Chapter 1 Time Will Give You the Answer

Han Xiao smiled without saying a word, his tone meaningful. "Time will give you the answer."

Lü Cheng nodded, temporarily suppressing his doubts about the refugees. He planned to have his subordinates investigate thoroughly.

Afterward, he proactively invited Han Xiao to be a guest at his territory, the Black Pine settlement. Black Phantom said he didn't want any reward, but Lü Cheng dared not take it seriously and felt the need to show his goodwill.

Han Xiao agreed; he wanted to have more contact with Lü Cheng.

He had previously checked on the dark web and found that Lü Cheng was a very powerful wandering warlord in the Southern Continent. The Black Pine settlement was huge; Green Valley Town paled in comparison. Black Pine was located in the ruins of a small city from the old era, converted into a settlement. It had tens of thousands of residents, rich facilities, and even a biological research institute and a weapons research institute. How high-end was that?

There was a difference between the concepts of wandering warlords and wandering settlements. Settlements were formed spontaneously by wanderers to resist the dangers of the wilderness. Generally, reliable leaders were democratically elected. The structure was loose, with almost no class distinctions.

Warlords, on the other hand, were more like lords. They invested resources to build a settlement, which could absorb scattered groups of wanderers, charge a fee, and provide shelter. The fees could be in the form of taxes or labor. They purposefully developed armed forces to guard the settlement and attack other warlords. Most of the armed personnel were mercenaries, but some wanderers also volunteered to join the army.

Warlords and settlements were scattered across various continents, like stars in the sky, numerous and of varying sizes. One of the goals of Bennett's shelter main quest was to integrate all the wanderers, establish a new city, independent of the Six Nations, and provide shelter to all refugees. This was a very large project, with natural conflicts with the warlords.

Bennett's plan was like a grand shelter for all the poor scholars in the world to rejoice. The shelter not only avoided war but also the dangers of the wilderness.

Lü Cheng invited Han Xiao into the vehicle, heading to Black Pine.

The players in Green Valley Town could still receive quests from the town. Those who had chosen the guard faction were pleasantly surprised to find that their Green Valley Town favorability had not decreased. They breathed a sigh of relief, watching Black Phantom leave.

…

They came with two people, but now there was an extra Routou Da Gou. They were all crammed into the troop carrier.

The scenery outside the window flashed by. Han Xiao made a phone call, telling the dark web helicopter pilot to go directly to the Black Pine settlement to wait for him. He told Lü Cheng about this, and Lü Cheng said he would have someone let it through and set aside a helipad.

Han Xiao and Lü Cheng chatted casually. Suddenly, he asked, "With your armed forces, you could have attacked as soon as you arrived at the town. The refugees couldn't have stopped you. Why did you give Bashas time to prepare?"

Lü Cheng shook his head. At that time, he didn't know that the players would be resurrected. He said, "Only those without faith believe that killing can solve all problems."

"The lives of your subordinates are also lives," Han Xiao said with a smile.

"The strong should protect the weak." Lü Cheng paused, then said, "I will not slaughter unarmed refugees. The Laupert Massacre is a warning for all warlords."

"The Laupert Massacre? What's that?" Routou Da Gou asked, still recording footage.

Lü Cheng assumed that Kuang Dao and Routou Da Gou were Han Xiao's followers. For Han Xiao's sake, he explained, "Laupert was once a large wandering settlement in the Western Continent. It was invaded by a warlord's army. Laupert's warlord was very popular, so the residents voluntarily helped resist. Unfortunately, the enemy was too strong, and the settlement was still broken through. The attacking warlord was angered by the residents' resistance, so he carried out a massacre of the unarmed residents, plundered all the supplies, and set fire to the settlement. Tens of thousands of wanderers died..."

Routou Da Gou was unimpressed. In real history, such things as killing prisoners and massacring cities had happened countless times. He pressed, "And then?"

"Then, the warlord who carried out the massacre, as well as the hundreds of mercenaries who participated, were all killed by a superpower user in one night twenty days later. After that, no warlord dared to kill the innocent indiscriminately."

Routou Da Gou was stunned. "Why?"

Han Xiao took over, saying lightly, "Because there are people who call themselves superheroes."

If it were an ordinary world, people would be unable to resist tyranny. Even if they were angry at the powerful perpetrators, they would be helpless. But the Aquamarine Star had extraordinary powers. In times of chaos, there was no law. Having power meant you could become an enforcer. Some dissatisfied superpower users had the power to come knocking. These "superhero" behaviors set artificial bottom lines for those wilderness forces, forming a code based on common sense.

What is common sense? It's something that most people feel is excessive from a moral point of view. That's excessive.

Unless the massacre or city slaughter is done perfectly, sooner or later, a superpower user who calls himself a partner of justice will come knocking. This can also be considered a kind of moral kidnapping, because I am strong enough, so you must abide by my "morality." The essence is still the law of the jungle, where the strong eat the weak. However, it gives the wilderness a rough set of rules, indirectly maintaining the safety of wanderers' lives.

Routou Da Gou hurriedly recorded the material. He liked this kind of world anecdote, which could enrich his video content.

Han Xiao stroked his chin. Mentioning the Laupert Massacre reminded him of a wilderness Boss.

"At the Laupert ruins, the charred corpses were left unburied, attracting beasts to settle there. A new type of virus bred in the corpses, radiating out, polluting a large area of land and water sources. The beasts entering this area mutated. A new Beast King-level wilderness Boss would appear every once in a while, which could trigger a kill quest. I remember the reward was the Boss's mutated heart, which, when given to a certain biological research group, could be used to make potions that increase attributes. It also seemed to have a chance to awaken a rare talent."

Wilderness Bosses that appear every once in a while can be repeatedly farmed by players. Repetitive behavior is an indispensable part of the game, such as quests, monster grinding, dungeons, and so on.

Speaking of this, let me mention the problem of dungeons. There are several types of dungeons. The first is a special scene where monsters are constantly refreshed, such as certain magic trial secret realms or technology-side simulated combat rooms. Apart from these special spaces, in the reality of *Galaxy*, there are also important areas where forces are stationed, large battlefields, and so on that can be used as dungeons. These dungeons are full of randomness and may be closed at any time.

The second is the dungeon crystal, a special item dropped through special quests that only players can use. It allows them to enter a parallel space with a period of time regression and participate in an event that has occurred. The scenes that the dungeon crystal can enter are different and related to the content of the quest that dropped the crystal.

Quests that reward dungeon crystals can be repeated every once in a while. They are dungeons that players can farm stably, and there are also clearance time records and various dungeon leaderboards.

Using the dungeon crystal appears to outsiders as a sudden disappearance, and the user enters a parallel space, unable to affect the outside world, but can gain something in the dungeon. This form of expression is similar to the technological space transition device and the magical teleportation magic, and even has the performance of time regression. Han Xiao didn't know if he could use the dungeon crystal. He felt it was very risky. He didn't know what the principle of the dungeon crystal was. If it was to break up the components into molecules and reorganize the body, the players could be resurrected and toss around casually, but he would be in trouble.

Some special props can only be used by players, such as the ability gene awakening fluid sold in the mall, which appears out of thin air after purchase, and the gene harmonizer that Han Xiao rewarded for doing the Rose Armed quest, which was also received through the panel. The dungeon crystal is also this type of prop.

"It's better not to risk trying the dungeon crystal." Han Xiao said helplessly. To be honest, it would be a waste of time for him to farm dungeon crystals. Doing main quests and hidden quests is more reliable.

The convoy drove for several hours, and the outline of the Black Pine settlement appeared in the distance. It was huge, equivalent to a scaled-down city, very wild and rustic, with bricks, animal skins, and jagged scrap metal. The electrified barbed wire on the walls showed signs of rust, and a dirt road surrounded by barbed wire was the only passage to the gate. There were also many charred marks from artillery fire on the metal gate.

"Welcome to Black Pine."

Lü Cheng smiled, his tone proud.