Both sides were busily planning for the upcoming major battle.
But the players ran into a problem first.
"What? Just for this broken iron sword, you want two silver coins?!" Congxue roared at the sole blacksmith, holding an iron sword with an Attack Power of 3-5.
The blacksmith didn't even lift an eyelid, "Buy it if you want, if not, get lost!"
The NPC villagers, who were natives of this world, were forced into becoming NPCs serving the players after the world was forcibly gamified and datafied. They harbored a lot of resentment because of this.
After all, no one wants their homeland turned into someone else's amusement park.
So naturally, the NPCs didn't show any kindness to the players. They followed the system's hard rules, doing what they had to do, not making things difficult for the players, but also not wanting to engage in much meaningless chatter with them.
Congxue didn't expect the NPC to be so edgy. It was completely different from the games she used to play. She couldn't help but mutter, "Wow, this NPC is really smart..."
Soon everyone gathered together.
The four major guilds' finances were managed by Shang Han of Xin'an Alliance, Luo Beibei of Tianxia Guild, Wang Mingchen of Tongxin Pavilion, and Wang Meng of All Techniques Guild.
Wang Meng said, "Too expensive, a whiteboard iron sword for level 1 costs two silver coins. At this rate, even if a player completes all the tasks, they can only afford a whiteboard set. Each piece of equipment only adds 1 more attribute than the system-provided gear, increasing overall attributes by just 8 points! It's not sufficient."
Shang Han said, "Then buy higher-quality gear. I've checked, the shop sells enhanced equipment with attributes double that of whiteboard gear. A full set can provide 16 points of fixed attributes and 1 point of random attributes, totaling 20 points. The key is the random attribute, allowing us to potentially get high defense or high attack gear."
Luo Beibei said, "If we all use whiteboard gear, everyone can be equipped. But if we buy blue enhanced gear, it's three times the price of whiteboard gear. This means at most, we can buy two thousand sets. So, we can only arm two thousand people."
Wang Mingchen said, "Quality over quantity. If these two thousand people can kill the rabbits, we can not only level up but also achieve an economic cycle and gear upgrades. The equipment we gain can arm more people, creating a positive loop. It's better than buying the gear and still not being able to beat the rabbits."
Wang Meng said, "Too bad we don't have any investigation-type skills, otherwise knowing the rabbits' attributes would help us buy the right gear."
Everyone agreed, but there was no use dwelling on what they didn't have.
Then they found the players who were good at fighting and started frenzied shopping at the blacksmith's shop.
As a lot of blue-quality level 1 gear was bought, Wang Mingchen quickly discovered some shopping tricks.
Blue-quality gear generally had fixed attributes.
For example, clothing had +4 Armor as a fixed attribute, with an additional random 1-point attribute as the enhancement.
When a player's lower attribute was Power, the gear they bought would primarily increase the Power attribute.
In other words, these gears compensated for the players' attribute shortcomings.
As a result, Wang Mingchen immediately called over two players, one with a weak Power attribute and one with a weak Constitution attribute.
Sure enough, the gear they received were sets that increased Attack Power and Defense Power, respectively.
They were busily buying and distributing gear, while on the other side, Yi Zheng looked at the sky. The sun was setting; it was almost dark.
He glanced towards the constantly bustling Newbie Village and felt a bit uneasy.
Just then, a snake's head popped up in front of Yi Zheng, "Boss Rabbit, don't you think the content you're discussing is too straightforward? Could you be more roundabout?"
Yi Zheng turned his head and saw Snake King hanging down from a tree.
Yi Zheng raised an eyebrow, "Roundabout, you can understand?"
Snake King chuckled, "Of course I can. As a snake, I prefer playing dirty."
Yi Zheng's eyes lit up. He beckoned the snake over and whispered something. Afterward, Yi Zheng said, "If this job is done well, I'll set up a separate hall for you. How about that?"
If it were before, Snake King would definitely have grabbed a weapon and fought him. After all, he was Snake King, the king of his tribe. Why would he care about some hall? But now, things were different. The prairie had been almost ruined by this rabbit, leaving the chickens restless and the pigs desperate.
This rabbit was clearly the king of Newbie Village. When Yi Zheng mentioned Hall Master, it was one step below the rabbit, but above thousands.
Snake King was tempted, "Rest assured, I'm good at this. Besides, I enjoy it. Hehe... Just wait for the news! But, you have to return some of my subordinates. They're all being used by your rabbits as whips, reins, and jump ropes. Also, those nunchaku, cough cough, give me a few groundhogs."
Yi Zheng said, "Go find them yourself and tell them I said so."
Snake King happily ran off immediately.
It didn't take long for the sound of hissing to arise at a hidden spot outside Newbie Village on the prairie.
"Shut up, retract your tongues! No noise at all!" Snake King hissed softly.
A group of snakes immediately retracted their tongues.
Snake King checked the distance and found it sufficient, "Groundhogs, dig on the spot, go underground and stay hidden! We are a hidden sentry, understood? Keep an eye on the humans, report back on anything they do!"
"Yes!" the snakes and groundhogs replied in unison.
The accompanying groundhogs began digging immediately...
Soon, tranquility returned to the prairie with no other disturbances.
As the sun set and night fell, darkness enveloped the entire prairie instantly!
...
Congxue walked out from the crowd. At this moment, she wore a full set of blue gear that increased agility, her ponytail swishing behind her, exuding confidence.
Fifty players like her were there, not many, but all specialized in agility, running like the wind.
Congxue looked at Young Master Zeng and Fang Ling.
Fang Ling nodded slightly, "Congxue, it's up to you. Knowing the enemy and knowing ourselves ensures victory every time. Intelligence on the rabbits is critical."
"Don't worry, guild leader," Congxue said confidently, "A bunch of rabbits might be good fighters, but they may not be smart."
Young Master Zeng added, "You all wear agility gear and already maxed out your Agility at 10 points. With the gear providing an additional 4 points and the shoes another 4 points, you have 18 points of Agility total.
This time, you're just scouting the rabbits' movements. Take a look from a distance and then run. The rabbits won't be able to catch you."
Yue Wei grinned, "We're well-prepared this time. We'll definitely succeed!"
Congxue also smiled, proudly raised her head, and said, "Just looking and not fighting won't be a problem. After all, those rabbits don't seem very smart. We can outsmart them easily!"