Leo Ray suddenly opened his eyes and found himself standing in front of a small wooden house.
Before he could fully recover from his drowsiness,
an emotionless mechanical voice suddenly echoed in his ears.
[Welcome to the Era of Universal Lords!]
[Your Excellency the Lord, congratulations on becoming one of the billion lords! The small wooden house before you is your Lord's Mansion. Building and developing it is your primary goal.]
[Here, you can conquer territories, command armies to slay enemies, or devise tactics behind the scenes to reap the benefits of others' efforts.]
[When your territory reaches a certain level of development, you may encounter other lords. Whether to forge alliances or engage in slaughter and plunder is up to you to decide.]
[In addition, your territory has a three-day protection period. During this time, you will not be subject to any form of attack. Please strengthen your power as soon as possible to prepare for upcoming challenges.]
[Reminder: Please treat each of your subordinates with kindness, as they are also living beings with flesh and blood.]
[Warning: Proceed with caution in every action. If your territory is completely destroyed or you suffer fatal injuries, you will die for good!]
"Did I... travel through time and space?"
Despite the doubts in his heart, Leo Ray quickly realized this after seeing the peculiar surroundings.
At that moment, the sky was clear, and the brilliant sunlight made it difficult for people to keep their eyes open.
He was surrounded by lush, green forests.
And there were two suns, one large and one small, in the sky!
"However, it seems like there are not just one, but an entire billion lords like myself."
Upon this thought, Leo Ray couldn't help but exclaim in awe.
"In any case, I must quickly understand this new world! If I'm not careful, I'll likely end up dying for real!"
Not having time to think about anything else, Leo Ray focused his attention on the small wooden house before him.
The humble house had mold and dark stains all over, displaying a mottled and worn appearance.
"So this is my Lord's Mansion? I wonder if it'll leak when it rains..."
With a small smirk, he cautiously stepped inside.
Upon entering the room and stepping on the squeaky wooden floor, Leo Ray discovered,
the cabin had an area of merely a dozen square meters, sparsely furnished.
Besides the strong moldy smell, there was a hard wooden bed with a straw mat and a wooden box that was completely empty.
Just as Leo Ray was about to take a closer look, he suddenly felt dizzy.
Then, knowledge about the basic rules of this new world flooded into his mind.
In his vision, many semi-transparent options appeared that could be called out or hidden at any time.
These options included 'Territory Information', 'Chat Channel', 'Trading Center,' and so on.
Leo Ray, who had been taken aback for a while, opened 'Territory Information' first.
[Lord's Mansion Lv: 1 (Claim 2 'Tier 1 Recruitment Orders' daily)]
[Owner: Leo Ray]
[ID: 0013076067]
[Population: 1/10]
[Number of Buildings: 1]
[Storage Space: 0/100]
[Materials Needed for Upgrade: Wood x2000, Thatch x1000, Stone x500]
"So my territory only has this small wooden house? What's the difference between this and starting from scratch?"
Shaking his head helplessly, Leo Ray focused his thoughts, and two old-fashioned wooden tokens appeared out of thin air in his hands.
[Tier 1 Recruitment Order: Can randomly summon a Tier 1 Subordinate.]
"At this stage, I can summon two people every day... It's not bad, better than being a leader without any followers."
Looking at the Recruitment Orders in his hand, Leo Ray hesitated for a moment, but didn't rush to summon anyone.
Instead, he opened another function, 'Chat Channel,' to further assess the situation and make plans.Currently, only the "Regional Channel (National)" is open.
Enter directly.
[You have entered Channel No. 022218]
The channel is very lively, with each message preceded by an ID number, the sender's name, and a gender symbol.
"Damn! Where am I? Wasn't I drinking at a nightclub with a girl? Where's my rented luxury car?"
"Guys, I was just in LA, borrowing 300 bucks, and suddenly I'm in a desert? You know what I mean?"
"Damn! So I'm not the only one who crossed over? I thought my protagonist halo finally appeared... What a letdown!"
"Is there any gentleman willing to take me back home? I have a live broadcast tonight, and I can promise you anything you want."
"I own two listed companies. Whoever can tell me how to get back, I'll give them 50 million!"
...
After a while, as more and more people come to terms with reality.
Channel's topics gradually shift from fear and nonsense to discussing territories and sharing experiences.
Of course, these are all stories of failures and harsh lessons.
And, almost everyone realizes the underlying issue: survival!
"Don't ever send anyone outside the Safety Zone to find food; my two Tier 1 One-star farmers were killed by a giant, human-sized black spider! It's freaking scary!"
"Damn! One of my farmers seems to have died too! The other one just came back and won't go out again. But the problem is that there's nothing to eat in my safety zone, although there's water..."
"Hehe, I've recruited a powerful Tier 1 Two-star hunter! They're making traps at the entrance to the camp, ready to catch preys! Tremble, mortals!"
"Help! My farmer was dragged into the water by a crocodile as big as a yacht! I'm shaking on the edge of the swamp, what should I do?"
"Holy crap! I've found a giant lizard that breathes fire! Am I seeing things?!"
...
Watching the constant flow of messages in the Chat Channel, Leo Ray's heart becomes increasingly uneasy.
Giant spiders? Yacht-sized crocodiles? Fire-breathing lizards?!
These ferocious creatures that only appear in novels and movies are actually in reality now?
More importantly, these are just the messages in the Chat Channel.
Does this mean that some people who just crossed over couldn't even send a message before their demise?
With this thought, cold sweat begins to form on Leo Ray's forehead.
Without a doubt, this place is vastly different from the world he was in before.
And, extremely dangerous!
After calming down for a while and slightly settling his emotions, he begins to analyze the clues he just obtained.
Firstly, the one billion people who crossed over are mostly young men and women, with no elderly or children.
Secondly, no matter their background before crossing over, everyone starts with a small wooden hut.
The locations of the territories are diverse, including forests, riversides, swamps, and even cliff edges.
Although most people can find various water sources near their territories, food is extremely scarce.
Lastly, outside the safety zones of all lords, there are roaming demonic beasts or other ferocious creatures that are hard to deal with.
Even worse, many people have just summoned their Tier 1 subordinates, who have already perished at the feet of these powerful creatures.
"It seems that let alone conquering, even the current survival phase might be too much for many people."
At this moment, holding the two valuable Tie 1 Recruitment Orders in his hand and with his mood hitting rock bottom, Leo Ray can't help but sigh lightly.
"Hopefully I can recruit a hunter who knows how to make traps, at least to maintain a basic livelihood..."
However, despite saying this, there are very few lords in the Chat Channel who have recruited a hunter.
As a veteran unlucky person, Leo Ray does not think that he will have such good fortune.
Next, just as he prepares to use the Recruitment Order with a nervous heart, the mechanical voice from earlier rings in his ear again.
[Awakening condition detected, Awakening Talent...]
[Congratulations, Your Excellency Lord, you have successfully awakened the Divine Talent 'Golden Finger Lv.1'!]