Chapter 115: Chapter 115

“Newton must be rolling in his grave. You’re still talking about science? This is a miracle! Oh, great deity, thank you for your blessing...”

“You’re nuts, talking all mystical like that.”

“Where do you think this road leads?”

“I know, I know! The innkeeper has been packing up lately. I asked around, and he said the inn is moving. Guess where to?”

A short guy said excitedly."

"“Alright, alright, stop keeping us in suspense. Just tell us already!” someone urged impatiently.

The short boy, Shen Hao, cleared his throat. “Qingshan Village! That Qingshan Village that only charges a 5-copper entry fee!”

“What does that have to do with the stone road? He’s just an NPC, he can’t even leave the camp. How would he get to Qingshan Village, which is dozens of kilometers away?” someone questioned skeptically.

“Yeah, exactly! Are you trying to fool us with fake news again?”

“You’re just a high school kid who hasn’t even graduated yet. If you keep spouting nonsense, watch out or I’ll beat you up!” Niu Shun threatened, raising his fist.

“What’s wrong with not having graduated high school? Before the apocalypse, our top student was Mu Ying—the same Mu Ying who’s now number one on the level rankings!” Shen Hao snorted. “Believe it or not, I’ve already signed up to join his convoy to Qingshan Camp. When I move into Qingshan Territory, you guys can stay here and get pecked by blood crows every day!”

With that, Shen Hao stormed off in a huff.

“Wait, do you think he’s telling the truth?”

“We’ll just go ask and find out!”

...

Once inside the camp, Shen Hao’s face showed no trace of anger as he turned away from the crowd. Mission accomplished—he could go collect his payment from Boss Jiu San.

Five wooden carts were already parked outside the Copper Coin Inn, covered with thick tarps and loaded with bulging luggage.

Jiu San was busy organizing the last cart of goods.

Unlike before, when he could just move into the camp directly, this time there was no unified item transfer, and he didn’t have any storage equipment. He had to move house the old-fashioned way.

To make matters worse, this world had only recently been reset, so many things hadn’t developed yet—not even draft beasts to pull the carts.

He couldn’t bear to leave his belongings behind, either. After all, he’d need them to open shop in the new territory, and buying everything again would cost a fortune. The last fine had already hurt enough.

At times like this, he could only rely on the locals.

Sure enough, not long after Shen Hao returned, people started coming to ask questions.

Jiu San hired a few strong men at a low price to pull the carts by hand, letting them pile a small amount of luggage onto the wagons.

Aside from the cart-pullers, anyone else who wanted to join the convoy had to pay a few copper coins.

Maybe one or two people wouldn’t have the courage to migrate, but with dozens moving together, everyone felt braver. More and more people were tempted.

For just a few copper coins, they could reach a territory with lower fees. Plus, there were plenty of rumors on the forums about new developments in Qingshan Territory.

Word was, as long as you had some strength, you could make money just by mining stone over there. Outsiders envied that—unlike in Linglong Gorge, where you had to worry about blood crows every time you stepped outside.

Since it wasn’t far, they couldn’t let the opportunity pass.

After another day, the convoy had grown to over a hundred people, setting off in grand fashion down the newly appeared stone road.

Some who wanted to wait and see made arrangements with friends: once you get to the new territory, remember to post an update on the forum.

Jiu San, with the Qingshan Territory settlement agreement in his pocket, left the camp for the first time.

As he walked out, a few new lines appeared on the agreement:

[Settlement Destination: Qingshan Village]

[Migration Time Limit: 71:59:59]

[Migration Rules: No initiating attacks during the journey; you must reach your destination within the time limit, or the agreement will be voided; violation of either rule will result in erasure.]

The rules were strict—any violation meant erasure—but Jiu San wasn’t too worried.

He’d learned the distance from Mu Ying: just over fifty kilometers. If they hurried, they could make it in a day. With all their luggage, it might take until noon tomorrow at the latest. As long as they didn’t get sidetracked, they wouldn’t break the rules.

After the initial excitement of setting out, the journey became monotonous, and they could only pass the time by chatting.

Shen Hao sidled up to Jiu San, who was sitting on a cart, and asked gossipingly, “Boss Jiu San, you NPCs can leave the camp now? How come you never did before?”

“We really can’t leave the camp under normal circumstances. This time is special,” Jiu San replied mysteriously. He didn’t have much money left and didn’t dare say more for fear of another fine.

“Then why are you moving your shop? Is Qingshan Territory really that great?” Shen Hao pressed, shamelessly fishing for information.

Others perked up their ears to listen.

They wanted to go to Qingshan Territory because of all the news on the forums, but for an NPC like Jiu San to go to such lengths to move his shop—especially with all his preparations done as soon as the road appeared—he must know something.

Jiu San shot them a glare. “Well, you guys would rather live in tents than give my business a chance! If I can’t make money, of course I have to move!”

“...”

Everyone quietly patted their tents—their biggest possessions. In these tough times, having a tent for shelter was already pretty good. They were hoping to keep living in tents in the new camp, too.

“Boss Jiu San, I don’t know if I should say this,” Shen Hao said, frowning.

“You shouldn’t,” Jiu San said bluntly.

“Ahem, since you’re willing to listen, I’ll say it,” Shen Hao ignored the rejection. “Why do you insist on running an inn? Everyone’s so broke, if they could afford an inn, they’d just rent a house. I heard the treehouses in Qingshan Village can even change size. Even if you move, your business probably won’t get much better.”

“Can’t you say something more encouraging? Am I just looking at short-term profits here? I’m betting on Qingshan Territory’s future,” Jiu San said, sounding profound. “To tell you the truth, that road was built by Qingshan’s lord. If she can make one road, she can make two or three. If things go well, even long-distance teleportation arrays aren’t out of the question.”

“She?” Shen Hao caught the key detail.

NPCs all spoke the common tongue, which had different words for “he” and “she.”

“So the lord of Qingshan Territory is a woman?”

Everyone started discussing excitedly.

“And the top player on the rankings is a woman too, from Qingshan Village. I bet she’s the lord!”

“Yeah, I heard they don’t allow random logging over there. Aren’t druids all environmentalists?”

“Wasn’t that the one who could turn into a white wolf?”

“Right, Niu Shun even talked to her. That’s Mu Ying.”