Chapter 228. Prosperous Golden Sap City!

Words : 1214 Updated : Oct 5th, 2025

Chapter 228. Prosperous Golden Sap City! Liu Shu took two weeks to Level Up. In the meantime, although negative propaganda was roaming outside, not everyone was gullible enough to believe everything they heard. So, many people traveled to the Golden Sap Town to see the supposedly extensive destruction that happened. Between those, merchants were especially eager since going to places affected by war usually meant profit, as, even when it was not moral, taking advantage of the wartorn population was easy. However, after moving slowly and carefully through the forest, the people who arrived at the center of the Golden Sap Forest saw a massive and intact wall covering the place, with the massive World Tree surging with energies and looking, quite frankly, incredibly healthy and animated." This created doubt and curiosity, and they all walked forward, trying to enter the place. They noticed one small change in the text at the entrance. Now, it read <Golden Sap City>. No one really thought much about it. The size of the city was honestly gigantic, and people hadn't really realized it, but the available living area had reached 820,200 square meters. The number of <Lignified House> had reached 130. Then, there were four <Lignified Town Hall> Level trees and six <Lignified Inns>. Considering their size and housing ability, that number of Tree Buildings would allow around 12,900 people to live comfortably in the city. Each building did not occupy much living space, as they specialized in height more than width. The <Lignified House> was 24 meters tall, the <Lignified Inn> was 38 meters tall, and the <Lignified Town Hall> reached around a third of Liu Shu's current height: 63 meters. Spotting the Town Halls beyond the enormous 32-meter-high wall was imposing and mystical, attracting the curiosity of all the people who arrived. Due to this, the people who came didn't leave. Instead, they actually entered, paying the fees required, and basically got hooked on everything. The buffs, the benefits, the special housing, the variety of items, the berries that you could get with luck, and other benefits completely outweighed anything they had experienced beforehand. To call this city a small paradise was not an exaggeration for many of them. The families of the people who came were unsure about the messages coming from the Golden Sap City, but as time passed, many immigrated from surrounding cities and villages. If there was a complaint that people had, it was that the cost of living was somewhat high, at around 5 <Bren> monthly on average. Still, no one really complained besides saying some words; only an entitled and stupid person would fail to understand that this place was well worth the high cost of living. "We should revolt and take over so that we can reduce the cost of living! The City Lord is just exploiting us!" Of course, such people existed, and they were not that uncommon to come across. Thankfully, most of the population had a brain inside their skulls with enough neurons firing to not get swayed by them. Not to mention... The man who spoke had his shoulder patted, and when he turned around, he saw a smiling Explorer. "Hey, listening to your stupid words, I can guess that you might have had some intelligence defect since birth, so I shouldn't be too harsh... Sadly, I can't really care about stupid people like you." The man became livid. "What did you just say!? I will let you know that I am Level 21! I dare you to place a hand on me, and I'll make sure this part of the city becomes burning wood!" After that day, what happened spread around, creating varied reactions. Most of the people were law-abiding and had a relatively strong moral compass, making this news sound like music to their ears. Some others didn't think alike. After all, like in almost any place, there were groups that were trying to create certain criminal groups and spread around to gain control in the shadows. After hearing about what happened in that restaurant, they could guess that some of their people might've found themselves in that position. Regardless, while these people's ambitions were high, their strength was seriously lacking. Flor had received reports about them, and each time, she would go personally with a few strong ants and clean the place with the help of the Golden Sap City trees. They were a good source of Experience Points for lower-level people, so she didn't pull them out by the roots. In her words: "Let them call more reinforcements; they are like sacks of Experience Points delivering themselves to our front door." The combination of all these events was just too resounding to be snuffed out by neighboring powers, and by the time Liu Shu woke up, the news had spread around that the Golden Sap City was extremely secure and a place full of blessings. "Good morning, me!" Feeling refreshed, Liu Shu wiggled her roots around, and she swept her surroundings with the <World Tree Eye> passive skill. "Huh? So many people!" She looked at the northern sector she had newly built, and she couldn't help but be surprised. "Wow~, where did all these people come from? Are there any evil ones?" She communicated with the trees in the city and got an idea of what was happening. While communication between trees was slow when trying to tell specific information, sharing sensations and feelings about places was very easy and efficient. In a few hours, Liu Shu created a mental map of the places where most crimes had been committed and those free of it. "Hm... the inns seem to be the place where most people misbehave. Hm? Who are these people?" Looking inside one of the inns' rooms, she saw three men and two women who had decently strong auras. 'Oh! They are all Level 24! What are you talking about?' "... I don't feel that's feasible. We've confirmed that the World Tree is in a strange hibernating state, and she is not actively checking the Golden Sap City. However, the second she wakes up, we will be in trouble." One of the women, tall and muscular, spoke with a frown. "Even if we have the City Lord?" The same man who spoke previously answered with a sigh. "Even then. Moreover, this place has <Second Energy Cycle> powerhouses. If they discover us, we are done for." The other woman, a slender and average-looking beastkin of a reptilian family, spoke. "Then, we should just try to poison the water reservoirs. I heard that they are not that separated from the rest of the buildings; sneaking around and pouring the contents inside should be easy, right?" An elegant man sitting by the window sighed. "Even if we are successful, the chances that we leave this place alive will be small. This entire place is very different from a normal city; everything is somehow connected." Liu Shu exclaimed to herself. 'Oh! He has good senses! I wonder where these people come from. I should ask Flor.'

Chapter 228. Prosperous Golden Sap City!

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