National destiny: Starting with a coffin, building an aircraft carrier is broadcast live globally.

Instead of scrambling for the money on the ground, the townspeople stopped what they were doing and whistled, clapped, and cheered with beaming smiles.

The man ran down the street, laughing maniacally...

Like a bird that has finally broken free of its cage.

As he passed any group of people—mainly because they were standing in the middle and were too conspicuous—he stopped in his tracks:

"An outsider?"

"Congratulations, sir." Ren Yi smiled and nodded, looking directly into his eyes with clear and sincere eyes.

This extremely sincere congratulation from the stranger clearly delighted him. He immediately burst into laughter, grabbed Renyi's hand, stuffed a few cold coins into it, and then turned the corner under their gaze.

Just as the man's maniacal laughter subsided...

"squeak--"

The door to that luxurious building slowly opened again.

A short, stout man walked over amidst the enthusiastic greetings of the townspeople.

The elegant dress couldn't contain his round belly. He leaned on a gold-inlaid walking stick. His chubby face didn't show any kindness; instead, it was a bit domineering. When he grinned, you could see a few eye-catching gold teeth.

"Oh dear, they're guests from out of town!"

The fat man walked towards them with a pigeon-toed gait.

Nathan frowned, staring at the walking stick in his hand—

He really didn't know what the purpose of this walking stick was in this guy's hand... It was completely out of place with his clothes, the way he held it, and the rhythm; it was all so incongruous.

"Welcome to...Gold Anchor Town."

"I am Mayor Vili."

Willy stopped two meters away from them and gave a proper gentlemanly bow.

"Let me remind you, from the moment you set foot in this port, your souls... have already been put on a price tag."

He held up a short, thick finger adorned with a gold ring and shook it, his gold teeth gleaming.

"One soul, one thousand gold coins."

"Let me count them..."

A greedy gaze, seemingly capable of weighing things up, swept over each of the six people before finally settling on Ren Yi's calm face.

"Six people."

"Give me six thousand gold coins, and you can leave here safely—"

talking.

He tapped the bluestone slab beneath their feet with his walking stick.

"If you can't gather enough..." the fat man grinned, his face puffed up with fat, "then stay here and live a carefree life, just like them."

He spoke these words with intonation and rhythm.

It perfectly captures the nonchalant control over life and death, and the superior sense of being high above others.

If the people present were well-read enough, they might have the illusion of having entered some kind of infinite loop instance.

Vili squinted his small eyes, waiting to see the stranger's expression of shock and anger—

That's one of the fun things to do!

"Wait a moment......"

Suddenly, the tense background music was abruptly cut off.

"Mayor, is this six thousand gold coins... a forced bundled sale?"

"..."

"..."

Vili got stuck.

He couldn't immediately grasp the meaning of the sentences formed by these words.

Is it difficult to understand?

He patiently explained, "What I mean is..."

He tilted his head and confidently pointed with his thumb to his five teammates behind him:

"We're not going as a group, we're buying individually. Can the five of them chip in 1000 gold coins for me, and I'll leave first? Is that okay?"

Vili froze for a full three seconds, then suddenly looked behind Ren Yi.

The burly man with the offensive manner nodded solemnly; the flaxen-haired fellow looked up at the sky; the man with slicked-back hair looked down at the ground; and the woman dressed as a nun simply closed her eyes...

The little girl with the tail met his gaze, flicked her tongue, and slowly turned her head to the side, staring at the tip of her tail.

There was no surprise, no anger, no questioning?

[The big boss is acting like a monster again!]

[On how to turn a horror game into a stand-up comedy routine in one sentence (just kidding)]

[Villi: That's a difficult response for me, the script wasn't written like this!]

[Number one at betraying teammates, my motto is "My friend dies, but I don't," hahaha.]

This fake town has existed for who knows how long...

He had witnessed far too many instances of betrayal, deception, and even fratricide in the struggle for survival.

But that usually happens after experiencing despair and mental torment!

People like this, who don't even bother to act, brazenly demand their teammates crowdfund for them, essentially letting themselves escape...

This is extremely rare!

"Pfft... Hahahaha!"

Mayor Vili's fat face twitched violently, then burst into a gleeful laugh, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at Ren Yi.

To find the light of one's own kind in a cesspool.

"This young man..." His gold teeth gleamed. "Interesting. If you can convince them to contribute willingly, of course. Rules... are always flexible."

I don't understand what he's laughing about all by himself.

But having received the answer he wanted, he nodded in satisfaction.

"Reasonable."

Just as Willy finished laughing and was about to continue displaying his authority as a ruler, he saw the young man he admired take a step forward and, quite naturally, take Willy's right hand, which was covered in gold rings, and shake it.

The moment their hands touched, several round coins were slipped into Willy's thick palm.

—The man who just went mad gave out random "rewards".

Borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha costs nothing.

Mayor Vili cupped his hands together, rubbed his fingertips together, and the fat on his face instantly relaxed.

Having caught this signal, one can speak at any opportune moment:

"We're new here, could you give us some pointers?"

"I find you agreeable, so I'll give you a couple of pointers."

Willy casually straightened his handkerchief, slipped the gold coins into his pocket, and began to speak slowly and deliberately.

"Gold Anchor Town is a goldmine. Waiting tables, unloading goods, mending... as long as you're willing to work hard, you can earn money every day."

"The outside world is tough and tiring; how can it compare to staying here, working every day and earning money?"

assimilation.

Whether it's due to the rules or the time limit, someone secretly marked this rule with a red cross.

"Furthermore, there was an exchange."

Vili glanced around.

Apart from the wrench in Klaus's hand, the others were empty-handed, and he was even more satisfied.

"There aren't many outside visitors. The rare items you bring in might fetch a good price. Of course, that's assuming the townspeople are willing to buy them, and... prices from outside don't work here."

I understand. The townspeople have very low material desires, so even if they bring out something, it will be sold at rock-bottom prices.

"What about the third option?"

Ask anything.

"The third way..."

Vili turned around, his walking stick pointing towards the end of the street.

"As long as you have enough capital, plus a little bit of luck, six thousand, let alone sixty thousand, is just a matter of a day. How about it? Want to try your luck?"