Chapter 28: Half the Benefits Distributed
On the ninetieth day the side quest opened, just after finishing dinner, Baili Jing heard the familiar chime again.
He hurried to the study, opened the game, and again saw the familiar screen-full of confetti.
【Congratulations, my lord, for completing the side quest—constructing Prince Yin's Mansion.】
The note below reads: 【Main quest reward—Prince Yin's Mansion, distribution completed. After inspection, it will be ready for move‑in in five days. Effective immediately, reclaim the specialized workforce x1500; the on‑site technical supervisor NPC Zhao Zhuge will be reclaimed in thirty days, please coordinate the handover with NPC Zhao Zhuge and master the usage guide for Prince Yin's Mansion.】
The king felt a pang of sorrow; such capable little ants are about to leave?
He opened the map to find the construction site; the laborers of Secluded Prefecture had already clocked off, and the usual crowd bustling in gray‑red trimmed robes in the palace were gone—only Zhao Zhuge remained, pacing back and forth in the courtyard.
He switched back to the warehouse, saw that there were three little‑person icons, and the 【Summon】 and 【Recover】 buttons for the specialized workforce x1500 were grayed out.
The king felt empty inside, but he quickly perked up—he could keep doing the quest! We'll see each other again later!
The main panel below refreshed!
Two values on the main line refreshed, the changed numbers turned green, and he noticed the change at once.
【City populace happiness index: 9.2 (up 6.2; red alert)】
【City populace hunger index: 90.8 (down 1.2; red alert)】
Though it's still a red alert, don't worry—he's completed half of the main quest! The 1,500 households invested among Secluded Prefecture's 120,000 households didn't make a big splash; the hunger index didn't meet the three‑point‑percent drop target, falling only 1.2 points. But the happiness index rose!
The king stood with hands on hips, extremely pleased!
"The people must have heard that I personally guard the border, and they're moved to tears! They surely aren't… as scared as they used to be!"
Actually he was half right; the other half is that those over a thousand households received tangible benefits, their lives underwent a complete transformation. The priority military household policy made the populace feel that, even though Secluded Prefecture lives under the shadow of conscription, it isn't so frightening, and life now has a glimmer of hope. At the very least, if someone's family is truly conscripted next time, the king won't forget them—when good fortune comes, he'll think of them first, which gives the poor some comfort. After all, ordinary folk don't turn to banditry unless they're desperate.
A new pop‑up appeared below;
【Congratulations, my lord, for completing half of the main quest; the city's happiness index rose 6.2 points. Secluded Prefecture lies in ruins awaiting revival, so as an exception we let the lord claim half of the main quest reward now: one A‑level lottery spin, and unlock the Myriad Worlds Homeland. Claim now? Yes/No】
What's there to hesitate about? The king was already at the danger line flashing, so getting the reward early was a no‑brainer—Baili Jing directly clicked 【Yes】.
In the next moment, a five‑colored spinner rose from the depths of the bottom 3D map, together with an icon of many balls packed together. The icon flew to the upper‑left corner, and a new section appeared there.
The five‑colored disc still hovered in the centre, bearing a needle; the disc was evenly divided into more than ten colours, and on it was an 【A】 character the king didn't recognize.
The king looked left and right, flicked the needle with a fingertip, and the disc spun wildly, almost leaving an afterimage. After a while it gradually slowed, and when it finally stopped, the needle pointed at a brown square.
Instantly a bubble popped up:
【Congratulations, my lord, you've drawn an A‑level medium‑grade reward: Vegetable Garden Base x1, placed in the warehouse—please check.】
The king waddled to the warehouse to find the Vegetable Garden Base; the warehouse now showed a thumb‑sized plot of land with two little sprouts. Opening the note, it read:
【Producer: Azure Wave Realm
Function: With the Vegetable Garden Base, no vegetable will die! Taste buff +200% (taste increased by 200 points)
Additional feature: Includes the cultivation manual
Usage area: 5 mu
Usage right: Permanent】
Receiving the reward naturally made the king happy, but seeing that it was a vegetable plot made him sigh again. It's not greed—wouldn't it be nicer to get some grain‑growing seeds? He looked at the thick farming book on the table, the half‑bag of seeds at his feet, feeling both joy and sorrow.
This year Secluded Prefecture is suffering drought; Minister Xue said it might affect next year's tax revenue.
But the king's low mood lasted only a moment; the kid bounced back, thinking, "If I could draw the Vegetable Garden Base today, why couldn't I draw something like a Land Farm Base tomorrow?"
Like Prince Yin's Mansion, the Vegetable Garden Base needs a suitable spot to be placed. The king thought a moment and decided to put it in his new manor; maybe the palace won't have to buy vegetables anymore, and maybe it could even sell them.
Didn't you see they gave ten rare seeds? Even though the king isn't well‑read, he knows that rarity brings value.
The pleased king cracked his knuckles and rushed toward the "Myriad Worlds Homeland" new section.
As soon as it opened, a new semi‑transparent light board appeared, displaying large characters: 【Welcome, resident number 10,680, to the Myriad Worlds Homeland! Myriad Worlds Homeland, connecting all worlds. May you find the joy you seek in the Myriad Worlds Homeland～】
Below are the 【Tutorial】 and 【Enter Homeland】 buttons.
The newbie clicked the tutorial, and… ended up feeling dizzy. How can a tutorial be longer than the Thousand‑Character Classic plus the Explanation of Characters? Over two hundred thousand words!
What's worse, the king didn't understand some sentences, and didn't even recognize some characters!
As soon as the king arrived, he felt the homeland was unruly—it discriminates against illiterate children.
The king now urgently wants to know what this is, but hasn't time to examine it closely; the child, self‑taught, has learned to read the outline……
Then the king summed up the outline as follows:
First, the Myriad Worlds Homeland is like a small town; he and over ten thousand others from other realms can communicate and trade here. He knows about other realms—for example, the Azure Wave Realm that produces the Vegetable Garden Base.
Second, he can also open a shop in the homeland and sell his own goods to people of other realms. Here there's a bold note saying that if you buy items too advanced for your world's civilization, the Myriad Worlds Authority will convert the price regardless of the seller's tag. Please consider carefully and keep your mindset.
The king didn't get that part—it's not important.
Third, … the king was too impatient to study, so he decided to go see for himself.
End of Chapter
