Mu Yuan went straight into the Baiyun Province forum section and browsed the situation of the "competitors."
But most of the newcomers weren't fools, either. A few days ago, some brash newbies had still been showing off their achievements on the forums. These past two days, there were almost no people showing off anymore. Instead, those playing the victim had become more numerous by the day.
"Your grandpa here went to suppress a group of Goblins today, but I didn't expect to get ambushed and lose two of my generals. Damn, the Resource Assessment is tomorrow. How am I supposed to live? How am I supposed to live?!"
Beneath it was a crowd of miserable players who clearly sympathized.
Their grief seemed to flow straight through the forum.
"Same here! The general of my household died so tragically."
"Who didn't? I was originally going out today to earn some milk money for my troops, but I unexpectedly ran into a level-seven Great Goblin. If my troops hadn't fought to the death to protect me, I might not have made it back. Even so, I still lost three Spearmen. There's no hope for tomorrow's assessment. Sigh, I'll just give up."
"Sigh, I envy you guys for at least having troops to lose. I'm different. I barely have any soldiers at all. Tomorrow, I'm just going to the Association to join in the excitement and be green leaves for the big shots."
"That's right, that's right. My entire territory only has three Goblins. I'm just there to make up the numbers, too."
"You're not as miserable as me. My entire territory has only one Little Skeleton left."
Mu Yuan fell silent when he saw this, so silent that the corner of his mouth twitched.
Your fabrications are way too perfunctory.
However, among those players playing the victim, a few seemed to be genuinely overflowing with grief. Either their writing skills were incredible, or they really had suffered terribly.
Their main forces had suffered heavy casualties.
However, only those few were truly that miserable.
As the later players' tales of woe became more and more outrageous, even honest people could tell something was wrong. The first few genuinely miserable players also fell silent.
MMP!
The territory was exceptionally calm and peaceful again that night.
Watching Bone Three hack a few Gray Wolves to death with two clanging strikes, Mu Yuan nodded slightly and closed his computer.
Since tomorrow would be packed with affairs—not only did he have to undergo the Resource Assessment, he also had to take advantage of this rare trip outside to purchase all kinds of supplies—Mu Yuan ate a Crimson Blood Fruit, did a little exercise, washed up, and went to bed early.
The night passed without incident.
The deep night in Baijiang City was quiet and peaceful.
Only in the other world did Skeleton Soldiers and Little Skeletons diligently patrol the territory, swinging their Chopping Knives to pierce through monsters' bodies and draw out splashing crimson lines of blood, then skillfully picking up the Soul Sand that emerged.
Some of the newly arrived Little Skeletons were still rather dull and didn't understand how to pick up Soul Sand. At times like this, the old Skeleton Soldiers would knock on their skulls and patiently teach them.
This custom was passed down from skeleton to skeleton.
The next day, Mu Yuan rose fairly early. Outside the window, the sky was just beginning to brighten, and strands of radiant light were gradually breaking through the darkness that had shrouded everything all night, bringing hope for a new day.
"The Resource Assessment starts at eight-thirty in the morning and will be held in batches. But I should get there early to gather some information and formulate a suitable battle plan."
"Also, the Player Association will probably be much livelier than usual today. I might be able to pick up more Little Skeleton and Slime Remnant Souls."
Mu Yuan glanced at the territory's situation.
The monsters had been especially enthusiastic last night, sending three waves in total. One wave of minor monsters had even dropped a Remnant Soul.
He controlled his character to walk to the run-down wooden hut temporarily designated as a warehouse and checked his existing inventory.
Aside from four rare-grade items, the most valuable things among the Common Grade items were the Remnant Souls. There were two three-star Remnant Soul Bronze Statues and six ordinary Random Remnant Souls.
There were also 525g of Soul Sand, along with various ordinary materials worth approximately 300 to 400g of Soul Sand.
In summary, he was still poor.
Setting aside the Shaman Inheritance Stone and the two three-star Remnant Souls that could be sold, he was truly dirt-poor. If he supplied all his troops with cultivation resources, 500g of Soul Sand would last only a little over a day.
Of course, troops couldn't cultivate twenty-four hours a day. Aside from top-tier Whale Players, there probably wasn't anyone who would supply Soul Sand to all their troops.
Even top-tier Whale Players probably wouldn't provide too many resources to one- and two-star "cannon fodder."
Mu Yuan was different. If he had the opportunity, he still wanted to supply them all. He had no cannon fodder here; every troop under him had a promising future.
But he also understood that the larger the army, the greater its daily Soul Sand consumption. Supplying them at full strength forever wasn't realistic.
"I heard that some powerful territories have Miracle Buildings that can allow troops to slowly level up without consuming Soul Sand. That's also why Great Lords can raise elite armies numbering tens or even hundreds of thousands."
Just thinking about it made him look forward to it.
Then he returned to the impoverished reality before him.
After bidding farewell to Deathbone and telling him to guard the home properly, the great Lord Mu set out on his campaign. He scanned a code by the roadside to rent an electric bicycle, then rode straight toward the Player Association in the City Center.
The Player Association was especially noisy today.
Some players came on foot, some took taxis to the intersection, and many others drove over, heading straight into the Association's parking lot.
Outside, the streets were bustling. One office worker after another hurried along, beginning another day of work that never seemed to end. Busy and hurried, it was nevertheless merely a normal scene in a modern city.
Inside, luxury cars pulled to a stop, while other players raised their hands and drew circles in the air, summoning powerful warriors clad in armor and exuding imposing auras.
Inside and outside were plainly two different worlds.
After all, the Xuan Kingdom's authorities had regulations prohibiting people from displaying supernatural power in front of ordinary citizens. Within the Association, however, everyone was either a player or someone aware of the supernatural world. As long as they didn't obstruct others or damage public property, they could show off however they pleased.
The Association even had practice grounds and martial arenas that players could use for free. Players could conduct troop drills there and personally experience their troops' power in reality.
Mu Yuan was also a little tempted to try it, but only a little.
There was no way he could summon Deathbone in front of a large audience. He was an ordinary player who kept a low profile.
Besides, once he passed the Lord Trial, he would probably have the chance to personally witness Deathbone's power.
It wouldn't take long.
Players streamed endlessly through the Association today. Even those who didn't intend to take the assessment came over to join in the excitement.
In particular, ordinary newcomers had already been transferred to a safe area and no longer faced much pressure to survive. Lying flat and wasting a day or two didn't matter.
They could treat it as compensation for the nerves that had nearly snapped during the previous few days.
Even so, there were still an absurd number of players inside the Association—at least ten or twenty times as many as in the preceding days.
Was it really necessary for so many people to come for a newcomer Resource Assessment?
"Little brother, you don't know? The newcomers taking the assessment here today aren't just the ones from our Baijiang City. There are also newcomers from the neighboring Linjiang City, Jiangbei City, and Dongming City."
"It's basically a joint assessment for the Four Cities. It's been like this every year."
"The headquarters always gives Baiyun Province a certain number of welfare slots, and the Baiyun Province Association distributes them among the various assessment sites. Our Baijiang assessment site is one of them. In other words, the dozens or hundreds of newcomers who signed up across our Four Cities will compete for these slots together."
A familiar voice came from nearby.
The speaker was Frog Seller Bro. He wasn't wearing his frog suit today, though. Instead, he wore a formal outfit and looked as if he were about to sell insurance.
Wait, how did Frog Seller Bro know so much?
White Fox Miss, who was beside him, was also greatly surprised. Wasn't he supposed to be a fellow failure like us? Liar!
Frog Seller Bro grinned. "I really did fail. I had no confidence in defending my territory. But hehe, after becoming a player, I discovered that the daughter of my second granduncle's family next door was also a player. On her recommendation, I'm now interning at a big shot's trading company."
"So, I just happen to know a tiny bit more."
Frog Seller Bro flashed his teeth in a grin, his smile making countless failures green with envy.
Before you continue