Chapter 9: The Recruitment Plan

Once the lumberyard was up and running, Zhan Xiaobai returned to the small village with Deputy Chief Li Asan, Sword Overlord, and the other elders.

Zhan Xiaobai was reasonably satisfied with the current pace of the village’s development. The only flaw lay in the severe shortage of resources; there simply weren't enough manpower or supplies to support higher-level expansion. Now they had farmers and lumberjacks, but what should come next?

It was impossible to build this and that all at once. With limited resources, they had to ensure the most efficient use of what little they had.

Gathered in the grand hall of the village’s administrative building, Zhan Xiaobai and the others discussed plans for construction.

"Collect and store as much grain as possible. With food, we can support more farmers, and with more farmers, the village will grow stronger," Sword Overlord said. This was the most orthodox and practical approach to developing the village. In truth, everyone else shared this view, even if he hadn't voiced it.

"I believe we should focus on trade between players in the short term. Our village currently has no source of income; the quickest way to get money now is through taxes. With money, we can encourage both villagers and players to contribute more to the village, speeding up construction."

"That's not right. The village should be upgraded to a higher-level city before we worry about large-scale trade. At a mere five percent tax rate, it won’t make a difference. Besides, players don’t have much money right now."

"I propose we reduce taxes—from five percent down to two percent."

"We can’t reduce them! Every coin counts. How else can we fund construction? Any work requires wages."

The debate grew heated.

Zhan Xiaobai silently nodded as the discussion continued. Issues like grain storage, tax reduction, and trade needed to be categorized, thoroughly considered, and implemented in stages as soon as possible. The village’s only advantage now was being a step ahead of the competition, and to maintain that edge, they needed to push forward with these initiatives quickly.

As he pondered, a sudden loud clanging, as if metal striking stone, erupted from outside.

Startled, Zhan Xiaobai wondered what was happening—was someone fighting, or had something else happened to cause such a commotion at the administrative building? He quickly stood and ran outside, the others following in confusion.

In the courtyard, a player dressed in plain clothes and wielding a bronze knife was violently attacking the village’s central jade stone, cursing as he did so. "You think you’re so great just because you have a village? You wouldn’t let me join, so I’ll destroy your precious village and see how arrogant you act then!"

Each blow to the jade stone produced a constant metallic ringing, and strange symbols appeared above it.

"-1"
"-1"

These indicated the durability of the jade stone, dropping by one point with every strike.

Zhan Xiaobai was dumbfounded. This guy was bold—attacking the village’s most vital foundation stone in broad daylight, right in the administrative courtyard.

"Stop! What do you think you’re doing?" Ah Fei, furious, rushed over and knocked the player aside.

The player got up, ignoring Ah Fei completely, and resumed hacking at the jade stone, shouting, "Ha! I’ll keep going! I’m here to cause trouble—what can you do about it? Kill me if you want! My name is Born to Be a Nuisance, and I’m level zero. When I die, I respawn right here without losing any gear—what are you going to do, bite me?" (Plain clothes and bronze knife are basic equipment, not lost upon death; only experience is lost.)

With such a shameless player, Ah Fei was helpless. He killed Born to Be a Nuisance in a few strikes, but the moment he respawned, the player immediately resumed attacking the jade stone, humming smugly, "Come at me again, I dare you!"

Zhan Xiaobai pulled Ah Fei aside, stopping the angry crowd. Instead of being upset, he circled Born to Be a Nuisance with a slight smile. "Brother Nuisance, do you know how much durability the basic village’s jade stone has?"

Born to Be a Nuisance didn’t pause, grunting, "How should I know? I’ll just keep hacking at it. Sooner or later, I’ll break it."

With a laugh, Zhan Xiaobai replied, "If it makes you happy, go ahead. But let me give you a friendly reminder: this jade stone has ten thousand durability points, and it regenerates at two points per second. At your current leisurely pace, you’d still be hacking at it when your grandson is born. How about this—we’ll let you keep at it, and if you ever manage to break it, we’ll reward you with a hundred copper coins for your efforts. How does that sound?"

Born to Be a Nuisance was dumbstruck. Ten thousand durability, and it regenerates? This was ridiculous—he’d been wasting his time for nothing. Frustrated, he shouted, "Fine, I won’t bother with this rotten stone anymore! I’ll go wreck something else. Serves you right for not letting me join the village!" With that, he stormed out of the administrative courtyard.

Zhan Xiaobai stopped the angry crowd from chasing after him. "With his pathetic one-point attack, he can’t do any real harm."

Sword Overlord watched Born to Be a Nuisance leave and said to Li Asan, his expression cold, "Once he’s gone, add him to the village’s 'Unwelcome Players' list. He’s banned from ever entering the village again. Players like that are nothing but trouble."

Li Asan glanced at Zhan Xiaobai, who nodded. Li Asan immediately went to carry out the instruction.

After this farce, they returned to the hall.

Zhan Xiaobai laughed lightly. "Say what you will, but Born to Be a Nuisance’s antics have made me realize a serious problem. Our village now has thirty farmers and several hundred players lingering here, yet we don’t have a single regular NPC soldier to defend the village. If we were attacked, relying solely on players would leave us dangerously exposed. Perhaps it’s time to start recruiting soldiers. It would be a burden on our resources, but security is not something we can ignore. I believe we should prepare for this as soon as possible."

"Recruit soldiers?" Sword Overlord, Young Hero Spring and Autumn, Ah Fei, and Autumn Water were all surprised. The village had been under construction for nearly a week, and none of them had considered that it might already be possible to recruit soldiers.

The lowest level for soldiers was ten, making them a rare sight in the game. All players from level zero to nine were civilians; only after reaching level ten could one change class to warrior, commander, merchant, and so on. At this stage, almost no one had changed class.

(Patch notes: 1. The jade stone’s durability increases as the village levels up. 2. There are eight positions around the jade stone; only eight people can attack it at once. 3. Once expelled, a player can never re-enter the village except by attacking it. 4. Early villages have almost no defensive capabilities, but at the same time, players have little offensive power. Defense depends entirely on the village chief’s abilities. If you don’t develop defenses early and the village falls, blame the chief’s incompetence, not the game’s rules. The next chapter will introduce the village’s defensive power.)