Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 97 - 92 Fiefdom

Chapter 97: Chapter 92 Fiefdom

At 10 p.m., Zhao Haiping entered the game on time.

As soon as he arrived in the Return Order Space, he looked around and noticed that indeed there had been some changes.

Directly ahead, the Void Bridge constructed from temporal chaos still stood, but on the originally floating platform, the instance transfer portal labeled "Decisions Await the Closing Coffin" had now switched to the cleared state.

Beyond, a new platform was slowly rising, though the luminous, wave-like transfer portal had not yet appeared on it.

Clearly, this was the new instance "Titles Not of My Choosing", although it was not yet open.

An even bigger change came from the other two directions of this heavenly palace.

Rows of stone steps appeared out of nowhere, extending towards two transfer portals that were quite different from the Trial Illusion.

One led to the Return Order Fortress, and the other led to the Fiefdom.

"So this is what the recent announcement referred to as ’Eve of the Raids’ update, right? One is the fixed online gameplay ’Return Order Fortress’, and the other is the individual farming gameplay ’Fiefdom’?"

"Perhaps the reason the officials are waiting a week to release the new instance is to give players enough time to experience these contents."

"Let’s take a look."

Zhao Haiping pondered for a moment and then stepped into the transfer portal labeled "Fiefdom".

Moments later, Zhao Haiping found himself in a brand-new space.

This was a land suspended amid the temporal chaos, not particularly large but not small either, roughly the size of a soccer field.

Although this fiefdom was partitioned into different zones, it could be said to be small yet complete.

The Fiefdom showed a gradually increasing two-tier terrain; Zhao Haiping stood on a flat expanse with four small plots of already cultivated farmland; the terrain rose somewhat in the distance, separated by a stream, and beyond that, a denser forest.

There was a straw hut, an outside woodpile, and a wooden stump for splitting wood, complete with an axe for chopping wood.

Zhao Haiping mused for a moment, "Am I sure this is a fiefdom, not just a farmstead?

"Well, maybe a fiefdom and a farmstead are essentially the same thing.

"I thought there would be about ten or eight servants automatically working for me here, but it looks like I was mistaken.

"However, according to the officials, as more historical slices are reclaimed, the area of the Fiefdom will also grow. Maybe features like servants will be unlocked then? Otherwise, how could I possibly cultivate so much land on my own.

"By then, I’d spend all my time farming, with no time left to clear instances."

Zhao Haiping muttered to himself as he prepared to explore the entire Fiefdom.

He first approached the cultivated land.

"Currently, there are both grain seeds and medicinal herb seeds available. I can choose freely which to plant...

"There’s a fishing rod by the river, it seems I can also fish here.

"Inside the straw hut, there are chopping axes, bows and arrows, etc., which means I can also chop wood and hunt?

"Why do I vaguely feel a sense of contented complacency...

"Let’s first see what the uses of these products are. This game should gradually add some lifestyle professional skills, which should also aid in combat somewhat."

Zhao Haiping decided to try things one by one and planned to at least understand what uses these items had.

First, he symbolically turned over the soil with a hoe, but these plots of land were already quite suitable for cultivation and didn’t require much effort.

He evenly spread the seeds, covered them with soil, and symbolically watered them a bit from a bucket fetched from the nearby stream.

"Is that it?

"I really feel unsure!"

Zhao Haiping was also uncertain whether his actions would suffice, as he had never actually farmed before and only understood the general steps with almost no knowledge of the details.

If it were any other game, it would be simple, probably just a few mouse clicks, and even in a typical VR game, only a few fixed steps were necessary before the crops would grow on their own...

But this game was hard to predict.

For now, he might as well try planting and see. If it didn’t work, he could always look up other players’ strategies online.

He also tried fishing, and then, after sitting idly for five minutes, shamefully gave up.

This thing should be a fisherman’s favorite, right? An ordinary person without some skill and patience really can’t play it.

Hai Ping picked up the axe again, chopped some firewood on the mountain, and then hunted some game with his bow and arrows.

In any case, after more than an hour of fussing, he had experienced most of what this fief had to offer.

"Chopping wood and hunting are relatively simple.

"However, the trees on the mountain are still quite thin and few in kind, and the firewood probably can only be used for making fire. A few thicker ones might be used for crafting? Building houses or fortifying the city is out of the question...

"I wonder if these trees will grow over time?

"As for hunting, right now, you can only occasionally see small animals like wild chickens and rabbits in the fief. There are no larger animals; I wonder if it’s a matter of spawning probability, or because the fief level is too low to produce them?

"Fortunately, the soldiers had specifically practiced archery before, so hunting wasn’t too difficult.

"But, while you can chop firewood yourself, what about food? Do I really have to skin, gut, and cook it myself? Isn’t that a bit too hardcore?

"Playing a game and still need to know how to cook?

"However, thinking about it, the gameplay in this fief doesn’t seem mandatory, but rather like some optional and supplementary gameplay.

"After all, whether players are going through solo instances, fishing, hunting, farming, etc., they can only do one thing at a time. So it’s okay if you don’t know how to fish or hunt, players can also complement each other, just do what they are best at.

"And besides, there should be some NPCs in Return Order Citadel to help process these raw materials, right?"

Hai Ping took stock of his spoils from his activities, which included a small bundle of firewood, a wild chicken, and a wild rabbit. He then slung the firewood on his back and hung the wild chicken and rabbit around his waist.

He did hope that the wild chicken and rabbit he hunted would instantly turn into some sort of consumable items, but they did not; they were no different from wild chickens and rabbits shot with arrows in real life.

Without plucking, removing the innards, and cooking, they were absolutely inedible.

Unless in the future in "Dark Sand," a barbarian character is introduced that could eat raw meat directly.

Moreover, this game was different from others and didn’t have a "four-dimensional pocket" feature; just like in reality, hunted prey could only be hung around the waist.

This was somewhat inconvenient.

But after all, "Dark Sand" is a game that emphasizes realism, and players were generally used to this inconvenience.

Even on rare occasions when "Dark Sand" made some unrealistic settings, such as unlimited weapon supply during Return Order Expedition, or chatting through team channels, players were particularly grateful.

Maybe that’s the designer’s mercy?

Hai Ping looked and saw that the grains and herbs he had just planted seemed to already show signs of sprouting, indicating that time flowed much faster in the fief than in reality.

But, looking forward to their maturation would probably take at least a day or two.

Hai Ping left the fief and headed to the Return Order Citadel.

He also planned to find the merchants in the city to see if he could sell the bundle of firewood and the two pieces of game.

...

Moments later, Hai Ping passed through the portal and arrived in the Return Order Citadel.

And he recognized it immediately—it was the same small county town as before!

Hai Ping’s spawn point in Return Order Citadel was in a small square to the south of the city. Besides him, other players continuously emerged, the air rippling like water.

There wasn’t a fixed portal here, but all teleporting players would appear near this spot at certain intervals, so there was no collision.

Hai Ping left the small square and walked toward the central marketplace and theater of the county town.

Along the way, he observed the surroundings and noted that there were already quite a few players in the county town but also some small traders who were clearly NPCs, not players.

"This Return Order Citadel, indeed, has been transformed through historical snapshots as before.

"But compared to the state of ’Return Order Expedition,’ there seems to be some changes.

"It retains the basic structure of the earth fortress, removes many unnecessary buildings, and has even included some original small traders and blacksmiths from the county town as NPCs?

"Indeed, just as previously announced, they aim to turn this place into a frontline base against demon invasions.

"But so far, there’s no sign of a frontline base yet?

"...Could it be that this city’s every brick and tile will need to be laid by players?"