"Cousin!"
"Cousin!"
George played out the full scene of eting a relative in a distant land — and Leon, without preamble, produced two white bread rolls and handed them over.
White bread. George's eyes got the slightest bit mistier than he would ever admit. Wild vegetables and roasted rat for weeks. He'd been turning into one.
George ate the bread with great feeling. Leon picked up the leftover roasted rat strips on the plate and ate those with apparent enjoynt.
This wasn't Leon being dramatically hungry — it was tactical. Only by eating large amounts of food and water from this world would he avoid registering as a contamination-free natural person and triggering a Critical NG.
Once they were both done, Leon activated a Two-Star Conspiracy Card.
His first words:
"Night Owl says well done."
"Seriously though — a Four-Star mutant, and you killed it alone? That's actually impressive. Rookie King is the real thing."
"Ha. Lucky. Did you hear about Clyde?"
"Yeah. Got killed on day one. Sa circumstances as your second uncle — wrong draw on the spawn map. Who expected a Four-Star Boss right at the starting position? He ca back and said he absolutely refused to ever do a Pioneering Mission again. What kind of nightmare is this?"
Leon looked shaken just recounting it — and he hadn't even been there. He'd missed the cut for Seed Player by three or four places. Now he was starting to think that was fortunate.
Because he would have died there, too.
"By the way — Night Owl also said your 54 gold coins won't be wasted. Those two will catch a slightly heavier penalty than usual. Of course, in their own departnt's view, they're also getting extra compensation — as far as their bosses are concerned, they did outstanding work."
"Why?" George asked. Liang Yuzhi and Li Yue's choices had seed counterproductive from any angle he looked at it.
Leon spat to one side. "Why isn't there a good answer? Fixed football matches, corrupted referees — do you ask why? Every irrational-looking decision traces back to interests. Look at it from the other departnts' perspective: if Liang Yuzhi and Li Yue hadn't made that snap call to trigger a voluntary Critical NG, you might have cracked the top five in Pioneering Points. You might have tied for fourth."
"You're basically Night Owl's inner circle now, so I can tell you this much: the outco of this cycle of Pioneering Missions will influence a certain position at a higher level. I can't say more than that. But do you think the Chief Internal Affairs Officer has nothing else to do?"
"Night Owl needs the Internal Affairs Departnt to place at least second in total team Pioneering Points to have any shot at that position — and right now, this month, thanks to you, we're tied for first. See why those two panicked?"
Leon couldn't suppress his grin. "Anyway — that's also why I was originally assigned to Little John's group but Night Owl redirected here. Starting now, your branch is going to be a priority target for suppression from the competition."
That was a lot of water under the surface.
George stopped asking and changed the subject.
"Poor Clyde. Though — didn't he buy strategy guides from the black market? I didn't."
"Ha! You were misled into thinking those help, weren't you?"
Leon smiled with obvious enjoynt. "The core rules are roughly consistent in any given ga. But the problem is, every run opens a new map. New maps have new hidden rules."
"So regardless of how much strategy material you collect from previous runs, you're working with maybe fifty percent of what you need. The other fifty percent erges from engagent with the current world's environnt and local powers — new rules that produce themselves. How much of that can you guess in advance?"
"Sa world, thirty years apart, and the ruleset changes completely. That's the literal aning of 'thirty years east, thirty years west.' The ga shifts."
"Of course — this is understood implicitly. Nobody dares say it out loud; the consequences would be severe."
"On a lighter note — this month your situation has stabilized considerably. Of the five new players coming in, three are people you know. Your childhood classmate City Builder Thomas is Internal Affairs too — you may have had so friction before, but at the core interests level, you can rely on him completely. Unless he's planning to defect."
"As for the other familiar face — you'll know her even better. She's a Logistics Departnt player, though, with no code na yet. Your college campus beauty Zhao Xuanxuan is, in actual fact, Penny. The sa one you t in the Rookie Mission. She's not simple — fights hard, bets hard, pushes hard. Already done two Chaotic Killing Battlefields and one codena mission, the batch from a few months back. Didn't make it, but she's back for another Pioneering run, and her goal this ti is still to earn a codena."
"Penny? That Peppa Pig?"
George was genuinely pleased. He hadn't crossed paths with the Peppa gambler in over a year. Unfortunately she was Logistics Departnt — a competitor. But the fact that she'd worked her way into a Pioneering Mission was impressive.
"Would she sabotage things? Lie flat? Trigger a voluntary NG?"
"No. That kind of thing was only possible in month one, before a Head of Household was in place. In the Rookie Mission, the Head of Household role was weakened by design. In a Pioneering Mission, the Head of Household is the actual patriarch — especially in your situation, which will trigger a passive Dictator camp buff. You'll see what that ans shortly."
"Night Owl also wanted to pass along so additional context. This level of Pioneering Mission is still relatively small-scale — still a test and an evaluation. Those who still stand out in conditions like yours are the ones that et the criteria for higher-level assignnts. Specifically: Cross-World Plunder Missions."
"You think this competition is brutal and arbitrary, but this is just the equivalent of high school entrance exams. Imagine a mission where death is real death, and the people around you share no allegiance. At least here you don't truly die."
"She also said: the reason she didn't spell any of this out for you during those five months of recovery was that she didn't want you carrying ntal weight. You walk the Perception path, and overloading your thoughts too early would have been counterproductive."
"I understand." George nodded. Anyone else hearing this might have found Night Owl unnecessarily theatrical — but he genuinely got it. During recovery, the last thing he'd needed was a fanfare of banners and revelations and significant news delivered all at once.
What he'd needed was quiet. Space. A cleared mind.
To rest the way a tree rests through winter — to feel the process of healing without interference. That particular kind of experience was rare, and valuable.
He'd wager that the second ti he was seriously injured, he'd never have those sa conditions again.
"All right — the Conspiracy Card tir's nearly up. Give a task assignnt."
"What kind of tasks do you want?" George didn't hesitate. True allies didn't need to be managed carefully.
"Whatever you need. Your priorities first. Don't forget where we are."
Leon's aning landed clearly.
A second later, the Conspiracy Card expired. Leon's expression reset entirely — humble, slightly anxious, with the look of soone who'd been through considerable hardship and wasn't sure of his reception. He even finished the last scraps of dried at George had left. The confident face he'd had a mont ago was gone, replaced with sothing cautious and deferential, like he expected to be turned away at any mont.
"Cousin, there's no rush, eat as much as you need. There's more over there. Don't worry — as long as you're with , you won't go hungry."
George read the situation clearly. In the Rookie Mission, when family mbers and relatives arrived seeking shelter, it had always been gentle — like visiting relatives in a relatively peaceful world. Everyone accommodated, everyone found their place, and difficult relatives were just a minor social inconvenience.
This wasn't that world.
This was a post-disaster world. Even if your own parents showed up — they followed the rules here.
This camp existed because George had built it with real effort and real risk. What had anyone arriving now contributed to that? What had anyone done to earn standing here?
Show up and imdiately try to assert themselves? The Bloodthirsty Spear had feelings too.
"Brother — I won't eat for free. From now on, I follow your word. Say who dies and I'll handle it. Say what needs doing and I'll do it."
Leon pledged loyalty, then added with careful restraint: "Just — if there's any dirty work or heavy lifting, hand it to ."
"Ha — cousin, no need to go that far. Though, seeing as you're here: the camp's just getting started, and I don't carry passengers. I'm planning to reinforce and build a periter wall. You used to do stonework, if I rember right?"
"Yes, absolutely. Stonework's my field. Leave every bit of it to ."
Several silent notifications appeared at those words:
【You have chosen to accept your cousin. However, you still hold reservations about his character, work ethic, and whether his loyalty truly lies with you. You have therefore granted him the status of Provisional Camp mber. Under this status, he cannot initiate a Plot Kill against you at month's end, and cannot Impeach you.】
【He must contribute to this camp — at least 300 Contribution — to beco a Camp mber. At 500 Contribution, he may beco a Family mber. At 1,000 Contribution, he may beco a Family Elder and is eligible to compete for the Head of Household position.】
【Note: Before he achieves full Camp mber status, you may spend 100 Contribution at any ti to expel him without rcy. A plausible reason is sufficient. However, the other party may spend a Five-Star Item Card to resist this.】
【Note: Although you may expel others at any ti, this does not an you can act arbitrarily or incompatibly with your established role. Actions have consequences.】
【Your cousin, Executioner Leon, has received this month's Monthly Task: prepare for the construction of a periter wall, and perform general camp labor — no less than 14 working hours per day. Projected Contribution at month's end: 50 points. If he lies flat for more than three days consecutively, the Head of Household may expel him without paying any Contribution, at any ti and place.】
【Note: Because you are the sole surviving mber from last month, the Dictator Passive Territory Buff has been triggered automatically. No activation required. For all players joining this month, routine inco including bonus inco is reduced to 25% of normal. This will normalize after one month.】
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