[Blood Lamb]
[Type: Mutated Creature]
[Effect: Consuming flesh enhances physical strength for a limited time and grants a frenzy effect; Frenzy +1 stack (stacks up to 99, resulting in loss of sanity)]
"Lord, I think our territory needs an update."
In the morning, Linde, having just finished breakfast, was inspecting the territory as usual.
After last night's battle, the Undead's morale was high, and their sense of belonging to Star Dragon Outpost was even stronger.
This manifested in them doing their jobs more seriously.
Even higher was their enthusiasm for work. Linde just took a look, and the Blood Lambs were almost being fattened into Blood Piglets. These little monsters weren't picky at all; they'd eat any kind of meat.
But the Blood Lambs were like Pixiu, eating everything but never excreting, they're visibly close to bursting.
Although Linde didn't care about the fate or future of these small, bloody creatures, there was no need to feed them until they died. It was too much of a waste of food.
"Update?" Linde looked at the Undead who was standing boldly in front of him, demanding an update.
He remembered the guy's name, "SilkStockingLover." Maybe he could make him fight "WhiteStockingsLover."
"Lord, don't you think the way we're issuing tasks right now is a little... chaotic?" He pointed to the Undead who were chatting with some women in the distance. They were arguing over the details of a task.
That was the downside of oral tasks.
One side would always get confused or misremember, making it impossible to coordinate, and ultimately leading to conflict.
Linde walked over. The four Undead players who were arguing, and the female NPCs who didn't know what to say, instantly stopped.
"What's going on?"
Fearing his displeasure, the women proactively explained, "Lord, the spoils of war you brought back last night need to be processed. We were thinking of offering the Undead 1 gold coin for every 2 items they process."
Linde nodded.
Having the Undead do this was indeed reasonable, and 1 gold coin for 2 items seemed like a pretty good price. But removing the bloodstains, maintaining, and repairing the spoils wasn't easy. Plus, this was also a hidden benefit for the Undead.
They could also conveniently learn skills in repairing armor and polishing weapons.
"And then? Do they think the price is too low?" Linde looked at the four Undead. Although he didn't say anything, the aura of a lord was clearly evident.
The four Undead quickly shook their heads. Fortunately, they all knew this was part of the NPCs' "script," so they kept quiet.
"No," the female NPC said, looking troubled. "When I first mentioned this, one of the Undead came to accept the task."
She pointed to one of the Undead, then pointed to another. "And then this one rushed over and said they wanted to do it together."
Linde waited patiently for her to explain the whole story.
"But," the woman said, grabbing her hair in distress, "when the third one came, he said he could do 3 items for just 1 gold coin."
"The fourth one followed up by saying he could do 4 items for just 1 gold coin."
"And then they started arguing."
One of the Undead who had been silent spoke up. "Lord, let me do it! I'll do 5 items for 1 gold coin!"
"Lord, I won't charge anything!"
"Lord, I'll even pay 1 gold coin for every 5 items I process!"
"I'll pay 2 gold coins!"
"I'll pay..."
Linde almost choked. He understood now. These damned Undead weren't just competing fiercely back on Earth, they were doing it here too. A race to the bottom!
They were scabs!
He could also understand the Undead's motives. They were just trying to secretly learn the skills of repairing weapons and armor.
"Two items for 1 gold coin. You're doing a great job," Linde said, completely ignoring the Undead and nodding to the female NPC.
Were gold coins the key? Not at all. The currency was worthless outside of Star Dragon Outpost. He wanted the Undead's labor.
If the already unstable system was disrupted by scabs, it would become a pain to manage who worked, who didn't, how they worked, and the overall system.
He turned to look at the Undead. "Now, anyone willing to work for 1 gold coin per two items, please come forward..." Then he turned to the female NPC. "How many people do you need?"
"Two at most. We don't have that much work to do." She was getting used to the work rhythm here, and it seemed to be working well.
"Then two it is!"
The Undead obediently listened. The first two came to work, and the other two left.
SilkStockingLover, following behind Linde, said, "Lord, it's just like this. These Undead only care about themselves. All they care about is the rat race. It seems like they're helping, but in the end, they'll destroy our fragile economy."
Linde couldn't help but give the guy a second glance. He had completely separated himself from the player mindset.
"Indeed," Linde nodded. He knew about this problem and already had a solution: using unchangeable writing to rigidly define each task, rather than letting the Undead communicate and negotiate on their own.
Because Linde knew very well that these NPCs were living people. Living people think and can be swayed by words.
And being shameless was one of the Undead players' strengths.
Although he had a solution, the Undead's rapid development had kept him too busy to implement it.
It seemed like… using Undead to govern Undead was a good method. Otherwise, managing everything with just NPCs wouldn't be enough.
He looked at SilkStockingLover.
"Why not try parchment?" SilkStockingLover suggested. "Write down the task details on parchment and give it to the Undead to do. Make two copies, so that no one can cheat or falsify things. This also guarantees the absolute accuracy of the task details, and there won't be any more disputes."
"Hmm, but the territory doesn't have any parchment," Linde nodded, then shook his head. "Perhaps... you can help the territory find enough paper?"
Linde had wanted to make paper for a long time, but the weather didn't permit it. The climate was too cold, and the pulp would freeze faster.
Making paper in winter required even more patience.
Since the Undead had made the suggestion, he would have them do it.
SilkStockingLover was very happy. "As you command, Lord! I will definitely complete your task!"
His suggestion had been accepted. Did that mean that players could influence NPC decisions?
Did that also mean that in the future, players could obtain higher positions, maybe even... become a regional overlord!
He planned to go back and post an analysis thread.
...
"Lord, we've successfully developed cement!"
Good news kept coming.
However, the weather was too cold, and without a cement mixer, the Undead had to be used as pack animals, constantly stirring the cement to prevent it from freezing.
"Excellent," Linde said, quite satisfied. "Since you have enough cement, I think you can help build a government hall for Star Dragon Outpost."
Tasks had to be done step by step. Just keep busy.
"Of course, Lord! What style would you like? We have plenty of people; we can build it for you in a day or two!"
The Undead, who were enthusiastic about building houses, finally had usable materials.
Using wood to build a framework, and filling it with stone and cement, the houses they built might not be very aesthetically pleasing, but their ability to keep out the cold would certainly be good.
And the Undead were also enthusiastic and even asked Linde for an area to build a dormitory for eight women and children.
They're really developing a sense of humanity.