Applying to Settle In

The moment Xia Yang died, the rest of his people obediently joined the Sparkle Troupe. Yu Xian reorganized the troupe into ranks. Those who had joined first were made official members, while the captives were assigned to the ranks of [Cannon Fodder]. "All right, let's keep heading back to town," Yu Xian said with a smile after resolving the ranks of the new recruits. Aside from the six crestfallen newcomers, everyone else wore broad grins, feeling as though joining the Sparkle Troupe had been quite a good choice. After all, they used to be lone wolves or traveled in groups of two or three, genuinely wary of a seven- or eight-man crew like Xia Yang's. Now, they were the largest faction around. Yet they had barely taken a few steps when a gruff voice suddenly bellowed, "Hahahahaha! You can wear out iron shoes searching in vain, only to find what you seek without lifting a finger! Truly, I, Tie Guangshan, am a man of immense luck!" As he spoke, a heavily bearded man charged up alongside a dozen class holders, instantly encircling Little Nora once more. "..." Yu Xian, Ximen Wangcai, Asla... everyone present fell completely silent. This scene looked far too familiar. A repeat performance already? ... ... By the time Yu Xian led the troupe back into the city, their numbers had surpassed thirty, elevating the troupe from a small outfit to a medium-sized one. To increase the member capacity, Yu Xian pooled funds for an expansion. Now, as a medium-sized troupe, they could hold up to three hundred people. "Troupe Leader, what are we heading back to town for?" Cheng Jian asked curiously. Everyone present was equally intrigued. Their willingness to join Yu Xian's troupe was largely because he was strikingly different from typical class holders. In the novice city, the class holders were all more or less lost, unsure of where to go or what to do next. Those who longed to return home were especially unmotivated to level up, yet they had no wish to die either. One could easily imagine the mental state of the vast majority. Yu Xian differed drastically from these people in presence, mentality, and the drive in his eyes. Combined with the formidable combat strength of the Giant Ghoul, they had chosen to attach themselves to him—or rather, opted for a temporary partnership. It was indeed a temporary partnership. After all, joining a troupe also meant one could leave at any time. Everyone simply wanted to see whether Yu Xian's boast of building the Zhen Realm's number one guild held any water, and what benefits they might reap from it. The world bustled for profit; all came and went for gain. When it came down to it, no one present possessed any real loyalty toward Yu Xian. They had merely been swept along by the momentum of the moment. "Going back to town is, of course, to take over Fukang City!" Yu Xian swept his gaze over the crowd and spoke with a beaming smile. The others froze. Asla gasped in terror, "Troupe Leader, you want to settle in and claim Fukang City? Aren't you playing with fire a bit too much?" "Yeah, there's no way we can support so many NPCs," a chubby man agreed, nodding vigorously. Cities in the Zhen Realm could indeed be occupied, but two conditions had to be fulfilled. The first was triggering the city defense mode, during which endless waves of monsters would assault the city. If they successfully defended it, they then had to meet the second condition: all daily expenses and food supplies for every NPC had to be provided by the troupe. Of course, occupying a city came with perks. First, they would receive a massive plot of land within the city, conservatively estimated at thirty mu. At the same time, the troupe could levy taxes on all commercial transactions inside the city. As long as the city had sufficient foot traffic, turning a profit was entirely possible. So why hadn't any troupe occupied Fukang City? Because occupying Fukang City was a guaranteed net loss! Novice players were dirt poor. If they didn't have to shoulder the NPCs' expenses and food, they might have eked out a profit. But supporting the NPCs became the final straw that crushed every aspiring troupe. As a result, Fukang City had remained unclaimed for a very long time. Not a single troupe bothered setting their sights on this novice town. "Don't worry, we won't lose money." "Just trust me. I'll go apply to settle in. In the meantime, try to recruit more people. It'd be best if we fill all three hundred slots," Yu Xian said, smiling. He had watched a livestream the previous night featuring a troupe's city defense battle, after which he had thoroughly researched the data from all angles. In truth, the losses incurred from novice cities stemmed primarily from food shortages. The occupying troupes were forced to purchase food for the NPCs, causing their financial deficits to spiral out of control. At the start, the losses were actually quite small—only a few thousand Fortune Gold Coins a month. However, bearing recurring losses every single month was unsustainable, so everyone eventually gave up. Yu Xian was different. He had Little Nora. As long as Little Nora supplied an endless bounty of free food, occupying a novice city was bound to be profitable. Moreover, doing so would give them a solid foundation and the capital to expand. Other troupes had to recruit class holders in Level 30 cities, whereas he could intercept new blood right at the starting line, effectively cutting off his future competitors at the roots. Yu Xian could even play dirty. For instance, he could recruit class holders, cultivate their loyalty, and then have them leave the troupe to infiltrate rival factions as moles. Given enough time, nine out of ten members in rival organizations would be his own people. How could he possibly lose? So long as the Sparkle Troupe was given time to grow, the entire Baihe Continent would eventually fall into their hands. Inside the System Management Center. Yu Xian walked up to the severed head and announced, "I want to apply to settle in and claim Fukang City." "Applying to settle in Fukang City requires a fee of one thousand Fortune Gold Coins," the head said in a low, expressionless voice, staring at Yu Xian. Yu Xian paid the one thousand Fortune Gold Coins without batting an eye. This money had come from pooling their collective funds. When expanding the troupe earlier, Yu Xian had collected one hundred Fortune Gold Coins from each member. After upgrading the troupe, over two thousand Fortune Gold Coins had remained, which was now reduced by another thousand. "Please select your settlement time," the head said in its low tone after collecting the coins. Yu Xian considered it and chose to begin two hours later. Once the occupation process commenced, a monster siege would immediately follow. Only by holding the city would their occupation be officially recognized; if they failed to defend it, everything else was off the table. Emerging from the System Management Center, Yu Xian broadcast the siege time to all members via the troupe channel. "Holy crap, he's actually serious," Cheng Jian muttered under his breath upon seeing the confirmed defense time. After a brief thought, he decisively contacted several of his close friends, inviting them to join the Sparkle Troupe. Yu Xian didn't seem like a fool. Since he had made this move, he surely had the confidence to pull it off. Perhaps staying in this troupe for a while wouldn't be a bad idea. Looking for a better mount while riding a donkey. In truth, many members in the Sparkle Troupe shared that exact mindset. They joined the Sparkle Troupe first to see how things unfolded, planning to jump ship whenever a better opportunity arose. At that very moment, countless members were eagerly sending invitations to their friends, keen to see just how far Yu Xian could take them.