LWGP - Chapter 84
Chapter 84: Resurrection Point
The trip from Huize Mountain to the novice village was supposed to take an hour, but they actually made it in less than twenty minutes.
Why? Because they were strong.
Even the weakest member, Wang Shu, had average attributes of 50. Of course, that was before; now his average was 70.
He'd spent money to pump them up.
As for Dao Dao, her average was already 90.
After returning and sorting out their resources, there were still twenty minutes left until 6:00.
After getting out of the water, Wang Shu stood on the riverbank, counting the pinpricks on his arm. Unfortunately, they were already starting to heal. Ugh, everyone's agility was so much higher than his that he had no idea who'd done it.
The others, each holding a silver needle—even Dao Dao—said nothing. Wang Jiu stood to the side, tying up her hair, and asked him if there were any novice villages on the opposite bank.
She had perceived that the people over there were already gone.
"I think that's 442 Novice Village, and the one next to it should be yours, Master—444."
Wang Jiu gave the opposite bank a long look, then checked the time. But then… she suddenly lowered her hand, glanced at the simple hair tie in it, and raised an eyebrow before deftly finishing tying up her hair.
After they had all washed up, the Metasequoia in the two garden fields of Wang Jiu's homestead were nearly mature. Wang Jiu came out after changing her clothes to find Wang Shu and Dao Dao squatting by the vegetable patch, their eyes gleaming. Qiao Xuejing was more reserved, leaning against a wall and watching with an elegant posture.
But…
"Well, well, where did these three country bumpkins who've never seen the world come from?"
Wang Jiu's tone was elegant yet teasing, teasing yet flippant.
Qiao Xuejing looked slightly embarrassed and coughed lightly. "Just getting familiar with it."
Wang Jiu: "You don't even have a homestead. Why bother?"
Qiao Xuejing: "…"
Was she always this blunt?
After being fawned over for more than twenty years, she wasn't used to this.
Dao Dao, not liking to see her master insulted, retorted, "She'll have one sooner or later!"
Wang Jiu: "You don't have one either. Shoo."
Dao Dao seethed, hugging Qiao Xuejing's thigh and whimpering. Wang Shu, however, decided to strike first. "Master, I have one. 180 square meters."
Wang Jiu hadn't planned on targeting him, but hearing this, she stopped and gave him a look. "Do you have any fields?"
Wang Shu: "!"
Wang Jiu tossed out three more plots without a word.
Wang Shu instantly shut down.
Just then, the seedlings in the garden patch transformed into three-meter-tall trees, each so thick a person could barely wrap their arms around it.
Whoa! Special effects!
The System asked if she wanted to harvest.
Wang Jiu confirmed, and Metasequoia wood appeared in her inventory. The quantity was noted as two logs.
The description listed it as a manor material. Properties: Can be used to craft furniture. The material itself contains 5 spirit energy.
Two logs meant 10 spirit energy. A six-hour maturation time meant she could get 40 spirit energy in a 24-hour day.
That was the yield from two garden fields. With more fields, it would be faster, and Wang Jiu hadn't even factored in the time-reduction effect from spirit energy.
She immediately laid down three more garden fields, but before planting anything, she asked the System a question.
"How do I make furniture?"
System: "Spend 100 spirit energy to buy a Workshop. You can craft furniture there. If you want to make intermediate or advanced furniture, you'll have to upgrade the Workshop. All of it costs spirit energy."
So you had to slave away growing things to get furniture, only to have to invest before seeing any returns. This wasn't a manor; it was the stock market.
System: "You could always just not do it. Hoard your materials until the new year, I guess."
The tone was exceptionally snarky.
Wang Jiu was discovering that after her outstanding performance, the increase in her intimacy with the System manifested in a strange way—it was willing to talk to her, but it was always passive-aggressive and looking for an argument.
Fine. Was she really going to argue with a program?
She bought a Workshop on the spot.
Wang Shu and the other two were still squatting by the fields. When they saw her toss a Workshop into a corner, Wang Shu finally found an angle for a counterattack.
"Master, your house suddenly seems so crowded. It would be great if it were a little bigger."
"I hear killing people can make them drop their homesteads."
"…"
Silence fell.
They moved from squatting by the garden patch to squatting by the Workshop.
It was such a novelty, a real eye-opener.
Wang Jiu tossed the two logs into the Workshop, and a crafting interface popped up, displaying the available furniture.
There were several options, including tables and chairs. With cotton or other materials, she could even make a bed.
"A bed, Master! A bed!"
"Not enough materials. Besides, I already have a bed."
Where did she get a bed? They hadn't seen one. Still, watching Wang Jiu craft a door was good too. After all, that toilet…
Wang Jiu crafted three doors, then used the remaining materials to make tables, chairs, and stools, saving them from having to squat on the ground to cook and eat every day.
But as she was installing the kitchen door, Wang Shu became particularly helpful, looking at her expectantly. "The toilet, Master. The toilet."
"…"
Wang Jiu tossed the toilet inside and placed the toilet plunger beside it.
When Wang Shu went in, his body stiffened.
When Qiao Xuejing went in, her expression also froze.
Dao Dao…
Judging by their reactions, they had all seen the video.
Wang Jiu thought for a moment, then took down the bed she had listed for one gold coin and tossed it into the master bedroom. She then planted Metasequoia in all five garden fields.
She had other seeds, but they were all for flowers. Though they seemed more valuable and provided more spirit energy, wooden furniture was the priority for their current needs. She had to get the basic infrastructure in place first; quality of life was important.
Right, the brick house was built, but pouring the concrete and plastering the walls…
That was all work that still needed to be done.
By the time she finished, dusk had fallen, but night had not yet fully arrived. Nothing special seemed to be happening.
The System's response was blunt. "You can go outside and see for yourself when the danger arrives."
It seemed 6:00 was just the starting time. As for what would happen, nobody knew.
Wang Jiu and the others decided to go check out the area near the 443 resurrection point. Of course, this was mainly Wang Jiu's decision.
Qiao Xuejing guessed she was probably going to scout for new teammates.
However, Wang Jiu didn't bring the homestead with her.
First, she had confirmed with the System that it was within the protective barrier of the novice village, safe from the dangers of the night.
Second, carrying it on her person risked having it drop upon death, so even Wang Shu left his spacious homestead inside Wang Jiu's.
They were unaware that as they walked toward the populated resurrection point in the encroaching darkness, with fifteen minutes still to go before 6:00, a man was watching them. Across the river, in 442 Novice Village, he stood on the second floor of a ruined house, behind a square window long devoid of glass. He lowered a special long-range viewing device, his slender fingers tapping against it with a crisp, clear sound.
"She didn't take the homestead. Is she afraid of it dropping, or does she think she no longer needs its protection?"
Zhao Shanxiao was a cautious man. Pan Zhen, on the other hand, rushed up excitedly, reporting that He Ruguang, Chu Xiangsui, and their group were gathering to get revenge on Wang Jiu. They all knew she was in 443 Novice Village now.
Indeed, Wang Jiu was now a major red-named player.
"Two losers leading a bunch of losers?" Zhao Shanxiao mused. "If we're going to find someone, we should at least find someone competent."
He aimed the viewing device in another direction.
He saw Liao Luo, who was in a remote part of 443 Novice Village, frantically grinding monsters or fighting.
"There's still some time. Let's head back to 443."
After all, 442 and 443 were extremely close.
Pan Zhen knew it was settled. The boss was finally going to make his move!
The path was dark, lit only by the starlight above. It was already eerie enough, but the wind was also strong. After the city's destruction, this area was just an open plain. With nothing to block it, the wind howled like wailing ghosts and wolves.
Wang Shu and Dao Dao couldn't help but huddle close to the two women.
It was at this exact moment that Wang Jiu abruptly said, "Someone might try to kill me tonight."
Even if she hadn't sensed anyone watching her, she predicted someone would come for her—perhaps because of her red name, or perhaps because of her homestead. Both were possibilities.
"Who? Liao Luo?"
"I don't know."
"…"
Master, do you have so many enemies now that you can predict their arrival just by intuition?
443 Novice Village was now packed with people. Everyone had consciously gathered together, not necessarily for the lively atmosphere, but for the sense of security that came with numbers. And with so many people, every facet of human nature was on display.
Looking from a distance, Wang Shu suddenly felt as if he had returned to the mortal world.
This… this was truly the apocalypse.
There were families, young and old, with their loved ones in tow. Some looked wretched, others terrified, others anxious.
Some huddled in corners with their wives and children, cowering in fear of attracting trouble. Others enthusiastically tried to socialize and gather information about the game, only to be scorned for their weakness. Still others remained silent and inconspicuous, quietly observing.
Alone, in groups, ostracized, and ostracizing others.
Showing off, contempt, hostility, humiliation.
Kindness, tolerance, helplessness, forbearance.
A person's true character is most easily and authentically revealed in extreme environments.
Both Wang Shu and Qiao Xuejing were struck by the scene, their thoughts largely the same. Wang Jiu, however, was much more detached and paid it little mind. The moment they arrived, the restless, noisy crowd fell much quieter, and many people scurried away.
It was as if a dinosaur—a Tyrannosaurus rex, no less—had just walked into a zoo.
That bright red name made everyone give her a wide berth, as if she were the plague.
"Master, this really is an apocalyptic game. See? Before, people like you and Qiao Xuejing would have admirers flocking to you wherever you went."
"I can't speak for Qiao Xuejing, but as for me, whether they were pushing from the front or the back, the ones lying down were always people fresh out of surgery, their survival uncertain."
"…"
As expected, it was impossible to have a normal conversation with a doctor.
Huddled in a corner waiting for 6:00 to arrive, Wang Jiu casually glanced around.
Her eyebrows twitched when she saw Lin Wumian and his group. Lin Wumian seemed to sense her gaze and looked over, but he saw she had already turned her head to speak to the beautiful woman beside her.
"He Ruguang and his group aren't here." Qiao Xuejing was quite perceptive and had been on the lookout ever since Wang Jiu mentioned someone might try to kill her.
"They're from 443, too."
Wang Jiu knew she was telling her that those people were either avoiding her or plotting something big.
"Maybe they went to take a piss."
Wang Jiu's answer stunned Qiao Xuejing for a moment, but then she found it surprisingly reasonable.
Speaking of which, this novice village had only existed for a day, right? The surrounding smell was… a bit peculiar.
Even Wang Shu thought the System was too cruel. No toilets? How were people supposed to handle their biological needs?
The System felt wronged. When that toilet dropped, how many people cursed it out? And your master was the most passive-aggressive of them all.
"Low-level food has many impurities. If these people are mostly fighting the wild monsters in the novice village, which drop things like rice, they'll naturally need to use the toilet more often. It's no big deal, though. If they're really in a hurry, they can just dig a pit."
The System replied, its tone just as passive-aggressive.
Was it mocking the human race for not even knowing how to dig a pit?
It was only the first day of the apocalypse, and human civilization was already beginning to crumble.
Wang Shu and the others were slightly embarrassed but had no rebuttal.
Just as 6:00 arrived, everyone craned their necks, expecting something world-shattering to happen. But in the end…
"What the hell?"
Nothing happened at all!
Wang Jiu was surprised, too. Had the System tricked them?
Suddenly, they heard a bloodcurdling scream from the southeast!
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