Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Murong Jie did not light a lamp, using only the moonlight as he put the handkerchief away.

He clutched the handkerchief tightly, then took out a wooden box and placed it inside, saying in a deep voice, "Let this be a reminder of the humiliation I suffered in this life. I'll remember it every day and never forget it!"

With that, he snapped the box shut and tucked it into his sleeve.

Xiao Hei hadn't come around these past few days, probably because of stuff going on in the Hexi Corridor. He hoped Xiao Hei would bring back some good news when he returned.

As for the three Murong brothers, he thought, it was time to spring the trap.

Lu Yunqi rested through the night and didn't get up until the sun was high in the sky the next day. When he got up, he felt lazy all over, not really uncomfortable, just a little sore in a certain spot.

The swelling had gone down, maybe because of the bath last night... wait, no—he vaguely remembered someone putting medicine on him?

When that thought popped into his head, Lu Yunqi shook it off, thinking, how the hell could that be? Murong Jie would never put medicine on him.

Not having fucked him to death was already showing mercy.

His body felt clean and fresh, and since he had nothing else to do, why not head over to Wanping Wasteland?

Lu Yunqi opened an Anywhere Door in his room's cabinet, pushed it open, and stepped back into Wanping Wasteland.

With Du Ze fully in charge of the system, Wanping Wasteland was booming. The veggies and fruits were growing great, and the residents all looked happy.

In just a few days, the refugees who used to look all grimy now had some color in their cheeks.

Two new NPCs had been added too—a traditional Chinese medicine doctor and an accountant.

The accountant handled all the spending in the system, and the doctor took care of treating the residents and giving them meds.

With those two around, new refugees in Wanping Wasteland could get quick treatment for minor issues.

In just a few days, tons of land had been farmed in Wanping Wasteland, and the cabins had gone from one row to several more two-story ones.

The second Du Ze saw him, he started complaining: "Mr. Lu, you're finally here. We're seriously short on people right now. We still don't have enough residents to get the economy moving."

Lu Yunqi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How many do you need?"

Du Ze said, "The more, the better, obviously. If you've got time, send another batch over today!"

Lu Yunqi nodded. "Okay, okay, I'm free right now. I'll go grab a batch for you!"

A lot of yesterday's refugees had loyalty ratings above eighty percent. He'd have Yuan Pingya round them all up and find a chance to send them over.

Thinking of Yuan Pingya, Lu Yunqi asked, "Oh, by the way, can I appoint people from this time period as managers, not just NPCs? Because if you NPCs go out and do stuff for me, I'm worried you'll be limited by the rules."

Du Ze replied, "You hit the nail on the head—we're definitely bound by the rules. We can buy but not sell, because anything our system makes would be super sought after outside the base. You can appoint people who aren't central characters as managers, but they have to stay far away from the main plot, or the system won't allow it."

Lu Yunqi nodded. "Got it, got it—definitely far from the main plot."

Yuan Pingya was just a refugee from the north, so he definitely wouldn't mess with the plot.

So he tried adding a new position in the system, called it Dimensional HR, and hit confirm—surprisingly, it actually worked!

He picked Yuan Pingya because of his super high loyalty, with zero chance of betrayal. Plus, the guy seemed pretty honest, and Lu Yunqi liked dealing with people like that.

After setting that up, Lu Yunqi asked, "Can I give him a mini-program so he can see everyone's loyalty?"

Du Ze nodded. "Yes, master. You can search for the loyalty mini-program, click to bind it, and it'll attach to the person."

Lu Yunqi snapped his fingers. "Awesome!"

Then he set up the loyalty mini-program for Yuan Pingya and gave him temporary access to the Anywhere Door so he could bring new recruits into Wanping Wasteland.

After getting all that set up, Lu Yunqi planned to head back to his room and let Yuan Pingya know.

But Du Ze had other stuff to talk to him about. There were two paths for future tech development: one was the big machinery path—the legendary cyberpunk—and the other was the new energy path, a high-tech route based on electricity and other renewable sources.

Lu Yunqi looked at the requirements for both and ended up firmly picking the new energy path.

Because cyberpunk needed a ton of resources, and on their Earth, there just weren't enough to power all that big machinery.

Sure, he thought cyberpunk was cool, but where the hell was he gonna get all that oil?

Electricity was different—as long as you had solar panels, you could set up a power base anywhere.

He finally nailed down the general development direction with Du Ze, and it was almost noon. He'd been thinking about eating lunch with the residents of Wanping Wasteland, but something suddenly flashed through his mind and freaked him out. He immediately zipped back to the cabinet in his bedroom.

As he pushed open the cabinet door, he heard a racket outside. Liu Bao was banging on his door like crazy.

Lu Yunqi quickly opened the door. "What's going on?"

Liu Bao said nervously, "Young master, you gotta come quick! Master Yuan seems to have lost his mind—he's insisting on kicking the stable groom out of the estate, calling him a sneaky bastard. Kicking out a groom wouldn't normally be a big deal, not worth bothering you, young master. But Master Yuan also says the groom has blood on his hands and wants us to turn him over to the cops for investigation. Young master, don't you think Master Yuan might be a little off in the head?"

Lu Yunqi was speechless, thinking, is this mini-program being utilized to its fullest extent?

Without any explanation from him, Yuan Pingya already knew how to use it?

Lu Yunqi cleared his throat and said, "Don't worry. Bring Master Yuan here first, and send the groom to the authorities. Let them investigate whether he has a criminal record."

"Huh?" Liu Bao was shocked. "Young master, this... this groom has been with our household for seven years. You really... really want to send him to the authorities?"

Lu Yunqi kicked him: "If I tell you to send him, you send him. Why so much nonsense?"

Liu Bao acknowledged and turned to handle the matter. Before long, Yuan Pingya arrived at Lu Yunqi's room.

The moment he saw Lu Yunqi, Yuan Pingya said with reddened eyes, "Young master, please don't go out these days. I suspect someone is plotting against you! That groom... that groom is definitely planning to harm you!"

Lu Yunqi handed him a cup of tea and personally helped him up, saying, "Calm down, calm down. Have some tea first and tell me slowly—what did you see?"

Yuan Pingya's flustered eyes still held a hint of shock. He said, "Just now, for no reason, a voice suddenly sounded in my ears. It... it said something like... mini... program? I didn't understand, thinking I was hearing things. But the next second, I had a vision. A blue box appeared before my eyes, growing from small to large, and then another voice came: Installation complete."

Lu Yunqi: ... Oh, that's the mini-program installation complete.

In simple terms, Lu Yunqi's side was a massive system, and his subordinates were individual apps.

Yuan Pingya, an ancient man who had never seen such things, being frightened was understandable.

Lu Yunqi chuckled happily, stood up, and closed the door, saying, "Were you scared?"

A flicker of panic passed through Yuan Pingya's eyes, showing he was a timid person. Lu Yunqi inwardly wondered—with such a timid nature, could he really handle the position of Dimensional HR?

But Yuan Pingya shook his head and said, "I'm not afraid, young master—I'm worried. I'm worried that the groom might harm you. I just used this little... mini-program and saw the groom's loyalty. Yes, I know you might not believe me, but I truly can see his loyalty. Moreover, the mini-program told me his loyalty is only twenty percent, and the color of that loyalty is red tinged with black. That means he's a notorious bandit with more than one life on his hands!"

With that, Yuan Pingya knelt down and pleaded earnestly, "Young master, please heed my advice—don't go out these days! This notorious bandit has been planted in your household. What if, in unseen corners, there are others plotting to harm you?"

Lu Yunqi nodded with satisfaction, thinking—so it wasn't fear, but concern for him.

He chuckled softly and waved his hand. "There's a saying: you can be a thief every day, but you can't be on guard every day. Besides, that little program of yours didn't appear out of thin air—I gave it to you."

Yuan Pingya was shocked. "What? You... you gave it to me?"

Lu Yunqi nodded. "Yes, I've been blessed with a great destiny, but I can't accomplish it alone. I need your help to improve the current state of the Great Xia dynasty. I want the people to have food to eat and clothes to wear, to build vast mansions for all, so every poor soul under heaven may find joy and shelter. Are you... willing to help me?"

Yuan Pingya murmured, "To build vast mansions for all, so every poor soul under heaven may find joy and shelter..."

After a moment, Yuan Pingya nodded firmly. "I am willing! You are a good man, young lord, helping the people and rescuing my brother and me. I am willing to become your advisor!"

Lu Yunqi responded, "Good! Then from now on, use this little program to recruit for me. You'll be my interdimensional HR, only recruiting people with a loyalty rating above eighty percent. If loyalty exceeds ninety percent, note down their names and give them to me—I have other important plans for them."

Though Yuan Pingya didn't understand what great destiny Lu Yunqi spoke of, he knew that he and his brother owed their lives to him; otherwise, they'd have starved on the streets long ago. So, he was willing to follow his every command!

Just as he was about to nod, the door burst open with a bang. Both turned to see that the newcomer was Murong Jie.

Murong Jie's face was as dark and somber as ever. His gaze swept over Lu Yunqi and Yuan Pingya, and his tone carried a hint of coldness. "It seems I've come at a bad time."

Lu Yunqi: ...

Oh no, why did you have to come at this exact moment? Now I'm in trouble—I just barely managed to smooth things over with him last night, and who knows how long I'll have to butter him up again today!

With that, Murong Jie turned and left, and Lu Yunqi chased after him. "Hey, hey, hey, it's not what it looks like! Just let me explain!"