Chapter 77: Chapter 77

Ever since the restaurant moved in, she hadn't recruited any new shops for a long time. That was because the population of her territory had stabilized and couldn't meet the recruitment requirements for other types of shops. The only options left were shops similar to the ones she already had.

Even for those similar shops, she couldn't recruit a second one until the population reached a certain threshold—after all, she couldn't let new businesses come in just to lose money.

""[Residents: 2521]""

Sure enough, the population had more than doubled. The dungeon was also counted as part of her territory, but since it was underground and hadn't fully merged with the main world, the territory's area hadn't changed much.

Of these 2,500-plus residents, more than half were mushroom folk.

She opened the shop recruitment page and found that two new types of shops were now available: a clinic and a pawnshop.

She selected both and recruited them immediately.

[Maria Clinic: Owner is a level 5 priest, specializes in treating injuries and detoxification. Requires territory population ≥ 2000.]

[Bronze Coin Pawnshop: Buys anything of value at fair prices. Multi-world chain with a good reputation. Requires territory population ≥ 2000.]

After reviewing so many shop descriptions, Mu Ying had a rough idea: most shops named after their owners were privately run, while those starting with ""Bronze Coin"" were a chain under a large trading company—she'd seen all kinds of them before.

She placed the two new shops in the treehouses she had reserved near the shop street. They should be open for business by tomorrow morning.

Even though a priest skilled in detoxification would be arriving in her territory the next day, Mu Ying still chose to burn the midnight oil, studying ""Protection from Poison"" late into the night.

After all, relying on others was never as good as being able to do it herself. Besides, once she entered the trial world, she'd have three days to rest and recover her energy.

The next day, those planning to scout out the ghouls discovered the two newly opened shops—just in time, like rain after a drought.

Both shops had chosen to customize the appearance of their treehouses.

Maria Clinic was the most eye-catching. Even when other shops adjusted their appearance and structure, they still generally followed the territory’s architectural style—mainly natural wood colors and structures, with a strong natural vibe.

But Maria Clinic was a white, two-story wooden building—square and unusually neat.

A glance down shop street would always be drawn to this little white building, only to have their eyes dazzled by the giant bronze coin sign next door at the pawnshop.

Even the other shop owners couldn’t help but gather around to gawk at these two shops with their distinctive appearances.

A group of players bustled into the clinic, but under the stern gaze of the owner, Maria, they unconsciously quieted down.

""Welcome to Maria Clinic. I’m the owner—just call me Maria,"" she said, standing up and giving a strange salute. ""Come in and have a seat.""

Her voice was calm and completely even as she greeted everyone.

Many people felt as if they were back in school, facing the dean of discipline—every wrinkle on her face seemed to radiate authority.

Hearing her invitation, their bodies instinctively moved forward, even as their minds wanted to retreat. They obediently entered the clinic, sat in a row on the benches, and accepted the herbal tea Maria brewed for them.

The clinic was sparsely furnished, and the interior was as spotless and white as the exterior.

When Maria used magic to clean the dust they’d brought in—and even helped remove the dirt from their bodies, her brow tightly furrowed—the players grew even more uneasy.

Maria sat across from the players, a heavy silence between them. She sipped her tea unhurriedly for a while before finally speaking: ""Do you have any business here?""

""...""

""No, no, we’ll just—(leave)!"" one player blurted out, unable to bear the tension any longer.

Before he could finish, his companion gave him a smack.

Luckily, someone remembered why they’d come.

""There are ghouls appearing around the territory. Their smell and tongues are poisonous. We wanted to ask if you have any way to counteract it—we’ll pay!""

Maria’s expression grew even more severe, as if she’d heard something disgusting.

""Just get a piece of wet cloth and cover your mouth and nose. That’ll protect you from the ghoul’s poisonous gas. As for the poison on their tongues, I don’t have any preventative measures for now, but it’s not fatal—the numbness will wear off naturally after a few hours. Of course, if you get paralyzed, you can come here and I can help you recover faster. Since you’re dealing with such evil and disgusting creatures, I won’t charge you.""

Having gotten the information they wanted, everyone gratefully ""escaped"" from the clinic.

""Whew! The dean may be strict, but she’s generous—we got a free tip!""

""Still, if I get paralyzed, I’d rather just tough it out for a while. I can survive.""

The others nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, those who’d gone to check out the Bronze Coin Pawnshop had also returned. The owner was a stocky, broad-shouldered man who went by his employee number: Bronze 559.

He was a true businessman, and the players got some good news from him as well.

The pawnshop bought all kinds of things—even items that other shops didn’t need could fetch a decent price here, though for items in demand elsewhere, the buyback price was about 10% lower.

Even so, it was a good deal. Previously, Mu Ying had only managed to trade that batch of goblin gear for a white-quality bow, which really wasn’t worth it.

That was because humans couldn’t use goblin gear, and the weapon shop only took it to melt down for materials.

But at the Bronze Coin Pawnshop, those items could fetch a better price—they were a chain, after all, and even did business with goblins.

Another piece of good news: the pawnshop also bought ghoul tongues and claws at a high price—50 bronze coins per tongue, 5 bronze coins per claw."

"Mu Ying had no intention of continuing with the Ghoul dungeon for now. After collecting her share of the loot, she was ready to head back.

The ghouls were even less civilized than goblins—just scraps of cloth around their waists, visibly destitute. Only their tongues and claws had any value, which could be sold for some money.

So Mu Ying didn’t bother fighting for the last hit on the ghouls, leaving the kill experience to others. After all, she’d already maxed out her level 3 kill experience quota; any extra would just overflow.

The three strongest teams in the territory—the Mountaineering Club from Binhai University, Nie Ying’s mostly women-and-children group, and Huo Shaobai’s former official squad—all prepared to leave along with Mu Ying.

With these top teams pulling out, no other squads or solo players dared to challenge the dungeon either.

“Mu Ying, will you come back tomorrow?” Nie Ying asked, voicing the question on everyone’s mind.

With such a sharpshooter on their side, battles had become much easier.

“Of course. I want to practice my skills,” Mu Ying replied, patting the sword at her waist. Both swordsmanship and archery needed honing!

She glanced at the others. “Are we still working together?”

When Mu Ying’s gaze met theirs, everyone nodded instinctively—of course they wanted to!

“My kill experience is already maxed out, so you can have the last hits. I’ll still take 20% of the loot from each ghoul, but I’ll need you to have someone keep an eye on the dungeon entrance. If a ghoul appears, let me know. I’ll have the sparrows help pass the message.”

Mu Ying laid out her thoughts. She didn’t want to waste as much time camping the dungeon entrance as she had today.

“No problem at all!” Nie Ying agreed without hesitation.

“We’re fine with that too. Honestly, we’re getting the better end of the deal.”