Or was it because every race was recruiting now, giving people too many options?
That was a very likely possibility.
“What about the women? Men might be afraid, but more women should be coming.”
They were the Witch race, after all. It should have been natural for women to come here for evolution items. Why was the number still so low?
It didn't quite make sense.
“Uh... that most likely has to do with the rumors on the world channel.”
“Rumors?”
“Someone is spreading rumors on the world channel saying that the Witch race's evolution items are laced with some kind of material that allows for control. They’re saying that if you have a choice, you should avoid evolving into a witch.”
Diana stepped forward at this point.
“Even though our sisters have been trying to clear things up on the world channel, it’s had very little effect.”
“So most people went to the Succubus, Forest Elf, Medusa, or Merfolk races—the ones with high visual appeal. That's how they put it.”
Shang Chuan added as an explanation.
Well, it seemed they were being looked down upon.
Though she didn't know which bastard was spreading the rumors, thinking about it now was useless. All she could say was that those who didn't come to the Witch's Forest were the ones losing out.
“Forget it. The Witch race naturally loves freedom. There’s no need to clarify anything. If they want to come, they come; if not, they can get lost. There’s nothing to explain,” Lan Qingyou said, waving her hand dismissively.
“By the way, speaking of the Succubus and Forest Elf races, did Gu Xiaobei and Frenna choose the Golden Plains and the Cursed Corridor?”
Lan Qingyou had previously mentioned that the Golden Plains were suitable for forest elves and the Cursed Corridor for succubi.
So, she asked in passing.
“Oh, that. Gu Xiaobei and Frenna naturally went looking for them, but the Supreme Council didn't agree.”
Shang Chuan continued to explain.
Was he joking? Both of those places were major food source locations. If they were just given away, what would everyone else do?
As a result, those two races became some of the few that held two separate regions as their autonomous territory.
Lan Qingyou wasn't exactly envious.
After all, the population was still small, and each region was actually quite large. It wouldn't be a problem to house millions of people in one.
The key was technology—more specifically, safe residential areas.
Consequently, every major race was now frantically trying to snatch up witches who knew how to draw magic circles to build settlements for them.
However, because the Supreme Council also needed witches to build the Adventurers' Guild, very few witches were actually able to go out and take on contract work.
Reminded of this, Lan Qingyou finally took out her card, which she hadn't touched in a long time, and saw the constant stream of people tagging her.
These messages had popped up after Lan Qingyou’s chat with Frenna.
No, actually, some had been tagging her for days before that short conversation; she just hadn't noticed until now.
Her eyes had been focused solely on her experiments.
Because there were others in her habitat now, Lan Qingyou hadn't even eaten the food Gu Xiaobei used to send. She had been eating whatever Diana brought over.
While the cooks in the Witch's Forest weren't as good as Gu Xiaobei, it didn't matter to Lan Qingyou, who only cared about finishing her experiments.
Chariot: “@The Tower, you finally showed up. How are the experiments going?”
The Star: “@The Tower, do you have any spare witches? I need to hire a few.”
The Sun: “@The Tower, can a magic shield core be changed from two points of light and dark into a single one?”
The Emperor: “@The Tower, is Boss Lan taking on contract work? I have all the materials ready on my end.”
...
All the clan leaders in the group were looking for Lan Qingyou. What could she do about it?
The ten thousand witches with the Supreme Council were currently working off their debts. Even though she was the Clan Leader, her personality wasn't one to just order people around on a whim.
If anything, in her mind, the Witch race was a loose, free group where everyone did what they wanted and lived where they pleased.
They weren't meant to be a rigid hierarchy of superiors and subordinates.
That would be too stiff.
It wouldn't benefit research at all.
It was for this very reason that Lan Qingyou had agreed to Diana's plan to settle the witches across the entire Abandoned Land.
Even Diana knew that the Witch race was naturally like this.
After all, in a place this big, never mind a thousand meters—you could walk five thousand meters and still struggle to find a neighbor.
It was hard to say why. There was no description of such a racial personality in the racial traits, but Lan Qingyou, Diana, and the other witches all felt it and acted according to their whims.
Of course, it might also have something to do with the concept of 'freedom' Lan Qingyou had in mind when she first created the Witch potion. Who could say for sure?
The Tower: “I can understand everyone else, but what's up with you, The Sun?”
Even when they first went to the ship graveyard, Ingrid was still a Blue Star human. She hadn't evolved, and there were no signs of her buying evolution items from anyone.
Had that Jormungandr's blood allowed her to develop something?
The Sun: “Because of that blood, I've now evolved into the Medusa race.”
The Tower: “Medusa race? A snake-person?”
The Sun: “No, just my hair can turn into snakes, and my eyes have a petrification ability similar to your Magic Eye.”
The Tower: “I see. Then please pay the copyright fee.”
Since the other party mentioned an ability similar to the Magic Eye, Lan Qingyou, as the Clan Leader of the Witch race, made a rare, lighthearted joke.
The Sun: “...Cut it out. Do you have any witches left on your side? Send a few my way. I'll pay triple what the Supreme Council offers.”
The Tower: “None left. The witches have their own things to do, and my research isn't finished yet. However, I can pass the word along to them. Do you have an address?”
The Sun: “I do. I'm at...”
Seeing Lan Qingyou say this, Ingrid immediately gave the name of her teleportation point.
The other clan leaders followed suit, reporting the names of their own teleportation points.
They even went as far as saying they would pay triple the Supreme Council's wages.
The Tower: “Alright, I've got it.”
With that, Lan Qingyou forwarded all these location names to the Tea Party, immediately igniting the atmosphere in the guild chat.
After the 101 witches from last time returned, they had told the witches in their respective areas about the Tea Party and invited them to join.
In a short time, the membership of the Tea Party had grown from a handful of people to eight or nine thousand.
It could be said that except for a few witches who didn't want to join or those who hadn't been notified yet, almost every witch on the continent was now in the Tea Party.
“What! Triple pay?!”
“I'm almost done with my work here. I'm going as soon as I finish.”
“The smart ones have already dropped their work and teleported, while the idiots are still shouting in the group.”
“You're always so fast.”
“You’re just dropping your current work? Aren't you afraid of the Supreme Council's Arbiter Corps?”
“To hell with the Supreme Council! Whoever blocks me from making money, I'll kill them!”
Rate on N.U.
