Chapter 158: Chapter 157: No More Quota

Zhao Chi stared at the farmland for a long time.

But he didn’t see any difference.

The note on the Speed Growth Talisman said that using it would increase the depletion of soil fertility by 300%.

’Perhaps this land is no longer suitable for planting?’

He asked Gu Yan.

Gu Yan smiled and said, "The soil quality here is very good. These two plots of Farmland can still be used. We’ll just need to add some fertilizer next time. You can rest assured, my Lord."

"That’s good."

Zhao Chi then walked over to the nearby Experience Fruit Field.

Gu Yan followed closely behind him.

The Experience Fruit was round, a bit like a green orange.

The peel was thick and required some effort to remove.

But it was rather tasteless.

If he had to describe it, it tasted a bit like cucumber.

But you don’t eat it for the taste; you eat it for its Effect.

It could increase skill experience gain by 100% for 24 hours.

For example, Swordsmanship or Shield Skill.

Or Sewing and Forging.

This meant that after eating one, a day of work would grant two days’ worth of skill experience.

Each Experience Fruit weighed around 200 to 300 grams.

Similar to a regular apple or a tomato.

Normally, one plot of Farmland would produce 50 kilograms per harvest, which is about 200 Experience Fruits.

But now, after the Improvements and with the territory’s Bonus, the yield had soared from the original 50 kilograms to 1.3 tons.

A single plot of Farmland could now produce an average of about 5,000 Experience Fruits per harvest.

Because the Experience Fruit’s peel was dense and thick, it could be stored for a long time.

If stored for too long, the moisture would evaporate, turning it into a shriveled Experience Fruit.

Eating it at that point would be like eating cotton.

But fortunately, the Effect still worked.

"Gu Yan, distribute these Experience Fruits for everyone to eat. 5,000 should be enough for all, but make sure to collect the seeds."

"Yes, my Lord. I understand."

Zhao Chi had been keeping an eye on the system.

Mainly, the various system chat groups.

He wanted to see if anyone had posted about Strong Fragrance Food Street being sealed off tonight.

But there wasn’t a single message.

No news was, perhaps, good news.

Zhao Chi had bought some things in a hurry tonight.

The main item was still the Speeding Charm.

Zhao Chi had grown to like this item.

With Tang Ruan around, the item was no longer scary and unpleasant. Instead, the Speeding Charm could be thought of as a strong liquor.

Using one to three was like being lightly buzzed.

Using four to six was like being tipsy.

Using seven to nine was being half-drunk.

Using ten to twelve would go to your head.

And using thirteen to fifteen would make you dead drunk.

The world would spin, and your Mood would be euphoric.

Your Intelligence wouldn’t be affected, but you would be carried away by your Mood.

You would do some childish things out of excessive happiness and excitement.

But it was harmless, for the most part.

[Item Purchase List]

[Speeding Charm] x500

[Wind and Cloud Step] x1

[Technology Improvement Book] x5

[Shirt Material] x Large Quantity

[Total Spent: 345 Gold Coins]

[Remaining: 179 Gold Coins]

He had bought them in too much of a rush at the time.

So he’d paid a slightly higher price for the Speeding Charms and the Shirt Material.

But Zhao Chi didn’t regret it.

Even if they were more expensive, buying them through official channels would have cost even more.

Including his previous purchases, he now had a total of 860 Speeding Charms.

Enough to last him for a while.

The Technology Improvement Books were also more expensive than yesterday.

But since the Improvement Points from these Improvement Books really could increase the probability, it was worth it even if they were expensive.

He used all five Improvement Books at once.

Amidst a flash of light, he obtained a total of 11 Technology Improvement Points.

’Not too bad.’

And finally, there was the Wind and Cloud Step.

It was a Spiritual Technique well-suited for Zhao Chi.

He tapped ’Use’.

[Congratulations, you have learned "Wind and Cloud Step."]

(Wind and Cloud Step: A Basic Wind Spiritual Technique. Consumes 10 Spiritual Power to summon a gentle breeze that wraps around your legs, increasing Movement Speed by 10% and Terrain Adaptability by 5%. Duration: 10 minutes.)

This Spiritual Technique was also a support-type.

Zhao Chi’s "Female Tutor" Talent could apply a Bonus to it.

And it could be considered a passive Bonus.

For ordinary Peach Blossom Women, it would increase their Movement Speed by 20% and Terrain Adaptability by 10%.

And this was a continuous Bonus.

The Effect was quite good.

The Terrain Adaptability was excellent.

Every Terrain has its own characteristics.

On a flat stone path or a solid dirt road, one’s full Movement Speed could be utilized.

But on a muddy dirt road, a snow-covered path, or even directly on ice, Movement Speed would be greatly reduced.

It would even be easy to fall.

If Terrain Adaptability was increased, it could mitigate these negative effects.

All in all, this was a very practical Spiritual Skill.

Zhao Chi’s current Spiritual Power wasn’t abundant, so he didn’t try it for now.

After all, he had been spending every day inside Tang Ruan’s and Gu Qing’s bodies recently, which consumed a lot of Spiritual Power.

He would try it next time.

Now, having left their bodies, he was moving around freely in his own.

But to be honest...

When Zhao Chi controlled his own Body now, he felt constrained and stifled everywhere.

After all, having gotten used to a body with an average of 7 points in its Attributes, it was indeed difficult to readjust to his own Body with its 5-point average.

It’s easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but hard to go from extravagant to frugal.

Time quickly reached midnight.

A new day had begun.

The Female Soldiers assembled in front of the Lord’s House.

Gu Qing, Tang Ruan, and Qi Yue were also here, standing ready.

Zhao Chi stared at the system.

He was waiting to snatch up some good Magical Beasts in a moment.

Three minutes left.

One minute left.

It was time!

[Stream Village Quota Bulletin Board]

[Date] September 12th

[Quota] 0

[Diverted] 0

’What’s going on?’

’A system error?’

’Why are the quota and diverted numbers both zero?’

’This quota bulletin board shows the extra quota. If the data is correct...’

’Don’t tell me the extra quota has ended?’

’Why?’

Zhao Chi didn’t know whether to be happy or disappointed.

For him personally, it was a disappointment.

After all, dealing with 200 Tier 0 Magical Beasts was a piece of cake for him.

Plus, he could pick his own enemies, making the daily battles quite pleasant.

However, that was just for him.

For the Clan Leader, his uncles, and even some of his older clan brothers, this extra quota was anything but easy.

It was difficult, even Deadly.

He couldn’t have imagined it before.

But he had experienced it firsthand last night.

An invasion of High Tier Magical Beasts was not fun at all, not easy in the slightest.

Yesterday, the Clan Leader Zhao Shizhang’s strength had dropped by a full 25%.

Today, he still had to deal with the regular daily quota mission.

If the extra quota of Magical Beasts was added on top of that, it would be truly arduous.

Moreover, several of his uncles had also suffered a significant Loss of strength yesterday while rescuing the Clan Leader.

This led to the entire Zhao Family’s overall strength declining by about 15%.

Most importantly, the younger generation like Zhao Chi couldn’t help with those High Tier Magical Beasts.

The elders had to bear the burden themselves.

The cancellation of this extra quota was a timely relief for the Zhao Family.

It would allow everyone to breathe a sigh of relief.

But thinking of this, Zhao Chi suddenly had a question.

’Why did the extra quota stop?’

’Originally, this quota existed because the nobles of Zone 7 had pulled away manpower to capture the resistance army, which led to a shortage of nobles fighting the Magical Beasts.’

’That’s why these Magical Beasts had to be distributed to the lower levels.’

’And in turn, distributed to Stream Village.’

’Could it be that the nobles have already captured the resistance army?’

’Even if they did, shouldn’t there have been an advance notice about the quota cancellation?’

’Why was it canceled so suddenly?’

Zhao Chi couldn’t figure it out.

However, Zhao Chi couldn’t help but think about what had just happened at Strong Fragrance Food Street.

’Although Strong Fragrance Food Street was a black market, the very existence of black markets is to resist the current rules.’

’They are naturally hostile to the nobles.’

’It wouldn’t be surprising at all if the resistance army was hiding inside.’

’In fact, it would be perfectly logical.’

’That must be why the nobles of Zone 7 came to the scene personally.’

’No wonder those nobles were willing to endure the stench outside the septic tank.’

’So it was all for the resistance army.’

’Thinking of it that way, it all made sense.’

’But still, how was Strong Fragrance Food Street discovered?’

’It had been operating for several years.’

’And it was all over in a single night.’

’No, that’s not right...’

’Even if there were resistance members in Strong Fragrance Food Street and they were captured...’

’...that only happened a little over two hours ago.’

’Even if the nobles’ Efficiency was high, it couldn’t possibly be *that* high, right?’

’They’d capture the resistance and immediately revoke the quota? And then the nobles would go back to dealing with the quota of Magical Beasts themselves?’

’How is that possible?’

’So, the cancellation of Stream Village’s quota was definitely not a last-minute decision.’

’It must have been decided in advance.’

’Perhaps... there’s one possibility.’

’Someone knew about Strong Fragrance Food Street and reported it to the nobles.’

’And in exchange, or as a reward, the extra quota for Stream Village was canceled.’

’If so, that would explain everything.’

’And this person... was most likely someone from the Zhao Family.’

’After all, the Zhao Family had the strongest motive.’

’The Zhao Family’s strength had declined, and they truly couldn’t hold on any longer.’

’Every extra day they held on, their strength would fall a little more.’

’It wouldn’t be long before the Zhao Family completely collapsed.’

’So, for making such a decision, the sooner the better.’

Zhao Chi’s thoughts were in turmoil.

Emotionally, he supported the black market and the resisters.

But from a practical standpoint, he didn’t want the Zhao Family to collapse either.

If it really was someone from the Zhao Family who did it, he could understand.

It’s just that...

’...this would likely just be leading the Zhao Family out of one abyss and into another.’

Zhao Chi remembered the small stone house at the entrance to Strong Fragrance Food Street, and the one-eyed old man.

The first time he went, the old man had issued a warning.

If anyone betrayed them, they would use their own methods to track that person down.

And their pursuit would be relentless.

’If that’s true...’

’...then I’m afraid the Zhao Family has now provoked the resistance army.’

The resistance army operated in the shadows and didn’t dare to appear in the open, but that was precisely what made them frightening.

And Zhao Chi really did not want to make an enemy of them.

Zhao Chi’s brow furrowed tightly.

He had no proof.

Everything was just his own speculation.

But this speculation was deduced step by logical step, and it was all very reasonable.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.