Chapter 68

Less than three seconds after the voice fell silent, intense light rained down from the sky, instantly enveloping the entire earth. All the survivors felt a sharp pain in their eyes, and their vision turned completely white. It felt as if something had covered their bodies, making them unable to sense anything.

A few seconds later, the white light dissipated, and people's vision gradually returned to normal.

Those outside the main city found no changes in their surroundings, but things were different for those inside the main city. Previously, the entire main city had only a few scattered buildings, with the rest being ruins. Now, the ruins had disappeared, replaced by rows of houses. Not only that, the light barrier that originally covered an area of more than ten square kilometers had expanded by four to five times, almost covering half of Xiangcheng City.

The houses near the six shops resembled luxurious villas, while the outer circle consisted of ancient and elegant pavilions, neatly arranged in rows. These pavilions were all three stories high. On the outermost edge were high-rise buildings, somewhat similar to the previous ones.

Everyone who saw this scene was initially confused. However, a few seconds later, they found that some common knowledge had been added to their minds, all related to these houses.

At this point, they understood the purpose of these houses. Simply put, these houses were built by the deity for them to live in, as the voice had mentioned as a reward.

These houses were not ordinary houses; they also differed from the civilian houses built in Luofeng Village. Of course, they shared one common point: they provided a speed boost for combat practitioners' cultivation.

Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch. To live in these houses, certain conditions had to be met, namely the payment of a certain amount of spirit energy. People could choose to buy the houses directly or rent them.

In the center of the main city, the few rows of villas were undoubtedly the best, but their prices were shockingly high. To rent one, one had to pay 100,000 spirit energy points per month, and to buy one, no one even dared to think about it.

Yuan Jianze originally thought he controlled the entire main city of Xiangcheng and was among the richest. However, after learning the conditions for using the villas, he realized he was still poor, very poor.

But the benefits of the villas were constantly tempting him, as cultivating inside could double the cultivation speed. Although the daily consumption of spirit energy in the villa was higher than directly using spirit energy for double cultivation, once the foundation skill level reached a certain level, the consumption would actually be lower. Moreover, a villa could accommodate up to 10 people, so each person would only consume about 300 spirit energy points per day, which was quite cheap.

Furthermore, the villa was not just for cultivation; it was also a place to live and a symbol of status...

Compared to the high-efficiency villas, the surrounding pavilions were much cheaper. However, the pavilions were not individual units but were rented as suites, with each suite having two to five rooms, and the price ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 spirit energy points per month. The cultivation efficiency boost was the same, 50%, with the only difference being the number of people each pavilion could accommodate. In full capacity, each person would need to pay about 30 spirit energy points per day.

As for the high-rise buildings on the outermost edge, they were divided into two types. One type was apartment-style suites, with a 20% efficiency boost, and the rent was at least 10 spirit energy points per person per day. The other type was dormitory-style, with each room accommodating 8 people, a 10% efficiency boost, and a rent of 2 spirit energy points per person per day.

It was clear that the deity's design in this aspect was more inclined towards the lower-level personnel. As long as one became a combat practitioner, living in an apartment-style suite was not a problem. Of course, in most cases, several people would share a suite. If a whole family were combat practitioners, it would be even better.

The new buildings in the main city were not just these houses; there were also some shops scattered throughout, making the main city look more like a city.

These shops included existing ones like blacksmith shops and new ones. Among the new buildings, there were mercenary camps, trial halls, and bars.

Previously, it was mentioned that the mercenary camp was for forming and upgrading mercenary groups, and the trial hall was for entering trial dungeons. The bar, however, was quite magical.

Actually, Cheng Yang was most grateful for the bar among all the buildings in the territory. Although bars were places for drinking and entertainment, the bars under the deity's rules had special functions.

As long as you ordered a drink in the bar, you could find a seat. Each seat had a virtual screen.

On this screen, anyone could search for information or post information. In a sense, the bar was like a game forum.

The reason Cheng Yang knew about events worldwide in the previous life was mainly due to this bar. It was also because of this bar that humans finally confirmed they were experiencing a global disaster.

...

Although Cheng Yang did not see the changes in the main city, he knew everything clearly. He knew that these buildings would also appear when Luofeng Village upgraded to level 3.

"Lord, what happened just now?" Ma Tao looked at Cheng Yang in shock, and the others were not much better.

Cheng Yang said, "Didn't you hear it too? I'm not quite sure about the specifics, but it should be a good thing."

"But, the reward the deity mentioned..." Zhou Jie continued, "Hey? That's not right, why do I have my own attribute panel now? Isn't that something only combat practitioners have?"

Just as Zhou Jie thought he had become a combat practitioner, he found that things were not as good as he imagined. His attribute panel showed very simple information: his name, "unconverted," and his spirit energy points.

Clearly, Zhou Jie's spirit energy points were zero.

The deity gave ordinary people the right to have spirit energy points not only to give them a chance to live in houses but mainly to allow them to convert.

Although the demonized beasts were very powerful, as long as people were not afraid and worked together, they still had a chance to kill them. After all, the intelligence of first-stage demonized beasts was not much higher than that of wild animals. With strategy, it was quite possible to defeat a lone demonized beast.

As long as one could gather 10 spirit energy points, they would have the right to convert, which gave ordinary people a goal to strive for.

Cheng Yang understood the ups and downs in Zhou Jie and the others' hearts and said, "Don't worry, you all have the chance to convert."

After hearing this, Zhou Jie and the others felt much more relieved. They knew that Cheng Yang's words meant it was just a chance, and to seize this opportunity, they had to follow the management of Luofeng Village, or rather, Cheng Yang's management.

They were not very resistant to this. In Xiangcheng City, countless people begged to convert, even selling their children. Compared to that, following the management was not a condition at all.

Then, the group quickened their pace, determined to return to Luofeng Village before nightfall.

The situation was different now. Due to the deity's further transformation, the monsters in the world had undergone their first evolution. Although this evolution did not cover a wide area, it significantly increased the number of mid-stage first-stage demonized beasts.

Fortunately, before leaving today, Cheng Yang had instructed the combat practitioners in the territory to be more cautious and not to explore the outer areas. As long as there were no unexpected events, there should be no danger.

When Liu Xiyue and the others saw the tall walls of Luofeng Village from a distance, they were deeply shocked. Could humans build such walls in just a few days?

Cheng Yang did not explain anything. After they stayed in Luofeng Village for a while, they would naturally understand its history.

The walls of Luofeng Village slowly opened under Cheng Yang's mental control, and he led the group smoothly into the village.

Liu Xiyue and the others then discovered that there were so many survivors in Luofeng Village. Their current situation seemed similar to that of the ordinary survivors in the main city, but the observant Liu Xiyue noticed a clear difference.

They did not look malnourished, and their eyes carried a glimmer of hope for life.

Of course, there were exceptions. Some people with weaker mental fortitude had not yet recovered from the shock of the apocalypse and did not know how to continue their lives.

Liu Xiyue and the others walked for several hundred meters in the village without encountering anyone begging for shelter or selling their children. This gave them more confidence in their future.

At least, Lord Cheng Yang did not seem to be a bad person.

If Cheng Yang knew what they thought of him, he might have had mixed feelings.

Passing through the outer village, they entered the inner wall. Here, Liu Xiyue and the others saw another scene. This area was entirely occupied by combat practitioners, many of whom wore the special equipment of combat practitioners. From this, it was clear that the combat practitioners in this territory were stronger than those in the main city.

However, they still did not know the number of combat practitioners in Luofeng Village.

PS: Requesting recommendations and collections! Additional updates...