New Safe Zones, Pieces on the Move

At this very moment.

The Blue Star world where Gao Linzhi resides.

While the world is undergoing dramatic changes, the situation here is gradually improving.

Safe Zone appeared one after another.

People rushed into the Safe Zone.

Moreover, unlike on Earth, the Safe Zone here are clearly defined.

This was, of course, Gao Linzhi's arrangement.

After all, we cannot favor one over the other.

Most importantly, he needs people.

Instead of a desert.

Without people, the world is nothing.

No matter how many resources you have, it's useless.

We can't expect Gao Linzhi to develop and refine resources all by himself, can we?

Furthermore, just like in the game, players cannot attack each other within the Safe Zone.

This means that within the Safe Zone, there are many scammers, but no violent criminals.

All forms of looting, rioting, killing, and arson have disappeared.

However, new types of criminals, like scammers in a game, are spreading rapidly.

Various deceptive methods, all kinds of them...

This also gave rise to a new social order.

If order wants to punish someone, it cannot rely on violence; it can only rely on other indirect methods.

For example, cutting off their financial resources, social isolation, etc.

For example, prohibiting others from providing jobs, prohibiting merchants from selling food and water to the other party, prohibiting others from speaking to him, isolating him, and avoiding him.

Depending on the duration, a "punishment order" is issued, also known as a "death penalty order".

This tactic effectively compensates for the limitation that Safe Zone cannot attack each other.

The new punishments may seem much milder than the old ones, but they are actually quite powerful.

Gao Linzhi's pawns, of course, were unaware of his various actions.

Or rather, they simply don't have the mental capacity to think about such advanced matters.

Just like ordinary people who are busy making three meals a day, it's hard to imagine that the reason they struggle to make ends meet is because of the extravagance of their parents.

Every penny they saved ended up being poured into dowry, house, car, children, education, medical care...

Just like Zhang Mingzhen now, as he gradually ventured deeper into the Lang Man territory, the outline of that majestic palace became increasingly clear in his field of vision.

The monsters roaming around were becoming increasingly dense. If it were an ordinary player team, they would probably have to leave most of their manpower to hold them off on the outside in order to barely clear a path to the palace.

And such a solo infiltration as he did is probably only possible with a cheat code.

Xiao Kai is not Kai.

It's neither closed nor open.

Therefore, Zhang Mingzhen never believed that he was cheating.

In comparison, aren't children born into Noble Personage practically born with a silver spoon in their mouth?

While clearing out monsters along the way, these Lang Man guards will occasionally drop a special material, which is not equipment or potion, but a component of an accessory.

"Wolf Barbarian Headdress (Fragment): Collect 99 fragments to synthesize the complete Wolf Barbarian Headdress."

Goodness, it's Pinduoduo again.

Wearing this headdress allows you to conceal your presence and move freely among ordinary Lang Man monsters, making it a key item for penetrating Lang Man strongholds.

Zhang Mingzhen finally understood... Just as he suspected.

Without special methods, how could ordinary players break through these layers of monsters and reach the palace?

In the battle just now, he had collected twenty-eight fragments.

Why not stay here and focus on clearing out the monsters? You can accumulate experience and collect headgear fragments along the way.

When a large number of players arrive at this place in the future, this headdress will inevitably become a necessity, and he may be able to make a profit from it at that time.

This kind of thinking is actually petty.

If Gao Linzhi here, he wouldn't be limited to this kind of money-making model...

With Zhang Mingzhen's resources and status, there are far too many ways for her to make money.

Deep down, Zhang Mingzhen still harbored the mindset of a loner, preferring not to interact with others.

The guardian monsters respawn repeatedly during the ongoing battles.

Before long, Zhang Mingzhen had collected all ninety-nine fragments and combined them into a complete Wolf Barbarian Headdress.

But he didn't put it on immediately—once he put on the headdress, the monsters would stop attacking him, and where else could he find such an efficient leveling spot?

So he stayed outside the palace, clearing out monsters and gaining experience.

Until he noticed a person lying on the ground in the distance.

Zhang Mingzhen then put on the headdress he had just acquired. As expected, the Lang Man guards around him ignored him, passing by him as if he were air, and continued their planned patrol routes.

Upon closer inspection, it was a person with a faint breath, wearing the standard uniform of the Fragrant Cloud City guards.

The woman named Zhang Nan noticed someone approaching and struggled to open her eyes. "A professional?"

"I'm a member of the Fragrant Cloud City reconnaissance team... Are you here to meet me on my mission?"

"No, I was just passing by."

Zhang Mingzhen was slightly taken aback—this was actually related to a mission?

I didn't accept it, what should I do?

He suddenly remembered the player in the War Alliance who first discovered the Wolf Barbarians' tracks. Was it this player who accepted the quest and found the Wolf Barbarians' stronghold?

With this person's life hanging in the balance, this lead in the mission may have to be cut off.

"It's too late..." Zhang Nan's voice trailed off. "My time is running out... Please return to Fragrant Cloud City and inform the city lord..."

"I have located the settlement of the Wolf Barbarian Clan... This is their map... They are plotting to reappear in the world, attempting to disrupt the order of the continent... I must... I must inform the city lord... So that I can rest in peace..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the guard lost his life and his figure gradually dissipated into the air.

I'm sorry.

Zhang Mingzhen initially wanted to revive the other party, but then decided against it, remembering that the other party was just an NPC.

After all, what kind of logic is there in reviving a story NPC?

This is actually a flaw in his thinking.

But right now, he naturally couldn't think of that.

He silently apologized to the player who might have accepted the quest—their questline was likely coming to an end.

The map marking the location of the Lang Man stronghold was now in his backpack.

I wonder if I would receive a reward if I went directly to the city lord with the map?

However, this map is actually of limited use to players – they only need one coordinate to find their location.

Reporting to the city lord is mostly done to trigger the quest reward process.

Something is better than nothing.

Zhang Mingzhen decided to return to the city first, meet with the city lord, and then come back to continue leveling up.

Perhaps, this unexpected involvement in the mission will allow him to share in the rewards.

Upon returning to Fragrant Cloud City, Zhang Mingzhen met with City Dong Fangming at the City Lord's Mansion and presented him with information about the Wolf Barbarians along with a map showing their location.

"Good! Excellent!" City Lord Dong Fangming exclaimed excitedly. "Now that we've discovered their tracks ahead of time, we absolutely cannot let them succeed."

"We must send people to thwart their plans as soon as possible, and never allow the Wolf Barbarian Clan to reappear in the world!"

"However... I remember the player who accepted this reconnaissance mission was a warrior named 'One Sword Nine Provinces'..."

He hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand. "Perhaps something unexpected happened."

"But I, the city lord, will never overlook your contributions."

"Brave professional, you may visit the City Lord's Treasury and choose any treasure as a reward."

"Come find me again later; I have a new mission to entrust to you!"

Clearly, Dong Fangming didn't care who ultimately completed the mission; as long as someone brought back crucial intelligence, that was enough.

This is the real mission.

For Zhang Mingzhen, this trip wasn't entirely in vain.

Just then, system notifications sounded one after another:

System notification: "Congratulations to the player for successfully submitting important intelligence about the Wolf Barbarians to the city lord. You have been awarded the title [Wolf Barbarian Nemesis] (increases damage dealt to Wolf Barbarians by 10%) and 500 Achievement Points."

Server-wide announcement: "Congratulations to player 'Chongxing' for advancing the main storyline! Achievement Points +500, unlocking the Achievement Exchange System!"

Players can visit the achievement merchants in each major city to view the special items that can be redeemed with Achievement Points.

The players were instantly excited again...

"The achievement shop is finally open! All those achievement points I've been hoarding for so long can finally be put to good use!"

"The 'plenty of achievement points' you mentioned, you wouldn't be referring to the fixed 50 points awarded for discovering the Underground Labyrinth and entering Fragrant Cloud City, would you?"

"Achievement points are too hard to get! Where are we Ordinary Player supposed to earn them? Even if we grind until we're exhausted, it's useless!"

"Don't jump to conclusions, upstairs—some dedicated trading players have already earned an extra 100 achievement points for engaging in trading activities for an extended period of time."

"Indeed, the sources of Achievement Points are too limited. Most people only have about a hundred points left. I really don't know what good things they can exchange for."

"The one with the most achievement points in the entire God's Domain must be that god who's always on the announcements. We can't compare to someone like that, sigh."

Zhang Mingzhen did not rush to find the messenger who would distribute the achievement rewards. Instead, after bidding farewell to the city lord, he went straight to the treasure vault inside the city lord's mansion.

He was somewhat curious whether these guarded vaults might contain any rare or unfamiliar items he had never seen before.

Of course, the truly precious and valuable items are definitely in the secret vault.

"Honorable warrior, we have received the city lord's orders."

"You may stay in the vault for one hour and choose any treasure to take with you. Please come in," the guard standing in front of the vault said respectfully.

It really is just a game.

Reality isn't that simple.

"Okay," Zhang Mingzhen nodded.

The moment he stepped into the treasure vault, Zhang Mingzhen was almost dazzled by the golden light that filled the room.

The place was piled high with Radiant weapons, armor, various materials, and strange items, a dazzling sight to behold.

I originally thought an hour would be more than enough, but now it seems there's simply not enough time to examine everything in detail.

He could only quickly skim the descriptions of the items to find the one that was most valuable to him.

Both the "Double Experience Elixir" and the mysterious pet spirit egg were quite attractive, but they were not his most pressing needs at the moment.

After a quick selection process, his gaze finally settled on a special item.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't ordinary equipment; it was more like a strange item that took effect upon wearing—"an Amulet."

He had never seen Amulet in any underground Secret Realm or trading places, and there was no dedicated section for them in the equipment interface.

However, this Amulet, which sits quietly in the treasury, is a rare piece of equipment that can be used simply by keeping it in one's bag.

Isn't this just the setting of ancient, dark fantasy?

It was precisely because of its extreme rarity that Zhang Mingzhen made the choice.

He worried that if he missed this opportunity, he might never encounter a second one.

"Wonderful Dharma Talisman (Universal): Critical Hit Rate Increase: 10%, Combo Rate Increase: 10%, Experience Gain Bonus: 3%, Fortune Increase: 2 points"

This item has no level or class restrictions, and its attributes are outstanding.

Furthermore, experience bonuses and Fortune are both extremely rare attributes that usually only appear in specific outfits.

Moreover, the critical hits and Combo it provides are all probability-based increases, rather than fixed numerical bonuses, making it a near-perfect top-tier attribute.

Zhang Mingzhen couldn't help but wonder where the city lord had obtained this item, but it was indeed very suitable for him.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little apologetic towards the War Alliance players who had taken on the related tasks.

Of course, it was gone very quickly.

The prerequisite tasks that lead to such a reward must be extremely complex and difficult.

But that's life.

Having chosen the treasure, Zhang Mingzhen returned to the city lord.

He sensed that the city lord would likely entrust him with a mission related to the Wolf Barbarian Clan.

"Warrior, are you aware of the past of the Wolf Barbarian Clan?"

"They are the offspring of humans and Warcraft, ferocious and utterly devoid of reason. From the day they appeared, they have always been the greatest enemy of our human race!"

"They are bloodthirsty and utterly devoid of empathy."

"Our ancestors tried many times to find a way to coexist peacefully, but were always rejected."

"In the end, our ancestors suffered heavy casualties in that decisive battle with them. We thought we had completely eradicated them, but who would have thought they would secretly multiply in some unknown corner until now! We must not stand idly by and watch them continue to grow stronger!"

At this point, City Lord Dong Fangming became clearly agitated, obviously harboring deep resentment towards the Wolf Barbarian Clan.

Zhang Mingzhen remained noncommittal.

He has never been emotionally affected by such one-sided accounts.

Ultimately, only we ourselves can uncover the truth.

All he needs is a reward.

"According to our intelligence, they are planning to migrate their entire race to our world."

"If successful, the war will inevitably spread, and countless towns will be plunged into disaster."

"Warrior, we beg you to help us stop their plot!"

At this point, Zhang Mingzhen was finally able to interject. "What do I need to do?"

"We need to send warriors to infiltrate their settlement, kill or seal the leader of the Wolf Barbarian Clan, and destroy the Holy Relic they have worshipped for generations, so that the Wolf Barbarian Clan may be wiped out from the world forever!"

"After the mission is completed, I will reopen the city lord's treasury for you, and you can choose any reward you like!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mingzhen couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking how ruthless this city lord was.

Not only must they destroy the clan's Holy Relic, but they must also take the life of its leader.

However, this has nothing to do with me; as long as there is a generous reward, that's all that matters.

"I accept your commission."

After bidding farewell to the city lord, who looked pleased, Zhang Mingzhen decided to first go to the achievement shop in Fragrant Cloud City to find out more.

There's no need to ask for directions; that's the noisiest place in town right now.

Zhang Fugui, the manager of Chengjiu Store, is a middle-aged businessman with a plump figure and a friendly smile.

His smiling expression might seem welcoming at first glance, but that goodwill usually only lasts until you see the price tag on the item.

This is practically robbery!

"They look kind, but how come they're so unscrupulous in business! They might as well just rob us outright, and they even went so far as to pretend to give us a pill!"

"That's right! You're charging 100 achievement points for a single Double Experience Pill that only lasts for three hours?! Zhang Fugui, you're ripping me off!... Although double experience is indeed tempting..."

Zhang Fugui immediately put on a warm smile and explained, "My brave warriors, please calm down. Our shop is small and operates on thin profit margins; we really don't make much money."

"One hundred achievement points is already a friendly price! Look at this Feast Potion, it's such a good deal, you can get it for just one achievement point."

Seeing that the Vermilion Fruit could restore satiety, everyone felt that exchanging achievement points for satiety potions was a waste.

Although the effect is better, achievement points are so precious, how can we squander them like this?