Chapter 84: Temporary Entry Pass

“What, three hundred—”

Ten people stared in shock, their mouths so wide it looked like they could swallow a sandbag-sized fist.

A burly man next to Lai San shrank his neck and sniffled pitifully. “But I don’t have three hundred energy coins.”

Yun Qimu’s smile instantly vanished, her gaze turning sinister as she looked at him. “Oh, you don’t? Well, that’s too bad. I absolutely hate freeloaders, so I’ll just have to keep you here as a slave.”

The three space pirates who’d been captured yesterday suddenly perked up, their eyes lighting up. “Wait, does that mean if we pay three hundred energy coins, we can leave? I have it, I have it! I’ll pay!”

Yun Qimu turned to them, shaking her head disapprovingly. “No, no, no. You three are different from today’s ten guests. Only they get the special offer: pay three hundred energy coins, tour Earth Village for five days, and then leave safely. You were captured by me, so all your belongings are already mine. This offer doesn’t apply to you. You’d better settle in and get used to being slaves.”

Then she looked back, her low laugh turning devilish. “But you did remind me—I haven’t confiscated my property yet. Pei Yu, do me a favor and search them.”

Pei Yu, who’d been watching the show, pointed at his own nose to confirm she meant him. When he saw Yun Qimu nod, his peach blossom eyes lit up, and he happily agreed to help with the search.

Heh, this was just the kind of job he liked.

The three space pirates stared wide-eyed, looking at the “bully” approaching them like terrified maidens, shaking their heads in horror.

As their money pouches were snatched away, the three burly men’s eyes instantly reddened, and they let out a wail like wronged brides who’d lost their virtue.

“Hahaha! These three fat sheep have pretty hefty wallets.”

Pei Yu showed no sympathy at all, weighing the three pouches he’d taken from them. The clinking of energy coins inside made his twisted grin stretch even wider.

Ah, the sound of energy coins—music to his ears!

Wu Xingyu watched him with dark, disdainful eyes.

Working for free and still so happy about it? What an idiot.

After being forced to witness this “bully threatening innocent maidens” scene, Lai San met Yun Qimu’s sinister gaze and shivered all over. He hurriedly shouted, “Wait, wait! I have it, I definitely have three hundred energy coins! Let me find them, I’ll look right now!”

He jumped up on the spot, but with his hands tied and his stash hidden in a tricky spot, he had to twist and contort himself, trying all sorts of awkward poses to get his bound hands near his hiding place.

He stuck out his butt, wiggled his hips, and made the most ridiculous faces. His “dance moves” were so eye-searing that even Yun Qimu couldn’t bear to watch.

In the end, she had to order someone to untie him so he could move freely.

Lai San, moved nearly to tears, worked his freed hands, undid his clothes, pulled out hidden pockets, took off his stinky shoes, and fished out energy coins from every nook and cranny on his body.

Piece by piece, he finally managed to scrape together three hundred energy coins.

The onlookers stared wide-eyed: Wow, this guy’s a real master at hiding money. He’s the type who’ll still have secret savings after he gets married.

Yun Qimu gave this first “tourist” an approving look and suggested he wash the coins in the snow before handing them over.

Lai San didn’t protest. He obediently buried the coins in the snow and scrubbed them clean, then carefully dried them before handing them to Yun Qimu. His fawning, sycophantic performance was spot-on, so much so that Jason, another space pirate who’d also managed to pay up, looked on in disgust.

The others finally snapped out of their daze and frantically searched themselves for enough “ransom” coins.

After this round of payments, Yun Qimu happily gained five new slaves and eight legitimate tourists. All in all, not a bad result.

She sent the five new slaves to join the others for some “bonding” and hard labor. As for the eight who’d earned tourist status, she had the main system issue them temporary entry passes.

With these passes, tourists could enjoy the same loot drops from monsters and the right to gather wild plants as Earth Village residents. Of course, the prices for potions at the pharmacy and workshop would be doubled for them.

And when the five-day tour ended, they weren’t allowed to take anything they’d collected in Earth Village with them. If they really wanted something, that was fine—Earth Village was reasonable. As long as they could pay the sky-high price set by the stingy main system, they could take it out. Anything else had to be left behind at the gate.

All in all, the tourists were basically free labor.

Naturally, Yun Qimu didn’t bother to explain the fine print about the entry passes. She only mentioned the two perks that made them equal to official villagers.

The eight tourists were overjoyed, jumping up and down in excitement.

Just a moment ago they were prisoners, and now they’d become honored guests—their status had skyrocketed!

Yep, this just goes to show the importance of having money in your pocket.

Lai San, having narrowly escaped disaster, clenched his fists and swore that once he left Earth Village safely, he’d go back and thoroughly search the trash heaps—he’d never complain about the smell again.

“Village Chief Yun, can we really wander around Earth Village freely?” he asked, hesitating for a moment as Yun Qimu smiled at him.

“Of course. You’ve paid the tour fee, so you’re now official tourists of Earth Village. We never mistreat our guests. You can go anywhere inside, but keep in mind, there are surveillance cameras everywhere. Don’t do anything bad, or you’ll find out what it’s like to go from tourist to slave.”

Gulp. Lai San swallowed hard, trembling as he repeatedly promised he’d never do anything wrong.

The other tourists nodded along, though a few had a look of disdain in their eyes, clearly not taking the threat seriously.

After giving her warning, Yun Qimu shrugged and left to discuss the next steps with the Tengu Tribe.

The eight new tourists looked at each other, no one daring to make the first move.

“Hello! Do you want to buy a down jacket? I have some here—only three thousand energy coins each!”

Suddenly, a sweet, childish voice piped up from below.

Looking down, they saw a little girl with two pigtails, bundled up in a pink cotton jacket, standing in front of them.

She tilted her head up, blinking her big, watery eyes at them, and held up three chubby fingers, gesturing cutely.

Ah, I don’t feel so good lately. I’ve been feeling weak, heavy-headed, and swollen all over since this morning. My brain feels foggy and I keep seeing stars.

So today, after working all day, I only managed to write two chapters. Sigh, I’m not feeling great, and I might have to adjust my update schedule for a bit.

Once my mom has some free time, I’ll ask her to take me to the doctor, get some herbal medicine, and see if I can recover.

But don’t worry, I won’t stop updating completely. I can promise at least two chapters a day.

Just letting everyone know in advance—please forgive me, sisters."