Chapter 19: Submit or Die
But now society has changed. They couldn't hold their temper outside, and the consequences of taking action were predictable. Ultimately unable to make it, they returned to the village in defeat.
The weakest of all was Er Gou, honest, good-natured, and hardworking.
This made Small Knife curious about why he couldn't make it. As a laborer, he should be three times as valuable.
It turns out the kid went off to join the army and accidentally ended up punching his instructor.
"It was the instructor who asked me to do it," Er Gou explained defiantly, causing everyone else to burst into laughter.
The instructor wanted to make an example of you, and it backfired.
"Stick with me from now on. Brother Dao will make sure you live the good life," Small Knife said brazenly. There was no formality at his own home.
"Of course! With Brother Dao back, we have someone to rely on, and we'll make a fortune together, even if we have to...!" Everyone was getting excited.
"Even if what? These days, dealing goods is illegal. I'm a civilized man."
"Want me to take you guys gaming?"
"Gaming?" A few of them were dumbfounded. What kind of talk is this?
They didn't understand. Oh well, there's no need to understand. Following Knife never went wrong before—years back, they didn't even know how they made money. They just did.
With Brother Dao back, they splurged a bit. Meat was abundant, and they feasted, not knowing that Small Knife had added something to it.
It just felt unusually hot today.
But the best treatment wasn't for them; it was for Ah Shan, who got to eat a small piece of beast meat.
After eating, Ah Shan was running around, barking nonstop at Small Knife.
Small Knife got the message, waved his hand, and pointed outside. Ah Shan dashed out like a lunatic.
"I've already ordered everything, but it can't be delivered from the mountains. You'll have to go pick it up yourselves. The address is still with Uncle Shan and the others." As night fell, Small Knife didn't explain further and sent them off.
No choice, he couldn't hang out with them at night. He still needed to play the game.
The mountains were the same as ever—no electricity, no signal, using the military diesel generator he got years ago, but without the past luxury.
Technology's advancing fast these years; it'll be wind power soon.
Taishu Hao was habitable only because there was a mountain spring. Even in the hot summer, it never dried, and the water was sweet. This spring was the lifeline of Taishu Hao.
Speaking of which, after sending off his childhood friends, Small Knife returned to his old courtyard.
Though he hadn't lived there, it was well maintained, and Ah Shan was well looked after too.
The power was on, and once the voltage was stable,
Ah Shan returned, panting with its tongue out. It was much better than those childhood friends, instinctively knowing to exercise to digest the beast meat.
Having Ah Shan guard him, Small Knife felt assured.
Especially since this was his own home.
Then, he put on the helmet and entered the game.
As expected, this black tech game required no signal, and the TV couldn't receive anything, yet he smoothly entered the game world.
Bleep: After some upgrades, your thatched house upgraded to a small wooden cottage, boosting defense and raising evaluation level: 10.
Small Knife looked carefully.
Wooden House: Defense Evaluation: Level 10, Courtyard Field: One (barren field) Well, Fence: (not built)
Upgrade to Stone House: Standard Materials: 100, Bone Material: 10, Cost: 5000 Bone Coins. Prerequisite: (Fence)
"Level 10? Not bad."
Bleep: Congratulations, the Well in your courtyard has been completed.
Bleep: After you logged off, your Nu Xiu'Er's innate spiritual talent doubled her proficiency with support skills, developed autonomously, and under observation and assistance, she comprehended the skill to build a wall. This divine technique is classified as Basic Support Skill, not occupying the skill bar.
Divine techniques are truly defying!
Once more amazed, he looked up to see Xiu'Er waiting with a smile.
A bowl of fragrant beast meat was already prepared in a wooden bowl.
Clearly, Xiu'Er had already gotten a grasp of Small Knife's waking up time.
"Brother Master, time for breakfast," chirped a crisp voice.
They both enjoyed a hearty breakfast before stepping out.
The thatched house not only upgraded to a wooden house, reaching level ten, but also turned from one room into a suite inside and out, more than doubling in size.
Once outside, the place was bustling with activity.
The wooden fence, about 1.5 meters tall, spanned over ten meters now.
"This thing's defense is limited. Better upgrade to a stone house soon!" Small Knife pondered.
Bleep: Thanks to the food you provided, the slaves completing tasks feel more goodwill towards you and Nu Xiu'Er, and they used the wood to establish a fence.
Task: Used Wood.
Requirement: Replenish and return within ten days, Reward: Preconstructed Fence.
Failure results in zero and negative goodwill from the craftsman slaves.
"This is interesting!" Small Knife was taken aback.
After finishing breakfast with Brother Master, Xiu'Er joined in helping build the fence.
Meanwhile, Small Knife pulled out a wooden spear, practicing his throws.
Of course, first he sprinkled some bone powder, reviving a skeleton warrior as a routine practice just to improve proficiency.
Time flew by.
Slutty Mouth came hurriedly.
He brought the latest news.
The Military Dagger was ambushed and killed, shocking Small Knife, who immediately inquired further.
As expected, it was Young Master Dai's doing.
Not only was the Military Dagger killed, but the two players who mixed with him in the hunting team resurrected and came loyally to help, but being only Level 1, they were killed too.
Even so, the Military Dagger still managed to kill seven players.
However, no matter how strong, he still couldn't go against RMB.
Small Knife quickly asked for details. It turned out Young Master Dai used RMB to gather almost 80% of the tribe's players. Despite most being children, they managed to kill the Military Dagger through encirclement.
Moreover, Young Master Dai boasted that he'd make it impossible for the Military Dagger to survive in the tribe since he'd send players to guard the spawning cave and kill him as soon as he reappeared, preventing him from logging in.
Upon learning about the death and rebirth options recently, Small Knife looked it up online too.
It takes quite some time to log back in after dying.
The choices post-death were clear.
However, if you paid for the mental restoration valued over ten thousand, you could re-enter the game after 24 hours.
The Military Dagger wasn't simple. He was likely to go online after 24 hours.
Small Knife made the decision quickly. The Military Dagger couldn't be left to hang, not just because Small Knife respected him, but more importantly, the next target might be himself.
After asking in detail about the time of the Military Dagger's death, Small Knife set off in haste.
He was still promoting stone-made spearheads, currently the most consumed weapons among tribal hunters due to their fragility.
Small Knife was selling quite a bit, but it was all to NPCs, unnoticed by the players.
The next day, timing it right, Small Knife arrived early outside the players' spawning cave.
NPC guards were stationed here, no entry permitted unless a freshly spawned player emerged.
Twenty plus players gathered, primarily muscle children, circled around here.
They flocked around Young Master Dai, flattering him.
As time passed, three muscular kids emerged.
They were the Military Dagger and his two companions.
Seeing the situation outside, their faces fell immediately.
"Submit or die," Young Master Dai said arrogantly, looking at the three with smug satisfaction.