Chapter 107: Chapter 107

Mu Ying cleared her throat. It wasn't often she met someone so easy to get talking. ""Where are you from originally?""

""Sand Wolf..."" 93 started, then suddenly froze. His player manual buzzed with an alert. He opened it and read:

[You have violated the Multiverse World Evolution Center's Primitive World Protection Ordinance. As this is your first offense and the circumstances are minor, you are hereby issued a warning...]

Mu Ying didn't know why 93 had suddenly stopped talking, but when she turned, she saw him holding something in both hands, looking miserable.

That posture—it looked like he was holding a book. ""Are you reading your player manual?""

93 stared at her in terror, clamping his mouth shut and shaking his head violently.

""Why do you look so scared?"" Mu Ying asked, puzzled.

93 held up two fingers. ""You're a native—I can't say! If I do, I'll get fined again.""

""Oh, I get it. You really do have player manuals, one for each of you?"" Mu Ying stroked her chin. ""But I figured that out myself, so that shouldn't count as a violation, right?""

93 checked his manual—sure enough, no new fines popped up. He let out a sigh of relief. ""Your room is right here. Here's your key, and you can keep the candlestick. I won't disturb your rest any further. Good night.""

With that, 93 turned and bolted.

""Thud, ouch!""

Mu Ying walked toward the stairs and, sure enough, saw 93 clutching his backside in pain—he must've fallen down the stairs.

""I'm a druid—let me heal you,"" she said, casting Healing Word on him. His injuries weren't serious; he would've recovered even without treatment.

""Sorry about earlier—I just wanted to see if I could get any information out of you,"" Mu Ying said, rubbing her nose sheepishly. ""Let me introduce myself properly: I'm Mu Ying, from Qingshan Territory. I know about your Copper Coin Trading Company's employee numbers because there's a Copper Coin Pawnshop in Qingshan, run by Copper Coin 559.""

""No, it's fine—it was my big mouth,"" 93 said, getting up. ""Wait, 559? That's a senior! What's he doing here? Oh, I get it—he must've come through shop recruitment. If a senior like him chose this place, it must have great development potential. Even if we have to pay taxes, there's hope for the future... Oh no, my money!""

[You have violated the Multiverse World Evolution Center's Primitive World Protection Ordinance. All shop earnings have been confiscated as a warning!]

Mu Ying: ...

Suddenly, she didn't feel guilty at all. 93 really did have a loose tongue."

"""All that work for nothing,"" Jiu San said, looking miserable.

It seemed a shame not to bring such a valuable shopkeeper over to their own territory—after all, you could get a lot of free information that way. Mu Ying’s eyes lit up as she had an idea. ""Can your shop move? Qingshan Territory doesn’t have an inn yet.""

""The shopkeeper can’t leave the territory right now, unless there’s a settlement agreement with another territory’s lord. So moving is out of the question,"" Jiu San sighed.

""Is this the settlement agreement you’re talking about?"" Mu Ying pulled out a piece of paper from her territory interface. She remembered having to sign something similar when recruiting shops before.

""Huh?"" Jiu San was momentarily stunned. He took the paper and read it blankly. Sure enough, it was a genuine settlement agreement, issued by the World Evolution Center, complete with anti-forgery markings. It couldn’t have been more authentic.

He clutched the paper tightly. ""You—you—you’re the lord? The lord of Qingshan Territory?""

Mu Ying nodded. ""Want to come? I’m planning to draw everyone from this camp over to my territory. If that happens, you probably won’t have any customers left here.""

""I’ll go, I’ll go! Is Senior 559 really at your place?"" Jiu San seemed almost unable to believe it and asked again.

""Yes,"" Mu Ying replied confidently. ""But I’m planning to open a road between the two camps, and that’ll take some time. If you want to come over, you might have to wait a bit.""

""No problem. I need to make some more money here anyway, otherwise I’ll barely be able to pay rent and taxes when I move."" Camps like this one, without a lord, usually have poor prospects and can’t be upgraded. They typically end up declining and disappearing. The only good thing is there are no taxes and shop space is free—anyone willing to come can make pure profit, though not much.

""Alright, it’s settled then. I’ll head back to my room. Here’s the candlestick—you can have it, I don’t need it,"" Mu Ying said cheerfully as she headed upstairs.

This trip was definitely worth it. The inn was secondary—she could always recruit shops later to achieve her goal. The real gain was bringing back a loose-lipped shopkeeper; who knew what secrets he might accidentally blurt out someday.

Just from chatting for a few minutes tonight, Mu Ying had learned a lot.

Especially about the ""Evolution Center""—the mushroom elder had mentioned it before, but not in as much detail as Jiu San.

It seemed these outsider NPCs were all under the control of the World Evolution Center, with many restrictions. Maybe the apocalypse game was related to this organization, too.

NPC was just what the people of Deep Blue Star called these outsiders. By now, no one really thought of them as mere lines of code anymore.

Mu Ying was now even more convinced that they were simply people from outside Deep Blue Star—maybe even from the same origin as those monsters that fell from the sky, just on a different side.

Calling them ""aliens"" was probably more accurate than ""NPCs.""

The small suite really was tiny. As soon as you entered, there was a little living room with a table, then a small bedroom and a washroom.

The room was clean and all the furnishings were brand new—probably no one had ever stayed here before. It looked like the inn’s business wasn’t great.

After looking around, Mu Ying got ready to rest.

The next morning, she was woken by the noise outside her window. Staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, she was dazed for a moment before remembering she wasn’t at home. She got up and opened the window.

The window offered a wide view of the main square, which was packed with tents—probably people who couldn’t afford rent or were reluctant to pay for the inn.

Unlike the quiet last night, the square was now bustling with life. Many people were cooking over open fires.

People came and went, full of energy—a stark contrast to the atmosphere in Qingshan Territory.

Mu Ying stood by the window for a long time, estimating that there must be nearly a thousand people in Spirit Dragon Gorge Camp. All of them were resources, after all.

The smell of toasted bread and roasting meat wafted over from somewhere, making her stomach rumble with hunger.

Leaving the inn, she spotted a small bakery next door. The storefront was much smaller than the inn’s, and a few people were lined up outside.

Mu Ying joined the end of the line, craning her neck to see what the person at the front was buying. ""Isn’t that a hamburger?""

The girl in front of her overheard and turned around. ""It is a hamburger! I heard someone made a lot of money selling the recipe before... Which shop are you an NPC from? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.""

Mu Ying shook her head. ""I’m not an NPC, or a shopkeeper. Oh, and I’m not a foreigner either."" She figured the girl hadn’t seen her arrive last night.

""Oh, sorry,"" the girl blushed in embarrassment.

It was her turn to order, but she was still distracted. Mu Ying reminded her, ""It’s your turn.""

""Oh, right, thanks!"" The girl snapped back to reality, handed her pre-counted coins to the shopkeeper, and left with her hamburger.

Mu Ying took the chance to check out the menu and prices posted outside the shop.

The bread was similar to what Marlin’s bakery sold, but the hamburgers and sandwiches at the top were a little different.

""I’ll have a pork chop burger and a ham sandwich, both with egg,"" Mu Ying said.

""Coming right up,"" the shopkeeper replied, glancing at her as his hands moved quickly. He took a round bun, sliced it open, placed it on a sheet of wax paper, added a fried egg, two lettuce leaves, and a steaming pork chop with sauce, then topped it with the other half of the bun and wrapped it up.

The ham sandwich was three slices of toast with two slices of ham, some greens, and a fried egg, all wrapped tightly in wax paper.

Mu Ying handed over seven copper coins and took her two still-warm packages.