Chapter 72 | Fear Not, Witch — A Player Is Here to Rescue You

Wu Yao glanced at the materials needed for these buildings. Aside from Wood and Iron Ingots, she would have to buy everything else in town.

At her current speed, two hours would be more than enough to head to Qinghe Town, buy all the items, invite Benita and the others to join the territory, and then return to finish the construction.

This quest was simply too easy to complete.

In a great mood, Wu Yao stood up and stretched.

Xuanmiao was startled by her sudden movement. The kitten nervously hooked her claws into Wu Yao's robe and let out a disgruntled “meow.”

Tiechui and Tongque shuffled closer.

“My Lady, how do you plan to develop the territory? Is there anything Tongque and I can do to help?” Tiechui rubbed her hands together, her brown eyes filled with earnestness.

Tongque nodded beside her. “Though we are merely merchants, we have seen many territories along our trade routes. If you do not mind, My Lady, we can offer some suggestions for your reference.”

She scratched her head after speaking, looking a bit self-conscious. “We also hope the territory will prosper.”

Wu Yao paused.

She had been just about to head out, her mind entirely occupied with the routine of going to town to buy things, picking up the residents, and returning to submit the quest. Being suddenly asked this by the two goblins, she actually found herself at a loss for words.

How should she develop it?

She had always treated this game as a combat game—killing monsters to level up, grinding materials to do quests. Her brief interactions with the building system were purely because of quest requirements.

To her, the territory was more like an auxiliary feature, a base where she could store items, rather than a place that required careful management.

She had honestly never thought about any long-term planning.

But this Territory System was actually designed with incredible detail. It would be a pity to just half-heartedly breeze through it.

Still, for NPCs to actually ask this kind of question... would they really give some useful advice?

Wu Yao felt a spark of interest. She sat back down and shared her plans with her only two residents.

“I'll share my current arrangement first. For production buildings, I plan to build the Orchard, Pasture, Barn, and Fishpond first. As for defensive buildings, I'll construct a Stone Wall, a Wooden Wall, and a Sentry Tower—just enough to meet the count of three. What do you think of this setup?”

Tongque did not answer immediately.

Her gaze drifted left and right, stubbornly avoiding eye contact with Wu Yao, her lips pressed tightly together.

Tiechui's expression was even more obvious. Her brow was knitted into a tight knot, and her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, as if she had words stuck in her throat that she desperately wanted to spit out but didn't dare to.

Wu Yao propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her palms, asking with amusement, “What is it? Just say what's on your mind.”

Tiechui glanced at Tongque, and Tongque glanced back. The two goblins engaged in an extremely brief, silent exchange of looks.

Tiechui's eyebrows twitched upward, and the corner of Tongque's mouth dipped down a fraction of an inch.

Tiechui took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind.

“My Lady, I can't hold my tongue, so please don't take offense,” Tiechui said, nervously rubbing her hands until her knuckles turned red.

“This arrangement of yours... I'm a bit worried about the Fishpond. It's not that fishponds are bad, but the Moonlight Forest is, after all, a corrupted wasteland. To raise fish, you need water, but if the groundwater still contains traces of corruption, the fingerlings will die the moment you put them in. The same goes for the fruit saplings and livestock young. We can't say for sure if fruit trees can survive in the soil of the Moonlight Forest, or if the livestock will have issues eating the grass here. If we go through all the trouble of building them only for the saplings to die and the young animals to fall sick, won't it all be for nothing?”

As soon as she finished, Tiechui nervously drooped her ears. Would Lady Wu Yao feel offended by her words? After all, she was just a goblin merchant who had joined the territory less than ten minutes ago. What right did she have to dictate the territorial planning of a reclusive Great Witch?

Tongque picked up the conversation, her tone much more tactful than Tiechui's.

“What Tiechui means is not that these buildings shouldn't be constructed, but rather that this arrangement might not be the most suitable for your territory. You possess a vast amount of Moon-Silver Wood, which is a top-tier magic-conducting material on the outside market, highly sought after but impossible to buy. If the territory only builds ordinary farmland and orchards without utilizing these readily available Moon-Silver Wood resources, wouldn't it be a bit of a waste? Of course, this might just be our short-sightedness. Perhaps you have already considered much deeper factors, My Lady.”

Tongque had deliberately offered Tiechui an out, but Tiechui didn't even notice and hurriedly added another point, as if fearing she would lose her courage if she didn't speak now.

“Also, regarding the defensive buildings, using a mix of Stone Walls and Wooden Walls is something I really don't understand. Stone Walls have high durability but are expensive to build, while Wooden Walls are cheap but can't take a beating. Placing both types of walls in different directions is essentially leaving a weak spot. If you're worried about not having enough materials, you could just build a shorter Stone Wall first. There's no need to use Wooden Walls just to make up the numbers.”

Only after she finished did she realize she might have been quite rude. She quickly lowered her head and pretended to smooth out the hem of her robe.

Wu Yao was a bit slow to react.

It wasn't that she was angry. She had simply assumed the two goblins were just running a system script, asking her a few random questions before letting her go about her business once she answered.

She hadn't expected them to actually offer genuine advice, let alone counter the player's arrangements.

What was up with the NPCs in this game? They were far too realistic.

She had played plenty of simulation management games before, and the behavior of NPC merchants was usually nothing more than reciting lines, unlocking new lines when Affection reached a certain level, and triggering set events at specific times.

But these merchant NPCs were genuinely analyzing her plans, using their own professional expertise to assess their feasibility, and even employing smooth rhetoric to tactfully point out issues when they found them.

Well played, dev team. You have successfully piqued this player's interest!

She was someone who had achieved 100% completion in various simulation management games. How could she reduce herself to being tactfully lectured by NPCs on territory planning?

Tiechui was still whispering to Tongque. “Did I say too much? Her Ladyship looks so serious. Is she angry?”

Tongque replied in a hushed breath, “How should I know? Why didn't you think of the consequences before you spoke—”

“I couldn't help it...”

“You always can't help it—”

“Ahem.” Wu Yao cleared her throat.

Both goblins shut their mouths instantly. Their four large ears shot straight up, then immediately flattened back down.

Wu Yao raised a hand and rubbed her face. “You're right.”

“My previous arrangement was indeed a bit half-hearted. Let's discuss this again.” Adjusting her attitude, Wu Yao earnestly asked the two NPCs, “What ideas do you have?”