Inside the Heroic Spirit Hall.
Zhou Bai operated with practiced ease, and the first undead was quickly summoned.
[Name: Bayer]
[Race: Undead (Human)]
[Level: lv.17]
[Identity: Undead Kingdom Resident]
[Profession: Swordsman, Mercenary]
[Life Value: 1700/1700]
[Physical Value: 1700/1700]
[Attributes: Constitution (20/20), Intelligence (20/20), agility (20/20), Defense (20/20)]
[Talent: Command]
[Price: 1 Gold Coin/month]
The moment he saw the info, Zhou Bai was a bit surprised—anyone with enough strength to be a mercenary in this world had to be pretty tough!
[Do you want to spend Gold Coins per month to hire Swordsman Mercenary Bayer?]
"Yes."
As the shadow formed and became tangible, a tall and sturdy figure appeared. Even as an undead, he wore armor and held a giant sword—there was a strong aura of grim determination.
"Bayer greets the Lord!" Bayer knelt on one knee and said respectfully. It was the etiquette of a knight—he used to be one.
Seeing his attitude, Zhou Bai relaxed a little, glad there wasn't another one like Harrison. She quickly said, "No need for the formal salute next time."
"Yes." Bayer glanced at Zhou Bai, a bit puzzled, but didn't say much and stood straight at her side, as if waiting for instructions.
Zhou Bai couldn't think of what to do with him right away, so she kept summoning the next one.
Soon, a new person was summoned.
[Name: Danis]
[Race: Undead (Human)]
[Level: lv.11]
[Identity: Undead Kingdom Resident]
[Profession: Doctor]
[Life Value: 1100/1100]
[Physical Value: 1100/1100]
[Attributes: Constitution (10/20), Intelligence (15/20), agility (10/20), Defense (10/20)]
[Talent: Healing]
[Price: 1 Gold Coin/month]
Doctor!
At that moment, Zhou Bai confirmed it: the thing she'd joked about with her dad yesterday had really come true. This special building, the Heroic Spirit Hall, was practically designed to supply the territory with talent and boost its power—just what the territory badly needed!
She definitely had to make the most of it.
Before long, Doctor Danis appeared. After realizing he'd been summoned, he looked a bit confused at first, but then a subtle smile appeared on his face.
A doctor was basically useless in the lands of the Undead Kingdom. It was the other kingdoms where he would thrive, so being summoned here to the Human Territory was perfect for him.
"Are you the lord of this territory? Do you have a clinic here?" Danis asked eagerly.
Zhou Bai blinked, then answered directly, "There's no clinic now, but there will be in the future."
Danis was a little disappointed, but then realized—it was only a Level 1 village. A territory this low-level wouldn't have a clinic yet, of course.
But for a Level 1 village to already have a special building that could summon them—maybe there was something special here after all.
"I'll follow your arrangement," Danis said sincerely.
"My territory just established a barracks. Bayer, you can take a post in the barracks! I'll hand all personnel management over to you. As for Danis, how about you join the barracks as well? You can go out with the soldiers to collect herbs you want, and you can heal them if needed," Zhou Bai quickly decided.
"Yes," Bayer and Danis replied in unison. For now, under someone else's roof, not wanting to return to the Undead Kingdom, they could only follow instructions. Fortunately, this lord had made reasonable arrangements.
"It's pouring outside today, so neither of you should head out for now. When someone gets back with materials later, just go to the tailor shop to pick them up. Also, if you see me from now on, just treat me as an ordinary resident. I'm off now!" With that, Zhou Bai swiftly left the Heroic Spirit Hall.
Luckily, there weren't many people in the territory today, and everyone was over in the residential area—otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to come to the Hall so openly.
When the two of them show up in the territory later, no one will suspect her at all.
Perfect!
Thinking that, Zhou Bai's steps became noticeably lighter.
Watching her receding figure, Bayer and Danis exchanged glances.
The lord of this territory seems a little odd?
They shared a look, didn't say anything else, then stood at the entrance of the Heroic Spirit Hall, looking at the brightness outside, hints of joy in their eyes. No matter what, being able to leave the Undead Kingdom was already a stroke of luck.
**
Zhou Bai had already reached the territory gate.
There were only two people guarding the gate at that moment. When they saw Zhou Bai, they nodded slightly in greeting.
Zhou Bai instantly recognized them as Sha Mingjie and Xu Chengyi.
These were the two her dad had mentioned about picking the doctor and adviser roles.
Seeing them, Zhou Bai couldn't help but think of Bayer and Danis whom she'd just summoned.
With them around, the territory would only get better and better.
Zhou Bai smiled at them cheerfully, then went straight out of the gate.
The two looked out at the pouring rain and couldn't help but say, "Captain Zhou's daughter seems to be in a good mood! Is it because she's heading out to hunt monsters?"
"Probably!"
They exchanged a glance, their eyes full of admiration.
No wonder she's known in the territory as the Gan Emperor!
Zhou Bai might not know it herself, but after the night she soloed a Level 5 Dark Demon Wolf and then started coming and going freely in and out of the territory, who wouldn't see her as a boss—a hard-working boss, at that?
So, the people who become bosses really do think on a whole different level than regular folks.
Completely unaware that her happy mood was causing misunderstandings, Zhou Bai went straight for the bamboo forest after leaving the territory.
She'd gotten the info from Diana that Wind and Rain Orchid would grow everywhere in rainy weather, but there was guaranteed to be some in the bamboo forest.
On the way there, all kinds of demon beasts rushed at her one after another.
Apparently, the rainstorm weather had made the demon beasts inside the territory much more active than usual.
As for the experience points that came right to her, Zhou Bai didn't hold back—basically, one swing of the axe handled each one.
After her level increased, her damage value was higher, and with all sorts of equipment bonuses, facing low-level demon beasts was no problem at all.
Many people noticed the benefits of leveling up, which is why they're so eager to hunt demon beasts—higher levels make it easier to kill.
Just like that, Zhou Bai arrived at the bamboo forest.
The bamboo forest was just as you'd imagine: a large patch of bamboo standing tall, leaves layered thick like small boats strung together, blocking out the sky and sun. Only a few winding paths remained open below.
Zhou Bai stepped right in without a second thought.
Entering the bamboo forest, the sound of rain immediately changed, since the drops were all blocked by the bamboo leaves.
Seeing this, Zhou Bai ventured further inside and started gathering materials without hesitation.
The axe hit the bamboo, and soon she received a collection success notification.
[Congratulations, Host, you've obtained bamboo strips*5, bamboo shoots*1, Experience Points*1 by chopping bamboo.]
Sure enough, harvesting bamboo after rainy weather was different from harvesting it on a clear day. Someone had come yesterday, and after chopping, they got complete bamboo and bamboo rice—many people turned that bamboo into bamboo tubes.
If that's how it works in the bamboo forest, who knows what changes happen elsewhere depending on the weather?
Thinking that, Zhou Bai kept chopping without pause.
No idea how much time had passed, Zhou Bai finally spotted a patch of purple flowers. When raindrops fell through the gaps, the purple blossoms started to sway.
Wind and Rain Orchid!
Once she confirmed these were the materials she needed, Zhou Bai was about to go over and pick them.
But before she could approach, a bunch of Magic Bamboo Rats suddenly burst out from the side, squeaking at Zhou Bai and showing their sharp incisors.
Zhou Bai dealt with them without any fuss, then plucked all the Wind and Rain Orchid from the patch.
After that, there weren't any more demon beast interruptions, and Zhou Bai's backpack kept filling up.
Before she realized it, she'd collected hundreds of units of both materials. Only then did Zhou Bai get ready to head elsewhere to gather Rain Tree Resin. She knew the teams that went out earlier would probably collect special materials too, but she felt better collecting them herself.
As Zhou Bai was about to leave the bamboo forest, suddenly there were howling noises in the distance, followed by all sorts of people shouting.
"Quick, surround it!"
"Don't rush, don't let it get away!"
"There's so many of us, what's to be afraid of? If nothing else, we can wear it down!"
"..."
Listening to the voices, Zhou Bai checked the map and saw that the once quiet bamboo forest was now home to a sizeable team of more than ten people. In the middle of the group was a small red dot.
A demon beast?
Probably a high-level one?
Let's check it out.
Zhou Bai decided to go help.
When she arrived, she saw a massive Demon Bear causing chaos in the party. Its roar turned into a blast that sent several people flying.
With a thud, everyone's life value dropped considerably—the low-level members were already down by half.
"Brother Zhong, this bear's level is way above what we expected. Let's bail!" someone shouted to the leader, Zhong Yongnian.
Their team had been doing well after joining the soldier team to hunt freshly spawned demon beasts in Cloud Mist Forest earlier in the day.
Afterward, they'd collected plenty of Rain Tree Resin, and since there was still time, came here to grab some bamboo strips from the forest.
But unexpectedly, just as they started gathering, a Demon Bear spawned. They thought with so many people, they'd handle it easily—but turned out the bear was way too fierce. Even with their numbers, they couldn't bring it down.
There was only one possibility: the Demon Bear was way above their level.
Zhong Yongnian saw the Demon Bear's blood bar barely lowered, grit his teeth, and said, "Retreat!"
Just as they were about to retreat, Zhou Bai showed up.
At the sight of Zhou Bai, everyone's eyes lit up with joy.
"The boss is here!"
Zhou Bai: "..."
—Her? Boss?
How come she didn't know?