Chapter 37: Recruitment Plan, My Territory Is in Need of Abundant Talent

"It is certainly comfortable to stay in one's own territory."

This was the seventh day since Su Mu implemented his scorched-earth policy. Seven days ago, he had led his Panda Warriors to wipe out all the dark creatures within his domain and brought them back to his base. The Panda Warriors were quite satisfied with their new home, mostly because there was an endless supply of bamboo.

Bamboo?

On the very first day he returned to his territory, Su Mu had spent forty million spirit stones—equivalent to over one hundred million Dragon Coins—purchasing a massive quantity of bamboo and a large storage facility from the Dragon Kingdom to provide for his Panda Warriors. These reserves were enough to last them for two years.

At this moment, Su Mu sat on a stone bed near the window, slowly sipping a cup of hot tea while his mind wandered to his own affairs.

Eighty miles of territory, countless timber resources, two iron mines, two spirit stone mines, and, according to the pandas, there were also two dark gold mines—assets far more valuable than iron.

"This eighty-mile plot I occupy is a treasure trove of geomancy. All I lack is a sufficient population to help me extract these resources."

"Let's try my luck. Perhaps I can unlock the population transmission channel early."

Su Mu opened the long-neglected system and casually clicked into the chat page.

The first thing that caught his eye was a wall of black-and-white images; these were the lists of lords who had fallen in the Dark Forest over the past few days. In less than ten days, three thousand people had already perished. Not everyone was a child of destiny, and this was not a game—defeat meant death.

"Zhang Wei, Xu Li, Song Zhong..."

Looking at the lines of familiar names beneath the monochrome portraits, Su Mu sighed. "At least you don't have to pay back your student loans anymore. May there be no war in heaven! May there be no debt in heaven."

These people had once been his classmates, having studied alongside him. For various reasons, they had become lords and ventured into the Dark Forest. Now they were dead; their parents might receive a pension, but they had lost their children forever.

"Damn this war!"

Su Mu cursed again before opening the chat interface. In this world, for every person who hated war, there was someone who loved it. Especially for those ambitious adventurers who had come to the Dark Forest, the dead were nothing more than names—perhaps familiar ones, but nothing more.

"Buying, I need a large amount of iron ore. I took out a loan to buy three thousand soldiers, but because I didn't have enough Dragon Coins, the damn Ryan Corporation didn't provide my troops with weapons or armor! Which kind soul has iron ore? I’m buying in bulk. I need to forge armor and weapons for my soldiers. Please, brothers, save this little brother!"

"Hahaha, I’ve discovered that I really am a child of destiny! My landing point happens to be right next to a Level 3 Lord. The dark creatures around me have all been cleared out by him; no monsters come to bother me at all. I’ve already built a farm, a lumber mill, and a tavern in my territory. Who has a teleportation card? Come over and have a drink, coordinates 8700, 6708."

"Ha, a frog in a well. Someone like you, just riding on someone else's coattails, will never level up. The Dark Tide is coming soon; see if you can hold onto your territory then."

"Is the Dark Tide really coming? Is it true? I don't know the scale this time. I heard that during the last Dark Tide, many Level 3 lords were killed. Wuu wuu, I'm so scared. I want to go home."

"Oh god, is the Dark Tide really coming? I’m not mentally prepared at all."

"Yeah, our batch of lords is so unlucky. We’ve only been here ten days and we’re hit with a Dark Tide. Who has time to prepare? Ten days isn't enough for anything. We were basically sent here to die."

"Stop arguing! Does anyone have solid information? Is the Dark Tide really coming? Is there a confirmed time?"

Previously, the screen had been filled with people complaining about poverty or showing off, but once the news of the impending Dark Tide appeared, the entire chat section exploded. The number of active users soared past one hundred thousand, with everyone demanding to know if the tide was coming and when. This was a matter of life and death for everyone; how could they not worry?

Just then, a system announcement appeared at the very top of the interface.

[System Announcement: It has been confirmed that the Dark Tide will erupt within ten days. Please make preparations in advance. The specific date cannot be determined; it will be based on the full blood moon. Once the blood moon is full, the Dark Tide will definitely erupt.]

"Oh god, it’s really coming!"

"Ten days, and the time isn't even certain. Isn't this just telling us to wait for death? Who has a teleportation card? I’ll trade my entire fortune for it. I want to go back to the big city, I’ll become a mine slave, I don't want to be a lord anymore. This is no job for a human!"

"Are you crazy? As a lord, desertion is punishable by death. You’d have been better off not becoming a lord in the first place."

"Then what do I do? There’s no shop selling regret pills in this world. I only have the strength of a Silver 1, and I’m only followed by one Silver 2 Armored Warrior. How am I supposed to fight the Dark Tide like this? With my bare mouth?"

"Sigh, stop talking. You're making me want to cry. Who told us we didn't have the money to buy soldiers? Just hold on. Maybe we can survive this Dark Tide and become a Level 2 Lord."

"Wuu wuu, I’m done. I want to go home. I don't want to be a lord; I’d rather be a mine slave for the rest of my life."

...

Watching the wailing on the screen, Su Mu offered a faint assessment: "A bunch of weaklings. Crying won't change their fate." He exited the chat section, still thinking about how to recruit talent for his own territory.

"A bunch of weaklings. Why become a lord if you have no money? My uncle is a Level 10 Lord, my grandfather is a middle-level manager at Ryan Corporation. I, Wang Kun, am the true child of destiny. If I want equipment, I just tell my family, and they teleport it to me."

"You trash are only fit to be stepping stones for me, Wang Kun."

Meanwhile, in a luxurious hall, Wang Kun was gently swirling a glass of red wine, a satisfied smile on his face. As a second-generation lord backed by a massive conglomerate like Ryan Corporation, Wang Kun had purchased ten Platinum 4 guard cards the moment he landed in the Dark Forest, and had bought three thousand Gold soldier cards in one go. With such power, the local monsters were no match for him and had long since been wiped out.

Furthermore, he had purchased a Luxury Palace card, building himself a magnificent castle to serve as his lord’s mansion, and even bought plenty of fine wine—all that was left was to have a few beauties teleported to keep him company.

To others, coming to the Dark Forest was a life-or-death struggle, a perilous adventure. But to Wang Kun, this was just a gilded trip, a vacation. This was the moment his sense of superiority peaked, and he looked down with cold disdain at the group of pathetic adventurers.

He wasn't the only one; countless young masters from lord families or wealthy backgrounds were doing the same, sneering at the screen. To them, these lowly adventurers were merely sacrifices. Only after they had exhausted the waves of low-level monsters would it be time for the true elites to take action.

They all had enough strength to weather this Dark Tide. When the time came, they would gloriously ascend to become Level 2 Lords, while those pathetic adventurers would only become names on a list of the mourned.

Such were the rules of the game’s design, and the fools were simply too ignorant to realize it.