Chapter 40

Chapter 40

However, Lu Yunqi was still in a great mood about being pregnant.

Whenever he had free time, he would go bask in the sun on the Wanping Wasteland, and the Wanping Wasteland was visibly developing by leaps and bounds.

Over the past month, Yuan Pingya and Liu Bao had been sending over a thousand people to the Wanping Wasteland in batches.

More people meant more points, so building anything was a breeze.

Lu Yunqi looked at the skyrocketing points in his backend and, with a grand wave of his hand, built the first power station of the Wanping Wasteland. Instead of damming the Wanping Jade River, he installed solar panels halfway up the mountainside.

He noticed that as the civilization level rose, the duration of limited-time items increased. Reward items like drones went from three days to half a month.

And the solar panels even lasted six months.

But the civilization level was still too low at this point, and many items were still locked. If he wanted to build permanent structures, he would have to wait until the civilization level increased, then have NPCs or residents craft them by hand.

In addition, he built Wanping Elementary School, Wanping Middle School, Wanping University, Wanping Hospital, as well as the Wanping Township Government.

The original wooden cabins had been upgraded to brick-and-tile houses. They now had their own kiln and had started building three-story buildings.

Villagers came and went, and whenever they saw him, they'd respectfully greet him: "Hello, Township Chief."

Yes, Lu Yunqi had changed his title again. He figured that since his base had grown to the size of a township, "Township Chief" was the perfect title.

The NPCs, however, still insisted on calling him "Master."

Lu Yunqi went to find Du Ze to check on the situation. Du Ze pointed at the new planning area and said, "This whole area will get electricity in the future. As long as our civilization level increases a bit more, we can build factories and smelt steel. Then we can start mass-producing a lot of stuff. But Master, we're still seriously short on manpower. Please recruit more people."

Lu Yunqi rubbed his chin and said, "Recruiting is easy. I only have one question: if we bring in more people, can you guarantee the safety of our Wanping Wasteland?"

Du Ze chuckled softly and opened the weapons depot, saying, "Master, look here. Before the Wanping Wasteland is fully developed, points can be exchanged for temporary weapons."

"Holy shit!" Lu Yunqi shouted. "Hook me up with a Dongfeng missile delivery!"

"No." Du Ze answered without hesitation. "Master, with this civilization level, a few shotguns are already a luxury."

Lu Yunqi clicked his tongue. "Fine! Then keep at it, and hopefully one day I can use a Dongfeng missile to blow that little island to the east to smithereens. Oh, right, you've done a great job with the township planning. The green spaces and road layout are really well done. The scenery is nice too. This Township Chief is very satisfied."

Du Ze's lips twitched as he said, "Master, we have ready-made township blueprints. We just need to build according to them. Also, as the civilization level rises, you may need to get a new system administrator. I'm only Level 3, so I can only stay within the township area."

"What? A replacement? No way! I just got used to you."

Lu Yunqi liked using people he was used to. If things weren't smooth, he'd get antsy, so he asked, "Can't you level up?"

Du Ze thought for a moment and replied, "I can, but... it requires time and experience points."

Lu Yunqi asked, "Then how do I farm experience points for you?"

Du Ze pondered for a moment. "Forget it, I'll figure it out myself! Based on my experience points, I should be able to level up one or two more times. If we complete our missions well, I might even reach Level 6. A Level 6 NPC should be able to stay until the end of the mission."

Lu Yunqi nodded. "Good, good. You keep it up, and I'll head out now. Thanks for the hard work, Old Du."

Du Ze shook his head helplessly. He felt this was the most demanding host he'd ever had, but it wasn't all bad. Having everything delegated to him meant he could earn more trust points and experience points.

Plus, with his nighttime side gig, he'd almost certainly reach Level 6 by the end of this mission.

As soon as Lu Yunqi returned to Lord Nine Thousand Years' residence, he heard a piece of news from Liu Bao: "Young Master, something's happened! Something big!"

Lu Yunqi grunted and asked, "What big thing happened?"

Liu Bao replied, "The Third Prince... is dead..."

Lu Yunqi was shocked and asked, "What? Dead? How? That shouldn't be, according to the plot..."

The Third Prince should have died after Murong Jie became emperor. The Crown Prince should have been the first to die.

There was only one exception. In the seventh life, the Second Prince died first. He'd forgotten why—he'd been reborn so many times that his brain's storage space was running low.

Liu Bao answered, "They say it's because he didn't follow the agreement between the three brothers and snuck into Miss Xie's boudoir late at night. The Second Prince found out, because he... was the only one who had been intimate with Miss Xie. So he'd always regarded her as his own princess. In a fit of anger, he got into a fight with the Third Prince. Neither was seriously hurt at the time, but the Third Prince was furious. Yet somehow, he died the next day. The imperial physician diagnosed it as death by suffocation..."

While Liu Bao was still reporting to Lu Yunqi, Murong Jie walked in. Lu Yunqi quickly said, "Perfect timing. Did you hear? Your Third Brother is dead!"

Murong Jie hummed in acknowledgment and said, "I know."

Lu Yunqi rubbed his chin and said, "And his death is very suspicious. How do you think he died? He couldn't have died of anger, could he?"

Murong Jie let out a cold laugh and replied, "The Crown Prince. Framed him."

"What?" Lu Yunqi was greatly shocked. "The Crown Prince framed him?"

Murong Jie said, "You'll find out tonight. The Third Prince is dead, and the Second Prince is the prime suspect. If the Crown Prince makes his move now and steers things at the right moment, the Second Prince won't be able to clear his name."

The three brothers had already been driven apart under Murong Jie's machinations, and this life had introduced Miss Xie, making the lovesick Murong brothers fight each other bloody.

Lu Yunqi couldn't help but give Murong Jie a thumbs up. "Impressive. Truly impressive. But you found out pretty fast too—how did you know it was the Crown Prince so quickly?"

Murong Jie said, "The Crown Prince has a strategist he trusts deeply. If it's his idea, the Crown Prince will almost always try it. Besides, the Second Prince has already been intimate with Miss Xie. And recently, word has spread that Miss Xie has been vomiting frequently and losing her appetite..."

Lu Yunqi: ...Damn, you're still the most impressive one!

No doubt, the strategist by the Crown Prince's side must be your man.