I Become a Landlady in the Game World
Chapter 172 - 104: Once You’re Here, Don’t Think About Leaving

Chapter 172: Chapter 104: Once You’re Here, Don’t Think About Leaving

On the other side, Tang Junliang from Overlord Village and the squad led by Ellis from Sorrel Town coincidentally met on the stone-paved road.

Tang Junliang and his group were more tense because the squad led by Ellis seemed stronger, and they recognized the other party as local residents at first glance.

The sudden appearance of local residents in Blue Star Territory would inevitably make people subconsciously tense.

As for Ellis’s team, they were relatively calm, and even upon encountering people, they continued to observe their surroundings.

This was a mercenary’s instinctive reaction—first to observe the environment upon arriving at a new place.

After finishing their observations, they already had an answer in mind.

The territory of Hope Village, on the whole, appeared quite safe, especially near this road as there were hardly any traces of demon beasts, clearly indicating it was well-maintained.

The stone pavement, the surrounding pillars, and the clearly marked road signs also proved the capability of Hope Village; otherwise, they wouldn’t bother managing these details.

Overall, they had a fairly good initial impression of Hope Village.

"Brother, where are you guys from?" Ellis’s mercenary team behaved well, but the residents from Yuxi Village who followed couldn’t sit still upon seeing their fellow countrymen and immediately asked.

Indeed, compared to them, Tang Junliang’s group appeared more miserable; despite having a few professionals, their weapons were rather primitive, not even qualifying as bronze weapons. Plus, the entire group was composed of either the very old or the very young; if not for their numbers, they would seem like a gathering of the old and weak.

Hearing this, Tang Junliang glanced at the mercenaries and straightforwardly said, "Overlord Village."

"Is that nearby?"

"We’ve come to seek refuge in Hope Village; we lost our previous territory," Tang Junliang said, avoiding specifying the distance.

Upon hearing this, the resident of Yuxi Village immediately understood; these past days, there had been many territories that had disappeared, and theirs was one of them.

They quickly offered comfort, "Then you’ve come to the right place."

"Hmm?" Tang Junliang perked up at once.

They indeed didn’t know much about Hope Village.

"Becoming one of their residents isn’t expensive at all; permanent residence is just 10 silver coins."

"The overall prices are quite low; it really is too good a deal."

"There’s lots of delicious food inside; the entrance leads right to a Commercial Street filled with specialties. They’ve even reproduced hamburgers and fries, along with various noodles, barbecues, jerky..."

"..."

"Anyway, you won’t be disappointed."

The resident from Yuxi Village rattled on, with a tone full of admiration.

"Are you residents of Hope Village?" Tang Junliang directly asked, sensing the obvious bias toward Hope Village.

Hearing this, the resident from Yuxi Village gave an awkward smile, "No, we’re from Yuxi Village, not far from here. We are here to guide them and also to get supplies from Hope Village."

Compared to Hope Village, their Yuxi Village was nothing.

However, they didn’t want to part with the undertakings they had established in Yuxi Village, and their lord was now also planning to adopt the development strategies of Hope Village— content to stay put!

But just because they didn’t reside in Hope Village didn’t mean they weren’t aware of Hope Village’s remarkable attributes.

Given the same circumstances, the level of development achieved by Hope Village was really admirable.

"They..."

"They too are here to seek refuge in Hope Village; their former team leader now works in Hope Village. There are quite a few like them in Hope Village; you’ll get used to it soon," said the resident from Yuxi Village, the last sentence hinted implying.

The more local residents there are, the better the integration of the territory into this continent.

As one of the prime territories of Blue Star, Hope Village now and in the future certainly won’t lack residents.

Tang Junliang and the others listened to the Yuxi Village residents and felt reassured.

They believe Hope Village could be a not-so-bad place, provided it was recognized by the residents of another territory.

Following that, Ellis and the other mercenaries remained silent, simply observing and gathering what they could about Hope Village from the mundane conversations of the two groups.

This was a territory completely different from Sorrel Town!

It seemed... quite special?

A while later, both groups appeared at the gates of Hope Village.

When they arrived, a soldier team patrolling the territory immediately came over.

It just so happened that the patrol leader that day was Ling Mingzhi, who instantly froze when he saw Tang Junliang and the others.

"You..." Ling Mingzhi’s eyes turned red, overwhelmed with concern for his old friends upon hearing about the disappearance of Overlord Village.

Could he not be thrilled when they suddenly showed up in Hope Village?

Tang Junliang and his group were also somewhat excited, but after calming their emotions, Tang Junliang began, "After the Newbie Protection Period ended, Ke Gaojie even raised the price of goods in our territory. I knew we couldn’t stay there, so I led my people out, and... many died along the way."

Traveling between two territories, one could encounter countless Demon Beasts. Even with concerted efforts, casualties were inevitable.

Now, all they could do was to take good care of the families of those who had died.

Ling Mingzhi’s heart ached for a moment, "Back then..."

"It has nothing to do with you. If it hadn’t been for our families in Overlord Village, we would have stayed as well," Tang Junliang cut him off, and suddenly the situation seemed different.

They had come to Ling Mingzhi seeking a new life in the new territory, not to become a burden on him.

Ling Mingzhi understood their intentions and, pulling himself together, said, "Come, I’ll take you to settle down."

Listening, Tang Junliang felt happy, but then something seemed to occur to him as he glanced at the other group of people they had ignored, "What about the others? We met them on the road; they are also heading to Hope Village."

Ling Mingzhi then noticed Ellis and the others, their appearance was unmistakably that of natives.

However, these were no ordinary residents; they exuded a strong presence, nearly on par with NPCs—were they above level 15?

His expression turned a bit more solemn as he addressed Ellis and his team, "Do you want to join us?"

"We are looking for Bayer, do you know him?" Ellis spoke candidly, seeing the benefit of having connections in Hope Village, especially since they knew people there.

"We know him! He’s our Commander! Come, follow us, I’ll take you to him." Ling Mingzhi instantly relaxed.

It was good to know people!

Then, a massive crowd of two hundred people heroically entered Hope Village.

Tang Junliang and his group did not hesitate to become residents, whereas Ellis and his companions chose to be tourists, given that, for the moment, the status of Sorrel Town residents seemed more advantageous than those from Hope Village—before making a real decision, they wouldn’t switch their residency lightly.

As for the Yuxi Village residents that followed, they immediately split up upon entering and navigated straight to the Tavern.

Bayer, the Commander, was now working at the Lord Mansion and was overjoyed upon receiving news of Ellis and his group’s arrival.

He was well aware of what the arrival of these mercenaries meant.

Now that they were here, he must make sure they stayed permanently!

So, when Zhou Bai carelessly arrived at the Lord Mansion after getting the news, what he saw was a joyful scene of people, long-separated, now reunited in heartfelt conversation.