Lu Hongyan opened the first scroll, and the text within immediately came into view.
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Intelligence Report 1: There are two Chaos Lords near your territory. One was a "King of Competition" entrepreneur before transmigrating; he efficiently calculates gains and losses, is adept at selecting Talents, and excels at resource management.
The other is a thug, a ruthless brawler who loves solving problems with violence. He has already been eliminated and is now a Wandering Player.
Note: The above information comes from the A-Grade Talent [Daily Intelligence], randomly compiled and issued by the system.
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'The thug has already been eliminated, which means there's only one other Lord Player left? A "King of Competition" entrepreneur... he sounds tough. Once I've built up my forces, I'll get rid of him. Hehe, I'll just have to out-compete the "King of Competition"!'
Lu Hongyan opened the second intelligence report.
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Intelligence Report 2: Three li north of Pottery Village is a Secret Realm, the [General's Tomb]. It has not yet been discovered by any Player. This dungeon can yield items such as the General Armor, Iron-Clad Bow, and Hundred-Step Arrow Manual. It will open in three days.
Note: The above information comes from the A-Grade Talent [Daily Intelligence], randomly compiled and issued by the system.
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'The General's Tomb, a dungeon! This information is valuable. So it won't open for another three days?'
Lu Hongyan was overjoyed. She immediately stood up and waved to a tall figure in gleaming silver armor in the distance. "General Lu, come over here!"
The tall figure walked over as requested. "My child, what is it?"
Lu Hongyan looked a little embarrassed.
Things had been going smoothly for her since she'd arrived in this world. Thanks to the intelligence provided by the system, she had easily found Treasure Chests in the wild. Her territory now boasted a Food Barrel Tree, two Wooden Arrow Towers, a Material Warehouse, a Wood Armor Workshop, and a Blacksmith Shop.
She had also opened two Chaos Eggs. The first had yielded a Golden Lion Mount.
The only thing she found a little hard to accept was what had hatched from the second Chaos Egg: "a father with dreams of being a general"!
This "father" was the tall, middle-aged man in the gleaming silver armor. He had taken her surname and was named Lu Junsheng!
"Um, General Lu, there's a General's Tomb three li north of Pottery Village. It doesn't look like anything special at the moment, but it will soon transform into a dungeon-like Secret Realm. I want you to send some men to scout it out over the next two days. Pinpoint its location so it's easier for me to lead a team to tackle it in three days."
"Dungeon-like Secret Realm? What's that? But since you've given the order, daughter, just leave it all to your father. When I handle things, you can rest easy!"
Lu Junsheng was very easygoing. He chuckled and added, "My child, when are you going to visit the Black Mountain Stronghold? After all, you're their Second-in-Command. That's a stronghold with several thousand people! Your men must be eager for you to return!"
"Second-in-Command of the Black Mountain Stronghold" was the identity Lu Hongyan had received upon entering the game.
But Lu Hongyan said dismissively, "That identity is just a bonus that came with my Talent. My foundation is here, not at the Black Mountain Stronghold. From now on, let's call this place the Red Swallow Stronghold!"
"Red Swallow Stronghold?"
Lu Junsheng rubbed his hands together. "Why not call it the Lu Family Stronghold? After all, it belongs to us, father and daughter!"
...
Wang Yi walked down from the Basic Watchtower.
'This Watchtower may not have any special abilities, but as a structure, it's pretty impressive. I'll live up here from now on... My territory is starting to take shape, but I'm still short on people, especially anyone with management skills!'
As Wang Yi silently contemplated his development strategy, a crowd of villagers swarmed over. Some eagerly offered him bowls of meat soup, while others simply knelt and kowtowed...
These villagers hailed from a poor, remote area. They were uneducated and unskilled, but this also meant most of them were simple, honest, and straightforward.
Wang Yi had given them one shock after another. They had eaten Immortal Roasted Chicken, drunk immortal Vegetable Soup, and now they even had meat soup and roasted meat. They were filled with immense gratitude toward Wang Yi, convinced he was an Immortal, and were genuinely eager to serve and honor him.
"The first sip of soup must go to the Roasted Chicken Immortal!"
"And the first roasted pig leg must be offered to the Immortal Master!"
"Thank you for your blessings, Immortal Master!"
"Long live the Roasted Chicken Immortal!"
"Everyone, kowtow to the Roasted Chicken Immortal..."
The villagers were incredibly enthusiastic, but Wang Yi didn't quite have the stomach for the "truly authentic" meat soup and roasted pig legs they were offering. After politely deflecting their offers with a few words, he headed to the Gourmet Processing Plant to check on the progress with the Pig Beasts.
The Gourmet Processing Plant was incredible. Man Datou was supervising the operation, with Zhang Dashan and a dozen other men bustling about. Pig Beasts went in the front, and bags of five-spice sausage were conveyed out the back, where they were carried to the warehouse courtyard.
With Man Datou standing guard, no one dared to get any ideas about the sausages.
Wang Yi tasted one of the five-spice sausages, and his eyes lit up. He had never eaten a sausage this good before; both the texture and the flavor were absolutely perfect.
'As expected of the Gourmet Processing Plant. Its products are in a class of their own!'
Wang Yi was delighted. He asked Man Datou about the output and learned that the sausage production was quite impressive. A single Pig Beast could yield ten bags of five-spice sausage, with each bag weighing one jin, about 1.1 pounds.
'Excluding the few Pig Beasts set aside for soup and barbecue, there are still over 2,900 here left to process. That means we can produce nearly 15 tons of five-spice sausage. That should last us a good while.'
Wang Yi grabbed two bags of sausage and tucked them into his clothes. Then he turned to Zhang Dashan. "When you're finished here, take 1,000 jin of sausage and distribute it among the villagers. You can decide how to do it, but it would be best to distribute it based on labor. We don't want anyone complaining!"
"A thousand jin! Good heavens, that's too much, way too much! We'll never be able to eat it all, never!"
Zhang Dashan's face was flushed with excitement. He tried counting on his fingers but couldn't really grasp how much a thousand jin was. He just knew it was a whole, whole lot.
Wang Yi was in a good mood. "If you can't eat it all, then save it! Consider it today's wages. Of course, the work of moving stones, gathering wood, and scraping pine resin still needs to get done. As the production team leader, you need to learn how to assign tasks!"
With that, Wang Yi went to speak with Man Datou.
Zhang Dashan was still reeling from the shock. A few nearby villagers who had overheard Wang Yi gathered around, all trying to count on their fingers.
To them, one thousand was an enormous number.
They thought the Roasted Chicken Immortal was unbelievably generous—maybe even a spendthrift Immortal!
A moment later, Wang Yi led Man Datou, Yang Qingniu, Zhang Lengzi, Hu Fenqiu, Zhang Mazha, and Yang Dazhuang into the Fine-Quality Armory.
Militia weren't the same as production workers; they required proper upkeep. Wang Yi was now going to equip them, giving each man a Sha River Overlord Spear.
"This spear, not counting the materials, costs one Gold Coin just for the crafting fee," Wang Yi said. "Take them. Make sure you don't let them go to waste!"
Man Datou caressed the shaft of the Sha River Overlord Spear, his eyes practically glowing. "I'm a boxer, so I'm not used to a big spear," he said, "but this thing looks amazing. I'll start practicing my spear-work later!"
As for Yang Qingniu and the others, they were completely overwhelmed by the favor, so much so that they hesitated, not daring to accept the spears.
Wang Yi looked at them and added, "You all are to train hard under Big Head and raise your combat effectiveness as quickly as possible. I'll be counting on you to protect the territory from now on. Once we've tamed more Giant Scorpion Mounts, I'll assign them to you as well!"
"What? We get scorpions too?"
"We... we definitely won't disappoint you, my Lord!"
"Damn it, I'll train myself to death!"
"Lord Man, we haven't done our run yet today. Should we go?"
Yang Qingniu and the others were fired up, fiercely determined to grow stronger. They were itching for a chance to risk their lives for the Immortal Lord!
Just as Wang Yi was leaving the armory, a high-spirited Boss Li came to see him, bringing 15 villagers with him.
Aside from the four "veterans" from yesterday, the remaining eleven people all dropped to their knees before Wang Yi with a series of thuds.