Little Pink Starfish

The task Pei Sen issued had, of course, been approved by Eagle, though in Eagle’s opinion, it wasn’t a big deal.

He wasn’t giving anything away for free to the Bix Clan—they were paying for it. Under these circumstances, even Lady Mary, who didn’t like the Bix Clan, couldn’t really say anything against it.

As for the shops in Frost Maple Territory… the root cause was simply that Eagle didn’t have any competent business personnel under him. Lanno Territory was already poor, and Eagle himself had plenty of properties in Casey City, Arzi Town, and Adrien City. If he really had to find some merchants to manage the shops, Eagle figured it would be better to just sell them to the Bix Clan directly. At least he trusted them to pay their taxes on time.

Not everyone agreed with this decision. For instance, Ichabod had his doubts—could these crazy Bix Clan folks really manage shops?

“I can’t say that everyone will do well,” Pei Sen said with a smile, “but I’m sure some of them will do better than you think.”

These natives still underestimated the players. They thought players were only good for fighting and killing. Sure, the players were fearless and considered excellent warriors, but beyond that, the natives really didn’t understand them at all.

To the natives, the Bix Clan carried extremely stereotypical labels: most believed they were all terrifying, death-defying lunatics with something wrong in their heads. There weren’t really any other impressions.

Pei Sen felt this was unfair. Players were capable of so much more.

If shops were handed over to the players, on a continent like Yali, some of them might even outperform the local merchants. The complexity and systems of modern business far surpassed the outdated business models of the Yali Continent.

With the open beta approaching, Pei Sen genuinely didn’t want a massive influx of players to be seen as just crazy lunatics. Bix Magic Cube hoped players would integrate into this world, and Pei Sen hoped to reduce conflict between players and natives.

Because these “NPCs” weren’t really NPCs at all. The ways of playing the game were diverse. Aside from combat, there was so much more players could do.

But right now? There weren’t any players who could afford to buy property or shops.

And Bix Magic Cube was famously un-monetizable—there were no ways to spend real money in-game. During the closed beta, accounts were already selling for a lot of money. Most current beta players weren’t short on cash and were unwilling to sell game currency offline.

The forum was full of whales posting threads like “Buying gold at high prices, the more the better,” but no one was responding. Some cloud players were pretending to sell gold just for show.

Cloud players mockingly said, “It’s great you can’t afford it! Otherwise, you’d buy up all the property in Casey City. When the open beta comes, there’ll be nothing left for us.”

So, players could only work hard to earn money in-game. Even the whales used to solving problems with cash had to roll up their sleeves.

They had no choice. You couldn’t buy gold, and you couldn’t spend money. If you wanted something, you had to earn it.

Some players went back to Lanno Territory to grind. Although Casey City was already built, the outer city was still expanding and would eventually connect to Golden Rose Manor. Roads were still under construction throughout Lanno, and Arzi Town still needed development. The number of tasks was seemingly endless.

This method wasn’t efficient, but it was stable.

Most players still stayed in Frost Maple Territory, where the quests were high risk and high reward. If lucky, one successful mission might be worth a whole day’s labor in Lanno.

Of course, those missions were dangerous, and enemy strength was often unpredictable.

Still, players didn’t mind gambling on luck. Every game has its lucky and unlucky players, right? Probability is always part of the game!

Even now, they were gambling skills at Pei Sen’s place. Very few had fully maxed out any of the top-tier skills at this stage.

Meanwhile, the Red Maple Family that had left Frost Maple Territory temporarily relocated to neighboring Snow Lion Territory. The current lady of Snow Lion was Night Hawk’s cousin. She was willing to shelter the Red Maple Family and had given them a manor to stay in.

But Snow Lion Territory itself was very small and bordered Frost Maple—extremely vulnerable. If Frost Maple wanted to, it could wipe it out in no time. If not for Snow Lion being so poor and unimpressive, Red Maple Lady would’ve taken it already.

“We really don’t need to leave people behind in Frost Maple anymore,” Night Hawk said helplessly. “Trying to take back that land now is impossible.”

That young lord who took over—he wouldn’t leave.

“It’s fine. The people we left behind are all openly connected to us,” said an old red-haired man with a sinister grin. “Who knows, maybe something might happen to him… he’s still young and has no heirs…”

Night Hawk felt a chill. “Great-uncle, you wouldn’t…”

“I didn’t give any such order,” the red-haired elder dodged. “I never said anything!”

Scarlet Leaf quietly listened nearby. As a redeemed prisoner, he held back and didn’t speak. But his foolish cousin, full of excitement, blurted out, “Even if we do something, isn’t it a good thing? You never know!”

Night Hawk felt deeply tired—he really couldn’t manage this family anymore.

“You never know?” What a joke. Had they forgotten that the new lord had incredibly strong guards by his side? With those motley forces they had, even taking on his swordsmen would be a stretch, let alone hurting the lord himself. Dream on.

If they just stayed quiet in Snow Lion and did nothing, maybe they could drag things out. But if the lord ever found out… even Snow Lion might be implicated.

Night Hawk had a very bad feeling about this.

Compared to Lanno Territory, Frost Maple Territory was truly massive. It had as many as seven major cities—not even counting the scattered small villages. Villages on the level of Arzi weren’t even included in the city tally.

Red Maple City was considered the most important in the territory due to the Red Maple Castle, but it wasn’t the largest. That title went to Ice Rock City, which was only a half-hour away from Red Maple City. Along with Frost Moon City, which formed a triangle with Red Maple and Ice Rock, these three were known as the Three Great Cities of Frost Maple.

As for Blackstone City, Twilight Moon City, Storm Rain City, and Cold Snow City—they were smaller, but each was at least the size of Adrien in Lanno Territory.

In short, the complexity of Frost Maple Territory far surpassed that of Lanno. Lanno had just three small towns and barely a trace of minor nobility. Even if all ten thousand players were dumped into Frost Maple, they might not make much of a splash—because the place was just that vast. Besides, some players had already returned to Lanno.

So, the red-name bounty task Pei Sen issued was actually a long-term assignment.

After Eagle summoned several scribes from Frost Maple Territory to get a sense of the local situation, he realized the biggest threat wasn’t actually the Red Maple Family, but rather an underworld organization known as the Blackrock Gang, entrenched in Ice Rock and Blackstone.

They were far trickier to deal with than the visible Red Maple Family.

Moreover, aside from the Red Maple Family, there were also several declining noble houses scattered across Frost Maple, each city with some minor noble presence. The Kingdom of Esmia and the Barslet Kingdom had very different systems—in Esmia, noble titles were still worth something. Neither the royal family nor the major houses were interested in bloating the nobility. In contrast, Barslet was the typical “small temple with big demons”—its noble population was two or three times that of Esmia’s!

Naturally, the actual worth of a noble title in Barslet was… questionable.

But these nobles took themselves very seriously. They loved to act high and mighty. Some descendants of ancient houses were so arrogant they dared to offend even the Red Maple Lady. And while the Red Maple Family was foolish, in Frost Maple Territory they weren’t even the most foolish—just somewhere in the middle.

To farm quests, players first entered Red Maple City and nearby Ice Rock City.

The attitudes of the commoners in these two cities toward players were starkly different.

Red Maple’s residents would never forget how that bizarre group of sword-wielding Lanno warriors had entered their city. Many civilians had been carried on doors dragged through the streets—that experience was unforgettable and likely would never be repeated. But that day left a lingering fear in people’s hearts.

Even those who weren’t caught or who had only watched from a distance—including young noble spectators—were too afraid to provoke the players.

As a result, quests in Red Maple City went surprisingly smoothly—because no one dared to get in the way. The players even captured two beloved local figures—Miss Lianne from the Red Frost Tavern, and Old Rye from the western pie shop—and no one said a word.

Citizens just gathered at a distance, whispering, dissatisfied but silent. Some were puzzled: how did those two manage to offend the new lord? They shouldn’t have even known him!

A few people huddled in the shadows, frowning. “How could it be such a coincidence? Where did they slip up?”

Lianne, beautiful and well-liked, ran the Red Frost Tavern and was secretly a member of the Red Maple Family. Few knew, as she was born of a noble and a slave—an illegitimate daughter unacknowledged by her noble lineage. Yet her father gave her some support, which led to her current status and the success of her tavern.

She had planned to subtly spread rumors about the new lord, believing in her own cleverness. But before she could act, she was arrested. Why?

Old Rye was even more hidden. While Lianne wasn’t directly planted, Old Rye was—a Red Maple spy placed to monitor the castle. His pie shop, near Red Maple Castle, had operated for years. Even the Red Maple Lady occasionally bought from him.

But the current “Old Rye” wasn’t the original owner’s son—not at all. He was the man who killed the previous owner.

He’d played the role of the friendly neighborhood baker for over a decade, universally trusted. Yet today, these swordsmen found him and Lianne with ease and were joyfully dragging them off for a bounty.

Besides those two surprising figures, a few minor suspicious contacts were also caught. Locals guessed their intentions and weren’t surprised.

Among those watching from the shadows was a long-term Red Maple resident.

He mingled with the crowd, observing, looking for a chance to rescue someone. Known to locals as “Little John,” he wore a friendly smile.

“Don’t get too close, Little John. These people are fierce.”

“I know,” he smiled back, looking even more amiable.

Just then, a few Lanno swordsmen with their strange hip-hung swords headed toward him.

Little John remained calm. He was a professional—there’s no way they could’ve found him. They looked clumsy, scanning crowds casually. How did they spot Lianne and Old Rye?

One player reached for their sword. In-game, only high-tier armor had proper sword slots—even leather armor didn’t. Most players had to hold their weapons or stash them in inventory while working.

But after learning rope crafting, some players got creative. They carved wooden sword holders with loops and tied them to their belts, allowing hip-carrying. Strange-looking? Yes. Effective? Also yes.

After a few months of playing Bix Magic Cube, players started enjoying the inventiveness the game allowed. With its high interactivity, even small ideas could become reality.

Little John thought the hip-sword setup looked silly. But the player who came up with it had proudly claimed, “Soon, every swordsman on Yali will be wearing one!”

He quickly understood why: in a flash, the nearby swordsmen drew their swords and charged straight at him.

Civilians screamed and scattered. Little John tried to escape among them—but quickly realized they were targeting him.

“Why?” he whispered, confused.

Had the Red Maple Family betrayed him? Were Lianne and Old Rye captured too?

He was sure he hadn’t revealed anything.

But the players had no interest in explaining. Nor did they need to—his shining red name stood out even in a crowd. And they were broke. Seeing a red-name target was like spotting your crush—pure excitement!

“Got one!”

“Grab him quick!”

“Nice eyes, bro!”

“Looks like staying in Red Maple was a good call—low numbers but less danger.”

“Yeah, I heard several squads got wiped in Ice Rock already.”

In contrast to Red Maple, Ice Rock was cold and hostile to players.

Despite being nearby, Ice Rock was a tough city. It was Blackrock Gang turf. Compared to them, Kui Wolf’s crew was child’s play.

Both were underworld groups, but if Kui Wolf came here, he’d barely qualify as a lackey. Blackrock Gang’s leaders were all level-5+ swordsmen, one of whom was an elite mage—just shy of promotion to full high-tier.

Years ago, the Red Maple Lady had used her strength and charisma to win their support. Despite their shady dealings—protection rackets, trafficking, brothels—they helped guard Red Maple, Ice Rock, and Blackstone during her campaigns.

But Eagle, the new lord? They had zero respect for him. They even felt he disrespected them.

The Red Maple Castle had its typical drawbacks. In winter, it was frigid and uncomfortable.

By the cozy fireplace, a new wool blanket and a lounge chair waited for Eagle—prepared by a maid that day. Pei Sen, seated nearby, took the chance to enjoy the warmth too. He thought: staying here was far less comfortable than living at Golden Rose Manor.

Eagle had no interest in contacting Blackrock Gang. He didn’t even read their letter—he just motioned for Pei Sen to toss it in the fire.

“Seems anyone can send me letters now,” Eagle said, handing Pei Sen a handkerchief. “A letter touched by such people must be filthy.”

Pei Sen noticed the letter had used proper noble stationery—snow-white parchment, perfumed envelope. But he knew what Eagle meant. The “filth” wasn’t literal. Still, did he really need to wipe his hands?

“So, what do you plan to do, young master?”

“Have the Bix Clan already reached Ice Rock?”

“Yes.”

For the players, this was a first. Since playing this game, they’d seen all kinds of NPC behavior—be it from Lanno’s civilians or Golden Rose’s servants and guards.

This game had gone far beyond “high intelligence.” Whether controlled by real people or some advanced AI, these NPCs were shockingly lifelike.

Still, the players saw it as a game. In games, players were naturally bold. This was a virtual world—they feared nothing.

The only real restrictions were system rules. But even so, what’s a player if not bold and unruly?

Then they met even bolder NPCs—in Ice Rock.

Yes, players were arrogant. They came to arrest red-names, and the bounty rewards were huge. Broke as they were, they were desperate for red-names.

Even sensing hostility in Ice Rock, they didn’t care. They barged into every location, searching for red-names, rough and aggressive. But system rules meant they couldn’t hurt green-named civilians or steal from them—so there was little real damage.

To the Blackrock Gang, though, this was blatant provocation.

“Looks like these punks have a death wish,” growled a burly, bearded man.

“Coming into Ice Rock acting tough? Time to show them what real brutality looks like.”

The Red Maple Family had been defeated so quickly they didn’t even spread the story. So the Blackrock Gang knew little about the Bix Clan.

Now, they decided to teach these new lord’s swordsmen a lesson.

They rallied a thousand-man force and charged toward the largest player presence. Along the way, they shoved civilians more rudely than the players ever had—truly embodying the word “savage.”

The players all froze, amazed at the oncoming NPC army.

Someone murmured, “So many.”

Yes. So many.

“GM, I love you! I love you so much!”

So many… and all red-names!

Pure joy. They hadn’t even mentally prepared!

The players’ eyes lit up. Their excitement was palpable.

This… was bliss.