Chapter 024: Qinglan

“A rain just passed, so everyone’s out picking mushrooms. Newly grown mushrooms have low contamination levels—some commoners will buy them,” the village chief explained as they walked.

“They’re not afraid of danger?” Hada asked curiously. “We’re already outside the town, right?”

“Qinglan Town is very large—completely different from our village. They usually have patrol teams stationed near the town, clearing out nearby wraiths on a regular basis. As long as people don’t go too far, it’s generally safe.”

Though it seemed he was answering Hada, the village chief was actually sharing a lot of useful information with Yun Xi, to help her adjust more easily.

“Village Chief, what’s the official faction like in Qinglan Town?” Yun Xi asked.

“As far as I know, their benefits are quite good—but accordingly, the contracts are also very strict,” the chief replied honestly.

“I have a martial artist friend who serves in Qinglan Town’s patrol team. He’s a squad leader, and he receives one attribute potion each year, one monthly medicinal supplement, plus a monthly salary of 100 silver coins with various other subsidies.”

100 silver coins was a very high salary.

100 silver = 10,000 copper coins at the standard exchange rate—but due to the rarity of silver, they could be traded privately for up to 12,000 copper.

12,000 copper coins was enough to feed a family of three expensive, uncontaminated food every day.

Ordinary people typically survived on coarse wheat cakes and murky water sold in the system shop for 1 copper each—monthly living expenses ranged from 60 to 200 copper coins.

So 100 silver coins could support more than 200 people.

But the most valuable benefit was the annual attribute potion and the monthly medicinal supplement.

Attribute potions directly increased one’s stats—these were extremely rare high-grade items that most people would never even see in their lifetime.

Since Spirit couldn’t be increased through natural means, unless one was purely a physical class, most people would choose spirit-enhancing potions to qualify as spellcasters in the future.

The monthly supplement functioned similarly to attribute potions—it could gradually and subtly increase Constitution over time.

“But the contract is strict,” the village chief continued. “First, it lasts fifty years. Second, if the town is in danger, you can’t run or retreat. No unexcused absences. And finally, the usual clauses: you can’t leak confidential knowledge learned from the patrol squad.”

Fifty years—how many fifty years does a person get in a lifetime?

Even after becoming an intermediate spellcaster, lifespan only extended to about 200 years.

As they chatted, the trio saw several arguments break out over—mushroom picking.

“I saw these mushrooms first! Can’t you see I’m harvesting them?” a young man in coarse linen shouted, neck tense with anger.

“Oh please, this isn’t your backyard. I didn’t snatch them from your hands!” a girl with delicate features rolled her eyes. They were both wearing basic player clothing—what was there to be afraid of?

…

Scenes like this were common, but they all shared one thing in common: these “fights” happened almost exclusively between players in coarse clothes.

The native residents nearby glanced over occasionally—some curious, some amused, clearly wondering why these people were getting so worked up.

“You two kids stop it. These mushrooms aren’t even worth much—just 2 copper per pound. There’s plenty more over there. Go pick over there instead of making a scene.”

A middle-aged woman in a martial artist outfit walked over, a long blade slung across her back and a patrol badge at her waist.

The young man and woman who’d been arguing immediately quieted down, shrinking like kittens grabbed by the scruff, no longer daring to speak up.

This was the reality for Blue Star players now.

After the first beta test, most players had learned how formidable the native NPCs were. As outsiders, they dared not offend them.

The last player who talked back to a patrol squad member got hung upside down from the town wall for several hours. When he tried to log out, he found himself in a special state.

Just like being in combat, players couldn’t log out while being punished.

Just as local natives had rules to follow—like not harassing newly arrived adventurers—players were also bound by the laws of the Fallen Gods Continent.

In towns, official factions might not be the strongest, but they were certainly the most respected.

If a player disrespected them, the officer had the right to impose “non-lethal” but humiliating punishments.

Being hung upside down wasn’t dangerous—but it was incredibly humiliating.

After that, no one dared stir up trouble in Qinglan Town again. Everyone was deeply shaken—and relieved they weren’t the first ones to “eat the crab.” So embarrassing.

After the mushroom-picking squabbles quieted down, Yun Xi followed the village chief while overhearing many complaints from her fellow players.

“They’re asking us to pick 20 pounds of mushrooms—when will we ever finish? And the quest doesn’t even give EXP! What’s the point?”

“You just don’t get it. This builds favorability with the NPCs. If one of them remembers you, they might take you as an apprentice and teach you spells or martial arts.”

“I say we’d be better off joining the patrol squad.”

“Keep dreaming. Of course we all want to! But the patrol squad doesn’t allow unscheduled leave. And we never know when the closed beta might end—if we don’t report in on time, we’ll break the contract and lose half our lives.”

“So when the game officially launches, we can join then?”

“Yeah—as long as you’re prepared to stay away from Blue Star for a long time.”

“I’m so jealous of the players who spawned in villages. I heard joining the village patrol squads doesn’t have so many restrictions. Their main story quests are easy, and they even get resurrection charms as rewards!”

“Village resources can’t compare to the towns though. You should be grateful. The stuff we buy in the town can be sold back in the village for a profit—we’re set for life.”

“As for main quests, maybe we’ll get better rewards in Main Quest 2 than they did in theirs. No need to be jealous.”

“True… if only we could bring Blue Star supplies over here—then this mushroom-picking mission would be a breeze…”

…

As they drew closer to Qinglan Town, the number of people increased as well.

And when Yun Xi finally saw the town gates, she was suddenly struck by the realization that the Jade Plain and the region she had descended into in her previous life were completely different.

If all the newbie villages had more or less the same rustic wooden houses, then once you reached the town stage—you’d clearly see how vastly different the civilizations and styles could be.