Many children, many blessings; a stunningly beautiful wife is given to you right from the start.

"Um?"

Lin Mo's soul, which was about to fall into darkness, was abruptly pulled back by the notification sound.

He jolted awake and looked once more at the beauty panel that he both loved and hated.

【beauty】:? ? ?

[Status]: Sleeping

[Beauty Rating]: 100/100 (???)

【Intimacy Level】：1/100

[Exclusive Talent]: ? ? ? (Not activated)

[Inner Voice]: ... (Poor signal reception, unable to read)...

One!

The intimacy level has gone from zero to one!

Lin Mo stared at the "1" and was completely dumbfounded.

What breaks the seal?

What awakens the witch?

This is clearly a favorability system!

Those five Blood Nourishing Pills and those five near-death experiences weren't breaking the seal, but rather... sending gifts?

And after spending half a day on it, I only gained a little bit of intimacy.

This rate of return is absolutely atrocious.

A pain a hundred times stronger than if his body had been hollowed out instantly overwhelmed Lin Mo.

"I... am truly a genius."

Lin Mo was on the verge of tears, and slapped himself on the forehead.

He had thought it was a thrilling combat mission.

So it turns out it's a dating simulation game?

Moreover, it seems to be one of those hellish pay-to-win games where you won't hear a sound unless you spend tens of thousands of dollars.

"Damn it!"

Lin Mo forced out a single word through gritted teeth, his heart and liver bleeding.

However painful it was, at least we finally found the right approach.

As long as the relationship is based on affection, there's always room for strategy.

A forced relationship won't be sweet, but a gift... if you give enough, you'll surely get her to open her mouth, right?

Thinking of this, Lin Mo's spirits inexplicably soared.

He struggled to his feet, swaying as he got up.

But every bone in his body was screaming, "If I move any further, I'll fall apart."

No, we need to wait and see. We can study it again when we have the chance.

Moreover, this crystal cannot be placed outside.

If some woman were to barge in and see this, she might think I have some kind of unusual fetish.

"receive."

With a thought, Lin Mo caused the enormous crystal radiating an eerie purple light to vanish into thin air after a slight spatial distortion.

The dreamlike atmosphere in the room vanished instantly, and it returned to being an ordinary bedroom.

Get it done.

Lin Mo's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground again, panting heavily.

The plan to cultivate a wife is a long and arduous task.

The most urgent task is to get my own business up and running.

A cool interface unfolded in Lin Mo's mind.

It was the [Map of Mountains and Rivers] that he had previously obtained at White Wolf Village.

At this moment, a row of function options at the top of the map is flashing.

Territory, Construction, Military, Technology, Missions...

It looks just like the main panel of a strategy game.

Lin Mo's vanity, which had just been hurt, began to stir again.

"Alas, let me see just how prosperous and thriving my territory is!"

He confidently clicked on the [Territory] option.

The next second, a panel popped up.

[Territory]: Blackwind City

[Lord]: Lin Mo

Seeing the word "Lord," Lin Mo felt incredibly proud.

But when he continued reading...

[Status]: Dilapidated

Lin Mo's smile froze on his face.

Population: 15821

[Public sentiment]: -10 (Public discontent is boiling; there's an 80% chance of being stuffed into a sack if you go out at night.)

His lips began to twitch involuntarily.

Negative?

Can public opinion be negative?

Is this data meant to make the people rise up in rebellion and hang him, the new city lord, at the city gate as a warning to the public?

[Public Security]: -25 (Under collapse; arson, murder, and looting are frequent occurrences; there are more street thugs than homeless people.)

Good heavens, have I just taken over a city, or am I back in Gotham City?

All that's missing is a Batman to act as a righteous guardian, right?

Lin Mo subconsciously touched the back of his neck and felt a chill.

With his last glimmer of hope, he turned his gaze to the most important section: [Resources].

It doesn't matter if his attributes are a little lacking; as long as he has enough resources, he can achieve great things.

【resource】:

Food: -5800 (Deficit!)

Timber: 3500

Stone: 4700

Iron ore: 2300

……

When Lin Mo saw the grain section, his breath caught in his throat.

The bright red, still flashing "-5800" was like a knife, stabbing deep into his eyeballs.

Negative five thousand eight?

It's not that there's still 5,800 left, but rather... that there's a debt of 5,800?

Are all the people in the city eating dirt?

No, it's not that they can't even eat dirt anymore, they have to borrow dirt from the neighbor.

He thought he had taken over a promising stock, but it turned out to be a junk stock on the verge of being delisted!

"A map depicting the conquest of mountains and rivers?"

"I think it's more like a picture of a bankrupt country!"

Lin Mo was so angry that he almost had a heart attack on the spot.

With these starting stats, forget about conquering the world; it would be a miracle if an angry mob didn't storm into your mansion and hang you on the flagpole.

He struggled to tear his gaze away from the deficit and opened the [Construction] interface, trying to find a glimmer of hope.

In the [Build] interface, common facilities such as [Thatched Hut], [Dung Road], and [Wooden Fence] are all lit up, ready to be built at any time.

But his gaze was fixed on the glittering gold icon at the bottom of the list.

[Heavenly Forge]: Mythical-level building. Can forge legendary weapons, unlock divine weapon blueprints, and improve the craftsmanship of all artisans in the territory.

Requirements: 100000 Stone, 50000 Refined Iron, 100000 Hegemony Points, and unlock the prerequisite technology [Masterful Craftsmanship].

Lin Mo checked his Hegemony Points, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

[Domination Points]: 3970

I only have a little over 3,000 Hegemony Points right now, and you're asking me for 100,000?

Are you kidding me!

He closed the "Construction" menu with a sense of utter despair, then opened the "Military" menu.

A few lines of text lay alone on the panel.

[Unit]: Elite Troops of Dingbei Prefecture

[Number]: 287 (3 killed in action, 20 slightly wounded)

Morale: 99 (Having just won a victory, they are filled with awe at the miracles performed by the Lord.)

287 people are enough to protect Dingbei Prefecture.

But now the entire Blackwind City is his territory.

With only a few hundred people, you couldn't even see a splash if you scattered them.

"Why……"

Lin Mo sighed softly and despairingly clicked on the next option, [Technology].

A row of gray icons made his heart sink.

[Hundred-Refined Steel Technology] (Gray)

[Improved Repeating Crossbow] (Gray)

[Heavy Cavalry Training] (Gray)

……

Each icon has a line of small text below it: Research can only be unlocked after building the [Jixia Academy].

Lin Mo silently switched back to the [Build] interface and found the same grayed-out [Jixia Academy].

Requirements: 10000 wood, 10000 stone, 5000 Hegemony Points...

Ok.

What a perfect vicious cycle.

Without a strong foundation, you can't build infrastructure.

Without infrastructure, you can't develop science and technology.

Without technology, you can't build a military.

Without military strength... we're just waiting to be messed with.

Or, if there is no popular support and no public order, they will be waiting to be rebelled against and hanged at the city gate.

"I'm going to die anyway!"

Mo's defenses were completely breached.