Chapter 102
As they ventured deeper along the dirt path into the territory, the sense of unreality intensified.
"Is this really a village?"
Compared to the NPC settlements they had encountered before, Baiye Village not only sprawled over a vast area, but its various buildings and facilities were remarkably well-developed.
NPC villages didn’t have technology as comprehensive and advanced as what Ye Bai had at her disposal. Moreover, Baiye Village was on the verge of upgrading to a Level 4 territory; all the necessary configurations were in place, and it was only waiting for the next wave of population.
The smelting workshop exhaled steam, the sawmill buzzed with the sound of cutting wood, the brewery wafted fragrant aromas of alcohol, and fields in the distance sprouted green shoots... The five players, having experienced the main city, felt like Liu Laolao entering the Grand View Garden, marveling at what was truly the "first territory" in the game.
Of course, their view was limited.
Initially, they spotted the military zone surrounded by wooden fences in Baiye Village and leaned in to observe, having faintly heard a "chirping" sound from within, as if some creatures were being kept there.
However, the next moment, they received a system notification:
【You have entered the warning area of this territory, which may lead to unknown consequences. Do you wish to continue?】
At the same time, a shout came from a watchtower above them:
"Outsiders, you are not allowed to enter! Leave immediately!"
As the words were spoken, a glinting crossbow bolt was aimed at them by a guard in the tower.
The five players instinctively took a step back. This was a habit formed in NPC towns, and as they regained their composure, they realized that this choice was wise. Baiye was the first to reach Level 20; they had no idea what level she was now, but she was definitely not someone they could provoke.
The last player who had seemingly crossed Baiye had not only been killed but had also lost all his items and equipment.
Knowing that players might come, Ye Bai was certainly not unprepared. She had set the important production buildings in the Creation Tree, military zone, mining area, agricultural zone, and industrial zone as warning areas. Additionally, she utilized the unique property of the Source Well, which could overlap with other buildings, to completely block access by constructing a residential house.
The warning area could be set within a 1000-meter control range of the Creation Tree. When non-territory players trespassed, the lord, the intruder, and the nearby guards would all receive notifications. Continuing to trespass would be equivalent to declaring war, and any player killed in this manner would drop all their equipment.
If they could be captured alive, the lord player could even imprison them in the territory's jail—though currently, Ye Bai could only kill intruders, as the jail required Level 4 territory technology.
The five continued to delve deeper into Baiye Village, trying to capture as much of the territory's scenery as possible.
The Xingwang game allowed for screenshots but not recordings, and each screenshot required about three minutes of interval time. This was not a built-in game feature but rather a technology that transformed the information players gathered visually into similar images.
Since they could not enter the core area, they could only capture the bustling scenes of Baiye Village.
After wandering around Baiye Village for half a day, they had yet to encounter the mysterious lord, Ye Bai. The villagers, like ordinary NPC town residents, maintained a neutral attitude towards them, continuing with their own activities, oblivious to the players' presence.
However, the five soon realized that there wasn’t a single player in Baiye Village!
"Baiye Village was built without any player assistance...?" one of the players murmured, and the others shared the same look of shock, their perception of Baiye taking on an even more legendary hue.
Unbeknownst to them, they had wandered close to the residential area of Baiye Village.
"Hey?"
Suddenly, one player exclaimed in surprise as he spotted several clusters of rare magical herbs, Ice Nettle (bing xuan ma), in a flowerbed clearly meant for decoration.
As a player from the nearby magical city of Meiluo, he remembered that collecting this herb and selling it to NPCs could fetch 50 copper coins for just one plant. The clusters here could yield five or six plants, worth about two to three silver coins! That was a significant sum!
He glanced around; his companions were busy finding angles to "take pictures," and the nearest villagers were a group of drunks chatting about five meters away.
Without hesitation, he approached the flowerbed, ready to pick the Ice Nettle.
In Meiluo City, as long as one didn’t go overboard, no one cared if you picked a few flowers from a flowerbed. There were even mischievous NPC children who would pick flowers, as long as they didn’t damage the flowerbed or do it in front of patrolling guards.
However, just as his hand brushed against the Ice Nettle, a loud shout rang out from nearby:
"Thief!!"
"What?!"
Not only the player picking the herb but also the other four were stunned by the sudden commotion. They watched as a group of drunks, who had been chatting moments ago, rushed over and swiftly pinned them to the ground.
The five instinctively wanted to resist, but then they noticed the health bars above the heads of their assailants.
All of them were above Level 20 and belonged to combat classes, and what made it even more daunting was the "Lord's Guards" title displayed above their health bars.
"We didn’t steal anything!"
Since they were only being restrained and not attacked, the uncertain players could only hastily defend themselves.
"You say you didn’t steal? What’s this?!"
Blaize, the captain of the Lord's Guards, held up the hand of the player who had tried to pick the Ice Nettle, revealing a half-leaf of the herb.
"I-I... didn’t!"
The caught player panicked, recalling that he had merely touched the leaf and hadn’t even had the chance to pick it. Could it be that he accidentally pulled it off just now?
"The evidence is right here. Baiye Village does not welcome thieves. You will pay for the damage and then leave!" Blaize shouted angrily.
【Baiye Village's favorability towards you -20, current faction favorability: Cold ( -20)】
The five received this notification simultaneously.
All players who had experienced the "tourist phase" knew what it meant to have a cold relationship with a faction: closed transactions, scarce quests, and difficulty in increasing favorability.
"Ice Fire! What are you doing?!"
"This is his own doing; it has nothing to do with us!"
The other four immediately began to explain, trying to distance themselves from the player who had picked the herb.
However, the Lord's Guards clearly didn’t believe them: "Everyone saw it; you’re all in this together."
"I saw it too; these outsiders came into the village together."
At that moment, villagers who had gathered around to see the commotion chimed in, adding their voices to the chorus.
Just when the five players felt they had no way to defend themselves and were wary of Baiye Village's favorability, a gentle voice broke through:
"What’s going on? What happened?"
The villagers immediately parted to create a path, respectfully greeting the source of the voice:
"Greetings, my lord!"
"Salutations, my lord!"
My lord?
The five, still struggling, froze in place—was that the legendary Baiye?!
As the crowd parted, they finally laid eyes on the true face of this mysterious figure.
As rumored, Baiye appeared to be a woman—at least she looked like one. In the galaxy, there were a few androgynous or genderless races. She wore high-level equipment that they couldn’t discern, and her face, hairstyle, and physique were the most standard initial templates in the game.
"My lord, this group is a bunch of thieves..." Blaize stepped forward to answer Ye Bai's earlier question.
Only then did the five players realize what was happening and began to panic, all speaking at once: "Lady Baiye! We truly mean no harm!"
Ye Bai patiently listened to their explanations before nodding: "I certainly believe you have no ill intentions, but... you know that the favorability of the territory isn’t solely up to me."
"Ah..." Looking at the hostile villagers around them, the five felt a flicker of hope rise only to be dashed.
Suddenly, Ye Bai seemed to have an idea. She clapped her hands and suggested, "How about you buy something in my territory to raise your favorability?"
It was only when the five were led by Ye Bai and a group of villagers to the territory's market that they suddenly felt—
This direction seemed a bit off.
Table of Contents
