Chapter 034: Conscience Territory

The command of the entire team had been transferred to Li Xingteng and others' hands, and Cao Jingshan came to his wife and daughter's side.

Seeing the cloak added above his daughter's head, for some reason, he, a grown man, felt a slight warmth in his eyes.

Xu Ximan looked at Cao Jingshan with emotion shining through her eyes and held his hand, tears mixed with smiles. No matter what, they had waited, and their persistence was worth it!

Not only just this family, but as others realized the "goodwill" of the strangers, their hearts truly breathed a sigh of relief.

Once they reached the territory, they could finally rest properly.

With a place for respite, at least they could recover.

Their grateful gazes toward Cao Jingshan were also filled with gratitude, if it had not been for his continuous encouragement, they might not have made it this far.

They did not know what the territory of Hope Village was really like, how it compared to Canglei Village, and whether this territory would also suffer from Demon Beast attacks.

If they were to be breached again, where would they go next?

Thinking of this, many people's spirits once again dipped into a state of sorrow.

Just as everyone's thoughts were wandering, they heard footsteps coming from all directions.

The crowd became anxious in an instant.

Could it be Demon Beasts approaching?

Waiting for the sound to draw closer, upon seeing people in familiar attire, they unconsciously relaxed a bit.

"You're here!" Li Xingteng greeted the arriving Zhou Zhengping with enthusiasm.

Zhou Zhengping nodded, then looking at the few dozen people in the team, asked, "Is everything okay? Did you encounter any Demon Beasts?"

"My team had just cleared this area a while ago. They probably didn't encounter any high-level Demon Beasts. The low-level ones, they have equipment, and some of them are of decent level; they should have dealt with them smoothly. When we arrived, they were all fine, just more affected by the weather. We plan to take them back to settle in the territory as soon as possible," Li Xingteng said.

"Equipped? Are they from another territory?" Zhou Zhengping quickly noticed the difference between this group of survivors and the previous ones. Unlike the previous survivors who had nothing, these survivors must have some foundation and experience surviving in the Doomsday Game world.

Li Xingteng nodded, "That's what I think too. But seeing that they were in poor spirits, I didn't dare to ask. Once they settle down in the territory, they will tell us in due time, so I'm not rushing to inquire."

Hearing this, Zhou Zhengping glanced at the team, most of the people indeed look worse off. The better-off ones were the combatants with higher levels that Li Xingteng had mentioned.

Zhou Zhengping then silently joined the line, and soldiers from his team followed suit, handing their cloaks over to some who were in urgent need.

After walking a bit more, Zhong Yongnian also arrived with people, and upon seeing Li Xingteng and the others, greeted them and joined the group.

For the rest of the journey, more people joined, mostly joining the escort team and chatting idly now and then.

"Are you guys coming too?"

"It's a mission for the territory, we happened to be nearby, after all, we're compatriots."

"Also, it's about two hours, almost time for us to return to the territory for a cooldown."

"What's with these people? They seem in bad shape?"

"Most of the people are injured, their Life Values extremely low. How could their condition be good?"

"That's really suffering."

"So, hurrying back to the territory is the best option."

"…"

Some voices in the team continuously reached Cao Jingshan's ears, and upon seeing these people who were clearly from Hope Village, he gradually realized.

These people were all coming to the rescue, and from different locations.

Who had they obeyed the order from, the Lord of Hope Village?

The Lord who can make his subordinates obey orders to rescue must be strong! And he seemed to have a supportive attitude towards the newcomers.

So, could this Hope Village be a good destination?

As Cao Jingshan pondered, several of the previous combatants had also gathered by his side, muttering quietly.

"Brother Cao, this Hope Village seems quite good."

"Should we ask them about the specific situation?"

"Also, we don't know if the Gold Coins needed for living there are expensive?"

"…"

What Cao Jingshan saw, they had seen too; they were quite hopeful about Hope Village. After suffering from wandering outside, they truly wished for a stable territory.

And from the clues revealed so far, at least Hope Village seemed more formidable than the Canglei Village they previously stayed in, which didn't have anything like a soldier team, nor the equipment the soldier team had.

Leather armor aside, Green Equipment was much better than ordinary clothes, having at least some special effects, unlike the White Clothes sold in Canglei Village which had none.

And then there were weapons; the ironheads on those long spears were Bronze Level, while some people held ordinary-level long spears in their hands, with both Damage Value and Durability a level lower.

From this aspect, the equipment in Hope Village was obviously better.

This was good news, at least it proved that Hope Village was strong, and perhaps they would not have to lead a life of constant upheaval once they got there.

But there was also bad news: Hope Village was so much stronger than Canglei Village, so to gain a foothold there, they might need to spend more Gold Coins, and most of them were in straitened circumstances.

They were uncertain and could only go to ask Cao Jingshan.

Cao Jingshan's thoughts were interrupted by these discussions as well, and looking at the team surrounding them protectively, he said directly, "We'll ask when we get there! If it really takes more Gold Coins, we'll work hard to earn them after resting, not just us, but our families too. In the Doomsday Game, protecting them is actually harming them."

This time had been a painful lesson.

"Okay," everyone responded in unison, now just hoping that the territory could withstand the Demon Beast attacks and allow them to level up with their families.

Also, because the soldier team had cleared many places today, they knew which routes back to the territory had the least chance of encountering Demon Beasts. Thus, on their way back, the entire team encountered hardly any Demon Beasts and arrived back at the territory smoothly.

"We're approaching our territory now," Li Xingteng said.

Cao Jingshan and the others were staring at the thick city walls, their eyes almost popping out.

Why, when it was the same kind of territory, was Hope Village so outstanding?

Unable to help himself, Cao Jingshan asked, "Did your territory get an upgrade?"

Compared to this wall, their own surrounding fence was but trash!

"Our territory is now a Level 1 village; it got these walls after upgrading," Li Xingteng explained simply, "Feels very secure, doesn't it?"

"...Yes," Cao Jingshan nodded stiffly, his heart sinking at the thought of the higher charges that must come with such an upgrade!

As they drew nearer to the territory, Cao Jingshan hesitated but eventually asked, "How many Gold Coins are needed to become a resident?"

When they went to Canglei Village, it was 2 Gold Coins per person; for a family of three, it was 6 Gold Coins. Afterwards, to buy a house to live in within the territory, they spent 20 Gold Coins and more on equipment, which greatly depleted their savings.

It would have been fine if they could have lived there in peace, but the territory was breached, and all that money went down the drain. Just thinking about it made his heart ache. He was prepared for the new territory: he definitely wouldn't buy a house, maybe not even become a resident but just stay as a tourist to spend less money. He really didn't want to waste more, in case the territory was lost again, which would be a huge loss.

However, even without buying a house, he feared that entering and spending within the territory would also cost quite a few Gold Coins.

Now at Hope Village, seeing this obviously more powerful territory, he was even more worried they wouldn't have enough money.

Zhou Zhengping, who was nearby, caught on and asked, "How many Gold Coins were required in your previous territory?"

Since when did becoming a resident cost Gold Coins?

Unaware of the discrepancy, Cao Jingshan replied directly, "In Canglei Village where we were before, becoming a resident cost 2 Gold Coins. I heard someone from another territory say theirs cost 3 Gold Coins."

Zhou Zhengping: "..."

If Xiao Bai learns about this, won't she feel like they've lost out?

"That high?" Zhou Zhengping fell silent, while others who heard it were shocked into voicing their surprise.

Only then did Cao Jingshan sense something off, "Is the cost lower here than in our previous territory?"

"To become a permanent resident in our territory, it costs only 10 silver coins, and 10 copper coins a day for tourists," explained Li Xingteng.

This revelation left Cao Jingshan and his group stunned.

It was too low!

This place was a conscientious territory.

The next moment, Zhou Zhengping stepped into the territory first.

Sha Mingjie and Xu Chengyi, who were guarding the gate, greeted them warmly.

"Captain Zhou, Captain Li, bring the people directly to the canteen. Someone has already prepared some food and hot water there," Sha Mingjie said straightaway.

"Whose instruction was it?" Zhou Zhengping asked.

"It was Sister-in-law!"

Zhou Zhengping, his lips curving into a smile, then led Cao Jingshan's group towards the canteen.

And as Cao Jingshan's group entered Hope Village, hearing the system's notification, each person without hesitation chose to become a resident.

10 silver coins, after experiencing the high expenses in other territories, was practically nothing.

After entering and seeing Hope Village's interior, their eyes grew wide in wonder.

Even though all territories were of similar size, Hope Village was simply different, with notably more buildings, a few familiar ones, and the rest they had never seen before.

This territory was indeed much stronger than their previous one.