The Monster is Coming

Chapter 484 A-Lan's Request

Looking at the bill sent by President Alan and the installment loan of up to 3400 million from Brother Zhizhi, Tu Hu felt as if two mountains were pressing on his shoulders.

四千多万祭力。

He didn't know how long it would take him to pay it back.

It seems we'll be burdened with huge debts for quite some time.

关掉账单，他深吸一口气，随后点开了队伍聊天频道。

"Brothers, are you all here? I have something important to discuss with you."

A response came quickly from the channel.

"Hey, Hard Bro, what's up?" the assassin's voice, tinged with confusion, came through the wind.

“Brother Hard, you speak, we’re listening,” Warrior Rock then chimed in.

The baby bottle and the mage also sent out puzzled emojis.

Tu Hu organized his thoughts and then explained in detail the current situation of the Rongling civilization and the choices he faced.

“兄弟们，情况就是这样，很想回去跟你们继续冒险……但看着我亲手带起来的小家伙们在怪物世界自生自灭，我实在做不到，所以我就想，能不能……咱们换个玩法？”

He paused, a hint of nervousness in his voice:
“我们的想法是，暂时放弃刷副本，或是去外面冒险赚取收益，我们玩一把大的，走邪恶小法和重生哥的文明养成路线，将绒灵族培养起来，让他们在这怪物世界扎根。”

"We are both the guardians and investors of the Rongling tribe. Once they develop and create their own unique industries, they can support us like the Lingxi and Longyi tribes. At that time, will we still worry about a lack of sacrificial power or the inability to upgrade our equipment? We might be able to take off from here by taking advantage of this move."

He laid out his thoughts completely, and concluded sincerely:

“I know this idea is difficult to implement and has great potential risks. It would be like tying everyone to the Rongling Clan’s ship, and all the previous adventure plans would have to be put on hold. So… I still want to hear your opinions. If you think it’s not feasible, I will not force you. Let’s stick to the original plan, and I’ll think of other ways to deal with the Rongling Clan.”

A brief silence fell over the channel.

屠虎的心也跟着悬了起来，等待兄弟们给出抉择。

This decision means that his brothers will have to give up their familiar adventure and dungeon gameplay and join him in venturing into the unknown "management" gameplay.

The initial investment is substantial, and when the returns will come is completely unknown.

A few seconds later, the little bottle broke the silence first, its voice filled with excitement:

"Holy crap, bro, this civilization-building gameplay is awesome! It's way more exciting than grinding dungeons every day. If we could personally cultivate a powerful civilization and watch it grow from nothing to dominate this monster world... the sense of accomplishment would be off the charts! I support it, I absolutely have to support it!"

Following closely behind, he laughed:

“Brother Hard, your idea is really good. From now on, our team will use the city established by the Rongling tribe as our base. Occasionally, we can go back to Dizhong Village or go to Caiwu Coast for a vacation. After all, we are not evil little magicians who can go wherever we want. I support this idea.”

At this moment, the rock also said:
“邦邦，我们是一个小队，也是一个整体，当然要一起了，更何况这条路走通了，前景远比我们按部就班地刷怪、刷副本要广阔，我也同意。”

The mage in the group chuckled as well:
"Bangbang, don't forget why we helped you gather sacrificial power to enter the Dream World in the first place? It was because we thought you were a reliable person and always took good care of the brothers. Following you meant we'd get ahead. Now that you've discovered an even better path to development, of course the brothers have to follow you. When it comes to playing games, what's the most important thing? It's that the brothers are doing things together. A mere debt is nothing to be afraid of. We'll pay it off together. Count me in for this civilization development!"

Hearing the unreserved support from his brothers on the channel, Tu Hu felt a surge of warmth welling up in his heart.

These brothers, as always, affirmed his choice.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his surging emotions, and replaced them with an unprecedented sense of pride.

"Alright, we're all good brothers... Since everyone agrees, let's do it this way. From today onwards, the team's gameplay will officially expand into the realm of civilization development."

After speaking, he looked up at the Rongling fleet in the distance, which was gradually returning to order, and his eyes blazed with intense passion.

At this moment, the end of the personal adventure becomes the starting point of a grand narrative.

The road ahead is fraught with challenges and burdened by enormous debts.

With his brothers by his side, he knew he would no longer be fighting alone in the future, and his heart was filled with boundless fighting spirit.

As the mage in the team said: When playing games, the most important thing is your brothers.

Just then, a soft footstep interrupted his thoughts.

After finishing her urgent business, Xing Tong quickly returned.

Her tear tracks had dried, and she had regained her composure as a leader, but a deep worry lingered between her brows.

“Ancestor.” Xing Tong’s voice was hoarse with a hint of weariness as she approached him. She then activated a semi-transparent light screen on her wristwatch, which displayed a dense list of damaged data and resources:
"Preliminary statistics are in... The situation is more serious than expected."

She pointed to the large number of areas highlighted in red on the screen, her tone heavy:
“我们抵达的二十四批次舰队中，超过半数的工程舰和工业母舰在袭击中遭到结构性破坏，短期内无法投入重建，棘手的是……我们存储了文明七成备用资源和所有高纯度能量晶体的核心仓储舰群，在战斗初期就被重点摧毁，几乎……损失殆尽。”

Xing Tong raised her head and looked at Tu Hu:

"Ancestor, we are currently facing a severe shortage of resources. Without resources, it will be difficult to repair the fleet and to quickly build defensive fortifications on this land. If we cannot find food and other resources in a short period of time, the basic survival needs of our people will be unsustainable."

屠虎的目光扫过光幕上触目惊心的红色数据，眉头微皱。

新的压力感悄然落在肩头。

The current situation of the Rongling tribe is worse than he had anticipated.

Infrastructure, defense, survival... each of these requires massive resources, but his wallet is empty, he is in huge debts, and he has no ability to purchase resources to help the Rongling tribe.

If the Rongling tribe wants to establish itself in this dangerous land, the huge initial investment is undoubtedly the first hurdle that cannot be avoided and must be resolved immediately.

他下意识地揉了揉眉心，顿感头疼。

This civilization-building game is fraught with difficulties from the very beginning.

The first step was immediately stalled on the most practical issue of resources.

He then opened the team chat and said in a helpless tone:

"Brothers, the situation is a bit tricky. The Rongling tribe is almost out of resources, and repairs and reconstruction will require a lot of resources. We need to find a way to get our first pot of gold... How much sacrificial power do you have left to mobilize?"

A response came immediately from the channel.

Drifting with the Wind: Bro, last time I helped you raise money for teleportation, I even sold my rune equipment. Now I'm broke.

Rock: Me too, I don't have much sacrificial power left.

The noble mage: I'm completely out of items to clear in my inventory, so I can't offer any assistance.

The little bottle also sighed, and said half-jokingly:
"Brother Hard, it seems our civilization development game has a hellish start. Every step is difficult, and it's probably forcing you to face all sorts of difficulties... I think I understand now. If there's another survival crisis, will you be able to comprehend a sword of slaughter like Grandpa Cangxuan? If the Rongling civilization is destroyed in a desperate situation, will you be able to comprehend a sword of destruction on the spot?"

The little bottle's lighthearted banter, though unintentional, struck like lightning, instantly piercing the fog in Tu Hu's mind.

The sword of slaughter... the sword of destruction.

Yup!

How could he have forgotten those two things!
Tu Hu's eyes suddenly lit up, the pressure in his heart vanished, replaced by a sense of exhilarating enlightenment.

He immediately said to Xing Tong:
"The resource issue isn't urgent for now; I might have a solution."

His consciousness then sank into his own spatial baggage.

My gaze was fixed on two temporarily sealed orbs of light, which were quietly suspended in the second row of storage slots.

It was during his dreamlike state, as he comprehended the true essence of the Azure Profound Sword Dao, that the swords of slaughter and destruction, which were initially formed together, were never truly accepted due to their different paths.

He sealed away these two powerful sword auras initially because he didn't have enough sacrificial power.

I had planned to unseal it and use it when I had more sacrificial power, but in this desperate situation, it might be the key to breaking the deadlock.

屠虎的意识凝视着这两团散发着凛冽与破败气息的光团，心中瞬间闪过诸多念头。

The value of these two sword techniques is beyond doubt; they are the rudiments of power that touch upon the level of rules, and would be considered treasures anywhere.

Its value is incomparable to the "rule fragments" or similar items obtained from adventurer dungeons.

毕竟两道剑势触及的是高端规则体系里的“情绪势”。

至于卖掉是否太过可惜，这个问题屠虎倒是不觉得有什么。

After returning to Dream World, he completely understood his own path.

He has stepped out of his own "Sword of Civilization," a manifestation of the rules that combines his millennia-long will to protect with the blood and fire of the Rongling civilization.

The most correct direction for the future is to continuously deepen the foundation of the "Sword of Civilization" and carry out the belief in protection to the very end. It is foreseeable that in the long years that accompany the Rongling Clan in the development of this monster world, their sword of protection will shine ever brighter as civilization continues and grows.

In contrast, the swords of slaughter and destruction, which represent extreme destruction and the end of all things, are more lethal, but they run counter to the direction of his sword of civilization.

Forcibly merging with him could also corrupt his pure will to protect and shake his foundation.

Keeping them in your possession, aside from taking up storage space and occasionally reminiscing about the brilliance of Grandpa Cangxuan, doesn't serve much purpose.

Instead, their true value is obscured and they are unable to realize their potential.

Rather than letting them gather dust in our space baggage, we should use them to earn the crucial first pot of gold for the future of the Rongling civilization.

Tu Hu suddenly understood, and his thoughts became incredibly clear.

They believe that selling is the way to maximize profits and the optimal solution to break the current deadlock.

But how to sell it? He decided to seek Alan's help with that question.

Normally, players would auction off any high-value special items they obtained at the Gold Coin Merchant Guild.

While the Gold Coin Merchants Association collects transaction fees, it also promotes high-value goods in advance through billboards in the Gold Coin Merchants Association trading market and even the big screen in the Destiny Casino.

Many forces participate in each auction.

随着影响力扩散，甚至有很多玩家未探索到的海域势力前来竞拍。

交给金币商会，无疑是绝佳的选择。

Without hesitation, Tu Hu reconnected with "Shoujili," the president of the Gold Coin Merchant Guild.

光幕展开，阿岚的身影浮现，依旧是那副从容优雅的姿态。

"Bang Bang, you contacted me so quickly, is there something wrong with the bill?"

"President, you've misunderstood. There's nothing wrong with the bill. We owe you a great deal for rescuing the Rongling civilization..." After expressing his gratitude, Tu Hu continued:

“这次是想请你帮个忙，我想出手两件东西。”屠虎说着，将杀戮剑势与毁灭剑势的解析信息截图发送了过去。

In the video, A-Lan's smiling face instantly turned serious after seeing the two screenshots.

He was silent for a few seconds, as if carefully assessing something, before slowly raising his head to look at him, his tone less casual and more serious:
"Brother Bangbang, are you sure you want to make a move on these two items? Forgive my bluntness, but the value of these two sword techniques cannot be measured by conventional resources. They have touched upon the high-end rule system and are truly top-tier scarce resources, which are not even in the same dimension as consumable resources."

He paused and continued to explain:

"You should know that as our Gold Coin Merchant Guild's influence continues to expand and we connect with more and more regions and forces, many things that could only be sold at low prices can now be sold at high prices in our hands, such as the rule fragments produced in the Adventurer's World."

“其次，我们玩家自身的整体实力和财富也在快速增长，你手里这类规则物品，价值会随着时间推移水涨船高，是真正的硬通货，现在出手……太可惜了，哪怕你囤在手里，也能稳定增值。”

After listening to A-Lan's analysis, Tu Hu nodded solemnly.

He had considered these issues.

The value of rule-based products will only increase.

It wouldn't be surprising if the price exceeds 100 million in the future.

However, selling early allows for earlier enjoyment, and transforming this into a boost to the development of the Rongling tribe can bring greater development benefits.

He has already made his decision:
"President Alan, I appreciate your kindness, but I need some start-up capital to allow the Rongling civilization to survive and establish itself. Right now, their greatest value lies in being converted into tangible resources... So, please help me arrange an auction."

画面另一端的阿岚听到这番话，再度陷入沉默。

He could foresee the sensation that these two sword techniques, which touched upon the very essence of the rules, would cause when they were put up for auction.

Not only the Book of Words, with whom they had already established contact, but also the ancient gods.

Other sea areas, and even powerful forces that have not yet made contact with the player's faction, will also be affected by the news.

As far as the news travels, countless greedy eyes will be set on these two treasures.

The final transaction price was an absolutely staggering figure.

As the president of the Gold Coin Merchants Guild, he shouldn't have refused such a high-profile auction item.

Once a transaction is completed, the Chamber of Commerce can earn huge transaction fees and also enhance its influence among external forces.

There is no reason to refuse, whether from a public or private perspective.

But he also considered one more issue.

These two items, given by Hard, are different from fragments of rules or ordinary top-tier materials. They represent one of the true paths to supreme power and possess irreplaceable strategic value.

Even within the player's camp, it held significant value before the introduction of the "demigod system."

Selling it to external forces is tantamount to aiding the enemy in the long run, and it also weakens the player's future potential high-end combat power reserves.

Perhaps the Sword of Slaughter and the Sword of Destruction could also cultivate two demigods.

The best approach is to handle it internally.

谁获得不重要，让这份力量流转在玩家阵营内部。

But the problem also followed.

Currently, among player groups, only their Gold Coin Merchant Guild can contribute a huge sum of money; other guilds simply do not have the sacrificial power reserves to match its value.

Even the most elite village battle groups don't have much sacrificial power stored up; they generally convert it quickly into combat power.

倾家荡产恐怕也难以拍下一道。

强行内部消化，会让这两道剑势的价格大打折扣，这无疑会损害“硬邦邦”的切身利益。

It is unreasonable and illogical to make him suffer huge losses for the sake of the so-called "overall situation of the camp".

After a brief deliberation, A-Lan made a decision.

He raised his head, his gaze piercing through the light screen to look at Tu Hu, and said frankly:

"Brother Bang, I understand your decision and respect your choice, but I still have a favor to ask... Could you consider auctioning these two sword techniques within our player faction?"

Before Tu Hu could answer, he immediately added:
“我知道这可能会影响最终的成交价，作为补偿，我们商会会在最终成交价的基础上，额外补贴你10%的祭力，同时动用所有宣传渠道，在论坛为这两件商品全力造势，确保在内部也能拍出一个相对可观的价格。”

Ah Lan's tone was very sincere:
"Of course, if you insist on auctioning it to the public, we will make arrangements immediately. The choice is yours. This is just a suggestion, and I hope you will consider it."

屠虎听闻，顿时明白了阿岚话语中潜在的含义。

This is in the hope that he will leave two precious rule-based sword techniques within the player's camp, strengthening their own foundation.

That's in line with the Gold Coin Merchants Association's consistent style.

Early-stage initial coordinates, later-stage innovation support, and so on.

While pursuing profits, the Gold Coin Merchants Association never forgets to invest resources in the overall development of the player community, demonstrating a long-term vision.

Thinking back, the Rongling civilization was able to survive this ordeal largely thanks to the connections of the Gold Coin Merchant Guild, as well as the support from top-tier warbands such as the God King, coordinated by the guild leader "Shoujili".

He remembered this favor.

At this moment, although Alan's proposed plan would result in the loss of some potential revenue, the Gold Coin Merchant Association was willing to subsidize it with 10% of its own money and provide free advertising, which showed great sincerity.

In the future, the development of the Rongling tribe will still depend on the assistance of the Gold Coin Merchant Guild.

This favor might play a crucial role.

He had no reason to refuse, both emotionally and logically.

As his thoughts raced, Tu Hu made a decision.

He looked at Alan on the light screen, a smile appearing on his face:
"President Alan, since you've put it this way, it would be rather unreasonable of me to refuse. Let's do it your way and go through the internal auction. As for the extra 10%, that's unnecessary... I'll leave the details to your chamber of commerce."

"Good, Brother Bangbang is indeed straightforward!" A smile of appreciation appeared on Alan's face, and then she continued:
"Then I'll also make a statement: from now on, the Rongling tribe under your protection will be the business of my Gold Coin Merchant Guild in terms of commerce and resources, and we will definitely provide full support."

"Okay, I appreciate your kind gesture."

Tu Hu also laughed heartily; there was nothing more enjoyable than dealing with honest people.

(End of this chapter)