Chapter 19 – 019
【019】 The Lord’s Hidden Quest
Tang Ruiming and the others were a bit in disbelief.
If the person in front of them was truly an Earth survivor, it could only be described as extraordinary.
What was even more striking was that, from what they had seen, this territory was developing very well, full of vitality, and they learned from the refugees that it was a Level 3 village.
And yet, they had only been in this world for a month. In that time, they were still wandering around, while others had already established their own territories. The gap between them… was just too huge, wasn’t it?
Gu Qing naturally noticed the disbelief in their eyes, and then motioned for Bart to step back.
Bart clearly sensed that his Lord might know these people. After bringing them here, he tactfully stepped back.
Once it was just the few of them left, Tang Ruiming cautiously asked, “Do you know about Earth?”
Gu Qing raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, then replied, “Yes.”
Although seeing Gu Qing’s East Asian features had already given them some suspicions, hearing her admit it still made their hearts skip a beat.
So it was really true…
“Then how did you become… the Lord?” Tang Ruiming couldn’t help but ask. The gap between people seemed too vast.
“I received a limited item — the Lord’s Token — during the beginner’s gift period from the light orb,” Gu Qing said frankly.
“The Lord’s Token? The only thing we’ve encountered are cards.”
“You’re basically the luckiest person ever!”
“So jealous!”
“…”
Upon hearing the words “Lord’s Token,” the Earth survivors felt an air of grandeur and elegance surrounding it, followed by envy.
If only they could get a Lord’s Token, they wouldn’t have to be on the edge of life and death all the time.
How many people could actually get such a Lord’s Token? And… would it be possible to grab it in the future?
Their thoughts shifted, and some couldn’t help but secretly ask their systems.
They could still ask questions to their systems, but the questions could only be related to the system itself.
The Lord’s Token… could they ask about that?
With no other thoughts in mind, they asked the question.
Sure enough, when they tentatively inquired, they received a reply.
【Currently, the Doomsday System has issued only one Lord’s Token. The Lord’s Token is permanently bound to its Lord and cannot be easily taken. When the person dies, the token dies with them.】
After receiving the answer, the few of them felt a bit disappointed but hid their feelings.
At this moment, the 999 System had already clarified some of their conversations with the Doomsday Sub-System and directly spoke to Gu Qing.
999 System: 【Host, aren’t you worried they might have ulterior motives? There are so many Earth survivors, can you handle them?】
Gu Qing: 【I’m not worried. As long as they understand it’s impossible, they’ll give up. If I don’t make it clear, they might start making unpredictable moves.】
Gu Qing: 【Look, now that they know it’s impossible, regardless of what they think internally, on the surface, they’re probably thinking about how to build a good relationship with me, the lucky one, and how to establish themselves in this territory. For me, that’s enough.】
At the moment Gu Qing was speaking to the 999 System, the Earth survivors had already begun to approach her enthusiastically.
“We’re all Earth survivors. We hope you’ll take care of us from now on.”
“Was the territory this big from the start?”
“Is there anything you need us to do? Just give the orders.”
“…”
Gu Qing listened, glancing at the Earth survivors who were speaking. These were the ones who had just asked the system about how to grab the Lord’s Token. The only one who hadn’t asked was…
Tang Ruiming.
Gu Qing silently took note of the name and then called out to the outside, “Bart.”
In the next moment, Bart entered after hearing her call.
“Take them to register as residents. The required copper coins and wood can be substituted with other items,” Gu Qing said indifferently.
Having met them and passed on the message, there would be no need for her to personally meet future Earth survivors.
“Yes.” Bart acknowledged the order, then turned to the Earth survivors with his usual cold tone. “Please follow me.”
“Uh… we…”
“Please don’t disturb the Lord,” Bart emphasized from the side. He could tell that although his Lord might recognize them, she wasn’t particularly warm toward them and seemed to carry a faint sense of distance.
With that, there was no need for him to be too polite.
Sure enough, Gu Qing remained composed, and when Tang Ruiming and the others looked at her, her expression was neutral.
The Earth survivors fell silent. They had figured it out.
This was how their fellow Earth survivor viewed them.
After all, she was a high-ranking Lord, while they were just refugees. How could they be the same?
The Earth survivors who had just tried to win Gu Qing’s favor turned around and left, carrying a slight sense of resentment.
As for Tang Ruiming, he silently followed Bart.
At that moment, the 999 System spoke again: 【Host, do you think any of them are resentful toward you?】
Gu Qing: 【It’s only natural. Besides, anyone who would resent me over this isn’t someone with a broad mind. It’s better to test them early so I can know who I can actually use.】
Yes, there was a reason Gu Qing acted this way.
She had never planned to reveal her Lord identity. However, the moment the Earth survivors were saved by Bart, she received a special reward from the Doomsday System.
【Congratulations, Host, for successfully sheltering Earth survivors. The Earth Territory Module is now unlocked. The module has merged, and you have obtained the authority to issue tasks to Earth survivors.】
【Congratulations, Host, for triggering the Lord’s Task. You must upgrade your territory to a city within three years. You will receive generous rewards for success, but failure will result in the annihilation of your territory.】
After these two notifications, a new list appeared on her panel. The list contained the names of the Earth survivors who had been saved, and next to each name was a tag indicating the option to issue tasks.
This meant that in the future, she could use this task system to issue tasks to Earth survivors. By paying a small cost, she could have them work for her, and during the task process, the survivors could gain experience and level up.
In this regard, her territory was now closely tied to the Earth survivors.
The most important part was that she had suddenly acquired a Lord’s Task, which required her to turn her territory into a city within three years. It felt like a sudden shackle was placed on her during a time of free development.
At this moment, Gu Qing realized that the so-called compensatory golden finger from the system had its pitfalls.
Although the Lord’s Token was a great thing, it came with a cost.
And clearly, she hadn’t known about this beforehand.
However, she had already enjoyed the convenience the territory provided her, and now…
She had no choice but to repay the cost.
Wasn’t this just a trap?
The 999 System sensed the resentment in Gu Qing’s tone and paused, not daring to say anything further.
Noticing the 999 System’s silence, Gu Qing let out a soft sigh.
All the talk about unlocking the civilization evolution test, breaking through blocked paths, and compensating with this golden finger… Now it seemed that there might be something much deeper behind it!
But no matter what, the things were now in her hands, and how she used them was her business. No one had the right to interfere, not even the system.
She was here for a “vacation,” not to do labor for anyone.
At this point, Tang Ruiming and the others had already left the meeting room with Bart. Once they were outside, Bart couldn’t even be bothered to personally lead them. He simply instructed a nearby staff member.
The group could tell from this that Bart held a high position in the territory and was quite powerful. They didn’t dare make any moves, quietly following the staff member to finish their registration at the village administration center.
After registering, the staff member gave them a few pointers.
And these few words were enough for them to understand the situation in the territory.
“I didn’t expect… this territory is in such good shape.”
“As long as you’re able to do something, you can survive in this territory.”
“The territory info we got from the refugees earlier doesn’t quite match up with what we see here. This place seems much better. The threshold for refugees doesn’t seem so high?”
“Of course it’s different. This is a territory run by Earth survivors, so it must focus on humanistic care!”
“Earth survivor as the Lord, huh!”
“…”
The group fell silent. Although the Lord was an Earth survivor, they felt that she didn’t really fit in with them. She didn’t seem to treat them any differently, which left them feeling a bit disappointed and dissatisfied.
“Why? Just because she got lucky with the Lord’s Token?”
“Exactly. And the Earth survivor’s attitude is so cold.”
“Isn’t it possible to help each other when the number of survivors still unknown in this world?”
“……”
Just as the few of them couldn’t help but mutter, Tang Ruiming raised his voice and said, “Enough!”
“Brother Tang…”
“The doomsday game has only been loading for a month, and someone who has managed to build this territory in just one month, how simple could they be? Sometimes, luck is also a form of strength. Otherwise, why would the only Lord’s Token be in her hands? For such a person, even if their attitude is cold, what right do you have to complain? It’s the doomsday—no one can be responsible for anyone else. We can’t, and neither can she.”
“Compared to what we learned about other territories from the refugees, we should be grateful. This territory is one established by Earth survivors, so to some extent, there won’t be exploitation or oppression.”
“……”
The other Earth survivors listened to Tang Ruiming’s words, and in their hearts, they knew he was right.
But facing the same situation in this world—one so high up, while they were struggling on the edge of life and death—how could they not feel unbalanced?
“We’ve all safely arrived in the territory, so there’s no need to stick together anymore. If you need anything in the future, come find me,” Tang Ruiming said quickly, deciding at this moment to separate from them.
They had only met by chance, and although they could share hardships before, now that they were in the territory, staying together could bring more trouble, especially with the Lord being an Earth survivor. He didn’t want to stay with them any longer, lest something unpredictable happened.
His only thought had always been to survive in this world and perhaps one day reunite with his family.
He didn’t know if his family was still alive, but unless there was concrete evidence, he would always hold onto a glimmer of hope.
Seeing Tang Ruiming’s attitude, the others understood and their expressions changed.
All along, Tang Ruiming had been their leader, never giving up on them even in the most difficult situations. But now, as soon as they reached the territory, he wanted to separate from them.
Why? Was it because of what they had just said?
They hadn’t even said much! Those were just normal comments.
“Brother Tang, the things we said privately, that person won’t know. Why bother? We won’t speak like that again. We won’t drag you down.”
“Yeah, Brother Tang, no need to be so cautious.”
“Even though she’s the Lord, she’s still an Earth survivor, just like us.”
“……”
Tang Ruiming listened, but inwardly he shook his head.
These people still hadn’t understood the situation.
The world had already changed!
And someone who had a territory from the start of the world’s change and had built it to its current state couldn’t possibly be a simple Earth survivor.
In this situation, the best thing to do was to follow the Earth survivor Lord, not focus on the differences between them, because if they did, they’d only realize that the gap between them would continue to widen, until it was impossible to catch up.
Without saying anything more, Tang Ruiming headed straight for the inn in the territory.
He would rest there for the night and prepare. Tomorrow, they would likely face the beast tide that the refugees had spoken of!
The others watched as Tang Ruiming left, glancing at each other before heading in the same direction.
Even though they had fallen out, following Tang Ruiming was still the right choice.
They had been in this world for a month and had never had a peaceful night’s sleep. Maybe tonight would be the night!
Whatever happened, they would deal with it later.
However, they thought too much, because not long after they settled down to sleep, each of them received a system task.
【Dear survivors, the beast tide is coming. Lord of Qingyun Village invites you to join forces in resisting the beast tide. Do you accept?】