Chapter 73
After upgrading her territory, Zeta's score skyrocketed from 46 to 89. It was clear from the Development Strategy page that she had indeed leveled up.
The two points of congratulations were a courtesy extended by a fellow cosmic civilization powerhouse, while the eight points were a subtle probe into her competitor's capabilities.
Historically, both civilizations had regarded each other as their only rivals... until a newcomer, Bai Ye, emerged in the multiverse.
"Just send him a standard response," Zeta decided quickly, and her assistant immediately understood her intent.
They couldn't appear too enthusiastic, nor too indifferent. In short... they mustn't let Ximo know in advance that an upgrade would bring about monster attacks.
—Since she had already weathered the storm, she couldn't let her competitor know they needed an umbrella!
...
In Bai Ye Village, beside the Tree of Creation, Ye Bai opened the long-awaited Development Strategy page after the upgrade.
It was time to change the policy cards again.
This time, following the cards "Bitter Roads" and "Flourishing," the last of the initial divine cards, "Hard Work," had also vanished.
The entertainment needs of the territory's residents had become the fourth basic requirement that the lord must satisfy, following food, water, and health.
Fortunately, luxury goods were still too advanced for a village like Lijia. Although "Hard Work" had disappeared, a similar policy card, "Diligent and Simple," had been introduced.
"Diligent and Simple" meant that all villagers had no demand for luxury goods and no personal hobbies.
At the same time, the "Pioneer" card, which had occupied a slot and couldn't be replaced, finally disappeared naturally, allowing Ye Bai to swap in a new, useful policy card.
Ye Bai chose the newly appeared "Work-Life Balance": residents with entertainment values above 60 would see a 30% increase in work efficiency and a 30% boost in skill proficiency growth.
There were also two other new policy cards that enhanced population attraction: "Peach Blossom Spring" and "Bountiful Harvest." Ye Bai didn't choose them, as she could fill the influence gap through other means; using policy cards for that purpose was simply not cost-effective.
The other two new policy cards were essentially upgrades of existing ones:
"Reward System II" increased the speed of advancement for primary professionals in the territory by 30%.
"Military Training II" increased the speed of advancement for primary combat professionals in the territory by 30%.
Ultimately, the development strategy for Bai Ye Village, confirmed at level 3, was: "Traveling Merchant," "Diligent and Simple," "Reward System II," and "Work-Life Balance."
The requirements for upgrading to level 4 territory also appeared: the population must reach 180; there must be six production buildings staffed by professionals; and the territory must have 50 primary military units.
Having six production buildings staffed by professionals meant that Ye Bai could no longer rely on combat professionals to fill the gaps; she truly needed to cultivate professionals who would work in the relevant buildings. As for the 50 primary military units, militia wouldn't suffice; she needed to establish dedicated barracks and differentiate between various troop types.
Military units implied a system and standardized equipment, marking the first villagers in the territory to receive a salary.
Units trained in different barracks were akin to a pre-emptive job change; the training of troop types could be enhanced by consuming productivity, making it a costly endeavor, but the results were certainly rewarding.
After finalizing the policies, Ye Bai opened the Development Direction page. At this moment, her productivity had reached an unprecedented level of abundance.
Returning to the territory had consumed 4 points of productivity, and with the 20 points gained from leveling up from level 1 to level 3, she had a total of 28 points!
Needless to say, it was time to spend!
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Chapter 51
With a full 28 points of productivity, Ye Bai began clicking through the technology tree.
Starting with technologies that cost 3 points of productivity—
"Brewing": Unlocks the "Tavern" building; unlocks the "Brewery" building.
"Barracks": Unlocks the construction of barracks, provides standardized equipment, and allows villagers to be transformed into combat units, with the option to consume productivity to speed up the process.
"Basic Exploration": Increases the work efficiency of all mines by 10%, adds 10 positions to the mines, and allows villagers to discover coal and saltpeter resources on the map.
"Basic Refining": Unlocks the "Salt Workshop" building; unlocks the "Sugar Workshop" building.
After spending 12 points of productivity, four new buildings were unlocked.
Ye Bai opened the building view and planned the brewery near the agricultural zone. By placing raw material production and processing buildings close together, she could minimize logistics transport time. Just like the mill, having the brewery in the agricultural area would allow for quick access to the grains needed for production, turning them into various alcoholic beverages.
The initial brewery could only produce the most basic rough beer, but the villagers, who had just begun to develop entertainment needs, were not picky. As long as the production capacity was sufficient, it could ensure that the entertainment value of the territory's residents remained above 60.
The barracks were a more advanced building for training soldiers. Ye Bai directly dismantled the previous basic training ground and rebuilt the barracks in its place.
At the same time, after leveling up twice, the jurisdiction of the Tree of Creation expanded from 700 meters to 1000 meters. With the activation of Basic Exploration, Ye Bai spotted coal and saltpeter resources at the edges of her territory from a high vantage point.
Since these were essential mid-term resources, coal and saltpeter did not have dedicated graphics; they would appear randomly in the vicinity of the territory after Basic Exploration was activated, similar to iron and copper mines.
In essence, these resources were not naturally occurring but emerged alongside the technology of Basic Exploration.
Coal was a more advanced fuel than charcoal, essential for the production processes in blacksmith shops and smelting factories; saltpeter was a chemical raw material used for making ice, explosives, and for curing leather, transforming ordinary leather into a higher-grade material known as "Refined Leather."
Ye Bai immediately established mines at the coal resource in the southeast and the saltpeter resource in the west.
Of course, the 10% increase in mining efficiency and the additional positions provided by Basic Exploration were also significant reasons for her to activate this technology. She quickly assigned the newly unemployed villagers to the energy crystal mines—this was Bai Ye Village's "pillar industry."
Finally, after activating Basic Refining, which unlocked the Salt Workshop and Sugar Workshop, Ye Bai also placed these in the agricultural area, as they were part of her preparations.
The Salt Workshop extracted salt from wells, and most terrains in the multiverse could accommodate its construction, making it a boon in this magical world. However, mining wells was a long-term project, and salt was an indispensable basic material after upgrading the territory to a town. If she didn't want to import it from elsewhere, she needed to prepare in advance.
The Sugar Workshop could produce sugar from harvested beets, sugarcane, and maple sap, providing it to villagers and significantly boosting their satisfaction. This was a kind of small "luxury," and when unexpected situations arose that lowered satisfaction, sugar could be used to sweeten the deal, akin to giving gifts.
Subsequently, Ye Bai also activated four technologies that cost two points of productivity each:
"Bathhouse": Unlocks the "Bathhouse" building; unlocks the "Soap Workshop" building, allowing villagers to learn how to make soap and medicinal soap.
"Planting" - "Targeted Cultivation": Villagers can cultivate seedlings; villagers can cultivate herbs.
"Beekeeping": Unlocks "Artificial Beehives"; unlocks the "Beekeeper" profession.
"Candles": Unlocks the "Candle Workshop," allowing the production of candles from fats and beeswax.
The bathhouse needed little explanation; it was another building to improve villagers' hygiene. Ye Bai placed it in the center of the residential area. This Roman-style public bathhouse would enhance the hygiene of all residents within its radius, even more than the composting facility.
Ye Bai was a pioneer in promoting hygiene in her territory. As soon as she reached a new level, she would immediately activate the relevant technologies. Although hygiene might seem insignificant at first glance, it was directly linked to health, environmental quality, and satisfaction, making it the third most crucial basic value alongside food and water.
The Soap Workshop was an auxiliary building to the bathhouse, where animal fats and beeswax could be turned into soap. If herbs were added, it could produce medicinal soap with even better effects.
At this stage, the population of the territory was already quite large, and regular soap was sufficient. Medicinal soap, which could simultaneously enhance hygiene and health values, could be considered a trade good.
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