Ten days of soil erosion had already begun, and the members of the Red Maple settlement had run out of food and were complaining bitterly. Just then, however, the Red Maple settlement was upgraded to a village. In the apocalyptic game, territory upgrades signify increased strength, and the depressed members rejoiced for a moment. But just one day later, the bitter complaints returned.
In the evening, Zheng Minhui walked into the already dilapidated tent with two steamed buns and a gloomy face.
He was a family man, but after the apocalypse, he lost contact with his wife and children, who were far away. He didn't dare to consider whether they had perished, and could only deceive himself by telling himself that they were simply out of the same area. Meanwhile, he did his best to survive, clinging to the faint hope that he might one day be reunited with his family.
Zheng Minhui now lives with his old colleague, Zhang Jianjun. On the day of the apocalypse, the two of them were on duty together when three skeleton monsters suddenly appeared in the office, scaring Zheng Minhui so much that his brain suddenly short-circuited.
But Zhang Jianjun was a former soldier, and when the skeleton monster attacked, he instinctively threw it over his shoulder. However, because veterans were judged to have low basic combat skills, the skeleton monster was killed on the spot, and its equipment was also dropped.
This calmed Zhang Jianjun down, and he dealt with the other two skeleton monsters one after another, then ran out with Zheng Minhui.
But it was easy to escape that disaster. In the days that followed, the two of them lived a miserable life.
They were so panicked at the time that, for safety's sake, they didn't bother choosing carefully. On the third day after the apocalypse, they joined the nearest Red Maple Shelter. Unlike most territories now located in the suburbs, the Red Maple Shelter was built in City T. The owner, Wei Hua, had chosen Area A of the recently completed Science and Technology Park. It was a large area and housed not only basic amenities like supermarkets, cafes, and restaurants, but also a gym and basketball court.
Because the shelters were built quickly, these areas, despite several rounds of looting, suffered limited damage. After the shelters were built, they were cleaned up, and many of them are still usable today, having been converted into proper official territorial restaurants, saving a lot of money on building housing.
But this is not a good thing for ordinary players.
There was a small but good hotel inside the original science and technology park. Wei Hua arranged the hotel for senior players to stay in from the beginning. Young members could only set up tents by themselves when they came in, and they had to pay if they insisted on staying in the hotel.
It can be said that the classes within the territory had gradually been differentiated since then.
Later, the number of members gradually increased and the territory gradually expanded, from initially occupying only half of Area A of the Science and Technology Park to the entire Area A of the Science and Technology Park, and then even Area B was expanded to the territory. This class division did not ease, but became more and more intense.
Wei Hua still didn't build many rooms, but he did divide the hotel into different levels. The highest-level players stayed in executive suites, the less prestigious ones stayed in standard rooms, and the less prestigious ones still had to pitch their own tents outside.
Later, the hotel could no longer accommodate the players that Wei Hua liked, so he built villas and red brick houses for high-level players to live in. The players in the hotel were upgraded one by one, and the ordinary players who were not worthy of entering the hotel were still miserable.
At this moment, Zheng Minhui just walked into the tent with a steamed bun and started cursing: "This shabby place is getting more and more unbearable for me!"
Zhang Jianjun looked at him, not in the mood to persuade him. He just said, "What's the point of you saying this?"
Zheng Minhui pretended not to hear. He sat down on a low stool and continued to complain, "We're all fighting as a team, but the resources are always controlled by the high-level players. Even the card packs issued by the system have to be handed in! When I asked to keep something, they just made promises, saying they'd give it to me later. But what the hell is that later? I can see that they're just using us as cheap labor! The better the territory develops, the less we're treated as human beings!"
Zhang Jianjun's mouth twitched, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't say it in the end.
Because he had the same feeling recently. Wei Hua's skill in making empty promises was really perfect, and his PUA level was obviously not low.
Take recent events, for example. For unknown reasons, crop yields have plummeted, and farmland within the territory is failing. While high-level players in the hotel receive a "minimum living allowance" so they don't have to worry about going hungry, low-level players don't, and live in fear of starvation every day.
When everyone was almost unable to hold on, Wei Hua started to "open the granary and release grain", and the price was extremely high, but Wei Hua explained with confidence that there was not much inventory in the territory, and that charging this fee was for sustainable development, and he hoped that everyone would understand.
Moreover, when he said these words, the "opening of warehouses and releasing grain" had just begun. Before the players had time to criticize him, he made such pitiful remarks, which made many players feel that he was working very hard and lamented that it was not easy to manage a territory.
Even Zhang Jianjun only came to his senses over the past two days and felt that something was not right.
As small players, their contributions to the territory are indeed limited, but over time, they have accumulated a considerable amount of supplies for the territory. Now, they have no equipment, no gold cards, and have to pay high prices for a few bites of food. Doesn't it seem unreasonable?
But there is no place to argue about this truth.
The two of them gnawed on the dry buns in silence for a while. Zheng Minhui hesitantly looked at Zhang Jianjun and said, "What do you think will happen if we secretly hide the equipment after we kill the monster tomorrow and don't return it?"
Zhang Jianjun paused, "I don't know, but it's basically a gamble with your life."
Zheng Minhui fell silent again.
They were still slow to react. They should have realized it was wrong when Wei Hua initially asked everyone to open their bags and check them after each kill. But at the time, their fear was so deep, and their need to survive made them rationalize this exploitation, believing it was necessary to establish the territory; otherwise, everyone would just hoard...
Now it seems that it was simply a test of docility. As long as the initial group of people gradually accepted it, it would become a norm and would be difficult to overturn.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Jianjun suddenly spoke again: "But if you are truly determined to leave, and even feel that death is better than suffering here, then you can take the risk."
Zheng Minhui raised his head, looked at his old friend's expression, and asked anxiously, "Do you... have a solution?"
"It's not a solution." Zhang Jianjun smiled bitterly and shook his head. "It's probably just a desperate gamble. Although the rules of our territory are harsh, they never restrict members from leaving. We can just quit and find another territory to join."
"Are you crazy?!" Zheng Minhui's eyes widened, finding this ridiculous. "From the moment we joined the territory until now, we haven't been able to keep any equipment, and we've handed in all our cards. Even now, I only have one blue attack skill that I can use... You're almost there, right? If we go out like this, we'll die if we encounter any monster. And you want to enter another territory without anything? Why would they want you?"
Zhang Jianjun fell silent. He knew Zheng Minhui had a point. Any territory would want its members to be strong. If they wanted to successfully find a new home, they should take risks, as Zheng Minhui had just suggested, and hide some equipment. They might even have to find a way to acquire a few decent skill cards.
But that's really too difficult.
Zhang Jianjun sighed, "If we had known life would become increasingly difficult, we should have left before the crop yields declined. Back then, the wilds would be abundant, and with just our level 40+ Gathering Skill, we should have been able to join some second-rate territories."
But now, seeing that crop yields have decreased and no one knows when they will recover, the gathering technique has become useless. Even second-rate territories probably won’t want to support “idlers” like them.
Zhang Jianjun took another bite of the steamed bun and took two sips of water to moisten his throat. "Just bear with it a little longer. If we can find a suitable opportunity to get something later, we can leave and feel more confident. As for the hard times, they've been going on for so long anyway, so one or two days won't make a difference."
Zheng Minhui stopped talking, shook his head, and finished the remaining steamed buns in a few bites.
A village that became rich overnight.
After careful consideration, Ye Miao decided to learn the [Eye of Medusa] that Cao Xi left behind after his death.
The original card description for this card is:
Eye of Medusa
【Quality: Gold】
Description: Skill. Upon use, enemies the user sees will be petrified. If the user's gaze is directed at them, the petrification duration is doubled. Affects up to 3 units. Petrification duration is 1-6 seconds, and the skill duration is 2-5 seconds. The specific petrification time and duration depend on the combat skill level.
After Ye Miao learned, the system recalculated based on her personal attributes, and the description became:
Eye of Medusa
【Quality: Gold】
Description: Skill. Upon use, enemies the user sees will be petrified. If the user's gaze is directed at them, the petrification duration will be doubled. Affects up to 2 units. Petrification duration is 3 seconds, and the skill duration is 3 seconds.
This result did not surprise her. Control belonged to the mage skills, and she was destined to not be able to use the skills to their full potential if she learned it as a melee fighter.
But she didn't find a mage to learn it because, firstly, she really needed a control skill; a little control at a critical moment could mean the difference between defeating the opponent and turning the tide. Secondly, although this skill was a control skill, it had a special mechanic: if the enemy and the user made eye contact, the petrification time would be doubled, which gave her an advantage in close combat.
On the 12th day of soil erosion, Su Xinran and Lu Weiwei harvested another wave of ducks and geese, and the cattle and sheep were about to mature.
But the 40-man combat team that Ye Miao wanted was not successfully formed.
Chu Cheng looked helpless. "Actually, most of the members from the Fearless Village are very good fighters. It wouldn't be difficult if we only wanted 40 people to participate in a team battle. But it's not easy to get 18 of them who can control skills."
Ye Miao asked: "How many people know how to control it now?"
Chu Cheng replied: "Seven."
"Too few." Ye Miao sighed, "I'd rather have fewer damage-dealing members and more with control skills. If my analysis is correct, as long as I can control a few tentacles, I can slowly fight them. But if I can't control them, unless my damage output is high enough to kill them within a few seconds, it will be difficult to win."
Chu Cheng was silent. Ye Miao thought for a moment and then said, "If there are not enough people in the territory, I will have no choice but to recruit new people."
"That's fine." Chu Cheng nodded. Ye Miao said slowly, "Then you should still form a team of 40 people. There's nothing wrong with having more damage-type players."
"Okay." Chu Cheng nodded, and Ye Miao immediately went to the reception hall and posted the recruitment information online.
[Name: Get Rich Overnight Village]
[Owner: Ye Miao]
【Number of recruits: 15】
[Recruitment requirements: Combat skill level ≥ 35, and at least one control skill.]
This should be the first time she has deliberately recruited combat players since the establishment of the territory.
After sending out the recruitment message, Ye Miao thought for a moment and decided to recruit some gathering players as well. This was because when the soil erosion first started, she had found "new jobs" for the gathering players: some fighting monsters, others raising livestock. But once the soil erosion phase ended, the monster-hunting players would probably be willing to return to gathering, but the players who followed Su Xinran and Lu Weiwei to raise livestock might not be so keen.
Considering the harmonious coexistence of everyone and the sustainable development of the territory, Ye Miao did not want to dismantle Su Xinran and Lu Weiwei's breeding team. Therefore, in order to maintain balance, it was necessary to recruit new gathering talents.
[Name: Get Rich Shelter]
[Owner: Ye Miao]
【Number of recruits: 20】
[Recruitment requirements: Gathering Skill ≥ Level 30.]
After the second recruitment message was sent, Ye Miao waited quietly for new members to join. When it came to fighting boss monsters, her attitude was always to go with the flow. If everyone gathered, she would fight. If not, she would wait and see. After all, the monsters would not disappear out of thin air.
However, these two pieces of news caused an uproar on the entire T city map.
Generally speaking, members who have already joined a territory won't deliberately check out recruitment information from other territories. However, survival in the apocalypse is difficult, and there will always be people who want to change or move, so some fresh recruitment information will spread like wildfire.
Sweet Orange Village.
Liu Yin, who had just learned about the "Pure Land" after rushing to stay with her roommates, was about to go out to kill monsters when she heard two roommates whispering, "Did you hear that the 'Pure Land' has announced an open recruitment announcement?"
"real?!"
"Yes, I wanted to apply before, but submitting a new application requires leaving the original territory. I was worried that I wouldn't be strong enough to get in and out. This time, with clear recruitment conditions, it's much easier!"
"What are the recruitment conditions?"
"There are two. One is for combat skills level 35 and has control skills, and the other is for gathering skills above level 30."
When Liu Yin heard this, she stopped and immediately turned back to the residential area.
"Fei Fei, Si Yu!" After Liu Yin came over, Song Fei Fei and Fang Si Yu moved and found three adjacent thatched houses to live together. Liu Yin ran to the door and shouted, and both of them heard it.
Fang Siyu thought she was here to urge them to kill monsters and gather, so she stuck her head out and said, "Didn't I tell you to go first? We'll be right there!"
"...No!" Liu Yin passed by Song Feifei's door and pulled her, and the three of them squeezed into Fang Siyu's room together.
Fang Siyu asked anxiously, "What are you doing? What's wrong?"
Liu Yin's eyes sparkled: "I heard that 'Pure Land' has started recruiting!"
"?!" Fang Siyu and Song Feifei were stunned, but soon, their surprise turned into surprise. "Really? Did you hear it right?!"
"That's right!" Liu Yin said confidently. "I heard the recruitment requirements are 'combat skills above level 35 and control skills', or 'gathering skills above level 30'. I'm not good at fighting, but I'm good at gathering. You two should be able to fight too, right?!"
"..." Fang Siyu and Song Feifei looked at each other, looking embarrassed.
Their fighting skills are adequate, but they lack control skills.
Liu Yin was speechless: "Then...then I won't go either!"
"No." Song Feifei shook her head. "If anyone can go, then go. There's no need to suffer together."
Liu Yin was firm: "Good sisters should stay together! We share the good times and the bad times together!"
"No!" Song Feifei gritted her teeth. "There are advantages to going first. You can pave the way for us. Then we can go to you and gain a foothold. Also... the prices in the Pure Land are low and the atmosphere is friendly. If you go there first, maybe you can secretly send us something or something."
These words made Liu Yin waver.
Sisterhood is important, but it is obviously more important if everyone can truly live a better life.
Fang Siyu also said, "I think Feifei is right. You go first. We'll find a way to quickly get a control skill card and learn it. We'll come right away once we've learned it!"
"That... is fine." Liu Yin nodded hesitantly.
Half an hour later, Liu Yin left Tianju Village and followed the signs on the map to the legendary "Pure Land", a village that became rich overnight.
Sunset Bar in downtown T City.
Since the end of the world, the bar owner has used the favorable terrain of the bar's basement to renovate it and maintain her business. In addition, she also set up consignment panels in the bar, which not only provides convenience for players but also allows her to earn a commission.
As the outside world gradually upgraded, many territories established their own consignment stores, and the Sunset Bar's consignment business became less popular. Most players would simply post a message here while consigning cards in their territories, but they likely wouldn't buy from her.
But today, the boss lady noticed that there were suddenly more people coming to watch the consignment panels.
"Why are there so few control skills? I've been looking through it for a long time, but I can't find a single one." At ten o'clock in the morning, an assassin was flipping through the panel with a look of frustration on his face.
At eleven o'clock, a warrior walked into the bar and happened to come across a newly released card. He was ecstatic: "Ah! I finally found it! Iron Chain is a control skill! Even if it's just a blue card, it's enough!!!"
As soon as the warrior finished speaking, the proprietress received a system notification, indicating that the card had been sold. The blue card was priced at 2,000 gold coins, and she would charge a 5% handling fee, which came to 100 gold coins.
At half past eleven, two business players walked into the bar together. One said, "The brave will die of overeating, and the timid will die of starvation. Just listen to me, it won't go wrong."
After saying that, the two of them walked to the panel and started working busily, obviously putting something on the shelf.
The lady boss was busy cleaning the counter and ignored them. After the two of them finished their food, they came over and ordered two glasses of juice, then sat down at a table in the corner to chat.
Then more customers came in and the proprietress kept hearing people cheering.
"There are control cards! Lots of them! A little pricey... but I'll just buy one! I'll spend the money!"
Then a blue card was sold for 5,000 gold coins, and the proprietress earned 250 gold coins. Judging from the equipment, the buyer should be a mage.
"Ahhhhh, leave one for me! What? All white control skills cost 3000? Damn it... Never mind, buy it!"
The proprietress earned 150 gold coins, and the buyer looked like... a priest?
The two people in the corner turned their heads, opened their own panels, and silently modified the price remotely.
The next person to approach the panel was a swordsman. "What? Am I ignorant? Spell cards are so valuable? Purple control skills sell for 20,000? How much are gold cards???"
The proprietress was not shocked by the price when she heard his complaints, but the next second she received a handling fee of 1,000 yuan.
The boss lady: “?”
The two trading players in the corner were almost laughing, but they held back and didn't reveal that they were the sellers because they were afraid of getting beaten.
Seeing this, the proprietress understood and didn't expose them. After the group of players left, the proprietress asked curiously, "Why do all classes need control skills now? Have they developed some new fighting style?"
"Oh, there's no new strategy!" Two merchants laughed as they walked over to the bar and sat down on the stools. "That village called 'Pure Land' is openly hiring. They need either a Gathering Skill above 30, or a Combat Skill above 35 with crowd control skills. A lot of people wanted to go anyway, and they had enough Combat Skill, but they were stuck with crowd control skills, so of course they were scrambling to get in."
"But a purple card costs 20,000 gold..." The proprietress was speechless. "How many people does Pure Land recruit? Aren't they afraid that they'll be full and the money will be wasted?"
"Haha, you're absolutely right. Actually, there are only 15 control skills. I think most people will miss them!"
The boss lady: "Then buy it?!"
"They think it's worth a try," the merchant player tutted. "Actually, let's not talk about them. If I weren't lacking in combat and gathering skills, I'd also want to give it a try. With this broken world, who would refuse to join Peach Blossom Spring?"
"I've heard of the Pure Land, but it may not be as good as the rumors say." The proprietress smiled and comforted the players in front of her.
For those who cannot join their dream team for the time being, telling them that "it may not be that good" there may be the best consolation.
The village became rich overnight. Ye Miao had long thought that her territory now had a good reputation, and she would probably receive enthusiastic applications after announcing the recruitment information, but the number of applicants actually submitted was still more than she had imagined.
In the game "Fantasy World," to create a sense of apocalypse where "you can't completely trust others," players are free to choose which data they want to disclose to others. For example, a player applying to join could just disclose their combat skill level and one additional control skill specified by Ye Miao.
But perhaps because they are afraid of falling behind, most players now display detailed information, or at least show their strengths.
Ye Miao then saw: the level 75 warrior could control; the level 54 assassin could control; the priest who had just reached level 35 could also control.
Even a life player who submitted the collection information was controlled!!!
After scrolling through more than a dozen posts, Ye Miao began to doubt her life. Staring at the interface, she pulled at her drooping twintails with both hands: "Am I the only one in the world who's not actively studying???"
The author has something to say:
Be lazy tomorrow and pay your debt tomorrow!
I’m in debt again, woooooooooooooooooooooooo, hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
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