Chapter 82: A Little Bit Impressed

“The sun’s about to set, everyone get ready. Put on the thick clothes you brought, watch out for the temperature drop, and remember—keeping warm starts with me. We’re heading into the village.”

Under the signpost, Yun Qimu clapped her hands, calling out to the group—faces flushed, hearts pounding, all eager to get inside and cool off.

She raised her voice again, “The fifty people who got hired, come over here to pick up your free winter coats!”

“What, there’s a perk like that?” Meifang, always quick-eared, caught it instantly. Delighted, she grabbed her son and made to run over to Yun Qimu.

But Harvey’s face turned awkward. For the first time, he didn’t go along with his mother. It was as if his feet were rooted to the ground. He muttered, “I—I didn’t join the work crew, Mom. You and Dad go ahead.”

Meifang thought about it and realized he was right. She didn’t notice her son’s sour expression and happily went off to find her husband.

“Cook, come on, let’s go line up.”

One by one, the fifty people collected the fifty brightly colored, eye-searing, bulky winter coats Yun Qimu had drawn from her treasure chests. In her eyes, they were ugly, cheap, and took up too much space.

But to the Tengu tribe, these fifty coats were as precious as the most beautiful woman or a gold mine in the desert.

Those who didn’t get one were green with envy, shooting looks of jealousy and longing at the lucky fifty.

Such nice, brand-new winter coats, just given away for free—Chief Yun is really generous!

Yun Qimu, who had unknowingly won herself another wave of popularity, didn’t think much of it. She led the group, directing them to line up and enter the village in an orderly fashion.

As she watched their faces change color, she knew the game login had begun. The new residents of Earth Village were about to be officially registered.

[Ding-dong—Congratulations, player XXX has joined Earth Village.]

[Ding-dong—Congratulations, player XXX has joined Earth Village.]

[Ding-dong—Congratulations, player XXX has joined Earth Village.]

This mass entry triggered a village-wide broadcast that lasted nearly five minutes, drawing all the villagers out of their homes.

Under a rickety shed, Yun Xiaoyu’s eyes lit up. “Dai Mu is back!”

He dropped the spoon he was using to stir the fish soup, put the lid on the pot, grabbed his dad, and dashed outside.

He ran right into Old Tang from next door.

“Hey, off to welcome your sister?” Old Tang steadied Yun Xiaoyu, set him upright, and teased him with a smile.

Ever since he’d taken the Brightness Potion, Old Tang seemed to have come back to life. He’d even shaved off his scruffy beard, revealing a clean, handsome face that looked a lot like Tang En’s—only more mature and manly.

His smile could charm a whole crowd of young ladies. He didn’t look a day over two hundred, and was nothing like the messy old man he’d been when he first arrived.

Yun Xiaoyu huffed and turned away, his ears turning red. “I’m not! I’m just going to see the excitement.”

“Oh, just to watch the fun? Then Uncle will go with you.”

Old Tang chuckled, pinched Yun Xiaoyu’s cheek, and only withdrew his hand when Xiaoyu glared at him fiercely.

Tang En grumbled from behind, “Stupid old man, always picking on kids.”

Old Tang was indignant. “Brat, can’t you see your old man’s looking dashing now? Stop calling me ‘old man’ all the time—you’ll make me feel old.”

“You are old. What, afraid I’ll say it? I’ll call you ‘old man’—come hit me if you dare.”

“Oh, you think I won’t? Just you wait!”

With a smack, a snowball landed right on Old Tang’s handsome face, making his features twist and ruining his dashing image.

Old Tang was furious. He took a deep breath and roared, “You little brat, just you wait—I’ll pelt you!”

He crouched down, grabbed a handful of snow, and formed a snowball to throw at Tang En.

“Hahaha, you can’t hit me! My turn!”

“Stand still—I’ll cover your face with snow this time!”

“You think I’m stupid? I’m not standing still just because you say so.”

The father and son started a childish snowball fight. Yun Xiaoyu felt out of place among these two overgrown kids, so he grabbed his dad and slipped away from their line of fire.

At the village entrance—

The stingy mainframe didn’t give the new villagers any welcome packs, but the Tengu tribe was still overwhelmed with excitement.

They now had storage slots—basically, space pouches!

To them, this was a legendary, priceless treasure. And just by joining the village, every single one of them got one?

They were so thrilled, it felt like walking on clouds.

Once again, they thought coming to Earth Village was the best decision ever. The storage slot alone was worth the trip.

Some of the illiterate ones were even more shocked—my goodness, they could suddenly understand the words on the interface!

What kind of magical village was this? Heaven couldn’t be better.

From the Tengu chief down to the children, everyone was satisfied.

A few clever ones even scrambled up the cinnamomum fruit trees at the entrance to grab some fruit and fill their stomachs.

They’d been eyeing those ever since they tasted the cinnamomum gummies.

Yun Qimu stood by and didn’t stop them, letting them climb and shout in excitement.

Now, except for a few star pirates who still needed to fill their bellies, the rest of the villagers weren’t interested in the fruit anymore. With fragrant fish to eat, who cared about those sickly sweet fruits?

Wu Xingyu stood beside her, face expressionless. Suddenly, he tilted his head and asked in a flat tone, “What about those little bugs outside? Do you want me to squash them? I only charge three spirit coins.”

Yun Qimu’s lips curled up as she raised an eyebrow and glanced toward the edge of Earth Village. She smiled, “No need. I’ll personally invite them in for a tour—three hundred energy coins per person.”

Wu Xingyu: …

He glanced deeply at the sweet smile on her lips.

Why did he feel a little bit impressed?

He watched as Yun Qimu strolled outside. A few minutes later, she came back, dragging a neat row of “tourists” tied up with rope.

There were exactly ten of them, all with wide, terrified eyes, shivering on their knees in the icy snow—whether from fear or from the cold, it was hard to say.

Well then, good night, good night! And thank you to all the ladies for your votes and tips—love you all~"

"**Chapter 83: The Invisible Spy**

Lai San was a warrior of the Black Bear Tribe—big, strong, fearless in a fight, and, as it happened, a B-rank invisibility ability user.

Unfortunately, his honest, simple looks had always worked against him. Back in the tribe, everyone saw him as a hardworking, reliable, and rather dull guy. And since his invisibility wasn’t much use for hunting, he was always assigned the heavy, thankless jobs—cleaning up battlefields, picking up trash. For a man with the heart of a tiger, it was stifling beyond words.

So, Lai San taught himself the fine art of flattery. He’d been trying it out on Chief Blackbeard these past few days, and the results were excellent.

If there were a machine that could measure favorability, you’d see Blackbeard’s affection for him ticking up: +1, +1, +1...

Last night, Wang Da, Blackbeard’s right-hand man, messed up. He’d sent that coward Da Xiong and the kid Xiao Liu to scout the Tengu Tribe, but they came back a mess—one kept screaming about ghosts, the big guy was scared out of his wits, and the other was gnawing on a filthy chicken bone, even asking the chief if he wanted a bite. Blackbeard was furious.

Wang Da got a tongue-lashing, and his position as the chief’s favorite was suddenly shaky.

Lai San knew his chance had come.

This morning, the Tengu Tribe was relocating en masse—such a commotion, of course the Black Bear Tribe noticed.

Blackbeard wanted to send someone to investigate, and Lai San immediately volunteered.

Say what you will, but his invisibility was perfect for gathering intel. He’d already pictured it: once he brought back big news, Blackbeard would reward him handsomely. He’d seize the moment to lay on more flattery, replace Wang Da as the chief’s top favorite, and never have to worry about nutrient solutions or pretty women again.

What he didn’t expect was that, after sneaking along behind the Tengu Tribe’s convoy, he’d run into several “colleagues” with the same idea.

Not only were there people sent by Mu Tong, the Black Skull Tribe’s second-in-command, but also scouts from several other tribes.

As the Tengu Tribe moved farther and farther away, even passing through several berserk beast zones, Lai San started to have second thoughts. Was it worth risking his life?

But seeing the other scouts pressing on, and thinking of Blackbeard’s rewards, he gritted his teeth and followed.

The “colleagues” were just as competitive—nervous but determined, none of them dropped out.

They trailed the Tengu Tribe all the way to Earth Village—a world of ice and snow, utterly unlike the Exile Star.

The row of giant, blood-red trees pulsing at the village’s edge nearly scared him out of his wits, but the allure of the icy world inside was irresistible.

All he could think was: This is huge news! News that could shake the whole Exile Star! Once he brought this back, Blackbeard would reward him for sure. Maybe he’d even get in good with Blackbeard’s mysterious backer, rumored to be a big shot from Chaos City.

The nutrient solutions Blackbeard brought back for the tribe were all gifts from that person.

Thinking of this, Lai San couldn’t help but grin lecherously, already picturing a future surrounded by beauties, tossing aside bottles of nutrient solution after a single sip—a life at the very top.

He was just about to sneak in for more intel and leverage when someone came out from inside.

It was the beautiful noblewoman who led the Tengu Tribe’s move—Village Chief Yun.

Lai San was fantasizing that maybe his future beauty would be just as stunning, when the gorgeous woman at the village gate suddenly bared her fangs.

In a flash, she dashed forward and slapped one of the star pirates flat on the ground. Then, with a flying kick, she sent a Red Fox Tribe scout to his knees, clutching his stomach. Next, she punched a guy twice her size, dropping him like a sack of potatoes—Lai San nearly had a heart attack.

His pupils shrank in terror, and his foot, just about to cross the village boundary, wobbled dangerously.

With a loud bang, the violent beauty kicked another person over, planted her foot on his back, and turned her gaze on Lai San, pinning him in place with her eyes.

Lai San’s hair stood on end. He knew he was done for—his invisibility was useless now. What was he waiting for? Run!

But no matter how fast he was, he couldn’t outrun the violent beauty. In a blink, she blocked his path, her dainty fist landing squarely on his nose.

He howled in pain—his once-handsome nose was now flattened.

Next thing he knew, his hands were tied, and he was dragged into the strange, snowy world along with the other “colleagues,” dumped together with three unlucky star pirates who’d been caught earlier, all of them shivering.

And that was how Lai San, the “invisible spy,” got caught—from start to finish.

“Welcome, dear guests, to Earth Village,” the violent beauty said, her long, shapely legs planted in the snow, her stunning face wreathed in a smile as she looked down at them.

Right now, her smile seemed warm and friendly.

But Lai San, who’d seen her take down grown men with a single punch, clutched his aching nose and found the smile terrifying. Instinctively, he shrank back into the group.

Ugh... From now on, he’d have a phobia of beautiful women.

Yun Qimu’s eyes flashed as she kept up her fake smile, her dark, dazzling gaze sweeping over them. She asked kindly, “Are you all afraid of me?”

“No, no!”

“Not at all, not at all!”

Lai San and the others, plus the star pirates who’d already been roughed up, all shrank their necks like frightened kittens, shaking their heads vigorously.

“A beautiful lady like you—how could we possibly be afraid?” Lai San mustered all his years of flattery and forced a stiff smile.

Yun Qimu’s smiling eyes landed on him. “You have a good eye, friend.”

She scanned the thirteen captives, focusing on the ten new “guests.”

She smiled. “Hello, I’m Yun Qimu, chief of Earth Village. Welcome, everyone. I’m sure you all know the first requirement for joining our Earth Village tour group, right?”

“That’s right—it’s energy coins. Now that you’re here, you’re not thinking of freeloading, are you?”

The ten newcomers, completely bewildered, shook their heads instinctively. “No, no, we’ll pay, we’ll pay!”

Lai San, knowing about the Earth Village tour group recruitment plan, immediately fished out three precious energy coins and handed them over with a pained expression. “Here, the tour fee.”

Yun Qimu gave him an approving look, then shook her head with a smile. “Dear, that was yesterday’s price. Today’s tour fee is three hundred energy coins.”"