population of only 50, had finally collapsed. The limited food reserves were nearly depleted, and with only one meal left to go, the remaining rations were barely enough for everyone.
Despair spread in the silence. Everyone looked at the yellow sand outside the window and waited to die. The eerie atmosphere was frightening.
The situation in the nearby Flower Village wasn't much better, except that last night, someone received a message from the larger territory saying it was safe to stay at night.
But no one left the house last night, and this rumor has not been confirmed. The members of the territory had originally hoped to survive for as long as possible, but they had already exhausted their food supplies today. Some were forced to make plans to go out and see if it was safe to do so. If the rumors were false, being eaten by monsters would be more convenient than starving to death.
Before they knew it, it was nightfall. When they learned that someone had decided to go out, almost no one in the territory went to sleep. They all sat around the campfire waiting for the result.
At 11:30 PM, a couple walked out of the residential area together. When they passed the bonfire, they looked at everyone. The woman smiled and said, "We are leaving. We will see you again if we are lucky."
"...Good luck to you." Lord Han Zifeng sighed. The couple said nothing more, looking towards the gate, their expressions tense.
One step, two steps, under everyone's gaze, they walked towards the door step by step. Then they passed through the light blue barrier and arrived outside.
After walking a few meters, they could no longer be seen. Many people pricked up their ears, paying attention to the sounds outside.
After about twenty minutes, the crowd still did not disperse, and finally a sound was heard outside, it was a man shouting.
Everyone stood up at once and rushed to the door to see what was going on. Some timid members were curious but did not dare to move forward, fearing that they would see a bloody scene.
But as they got closer, they heard a joyful voice: "Safe! Really safe!"
The man ran back to his territory and excitedly told everyone, "It's really safe! We've all walked right up to the monster and it's okay! Everyone can take this opportunity to go out!"
"Then, can we kill monsters and collect materials at this time?!" someone asked.
Han Zifeng was silent for a moment. "Don't think about killing monsters or gathering anything for now. If we can get out safely at night, we'll head to the larger territory first."
"Alright..." Everyone nodded. "This model is too difficult. It's safer to seek refuge in a large territory."
"Quickly take a look. Which large territory is closest?"
"Let's go to the 'Love Happy Water Village,'" the man said. "We've asked around before, and there's a place there with a decent atmosphere. Hey, after you guys agree, send me a message. My wife's waiting for me up there. This place is creepy, and I can't let her stay any longer."
"Okay, okay, go ahead!" Everyone expressed their understanding, quickly let the man go, and then started discussing a new place to go.
Soon, everyone returned to the residential area, packed their belongings, and headed to the "Love Happy Water Village." The despair that had previously permeated the territory disappeared, and everyone's face was filled with the joy of having found a way out of a desperate situation.
At 00:27, Ye Miao finally arrived at the entrance of Tianju Town.
She actually left home at ten o'clock, but the two territories were not close to each other, and even on horseback, it still took a lot of time.
When they got outside the door, Ye Miao sent a message to Zhou Xian: I'm here, please let her out!
In a villa in the residential area, Zhou Xian received the news and was so angry that he had no place to vent his anger and gritted his teeth.
"Here she is?" The subordinate noticed something was wrong, thought for a moment, and tried to persuade him, "How about... just kill her? If she really takes him back, the hidden dangers will be too great."
Zhou Xian took a deep breath and closed his eyes: "No."
If he really waited until the mode ended and the girl was gone, it would be normal, as any accidents could happen. But it had only been half a day since Ye Miao contacted him, and she had specifically told him to protect the girl's safety. If he told Ye Miao that she was dead at this time, he would be asking for trouble.
He hesitated and said, "It's the end of the world anyway, anything can happen... Let's give her a reason. It's up to her whether she believes it or not."
"Whether she believes it or not is not her business, it's ours." Zhou Xian shook his head helplessly, "We can't afford to offend her right now. We can't let her get suspicious."
Subordinate: "Then..."
Zhou Xian said resolutely: "Send her out. She's still young anyway. I tentatively asked her last night, and she said she didn't understand what happened yesterday. If I tell Ye Miao, it will only make things unclear and can't be used as evidence."
The subordinate was silent for a moment, but he couldn't think of any other solution, so he finally nodded and said, "Okay, I'll send her out right away."
Outside the gate, Ye Miao waited for a long time without receiving a reply from Zhou Xian, and he felt very anxious.
She tried to comfort herself, telling herself that it was probably because it was too late and Zhou Xian was asleep. At the same time, she couldn't help but think of the worst, worrying that Zhou Xian would be desperate and kill someone to silence him.
But if he kills someone to silence them at this time, it would be really suspicious. Zhou Xian shouldn't be that stupid, right?
As he pondered over it, a few minutes seemed longer than years. Finally, when Zhou Xian replied, "Okay, have someone send her out right away," Ye Miao felt relieved.
After waiting for a few more minutes, she saw a mage carrying a little girl out. The little girl was already asleep and didn't wake up even after being carried out. Ye Miao and the others approached, thought for a moment, and said, "I'll get on the horse first, and then carry her up."
"Okay." The men Zhou Xian sent were very friendly. After Ye Miao sat comfortably on the horse, they carefully handed the little girl to her.
"Thank you for your help." Ye Miao smiled, staring at her without blinking. "By the way...would you mind telling me how her parents died?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she caught a flash of panic.
"This..." The other party quickly covered it up and asked casually, "Why do you ask this?"
Ye Miao was neither anxious nor panicked: "She is still so young, it is easy for her to have psychological problems. I want to ask her what happened, and try to avoid mentioning anything related to this in front of her in the future, so as not to upset her."
"I see." The male mage breathed a sigh of relief, then told her, "It seems her father died in an accident while killing monsters a long time ago. Her mother..." He paused, quickly coming up with an excuse, "The mode had just changed that day, and no one was sure what was going on. Her mother tried to go out to kill monsters as usual that morning, but was swept away by the tentacles."
This kind of thing happens in almost every territory.
"I understand." Ye Miao nodded. "Thank you very much. I'm leaving now. When this crappy situation is over, I'll invite everyone to come and play Get Rich Overnight!"
"Okay, take care." The male mage looked after Ye Miao with a friendly smile. Seeing that Ye Miao really left without saying anything else, he finally relaxed.
That was a close call...
Fortunately, he reacted quickly and probably didn't get caught.
It was almost three o'clock in the morning when Ye Miao returned to her territory with the child. Since the issue of adoptive parents had not been decided yet, she first brought the child to her own residence, intending to temporarily hand the child over to the care of the psychological team tomorrow and see if the team could find out anything.
The next morning, around seven, Ye Miao and the little girl woke up. This was the system's standard "natural awakening" time. Without any other arrangements to interfere, most players woke up between seven and seven-thirty.
So after Ye Miao woke up, she immediately went to the second bedroom on the second floor. She pushed the door open and saw the little girl sitting obediently on the bed. She didn't cry or make a fuss when she saw her come in, but just asked her timidly, "Who are you..."
With just this one sentence, Ye Miao cried out in his heart: Oh no!!!
A four or five-year-old child might be well-behaved in front of their parents and family, but would likely be easily uneasy when facing strangers and unfamiliar environments. Ye Miao could only imagine two scenarios for a child who could behave well in front of strangers and unfamiliar environments: one was sheer luck, having encountered that incredibly rare "other people's child," or the other was that they had experienced trauma and were accustomed to life's unexpected changes.
As for the first type, she wasn't even sure if they really existed. She had only seen them in literary works, but had never encountered them in real life.
As for the second type, it is very reasonable for it to appear in the end times.
Ye Miao took a deep breath, walked into the room, and sat down beside her bed: "Be good, I'm your mother's friend. I brought you here so I could find someone to take care of you. What's your name?"
"Zhu Qi." The girl whispered.
"Okay, Qiqi." Ye Miao touched her forehead. "I'll take you to have breakfast first, and then take you to meet some uncles and aunts who can take care of you in the future, okay?"
Zhu Qi nodded quietly but seriously.
After experiencing what happened with Feng Xiaohao, Ye Miao had some experience in coaxing children. Although Zhu Qi was younger, she was not too panicked. After taking her to have breakfast, she went shopping in the market and bought some candies and snacks to cheer her up.
Children are easy to coax. Although Zhu Qi was obviously worried, she felt much better after eating the candy. She jumped and skipped while holding Ye Miao's hand.
At around nine o'clock, Ye Miao took her into the two-story villa of the psychology team.
Several other members of the psychology team were providing psychological counseling to the elderly members of Red Maple Village upstairs. Liu Ying was waiting on the first floor. When she saw Ye Miao and his men approaching, she squatted down and greeted them with a friendly look on her face: "Hello."
At the same time, Zhou Xian received a call for help from a nearby small territory.
The sandstorm mode has been going on for four days, and many territories have discovered the night safety settings. Some of them discovered it accidentally, and some heard it from others.
Many small territories that could not survive seized the opportunity and tried to survive. However, although it was safe at night, they could not spawn monsters or collect materials. Requesting a merger with a large territory was almost the only way out.
Zhou Xian had just upgraded his town, so it was obvious that his territory had a large number of vacancies. So, in just this morning alone, he had received requests for help from several small territories. Most of these were settlements with a maximum population of 100 people, and one was a village with only 300 people, showing poor development.
In response to this, Zhou Xian’s response was, of course, to accept it all.
However, he separated the time for them to come to Tianju Town, and only accepted people from one territory a day to avoid unnecessary complications.
He was originally annoyed that he had no money to upgrade the city, but now it seems that he will have it soon.
In the town that became rich overnight, Ye Miao selected adoptive parents for Zhu Qi before dusk.
In fact, perhaps because everyone was quite well-off, many members wanted to adopt a child as soon as the announcement was made. Some, like Hu Hao and Miao Lin, were childless; others, like Sun Aimei, already had a child.
In the end, Ye Miao chose Wu Zhen and Ding Yu because she found that when the couple came to see Zhu Qi, Ding Yu's eyes were always following Zhu Qi. Wu Xi, who was three or four years older than Zhu Qi, also liked the appearance of this younger sister very much, and it seemed that they would be able to get along harmoniously in the future.
But Ye Miao didn't push the issue to the limit. After making up her mind, she told the couple frankly, "If you feel that taking care of two children is too tiring, you can tell me directly and I will find another solution. Also... if you are under great financial pressure, you can also tell me."
At that time, Ding Yu was holding Zhu Qi on her lap and braiding her hair. "No, no, we're doing OK. We don't need to enroll our children in tutoring classes or homework these days. It's not a big expense."
"Okay. And... we have to take her to the psychology department on time!" Ye Miao said again.
"Of course." Wu Zhen sighed, "Both parents are dead, we know what's going on, don't worry."
"Yeah..." Ye Miao sighed. The sudden sound of a message alert caught her attention. She clicked on it and saw that it was from Fang Siyu.
[Fang Siyu] Boss, we asked, but didn’t get anything out of it, but there must be a problem!
[Ye Miao] How do you say it?
[Fang Siyu] We asked how Qiqi's mother died. We asked three people. We had met these three people before, but they didn't know each other. Everyone gave a different reason!
[Fang Siyu] One said that he was swept away by tentacles when he went out, another said that he died in a battle with monsters before the sandstorm mode, and another said that he had died a long time ago and it was an accident that occurred during collection.
[Fang Siyu] Not only is the cause of death different, but even the time of death is different! Something must be wrong in Tianju Village!
The author has something to say:
Zhou Xian: Sacrifice you all!
Ye Miao: I’ll ask you to send it sooner or later.
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I'll give out red envelopes to 50 random comments on this chapter.
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