First Defense of the City

After exchanging for the Amulet of Extreme Speed, Lin Yi converted his remaining 3 Contribution Points into Copper Coins.

During this time, Lin Yi had completed quite a few of Gu Yongqiang's Woodcutting Quests. Exhausting himself every day, he had only saved a little over twenty copper coins. He had not expected a single Contribution Point to be worth one hundred copper coins.

It had to be said, exchanging Contribution Points for copper coins was truly a bargain!

With these three hundred copper coins, Lin Yi would no longer need to earn money through Woodcutting Quests in the game every day.

He could finally trade in the dry flatbread and slightly bitter well water for better food.

Of course, three hundred copper coins would not last long.

But after joining the Militia Team, he would receive a daily allowance of twenty copper coins and a share of the Drops. Lin Yi felt that he should no longer have to worry about money.

Before leaving the cellar Treasure Vault, Lin Yi casually asked Elder Gu Yuan what a Soul Artifact was.

Gu Yuan looked surprised and said to Lin Yi, "A Soul Artifact? How do you know about Soul Artifacts? They are similar to Spirit Artifacts, but they are a higher-grade existence. Soul Artifacts can merge with the soul. Not only can they deal with Monsters, but some Soul Artifacts are specifically capable of restraining Ghost Spirits. Of course, Soul Artifacts are extremely rare and exceptionally valuable. If you possess a Soul Artifact, you may bring it to me for exchange. When the time comes, you may choose anything you like from the Parchment Scroll..."

"You're joking, Elder. How could I possibly possess a Soul Artifact? I merely heard someone mention one before and became curious, so I asked around."

Lin Yi's heart stirred. He had not expected Soul Artifacts to be worth so much.

After all, he had just looked through the Parchment Scroll. While many of the treasures listed on it were rare, there was not even a single Spirit Artifact among them.

Thinking of how the captains of the Four Militia Teams in Ancient Pool Village each possessed only one Spirit Artifact, it was clear that Spirit Artifacts were exceedingly precious.

Yet Soul Artifacts were a grade above Spirit Artifacts, even rarer than them.

That meant he had truly dug up something extraordinary today.

The green treasure-digging talent was indeed anything but ordinary!

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Lin Yi returned to Gu Yongqiang's firewood shed residence and logged off.

After Lin Yi disappeared, a figure emerged from the grass outside the courtyard. It was Elder Gu Yuan, who had followed him all the way here.

Gu Yuan narrowed his eyes. "Nothing unusual... But did that boy actually see a Soul Artifact before, or did he hear about it from someone else..."

"Gu Yuan? What are you doing here?"

At that moment, Gu Yongqiang suddenly appeared, his expression furious.

Gu Yuan frowned. Without bothering to hide himself, he stepped out of the grass beyond the courtyard. "What, you brat, are you so ill-mannered that you refuse to even call me uncle? Are you still holding on to what happened back then?"

Gu Yongqiang snorted coldly. "If you hadn't controlled the Treasure Vault back then and refused to take out the village's medicine to treat me, my leg would not still be crippled today."

Gu Yuan sighed. "That medicine is the village's lifeline. Unless the Village Chief or one of the Three Village Elders is gravely injured or near death, no one is qualified to use it. Even if I had agreed back then, you never would have gotten past the Village Chief. I thought you had cultivated your character over the years and let it go long ago. I never expected you to still harbor such resentment..."

"Resentment? I don't hate you anymore. I just want to beat you up badly!"

Gu Yongqiang could not be bothered to say more. With a flick of his wrist, a Woodcutting Saber appeared, and he slashed at Gu Yuan.

"You brat, you actually dare attack your own uncle! You unfilial wretch..."

Gu Yuan's eyes widened, and he hurriedly crushed the Protective Talisman on his body.

Though he was above Level 10, he had taken the path of Divinity. His close-combat ability was clearly inferior to Gu Yongqiang, who had once competed to become a Militia Captain.

The next moment, Golden Light flashed, sending Gu Yongqiang flying more than three meters away.

Gu Yongqiang flexed his numb arm and gritted his teeth. "You old bastard, you still dare fight back? If you don't let me chop you twice to vent my anger today, I'll chase you down and hack at you from now on..."

Hearing this, Gu Yuan was so angry that his eyebrows shot upward.

"You utter bastard!!"

"You insolent little brat who defies all order!"

Lin Yi had no idea that casually asking about Soul Artifacts had actually brought him a small bit of trouble, even sparking a battle between uncle and nephew.

But when Lin Yi logged in the next morning, he discovered that his original firewood shed residence was gone.

The firewood shed from yesterday seemed to have been torn apart by something. Three walls had been destroyed, and firewood was scattered all over the ground. It was a complete mess.

What happened?

Could it be... another Monster had entered the village?

As Lin Yi wondered, he saw Gu Yongqiang limp out of the room.

"Gu Chenghu has arranged a place for you. Since you've joined the Militia Team, you should stay over there from now on."

Lin Yi wanted to ask what had happened here, but seeing Gu Yongqiang's dark expression, he decided not to ask.

He could only cup his fists and say, "Thank you, Brother Gu, for taking care of me during this time. I'll head over, then?"

"Go. Once you reach Level 4, come back here to learn the Blazing Sun Saber Technique."

After leaving Gu Yongqiang's home, Lin Yi headed straight for the city wall of Ancient Pool Village.

At this time, the members of the Second Militia Team under Gu Chenghu's command were already standing guard outside the city.

Gu Chenghu was nowhere to be seen. One of the Second Team militia members smiled and said, "Brother Qingshan, you're here?"

Lin Yi smiled and greeted him as well. "I'm here. Where's the captain?"

"He went to patrol outside the city wall. The Third Team that guarded the village yesterday said they heard Heart-Devouring Wolves nearby. The captain was worried, so he took a few brothers to check it out."

As they spoke, Gu Chenghu led several Second Team members back from the Wilderness ahead.

Gu Chenghu was carrying a black corpse in his hand. Upon closer inspection, it was not a Heart-Devouring Wolf, but an ordinary Mountain Antelope from the Wilderness.

Blood trickled from the Mountain Antelope's neck. Judging by the wound, it seemed to have been killed with a single slash.

"Qingshan, you're here. Not bad, you're quite punctual."

Gu Chenghu tossed the Mountain Antelope onto the ground and arranged for someone to deal with its corpse, preparing to roast it outside the city wall.

Gu Chenghu joked, "You're a lucky kid. It's your first day here, and you already get roasted meat. Usually, we only get a chance to eat it once every ten days or half a month."

The Second Team members were clearly very skilled at handling Mountain Antelope carcasses. Working together, they removed the innards, set up a bonfire, and rubbed seasonings over the meat...

Lin Yi could not help asking, "Captain, won't handling a corpse near the city wall and spreading the smell of blood attract nearby Monsters?"

"Monsters? I hope they come. But ordinary animals are not very enticing to Monsters. You should know that only by devouring the flesh and blood of us humans can Monsters gain the nourishment they need to grow. Ordinary animal flesh can only fill their stomachs."

"Besides, the Monsters near Ancient Pool Village are all quite intelligent. A few years ago, we used ordinary animal flesh to lure in a group of Monsters and slaughter them. But after that incident, this method could only catch low-level, unintelligent Monsters. Smart Monsters are difficult to lure in..."

Gu Chenghu explained as he roasted the meat.

But at that moment, Gu Xiaoliu suddenly pointed at the hill ahead. "Captain, there are traces of Heart-Devouring Wolves!"

Everyone hurriedly looked over and saw several Heart-Devouring Wolves with gray fur, each standing a full two meters tall, appearing atop the hill as they prowled about.

The Heart-Devouring Wolves had blood-red eyes that were extremely conspicuous. From afar, they looked rather terrifying.

"We really did lure those beasts over, but it looks like they don't dare come any closer."

"Hard to say. Since those Heart-Devouring Wolves dared show themselves, they have probably set their sights on us. Sooner or later, they will definitely attack."

Gu Shan had already picked up his weapon. Turning his head, he asked, "Captain, should we make a move?"

Gu Chenghu continued roasting the meat. "No rush. Wait a little longer. When dealing with beasts like wolves, you need to be even more patient than they are."

Soon, the Heart-Devouring Wolves vanished beyond the hill opposite them.

Seeing this, Gu Chenghu told everyone to return to their respective guard posts and watch for the Heart-Devouring Wolves' movements.

Every few hundred meters along Ancient Pool Village's city wall stood a small Beacon Tower. If Monsters invaded, the militia members guarding the Beacon Towers would light the signal fire.

Gu Chenghu explained to Lin Yi that Heart-Devouring Wolves were creatures that bullied the weak and feared the strong. Upon discovering human flesh and blood, they would not swarm in immediately. Instead, they would seek out weak points in the defenses and wait for an opportunity to attack.

If nothing unexpected happened, the Heart-Devouring Wolves that had just shown themselves would not leave. They would linger near Ancient Pool Village for the next few days, searching for an opportunity before attacking.

During those two morning hours, Lin Yi got a meal of roasted Mountain Antelope from Gu Chenghu. Nothing else happened, and after Dugu Feng came to take over, he left and logged off.

By the time he left Apocalypse World, it was already past nine o'clock.

It was not too late to go to the studio at this hour, but Lin Yi did not plan to go because he intended to get a gym membership at a nearby fitness center today.

When he logged in today, he discovered that his Strength attribute had risen from 6 to 7.

One had to know that the attributes in reality were linked to those in the game. When attributes improved in the game, those improvements could likewise be brought back into reality.

Lin Yi guessed that he had chopped too much wood in Ancient Pool Village over the past few days and gotten enough exercise, which was why his Strength attribute had increased by 1 point.

Thinking back to how his character attributes had been generated based on his physical condition in reality when he first entered Apocalypse World, it meant that improving his physical fitness in reality could also possibly raise his character attributes in Apocalypse World.

This meant that leveling up in the Apocalypse Game was not the only way to increase attributes. Improving one's physical fitness through exercise could also allow attributes to grow.