Chapter 118 - 112 Recruitment and Pacification of Refugees_2

Chapter 118: Chapter 112 Recruitment and Pacification of Refugees_2Elderly refugee: Level 1, Life Value 27. This attribute is really miserable, isn’t it? Xiao Jie thought, feeling that taking them back seemed completely useless. He decisively turned around and directly bypassed them. He soon encountered another one, this time a middle-aged man who, although still very frail, at least seemed to have some strength for work. Adult refugee: Level 3, Life Value 60. "Uncle, are you fleeing the famine?" "Yes, young man, I haven’t had anything to eat for several days now, please, give me something to eat." Xiao Jie tossed over a steamed bun, probing, "Do you have any specialties?" "I can farm." "Good, come with me." It wasn’t long before he saw a young woman, her face the color of withered vegetables. After asking about her special skill, which turned out to be weaving, he took her away with a steamed bun. After a round of walking, Xiao Jie quickly had five or six refugees trailing behind him. This task of recruiting refugees was quite simple. There were mainly three points: first, to give them something to eat upon meeting, to prevent them from starving to death; second, to avoid letting monsters charge into the crowd of refugees during a fight, as they would get scared and scatter in all directions. Worse yet, they could get killed. These refugees had no combat capability, any wild monster could crush them. Occasionally, he would meet a refugee armed with a stick. Such a person counted as a rare combat force among the refugees, just a little stronger than a soulless zombie. The third point was to clearly ask if they had any special skills, as there really were some good-for-nothing refugees without any skills at all—those could only be left to fend for themselves. Although any type could be used to complete the task, since he was doing this on behalf of someone else, he still needed a bit of professional ethics. Having gathered ten refugees, Xiao Jie didn’t dare to search for more, fearing that an accident might disperse them. When he returned to the village with the refugees, he found Dongfang Sheng had already brought eight refugees to register with the village chief. Dongfang Sheng didn’t dare go too far, considering his level was still quite low, so he merely wandered around the village twice, and to seize the initiative, he didn’t scrutinize the refugees’ abilities, taking all kinds. Master Huang (Ginkgo Village village chief): "A total of eight refugees, including one disabled and one elderly or infirm, three adults, one craftsman, and two children, amounting to 634 coins in recruitment money. Take it." "So little? Isn’t it one hundred coins per person?" Dongfang Sheng was somewhat startled. "That’s not a small amount at all. Why did you even bring back these useless ones?" Master Huang pointed at the old man and the disabled one and said, "Humph, be more discerning next time." After these refugees were registered, the names above their heads immediately changed; from neutral human-shaped monsters, they became villagers with a green name, and they also got their own names. Xiao Jie watched with interest; he had never before experienced such a vivid game ecosystem. Xiao Jie also handed over the refugees he had recruited. After Master Huang registered them, he nodded with satisfaction, "Not bad at all, four adults, three children, two craftsmen, one warrior, a total of 1189 coins in recruitment money. Keep up the good work." After three hours of effort, each of the three had brought back two groups of refugees. Because Xiao Jie was quick, he alone recruited 20 refugees, earning a total of 2341 coins, feeling very elated. The key thing is that this kind of mission barely requires fighting monsters; it’s like picking up money for nothing. Shame it’s only a one-time opportunity. Dongfang Sheng, scrounging around the village, not picky about who he took in, also recruited 16 refugees, earning 1375 coins. I Want to Be Immortal was less fortunate, though. The second batch of refugees he recruited had to be halved because the population limit had been reached. In the end, he recruited 13 refugees. Thankfully, the quality was still decent, and he earned 1284 coins. "Alright, Ginkgo Village has reached its population limit. You all should hurry off now." The remaining excess refugees looked at each other and then all knelt down, "Please, sir, take us in." Master Huang, however, was unmoved, "The quota is full; there’s no need for further discussion. Leave at once—Captain Tie, drive these people out." With the influx of so many refugees, Tie Qianli’s Militia Team was once again at full capacity, and several new militia members immediately came over with their long spears to chase people away. This! Xiao Jie was astonished; he had not expected the normally kind and gentle Master Huang to have such a stern side. These refugees, once they changed their names, immediately became people of Ginkgo Village, showing no compassion whatsoever to other refugees. It was unclear whether the game was too realistic, or if it completely neglected these details. However, I Want to Be Immortal couldn’t help but say, "Village chief, if you drive them out, it’s a dead end for them. Why not take them in? It’s just a few more people." Master Huang immediately shifted his tone for I Want to Be Immortal, the great hero who saved Ginkgo Village, and patiently explained, "Young brother, you don’t understand. The population count is fixed; even one person extra will not do. You needn’t worry, if they leave the village, naturally, they can seek refuge elsewhere. If you pity them, give them some more food." I Want to Be Immortal, with no other choice, gave a few steamed buns to the people. Watching them leave the village, their figures gradually blurring and disappearing, I Want to Be Immortal was startled. "Eh, where did they go?" "They despawned, of course. These refugees are just quest monsters. Now that the mission is over, there’s no reason for them to stick around," Xiao Jie said indifferently. He felt somewhat uncomfortable about such things in his heart. But he wouldn’t dwell on it too much. After many years of gaming, he had seen too many tragic storylines. Although the immersion in this game was strong, it wasn’t enough to break him. It was probably because I Want to Be Immortal had brought those people back that he had some difficulty letting go. However, when the two of them left the village again, as expected, they saw no more refugees. "See, I told you so. Don’t worry, these are all NPCs spawned by the system. They may look realistic, but essentially, they’re just data," Xiao Jie reassured. I Want to Be Immortal responded with a hum, "Let’s go, Feng. We’re off to fight the mountain bandits." Xiao Jie was quite excited about the prospect of attacking the mountain bandit camp. It wasn’t that he was in a rush to go to Luoyang Town to learn martial arts; it was mainly because he had limited money in his bag, and going to Luoyang Town without money to learn skills was a no-go. The Silver Treasure Box in the mountain bandit camp would surely yield some good loot, and it was also a good opportunity to test out the strength of a Level 10 Profession before leaving the village. After leaving Newbie Village, they probably wouldn’t find such foolish monsters to pick on anymore. Xiao Jie previously had over 17,000 coins in his bag, and with what he had earned just now, he had exactly twenty thousand coins, which is twenty silver taels, barely enough to learn a decent Saber Skill or entry-level Inner Strength. However, according to what Wang Kai said, learning a decent Inner Strength with a Saber Skill would require at least fifty silver taels. So it seemed that he would need to earn at least another thirty silver taels to be secure. He decided to head for the mountain bandit camp then. He had to make a substantial profit today, no matter what.