Or perhaps it was due to their race.
Although the beastman town did not have humans from various grand regions, it did have beastmen of various races.
If the beastmen's racial distribution was similar to the human partitioning system, then the current situation could be explained.
But this was not a major issue.
Cheng Shuili's question reached everyone's ears, and the dining table fell silent for a moment as thoughtful expressions appeared on their faces.
This matter was indeed suspicious.
There were no communication channels between the various partitions, and it was difficult enough for them to find out the situation of players in other partitions, so how could the opponent not only lock onto their boss's partition but also find people to act as vanguard troops to cause trouble and scout the path?
"Could it be that this White Eagle has some kind of item we haven't seen before?"
Jiang Tang raised her hand and asked in a low voice.
Cheng Shuili had the same thought, but if that were truly the case, they would be far too passive.
Although they now had a safe zone, people came and went constantly. Unless the players spoke up themselves, who would know which grand region or partition they belonged to?
Cheng Shuili couldn't exactly post on the territory announcement: "Players from the White Eagle Federation, Partition 1, please come to the main building to find the leader, Angry Crow Takes Flight," could she?
That would be far too obvious.
The fact that Handsome White Eagle could reach the number one spot meant that he was not only not stupid, but extremely clever.
Furthermore, as the top-ranked player of a grand region, he was different from the opponents Cheng Shuili had faced before, and the items and methods at his disposal were endless.
If he was on guard, even if Cheng Shuili spent resources to find people to cause him trouble, it would at most only create some chaos for him.
In that case, it would be a waste of resources and time—damaging to others without benefiting herself—which Cheng Shuili certainly did not want to do.
For her, there were only two choices.
Either act to kill the opponent immediately, or simply do not act at all.
It was clearly the latter for now.
Cheng Shuili sighed, picked up the chopsticks placed in front of her, and tapped the corner of the table. Seeing everyone's gaze turn toward her, she finally spoke: "No need to worry. Establishing a safe zone is a good thing regardless. As long as we are within the safe zone, I possess an absolute advantage. And before the regions merge, he has no way to come to our partition to find me."
"Sigh." Wanyi also let out a long sigh. "If only he could be found, wouldn't it be simple for the boss to deal with him?"
This sentiment was unanimously agreed upon by those at the table.
Cheng Shuili curved her lips, but then suddenly straightened them, pressing her lips into a thin line.
When the others saw this expression, they knew some bad news was likely coming, so they reined in their expressions and straightened their postures.
Cheng Shuili did not beat around the bush: "The disaster next week is a plague."
"A plague?" Wanyi gasped, her face instantly turning pale. "This... how are we supposed to defend against this?"
Jiang Tang also frowned tightly, and for once, her words made sense: "If it's a viral or bacterial plague, with the flow of people in the safe zone, the consequences would be unimaginable once it breaks out."
Meanwhile, Xinxue was concerned about the safe zone's business: "Infection is inevitable where people are crowded. But the key is whether these people will hold onto their dissatisfaction about being infected and blame Black Feather or the safe zone. The safe zone hasn't developed yet, and if our reputation gets ruined first..."
She didn't continue, but Ailin felt she was being overly anxious: "Even if our reputation is ruined, we are currently the only human safe zone, the only one they can visit at any time. When they truly have a need, they will have to come regardless."
Both of them had a point, but regardless, Cheng Shuili understood one thing: development was the only truth.
She gave a few simple instructions and then signaled for the meeting to end.
The sky had long since turned dark, and those remaining in the safe zone were all members of Black Feather.
The planning task was eventually handed over to Guanghui.
After Dragon Soul disbanded, a group of people with technical skills who could get things done were recruited into Black Feather. Some followed Guanghui to do administrative work, while others followed Xinxue to become crafty merchants.
As for the city planning, Guanghui's team actually had several people whose professional backgrounds matched perfectly.
After learning this, Cheng Shuili immediately handed over the safe zone planning, requiring them to submit a proposal by Monday.
Back when those people were in Dragon Soul, they were no different from ordinary players, fighting monsters, driving, and opening supply crates every day.
After joining Black Feather, they suddenly returned to their old professions!
They were doing exactly what they had studied in college or what they had done in their previous jobs.
If it weren't for the lack of computers, they would likely be pulling out PPTs, PDFs, and even official documents.
However, complaints aside, who could say that this life wasn't happy?
The night deepened, the embers of the bonfire remained warm, and the Black Feather territory temporarily returned to tranquility under the starlit sky.
The moon hung high, casting silver radiance over the entire territory.
No one noticed that on the wasteland to the north, a wolf-race beastman leaning on a cane was walking slowly.
He seemed puzzled about his location, looked up at the moon, and then turned to look left and right.
The scenery was truly unfamiliar, and the wolf-race beastman became even more bewildered.
He stood in place for a while, but upon catching sight of a massive, pitch-black shadow in the distance, he couldn't help but feel a surge of cowardice. He couldn't resist taking a step back and began to make his way back along the path he came, one step at a time, leaning on his cane.
On the other side, although the night was deep, Cheng Shuili, who had returned to her vehicle, did not rest immediately.
She had dealt with the rewards for placing first in the full-server dungeon, but she hadn't even looked at the other rewards yet.
5,000 game coins were a drop in the bucket for Cheng Shuili now, and as rewards, they weren't worth much to her either, so she simply started by looking at the rare material box.
This was the first time she had seen such an item, and since it was a box, the reward was likely random.
Cheng Shuili prayed devoutly for a moment as usual, then raised her hand to open the box.
【Obtained: Advanced Energy Stone x1!】
Huh?
Cheng Shuili was genuinely puzzled.
First it was energy stones, and now came advanced energy stones. Would there be super energy stones in the future?
The system shouldn't be doing something so unreliable.
Cheng Shuili thought to herself as she picked up the shimmering stone to check its description.
【Advanced Energy Stone】
【Description: A brilliant stone that contains immense energy, but as for what it's used for... uh, it's beautiful, isn't it?】
What kind of description was this? Didn't that just mean this thing was useless?!
Cheng Shuili was truly speechless.
She stared at the brilliant stone for a while, gritted her teeth, and stored it inside the Abyss Ring.
Inside her ring, there were plenty of things with vague uses, so its presence wasn't that jarring.
Cheng Shuili took out another reward. The special equipment box was an old reward, and with the item sitting in front of her, she wasn't in a hurry to open it.
She had just opened the Taotie Furnace last week; the chances of getting something good again were slim, so she shouldn't hold high hopes.
Despite saying that, Cheng Shuili couldn't help but feel expectant.
She took a deep breath and opened the box.
A blinding white light erupted once more. Cheng Shuili subconsciously covered her eyes, but her pupils dilated slightly. Just as she thought she had opened something good, she saw a pistol lying flat at the bottom of the box.
It was bright silver, looking no different from the ones the Rat King sold.
A wave of disappointment welled up from her heart. Cheng Shuili immediately realized this was ordinary military hardware, the lowest tier.
But from an aesthetic standpoint, this pistol was absolutely top-tier.
But what use was looking good in a place like this?
Cheng Shuili stared at it for a moment before raising her hand to pick it up.
The moment her finger touched the gun body, a cold sensation spread from her fingertip.
It wasn't the coldness of ordinary metal, but rather...
Cheng Shuili's pupils constricted as she immediately realized this item was also a special item!
【Ruling Silver Eagle】
【Description: A seemingly ordinary pistol that can deceive many who lack knowledge.】
Cheng Shuili: "..."
Stop roasting me, seriously.
Although her eyes had been blind to it, this was still a good thing.
Cheng Shuili continued to read.
【...It cannot cause direct damage to any creature, but the "Ruling Bullets" it fires force the target to be honest for a short period—meaning they cannot tell any lies and can only speak objective facts! One Ruling Bullet can be generated every 24 hours, with a maximum storage of 3.】
Cheng Shuili's breath hitched slightly.
Cannot cause direct damage, but can force honesty?
This effect was unheard of!
She immediately realized the value of this special equipment far exceeded that of ordinary special equipment.
In negotiations, interrogations, or even just daily communication, the advantage of forcing someone to speak only the truth for a short time was undeniably huge.
Cheng Shuili's heart rate accelerated a bit.
She carefully gripped the bright silver pistol. The cold metallic texture now gave her a strange sense of security.
The gun's lines were sleek, and fine patterns were carved into the grip, which served both as an anti-slip feature and was beautiful enough.
A faint shimmer flowed over the metal, highlighting its extraordinariness.
The gains from this dungeon were already massive enough for Cheng Shuili, and in addition, there were five free attribute points.
Cheng Shuili's worst attribute was currently agility, so these five points were naturally added to agility.
With the points added, she opened her panel to check her latest attributes:
【Player: Cheng Shuili
ID: AAAJCCJ8888
Username: Angry Crow Takes Flight
Vehicle: Shopping Cart (Exterior: Off-road Vehicle) (Current Power: 999%) (Solar panels in operation)
Health Value: 83 (Condition: Good, full of vitality)
Strength: 74 (Fist wind is fierce, enough to shatter stone)
Stamina: 78 (Endurance is astonishing, excellent persistence)
Agility: 75 (Light as a swallow, moves like a startled rabbit)
Total Combat Power: 86 (Strength is powerful, fame spreads far)
......】
Yo, did you change your style?
Cheng Shuili quipped, looking at her three attributes with increasing satisfaction.
Recently, neither strength nor agility had received any enhancements, but stamina had increased by 3 points due to the Golden Rice Bowl, completing a reversal.
She washed up briefly, changed her clothes, and lay back on the bed. Just as she intended to rest, she remembered that the Taotie Furnace's daily usage hadn't been used yet, so she quickly stood up, yawned, and teleported to the territory.
The materials to be converted had already been decided, but as soon as Cheng Shuili took out the Taotie Furnace, she found that it was acting strangely this night.
The lights in the territory were dim, and because of this, the faint light on the surface of the Taotie Furnace was particularly noticeable.
Cheng Shuili studied it seriously for a moment, but didn't find anything unusual. Since it was truly late, she simply converted the wood, yawned again, and went back to sleep.
That night, while things were exceptionally calm on the human side, the wolf-race beastman side was truly in an uproar.
"Lang San! Say it again! You saw a new piece of land?!"
"Is it really wasteland? Land without an owner?!"
"It must be newly appeared land, right? If it just appeared and was seen by Grandpa Lang San first, doesn't that mean it was land gifted to us?! Thanks to the King! Thanks to the Wolf King!"
Many wolf-race beastmen talked over one another; some were surprised by the new land, while others suspected Lang San was getting senile.
Meanwhile, Lang San stood before the many wolf-race beastmen and tapped his cane. "Alright, alright, what are you arguing about? Whether it's true or false, wouldn't it be better if you just followed me to take a look?"
The wolf-race beastmen looked at each other, and realizing this was the best method, they nodded in agreement.
"Fine! Grandpa Lang San, you lead the way."
"Lang San, if it's fake, you'll have to compensate me with a bottle of good wine."
"Grandpa Lang San, I'll help you walk."
The one who spoke last was Lang San's granddaughter. He looked at his granddaughter with affection, but immediately changed his expression and glared at the old friend who had just asked for wine.
He was getting more shameless as he got older, even daring to ask for a luxury item like wine.
Lang San, however, felt steady in his heart. At the time, he had first suspected it was a hallucination and ran away subconsciously after seeing the huge shadow.
But after realizing how much a piece of new land could mean for the wolf race, he regained his courage and returned.
After slapping himself a few times while standing on that land, Grandpa Lang San finally confirmed he wasn't dreaming—he really had discovered a brand new piece of land!
Since it was true, this matter had to be notified to the other members of the wolf race immediately.
They had to occupy this place as soon as possible so it wouldn't benefit other races.
Lang San had carefully noted the path while heading back to the tribe, and couldn't help but feel smug inside: With such a great achievement, perhaps even the King would praise him a few times.
That was how the current situation came to be.
Lang San leaned on his cane and walked at the very front, surrounded by a group of sturdy adult wolves, with his granddaughter Lang Ying carefully supporting him.
In the night, torches formed a winding ribbon of light, moving in the direction of the Black Feather territory.
"It's just ahead; we'll see it after turning this corner." Lang San's voice carried an irrepressible excitement.
The wolf-race beastmen behind him saw his expression and believed him nine times out of ten; all that was left was to see it with their own eyes.
Rounding the corner Lang San mentioned, the scene before them suddenly opened up.
Just as Lang San said, a piece of flat and vast land appeared before the wolf race, forming a sharp contrast with the barren home they were familiar with in the distance.
Lang San was extremely smug, shaking his head and asking: "How about it? What I said wasn't wrong at all, right?"
The wolf-race beastmen behind him were all extremely excited: "This is... this is too big, right?!"
"This place is so much better than our home! If only we could live here in the future."
The joy of these wolf-race beastmen was evident, but this excitement couldn't last for long.
The moon, which had been obscured by clouds, poked its head out, and moonlight spilled onto the land.
Beastmen already had excellent vision; with light, they could see everything clearly.
Rate on N.U.
