Chapter 9: Initial Development of the Territory

Countless blueprints left Lin Mu dazzled, but after checking the 19,190 Fate Gold Coins in his pocket, he had to reluctantly give up on the blueprints that he found hard to part with.

When faced with choices, Lin Mu had his own experience: first, choose what is most lacking, then the best, followed by what he most desired, and lastly, what had the most potential...

Following his selection rules, Lin Mu quickly made his decision! He chose the blueprints to refresh the population.

After calculating, he spent 6,000 Fate Gold Coins on three 'Elementary Wandering Camp Construction Blueprints,' 4,000 on four 'Elementary Refugee Camp Construction Blueprints,' 3,000 on one 'Intermediate Refugee Camp Construction Blueprint,' and 5,000 on one 'Intermediate Wandering Camp Construction Blueprint,' totaling 18,000 Fate Gold Coins. He had 1,190 Fate Gold Coins left. Unfortunately, there were no more Elementary Refugee Camp Blueprints available; otherwise, he could have bought one more with the remaining money.

He bought these blueprints because of the population issue. Now that the territory was initially established, the system had gifted an Elementary Wandering Camp, which produced about 10 wanderers daily, far from meeting the territory's development needs.

With these blueprints, the population increase in the territory would significantly rise.

Now, the territory could establish four Wandering Camps, one of which could be upgraded to an Intermediate Wandering Camp due to the Intermediate Blueprint, refreshing 50 wanderers daily.

Thus, three Elementary Wandering Camps and one Intermediate Wandering Camp would refresh a total of 80 people daily.

Additionally, four Elementary Refugee Camps could be established, one of which could be upgraded to an Intermediate Refugee Camp. Elementary Refugee Camps refreshed 10 refugees daily, while Intermediate Refugee Camps refreshed 50 refugees daily, totaling 80 refugees.

In total, 160 people would be refreshed daily, which was quite high, comparable to the refresh rate of a town-level territory in his previous life.

The number of wanderers and refugees refreshed was the same, but their qualities and the probability of special NPCs appearing were different.

Wandering Camps, in simple terms, were for people who had been forced to wander, while Refugee Camps were primarily for the lower-class farmers.

Wanderers generally had higher qualities, with a higher probability of special or talented NPCs appearing, usually at the 3rd rank. Refugees, on the other hand, were generally lower, appearing at the 2nd or 1st rank, with fewer special or talented NPCs. However, the probability of farmers appearing in Refugee Camps was high, which was very helpful for the territory's development, especially since Lin Mu urgently needed farmers to cultivate the land.

The probability of 6th or 7th rank NPCs appearing in Wandering Camps was much higher than in Refugee Camps, but there was still a chance, just depending on luck. One day, a 7th rank NPC might appear in a Refugee Camp while none appeared in a Wandering Camp. These probabilities were unpredictable, and Lin Mu always treated them with reverence.

Believing that the territory's divine attributes would generally boost the qualities by one rank, making them even more promising, Lin Mu felt that this was incredibly powerful. He could only smile, unable to express his satisfaction in words, ha-ha.

With 1,190 Fate Gold Coins left, Lin Mu thought about buying one Elementary Blacksmith Shop, one Elementary Tailor Shop, one Elementary Shipyard, one Elementary Carpentry Workshop, one Elementary Dock, one Elementary Mine, one Elementary Lumberyard, one Elementary Fishing Ground, and three Elementary Residences that could accommodate five people each, which would cost 90 Fate Gold Coins, making the money come and go quickly.

For the remaining 90 Fate Gold Coins, Lin Mu decided not to keep them in his pocket. He exchanged them for 9,000 copper coins, or 90 silver coins, with the exchange rate being 1 Fate Gold Coin = 1 silver coin.

Actually, exchanging Fate Gold Coins for the Han Dynasty's copper, silver, and gold coins was very cost-effective. For example, an Elementary Tailor Shop cost 100 Fate Gold Coins from the Fate Merchant, but if bought from the government or other players, it would cost only a few dozen silver coins, which was already quite expensive. However, Lin Mu's territory was in a remote area, and travel was not possible, so he couldn't think about trading with the government for now.

With these items, Lin Mu believed the territory's development would be rapid and unstoppable, making the expenditure worthwhile.

In the game "Mythical Three Kingdoms," the construction of territory buildings was both magical and slightly realistic. Players with construction blueprints could instantly complete the construction as long as they had sufficient resources. For example, Lin Mu had an Elementary Blacksmith Shop Blueprint, and the initial resources of the territory were: 500 units of food, 500 units of stone, 500 units of wood, and 10,500 copper coins. Building an Elementary Blacksmith Shop required 30 units of stone, 20 units of wood, and 200 copper coins. Using the construction blueprint, the Elementary Blacksmith Shop would instantly rise, which was incredibly magical. However, this was a common occurrence in the game, and Lin Mu was not surprised by it.

Without construction blueprints, building such structures would require a builder profession.

Builders could construct basic territory buildings without blueprints. As their level increased, their knowledge of construction also improved, allowing them to build more and more advanced and sturdy structures.

Additionally, builders were important for managing water resources, with a specialized branch known as Water Management Engineers, a highly prestigious profession.

As the territory developed faster and larger, the need for builders would increase, and the requirements would become higher. Lin Mu placed great importance on this profession in his plans and would mention it to Chang Yin when discussing territory affairs, to ensure that Chang Yin also valued it. After all, Lin Mu was not actively managing the territory for now, with the system-gifted Chang Yin handling it.

The builder profession in ancient times was known as masons, but "Mythical Three Kingdoms" combined reality, changing the titles and characteristics of the profession. There were many such professions in the game.

Lin Mu was familiar with the common ones: Blacksmiths, Tailors, Lumberjacks, Miners, Builders, Engravers, Priests, Sailors, Teachers, Stable Hands, Beast Tamers, Alchemists, Physicians, Herbalists, Farmers, Hunters, Butchers, Cartographers...

There were also rarer professions, such as Mechanists, Geomancers, and Swordsmiths, which Lin Mu was not very familiar with and might not encounter.

Players could also take on such professions as secondary or primary roles. They could change professions at private schools or academies in county or city capitals, with no limit on the number of professions they could have, as long as they had the energy and stamina to manage and upgrade them.

Lin Mu's primary role was to be a general, and his secondary role was to be an alchemist, though he could change this in the future if necessary.

After spending the Fate Gold Coins, Lin Mu left the Dragon Temple with Yuan Zhi and returned to the village meeting hall.

After all, Yuan Zhi could not stay in the Dragon Temple for long.

Compared to Lin Mu's haste, Yuan Zhi was quite relaxed.

Back at the village meeting hall, Lin Mu found Chang Yin registering the newly refreshed wanderers. He counted 11 people, which was good, bringing the total population of the territory to 15, a significant breakthrough.

Lin Mu said to Chang Yin, "Yuan Jian (Chang Yin's courtesy name, used by close friends to show respect), please arrange for Yuan Zhi to rest in a side room of the village meeting hall. By the way, this is Yuan Zhi, a special merchant for our territory, who will be very helpful to our village!"

Lin Mu gave a slight hint, believing that Chang Yin, with his intelligence, would understand and know to court this merchant named Yuan Zhi.

"Sure, no problem!" Chang Yin responded, lifting his head. He did not ask if Yuan Zhi would register.

On the way back, Lin Mu also asked Yuan Zhi if he could register in True Dragon City, but the answer was no, as he and his kind could not register.

Lin Mu was a bit disappointed. If Yuan Zhi registered, he could view all his attributes, which would help in analyzing his capabilities. However, he did not force the issue.

Registration was a very important setting in "Mythical Three Kingdoms." Registered players or native NPC lords could view the attributes of others, as the skill to detect such information was rare, and many players could not learn it. Without this skill, many character details were unobtainable, and special items required identification, which players could not view.

Therefore, registration became very important, allowing the viewing of attributes, though not all attributes could be seen. For example, if someone was a spy, Lin Mu could not detect it, as there were limitations. However, the registration function was crucial for many players.

The management of registration differed between players and native NPCs.

Registered native NPCs had significant freedom and no restrictions. If an NPC registered and later found the place unsuitable, they could deregister without system penalties, though players could pursue them for responsibility, such as assassinating them.

For players, deregistering would result in significant penalties, such as losing the reputation, achievements, and titles they had earned while registered, though not completely. The penalties were severe and varied based on the player's situation.

When Lin Mu left a large guild, he faced significant system penalties due to his high status and equipment, losing almost everything, which was a severe punishment.

Lin Mu briefly recalled the past but dismissed it. Now that he was so powerful, he no longer needed those things and had higher aspirations.

Suppressing his thoughts, Lin Mu continued to handle basic territory affairs. With his current leisure, many of his planned actions from memory were unfeasible due to his low strength, so he decided to be a busy little bee for now.

Lin Mu used the Wandering Camp and Refugee Camp blueprints, and eight new buildings instantly rose in the village. The system-gifted Elementary Wandering Camp, which came with the village, was not considered a territory building in principle, but after upgrading it to an Intermediate Wandering Camp, it became a territory building that required maintenance and management.

Three Elementary Refugee Camps, one Intermediate Refugee Camp, three Elementary Wandering Camps, and one Intermediate Wandering Camp were now the sources of the territory's population, refreshing 160 people daily, which was quite significant. He was not worried about supporting them, as his territory, though lacking the convenience of a system government, had abundant resources in the wild, such as meat from wild animals, wild fruits, and fish from the Yinglong River in Yinglong Valley. Food would not be as scarce as for other players.

(End of Chapter)