**Chapter 1: Billion Lords**
Lei Xiao suddenly opened his eyes and found himself standing in front of a small wooden house. Before he could fully shake off his drowsiness and regain his senses, a cold, mechanical voice echoed in his ears.
[Welcome to the Era of the Lord of the People!]
[Dear Lord, congratulations on becoming one of the billion lords! The cabin in front of you is your lord's mansion, and construction and development are your primary goals.]
[Here, you can conquer cities and lands, command armies to dominate the battlefield, or wage wars and reap the benefits from behind the scenes.]
[When your territory develops to a certain stage, you may encounter other lords. Whether to form alliances or engage in plunder is entirely your decision.]
[Additionally, your territory has a three-day protection period. During this time, you will not be attacked in any form. Please strengthen your forces as soon as possible and plan ahead.]
[Note: Treat every subordinate who follows you with kindness; they are living beings of flesh and blood.]
[Warning: Be cautious with every action. If your territory is completely destroyed or you suffer a fatal injury, you will die permanently!]
"Did I... transmigrate?"
Though filled with doubt, the strange scene before him quickly made Lei Xiao realize the truth. The sky was clear, and the sun shone so brightly it was almost blinding. He was surrounded by a lush green forest, and in the sky, there were two suns—one large and one small!
"However, it seems I'm not the only one who's become a lord. There are a billion of us."
The thought left Lei Xiao in awe. "No matter what, I need to understand this new world as quickly as possible. If I'm not careful, I could really die here!"
Before he could ponder further, Lei Xiao's attention returned to the small wooden house in front of him. The cabin was incredibly simple, with patches of mold and blackened, mottled wood everywhere.
"Is this really my lord's mansion? I wonder if it leaks when it rains..."
With a slight frown, he cautiously stepped inside. The wooden floor creaked under his feet as he entered. The cabin was no more than a dozen square meters, sparsely furnished with only a hardwood bed covered in a straw mattress and an empty wooden box.
Just as Lei Xiao was about to inspect the room more closely, a sudden whirlwind of information flooded his mind. Basic rules about this new world poured into his brain, and several translucent options appeared in his field of vision. These could be summoned or hidden at will, including "Territory Information," "Chat Channel," and "Trading Center."
After a moment of surprise, Lei Xiao composed himself and opened the "Territory Information" tab.
**[Lord's Mansion Level: 1 (You can receive 2 "First-Order Recruitment Orders" daily)]**
**Owner: Lei Xiao**
**ID: 0013076067**
**Population: 1/10**
**Number of Buildings: 1**
**[Storage Space: 0/100]**
**[Materials Required for Upgrade: Wood x2000, Thatch x1000, Stone x500]**
"So, my entire territory is just this one log cabin? How is this any different from starting as a weakling and evolving through sheer struggle?"
Shaking his head in disbelief, Lei Xiao focused his mind, and two ancient-looking wooden tokens materialized in his hands.
**[First-Order Recruitment Order: Can summon a random first-order subordinate.]**
"At this stage, I can summon two people a day... That's not bad. It's better than being a lone commander."
Lei Xiao pondered for a moment but decided not to summon anyone immediately. Instead, he opened the "Chat Channel" to gauge the situation and plan his next steps.
Currently, only the "Regional Channel" was available. He clicked on it.
**[You have entered Channel 022218.]**
The channel was bustling with activity. Each message was preceded by an ID number, the sender's name, and a gender symbol.
"What the hell! Where am I? I was just drinking at a nightclub with a lady. Where's the luxury apartment I rented?"
"Brothers, I was in LA just now, borrowing 300 bucks from someone. Why am I suddenly in a desert? Can anyone explain?"
"Damn! So I'm not the only one who transmigrated? I thought I finally had the protagonist's halo... Guess I got my hopes up for nothing!"
"Is there any kind soul willing to take me in? I'm a live streamer who sells products at night. I'll agree to any conditions!"
"I own two listed companies. If anyone can tell me how to get back, I'll give them 50 million!"
After a while, as more people began to accept their reality, the conversations shifted from fear and confusion to discussions about territories and shared experiences. Most of these were cautionary tales or lessons learned from failures.
And almost everyone was grappling with an urgent and critical issue: survival.
"Everyone, please don't send your people outside the safe zone to look for food. Two of my first-order, one-star farmers were killed by a black-haired spider bigger than a person! It's terrifying!"
"Ugh! One of my peasants died too! The other one ran back and refuses to go out. The problem is, while there's water in my safe zone, there's no food at all..."
"Hey, I got lucky and recruited a first-order, two-star hunter. I'm setting up traps at the camp entrance to catch prey! Tremble, mortals!"
"Help! One of my farmers was just dragged into the water by a crocodile the size of a yacht! The other one is shaking beside the swamp. What should I do?"
"What the heck! I just saw a giant lizard that breathes fire. Am I hallucinating?!"
As Lei Xiao scrolled through the rapidly updating chat channel, his anxiety grew.
A spider bigger than a person? A crocodile the size of a yacht? A fire-breathing lizard? These monstrous creatures, which only existed in novels and movies, were now a terrifying reality.
More importantly, these were just the messages being shared in the chat channel. How many others had already perished without even having the chance to send a message?
The thought sent a chill down Lei Xiao's spine, and cold sweat formed on his forehead.
There was no doubt about it—this world was vastly different from the one he had known, and it was extremely dangerous.
After taking a moment to calm himself, Lei Xiao regained his composure and began analyzing the information he had gathered.
First, the billion people who had transmigrated were mostly young men and women, with no elderly or children among them.
Second, regardless of their backgrounds before transmigrating, everyone started with a simple log cabin. The locations of their territories varied, with some in forests, near rivers, in swamps, or even on cliffs.
While most lords could find water sources near their territories, food was extremely scarce.
Finally, outside the safe zones of all lords, there were monsters or other ferocious creatures roaming about, making survival a daunting challenge. Even the first-order subordinates many had summoned were falling victim to these powerful beasts.
"It seems that, at this stage, survival itself is the biggest challenge. Forget conquering cities—many people might not even make it through the early days."
Looking down at the two precious first-order recruitment orders in his hand, Lei Xiao couldn't help but sigh.
"I hope I can recruit a hunter who can set traps, at least to secure a basic food supply..."
However, as he scrolled through the chat channel, he noticed that very few lords had managed to recruit hunters. As someone who considered himself unlucky, Lei Xiao didn't hold out much hope for such good fortune.
Just as he was about to use the recruitment orders with a heavy heart, the mechanical voice from earlier echoed in his ears once more.
[Detected that the awakening conditions have been met. Talent is awakening...]
[Dear Lord, congratulations! You have successfully awakened the unique god-level talent: "Goldfinger Lv.1"!]