Settlement Screen: Is This Even Human

"Strange, why is there still no one in the village?"

Liu Xuan wondered as he picked up the copper coins and materials scattered on the ground.

The rabbits had been completely cleared out, yet the Novice Village remained dead silent without a single soul in sight.

All the doors to the houses were shut tight. Liu Xuan tried pushing them, but they wouldn't budge.

Wasn't it said that one could rest and resupply in the Novice Village?

He stayed on high alert until he reached the center of the village, where he spotted a copper bell hanging from a wooden pole.

Thoughtful, Liu Xuan stepped forward and pulled the rope beneath the bell.

"Ding-a-ling~"

The crisp ringing echoed. The next second, a glittering golden announcement popped up.

Not only could all the players in the battlefield see it, but everyone on Blue Star watching the light screens saw it loud and clear!

[Huaxia Faction Battlefield No. 2468 has conquered the Novice Village. Phase One complete. Progress is 457% ahead of the Mastermind's projection for Blue Star humanity.]

[Warriors of Huaxia Faction Battlefield No. 2468 can now purchase food and water, and rest in the Novice Village.]

[In light of the Huaxia Faction's outstanding performance, which has proven their racial potential, warriors of Huaxia Battlefield No. 2468 will receive a 457% experience bonus before reaching Level 3. Warriors across all Huaxia battlefields will receive a 228.5% experience bonus before reaching Level 3.]

[Battlefields with an unlocked Novice Village will simultaneously unlock the economy, trading, and chat systems.]

Instantly, the whole world was in an uproar!

Those outside the battlefields didn't know what was happening inside, but they could clearly see that Huaxia was now taking a massive lead.

This made people from other countries extremely frustrated as they looked at their own stagnant progress.

"Are the Huaxia people on steroids or using cheats? The progress suddenly jumped from 4% to 28%, then to 55%, then 99%, and now it's maxed out? It's only been an hour or two in total."

"Investigate them! Do a urine test!"

"Is this even legit?"

"Totally legit."

"Ahhhh, our country's progress is only in the 40s, and the death toll has already dropped below 30%. My mom was just cooking for me, and she literally vanished."

"God will surely bless your mother to come out alive."

"No, it doesn't matter if God blesses my mom or not. What matters is, can God help me finish making my lunch first?"

"Did you guys notice? According to the announcement, the Novice Villages in the battlefields have to be conquered by the players themselves?"

"Now I know why the people who went in are dying so fast."

"Dammit, the Huaxia people have several times the experience now. How are our country's warriors supposed to catch up?"

"Is it too late to immigrate to Huaxia now?"

"Actually, since ancient times, our land has always been Huaxia territory."

"I heard that a long time ago, giant ships from Huaxia came to us here in Phrica. Should Huaxia carefully check their historical records again? Maybe our ancestors were a vassal state of Huaxia?"

"Why don't you ask us? Our Great Han Nation can definitely find such historical records."

"Get lost! Find them? You'd probably just make them up on the spot."

The announcements didn't end there. Soon, another one popped up.

[Now displaying the Phase One settlement footage for Huaxia Battlefield No. 2468. May Blue Star humanity keep up the good work.]

Subsequently, a top-down map appeared on the entire light screen, showing the layout from the farm to the Novice Village with simple lines and labels.

The map was generally gray. The top left corner read [Huaxia Battlefield No. 2468], and the top right corner read [Progress: 1%].

In other words, the initial progress of this battlefield was only 1%.

The monster areas were illustrated with the figures of [Vicious Dogs], [Killer Snakes], and [Bouncing Rabbits].

Only then did the people on the outside realize what kind of monsters those who entered the battlefield were facing.

At first, densely packed green dots on the map were concentrated in the farm.

Initially, they all moved within the farm. Occasionally, a few would leave for the fields outside, but they would quickly turn into small red Xs.

The people watching the light screens understood that those green dots likely represented the people who went in, and turning into a red X meant they had died.

Because of this, when the green dot representing Liu Xuan left the farm at the beginning, hardly anyone paid attention.

Everyone was still guessing how the people in this battlefield actually managed to take down the Novice Village.

Until someone shouted, "Look at that green dot outside!"

Everyone's eyes focused on the map, only to see a single green dot running wildly and spinning in spirals in the monster area outside the farm.

It was completely different from the slow movements of the others, making it highly conspicuous.

"Damn, what is that?"

"The green dots are supposed to represent people, right? How come this guy is running all over the monster area and is totally fine? The people who came out earlier turned into red Xs so quickly."

"Huh, the others are coming out in groups too."

"I get it. These people must have started forming parties. I bet some expert stepped up to command this battlefield, which is why they were able to conquer the Novice Village."

"As expected, when united, we are invincible!"

Many people began to think that the Huaxia people in this battlefield had started teaming up and cooperating to take down the Novice Village.

But soon, someone noticed something was wrong.

"No, look at that green dot that's been running the whole time."

Everyone beneath the light screens was surprised to find that after the green dot ran blindly in circles through the [Vicious Dog] area for many laps, it suddenly charged into the [Killer Snake] area behind it.

At the same time, the progress in the top right corner of the map changed to [Progress: 28%].

Seeing this, they finally understood how the progress was calculated.

It seemed that as long as one pushed forward toward the Novice Village, the progress would increase.

Next, that green dot started running in laps again. But not long after, they saw it dash toward the Novice Village, and the progress skyrocketed directly to [55%].

Because the entire settlement footage was sped up, the crowd only saw that green dot circle the Novice Village once before going straight inside.

The whole thing was over in a matter of seconds, and the settlement footage ended there.

"That's it?"

"Doesn't the map indicate that there are monsters called [Bouncing Rabbits] in the Novice Village? How did he just go straight in?"

"Could the monsters be really weak?"

"Heh, if it were that easy, why couldn't the other countries do it?"

"Look, many countries are at 55% right now, which means they are all stuck outside the Novice Village and can't get in. This place must be hard to clear."

While the people outside were fervently discussing the announcements and the settlement footage, the news was even more shocking to the people inside the battlefields.

Because only they knew just how difficult this battlefield truly was.

"What? Someone has already conquered the Novice Village?"

"I'm still grinding [Vicious Dogs]."

"Could it be that we don't need to fight the monsters on the way, and we just need to rush straight to the village?"

"Should we go give it a try?"

Soon, those who went to give it a try simply passed away.

If they didn't group up, they couldn't even rush past the [Killer Snake] area.

Meanwhile, in the various Huaxia battlefields, beyond the surprise, there was a sea of jubilation.

"Someone from our Huaxia has already conquered a beginner village? Awesome! And they did it single-handedly, how is that even possible?"

"I'm so jealous of the people in Battlefield 2468. They get a four-times EXP bonus!"

"Sigh, it's just our bad luck that we aren't in the same battlefield as that bigshot. What can you do?"

"Come on, at least they are from Huaxia, which still gives the rest of us more than double the EXP bonus. Now everyone only needs to kill a dozen or so monsters to reach Level 2. That's pretty good."

"This EXP bonus is absolutely crucial! We should be able to level up and push into the village before we starve or die of exhaustion!"

"The boss is insane! Please keep up the good work and carry us to victory!"

It had to be said that this EXP bonus came at an incredibly critical time for all the Huaxia battlefields.

Everyone knew that they had to take down a beginner village before they became too hungry and exhausted to move; otherwise, they would just be waiting for death.

Therefore, the time given to each battlefield was actually quite limited.

Now, with the EXP bonus, more people could level up and improve their strength in a much shorter amount of time.

This meant they could enter the beginner villages earlier to rest, eat, and drink.

It was no exaggeration to say that this EXP bonus saved an untold number of lives across all of Huaxia.

Meanwhile, upon seeing the settlement screen, the higher-ups of Huaxia back on the Blue Planet also made a firm decision.

"Immediately dispatch more troops into the battlefield! Now is the perfect time!"

Actually, when Huaxia's progress was lagging earlier, they had already sent in a small number of troops. However, they simply hadn't dared to deploy too many at once.

Otherwise, who would be left to defend the country in the real world?

But to their surprise, this unexpected joy had arrived so suddenly.

A hero of Huaxia had made their grand entrance. A single person, in less than two hours, had single-handedly completed the first phase.

Now, taking advantage of the EXP bonus, they had to send in reinforcements. They absolutely had to send more people!