Chapter 120: 119 Sociology +3

"Wow! Quite spacious, isn't it?"The sight of the cave in front of him surprised Bai E; primitive wooden beams were placed at equal intervals to support the structure and prevent collapse, with at least twenty square meters of space, which felt much less cramped than the previous night.

Was it all the work of the little mouse people alone?

The players must have also helped to some extent.

The progress had indeed quickened significantly, so it was time to give them some confidence...

Construction tasks are supposed to reward based on progress made... How much progress there is could still be up to him to decide, so he should settle part of their rewards first.

"You did very well." Bai E nodded, his face showing obvious satisfaction.

[Side Mission—Building a Warehouse (Construction Commission), progress increased.]

[Mission Reward (Stage): "Faction (Li Ming) Official Member" status unlocked.] X3 seaʀᴄh thё Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"!!!"

The players who followed Bai E down into the cavern were jolted when they received this notification, turning to look at each other with visible surprise in their eyes.

Working on a construction task day after day without immediate feedback was very different from the game's other immediate feedback mechanisms, which could sometimes be demotivating.

Now...

As official members, they should finally be able to see what items the Faction Shop had available for exchange. They had sweated and bled for Li Ming, all for a bit of the organization's special resources.

Most of their efforts and the bloodshed were indeed due to the tasks at hand, but that wasn't important!

Let's see...

[Heavy Weapon Specialization Training, Price—Basic Instruction: 20 Faction Contribution Points.]

[Light Firearms Specialization Training, Price—Basic Instruction: 20 Faction Contribution Points; Advanced Instruction: 30 Faction Contribution Points.]

[Ranged Weapon Specialization Training, Price—Basic Instruction: 20 Faction Contribution Points; Advanced Instruction: 30 Faction Contribution Points; Master Instruction: 50 Faction Contribution Points.]

[Firearms Maintenance, Price—Basic Instruction: 25 Faction Contribution Points.]

[Bandaging (First Aid) Training, Price—Basic Instruction: 25 Faction Contribution Points; Master Instruction: 40 Faction Contribution Points.]

[Unlocking the next tier of exchangeable items is contingent on unlocking any item from the current tier, please look forward to it...]

"..."

"How come there are better and worse options?"

The three players' puzzled gazes fell on Bai E, waiting for the final arbiter to speak.

"The organization's manpower is limited for now, so the choices we can offer are also limited. But rest assured, as you get more involved with the organization, your privileges will also increase."

Bai E was quite pleased with the shop rules he had painstakingly crafted during his downtime.

"Oh~"

The three players nodded, half-understanding.

In their eyes, no matter how human the characters in the game seemed, they weren't real people.

These mechanisms surely couldn't be determined by NPCs deciding whatever they wanted, right?

It must be the system in the background, integrating the services the organization could currently provide, along with the level of trust, human resources, and other information, to present them with such a Faction Shop panel.

There's nothing to be gained from contending with such a rigid system setup; one simply has to play by its rules.

Moreover, it seems... that as temporary members, they made quite a profit from those teachings from the bureau, didn't they?

Having been in this world for some time, they were aware that the NPCs of this world treated various skills and knowledge as precious and did not impart them lightly.

So, this was indeed a significant gain. If only they had known, they would have unlocked their official membership later...

Not just the players, Bai E too found it odd.

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Watching the information alerts that popped up on the panel the moment the official faction membership was granted, he was also bewildered.

[As the leader of the faction, the bond between you and your organization members has been strengthened. Sociology +3]

[Sociology +3: The population under your jurisdiction feels greater recognition of your identity, task delegation authority contents enhanced——basic combat task single delegation customary experience quota authority increased to: 50~200 points, daily delegation customary experience quota authority increased to: 50~700 points; basic resource task single delegation quota authority added: research experience 0~50 points, daily delegation quota authority added: research experience 0~150 points.

(Effective from the issuance of new tasks.)]

"..."

An unanticipated path.

The new complications were somewhat beyond Bai E's expectations, but they had no impact on the implementation of the established plan.

He needed to first assess the threat of the boy, which was crucial to his subsequent arrangements for the tasks assigned to players.

Bai E's expression remained unchanged as he instructed the three players who had just come down, "You go up and keep watch first; I have something to discuss with him alone."

Wrapped in a yellow-brown cloth resembling a hemp blanket, the weary boy seemed to have shrunk into a corner after a night of exhaustion, with his nostrils gently flaring in tranquil and comfortable sleep.

Even the not-so-quiet conversation between Bai E and the three players had not awakened the child who had suffered so much hardship.

In his days of anxiety, this seemed to be his most peaceful night of sleep... since his sister had left.

"Yes, my lord!" Dai Lian took the lead in responding.

The recently unlocked official faction membership had him excited, and the prospect of more expansive aspirations for the organization seemed within reach.

"What does the lord want to talk to him about?" Kuang Xin, who had climbed up last to the surface, asked with some curiosity.

Dai Lian glanced at him disdainfully. Having known each other for a while and becoming familiar, their speech also became more straightforward, "Why don't you go eavesdrop?"

"Aren't you curious?"

Gong Yan, who had silently pulled up the disguise covering the underground hole, smiled and said, "What's there to be curious about? The lord is worried about the trouble that fernandi might bring later on. Naturally, he needs to ensure there are no hidden dangers."

"Yanzi is the smart one," Dai Lian said with admiration, then shifted the topic to what he cared about most, "It seems we need to speed up the construction of the storage building with the ratmen to boost our faction contribution points and unlock subsequent exchange items."

"You're in a hurry to unlock it even though you don't know what comes next?" Kuang Xin seized the opportunity to retort.

"The wisdom of mortals," Dai Lian scoffed, "Do you remember how you got that trait of yours?"

Kuang Xin envied Dai Lian's ability to show off with his curve gun, but Dai Lian also coveted Kuang Xin's "Well-Trained" trait for its substantial boost to combat effectiveness in melee fighting.

This high-level ability was clearly not taught by the lord deliberately, but this lucky guy, blessed by the system's favor, had learned it effortlessly from the slimmest of chances without paying any price.

And one could foresee that not just "Well-Trained," but other equivalent high-level abilities awaited discovery and unlocking.

This kind of blind box-like game exploration that could occasionally yield surprises was adept at stirring players' curiosity.

Not to mention that even the basic exchange items were very much worth redeeming.

The dignity of the lord repelling the Arbitration Place personnel with three arrows was vividly etched in their minds, thoroughly awe-inspiring!