Chapter 36.1: Follow-up Handling

historical

Little had Hal and his gang of former bandits known that there would be another wave of skeletons waiting for them as they rushed to the Town Hall.

That's right. While the former bandits were tangling with the large player group, the smaller group of players led by Unceasing Entropy had already made their way ahead of them.

Due to the light weight of the skeletons' bodies, once the players became accustomed to controlling them, they could easily become swift as the wind, with speeds no slower than professional powerhouses of this plane.

Originally, this mishmash group of players had only intended to take the opportunity to interact with the NPCs. But upon seeing the NPCs fleeing in a sorry state with chasing players shouting to take them down, it became obvious what the right course of action was. In an instant, they transitioned from lawful neutral to chaotic evil, eagerly grabbing their weapons and joining the fray.

If it wasn't for the fact that players from the larger pursuing group were indignant about "mobs being stolen" and attacked the mishmash players that were vying for equipment drops, sparking yet another internal conflict among the players, Hal and the others might not have been able to escape unscathed and made it safely into the building.

What followed was a chaotic battle that raged throughout the night, with both sides encircling the only earthen house in the town..

In theory, even if three hundred players came online in perfect formation and worked together to "subdue" these eighteen former bandits, it would be impossible to completely wipe them out. Players were all "empty characters" that hadn't yet changed jobs or had any skills or long-range attack capabilities.

If Hal and the others really wanted to escape the battlefield, players would actually have no way to stop them, especially considering that many players were already offline and less than half the total camped throughout the night.

However, the former bandits had no intention of fleeing in the first place. They didn't only intend to eliminate Yang Qiu but also desired to plunder a whole lot before leaving.

Upon discovering that Yang Qiu hadn't spent the night in the Town Hall, the former bandits were still unwilling to give up. They made several attempts to break the player group apart.. and were, unsurprisingly, dragged into a grueling war of attrition.

Would players be afraid of attrition?

Would players accept battle losses and move on?

Most certainly not.

Those that dropped equipment were monsters, and comrades that snatched equipment were all scum. Players wished to first clear the field of all competition before farming monsters in peace.

Therefore, the former bandits' attempt to ruthlessly slaughter a bunch of undead and scare off the rest was wishful thinking.

Furthermore, the players that were slain and kicked offline could come back after one hour (game time)..

And that was not to mention that the players were so crazy that they still only thought about snatching equipment even while being stuck down..

When Yang Qiu "logged in," not a single one of these eighteen former bandits had a complete set of equipment on them.

Hal Maxwell, who had the highest combat prowess of all the former Sacred Crows, only had half a suit of armor and a longsword in hand. His helmet and wrist guards had disappeared without a trace.

Tuttle Joe, the second strongest, had everything else snatched away except for his beloved longbow. Even his stylish earring had been lost somewhere.

Finley's belt and the dagger at his waist were nowhere to be found, so he had to tie his pants with a shoelace.

Jerome, who dressed like a tin can, seemed relatively intact, except that his hands were empty..

This group of former bandits who appeared as if they had been plundered, with their ashen, defeated faces, and doubt-filled eyes, were truly a heart-wrenching sight to behold.

Yang Qiu didn't know how to react after listening to Hal's tearful confession.

He didn't know whether to praise these former bandits for their courage and audacity or to pity them for their lack of foresight.

Without even the ability to create a quest panel, they dared to deceive and try to exploit the Fourth Crisis that even Yang Qiu himself handled with caution?!

Now, this bunch of walking natural disasters could obediently work and build houses without throwing cement blocks at one another or wasting "public resources" by piling up bricks in open spaces to express various memes.

All of this was because Yang Qiu had diligently maintained the in-game economic system and the ability to monetize copper coins, forcing the Fourth Crisis to kneel down and labor away earnestly!

To prevent these "advanced NPCs" from being killed by bored players committing senseless crimes, Yang Qiu had even gone as far as introducing the clause of "classes being unplayable if a certain NPC dies."

And yet, this bunch had willingly gone and put a loaded gun in the players' hands. How eager were they to die?!

Gamers killing their faction's leaders, chopping down sect leaders, annihilating all the NPCs of a whole town—such things were unheard of!

Yang Qiu reset his emotions and revealed a slight smile.

This benevolent smile.. sent a shiver down Hal's spine.

"I don't care about your betrayals," said Yang Qiu kindly. "From the beginning, I never expected to gain anyone's loyalty, be it from our undead friends or you all."

Hal suppressed his fear and mustered up the courage to speak, "Mr. Yang, w-we.. really can't accept coexisting with these evil creatures. I-if you don't mind—"

"I don't mind. Of course, I don't mind. You guys wish to leave, am I right? That isn't an excessive request. Our initial agreement didn't include forcing you guys to stay in Taranthan," Yang Qiu maintained his smile and replied.

Some life immediately returned into the eyes of this crestfallen bunch of former bandits as they sat up straight and looked toward Yang Qiu eagerly.

"Settle the bill, and you guys can leave." Yang Qiu nodded and took out a scroll.

"The bill?!" Hal was dumbfounded.

"That's right." Yang Qiu nodded again and said matter-of-factly, "When you guys worked for me, and for Taranthan, the supplies you received were naturally free. But since you guys no longer want to work, then paying up is a must. There's no such thing as a free lunch, after all. Do I have to be the one to teach you all that?"

The former bandits: ".. (° △°(° △° (° △° )"

Yang Qiu unfurled the scroll and calmly began making calculations. "Let's start with the cheapest consumables. Firstly, toilet paper. Even in the royal capital of the Rhine Kingdom, only the wealthy can afford such soft, flawless toilet paper that doesn't disintegrate. Of course, I won't charge the original price. Let's say it's one silver coin per roll.

"Next up are textiles. I won't count the towels, even though the ones I provide you guys are the sort that the noble class in the Rhine Kingdom uses, but there's no need for us to be so nitpicky. Let's just take into account blankets and finely woven undergarments..

"Shampoo, soap, shower gel, razors, and blades..

"As for instant noodles, I won't count the cost of the noodles themselves, just the spices inside..

"Bread can be considered a welfare gift, but the various tidbits have to be paid.."

Yang Qiu meticulously went through the accounts and then cheerfully handed the scroll to Hal. "Double-check if there are any mistakes or omissions, Hal. If everything is in order, settle the bill, and you guys can leave."

Hal plopped down on the ground.

Tuttle, Finley, and the others had frozen expressions on their faces.

Not even the sound of breathing could be heard from the eighteen of them, and the shouts and curses from the players outside seemed all the more shrill..

This world wasn't an ignorant and primitive world that had nothing. The Kenyan Empire's steam-powered oceanic ships traveled to places beyond the continent regularly, and in more densely populated areas, various airships could often be seen in the sky.

Firearms, wired telephones, industrial textile machinery, magic-power steam trains, steam cars, and other industrial or magic products weren't too rare in the major cities of the Rhine Kingdom.

This world had productivity, and a small minority could enjoy a level of modern convenience not inferior to that of Earth's early 20th century.

But just like how 99% of the Earth's population would only see new clothes during festive occasions before global factories sprouted in the East and flooded the international market dominated by old-fashioned capitalists, driving down prices of all mass-produced goods, for the vast majority of people in this otherworld, many everyday products were still considered luxury items despite the advent of industrial assembly lines.

A servant serving the nobles in the Rhine Kingdom's capital would require two months' worth of wages to purchase even the cheapest of pens.

A popular printed novel from the Kenyan Empire would require an ordinary worker to save up for a few months.

A nobleman in the countryside would have to make preparations six months in advance if he wanted to attend an important social event in the city, inclusive of ordering a decent set of formal attire, hiring presentable servants, arranging a carriage, or paying high fees to rent a sedan.

An elderly woman living in the Rhine Kingdom's capital who wanted to visit her daughter in another town would have to save up for a year in advance for travel expenses and gifts for her daughter.

The concept of productivity actually didn't benefit many if there wasn't a terrifying rate of globalization.

In the 21st century Earth, 70% of citizens of Thailand, which neighbored countries with global factories, could only afford small, individually packaged portions of shampoo. Moreover, the more fragrant the shampoo, the more popular it was, as these citizens considered hair scented after washing to be a matter of face and status.

Earth's beacon of civilization, which could provide a superior minimum standard of living for all citizens, was built on the basis of exploiting nations worldwide—just a look at their neighbor showed how much the latter was exploited.

Furthermore, as everyone knew, the main reason why long-established capitalist countries were willing to provide basic social welfare was summed up by Che Guevara's quote: "Because we have been there"..

In short, though Yang Qiu was seemingly stingy—only providing these former bandits with surplus goods from the supermarket, filling them up with expired bread, instant noodles, biscuits, snacks, starch, and sausages—calculating the cost of it all based on prices in this world would definitely be an unbearable burden for these bandits that had camped in the mountains for many years.

Hal didn't even dare take the scroll. After roughly estimating the living expenses they would have to fork out, he tearfully knelt down and said, "I'm sorry. Please allow us to continue working for you."

"Not leaving anymore?" Yang Qiu smiled.

"No." Hal shook his head firmly.

"And what about the rest of you? Not leaving either?" Yang Qiu asked the others kindly.

Tuttle, Finley, and the others had pale faces and shook their heads in unison, saying, "No. Not leaving."

"Alright." Yang Qiu calmly rolled up the scroll, still maintaining his warm and friendly smile. "I'm not an unreasonable person. In the future, if you guys want to leave, just tell me straight up without causing so much trouble."

"No, no, no! We never want to leave. We love Taranthan!" the former bandits expressed their unwavering determination.

"Don't rush into a decision. Think it over before making a stance. I will keep a good record of everything, so don't worry. What's forced is seldom enjoyed. Let's part on good terms if you guys ever want to." Yang Qiu chuckled.

"No, no, we really don't want to leave!" The former bandits were practically willing to dig out their hearts to prove it.

Yang Qiu simply smiled and nodded, choosing to believe these guys. He considered himself an easygoing person and wouldn't keep a close eye on them except for working hours. Regardless of how they might stir things up, he had prepared conditions these former bandits couldn't refuse.

With someone as principled and resolute as himself, he didn't fear being unable to find anyone to work for him!