Strategy game? Then I'll have to control you properly.

"What on earth are they doing?"

Actually, Lin Miao didn't have any particular expectations for them, since she had been too busy to think about these things before.

At first, they just thought they were having fun, but later they realized that their actions were related to their lives, so they started to take it seriously.

But seeing what they did the next day, Lin Miao suddenly became interested.

After the tribal chief Attila returned to the village with the newly joined tribesmen, he summoned everyone to begin preparing for a certain ceremony.

Even the daily resource gathering through the portal has been temporarily suspended.

"—, —"

The atmosphere was unusually solemn. Amidst the whispering villagers, Attila solemnly prepared for what appeared to be a ritual.

They erected an altar-like platform, laid out their spoils, and began to perform a ritual with focused concentration.

Other villagers also joined in the kneeling and worshipping, and Lin Miao could roughly guess what they wanted to do.

File Transfer Tool: 2000P

"???"

Surprisingly, the system triggered a response when the villagers performed their special ceremony.

The system recommended a new feature to Lin Miao, who was staring blankly at the villagers' victory ceremony.

This is a program module used for transferring various types of files. Rather than a standalone program, it's more like a basic function that comes with the system.

"You actually have to spend achievement points to activate this feature?"

Lin Miao tried various programs but couldn't find anything. It turns out that even such a basic function can be activated.

Wait, could it be...?

But Lin Miao's furrowed brows quickly relaxed, after all, the system would never recommend features without a reason.

File transfer, simply put, is the transfer of files.

Although it's uncertain what exactly is being transmitted, it's worth a try.

The file transfer tool is now activated.

After reluctantly expending precious points to activate it, the transmitter's target was none other than the spoils on the altar.

[Pure Gold Ring] [Iron Sword] [Magician's Leather]...

The loot appeared in file format on the transfer interface, with the send button shining brightly.

If I click this button, where will these treasures be teleported to?

"Oh my god!!"

"this……"

The residents of the tabletop, who were holding the ceremony, suddenly stirred. Even Attila, who had been so adept at presiding over the ritual, stared wide-eyed at the golden ring that had disappeared into the light, his shock evident in his eyes.

Lin Miao was so surprised she almost choked; her shock was no less than his.

"This, this is..."

Lin Miao's voice trembled as she clutched the gold ring that had popped out of the monitor, managing a dry laugh.

Among the many spoils of war, Lin Miao chose to transmit only a gold ring.

Animal hides and iron swords were not among his choices, as they were too troublesome to handle.

Even so, Lin Miao never expected that it would actually be delivered to her hands.

My first reaction upon seeing this gold ring was, of course, that gold prices have risen a lot recently, and this thing must be worth a lot of money.

"Won't anything else work?"

Setting aside the gold ring for the moment, Lin Miao turned her gaze back to the cheering villagers.

Seeing Attila giving a speech to the villagers, it seemed that Lin Miao's acceptance of some of the tributes had helped him a lot, since the newly joined villagers were unaware of Lin Miao's existence.

During this break, Lin Miao checked the other items displayed on the desktop, but no more items could be entered into the file transfer device. It seemed that their sacrificial ritual was some kind of trigger mechanism that activated the transfer device.

"Could we be being misunderstood?"

Seeing their enthusiastic demeanor, Lin Miao felt inexplicably guilty.

As ordinary citizens of this era, we don't think it's wrong to love money, but to leave the other carefully prepared offerings aside and only take the gold items is a bit too blatant.

[Lin Miao: Can I come find you now?]

Of course, it doesn't matter if you go there right now.

Lin Miao picked up her phone and sent a text message to her cousin, who was helping her father run a gold shop in a commercial street a little further away.

Since it wasn't stolen and didn't originally belong to this world, no one will report it. As long as the source is fabricated, no one will suspect anything.

◆◆◆

"I couldn't believe it when I first heard the rumors... but it's actually true!"

"To be honest, I didn't expect it to be verified in this way. Who could have predicted that sir would take it away in person?"

During the brief moment when he stepped away to test whether he could handle the gold ring.

Attila and the residents, looking bewildered, cleaned up the site after the ceremony.

Attila gave a wry smile upon hearing the words of the new resident.

The original purpose of the sacrifice was to unite the residents and show loyalty to the gods who ruled the area, but who would have thought that the offerings would actually be taken away.

The image of the gold ring floating up on its own and disappearing with a "poof" was still vivid in their minds.

"Why did they only take the gold ring?"

Lillie expressed her confusion as to why he only took the gold ring from the spoils.

"The other things are either not valuable enough, or they don't meet that person's standards, I don't know. They're just some gold, they're not important to us anyway."

Attila thought that was unimportant.

"Lillie, I just came back from the battlefield. He probably won't summon you, but the crops and livestock in that world can't be left unattended. I'll go check on them and come right back."

"Father, you must be tired too."

"Are you the only one who gets tired because you're on the front lines? I still need to arrange accommodations and supplies for the newcomers later."

Attila understood why Lin Miao didn't bring Lillie into the game world, and after saying that, he led a few people toward the portal.

Although it was indeed tiring, the resources and food produced there were the foundation for the tribe's livelihood, and they could not afford to slack off.

"I'm afraid we won't have the strength to go to the mining area. The farmers should harvest the crops, and the rest of you should sort out the supplies."

After arriving in this world made of blocks, Attila has become adept at issuing commands.

Within the area surrounded by sturdy stone walls, a variety of rapidly growing crops produce food with an efficiency unmatched by real farmland, making it practically a mobile granary.

"Allen, have you ever seen gold while mining? I heard you've found ores other than iron ore."

"That's true, but I don't think I've seen any gold. After all, all the non-iron ores were taken by that lord for processing."

Attila and the others sorted through their loot and asked the miner Allen if he had seen any gold.

The intention was naturally for the sacrificial ceremony held today.

He thought that if he could find gold, he would offer it as a sacrifice.

But Allen shook his head, indicating that he had never seen gold.

In the original game, gold was not a rare mineral, but they were unaware that due to the intervention of the residents, many elements of the game had been adjusted, and they could only regretfully accept the fact that they could not find gold.

"There's no other way; we'll have to find another way to deal with the offerings."

"Is it really necessary? That person hasn't said anything special so far."

"Accepting the tribute is meaningful in itself. Perhaps... we will be granted even greater favors."

Allen doubted whether the being who had displayed extraordinary abilities would accept material tributes, but Attila insisted on trying everything.

"Chieftain! Chieftain! Look over there!"

The change occurred at that very moment. It happened when everyone was working inside the walls and no one was venturing out.

Maureen, who was looking out from the wall, suddenly cried out and pointed in a certain direction.

"...What exactly is that thing?"

As Attila climbed the wall, he saw the approaching enemy forces in the distance and broke out in a cold sweat.

So far, the only monsters they've encountered on land are zombies that appear at night; the rest have only been seen in places like mines.

But what attacked them now was not zombies, but an enemy they had never seen before.

What is just a common occurrence in the game is a disaster that the villagers have to fight for their lives.

"What do we do? They're definitely coming this way."

"Are we going to climb over the wall? Let everyone prepare to take shelter in the stone house first."

They stared nervously at the approaching skeleton attackers. Though numbering less than twenty, they clearly considered the villagers enemies.

At this moment, those angular, clumsy bodies are nothing more than game monsters, but once you get close, they will transform into cunning predators.

"The trials are coming one after another... Is this the price to pay?"

Attila sighed as he hastily armed himself.

There is always a trade-off between what you gain and what you lose.

The price to pay for transforming from a mere fugitive into a raider who defeats a powerful tribe is naturally considerable.

Will that sir come to our aid?

"Don't expect aid; we must solve this ourselves—everything we enjoy now is a gift from Him."

Attila drew his bow, aimed at the approaching skeleton, and said decisively to the villagers who were still clinging to hope, "Shoot! Is there anything more difficult to deal with than that black monster?"

"Release the arrows!"

Standing guard on the city wall, they simultaneously released their bowstrings the moment the skeletons entered their firing range.

Whether in the past or since their immigration, continuous training and real-world experience have made their skills sharper than ever before.

The moment the skeletons at the forefront were enveloped by the rain of arrows, their originally blank faces suddenly twisted into ferocious shapes as if their resolution had increased dramatically, baring their fangs and roaring—the next second they were all hit by arrows and fell to the ground.

"They started to run away."

"Is it really over?"

Witnessing the instantaneous death of many of their kind, the surviving skeletons frantically stopped in their tracks.

The way they turned and fled was unlike the fixed monsters in games; they looked more like real monsters.

Although it's a standard tactic for skeletons to flee after being attacked by players and summon more allies, the defenders were unaware of this—and even if they had, they wouldn't have had the strength to pursue them at the moment.

"We definitely need more power."

Attila, the tribal chief, watched this scene and was convinced that he had made the right choice.

This world is a precious treasure trove of resources and food, but it also harbors unknown threats.

In the past, due to a shortage of manpower, the residents stationed here had to deal with various emergencies, but now that the population has increased, Attila has decided to gradually implement a complete division of labor in order to preserve the fighting force.