Chapter 015: Registration

Upon seeing this chieftain, Li Zhan suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. After thinking carefully, he realized with a start that this was the leader of the tribe situated downstream from his own. This chieftain’s name was Lei Long. He was tall and broad, his voice booming like thunder. Because only the heads of each tribe—the chieftains themselves—could attend this meeting, Lei Long’s three followers were not present.

Lei Long had posed a question that Li Zhan himself found intriguing, so he listened attentively to the secretary's reply.

The secretary continued to smile faintly as he answered, “The magistrate said he would not interfere in disputes among the free tribes, and this includes all tribes both inside and outside the county. That is to say, not only will we ignore conflicts among free tribes within the county, but even battles between outside tribes and yours will not merit a single finger lifted in aid—unless…”

“Unless we submit to the authorities and become a direct tribe?” Lei Long’s booming voice cut off the secretary’s words, finishing his thought for him.

The secretary raised his eyebrows slightly and said, “Exactly.”

Lei Long’s anger flared instantly. He roared, “We pay heavy taxes to the authorities every month, yet they disregard our lives and deaths. But when the authorities’ city of Danyang is threatened, we are expected to come to their rescue with all our strength. What logic is this? What purpose do these hefty taxes serve?”

Li Zhan, hearing Lei Long’s question, shook his head slightly and thought to himself: This is the game’s deliberate design, to keep players constantly under pressure and discontent, fostering a spirit of resistance and increasing the difficulty of the game, while also intensifying the sense of challenge. If the authorities acted like benevolent parents caring for the tribes within their territory, could the tribes ever oppose them? In that case, all these NPC factions would be unnecessary—it would be simpler to let players conquer each other and unite the continent.

The secretary remained nonchalant. “These are the rules. It’s not just Danyang County; all counties have the same regulations. Now, there are three paths open to all your tribes: First, submit to the authorities and develop under their guidance. Second, remain free tribes, strictly abiding by all rules and regulations set by the authorities. Third, oppose the authorities—but given your current strength… heh heh heh…”

The secretary didn’t need to spell it out; everyone understood—such resistance would be as futile as striking a stone with an egg.

Lei Long, after hearing this, bit his lip hard in frustration, stomped his foot, and sat heavily back in his chair.

After a brief silence, other players began to ask the secretary more questions. At this moment, Crooked Radish turned around, grinned at Li Zhan, and whispered, “Meeting the magistrate for the first time and making that annoying fellow suffer—Brother Li, your boldness truly leaves me in awe! Honestly, before this, I wanted to play a trick on the magistrate like you did, but despite deciding several times, I just couldn’t work up the courage.”

Li Zhan could only smile wryly. It seemed Crooked Radish assumed he had intentionally arrived late to make mischief, not knowing that Li Zhan had genuinely been out rescuing someone, without any such intentions in his heart.

Li Zhan said nothing, merely shaking his head with a bitter smile. Crooked Radish’s mouth, however, was far from idle, as he continued, “These NPCs are damned annoying—so many messy rules and regulations, it’s clear they’re just out to make things hard for us players.”

“That sharp-nosed, monkey-faced old coffin filler—who knows what the system was thinking, designing a model like that? Enough to keep fifteen people entertained for half a month!”

“The more I listen, the angrier I get. Not a single thing is for the players, nothing but harsh taxes and endless duties. The authorities are pure vampires.”

…

“Hey, Brother Li, why haven’t you asked any questions?”

After rambling on for ages, Crooked Radish finally paused, turning to Li Zhan to ask.

“Everyone’s already asked for me, so there’s no need,” Li Zhan shrugged in reply.

After chatting a while longer, Li Zhan discovered that this player named Crooked Radish was a genuine enthusiast—naturally friendly, talkative, and something of a chatterbox. Of every ten sentences exchanged, nine were from Crooked Radish, leaving Li Zhan as the listener.

But at least he had a good heart.

Li Zhan internally concluded as much about Crooked Radish.

Once all the players' questions had been answered, the meeting moved to its final item: registration. The secretary produced a register and a brush, placing them on the nearby table. The players rose one by one, stepping forward to write their tribe’s name in the book, noting their development intention—whether to remain free or become direct.

The brush passed quickly from hand to hand as the chieftains wrote their tribe names. Yet, instead of leaving immediately after registering, those who had already finished lingered around the table, watching the others sign in. The reason was simple—this was a rare opportunity to see the names of other tribes and their chieftains, all from within the same county, useful for future reference.

Li Zhan and Crooked Radish were the last to register, with Crooked Radish insisting Li Zhan go first. Li Zhan stepped forward, writing his tribe’s name and marking “free” beside it. As the words “Yanhuang” appeared, someone beside him exclaimed in surprise, “Yanhuang Tribe? That rings a bell.”

“Yes, I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere.”

“I have the same feeling, but I just can’t recall.”

“No need to guess. I remember this tribe was established very late—the game had already been running for over half an hour, and the tribe center was completed and highlighted in the system for three or four minutes.”

The crowd realized the truth, and their expressions toward Li Zhan turned dismissive—a tribe center that took over half an hour to build? This player must be a novice. Little did they know, the Yanhuang Tribe’s overall strength was already among the top tier of the seventeen tribes present.

Li Zhan found their misunderstanding amusing, though his face remained calm and unperturbed. He glanced over the register and saw that of the seventeen tribes, four had chosen “direct.” On reflection, he understood—direct tribes were well-suited for beginners and those without ambitions for conquest. Developing under the guidance and protection of the authorities was indeed appropriate for their situations.

Unlike the crowd’s skepticism, Crooked Radish, seeing Li Zhan’s tribe name, launched into fresh praise, “Brother Li, you truly have your own style—always independent and principled, never following the herd. I greatly admire you!”

With that, he wrote his own tribe name—Crooked Tribe—and marked it as free.