Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Forced Zone Merge
Faye Yardley let out a chuckle and turned her attention to the Personal Combat Power Rankings.
Zachary Pierce was still number one on the combat rankings, and Logan Langdon remained in second. Her own rank, however, had shot up, breaking into the top 50.
This ranking gave her a temporary +1 Strength, and she couldn’t help but clench her fists, feeling the added power.
The Wooden House was now in the center of the raft. Faye Yardley didn’t move it again, instead shifting the awning to the side with the door. Now, the entrance wouldn’t get wet when it rained.
The planting room was placed in the corner of the raft to the left and directly opposite the house. After using the Intermediate Upgrade Coupon, the planting room now covered 150 square meters, and the plant growth speed received another 10% boost.
She built a Wooden House for Eamon, the Little Green Man, next to the entrance of the planting room and used a Basic Wood House Upgrade Voucher on it. The resulting 30-square-meter interior, complete with its own bathroom, was more than enough for him.
The thatched gazebo was moved to the left of the house, near the edge of the raft. She placed a small round table under it, creating the perfect spot to fish and drink tea at the same time.
"Sis, dinner’s ready. Also, Eamon wanted to ask if the little house next to the planting room is for him."
"It is. Why don’t you help him decorate the inside?"
During the meal, Yvonne Lynch noticed that only she and Faye Yardley were sitting in the dining room. The strange little green dwarf didn’t come inside, and surprisingly, Willow Yardley wasn’t eating with them either.
Faye Yardley sipped her seaweed soup, her thoughts turning to the matter of merging the districts.
’It was a forced merger, and the only rule was that the total population of the new super-district couldn’t exceed twenty million. That meant that, aside from her brother’s District 79, the other choices were pretty flexible.’
’If she were being selfish, she’d just choose District 79. But she’d spent so many points on this; she had to maximize her return.’
’Besides, she also wanted more people to survive.’
’If only a handful of people were left in the entire world, drifting on an endless ocean with no hope and nothing to look forward to... anyone would eventually go insane.’
’A glance at the survivor count in the bottom-left corner showed the number now began with a seven. It had only been fifteen days, and over two hundred thousand people were already dead.’
’Whose parents were among them? Whose children?’
Her gaze fell on Yvonne Lynch, who ate quietly without a sound. ’Her world became one filled with zombies, eventually turning into a Dungeon for this survival game. If the population in our own world drops to a critical low, will we become the next Dungeon, too?’
’No, no, that can’t happen. Even though some people are awful, most are just... ordinary. It might seem like their survival is of no consequence, but they are the silent majority that forms the bedrock of humanity. Besides, there are so many kind and admirable people out there.’
Quickly finishing her meal, Faye Yardley grabbed a napkin, wiped her mouth, and tossed out, "Take your time," before hurrying upstairs, leaving a baffled Yvonne Lynch behind.
Faye Yardley rushed into her room, closed the door, and sat on the sofa on her small balcony. Gazing out the window at the boundless sky and the endless sea of ice, she retrieved the [Forced Merger Card] from her inventory and, without further hesitation, called Zachary Pierce.
He answered almost immediately, his cheerful face appearing on the holographic screen.
"Good afternoon, Yardley."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Pierce. Congratulations on getting first place on the combat rankings again."
"Heh, you’re too kind. The bonus for being number one is incredibly useful, though. And congratulations to you for climbing so high. Looks like you’ve been working hard."
After a moment of pleasantries, Faye Yardley held the card up and waved it. "Here. This is the real reason I called. It’s a Forced Merger Card, worth fifty thousand points. So, Mr. Pierce, are there any districts you’d particularly like to merge with? You just have to ask, and I’ll grant your wish."
"Whoa—holy crap! Yardley, you’re incredible!"
On the screen, Zachary Pierce seemed even more excited than Faye Yardley was.
Faye Yardley just watched him with a smile. ’It was rare to see him lose his composure like this.’
"Hold on a second."
With that, the call ended. Less than a minute later, he called back.
"If possible, could you please merge District 1 and District 54 in as well?"
"Alright. Any others?"
Zachary Pierce gave a wry smile. "The others... we haven’t been able to contact them yet. Merging with just these two is already a huge and welcome surprise for us."
[Server-Wide Announcement: Congratulations to player Helen from Solon for being the first to clear Dungeon 4. You are hereby rewarded with Reputation +500 and free attribute points +1.] x3
As they were talking, a bright golden server-wide announcement suddenly appeared. Faye Yardley smiled and said, "Well, I’m using it now."
[Server-Wide Announcement: Congratulations to player XXX from Veridia’s District 101 for being the first on the server to use a Forced Merger Card, merging Veridia’s District 1, District 54, and Districts 75-105 into a single super-district. The new super-district will be designated District 101.] x3
The six consecutive announcements immediately drew the attention of everyone who was watching the leaderboards to these two messages.
The people from the merged districts, in particular, caused an immediate uproar in their regional channels.
[You guys, who understands my pain? I was from District 77 and had just squeezed my way onto the rankings. Then, out of nowhere, the big shot from District 101 merged us. Now I can’t even find my name on the leaderboard anymore. T_T My rewards!]
[FUCK! What kind of idiot was that? My first-place spot is gone!]
[This is great, we’re a super-district now! Are any of my family members here? Please speak up if you see this.]
[Can they just merge districts this randomly? They could’ve at least given us a heads-up so I could be mentally prepared.]
[Prepared for what? Since when do the overlords need permission from us ants?]
[Holy crap! The top player on the Raft Rankings is already Level 7. And here I thought the highest in our district being Level Five was impressive.]
[Kyle Lewis: Mom? Mom, are you in the super-district? Can you see Kyle’s message?]
[Speaking of which, how did the big shot who initiated the merger choose the districts? Districts 1 and 54 must have been specific picks, so were 75 through 105 just thrown in for good measure?]
[I don’t care about any of that, I just want my rewards back!]
While everyone was wailing in the public channel, Faye Yardley had already dropped a message in her small group chat, removing Wade Warren and Leo Sloan from her friends list to free up two spots for her brother.
If she only removed one of them, that person might overthink things, which could disrupt the harmony of the group chat.
After a moment’s thought, she added Kyle Lewis to the small group before promptly removing him from her friends list as well.
In the group chat, Wade Warren and Leo Sloan shared a moment of mutual sympathy. Their little club was soon joined by Kyle Lewis.
Kyle Lewis: Oh, there’s a group chat. So, did Miss Yardley add me just so she could remove me as a friend?
Wade Warren: Don’t feel bad, Mr. Lewis. Mr. Warren here gets the same treatment from our group leader.
Leo Sloan: At this point, I’m just hoping I can hang on to my membership in this group.
Ding! Ethan Yardley has joined the group chat.
Wade Warren: Oh, a new member. Whoa, it’s one of the top ten big shots from the Personal Combat Power Rankings.
Faye Yardley: Hi, everyone. Allow me to make a grand introduction: this is Ethan Yardley, my dear brother. Hehe, found him as soon as the districts merged.
Ethan Yardley: Hello, everyone.
