Preparation

"Hmph! You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."

Her beguiling talent completely nullified, Mo Rui, enraged, grabbed the young man by the neck, her tone fierce.

"Speak! What were you doing at the Lone Star City military camp!"

"You guess, if you guess right, I'll tell you. If you guess wrong, you can continue asking."

Despite having his throat held, Xuan Sheng appeared completely relaxed, as if he wasn't the one being restrained. He even went so far as to sniff the alluring fragrance of the beauty before him with a rogue-like demeanor.

"If I guess right, do I still need you to tell me?!"

She had an agreement with him, yet he still went to the Lone Star City military. This filled Mo Rui with a sense of crisis, along with a heart full of resentment.

If her soul wasn't bound to this man before her, why would she need to endure this!

A guy like this, she could crush him with a single finger!

"Alright, let go. It's not like I'm going to expose your information, why are you so nervous?"

Gazing at Mo Rui's purple eyes, filled with unwillingness and indignation, Li Xunsheng sighed helplessly.

"I was just clearing out some kobolds. For some reason, those guys suddenly appeared near Lone Star City. I didn't do anything else. Can't you trust me a little more?"

"Hmph! Trust."

Her slender hand directly reached into Xuan Sheng's pocket, grasping a mottled badge.

"How do you explain this? Have you become one of the military?"

Mo Rui wasn't some naive little girl. The Lone Star City military wouldn't hand out badges like this easily!

Soldiers who possessed such items often made significant contributions to the military!

"It's just equipment. Don't you understand us outsiders too little?"

Seeing Mo Rui's startled reaction, Xuan Sheng felt as if he were being held by an unreasonable girlfriend, harping on trivial matters. It was, in short, incredibly troublesome.

As everyone knew, 'outsiders' generally had extremely flexible moral boundaries.

When it was beneficial, they were naturally willing to help the righteous locals.

But if the villainous sister was charming enough... cough, had enough personal charisma, then opposing the entire world wasn't out of the question.

Currently, there were too few 'outsiders' in Lone Star City, which was why Mo Rui was so anxious, fearing he might expose her information.

Once this woman gained a deeper understanding of their habits, she wouldn't have such worries.

"Okay, let go. I want to rest early and prepare for tomorrow's opening... Oh right, did you buy ingredients?"

"Hmph, all sorts of food are restricted now. I only bought a very small portion."

After probing with a secret Demon Race technique and faintly sensing that the man before her wasn't lying, Mo Rui released her hand and sat back on the sofa, crossing her long legs indignantly.

"Food rationing has already begun?"

Xuan Sheng frowned. The situation was developing faster than he had imagined.

Were these measures being implemented before the players in the various beginner villages had even reached the main city?

"That's right. I haven't gotten the specific reason yet, but that's the current situation. Even stocking up is a bit difficult."

Mo Rui brushed back her long purple hair, her eyes flickering with confusion.

Her intelligence network hadn't fully infiltrated the Human Race, so she was also clueless about Lone Star City's actions.

If you find this book good, please add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.

"That's because many outsiders will be arriving in Lone Star City soon."

Calculating the time, it was about four days away.

As the first batch of players were quickly eliminated, the competition in the beginner villages would ease up slightly. If some players started taking risks, collecting currency quickly by ambushing other players in the wild, they could gather enough for one silver coin by the second week at the latest.

This meant that the second wave of players arriving in Lone Star City would likely form a considerable scale.

"Many?"

"So many that the city might not be able to handle it... That's all I can say. I need to rest. You'd best be prepared too. If you have any channels, collecting some food early might be very helpful."

Li Xunsheng had his own dependents to support, so he didn't need to worry about food like these players.

"Are you sure?"

It was rare to see this man speak so seriously about something. Mo Rui subconsciously felt that his words were very important... Perhaps following his advice would truly...

"You're the boss, you call the shots. I'm just a lowly worker. Good night, I'm going to rest now."

Winking at the alluring boss, Xuan Sheng, who had spent most of the day among the kobolds, was exhausted. After eating his rations and showering, he lay down on his small bed.

"Ah... relaxing completely like this is truly enjoyable..."

He closed his eyes, his physical body gradually sinking into dreams... while his consciousness, as a Deity, traveled to another world...

In an empty cave, a hunched old woman tightly gripped a Mysterious Iron Rod, gazing unwillingly at the Divine Stone before her.

Another twenty years had passed since the Deity's last descent...

As the first tribal leader after the Deity's descent, she had, thanks to the Deity's blessings and that strange Mysterious Iron Rod, lived to an age her kin could only dream of.

However, no one knew the torment she endured to prolong her withered body...

Every muscle, every bone in her body, groaned in agony, torturing her, this frail elder on the verge of death...

But, none of that mattered.

As long as she could see the Deity again, it would all be worth it...

Over the years, she had watched her tribe grow stronger, enjoying bountiful harvests year after year thanks to the Deity's blessings, no longer needing to toil for food or risk their lives fighting fierce beasts.

In these past twenty-odd years, the tribe's population had more than doubled! It had reached over five hundred!

Moreover, nurtured by the fruits of the Deity's grace, every new member, both physically and mentally, far surpassed the younger generation of other tribes.

They would only grow stronger... and all of this was a gift from the Deity...

But, as that great one fell silent once more... more and more of her kin, especially the newborns, began to question the Deity's existence.

This was something she absolutely could not allow!

The Deity had helped them so much, yet these new generations not only lacked gratitude but also began to doubt the Deity's existence and challenge its majesty...

To prevent their faith from wavering, to ensure the Deity would not be angered by her people's disrespect upon its next descent, she had to persevere.

She had to hold on until the Deity's next arrival... and pass on this legacy of faith... to a suitable member of the tribe...

Only then could she breathe her last without regret...

The elder, clad in unknown beast hides, had her eyes blazing with fanatical fire as she once again straightened her decaying body