Chapter 27 "The God of Wealth Seeking Refuge"
The land forsaken by the gods, the temple square.
The morning sun shines on the newly built living area. If just a few days ago this place was a wasteland and a refugee camp, now it has begun to resemble a "starter village".
Thanks to the players' ever-increasing attribute values (especially strength and stamina), the efficiency of infrastructure work is practically off the charts.
"One, two, three, go!"
Accompanied by the synchronized chants, a roof beam that would have required four or five strong adult men to lift was easily hoisted up by two players.
The "civil engineering dog" in charge of the operation patted the sawdust off his hands with satisfaction.
"Beautiful! Perfectly fitted!"
Pointing to the rows of neat little wooden houses in front of him, he proudly explained to the newcomers around him: "See? This is the wisdom of our ancestors - mortise and tenon structure! No nails are needed, and it is earthquake-resistant and windproof. Moreover, I have built a kang (heated brick bed) in each house. Although there is no coal now, burning some dry branches and leaves makes it very warm to sleep at night."
This group of infrastructure enthusiasts managed to recreate the comfort of a cave dwelling in northern Shaanxi in another world, moving the villagers who could only sleep in straw huts to tears.
Several players who broke through the level 5 barrier in the first test are undergoing final sprint training.
"call..."
"What canned food?" He sat cross-legged on the ground, his expression solemn. He stretched out his right hand, palm up, his brows furrowed, as if he were constipated.
Finally, a wisp of black flame popped out from his fingertip with a "poof".
This flame was not the usual orange-red; it was a deep blackish-purple, the flame of destruction originating from the divine essence of an evil god—though it was only the size of a lighter at the moment.
"go!"
With a flick of his wrist, the small flame flew off and landed on a piece of rotten wood five meters away.
"Sizzle..."
A wisp of smoke rose from the wood, revealing a black spot the size of a coin.
"That's it?" a newbie watching nearby asked, "This isn't even as powerful as my two-dollar windproof lighter."
"You know nothing!" Canned Food wiped the blood from his nose, looking utterly inscrutable. "This is the prototype of 'Dark Arcane'! Although the damage is low now, it comes with a 'Mental Erosion' effect! When I level up, this will be a forbidden spell!"
Compared to the mage who was still fumbling for fire, the other side had a much wilder style.
"ha--!"
"Dangdangdangzhigang" was shirtless, revealing a muscular physique as sharp as granite. He brandished a gleaming axe, unleashing a furious barrage of blows at a dead tree.
"80! 80! 80!"
Wood chips flew everywhere. A tree as thick as two people could hug was cut like tofu in his hands, collapsing in no time.
"Gangzi is awesome!"
Gangzi wiped away his sweat, a blissful smile spreading across his face. As a real-life fitness coach, he was utterly captivated by the feeling of muscle fibers tearing and rebuilding with every swing, and the tangible increase in strength.
"Lord Gangzi! Have some water!"
Several passing village women immediately gathered around with water, their eyes filled with admiration and affection. In this wasteland world that reveres strength, Gangzi, a kind-hearted and robust man who is not only good at fighting but also actively helps villagers move stones, repair roofs, and carry heavy loads every day, is practically a "national idol."
"Thanks, Auntie!" Gangzi downed the cold water in one gulp, slung the axe over his shoulder, and said, "I'm going to help that uncle over there fix his pigsty. See you later!"
...
Of course, there are always a few oddballs in the player community who have gone astray in their skill tree.
For example, "Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs".
As a real-life botany master, everyone assumed he would take the intelligence-based mage route or the perception-based druid route.
However, he chose the constitution system instead.
At this moment, Shennong was squatting in the grass behind the temple, holding a handful of strangely colored purple grass roots that emitted a spicy smell. He put them into his mouth and chewed them without hesitation.
"Ugh... the numbing sensation is intense, my tongue is numb, and I have a slight burning sensation in my stomach..."
Shennong drooled as he jotted down notes in his notebook, "Identification complete: slightly poisonous. It should be edible after cooking, and the taste is similar to wasabi."
The "Edison" standing next to him turned green with envy: "Shennong, won't you die from eating like that?"
"That's why I chose physique!" Shennong patted his thick pectoral muscles with a straight face. "My health bar is longer than Gangzi's now! As long as it's not a deadly poison that kills on sight, I can withstand it! How can I be Shennong if I'm not tough? How can I select recipes for the colonies if I'm not tough?"
Edison gave a thumbs up: "You truly sacrificed yourself for science. But thanks to you, our wild vegetable recipes have now expanded to twenty kinds."
...
Just as the players were enjoying this fulfilling and joyful "otherworldly farming life"...
A gray afterimage sped towards them from the direction of the misty forest.
That means "I am not a husky".
At this moment, he was completely dressed as a seasoned scout. He was wearing a homemade camouflage grass coat, two daggers at his waist, and soft-soled boots made of monster hide.
After these past few days of frantic map exploration, his senses are now frighteningly sharp. He and a few agile players have explored more than half of the surrounding five kilometers of map by sheer force of will.
"Report—!!!"
Before the husky even arrived, that raspy voice had already started shouting.
"Big news! The cutscene is here!"
He slid to a stop in front of the cannery, panting and pointing west: "They're here again! They're here once more!"
"Who's here? The kobolds are counterattacking?" Gangzi charged over, axe in hand.
"It's not a monster! It's a fat sheep... no, it's that caravan!"
The husky swallowed hard and gestured excitedly, "It's that 'Golden Harvest Merchant Guild' we rescued last time! That fat guy is back!"
"And this time something's not right! It's not just one caravan, it's a long line! Judging from their appearance, it doesn't seem like a merchant caravan, it looks like they've brought their entire home!"
"I saw many large carriages, piled high with boxes, and lots of women and children! There were even a few rather high-class carriages, surrounded by armored guards!"
"The whole family moved?" Canned Food pushed up his non-existent glasses, his eyes narrowing. "Didn't that fat guy just go back a few days ago? How come he's suddenly back with his whole family? Has the human town fallen?"
"I don't know, but judging from their panicked appearance, it's like they're running for their lives, and not from monsters, but more like... running away after doing something wrong!" the husky analyzed.
With a wave of his hand, Canned Food shouted to the players in the square who were moving bricks, chopping trees, or just spacing out:
"Brothers! Stop moving it!"
"Our old friend, that 'walking wallet,' is back! This time, he's brought a new storyline!"
"Hurry to the village entrance! Get ready to receive guests... no, get ready to trigger a plot!"
"Holy crap? New plot developments?"
"That fat guy who bought the slime lamp?"
Upon hearing that there would be a "cutscene," the players' enthusiasm instantly soared. More than fifty people, some carrying axes, some holding staffs (wooden sticks), and some even carrying freshly cooked dumplings, surged toward the defensive wall surrounding the temple.
...
Players were already waiting outside the temple square, and everyone had turned on the translation function of the Heart Protection Mirror.
"To be honest, this design is really fussy for the sake of being fancy," the husky complained, looking at the breastplate. "Couldn't they just use Chinese for the NPCs?"
"This makes the design feel more realistic. The planners really put in a lot of effort in this aspect, so they deserve praise."
"They're here, they're here! Look over there!" The husky had the best eyesight and spotted the dust kicked up by the speeding convoy from afar.
When the portly president of the Golden Harvest Chamber of Commerce led a long convoy through the fog and saw the iconic black temple again, his mood was one of ecstatic joy after despair.
"God-chosen one! Save us!"
The fat chairman practically tumbled off the carriage; his once-glorious silk robes were now wrinkled and covered in dust. He lunged at the lead cannery, clutching its hand tightly as if grasping at a last straw.
"What's wrong, bro? The city you went to has been overrun by monsters?" Canned Food asked with concern.
"More terrifying than monsters! It's the Church! It's the Inquisition!"
The fat guild leader trembled and glanced back into the depths of the mist, as if a knightly order was hunting him down there.
"Those…those lamps, and those amulets…" the fat guild leader whispered, his face filled with regret mixed with a hint of relief, "Something's happened! Everything's happened!"
"That night, at the banquet in the city lord's mansion, the Knight Commander Gerald barged in... claiming that these things carried the aura of an evil god and were the coordinates of heresy! Although the bishop didn't arrest anyone on the spot, I received word that they were going to thoroughly investigate the source of the black market!"
"I was terrified! I knew that if I was caught, I would be burned at the stake!"
The portly chairman swallowed hard, a shrewd and ruthless glint in his eyes.
"So I decided to go all the way! I exchanged all the dozens of gold coins I had earned that day for grain, iron ingots, and cloth overnight! Then I took my wife and children and slipped out of the north gate in the dead of night!"
"I can't stay in White Rock City any longer! Rather than be thrown into the tribunal, I'd rather take a gamble here!"
The portly chairman pointed to the long line of horse-drawn carts behind him, laden with supplies:
"This is all my wealth! And the contraband I bought at high prices on the black market!"
"My Lord, if only you would let us in... just let us have a place to sleep under the temple's protection..."
"I'm willing to hand over half of these things... no, seventy percent! As protection money!"
After hearing this, the players looked at each other in bewilderment, and then all of them revealed strange smiles.
After he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent for two seconds.
Immediately, the player group exploded with discussion. But the fat merchant hadn't anticipated what they were talking about.
"Holy crap! Guys, did you hear that? Whitestone City!"
The husky jumped up excitedly, pointing to the west, "New map! It's definitely a new map! I knew this game couldn't just have one mine dungeon!"
"And what about that 'Dawn Church' and 'Inquisition'!"
Hakimi's eyes lit up, the kind of eyes that look like he'd discovered a new boss. "Judging from the name, this is the kind of villainous force that's both powerful and pretentious! Does this mean our main storyline is going to advance from 'wilderness survival' to 'factional conflict'?"
"Wow! The plot logic is so tight!"
Gangzi also realized what was happening and slapped his thigh, "The merchandise we sold triggered a butterfly effect, leading to the emergence of a new force, which in turn triggered the NPC defection event... This AI calculation is absolutely amazing!"
"These aren't refugees! They're clearly here to deliver a 'worldview patch' to us!"
The players no longer looked at the fat guild leader with the same eyes they had for a fat sheep, but rather as if he were a walking "Version Update Manual".
As the players grew more and more excited, some even tried to rush up and ask, "How many levels of monsters are there in White Stone City?" and "Does the Knights drop purple gear?"
"Everyone, don't rush. Let's take him into the temple first and see if there are any hidden plot points!"
"What canned food?" he said, striding forward and stopping the restless crowd.
He pushed up glasses that weren't actually there, and his face showed an unprecedented seriousness—the professional expression one would show when a crucial plot point was triggered.
"This is an important NPC, don't ruin the relationship with him."
Canned Food turned around and looked at the fat chairman, who was still in shock and thought that this group of God's Chosen Ones was going to kill and rob him.
Instead of flashing the shrewd smile he had before, he adopted a deep and reliable expression that only appears in cutscenes.
He reached out and gently patted the chubby chairman's trembling shoulder, activated the translation function on the chest protector, and spoke in a deep, powerful voice:
"Friend, don't be afraid."
"Since the Vatican won't accept you, then settle down here."
Canned Food turned to the side, made a "please" gesture, and pointed to the newly built council hall in the temple square (which was actually just a large wooden shed).
"Come, let's go inside and sit down to talk slowly."
A glint of shrewdness flashed in the can's eyes:
"We are very interested in that 'White Stone City' and that 'Cardinal'..."