Chapter 18 – 018
【018】 Is the Lord of this Territory also a Survivor from Earth?
At this moment, on the way to Qingyun Village.
The Earth survivors were very curious about how these refugees were able to locate the territory.
Their current map changed as they traveled to different places, but they didn’t have the type of map that allowed them to locate territories, like the one the refugees had.
On this point, the Earth survivors immediately saw the gap between them and the natives.
“Be careful, we can’t fall behind. If we do, it will be very difficult for us to reach the territory on our own,” said Tang Ruiming to his companions. They were all Earth survivors who, after coming together, had formed a team and had been traveling together ever since.
It had to be said that with a team, their mindset and state in dealing with crises had improved greatly. When they encountered monsters, they were able to cooperate effectively.
So far, due to external threats, they remained very united internally.
When Tang Ruiming spoke, the others nodded in agreement.
“Yeah! Without a map, how can we find the territory in this unfamiliar place?”
“Sigh, the natives really have it good. They can evolve in their own world.”
“I wonder what Earth is like now. How many people from Earth have come to this world? I thought I was late to log in, but my ID ranking is over ten million. There are billions of people on Earth! Just thinking about those numbers is terrifying.”
“This doomsday game really sucks. I thought the doomsday would happen on Earth. I thought I would be with my family at the end of life. Who could’ve imagined that suddenly the world would change?”
“……”
As they reminisced, they still felt a bit unsettled. In that situation, hardly anyone could have predicted what was about to happen.
After all, in the blink of an eye, the entire world underwent earth-shattering changes.
“Since we’re alive, and we can’t change our environment, then we just have to adapt to it!”
“Right, I believe we’ll be reunited with our families someday.”
“……”
After that, the group didn’t say much more but continued to follow the refugee group, vigilantly observing their surroundings.
Over the past few days, they had frequently encountered monsters, and the numbers and frequency were far greater than before.
At first, they thought it was because there were more monsters in this area, but now they understood that every time a beast tide approached, the number of monsters slowly increased and they moved toward the territory, gradually forming the beast tide.
It was safer during the day, but at night, they could only rely on the moonlight to move stealthily. The monsters lurking in the dark could appear at any time.
As they traveled, the whole group was occasionally attacked by monsters. Every moment, some people died fighting the monsters, but despite this, all the refugees were still heading toward one destination.
Because… ahead of them was hope.
At the same time, in Qingyun Village.
Everyone was wholeheartedly preparing for the beast tide. The soldiers on the watchtower were intently observing the situation outside the territory, frequently changing shifts to keep watch in case the beast tide suddenly arrived.
Those who had experienced a beast tide knew that although the beast tide had a fixed date, the arrival time was unpredictable. Sometimes it came early in the morning, other times in the middle of the night, making it hard to prepare. The only thing they could do was remain vigilant and be ready every day.
And on Gu Qing’s side, an emergency meeting was also taking place.
In the meeting room were Gu Qing, Ulysses, Bart, Alex, and the Goblin Chief, Morgan.
The Goblin Chief Morgan’s purpose for attending was to discuss matters related to the Goblin clan.
“I hope my people can also join the official combat forces. In exchange, I am willing to offer the minerals we have discovered to the territory. Furthermore, in the future, we will work hard to mine various minerals for the territory,” Chief Morgan requested.
The Goblins had originally established a foothold in the territory, but in reality, to survive and pass down their heritage from generation to generation, they had to be involved in the development of the territory.
Yes, and after living in this territory for so many days, Chief Morgan had made up his mind. He was determined to establish deep roots in this territory and secure permanent protection for his people. He no longer wanted to lead his clan back to their former gathering place. However, before doing that, he needed a guarantee—a guarantee from the Lord.
Gu Qing glanced at Chief Morgan and then nodded decisively, “No problem.”
“What… what? No problem?” Chief Morgan was about to say something else when he suddenly realized that Gu Qing had already agreed. He was stunned.
“I’ve agreed to your request. You can choose suitable Goblins to join the soldier’s team. I’ll set up a squad,” Gu Qing said directly, observing his expression.
She was not from this world, so she didn’t feel the so-called racial discrimination.
Since they were willing to offer their “loyalty,” she was naturally willing to give them a chance and freedom.
She had seen the Goblins in battle. While their individual combat abilities were not strong, they were very good at cooperating with each other. Once they coordinated, their combat power was considerable. Most importantly, they were very skilled at using the terrain to set up ambushes and traps.
Yes, although they weren’t particularly smart and their combat power was not strong, they knew how to make use of external conditions.
Such beings were also needed in the soldier teams.
Why not agree to a mutually beneficial arrangement?
Chief Morgan looked at Gu Qing, whose expression was light and indifferent, and strange emotions welled up in his heart.
He had been prepared for the other party to make unreasonable demands, but he never expected Gu Qing to agree so easily.
Sure enough! The current state of the territory was closely tied to Gu Qing as its Lord.
“Thank you,” Chief Morgan said, giving Gu Qing a deep look.
“You’re welcome. Your addition will also strengthen our territory,” Gu Qing responded honestly.
Chief Morgan didn’t say anything further but silently engraved Gu Qing’s “favor” in his heart.
“After the meeting, you can quickly select your candidates. In order to integrate into the team, the first batch of Goblin soldiers will be 10 people, with one leader. The soldiers will temporarily split into two teams to work with Bart and Alex. Is that acceptable?” Gu Qing asked.
“Alright,” Chief Morgan replied without hesitation.
He knew that Bart and Alex were the current squad leaders of the soldier team. Both of them were professionals, and their strength was unquestionable. Following them, the Goblin soldiers would definitely gain experience quickly in battle. More importantly, they would be able to integrate into the soldier team quickly.
Once this was decided, Chief Morgan left the meeting.
As for Gu Qing, after the Goblins left, she looked at Bart and Alex. “We must be extra vigilant tonight. The beast tide is likely to come in the middle of the night, and we need to be prepared at all times.”
“Yes, My Lord,” both of them replied in unison.
“…That will be all for today,” Gu Qing said, and after giving a few more instructions on some details, she was ready to end the meeting.
But at that moment, Gu Qing suddenly noticed several small yellow dots appearing on her control panel, standing out conspicuously among the red and green dots.
The red dots represented monsters, the green dots represented refugees, so what could the yellow dots, mixed in with the refugees, be?
【Earth Survivors?】 Gu Qing asked the system in her mind.
999 System: 【Yes.】
Gu Qing paused. 【It’s truly rare! It’s been a month, and now I finally encounter survivors.】
If nothing unexpected happened, it should be that the natives discovered the existence of this territory, and since these survivors were with them, they must have followed along.
Gu Qing later learned that the native’s map function also had limitations, especially when it came to discovering territories. They could only discover the territory within a certain range, and once discovered, the location would always remain on the map.
Thinking about this, Gu Qing’s gaze stayed on the map. At this moment, the situation of the green and yellow dots seemed somewhat unfavorable because their direction was the same as that of some red dots.
Yes, Gu Qing had already sensed the gradual formation of the beast tide from the map and guessed it would arrive during the night, which led to this meeting.
However, she hadn’t expected to discover the Earth survivors at this moment.
“Can you help me with something…” Gu Qing started to speak but suddenly changed her words.
Meanwhile, the refugees and Earth survivors heading toward Qingyun Village were only a short distance away from it.
But it was this small distance that felt extremely difficult for them, as they were encountering more and more monsters, and it felt increasingly hard to move.
It seemed like such a small distance, yet it felt like a chasm between them.
Just after defeating a wave of monsters, they were immediately surrounded by another wave, watching as the beasts stared at them hungrily.
“We can’t hold on any longer, Brother Tang. If we don’t use the skill cards now, we might lose our lives here! There are too many monsters!” one of the Earth survivors’ team members said to Tang Ruiming.
Tang Ruiming listened, looking at the refugees who were being attacked, wounded, and even killed by the monsters. He nodded, “Mmm, staying alive is the priority.”
The secret of the skill cards was important, but their lives were even more important.
At the moment Tang Ruiming agreed, all the Earth survivors were prepared to use their skill cards.
However, just before they were about to use them, they suddenly noticed the monsters around them were being shot down one by one by arrows.
The group’s gaze turned toward the direction of the arrows, and they immediately saw a team of soldiers.
“Reinforcements are here! Everyone, charge!” one of the refugees shouted loudly.
The refugees, who had been in despair, suddenly regained their spirits, unleashing an unprecedented fighting power. They cooperated with the soldiers to continuously defeat the surrounding monsters and then joined the soldier team.
“I am Bart, the captain of the Qingyun Village soldier team. We were ordered by the Lord to come and assist you. Come with us!” said the tall and strong Bart, wielding an iron hammer, his imposing presence making a show of his Lord’s authority.
Sure enough, when the refugees heard this, they were instantly filled with gratitude.
The feeling of having a territory was truly overwhelming!
As for Tang Ruiming and the others, they felt somewhat puzzled.
How did the Lord know that they were here and send people to assist them?
Tang Ruiming, who wasn’t very familiar with this world, silently chose not to speak, and shared the same feelings of gratitude as the other refugees.
Soon, with the help of the soldier team, the group successfully arrived at the territory.
Looking at the tall walls, not only Tang Ruiming and the other Earth survivors, but also the refugees, all showed excited expressions on their faces.
They had finally arrived at the territory! Finally safe!
However, soon, the faces of the refugees showed some hesitation.
“Captain, are there any conditions to join the territory?” Some of the refugees had come from other territories that had been attacked, so they naturally understood that territories were not open to residents unconditionally. They were feeling a bit uneasy.
If their conditions weren’t sufficient, would they be unable to enter the territory?
Bart looked at the refugees and then said, “2 copper coins or 100 wood and 50 stone to become a formal resident of the territory. Temporary residents only need to pay 10 units of wood per day.”
Upon hearing Bart’s words, the refugees were momentarily stunned, and then excitement surged through them as they quickly responded.
“We have wood.”
“I have copper coins.”
“I have some too.”
Almost all the refugees had some wood and stone with them, as they all knew that these were basic necessities, whether for daily life or in the territory.
They hadn’t expected that the requirements to join the territory would be so low.
Soon, under Bart’s arrangement, the refugees followed a soldier to the village affairs center to register.
As for Tang Ruiming and the others, they exchanged looks.
They had just reunited with the refugees, and besides a few items left behind from the monsters they had fought, their backpacks were empty.
Wood? Stone? Copper coins? What are those?
While they were thinking about this, Bart’s gaze quickly landed on them, and he said, “Follow me! Our Lord wants to see you.”
Upon hearing this, the vigilance of Tang Ruiming and the others instantly rose.
Why did the Lord here want to see them? Had they revealed their secret at some point?
With uneasy feelings, they followed Bart.
Before long, they met the Lord Bart had spoken of.
When they saw the familiar East Asian face, they froze in place.
The Lord here was also an Earth survivor?