The next task notification came through: "Please build three wooden cabins. Newly built cabins do not require blueprints, only the corresponding NPCs and building materials."
In other words, unlocked buildings could be infinitely copied and pasted, as long as there were enough building materials and NPCs.
Well then, what was there to say?
Keep going!
Lu Yunqi instructed the NPCs: "Hey, Brother Qiang, Brother Lu, and that… house-building brother! Continue building wooden cabins according to the plan. Don't stop until I say stop!"
But Bald Qiang had already gone off to chop trees, leaving only the carpenter and the architect around. Lu Yunqi had planned to wait until he returned to tell him.
Just then, the System Sprite popped out and said to him, "Master, you can issue commands through the system. Take a look at your contacts list—these are all the NPCs you've unlocked. You can create a group chat and share tasks there. That way, the corresponding NPCs will pick up the corresponding tasks."
Lu Yunqi let out a "Wow!" and said, "That's great! So convenient!"
The System Sprite looked proud. "How about it, Master? I told you we're the Idle Ger Farming System—isn't this idle enough for you?"
Lu Yunqi nodded. "But you're not being entirely accurate. This isn't just farming—honestly, it's more like infrastructure building, isn't it?"
The System Sprite said, "Infrastructure and farming go hand in hand. Don't you know that agriculture is the beginning of civilization? Anything related to civilization falls under farming."
Lu Yunqi: … Fine then!
As long as it kept him alive, he didn't care whether it was farming or infrastructure.
Lu Yunqi looked at the system panel and added the NPCs to the group chat. As he added them, he asked, "By the way, if I'm in my own room, can I issue task commands to them anytime, anywhere?"
"Of course!" the System Sprite replied. "Not only can you control them remotely, but you can also purchase and retrieve physical items remotely. That's because our System Terminal has an Anywhere Door. However, Master can only retrieve items that match the current Civilization Level. Things that don't match the Civilization Level can only exist within the Binding Zone."
Lu Yunqi understood. That was great—with this group chat, he could truly treat this area like a farming and infrastructure-building game.
Looking at the 220 System Points in the system, Lu Yunqi pondered what to exchange for something, but after staring for a while without deciding, he could only continue with other tasks.
He clicked on the next task, and the system notification came through: "Please plant one apple tree."
Lu Yunqi thought this was simple. He found apple trees in the Seed Market under the nursery category, spent 10 System Points to buy one apple tree, and assigned the task to the group chat.
But he discovered that the physical labor NPC was busy—he was operating a drone to water the fields. All ten acres needed watering, and the schedule was booked for three hours ahead.
With no other choice, Lu Yunqi hired another physical labor NPC. As soon as the contract was signed, the NPC picked up the command Lu Yunqi had issued, hoisted the apple sapling, and went off to plant it.
Task complete, he earned 10 System Points. Just then, three achievements were unlocked as well. Lu Yunqi claimed the achievement rewards, earning a total of 40 System Points.
His System Points balance was still 220. Lu Yunqi continued with tasks—the next one was to plant apple trees until reaching twenty in total.
Fine. After buying twenty apple trees, his points were nearly depleted again. They really were never enough!
The next task was to plant one acre of apple trees, requiring a full one hundred saplings. Excluding the twenty already planted, he still needed eighty more—which meant 800 System Points!
Ha! 800 System Points? Just kill me now!
Just as Lu Yunqi's task progress was grinding to a halt, Li Na suddenly shouted at him, "Master, the bean sprouts are ready to harvest! The temperature has been high these past few days, so the sprouts germinated in less than three days. Great—we can start another batch."
Lu Yunqi got excited and hurried over, lifting the large basin covered with a quilt. Sure enough, he saw fresh green bean sprouts!
With a delighted expression, he said, "Harvest! Harvest! Collect them all!"
Li Na nodded. "Just recycle them directly—the system will process and package them."
The System Sprite reminded him, "Master, you can click on the crops option and select harvest."
Lu Yunqi opened the crops option and indeed saw that the green bean sprouts showed as mature. He clicked recycle, and notification sounds came flooding in.
"Congratulations, Host! Successfully harvested 512 jin of green bean sprouts. Earned 1,536 System Points. Earned 1,536 System Coins."
Getting so many System Points at once, Lu Yunqi danced with joy—this was a huge step forward!
He opened the Seed Market, bought eighty apple saplings, and distributed the planting task.
He still had 756 System Points left. Time to continue with tasks.
The next task was to plant one acre of peach trees. Lu Yunqi: …
Great. Are you messing with me?
Planting peach trees required another 1,000 System Points. With no other choice, he could only buy 75 peach saplings for now, leaving the remaining 25 to be purchased tomorrow.
He hoped that by leaving things for a day, the system would unlock more achievements, allowing him to continue advancing his quest.
Turning his head, he spotted Li Na, and his eyes suddenly lit up. "Right! Why don't I buy fifty peach trees first, then 256 catties of mung beans, and keep growing mung bean sprouts to recycle for points?"
What could offer a higher short-term return rate on System Points than this?
So he decisively chose to purchase fifty apple trees, having the stamina-type NPCs plant them first, then bought 256 catties of mung beans for Technician Li Na to continue growing sprouts!
He also decided not to visit Wanping Wasteland for the next few days, letting the NPCs stay busy—besides, his Worldline Conquest Quest needed his attention anyway.
With that thought, Lu Yunqi temporarily stepped through the Anywhere Door and returned to his room.
Outside, the sky had already darkened. He opened the doors and windows, letting fresh air rush in. The courtyard was utterly quiet—could Murong Jie still not be back?
He furrowed his brow and called out loudly, "Is anyone here?"
Yunhua hurried over and asked, "Young Lord, what are your orders? I was worried the servants might disturb your rest, so I sent them all to the back courtyard."
Lu Yunqi asked, "Where's Murong Jie? Why hasn't he returned yet?"
Yunhua shook her head. "This servant doesn't know either. Perhaps the Emperor kept him for a meal?"
Lu Yunqi sensed something was wrong and said, "Instruct Liubao to prepare the carriage—we're going to the palace!"
Liubao worked swiftly and efficiently. Ten minutes later, they were seated in the carriage, racing toward the imperial palace.
The night had grown deep, and the crowds on Capital's First Avenue had thinned. Outside of festivals, with the curfew in effect, no one would be out at night except for officials on duty and night watchmen.
Lu Yunqi drove the carriage straight into the palace. The Dragon Guard at the gate made only a token attempt to stop them—once they saw it was Lu Yunqi, they obediently stepped aside and let him through.
At that moment, in Kunze Palace, the Empress looked at her third son with a headache, watching him weep and wail while clinging to her knees. Somewhat helplessly, she said, "Since that Xie Lianyi has already been intimate with your second brother, you… you should stop pushing for this. A woman who has lost her chastity—what would you want with her?"
The Third Prince shouted furiously, "No! No! I will marry Miss Xie! She saved my life—if not for her, I would have died in that lake! Besides, I've already obtained an imperial decree from Father. An emperor's word is law—she must marry me!"
The Second Prince, standing nearby, said, "Third Brother, stop making a scene. Miss Xie and I have already become husband and wife. If you keep this up, it won't look good."
"Not look good?" The Eldest Prince stormed in from the doorway, furious. "Second Brother, I never thought you were this kind of person! Miss Xie is pure as ice and clean as jade, noble in character! And you—you took advantage of her vulnerability and defiled her! Miss Xie and I have been in love for a long time, yet I never once thought to touch her! What about you? Do you truly respect and cherish her in your heart? If not, don't blame me for being rude! I will never give her up to you!"
The Second Prince, who had gotten the better end of the deal, sneered coldly. "Not give her to me? Eldest Brother, the way you say that—as if she's yours to give. She's already mine now. Who knows, she might already be carrying my child. You already have a legitimate consort, so why cling to Miss Xie? I'll make her my legitimate wife—that's far better than being someone's concubine."
"Legitimate wife? Concubine? Murong Pei, what do you take Miss Xie for? She's not someone who can be bound by such empty titles! Miss Xie is the beloved disciple of the Poetry Immortal, and she herself is a person of lofty character! Do you think she would confine herself to anyone's inner chambers?"
The Second Prince said, "I never said I'd hide her away in the inner chambers. Even after we marry, she can do whatever she pleases!"
The Third Prince cried even harder. "Mother! Mother! You must stand up for me! Waaaaah!"
The Empress, annoyed by the racket, said, "Enough! Stop arguing, all three of you! How many times have I told you—you three share the same mother and blood, you should stand together as one! Now you're turning against each other over a woman. What kind of spectacle is this?"
The Eldest and Second Princes fell silent, but the Third Prince kept muttering, "I don't care! I will marry Miss Xie! I have Father's imperial decree in hand—I'm going to find her right now!"
The Eldest Prince blocked his way. "No need to go. I just spoke with Father—the betrothal has been annulled."
The Third Prince exploded. "Eldest Brother, what do you mean by this? Don't think that just because Father has you assisting with state affairs, you're already the Crown Prince! What right do you have to annul my marriage?"
The Eldest Prince said, "I said it's annulled, so it's annulled. Crying won't help!"
The Third Prince rose, seething with rage. "I don't care! No one can stop me! If you dare annul my marriage, I'll… I'll disown you as my brother!"
With that, ignoring the Empress's attempts to stop him, he charged out of Kunze Palace.
He had intended to go to Qianyuan Palace to weep before the Emperor, but the moment he stepped out of Kunze Palace, he ran straight into the Sixth Prince, Murong Jie, who was wandering about like a lost soul.
Murong Jie ignored him, which only made Murong Yu, already seething with anger, even more furious. He called out loudly to stop Murong Jie: "Stop right there! Why do you not bow when you see me?"
Murong Jie cast a glance at him, a hint of contempt flickering in his eyes. That look struck a raw nerve in Murong Yu, who pointed at Murong Jie and said, "You little bastard, how dare you show me such disrespect! Guards, take him to my palace!"