Chapter 25: You Have to Give to Receive

[No, at most I can only reward you with two log cabins.]

The mainframe’s mechanical voice was stern, taking on a meticulous, no-nonsense tone as it bargained.

Yun Qimu immediately dropped her “everyone’s happy” smile and put on the shrewd look of a seasoned merchant, protesting, “What’s this about, little buddy? You of all people should know that you only get returns if you’re willing to invest. If you’re this stingy, how am I supposed to rack my brains to come up with such great ideas for you in the future? This is all for the grand cause of building our beautiful Earth Village! You can’t afford to be so petty.”

“And besides, when you issued the last mandatory mission, you only mentioned punishments, not rewards. This kind of one-sided tyranny never lasts. Take King Zhou, for example—he was so harsh with punishments that the people were full of resentment, capable officials either died or were crippled, and some even defected to the enemy. And what happened in the end?”

“He lost his kingdom.”

“He was replaced by a benevolent ruler who established a new dynasty.”

“So, the moral of the story is that we should be kind and fair, and know when to punish and when to reward. You have to give something up to gain something in return. After hearing this historical lesson, don’t you think you should learn from this negative example?”

Mainframe: [Yes, yes, I should learn from it.]

A glimmer of light flashed in Yun Qimu’s dark eyes as she tapped her finger lightly against the handle of her axe, the smile at her lips spreading.

“So, do you still think it’s too much to reward one pharmacy workshop and two log cabins? These are essential for boosting morale and happiness among the people, and for building our beautiful Earth Village. You have to realize that your investment now will bring you even greater returns from the future residents of Earth Village.”

[I still think…it’s too much.]

The mainframe, momentarily dazed by all the lofty talk and flattery, finally snapped back to its inherently stingy nature and immediately objected in a loud, serious tone.

Good grief, not only does this host have a thick skin, she’s a master at persuasion. It had nearly fallen into her trap.

It wiped away its nonexistent cold sweat, secretly relieved.

Yun Qimu, meanwhile, pressed her somewhat pale lips together in disappointment—she’d almost succeeded.

Still, after a fierce round of bargaining, Yun Qimu managed to squeeze out a pharmacy workshop and a log cabin from the mainframe as dual rewards: one for completing the mandatory mission, and one for proposing the “labor reform” system.

The mainframe, once again taken for a ride, felt its mechanical heart ache as it could only turn its attention to the eighteen new residents with a metaphorical knife.

Thus, Haru, who was ready to work like a horse, the now-sober Zack, and the cunning, frustrated Skinny—all star pirates—had just been filled with curiosity, excitement, and longing for this “Build Earth Village” game. But in the next moment, disaster struck.

[Ding-dong—Due to detection that new Earth Village residents Haru, Zack, Monkey Qi, and others have maliciously attacked Earth Village and committed numerous crimes, this game has urgently established a punishment system.]

[Ding-dong—Attention all residents of Earth Village, attention all residents: from this moment, a punishment system will be implemented.]

[There are two types of punishment, depending on the severity of the crime. One: Labor Reform—for minor offenses like theft, fraud, or robbery, offenders will undergo labor reform for a period determined by the system based on the severity of the crime. The lighter the offense, the shorter the time; the more serious, the longer.

Two: Slavery—for serious crimes such as murder or inciting chaos and division in Earth Village, offenders will be stripped of their freedom, fitted with a power-restriction collar, and become slaves of Earth Village. Ownership of slaves belongs to the game, but villagers are free to hire them.

Final reminder: the game reserves the right of final interpretation of the punishment system. Objections are invalid. All residents are encouraged to uphold the virtues of self-improvement, hard work, monster-slaying, and getting rich quickly. Be a good resident of Earth Village.]

[Ding-dong—Repeating: attention all residents of Earth Village, attention all residents.]

After three village-wide broadcasts, a flash of light appeared around the necks of Haru and the others, and they were all fitted with black power-restriction collars, instantly demoted from official residents to slaves deprived of their freedom.

Yun Qimu, her little brother, and the Tang father and son all examined the black collars with interest, clearly amused by the sight.

Seeing that the bleeding on pirate leader Zack’s shoulder had stopped, and that he was now baring his teeth trying to tear off the collar, Yun Qimu raised an eyebrow and smiled. Then, exercising her newly acquired village chief privilege (which she’d just wrangled from the mainframe), she issued an order: “Since the slaves are idle, go dig through the trash heap and bring back as much wood or other useful stuff as you can.”

Zack froze, staring at her in disbelief, veins bulging on his forehead as he roared, “Are you kidding me? I’m the mighty leader of the Black Skull pirates—how can I go rummaging through trash? This is a damned insult!”

Yun Qimu’s eyes curved with a smile as she looked at him. “But right now, you’re just a slave in our village. Follow orders. Now. Immediately. Go dig through the trash heap.”

“No—” Zack had barely gotten the word out when the power-restriction collar crackled with electricity, making his hair stand on end and his body convulse like he was having a seizure.

The surrounding star pirates and Haru recoiled in shock, hastily stepping back, faces full of terror as they watched Zack nearly get fried.

Even from a distance, they could smell the scent of burning.

The electric shock lasted a full minute. When it finally stopped, Zack collapsed face-down on the ground, eyes rolled back, limbs twitching uncontrollably.

Yun Qimu glanced at him nonchalantly, then looked up at the rest of the star pirates, her eyes still smiling. “So, are you going to dig or not?”

“We’ll dig, we’ll dig!”

The group trembled, all pride and backbone gone, nodding frantically for fear they’d be next.

“Then get to it.”

They immediately took off like the wind, even showing some camaraderie by dragging the limp Zack along with them.

“Wow, sis, you’re amazing!”

“How does this slave hiring thing work?”

The little ones and the Tang father and son crowded around, full of curiosity.

Yun Qimu smiled and replied, “Hiring a slave costs one spirit coin per day.”

Old Tang immediately shut his mouth, abandoning any thought of hiring help. Tsk, he was just a poor old man—he couldn’t afford a slave.

Yun Qimu noticed his embarrassment and kindly offered a suggestion, “Uncle Tang, if you want to save up for potions, you can go hunt berserk beasts. The system will buy any corpses you bring back, whether human or beast, and exchange them for spirit coins.

Of course, you can also go monster hunting—like those Huji chickens you saw earlier. They’re low-level monsters that come with the game, and you’ll be able to tell them apart from berserk beasts once you see them.

Defeating them drops treasure chests, but whether you get spirit coins, potions, or other rewards all depends on your luck.”

With this guidance, Old Tang and Tang En’s eyes lit up, full of gratitude.

Yun Qimu smiled and said, “You’re welcome. After all, you have to fatten the sheep before you shear them properly.”"