I Become a Landlady in the Game World
Chapter 193 - 116: Strike First to Gain the Upper Hand

Chapter 193: Chapter 116: Strike First to Gain the Upper Hand

In that instant, everyone, including Zhou Bai, became even more cautious.

"Are you the team from Bengala Town?" Zhou Bai asked directly.

By now, the battle was decided, and Maria indeed felt like exchanging pleasantries with Zhou Bai and the others. She nodded, "Yes, where do you come from?"

"We come from Hope Village, which isn’t far from Bengala Town," Zhou Bai replied.

Hope Village?

Maria was taken aback. They were residents of Bengala Town and were often active outside. They were very familiar with the territories near the town, and she had no memory of any territory called Hope Village.

Unless...

Maria’s pupils sharpened, "Are you from the territory that suddenly appeared on the Stan Continent a few days ago?"

The event of several thousand new Human Territories suddenly appearing on the Stan Continent had already spread throughout the town’s team.

However, after the initial curiosity, the recent interest had subsided. It was because most of the emerging territories were villages, and they didn’t rank particularly high. The only notable thing was their sudden appearance, making their origins a mystery. Later, some theorized that perhaps the Stan Continent had been concealing special spaces that, for some reason, had overlapped with the existing ones.

Looking at these people, apart from their appearances, there weren’t many differences between them and themselves.

Zhou Bai paused when she heard the implication in the other party’s words.

She hadn’t expected the native territories to not find their arrival particularly strange.

Of course. After all, the Stan Continent is a Magic World. They could explain such matters with some advanced magic.

Moreover, their appearance would be seen as a blessing for their Human Clan Kingdom, not only strengthening the kingdom’s power but also sharing the focus of other races on other Human Territories.

Her confidence in this mission grew even more! The native territories would definitely not reject their sudden emergence; on the contrary, they would be very curious.

As for whether they would take the opportunity to encroach on their territory and plunder resources in the future, it would up to their own abilities.

With competition also comes pressure.

Her duty as the Village Chief was to ensure that the residents in her territory were not oppressed.

The Heroic Spirit Hall and the Beast God Temple really did lend them a huge hand; that was her leverage in dealing with the native territories.

Thinking this, Zhou Bai steadied her heart and looked towards the surprised Maria, "Yes, and we only discovered a few days ago that our territory’s surroundings house so many other territories. For the development of our territory, we came out to gather some information."

During the conversation, Maria had already checked Hope Village’s ranking, realizing that this territory was quite strong. For a Level 2 village to have such a high ranking, there had to be something exceptional about it.

Her gaze involuntarily fell on O’Neill and Ellis.

O’Neill was a Beastman, and Ellis was clearly different from Zhou Bai and the others.

"Are they also from your territory?"

Hearing this, Zhou Bai explained, "O’Neill was summoned to our territory through the Beast God Temple, accepting our employment. As for Ellis, he is a mercenary from Sorrel Town who has come to our territory. They are just accompanying us on this mission."

"Sorrel Town, that’s not far from here," Maria said, a hint of surprise in her gaze.

Ellis replied upon hearing this, "By chance, I had come near another territory, and then I arrived at Hope Village."

At this moment, he would not speak of the information regarding Lord Bayer.

Maria listened but did not ask further. Her gaze focused directly on Zhou Bai, "Since the Beastman is employed by your territory, on what grounds... are they protecting you? What is your identity?"

The protection O’Neill and his group offered to Zhou Bai was very clear.

Zhou Bai’s identity must be significant.

"I am the Acting Village Chief of Hope Village," Zhou Bai volunteered.

Upon hearing this, Maria was momentarily stunned. Then, her eyes flickered with a bright light, and she became more enthusiastic, "Welcome to Bengala Town! Actually, we were planning to return to our territory, would you like to join us?"

Being an Acting Village Chief meant there was a territory standing behind her. The better the development of the territory, the higher the Village Chief’s status would be.

This was not the same as them, mere professionals.

Having a good relationship with a territory’s administrator could bring great benefits to her team.

With such an opportunity, she naturally would seize it.

Zhou Bai immediately noticed the change in her attitude and amiably responded, "Sure, we’ll join you; thank you for the trouble."

"No trouble at all, it’s on the way," Maria said with a forthright smile, exuding a bright and compelling aura.

And so, the two teams merged and continued forward together.

Zhou Bai felt the usefulness of the title of Village Chief for the first time.

Being well-received merely as a manager, the reception for a Lord would be even greater.

She also realized a little that the Stan Continent was likely a world with clearly defined levels.

She took a deep breath internally.

If that were the case, their territories from Blue Star, when clashing with the cultures of this world’s territories, would undoubtedly lead to a collision of ideologies.

Who would come out on top then?

She did not know about other territories, but she only hoped her own would develop according to her wishes.

"Zhou Bai, is your large group only here to gather information?" After introducing themselves, and seeing that Zhou Bai truly did not mind, Maria directly called her by name and initiated the conversation.

She wanted to find out Zhou Bai’s true purpose and see if her team could profit from it in the process.

She hadn’t forgotten the distinctive nature of the food brought by Zhou Bai’s group—the aroma was so overpowering, it was unforgettable!

Such food would be incredibly popular in Bengala Town.

Listening to Maria’s probing tone, Zhou Bai replied with a smile, "Gathering information is one purpose, but we’ve also brought many specialties from our territory that we’re looking to sell."

"What specialties are those?"

"Some specially made food from our territory." As she spoke, Zhou Bai took out some of the jerky she had been eating, "Would you like to try?"

Upon seeing this, Maria immediately took a piece and tasted it; surprise flickered in her eyes as she took a bite.

"This seems to be Beast Meat Jerky?"

To preserve beast meat for longer, they also turned it into various kinds of jerky, but it seemed the preparation was indeed different; their jerky could not achieve such thinness or be this delicious.

"Yes, it’s Beast Meat Jerky, specially crafted by our territory," Zhou Bai nodded, "Besides, we have many other tasty and convenient foods. This is just a snack."

By now, Maria had finished the piece in her hand, repressing the urge to eat more, her eyes burning brightly as she looked at Zhou Bai, "Would you be interested in a partnership with me?"

Delicious food would undoubtedly sell like crazy in Bengala Town.

She had to act first and decisively!