Chapter 245 - Reward For the Settlement
Of course, Ji Ye wasn’t really a man who would be bothered by public opinion.
It was because all those keyboard warriors would pee their pants in fright when they were faced with the weapons of the aliens on the Land of Inheritance.
Besides, the public opinion on Earth couldn’t possibly influence the Twin Dragon Mount fort on the Land of Inheritance, which was in another dimension. What Ji Ye really cared about was certain “powers” that could affect the Twin Dragon Mount fort indirectly!
After a brief silence, Ji Ye said rather coldly, “I hope that not too many people will try to lay their hands on the Twin Dragon Mount fort… or I would have to chop off all those hands.”
When he said that, Ji Ye’s tone and expression were both majestic!
Although the Battlefield of Providence of Xiangyang was only a projection, Ji Ye had truly commanded an army on the battlefield after possessing the Yuan emperor!
Back on Earth, some people would become more intimidating after merely playing an emperor in movies. Naturally, Ji Ye’s change was even greater.
In particular, there was one thing that Ji Ye didn’t tell anyone.
After possessing the Yuan emperor on the Battlefield of Providence, he had an even bolder attempt.
He fused the body of the Yuan emperor, which was essentially unowned since the soul in it had been destroyed, with his own soul.
As for the result…
Ji Ye didn’t think that he would ever try doing that again.
It was because the lingering pieces in the body of the Yuan emperor caused great annoyances for him during the fusion.
For example, there were the “boring” incidents between the Yuan emperor, who was as lustful as the history books described, and his three hundred concubines who served him in turns…
It was a good thing that he had fused a human body. If he had to fuse a boar king that weighed five hundred kilograms next time, what he saw would be…
Ji Ye couldn’t help but shiver.
However, the next piece of information that appeared in his head made him grave again.
“The third batch of players will enter the Land of Inheritance in a week. All species and settlements, please be ready to welcome them!”
It was a specific reminder for preparation.
More detailed information came along. It was that all the additional “headcount” would arrive at the corresponding settlements directly.
It meant that the Twin Dragon Mount fort would welcome nine hundred players in a week!
Of course, same as the second batch of players, the settlements with distinguished performance would be rewarded, and those with poor performance would be punished.
“Note that the third batch of players will not arrive at the settlements that haven’t completed the Ten-Species Competition quest.”
Technically speaking, it wasn’t a punishment. Not being able to welcome the third batch of players was not nearly as severe as not being able to hold rituals, which was the punishment of the first settlement quest!
However, it was not hard to imagine that the settlements that didn’t complete the Ten-Species Competition quest would easily be left behind by the settlements that had.
It was because the role of the elite players was as important as the elites and even heroes among the natives. Even the non-elite players could at least fight as “cannon fodder” in the battle against aliens!
The settlements who had accomplished the quest could welcome at least a hundred new players, which would give them a huge advantage.
However, the great number of newcomers brought both merits and troubles!
“The thousand newcomers will impose a heavy pressure on us!”
In the conference hall of the Twin Dragon Mount fort, a meeting exclusively made of players had started since the list of the third batch of players was announced.
“First of all, it’s about ‘accommodation’.
“It’s already our limit to accommodate eight hundred people with the current size of our fort. An addition of nine hundred people will surpass our capacity… Even if we build houses day and night in the next week, it will be impossible to prepare enough residences for everybody.
“Also, according to our plan, the fort needs to be redesigned. We have to renovate the existing buildings too.”
Shang Yan, as the deputy manager of logistics of the Twin Dragon Mount fort, frowned hard.
“Also, don’t forget that we have hundreds of Souls of Civilization in storage because of the lack of offerings. Now that we’ve got enough offerings from the Battlefield of Providence, there will be a thousand natives after all the Souls of Civilization are summoned… The total population of the Twin Dragon Mount fort will amount to two thousand!
“In such a case, we won’t be just faced with a problem in accommodation; there will be a shortage of food too…
“While we have defeated the nine alien tribes and expanded our territory, most of the monsters in those areas were already killed by aliens for resources. Our main source of food is still fish, which is caught and shipped back by the Dragon Tooth Battalion.
“However, the shipment has a limited capacity. Also, due to the excessive fishing, the density of fish in the sea nearby has already dropped! If our population reaches two thousand, we’ll be under a huge food pressure…”
Above the table before Shang Yan and Su Nongying floated a plate that looked like a silver map.
As Shang Yan talked, the 3D representation of the island where the Twin Dragon Mount fort was at popped up on the plate.
On the other hand, the information she described was recorded as words.
It was a logistical item named “3D Projector” that Su Nongying had exchanged from the City of Humans. It could be controlled telepathically.
“There’s no need to mention food.
“So far, we haven’t found enough raw materials to make clothes. Although the players and the natives arrive with their own clothes, we still need to provide clothes for them for changing, right?
“Apart from the clothes, even if only half of the new players choose to become battle players, we will still be faced with the problem of equipment!
“After all, now that all the monsters have been cleared, it’s impossible for them to get their own equipment by looting the monsters…”
Looking at the meeting participants who were wearing different expressions, Shang Yan continued.
She was the only player of the Twin Dragon Mount fort who was qualified to enter the City of Humans but didn’t go there. She chose to stay in the fort with Yan Qing for the big picture, so she had the largest say in the matter.
“Should we put the ‘rituals’ aside to ensure the supply of resources for players?”
Mister Bug scratched his head and ventured.
“No…”
It was Elder Meng who objected.
“Allow me to point out the hard truth. If the ratio of players is too high in a settlement, chaos is more likely to happen!”
While the natives weren’t as knowledgeable as players, they had one great quality, which was their obedience in battles and the rear.
They wouldn’t flee even if the enemy was charging at them fearlessly, because their lives and death depended on the existence of the settlement!
However, the players were different.
As people of the modern age who believed in equity, they wouldn’t simply do everything they were told to.
There were no players who were stupid and hilarious, as those in certain novels. But quite a number of the players were ambitious.
Earlier in the Twin Dragon Mount fort, there were players who snuck into the important areas to steal the Red Pip and the Stone Milk, cut the only “Core Purple Tree” in the Forest Monsters’ settlement core, and dig the dragon bones in the Mirage Monsters’ settlement.
Some players even shot the domesticated Steelback Blue Wolves with the snipe rifles they stole!
“Those resources don’t belong to anyone in particular but everybody from Earth! We each have a share in them!
“You annihilated all the monsters so that we can’t kill them. Now, you’re even domesticating the monsters to prevent us from leveling up. You simply hope that we can never surpass you…”
They refused to acknowledge their mistakes even after they were found and caught.
They even grumbled and instigated other players to rise up.
Naturally, their instigation didn’t really work, because everyone who was sane would know which side they should take!
However, that was on the premise that the players only took up one-fifth of the total population of the Twin Dragon Mount fort, and those who didn’t have power only took up half of them.
Also, the unsatisfied players were mostly so weak that they couldn’t even compare to regular fort soldiers, so they could only bury their ambitions in their hearts.
However, a thousand people would soon arrive, which was even larger than the total population of the Twin Dragon Mount fort. If there weren’t enough natives to balance them, it was possible that the ambitions of certain people would be enlarged.
“On the other hand, although the quest of the next phase hasn’t been announced yet, it’s easy to infer that the quest will still involve competitions and battles with aliens. The natives with the background of ‘Liangshan’ and ‘Yue Army’ will definitely be more useful than the new players who have never been to a battlefield!”
Guo Wei, as Elder Jiao’s assistant, offered his opinion too.
“Well, about the shortage of wood, we have considered a solution to that problem earlier. Back in the City of Humans, we bought seeds of some Extraordinary plants, such as ‘Bread Tree’, that can grow quickly. Their growth can be further accelerated by the Sweet Dew…”
“I think we can summon some ‘Water Demons’ and send them to catch bigger fish in deeper waters with the Dragon Tooth Battalion. The Water Demons are all Extraordinary Rank-5. It shouldn’t be a problem to them…”
“The clothes aren’t really a problem either. There are a lot of vines in the Forest Monsters’ settlement. They contain fibers that are similar to linen. Although the clothes made of such materials may be tough, I guess they must deal with it in these tough times…”
“Accommodation isn’t too hard either. The sand from the settlement of the Sand Men that the Eagle Men destroyed can be quickly turned into fortresses when it touches water, right? We can consider building some temporary houses at the lower altitudes near the Eagle Men’s settlement. The newcomers can build their own houses with the materials. We can examine them in the process…”
To address the problems that Shang Yan proposed, the players in the hall all offered their solutions.
Thanks to the resources looted from alien tribes and human beings of other dimensions, the problems that regular settlements would find insurmountable were overcome one by one.
Although new problems were bound to occur when the solutions were put into practice, there were still seven days of time to take care of them.
Same as in every meeting before, Ji Ye was the person who had the final say on all the suggestions!
“Elder Meng, is there anything else you’d like to add?”
However, this time, Ji Ye asked Elder Meng, who first proposed that the ratio of players should be limited.
“There’s one thing I’d like to add.
“It’s actually not a bad thing that so many people are coming to the Twin Dragon Mount fort.
“I think that every settlement will be faced with such a situation when it is developed to a certain level. We’re only faced with it in advance because of our excellent performance. If we deal with the situation well, we might get additional points!
“It’s possible that the new test will be to handle the ‘internal conflicts’ within a civilization during its development, right?
“As long as we try our best since the very beginning, maybe we’ll get ‘Earth’s Best’ again.”
As a professional educator, Elder Meng was certainly good at motivation. What he said filled many people with excitement.
“What Elder Meng said is right.
“Let’s make preparations as best as possible in the next couple of days.
“As for clothes and houses, they might not really pose a problem. I don’t think we’ll be restrained on an island all the time after the arrival of the third batch of people!”
In the end, Ji Ye summarized the meeting.
“Right, Elder Meng, I have been told that you’ve awakened your talent skill?”
When the meeting was over, Ji Ye thought of something and asked Elder Meng.