Qinglan

"It just rained, and these people are all out picking mushrooms. The newly grown ones have very low pollution levels, and some civilians even buy them," the Village Chief explained as they walked.

"Aren't they afraid of encountering danger?" Hada asked, confused. This was outside the town, wasn't it?

"Qinglan Town is very large, completely different from our village. They usually arrange for teams to patrol near the town and regularly clear out Strange Creatures. As long as it's not too far, there's generally no problem." The Village Chief seemed to be explaining to Hada, but in reality, he was conveying a lot of information to Yun Xi, so she wouldn't be completely clueless upon arrival.

"Village Chief, what's the official power in Qinglan Town like?" Yun Xi asked proactively.

"From what I know, their benefits are quite good, but in return, the contracts are also very strict," the Village Chief replied truthfully.

"I have a Warrior friend who works in Qinglan Town's patrol team. As a squad leader, he receives a bottle of Attribute Potion annually and a regular medicinal supplement once a month. With various subsidies, his monthly salary is 100 Silver Coins."

100 Silver Coins was already a very high salary.

100 Silver Coins equals 10,000 Copper Coins. This was just the official exchange rate. Due to the preciousness of Silver Coins as currency, in private transactions, exchanging 100 Silver Coins for 12,000 Copper Coins was not a problem.

12,000 Copper Coins was enough for a family of three to eat expensive, pollution-free food every day.

The daily food for ordinary civilians was actually the Coarse Wheat Cakes and murky water sold in the system store, priced at 1 Copper Coin each. In total, the living expenses for a month were only 60-200 Copper Coins.

100 Silver Coins could support over 200 people at most.

That was secondary. The most important things were the annual Attribute Potion and the monthly medicinal supplements.

Attribute Potions could directly increase attribute points and were extremely rare high-level potions that ordinary people might never see in their lifetime.

Spirit Attributes could not be increased on their own. Therefore, unless one was a pure Warrior who had no intention of becoming a Sorcerer, others generally chose potions that increased Spirit Attributes.

Medicinal supplements had a similar effect to Attribute Potions. With long-term use, they could subtly increase Constitution Attributes.

"But his contract is also very strict. Firstly, the contract period is fifty years. Secondly, if the town encounters danger, he cannot escape or retreat. He cannot take leave without reason. Lastly, there are common contractual clauses, such as not being allowed to spread secret knowledge learned within the patrol team."

A fifty-year contract, how many fifty-year periods were there in a lifetime?

Even if one advanced to an intermediate Sorcerer, their lifespan was only 200 years.

As they talked, Yun Xi and the other two saw quite a few disputes arising from 'mushroom picking.'

"I found these mushrooms first! Didn't you see I was picking them!" a youth in a Coarse Cloth Robe shouted, puffing out his chest.

"Come on, this isn't your backyard. I'm not stealing the mushrooms from your hand..." a fair-faced girl rolled her eyes. They were all players dressed in Coarse Cloth Robes, so who was afraid of whom?

There were many such scenes, but undoubtedly, they all had one thing in common: the 'fights' were almost always among those in 'Coarse Cloth Robes.'

The native inhabitants nearby occasionally cast curious or amused glances, seemingly not understanding the source of their great anger.

"You two kids, stop arguing. These mushrooms aren't worth much, only two Copper Coins per jin. There are plenty over there, go pick there, don't make such a fuss."

A middle-aged woman in Warrior attire walked over. She carried a long saber on her back and had the patrol team's waist token hanging from her belt.

The scolded youth and girl immediately restrained their expressions, like kittens being grabbed by the neck, quickly tucking their tails between their legs, not daring to argue further.

Yes, this was the current situation for Blue Star players.

After the first internal test, most players knew how formidable the natives were. They, as external adventurers, absolutely dared not offend them.

The last player who spoke disrespectfully to a patrol team member was directly hung upside down on the city wall for several hours. When they tried to log off, they found themselves in a special state.

It was exactly like the situation when in combat. During the 'punishment,' they could not log off.

Just as native inhabitants needed to abide by rules concerning adventurers, such as not actively bothering new adventurers, players also could not arbitrarily violate the laws of the Godfall Continent Authority.

Within the town, the official forces might not be the strongest, but they were certainly the most respected on the surface.

If a player spoke disrespectfully to them, the person in charge had the right to impose a 'harmless' minor punishment on the player.

Being hung upside down on the city wall naturally posed no life-threatening danger, but it was extremely humiliating.

Since then, no player dared to cause trouble in Qinglan Town. They were all terrified, feeling fortunate that they weren't the first to 'eat the crab,' as it was utterly embarrassing.

The mushroom-picking incident came to an end. Yun Xi followed the Village Chief, walking forward, and heard many complaints from her fellow countrymen.

"They want us to pick 20 jin of mushrooms. When will we finish? And this quest doesn't give us experience when completed, what's the point?"

"You don't understand. Doing this will increase favorability with the natives. Perhaps if they get familiar with you, they'll take you as a disciple and teach you sorcery or martial skills."

"I think it's better to participate in the patrol team assessment."

"You're wishful thinking. Do you think we don't want to? But the problem is, the patrol team doesn't allow leave without reason. We don't know when the internal test will end. If we're not at work on time then, we'll violate the contract, and that could cost you half your life."

"So, after the game officially launches, we can join?"

"Yes, as long as you're prepared not to return to Blue Star for a long time."

"I really envy those who descended in the village. I heard they don't have so many strict requirements for joining the village patrol team, and their main quest guidance is very simple, with Resurrection Talismans as rewards."

"The village resources aren't as good as the town's. You should be content. The supplies we buy in town and resell can make us rich. As for the main quest, perhaps the rewards for activating Main Quest 2 later will be even better than theirs. Don't be jealous."

"That's true. It's just a pity that Blue Star's supplies can't be brought here. Otherwise, doing mushroom-picking quests would be a piece of cake..."

As they got closer to Qinglan Town, they saw more and more people.

When Yun Xi finally saw the gate of Qinglan Town, she suddenly realized that the place where Shu Yupingyuan and she had descended in her previous life were completely different.

If the small wooden houses in the two novice villages were almost identical, then upon reaching the towns, one could see that their civilizations had completely different styles.