It was only natural, then, to get to work.
Having just resolved one wave, a second had already arrived.
Between focusing on whether the beastmen were convinced or not, Cheng Shuili had almost forgotten the real business at hand had Xiong Ji not asked.
She briefly explained the purpose of her trip to Xiong Ji.
Upon hearing that the other side of the cave was the King's territory, Xiong Ji's eyes immediately lit up.
He was not like those shallow members of his tribe; he saw more than just a piece of fertile land. To him, the symbolic significance of this land even outweighed its practical value.
After the Rat King took power, the major beast races had carved up almost all the land between them.
Given those circumstances, the fact that Cheng Shuili could still secure a piece of land for herself showed just how capable she was.
The more Xiong Ji looked at Cheng Shuili, the more satisfied he became, and his tone grew increasingly respectful as he spoke.
The bear-race was not like the wolf-race.
The wolf-race had fallen into such a state of ruin that whatever Cheng Shuili did was simply helping the race come back to life.
The bear-race, however, was already developing well and was even one of the top beast races.
Cheng Shuili did not have a deep understanding of the bear-race's situation, and making decisions for them rashly would only lower the quality of life for the bear-race beastmen.
Since she had become their King, she had to be responsible for her people.
That was something she certainly could not do.
It was for this reason that she talked with Xiong Ji for quite a long time.
In the end, Cheng Shuili decided to leave the matters here in Xiong Ji's charge.
After all, when he had implored Cheng Shuili to accept the Bear Tooth, he had promised to help her resolve most of her problems.
Now, surely he could handle this kind of "small matter," right?
Xiong Ji, who counted down the days looking forward to retirement: "..."
Could he really go back on his own words?
He swallowed his pride, smiled, and saw Cheng Shuili off.
Free from responsibilities, Cheng Shuili returned to her aimless wandering mode, taking a stroll in the backyard of her safe zone, occasionally picking a few pieces of perfectly sweet fruit to taste.
If life could be like this every day—tending flowers, growing vegetables, without needing to drive or fight monsters—how comfortable would that be?
Cheng Shuili walked with her hands behind her back, looking for all the world like a retired official, missing only a thermos cup.
She specifically kept a basket inside the Abyss Ring, stuffing it with washed fruit she wanted to eat.
Once she had picked a full basket, it was time to return to her vehicle to rest.
She looked at the lush crops in the fields and returned home feeling content.
Zhou Zhuxing had no objections to the big rat that refreshed in the fields from time to time; after all, the whole plot belonged to the rat's family... no, to the Crow Boss.
If the Crow Boss wanted to pick some fruit to eat, that was absolutely fine.
An ordinary night passed peacefully beneath the sparkling stars.
As dawn broke, Cheng Shuili woke up in her vehicle and stretched with a long yawn.
Yesterday had been full of fighting and planning; an average person would have been exhausted.
But she was different; her attribute points were high, and her physical condition was excellent.
After everything finished yesterday, Cheng Shuili still had the energy to stroll around the territory, let alone now, after a good night's sleep.
Feeling refreshed and properly groomed, Cheng Shuili sat obediently in the vehicle, waiting for Wan Yi's feeding.
For Cheng Shuili, breakfast every day was like a blind box.
Wan Yi put her heart and soul into every meal; if Black Feather were to hold an annual "Best Employee" award, she and Xinxue would certainly be on the list.
However, compared to the two, Wan Yi was certainly a cut above.
Cheng Shuili always held a bit of favoritism for this head chef who had followed her from the very beginning.
Likewise, her head chef had never let her down.
As for breakfast, simple was best.
A bowl of thick, fragrant porridge garnished with bits of fresh green wild vegetables, along with a dozen side dishes.
Cheng Shuili ate in a measured manner, enjoying this moment of tranquility and satisfaction.
With her stomach warmed, her heart also settled down.
After breakfast, Cheng Shuili rinsed her mouth and tidied her clothes before heading out to the territory in a leisurely fashion.
The sun was just right, and the air still held the freshness of morning dew.
The land was level, the crops were thriving, and in the distance, one could vaguely see wolf-race beastmen working in the fields—everything was in perfect order.
She took a deep breath, feeling both body and mind refreshed.
However, before she could finish exhaling, her gaze stalled.
On a small patch of open ground not far from the cave exit, a simple yet sturdy wooden fence had appeared out of nowhere.
Inside the fence, several small bear-race beastmen, clearly still cubs, fluffy and round, were clumsily pouncing on each other, making milky "awoo" sounds.
Nearby, a tall male bear-race beastman was looking down, carefully feeding them some kind of paste with a stone bowl.
This... what was going on?
Had she opened a kindergarten for the bear-race?
Cheng Shuili raised an eyebrow and walked over.
The bear-race beastman heard footsteps, looked up in alarm, and upon seeing Cheng Shuili, his face immediately showed panic and nervousness. His hand shook, and the stone bowl almost fell to the ground.
He hurriedly put down the bowl, at a loss, and clumsily tried to kneel, mimicking the other bear-race beastmen from the day before.
"No need to kneel." Cheng Shuili spoke in time to stop him, her gaze falling on the bear cubs who were huddled together, wide-eyed and curious, looking at her. "Who are these?"
The beastman nervously twisted his rough fingers and stammered in explanation, "King... it's... it's Lord Xiong Ji who told us to come. Said... said it's safe here and there's plenty of food. Told us to bring the cubs to live here first, and in our spare time, we can do some work to support ourselves."
He paused, stealing a glance at Cheng Shuili's expression. Seeing that she was just listening and didn't look displeased, he let out a slight sigh of relief and continued:
"Lord Xiong Ji said that you, King... your land here is good and produces a lot, so the cubs can grow up strong and learn things quickly. We parents have strength and can help with work—guarding, patrolling, building houses, farming, anything! We definitely won't eat or live for free!"
He spoke urgently, fearing Cheng Shuili would think they were looking to take advantage of her.
The bear cubs seemed to sense the adult's nervousness and stopped playing, huddling together and gazing timidly at Cheng Shuili, their round eyes filled with curiosity and a hint of fear.
Cheng Shuili looked at these fluffy, adorable little ones and felt no dissatisfaction.
She could fully understand Xiong Ji's arrangement.
There were monsters around the territories of every beast race, and cubs were creatures that needed protection in any world; keeping them in the safe zone was fine.
But that fellow Xiong Ji was truly fast.
He had not only quickly integrated the adult bear-race but even considered the education of the next generation, and he even knew to let the parents "work for relief" so there were no idlers.
This level of management was indeed impressive.
Cheng Shuili nodded without asking more, her gaze returning to the bear cubs.
She squatted down, extended a finger, and gently poked the soft belly of the nearest cub.
The cub let out an "awoo" sound, but instead of hiding, it extended its two short front paws, hugged her finger, and curiously sniffed it with its little nose, a wet sensation touching her skin.
Cheng Shuili couldn't help but smile. Cubs were always easy to soften one's heart.
"What are their names?" she asked.
The bear-race father was stunned for a moment before realizing the King was asking him, and he hurriedly replied, "Back to the King, my name is Xiong Shi. As for these cubs, the biggest one is called Xiong Dunden, she's the daughter of Xiong Dun's family, and the one in the middle is our family's..."
This fellow had been so respectful to her just a moment ago, but once he started talking about his children, he wouldn't stop.
As long as they started talking about their children, these parents had endless things to say.
Cheng Shuili only realized this truth deeply today.
It wasn't until the Weaver announced the notice that Cheng Shuili finally found an excuse to leave, hurriedly saying goodbye and rushing back to her vehicle.
As soon as she appeared in the carriage, she bumped into Su Rui, who was coming to work. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why are you in such a rush? Were you chased by a dog?"
When asked this, Cheng Shuili paused and gave it serious thought.
The animals corresponding to the bear-race beastmen were brown bears, so if you put it that way...
No, how could she think of her own subjects like that?!
Cheng Shuili shook her head, straightened her expression, and sat on the sofa, looking at Su Rui with a hint of scrutiny.
This person had been getting quite close to Wan Yi recently, and her tone of voice was leaning toward Wan Yi's style.
Perhaps the infectious nature of the customs over at Wan Yi's side was strong, as Su Rui had become much more cheerful and generous recently.
Cheng Shuili had never imagined before that this description could apply to her.
Seeing Cheng Shuili's increasingly strange gaze, Su Rui instinctively felt that this fellow wouldn't say anything good, so she raised her eyelids and turned back to the driver's cab.
Cheng Shuili watched her decisive and crisp departing back, touched her nose, and felt she might be a bit overly suspicious.
She steadied herself and focused her attention back on the Weaver's announcement.
This time, like the last, the dungeon was divided into full-server dungeons and sub-region dungeons.
Compared to the nonsense the Weaver said, Cheng Shuili was more curious about why the dungeon announcement system had changed to the Weaver.
She... must have some special identity, right?
Cheng Shuili guessed.
She had encountered a few systems before, such as the ones that sold safe zone novice protection; their names were all numeric codes.
The Weaver, however, was a system with a name; from this point alone, she seemed much higher-ranking than those other systems.
But where did this "higher-ranking" status manifest?
Cheng Shuili couldn't figure it out for a moment, so she simply decided not to trouble herself.
She opened the regional channel to see what the players in the Dragon Country grand region were talking about.
"Did you participate in the guessing game for the last full-server dungeon?"
"I wanted to participate, but I studied it for as long as the time between when that damn Weaver finished speaking and the dungeon opened, and I just couldn't find how to participate!"
"With the level of our Crow Boss, wouldn't participating in the guessing game be pure profit?!"
"They also said there would be cheering, but I searched for half a day and couldn't find it. Not to say anything, but is what the Weaver says really reliable?"
"Don't mention it, I also think this Weaver isn't as good as the previous systems. Although the previous system's voice was mechanical, the news was authentic! Isn't this Weaver just pure fraud?"
The pure fraud Weaver: "..."
The veins on her forehead throbbed as she looked at Taibai, who was already kneeling on the ground to apologize, and said coldly, "You'd better pray that these comments don't reach the Boss's ears, otherwise whoever is responsible for this will be held accountable."
Taibai wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, shrank his neck, and said, "It was all arranged; you know why it was delayed. This isn't our internal problem either; the root cause lies with that player, and there's just no way for me to solve it."
"Then are you going to cause trouble for the Boss?"
Taibai immediately knocked his head against the ground and said sincerely, "I was wrong, Grandmother Weaver."
The Weaver looked at Taibai's cowardly appearance, and her tone softened slightly. "Alright. Stop acting the fool here. I don't care what method you use; you must make sure that all players can normally see and use the guessing and cheering functions before this full-server dungeon opens. This is the bottom line."
"Of course." Taibai nodded, and although he hadn't stood up yet, the expression on his face became serious. "It's already prepared; this time there will definitely be no mistakes."
The Weaver looked at his sworn expression, and a sense of unease suddenly arose in her heart.
She was silent for a moment, but still decided to report to Boss Beichen later, just in case she was blamed when the investigation started.
The players knew nothing of what had happened here. The announcement proceeded methodically, and after all the nonsense was finished, the Weaver finally began to broadcast the information for this dungeon:
【You've rested long enough, right? The familiar moment is here again! So now, let's announce the details of the new full-server dungeon!】
【A warm reminder: whether you are a warrior seeking excitement or a player who prefers stability, this dungeon has prepared a thoughtful experience for everyone!】
【Dungeon Details: The Mist Corridor and the Silent Theater】
【Description: Shh, the curtain is rising, but the actors have disappeared! The pale mist is too thick to melt away, the silent corridor devours all sound, and there is that which looms in the depths of the misty shadows. An empty stage performing a play with no audience! Those who step into this place, please remember three theater rules: First, do not attempt to light any light source; the mist rejects the light. Second, when the walls of the corridor begin to seep water, please be sure to turn your back to the wall until the dripping sound stops. Third, if you hear applause from the stage, please run away from your location immediately, right now, without looking back! Those who violate the rules will lose their shadow, their voice, and finally, become an eternal audience sculpture in that misty theater!】
【Special Hint: None.】
Cheng Shuili held her breath as she finished reading the description. When she saw the special hint, she suddenly felt dizzy.
What did this mean?
If there was no special reminder, why display this column at all?
The regional channel started cursing directly.
"If there's no hint, then there's no hint. Is saying it deliberately just looking for a scolding?"
"Could it be that there was one originally, but because we cursed her, she didn't read it?"
"How is that possible?! No matter how awesome the Weaver is, she's still just a system; it's absolutely impossible for her to not read it on purpose, right?!"
Cheng Shuili was very concerned about this question.
If a system could really change the content of an announcement because of certain remarks—
Her train of thought paused, and she suddenly knew the answer to this question.
Rate on N.U.
