Chapter 234: NPCs Don't Cooperate

Before long, Mofate's head was already blooming with bumps, a miserable sight to behold.

He was a guy who was actually quite handsome, but now he looked like a pig's head; if his skin weren't still fair and it weren't nighttime, it would probably be quite terrifying.

"This is exactly why I had to leave home! You're always like this!" Mofate sat on the ground in a huff, like a disobedient child. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have written to you; it would've been better if you just left me alone!"

"You!" Mofate's mother sat to the side, angry, also acting like a stubborn child. "Do you know how worried I was? I thought you could live well, but who knew you'd run into those things? I was so anxious, I made them bring me to find you, but they wouldn't listen to me!"

The noisy commotion caused Lijia, who lived next door, to climb out of bed. She was already exhausted, but when she pulled back the curtains, what she saw was that guy who had his fortune told today actually sitting on the ground.

It had to be said, even with his head covered in bumps from being beaten, Mofate's looks were still very recognizable; at least Lijia, not far away, could see him clearly.

She still remembered that this person was fated just like her—both of them were people chosen by the Calamity.

She hadn't expected him to live so close to her home.

If she remembered correctly, this person hadn't moved in long ago, didn't go out much just like her, and had a bit of interest in investing in Tana City's industries.

Of course, this was all because her maid was simply too gossipy and was always interested in the neighbors.

"Your mother and I have suffered quite a bit, and we came to find you alone, not even caring about the dangers you might face. And you still want to make your mother angry; she can't even get through the door." Joel helplessly pulled the two of them up. "But you seem quite safe; the defensive capabilities of this place are quite good, and you have people willing to protect you."

"That's right, the people in Tana City are different from those elsewhere." As for exactly how they were different, Mofate couldn't say. "In any case, you came to the right place; it's much freer here than in the Royal Capital."

"I saw the contents of your letter; you think a hospital can be built here?" Joel told Mofate about what had happened in the Royal Capital. In fact, he didn't need to say it; through the players' analysis of the newspapers, Mofate already knew what might have happened in the Royal Capital.

So many clinics being transferred at once indicated internal changes within the Bloodthirsty Clan.

"Tana City has almost no medical system. Although there are sewers and factories here, and even the Wisdom Church exists, they have absolutely no clinics." The more Mofate spoke, the more excited he became. "I've already found a location. If we're willing, we can slowly build that hospital, and I've also started building my own castle. Let me show you the design plans..."

Not to mention Joel, even Mofate's mother gasped after seeing that drawing. "This is simply the work of a master artist."

"That's why I said, it was the right choice for the Believers of the Beauty God to build a theater in Tana City. I heard they found a very impressive master designer, and one who is a local designer from Tana City, too."

"Believers of the Beauty God, heavens, ever since the people of the Sun God Cult gained a foothold in the Royal Capital, the entire Federal has had far fewer works of art. Even the performances inside the theaters have become more boring. Are there actually Believers of the Beauty God here?"

Even if these Bloodthirsty were not Believers of the Beauty God, they still had their own pursuit of beauty.

Mofate knew his mother would like these things. He had already calculated that if he could show his mother his castle and the theater under construction, she would definitely feel that his decision to run away from home back then was the right one.

At the very least, it was more correct than the approach taken by Morandi and the others.

Rather than hiding in a corner like a rat in a gutter, why not do something useful in Tana City?

The Royal Capital didn't lack a doctor like him, but in Tana City, a doctor was truly too useful.

Being doctors themselves, the players thought differently than Mofate.

Most doctors didn't have time to play games; those who could play in the game were almost all students.

Because the number of closed-beta testers was small, these medical students were even rarer; in total, there were only three players who were students studying medicine.

One was a dental student who had just been admitted to medical school, one was a master's student of Chinese medicine, and one was a sophomore studying neurology.

In reality, none of the three were in common departments, and they had even less intention of becoming doctors in the game.

After all, they were still just students.

"Didn't you guys see the news on the forum? That NPC named Mofate is preparing to hire doctors. Don't you plan to give it a try?" Leng Suanling sat down on an empty chair at a snack stall and pulled at his two seniors. "We're professionals, after all; that's better than going into the woods to hack at wild beasts, right?"

"There are quite a few herbs in the woods, which my major happens to be useful for, it's just that those Spiritual Materials are a bit special; there's nothing similar in reality." Wang Buliuqing didn't seem to have much of an appetite; the herbs he had gathered today hadn't been sold out yet, and the wounds on his body hadn't healed either.

He even considered whether to "die and respawn," but once he thought about how he couldn't sleep well without the game, he gave up on that idea.

Tougu Dao, on the side, was quite interested. "But I heard that the most common treatment for doctors here is Bloodletting Therapy, and those people from the Wisdom Church only use Magic Potion to alleviate pain. Like Chimu said, those things the doctors gave him to eat were completely useless."

"It's just that his situation is special; who knows if it's useful for ordinary people? Let's not count on becoming Awakened. I can see it now; this game is made as a life-sim game. With such a large amount of content, there must be a place for us to shine, right?" Leng Suanling looked at the menu, rubbed his pockets, and said somewhat frugally, "As things are now, there's no way we can find a suitable job. The War Church isn't here, so where would there be a place for us in the Wealth Church?"

"The Wisdom Church is still a possibility; I'm planning to try it. And you, a dental doctor..." Wang Buliuqing dampened his junior's enthusiasm. "Besides, being a dentist is quite good; you'd better not change your major. If you end up like Tougu Dao, you might not necessarily be able to make money in the future."

Being a doctor wasn't all that glorious; Tougu Dao knew this himself, and many of his classmates in this major wouldn't even work in the medical industry.

This industry was not only high-risk, but also very exhausting.

Thinking of the difficulty of studying and getting certified in a hospital, Tougu Dao himself had wanted to give up too.

He thought he'd just find a small clinic to give people IV drips, but once he thought about how this was a game and he could definitely learn a lot, Stealing Bone Path still wanted to try.

"I just feel that there are so many 'silent teachers' here, so the medical environment shouldn't be too bad."

"Although I'm a dentist, it doesn't stop me from learning more things, and dentists have quite a few surgeries too." Leng Suanling continued to incite his two seniors. "And your Chinese medicine treatment can also be taught to the Wisdom Church; by then, just selling Chinese Patent Medicine will be enough to make a lot of money."

Although it wasn't as fast-acting as Magic Potion, Chinese Patent Medicine wasn't without a market.

As long as it could be proven effective by the Wisdom Church, that was enough.

"Then let's try it. Anyway, applying for a Patent doesn't cost money, and Evans can even process applications for free; you just need to submit the materials." Unlike what Leng Suanling had expected, although Wang Buliuqing had been dampening his junior's enthusiasm, he was very methodical when it came to doing things.

He had even prepared in advance.

In the end, the three of them had Wang Buliuqing pay to buy three Sandwiches and three cups of Coffee.

The only one among the three who could make money was Wang Buliuqing; at least the herbs he gathered could really be sold for money.

After reading Mofate's detailed plan, Joel patted his son's shoulder with gratification.

He had truly grown up; it seemed the suffering hadn't been in vain. Thinking back, he himself had only known how to live cautiously because he had suffered.

However, his plan was a bit too bold; he actually wanted to open a hospital.

"Your idea to buy the land is good, but I don't suggest you build a large hospital all at once. You could first build residential houses in the surrounding area. I've looked at the survey above; there's no one living around this plot of land. If you build a hospital like this, it would be very time-consuming for people to take carriages or whatever to get here. It would be better to build a residential area directly."

Joel's vision was very far-reaching; according to the current development trend of Tana City, it was only a matter of time before it became a populous metropolis.

Rather than building a hospital, it would be better to build a residential area directly.

By then, he could make a lot of money just from rent, and the clinic would just be a way to obtain food.

"But we still need a large number of doctors. According to my idea, our clinic should still be relatively comprehensive." Mofate spoke incessantly. "In any case, if you agree, we'll buy that piece of land right now!"

When Mofate paid to buy the land, Lijia had already purchased the land next door, intending to build a clothing store of considerable size.

There would be women's clothing, men's clothing, children's clothing, and special attire like wedding dresses for sale there.

Just for the storefront, there would be thirteen sales clerks. Of course, the source of goods was also very important; she had already negotiated with several local brands in Tana City, and Gannaer also had several ready-to-wear shops willing to cooperate. Additionally, she could import some clothing from the Royal Capital, though those would be relatively high-end.

She wasn't worried about not being able to sell them, because anything was possible in Tana City. However, her family didn't think opening this shop would succeed—not because they were worried about the situation in Tana City, but because they felt Lijia lacked the ability.

After all, it was not the first time she had lost money.

She had even nearly lost her own life.

"Little girl, what are you using this land here for?" While Joel and Mofate were unfolding their grand plans, Mofate's mother noticed the construction site nearby and walked over to inquire.

She still needed to understand the environment around the hospital, as this would be the place where she would live after all.

According to her and Joel's calculations, this hospital and the building would consume half of her and Joel's family fortune, which was no small sum.

However, she was very optimistic about the development here; the Bloodthirsty Clan had very long lifespans, and although half of their family fortune was a lot, it was not too big of a problem.

As long as they could make money, earning it back over the long years would only be a matter of time.

The prerequisite was that this place had to be safe enough.

Lijia saw Mofate and also knew that this lady was likely a relative or investor of Mofate's, so she said candidly, "Thanks to the Lord's blessing, the development of Tana City is getting better and better. I am preparing to open a clothing mall here, and the land behind it is an investment for the construction of a Store Street."

"Oh, we are going to open a clinic; if it develops well, we plan to open a hospital."

"As expected, you truly are devout Believers of the Lord." Lijia was incredibly excited; she just knew that as Believers of the Calamity, they must be doing this to help Believers better resolve Calamity.

It was a pity she did not have the ability in that regard, and could only let people feel the beauty of life even amidst Calamity.

Yes, she opened a clothing store partly because she had the ability to do so, and partly because she hoped people could obtain beautiful things.

In her view, wearing a nice set of clothes should be a hope for every lady trapped in pain.

Although she did not know who the Lord Lijia spoke of was, Bloodthirsty who had lived in the Royal Capital for many years knew what to do.

Mofate's mother nodded gently, "The gods will bless us."

"Yes." Lijia just knew that these people must be devout Believers of the Calamity.

She had felt very lonely during this time, and now she finally had the feeling that she was not alone.

Perhaps she could obtain more information about the Lord through these people; she hoped to be able to spread the gospel for the Lord.

She did not know that finding Saina was actually the most appropriate method, but regardless, she was already a Believer of the Lord of Calamity.

"So you only went to the dock area again today; shouldn't you go to the Storm Church to register?" Watching Balute return once again with a full load, Chimu was speechless.

This guy had bought quite a lot of things and put them on the Ship, filling up the cabin where he stayed.

And there was a trend of continuing to buy.

"Can't you just order a house here? There are quite a few houses under construction near the docks now." Just as Chimu finished speaking to Balute, he saw Mengduo return carrying large and small bags.

These old men were already at an age close to retirement.

Therefore, the Storm Church did not intend to let them continue working, but instead gave them relatively easier jobs.

However, Storm Believers who had traveled the seas all year round had no concept of a home.

Even now, they had not considered buying a house.

Balute rubbed his chin, as if he had understood something, "You're right, perhaps I shouldn't stay with you on the Ship; I could completely live in Tana City."

"Ah? But you still have to record my affairs..." Chimu had thought he had NPCs to help him, but now the NPCs wanted to jump ship?

(End of this chapter)