Kingdom of Corrosion

Little Fire: "The first rule of the tribe is the gun ban. Anyone who wants to join must forsake their firearms."

Maya picked up on a detail: "Aren’t you afraid of outsiders robbing you?"

Little Fire replied: "Apart from food, we don’t have any other property. Moreover, Cloud Dream tribe is located in a remote area, and we need to cross a river to get there, which makes the profit of robbing quite low. Besides, everyone is a player and not afraid of dying, so the gap in weaponry doesn’t necessarily determine the outcome."

There was also a market in Cloud Dream tribe, which served as a place for food exchange among hunters, fishermen, and farmers, the three major factions of the tribe. Over half of the population were farmers, 35% were fishermen, and only 10% were hunters. The main reason there were so few hunters was the gun ban, forcing them to set traps instead. Little Fire and his four companions belonged to the hunters. Although the food they obtained wasn’t much, being few in number allowed them to exchange for a relatively large amount of agricultural products.

Listening to Little Fire’s introduction, Maya was very curious. For such a large collective, there must be a leader or a governing body, but Cloud Dream tribe had nothing but a court. The court was composed of the people, and the bonfire meetings every ten days served as court sessions where everyone would come together to resolve disputes among the populace.

Mounting her horse, with the dog in tow, Lin Ma followed Little Fire’s bicycle toward Cloud Dream tribe. Approaching Cloud Dream, they first saw a farm filled with crops like corn, wheat, and pumpkins. These crops grew rapidly, and after being harvested and picked, the system would automatically assist in processing them.

Maya communicated with Lin Wu through a headset: "Agriculture is the main industry." The large-scale cultivation of food was enough to sustain several 58-member communities, which made the farmers more generous when exchanging goods. Crop farming was simple, essentially a lifeline given to players in ’Hardcore Mode’ by Dawn.

After passing the wheat fields, there was a wide dirt road with all kinds of odd-shaped houses scattered along both sides. There were conical houses made of wood, rain capes, moss, and mud. Stone houses were also there, patched with wood, as well as purely wooden houses. The characteristics of these houses were that they were rather small, the larger ones no more than 15 square meters and the smallest only 4 to 5 square meters.

By the river, some were washing clothes; by the roadside, others were playing cards; and a couple wandered aimlessly, their hands nearly touching, which was enough to make onlookers anxious.