【Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Lord's World. Every transmigrator is granted a domain of their own, each one different. Use this domain as your foundation and grow ever stronger.】
【Warning: this world has native inhabitants and real nations. You must not only contend with your fellow transmigrator Lords, you must also learn to survive here.】
【Mind the Loyalty of your subordinates. When Loyalty runs too low, they may betray you.】
【Severe Warning: you have only one life. Failure means total death. Go gather resources, raise an army — rebellion is your one and only destiny. Hurry now and build up your domain.】
......
I've transmigrated?!
Han Huohuo pinched his own cheek and confirmed it wasn't a dream. He really had crossed over.
He didn't regret it in the slightest, though. He felt not a shred of longing for that shitty old world. This new one — a whole world at war for supremacy — was the new chapter of his life!
By the sound of it, this was the world of a war-strategy game.
Now that, I'm good at!
He looked around. This was supposed to be my main city?
The yard wasn't small, easily over a thousand square meters, but it was shabby beyond words. Apart from one thatched lean-to, there was nothing in it.
Damn it! Could it be any more bare-bones? Still, the system said it could be upgraded, so it ought to improve over time.
Looking outward, he saw a gate swaying in the wind.
A wooden frame more than three meters tall held up a hanging sign. The mountain wind was fierce, and before long, with a "thud," the gust knocked the sign loose.
Han Huohuo walked over and flipped it. Three big characters were carved across it: Black Wind Stronghold.
Damn. Don't tell me I'm a mountain bandit chief?
"Chief!"
Han Huohuo nearly jumped out of his skin. There was someone else in this stronghold? He spun around to find a scrawny, limping bandit standing right behind him.
A huge screen appeared out of thin air, clearer than any high-definition television, and the bandit's information popped up on it at once.
【Bandit】: Gou San
【Stamina】: 100/100
【Combat Power】: Strength 3, Defense 2, Endurance 5, Intelligence 3.
【Traits】: Emotionally unstable; terrible at gathering.
【Food Consumption】: one unit per day
【Loyalty】: 23
A subordinate? Han Huohuo's face split into a grin. He'd lived this long and never had anyone under him before. There was no way in hell he'd do the work himself — from now on, this guy could do the labor and wait on him.
He was about to give an order when he noticed a red dot beside the Loyalty stat.
He tapped it open and read the details.
【Loyalty:】 23, an extremely low Loyalty. If you make him work or fight now, he may betray you at any moment — he might even stick a knife in your back.
Fuck!
"You... go rest for now. I'll send for you later."
Loyalty +1
No work to do — what a relief. The boss seemed to be in a good mood today, so Gou San happily trundled off to rest.
The mountain wind cut cold and the yard was a wreck. Han Huohuo looked all around. His stronghold sat atop a peak deep in the mountains, the soil barren, the trees withered — by any measure, not a good place.
Other transmigrators all get some old-grandpa system or whatever. There's no reason I shouldn't have one too. Who could put up with a doomed opening like this?
Mid-complaint, Han Huohuo patted his pocket and fished out a wooden tablet. It was glowing and warm to the touch.
He'd come across it by chance — a strange thing, carved with quaint, archaic patterns.
A Tablet of Destiny?
【The system has detected that you hold a Tablet of Destiny. It is now redeeming an exclusive facility for the most honored Lord.】
Han Huohuo grinned. See, I knew it — I came all this way, no way there'd be no perks at all. He relaxed. I really am the chosen one.
The system calculated for a good while.
【Congratulations, you have obtained an exclusive facility. At the start you receive a special, one-of-a-kind building: the Mecha Workshop. Please choose where to build it.】
A Mecha Workshop?
A special, one-of-a-kind building?
He checked — it didn't need much room, only about ten square meters. There was open ground everywhere, so Han Huohuo picked a spot at random.
A little machine-house that looked straight out of the steam age appeared from nothing.
【Mecha Workshop: a special barracks. Within the workshop you can manufacture all kinds of mechanical warriors and mechanical workers. The Mecha Workshop is currently Tier 1; upgrading to the next tier requires 1,000 iron ingots.】
Han Huohuo checked his stronghold's resources. Not a single iron ingot. He started with only a hundred stone, a hundred wood, twenty food, and ten gold coins.
He opened the Mecha Workshop and found only two things he could make for now.
【Tier-1 Mechanical Wolf】: 10 iron ingots
【Combat Power】: Strength 10, Defense 10, Endurance 10, Intelligence 10.
【Power Source】: one action lasts up to two hours; when the power runs out, it returns to the Mecha Workshop to recharge.
【Loyalty】: always 100.
......
【Tier-1 Mechanical Worker】: 10 iron ingots
【Abilities】: logging, quarrying, mining, farming.
【Combat Power】: Strength 1, Defense 3, Endurance 5, Intelligence 10.
【Power Source】: each gathering session lasts up to six hours; when the power runs out, it returns to the Mecha Workshop to recharge automatically.
【Loyalty】: always 100.
Seeing that Loyalty of 100, Han Huohuo was overjoyed. Machines really are the way to go! These things will never betray me!
But where was he going to find iron ingots?
Forget it — go ask Gou San, he'd surely know best.
Gou San had just settled in to rest when Han Huohuo woke him up.
Loyalty -1!
Han Huohuo cursed under his breath. This employee really was a piece of work — Loyalty dropped just because the boss asked a question? Once I've got enough iron, I'll have the mechanical dogs finish him off!
"Chief, you called for me."
"Where can I get iron ingots? Do you know?"
Gou San had braced for some grand question; turned out it was this simple. He gave a sleazy grin. "Chief, that's easy. There's iron ore in the mountains. Just take a miner's pick and dig it out, then use stone to build a simple furnace and a smithy, and you can smelt it into iron ingots."
Gou San led Han Huohuo into the thatched hut. In a corner stood a tool rack holding all sorts of tools — axes, hoes, kitchen cleavers. He rummaged out a miner's pick and handed it over.
Han Huohuo looked at the miner's pick, then at Gou San.
You expect me, a mountain chief, to go dig the ore myself? Shouldn't that be your job, Gou San?
The two of them stared each other down, eye to eye.
Loyalty -1
Loyalty -1
......
"Never mind. I'd rather die than do my own labor, and clearly so would you. Let's think of another way."
Gou San's Loyalty had dropped to 16, and only when he heard he wouldn't have to mine did it stop falling.
He gave a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "Well, it's not impossible. First build a simple recycling furnace — you can recycle these tools back into iron ingots."
Gou San was only ribbing him. These tools were the lifeblood of the stronghold; without tools, how was anyone supposed to get by? He never expected Han Huohuo to take him seriously.
"Hey, that's a great idea!"
Han Huohuo flipped through the building list and quickly found the Simple Recycling Furnace.
【Simple Recycling Furnace】: 50 stone, 50 wood
【Function】: recycles all kinds of resources, including iron, stone, wood, and more. Recycling incurs a 50% loss.
"Build it!"
These simple buildings were handed over by the system directly, requiring no build time. The resources were consumed, and in an instant the stronghold had a recycling furnace.
【Special building Mecha Workshop detected. The Simple Recycling Furnace has been automatically upgraded to a Time-Space Recycling Furnace. Recycling loss reduced to 0.】
A Time-Space Recycling Furnace?
No loss when recycling resources? So however many resources went into making something, that's exactly how many you get back when you recycle it?
This is a god-tier building!
Han Huohuo's eyes lit up. He hurried to toss in the logging axe — two iron ingots, two wood.
Then in went the hoe — three iron ingots, two wood.
The cleaver — one iron ingot.
The hammer — two iron ingots.
The scissors — one iron ingot.
Gou San was dumbstruck. What is this spendthrift doing? He's chucking in every single tool — does he not want to keep living? Is he splitting up the whole estate?
Han Huohuo laughed. "I'm not going to do the work anyway. What the hell do I need these tools for?"
Then Han Huohuo set his sights on the curved blade in Gou San's hand.
Apart from the miner's pick, the only thing left in the whole stronghold that counted as metal was that saber in Gou San's grip.