Section 007: The Super Villager

Seeing Li Zhan’s hesitation, Ruoyan seemed to understand his concerns and quickly said, “If you think it’s inconvenient for me to join, then forget it. But I hope you can take in these two villagers of mine. If they follow me, their only fate will be to wait for enslavement by other tribes. As thanks, I’ll transfer all my resources to you.”

“Chief…” The two villagers wanted to say something, but Ruoyan stopped them.

Turning back, Ruoyan looked at Li Zhan earnestly. Behind her, the two villagers looked from Ruoyan to Li Zhan, their faces full of confusion.

Li Zhan hadn’t expected this female player named Ruoyan to have such a kind heart. After all, those two villagers were only NPCs, gifts from the system when any player first joined. But she treated them as siblings, deeply concerned for their well-being. Observing her expression, Li Zhan, who prided himself on reading people well, was convinced that Ruoyan’s words came from the heart and were not feigned.

“This... Letting you join my tribe is indeed a bit difficult,” Li Zhan said, deliberately making the matter sound more serious to pave the way for his conditions.

Hearing there was room for discussion, Ruoyan brightened and quickly responded, “I don’t want anything. As long as you let me play the game with you, that’s enough. If... if you still think my request is too much, then please just take in my two villagers. I beg you. They’re both excellent, only unfortunate to have met an unfit chief.”

Li Zhan was secretly pleased. Though this girl was about his age, she was as naïve as a child in front of him, her schemes far too simple. Since things had come to this, it was time to lay out his terms.

“All right,” he said, “since you’re so sincere, I’ll help you. Consider it an experienced player guiding a newcomer. But let me be clear: though I agree to let you join, all matters in the tribe are handled by me and my NPC deputy, Zheng Jun. If you have any concerns or questions, you can bring them to me or Zheng Jun at any time, but you must not interfere with any tribal affairs on your own.”

Ruoyan immediately replied with delight, “All right, all right, I’ll listen to you. As long as you let me play with you, that’s enough. I already thought it was generous for you to take in my two villagers, and now you’re willing to take me in as well—how could I cause you any trouble?”

“Ding!” The system dialogue box popped up at just the right time:

Dear player, the system has detected your intent to take in a player and her two NPC villagers, and the other party also yearns to join your tribe. Please confirm your decision by clicking ‘Confirm’ or ‘Decline.’

After clicking confirm, a white glow flashed over Ruoyan and her two villagers, and the words “Yanhuang Tribe” were immediately branded after their civilization on the attributes panel. At the same time, the resources of the Yanhuang Tribe increased significantly. Both villagers’ attribute panels became fully accessible to Li Zhan:

Villager [Male]
Name: Li He
Civilization: China [Yanhuang Tribe]
Title or Position: None
Level: 0
Attributes—Potential: +6 Constitution: 6 Strength: 7 Intelligence: 7 Agility: 2 Loyalty: 52 Support: 32
Leadership: 3 Attack: 2+0 Defense: Armor 0+0/Shield 0+0 Speed: 1
HP: 13 MP: 14
Skill—Beginner Animal Tamer (Skilled at taming and raising animals)

Villager [Female]
Name: Jin Xue
Civilization: China [Yanhuang Tribe]
Title or Position: None
Level: 0
Attributes—Potential: +7 Constitution: 5 Strength: 5 Intelligence: 9 Agility: 3 Loyalty: 50 Support: 30
Leadership: 2 Attack: 2+0 Defense: Armor 0+0/Shield 0+0 Speed: 1
HP: 10 MP: 18
Skill—Potential (Skilled at acquiring other villagers’ skills)

After reading through the attributes of these two villagers, Li Zhan was both elated and dismayed, nearly fainting from excitement and frustration. He was thrilled because both villagers possessed rare skills; the chance of getting the Taming skill was less than one in five hundred, while Potential was even rarer, less than one in five thousand. Screenshots of these villagers’ attributes posted on the forums would immediately cause a sensation. Who would have thought that a rookie like Ruoyan would be randomly assigned two top-tier villagers? The world was truly unfair. Fortunately, his own luck had come through, or else these talents would have gone to waste (so mused a certain man…).

Yet, he was dismayed because, having switched tribes, their loyalty and support were pitifully low. From their cold expressions when looking at him, Li Zhan knew it would take a long time before they would truly settle into his tribe.

In contrast to Li Zhan’s careful calculations, Ruoyan was simply overjoyed. She looked around curiously, sometimes running to the fields, sometimes appearing in the orchard, fascinated by everything she saw.

“Oh? What’s this?” Ruoyan’s voice called from afar just as Li Zhan was pondering how to integrate the two exceptional villagers into his tribe.

“Oh, that’s cotton,” Li Zhan replied casually, then suddenly remembered he hadn’t seen Zhou Min since he logged in. In the cotton field, except for Ruoyan, there was no one else. Where could Zhou Min have gone?

“Cotton? Where did you get it?” Ruoyan asked.

“I found some in the wild and brought it back to plant,” Li Zhan answered, then turned and instructed Zheng Jun, “These two villagers are badly injured; let them rest in the tribe’s center for now. Don’t assign them any work for the time being.”

Zheng Jun acknowledged and led the two villagers toward the tribe’s center. Li Zhan quickly checked their loyalty—Li He’s had risen from 52 to 56, and Jin Xue’s from 50 to 55.

Li Zhan was a little pleased with himself; there’s no rushing these things, best to take it slow.

As he thought this, he made his way to the cotton field where Ruoyan was. The cotton plants had increased from the original thirty or so to over seventy, clearly the result of Zhou Min replanting cotton seeds from the last harvest. But it was odd that Zhou Min wasn’t there. With her loyalty now above seventy, she shouldn’t have run away.

Zheng Jun also came over, but when Li Zhan asked about Zhou Min’s whereabouts, he shook his head—he didn’t know either. Previously, Zheng Jun and the two builders had been working on the dock by the river bend, so he hadn’t been able to keep track of the villagers in the tribe.

Ruoyan was deeply intrigued by the new cash crop. Spotting a basket between the furrows—Zhou Min’s basket—she started picking ripe cotton bolls, trying her hand at being a cotton farmer.

Just as Li Zhan was puzzling over the situation, a voice called from behind, “Hey, leave that cotton alone. I set it aside for seed.”

Li Zhan turned to see Zhou Min, her hair slightly disheveled, with a few stray bits of cotton fiber tangled in it. Her face was lightly damp with sweat, as if she’d just finished some task.