Uninvited Guests?

Someone is approaching? And with hostility?

Linsey immediately opened the map and expanded the reconnaissance range to its usual limit, but still saw no sign of the enemy approaching.

Hilude immediately understood Linsey's suspicion through her actions:

"Linsey, I would never lie to you."

Linsey asked:

"Is your perception merely a capture of the Fate Trajectory?"

"I can only see it vaguely." Hilude leaned forward, closer to Linsey, her left hand covering her chest, while her right hand gestured an invitation. "If I regain my powers, you will gain a loyal Seventh Stage writer! At that time, we can manipulate the fate of anyone at will!"

"No, thank you," Linsey coldly replied to Hilude.

He then dragged the young writer away from where she stood, carried her back like a sack of potatoes, and prepared to stuff her back into the shop to continue detaining her.

But as he walked down the street, he suddenly realized something.

The construction of the territory is not a problem thanks to the skills of the [Game Player].

But is true Civilization something that can be restored simply by satisfying material needs?

Order, morality, culture...

These things are all important components of Civilization.

The work corresponding to these goals is certainly not something Linsey can accomplish alone.

More forces must be involved.

"..."

Linsey paused, Hilude seized on this detail:

"Linsey, are you hesitating?"

"When they locked me in the shop before, they didn't show any of this kind of feeling at all?"

Linsey gave the girl a cold look:

"Hilude, since you are a famous writer, you should be able to read, right?"

This inquiry was almost a challenge to Hilude's duty as a writer, and also a test by Linsey.

Hilude showed no displeasure in the face of this provocation.

Instead, she met Linsey's gaze with utmost seriousness:

"If you need me, I can be illiterate too."

"..."

Linsey paused for a few seconds, then pulled Hilude's wheelchair out of his bag and placed her on it.

"We are currently in the Moon Weeping Mountain Range World, next to the Dust Road World. After crossing that, we will reach the City of Law. However, it is a pity that the world staircase between the Moon Weeping Mountain Range and the Dust Road World has been severed. To repair it, we need a massive amount of Life Force of world-class size as an energy source."

"Unfortunately, the world we live in has been completely reduced to Wasteland due to war. I now need to rebuild Civilization and order here, and I also need them to find the energy to repair the world staircase..."

Linsey cut to the chase and explained the situation.

After hearing this, Hilude also put away all her previous frivolous expressions.

She was indeed a Fallen Artist pursuing heroic aspirations, but that doesn't mean she lacked sound thinking abilities.

A dilapidated world, a world staircase in dire need of repair, and heroes who rebuild Civilization and order.

"This is another amazing script..."

Linsey immediately corrected him:

"This is reality, not a play on stage."

Hilude looked intently at Linsey:

"It seems that I won't be stuffed into a shop and deprived of my ability to move and my consciousness for the foreseeable future?"

Linsey did not deny it:

"The development of the territory also requires all kinds of talent."

Hilude seemed to be deep in thought:

"Working for you to atone for my misdeeds? I would be more than willing to do that."

Linsey directly corrected this statement:

"This is not about atonement, and I cannot, or rather, am not qualified, to forgive you on behalf of the victims. It is just that on this Wasteland today, all available resources are truly needed to help rebuild order and Civilization."

Hilude was somewhat curious about Linsey's attitude:

"So your attitude is that these people now are greater than the victims I dealt with in the past."

Linsey replied without hesitation:

"These two are not comparable and cannot be compared."

"I am simply choosing between the present and the future."

Answer the question.

Linsey left Hilude standing there.

He instructed Tie Yu to keep an eye on the guy, while he himself headed west alone.

Searching for the hostile guy the writer girl mentioned.

Half an hour later, Linsey walked out of the Banyan Grove and into the wilderness.

As it turns out.

Hilude did not deceive him.

Right to the west, five markers appeared from the edge of the Map Skill, all of them red, symbolizing hostility.

Judging from walking speed.

They were in a hurry, looking like they couldn't wait.

"Such obvious hostility."

"Was it the people from the Green Swamp who launched a surprise attack, or some other humans from the Wasteland...?"

Linsey pondered for a moment.

He then crouched down, entered stealth mode, and approached the team.

Meanwhile, a five-person team was traveling eastward across the Wasteland.

Due to the scarcity of resources in this world, their clothing is basically made of animal hides and plant fibers.

The leader, holding a bone spear, calmly looked ahead and led his men forward.

At this moment, one of his companions behind him asked:

"Boss, do you think the people in the Yarrow Camp were really wiped out by the Green Swamp?"

Someone nearby immediately laughed:

"Kill them all? How is that possible?"

"They'll have to bring people all the way south from here, which will take an unknown amount of time and effort. They'll probably have to make do during the attack, and many ordinary people will definitely be missed!"

Upon hearing this answer, the person who asked the question first became somewhat nervous:

"Since there are survivors, what if they resist..."

The leader at the very front finally spoke:

"Relax and don't panic."

"Awakened ones are a valuable resource. Knowing the habits of those people in the Green Swamp, they'll definitely capture them all. The Yarrow Camp only has some ordinary people at most right now. Once we get there, we'll have everything we need!"

Just then, someone at the very back exclaimed in surprise:

"Etc!"

"Boss, look what's that up ahead?"

Amidst the panicked shouts, the five people stopped in their tracks.

As the distance gets closer.

They then discovered that a vast expanse of green land had suddenly appeared at the edge of their vision. The Banyan Grove not only covered the Yalo camp, but also encompassed the entire surrounding landscape under its shade.

The five people looked at each other in disbelief, and one of them said in an incredulous tone:

"This... could it be a tree?"

Someone nearby immediately retorted:

"Are you kidding me!"

"You think I've never seen what a tree looks like? This thing, this thing..."

Unable to find the right words, he looked at the leader:

"Boss, should we still go over there?"

The leader was also quite decisive:

"Let's not go, let's turn back!"

"I've survived to this day in this Wasteland by being careful and cautious. We're not doing this deal."

However, things did not go as planned.

The five decided to leave, and just then, Linsey's ghostly figure appeared beside them:

"Since you're all here, don't rush off."

"Come visit our camp. I have many questions I'd like to ask you."