The bandit scourge

Beginner Village 10021.

By now, the vast majority of the players had gathered here.

The sheer number of players nearly packed the little village to bursting.

"What the hell is wrong with these Bandits? If this keeps up, the players in Beginner Village 10021 are going to fall behind the players in every other Novice Village!"

In a makeshift meeting room, Cao Hong roared in fury.

He was genuinely livid now.

In less than three days, the Bandits had killed him seven or eight times, leaving his cultivation progress permanently stuck at Martial Entry Level 0.

No matter how he thought about it, Cao Hong could not figure out what had gone wrong.

Those Bandits haunted him like restless ghosts. Whenever he ventured even a short distance beyond the Novice Village, they would surround him and attack.

At Martial Entry Level 0, he was no match for even a lone Bandit.

The other players present looked equally grim.

"Right now, the players in Beginner Village 10021 are essentially confined to an area within two li of the Novice Village. With this many players and so little space, there simply aren't enough resources to go around."

Lu Shoujia, who stood to one side, spoke gravely as well.

Wild monsters took time to respawn.

Beginner Village 10021 had thousands of players. With such a small area and so few resources, there were not even enough monsters for each player to get one.

"And another thing..."

At this point, Lu Shoujia shifted the subject.

"I don't know whether you've noticed, but some of these Bandits seem to have grown stronger lately. Does that mean these NPCs can level up by killing us players too?"

At those words, the other players' expressions changed.

If Lu Shoujia had not pointed it out, they might never have noticed.

The Bandits were already troublesome enough.

A mere hundred or so Bandits had pinned down all these players, leaving them unable to move.

If the Bandits really could level up by killing players, then allowing this to continue would leave them trapped in the Novice Village forever.

A burly player said gravely, "Even if those bandits can level up, what can we do about it? Everyone here knows how powerful the Liangshan Stronghold Chief is."

"Over a thousand of us charged together, and he wiped us all out single-handedly.

"Unless we deal with the Liangshan Stronghold Chief, we'll never truly escape this crisis, even if we eliminate the other bandits."

Players had no fear of death, so naturally, they were not willing to submit to being surrounded and slaughtered.

Under the leadership of several respected players, over a thousand players had joined forces in an attempt to break through the Liangshan Stronghold Bandits' encirclement.

Unfortunately, before they could really make their strength felt, they had encountered the chieftain, Qin Shujian.

As for the outcome...

It went without saying.

That massacre was what had truly shattered the players' fighting spirit.

"Given our current situation, there are only two ways to resolve this Bandit scourge!"

One man spoke up.

At his words, everyone turned their attention to him, and many of their expressions grew serious.

There was only one reason for that.

The man before them was Wang Renbin.

The Wang Family was a renowned family in the real world. Its businesses spanned the entire country, and it wielded immense influence even in government circles.

The opening of this game world had drawn a flood of powerful factions.

The Wang Family was one of them.

So when Wang Renbin spoke, everyone else remained silent.

In terms of status and standing, scarcely anyone here could compare with Wang Renbin.

Seeing the room fall quiet, Wang Renbin wore a faint smile on his handsome face. "Although the Bandits are hunting us players down, they haven't driven us into a dead end yet.

"The wild monster resources within those two li might be a drop in the bucket when divided among all the players.

"But if we concentrate those resources on a handful of players, I believe we can quickly raise several high-level players.

"The main reason the bandits are so formidable is the Liangshan Stronghold Chief."

"As long as we nurture players who can stand against the Liangshan Stronghold Chief, the bandit scourge will naturally be resolved."

At those words, quite a few people's expressions shifted.

They had to admit that Wang Renbin's proposal was indeed a possible solution.

After all, when it came to leveling up by killing monsters, they did not believe NPCs could outpace players.

But—

"You've worked out quite a clever little plan, Young Master Wang. Are you going to suggest next that all the players we nurture should come from the Wang Family?"

An alluring voice rang out, carrying a faint hint of mockery.

Wang Renbin looked toward the voice and saw a graceful female player.

Her fair skin was whiter than snow, and long black hair cascaded down her back. Her bright, large eyes were as captivating as pearls, while the slightest curve of her cherry-red lips formed a breathtaking smile.

"You've misunderstood me, Xiaomeng. Since we're selecting a few players to nurture, naturally, we'll choose them based on their potential." Wang Renbin showed no anger and replied with a smile.

"You should call me by my full name, Young Master Wang. Not just anyone gets to call me Xiaomeng."

Zhao Xiaomeng did not seem to appreciate the gesture.

Others might fear the Wang Family, but she had no reason to.

The Wang Family was powerful, but the Zhao Family she belonged to was not much weaker.

"And don't forget how far everyone else's leveling progress will fall behind if we devote all our resources to nurturing a few players. Even if we solve the Bandit problem, we'll still lag far behind the players in other Novice Villages.

"At the start of a game, falling behind once means falling behind at every step.

"Surely you didn't enter this world just to enjoy the scenery, Young Master Wang!"

At her words, Wang Renbin's smile faded. "In that case, only the other option remains."

His expression turned solemn.

"Someone from my Wang Family obtained a Teleportation Talisman elsewhere. As long as we know the destination coordinates, we can teleport people there.

"As far as I know, outside our village, quite a few players in other Novice Villages have already reached the Entering Martial Second Layer. The highest-level players have even reached the Fourth Level of Martial Entry.

"If we teleport those players here, the Bandit scourge will no longer be a problem."

"It's just that..."

Wang Renbin paused before continuing, "This Teleportation Talisman is a single-use consumable. Once its duration expires, every player who used it will be forcibly teleported back.

"My Wang Family spent tremendous manpower and resources to acquire this treasure.

"The Bandit scourge isn't my problem alone. Since all of you want to resolve it, there's no reason for my Wang Family to bear this loss by itself."

Even Zhao Xiaomeng's expression changed at those words.

She had not expected the Wang Family to obtain such a treasure so early in the game.

The other players also wore varying expressions.

Wang Renbin had made his meaning perfectly clear: he wanted all of them to share the cost of this Teleportation Talisman.

One player immediately asked, "Then what price would we need to pay, Young Master Wang?"

"I know that nearly everyone sitting here is either the leader or a representative of a player faction in Beginner Village 10021." Wang Renbin surveyed the room, then held up one finger. "One million. Each faction represented here will pay my Wang Family one million, and my Wang Family will take care of this matter."