127: Chapter 126: Spring Bird 127: Chapter 126: Spring Bird “Spring~ Spring~ Spring~”

The next morning, amidst the usual chirping of birds, a particularly clear and bright voice was added.

After Mu Ying got up and pushed open the window to look, the wild pear tree nearby was, overnight, adorned with white blossoms.

A bird the size of a palm stood on that tree, calling out “Spring~ Spring~,” its tender yellow body particularly conspicuous against the white, surrounded by a group of little sparrows.

The sound of the window opening drew the bird’s attention, and it happily flew up, landing on the windowsill of the Tree House.

Mu Ying glanced at the bird’s alighting spot and its proficient way of mingling with the sparrows—what else was there to understand?

“Spring Bird, a level 1 small Magic Beast, a type of bird that always arrives with spring.

They rarely call outside of spring, with the Talent Skill of heralding spring.”

They rarely call outside of spring?

What was that just now then?

It’s the tail end of summer and almost autumn.

Confused, Mu Ying looked at the Spring Bird as it cocked its head and brushed against her hand, “Spring~”

“Are you leaving?” Mu Ying, who had activated animal conversation, understood its intent.

She took the small wooden bowl from the windowsill, filled it to the brim with water from the Recovery Spring, and pushed it towards the Spring Bird, “Thank you for bringing me the spring.

See you next year.”

The Spring Bird chirped shyly.

This time, it did not shoo the little sparrows away to drink first.

Instead, it allowed them to have the spring water, and then it silently spread its wings and flew off.

The little sparrows had also reached the time to face the storms on their own.

The departure of the Sparrow Mother was something they had anticipated early on and was not a surprise—they had already started building their nests.

The Talent Skill of the Spring Bird, heralding spring, can make animals and plants realize the arrival of spring.

However, Spring Birds generally don’t like to use their Skill to create fake springs but instead chase the footsteps of spring, singing in places where spring is about to arrive, to remind everything of its coming.

Some say it is the messenger of spring, hence the name Spring Bird.

The out-of-season blossoming wild pear tree, without the call of the Spring Bird, withered in just a few hours, leaving behind a ground full of fallen petals.

After bidding farewell to an old friend, many new friends arrived, albeit looking quite distressed.

They were the second group to come from the Spirit Dragon Gorge Camp, attracted by the messages posted by the previous arrivals on the forum.

This time, the number was even greater, at three to four hundred people.

However, their luck was not good.

The day before had gone smoothly, but they were frightened by monsters that appeared last night.

They took a short rest in the Travelers’ Lodge before desperately hurrying to Qingshan Village.

The stretch on the stone path was relatively safe.

Although strange beasts always lurked around, they never attacked.

It was venturing into the forest that was risky, as startling the wild animals could spell danger.

The beasts now were much fiercer than before, but thankfully they were many in number, and each person could land a few hits to fend them off and make it to the entrance of Qingshan Village.

Mu Ying paid them no attention, her focus on the territory panel before her.

[Residents: 3021]

She flipped through the adventure record again; there was no new information.

Growing from a village to a town was not so easy.

Just look at Lingtian Village, bursting at the seams with people but not enough development, and Luoxia Camp with the highest development but not enough people.

Both population and development are indispensable for a territory.

Together, they represent the territory’s prosperity.

Mu Ying sighed and stopped obsessing over territory upgrading.

Instead, she pondered building something new.

The types of shops in the territory were quite diverse, although they were all low-level shops selling mostly ordinary items.

But for now, they were adequate; few people could afford green equipment, and the territory couldn’t handle higher-end goods yet.

Furthermore, all the stores in the territory are currently operated by outside merchants, and Mu Ying is unsure whether these store owners plan to settle in the territory permanently or simply see it as a short-term opportunity to make a quick fortune.

After realizing that the civilization behind the Doomsday Game was complex, she understood that to these newcomers, Deep Blue Star might truly be a backwater.

At present, the territory is highly dependent on these merchants for many goods.

If one day they decide to leave, what would the territory do then, recruit another store?

Mu Ying thought of the many residents in her territory with average Attributes and no hope of leveling up; it might be better to take advantage of the current situation to shake up the trading system in the territory, giving the residents a chance.

It isn’t feasible for residents to open stores now as they don’t have the supply to sustain a store, and most can’t even afford the rent for a Tree House on their own.

Thinking back, in impoverished rural areas without a complete commercial street, how did people carry out the movement and exchange of goods?

Mu Ying realized what she needed to do.

[Facility: Market]

[Function: A public trading area for small booths, enables automatic selling after setting prices]

[Size: 1,000 square meters]

[Required Materials: energy, wood, Tree House]

[Conversion Blueprint Demand: 200 energy]

The blueprint for the Market wasn’t expensive, but because of its sizable area, the construction would consume more resources.

The trading hall was still based on the Tree House because, no matter how big the Tree House was built, there was no need to worry about bearing loads, but the Tree House alone was insufficient.

Apart from requiring a large space, the trading hall also needed some convenient features related to trading.

Mu Ying chose a location for the trading hall not far from the territory’s main gate, right behind the row of Territory Notice Boards.

Firstly, a sufficiently large Tree House was needed.

After setting the area, the Tree House gradually took shape, starting from the floor.

Many newcomers to the territory were already in front of the Territory Notice Boards getting their Identity Cards when they saw wooden planks appearing out of nowhere, supported by trees and extending into mid-air; this scene left a group of them stunned.

The old players within the territory were also unsettled; with such a large building, what big move was the Lord making now?

As they looked on, after the flooring was laid, the walls of the house began to grow, halting when just one meter high, with only a few columns reaching the height of a regular house, followed by the roof.

Only then did the wooden platforms begin to rise within the house.

The whole house was circular, resembling a huge pavilion, with numerous entrances of various sizes totaling eight.

Outside the pavilion was a two-meter-wide platform, and the aerial pathways extended to this spot, connecting with it.

The largest entrance had a signboard hanging above it: “Trading Hall.”

Experienced players knew that when something new appeared in the territory, the first thing to do was to find the “instructions.”

Their Lord was not fond of explaining personally; there would always be notice boards set up in various places.

Indeed, next to each entrance, on the pillars of the covered walkway, there were squares made by weaving vines, with words written inside.

“Trading Hall Notice:

1.

The Trading Hall is a place for the territory’s residents to conduct centralized and free trading.

2.

Aside from those with buying or selling needs, no one may linger in the Trading Hall for an extended time.

3.

Goods may only be placed on the trading platforms, and the owners of the platforms have full control over them.

4.

Trading platform rental fee: 1 copper coin/day (special price limited to the first month, after which the price will return to 1 copper coin per half-day); an additional 1 copper coin can activate the platform’s auto-sales feature.”