Chapter 118: Chapter 118

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Maybe some people had bad intentions when they first heard the news, but Liu Luoluo’s words struck a chord.

Some remembered how, during the zombie siege, they made a fortune and survived that week of rain—all because Mu Ying led the zombies away.

Some remembered how, after the rain, they survived hunger thanks to the vegetables from the garden—vegetables Mu Ying had planted in the rain.

Some remembered the hemostatic powder they used for wounds—Mu Ying had shared that information for free, and the Mai Dong plants everywhere were planted by her.

She was also the one who dealt with the goblins that used to ambush people.

And when ghouls appeared, it was Mu Ying who warned everyone.

And the recent job openings—all thanks to her.

Mu Ying might be ruthless in battle and show no mercy to enemies, but she was definitely not a bad person. No one dared claim they could do better.

Even if someone schemed their way into the lord’s seat, they’d probably end up hated by everyone.

Not to mention, they couldn’t beat Mu Ying anyway. Just thinking of how she stabbed zombies in the head or shot through a ghoul’s tongue with a single arrow was enough to kill any ambition.

Besides, no one even knew how the lordship was obtained, or how to seize it.

Once they thought it through, any greedy thoughts were suppressed by reason, and they joined in the chanting.

And as they shouted, it actually felt pretty exhilarating—the excitement only grew."

"What the heck?

Mu Ying had just been tallying up her own hard skills, imagining how satisfying it would be to slap someone in the face with them if anyone tried to cause her trouble. But… this was it?

She didn’t know whether to be happy that she was actually pretty popular, or to mourn the fact that her fight scene had been cut off before it even started.

In the end, all she could do was lift her head, open her mouth, take a deep breath, and let out a resounding: “Awooo~”

She was really glad she’d already shifted into her wolf form—otherwise, trying to howl this loudly and cut through everyone’s noise would have been tough, not to mention a recipe for social death.

“Wow, the Lord’s wolf form is so cool!”

“She’s responding to us, right? That look in her eyes is perfect!”

“She must be touched—look how many of us are supporting her!”

…

Mu Ying herself had no idea what her howl was supposed to mean, and neither did the wolf pack.

This kind of long howl didn’t really mean anything in wolf language; usually, wolves only did it at the full moon, kind of like how humans shout into a valley to let off steam.

The wolf pack was familiar with this sort of thing, so they joined in right away.

The adult wolves: “Awooo!”

The wolf pups: “Awooo!”

The players fell silent for a moment, until someone tentatively let out a small, “Awoo?”

And then, all the players stopped pretending to be human and started howling like wolves, each trying to outdo the others in volume.

Mu Ying tilted her head in confusion. What was going on?

She watched, dazed, as everyone kept going with no sign of stopping.

Jiusan, who was howling enthusiastically among the players—Mu Ying really wanted to ask if he’d finished setting everything up before coming out to mess around.

And those shopkeepers up on the aerial walkways, cupping their hands around their mouths and joining in.

Even the little mushroomfolk were standing with hands on hips, mouths wide open in a silent howl. One of them even tossed a telepathic spore at Mu Ying, making her feel both physically and mentally attacked.

She spotted Shiban Shiyin, who had also shifted into wolf form and was howling with head held high. Mu Ying, exasperated, smacked him down with a paw.

You can’t even talk—what are you joining in for?

Shiban Shiyin rolled over, exposing his belly and looking at her expectantly.

I’m telling you to shut up, not to ask for belly rubs!

Mu Ying was on the verge of tears. She carefully retracted her claws and gave his belly a gentle scratch.

Everyone in the territory had gone crazy and there was nothing she could do about it. Their throats were beyond saving, but maybe her ears could still be rescued—so she decisively chose to teleport away.

Mu Ying lay listlessly on the grass in the plantation, absentmindedly poking Shiyin’s belly with her paw, reflecting on how things had ended up like this.

She was a perfectly respectable lord, and her territory had a fresh, natural vibe—so how had she ended up with such a bunch of goofball residents?

She conveniently forgot that she’d started the whole thing with the first howl, and finally decided to blame it on that player who’d let out the first little “awoo.”

A long time later, Yuan Gun Gun teleported into the plantation, tongue lolling.

Mu Ying shifted back to human form and conjured a big water ball with Water Creation for him to drink. “Your throat must be on fire! You’re a panda, why are you trying to howl like a wolf?”

“Gulp~ gulp~ gulp~”

Yuan Gun Gun drained three water balls, his belly swelling up.

“Ah~ ah~” He opened his mouth wide, pointing at his throat with a chubby paw, his voice hoarse.

Mu Ying: “…”

“You actually wrecked your voice?”

Gun Gun nodded.

Mu Ying cast Healing Word on him. “How’s that?”

“Ah, ah!”

Apparently, it didn’t help. Healing Word could restore HP, treat wounds, stop bleeding, and heal injuries, but hoarseness from overuse didn’t really count as an injury.

“Sigh!” Mu Ying grabbed a handful of the soft fur on his head and gave him a good rub, then went into the cabin to fetch a big basket and headed out to the mint field in the dark.

The mutated mint was ridiculously lush—each leaf was as big as two adult palms. The effects hadn’t changed, just gotten much stronger. It was the literal definition of “I got bigger, and stronger too.”

She’d originally planned to use it for tea, so she’d planted a lot.

She noticed the sugarcane was ripe as well.