5: Chapter 5 Am I Unlucky?

...The channel was once again filled with scorn, skepticism, and jeering insults regarding this "shortcut."

Lin Tian stroked his chin, watching the farce with great interest.

"Good grief, there are quite a few 'talents' on this Eternal Continent... playing so wild right from the start?"

He hadn't expected this kind of operation; after carefully scrolling through the chat logs for a good while, he finally understood that Lords could indeed establish a Subordinate Lord relationship.

Once one becomes a subordinate, it is almost equivalent to handing over everything, including their territory and life, to the main Lord. The main Lord can teleport into the subordinate territory at will and send troops over, but for a Subordinate Lord to teleport to the main Lord's territory, they must have the main Lord's consent.

"Tsk, isn't this just signing an indenture contract?" Lin Tian curled his lip. "It's only the first day, the protective shield hasn't even disappeared yet, and they're already in such a rush to find a 'long-term meal ticket'?"

He shook his head, quite disapproving of this behavior of pinning all one's hopes on others.

More practically, he pieced together from some scattered information that taking on subordinates was not without cost. The more subordinates a territory absorbs, the more intense the beast tide impact might be when the protective shield disappears after seven days.

"This is clearly risk hedging... It seems the rules of this world encourage self-reliance rather than simple scale expansion."

Another thing that interested Lin Tian was that a Lord claimed to have opened a Black Iron Treasure Chest. Although it was only the lowest-level chest, it yielded 50 units of stone, wood, and iron ore, and the Lord was currently shouting in the channel to trade them for supplies.

"Hmm? A treasure chest?" Lin Tian's eyes lit up, but then, as if remembering something, his expression became somewhat subtle. He quickly checked his harvest record after killing the wild wolves; aside from wolf pelts, wolf meat, and a few lonely spirit crystals, it was completely empty.

"Well then..." He scratched his head, a wry expression appearing on his face. "So it's not just about talent, but also luck? Others get treasure chests from killing monsters, but I only get the 'basic material starter pack'?"

He could almost imagine how that Lord who opened the treasure chest was currently "showing off" in the channel, while he was like a marmot passing through a melon field without even picking up a single seed.

This feeling was just like playing a gacha game, watching others pull miracles in a single draw, while he got "Thanks for playing" ten times in a row.

Lin Tian smacked his lips. The little bit of pride he had felt because of his Fusion talent was doused by this sudden "unlucky" realization. Fortunately, it was just cold water, not enough to chill him to the bone.

"Fine, fine," he waved at the air, as if dispelling that insignificant gloom. "It seems the hidden rules of this Eternal Continent calculate talent points and luck values separately.

I maxed out the 'Fusion' skill tree, and perhaps... I accidentally messed up the 'Luck' one?" He laughed at himself, quickly accepting this premise.

He quickly adjusted his mindset. "No treasure chest, no big deal!" He patted his cheeks, cheering himself up. "If the start didn't give me a 'Luck Aura,' I'll just rely on hard work to get rich. Others get rich in one go from opening chests, I'll just accumulate little by little by hunting in the wild.

Besides, who knows, maybe my 'unlucky' constitution is saving up luck, and later on, it'll just drop something huge for me? Like... a Gold Treasure Chest or something?" He immediately started painting a pie in the sky for himself, even though he hadn't even seen the flour for that pie yet.

More importantly, he knew where his core advantage lay. "Treasure chests are a pleasant surprise, but the Fusion talent is the foundation of my survival.

Others eat by luck, I eat by skill; there's no shame in that!" Thinking of this, the faint sense of loss from not getting any loot instantly vanished, and his gaze became firm and bright once again.

"Besides," he stroked his chin, a hint of craftiness flashing in his eyes, "maybe not getting a treasure chest is the system seeing that my talent is too strong and trying to balance me out? Otherwise, if I had both a cheat and treasure chests, how would the other Lords even play?"

This slightly "shameless" thought put him in a great mood, completely putting the "unlucky" matter behind him, and refocusing his attention on the real business of how to use his existing resources to maximize his "skill" advantage.

Lin Tian's mind stirred, and he switched to the Trading Platform. Sure enough, quite a few items had already been listed, mostly exchanges of basic resources like iron ore, wood, and stone.

But some special items opened from treasure chests had also appeared, such as refined iron, salt, clothing, medicine, food, water sources, etc.

However, the prices were insane. Especially special medicines, priced as high as 5 spirit crystals, which was almost half the net worth a single Lord could currently produce. But obviously, although everyone knew they were important, no one was buying them yet; after all, everyone was in urgent need of spirit crystals to recruit soldiers.

The exchange rate of basic resources for spirit crystals was also ridiculously high: wood and stone were generally 15:1, iron ore was 5:1, and he even saw even more unscrupulous ones at 7:1.

Food exchanges were slightly better; the ratio of meat to wood/stone was about 2:1 or 3:1, while vegetables, being harder to obtain, soared to 4:1. "It seems everyone is thinking about getting troops first; survival is the hard truth, and luxuries have to take a backseat." Lin Tian summarized to himself.

Looking at the dazzling array of goods marked with sky-high prices, Lin Tian felt an itch in his heart as if scratched by a kitten, but after touching his empty spirit crystal pocket, he could only sigh helplessly.

"Sigh, I can't afford what I like, and I don't like what I can afford... Is this the trouble of being a poor Lord?"

His eyes rolled, and he had an idea. "The wolf meat is tough and sour, the taste really isn't great, but it's still edible. Why not trade it for something practical? I just saw someone in the trading channel buying wolf pelts, I might as well trade those too!"

So he decisively listed 25 units of wolf meat, marking it to be traded for 50 units of wood. Almost instantly, the transaction was completed. It seems that under the pressure of survival, appetite can indeed be compromised.

As for the wolf pelts, he directly contacted the buyer and traded them for 10 units of wood.

"Done!" Lin Tian looked at the increased wood in his resource bar with satisfaction. "Making soldiers spend time and effort chopping wood? That's not cost-effective! With that time and energy, I could clear a few more waves of wild monsters, the returns are much higher, and it also helps train and level up the troops."

He closed the light screen, stretched, and thinking of his Fusion squad that was already beginning to take shape, he quickly cast the chaotic information in the channel to the back of his mind.

"Regardless of whether others are lucky or unlucky, taking shortcuts or acting as cannon fodder, I, Lin Tian, have my own path! Steady and solid, maintaining this talent advantage is the way to go! I believe that I, Lin Tian—will one day rule the world!"

At this moment, he was even more convinced that with his Fusion talent and cautious mindset, he would surely have a place of his own on this Eternal Continent.

Closing the noisy trading panel, his gaze fell back onto his own real territory.

Although the Lord's cabin was just a slightly crude wooden hut, at least the walls were solid, the roof was intact, and there was a hard bed inside. It could shelter him from the wind and rain, so it could be considered to have the appearance of a "home."

However, when his gaze turned to the so-called Militia barracks, his mouth couldn't help but twitch.

The scene was truly somewhat desolate: three low thatched cottages were arranged in a triangular formation. The walls were made of rough branches and mud, with gaps large enough to stick a finger through. The thatch on the roof trembled in the breeze, looking like it could be blown away at any moment.

A lonely torch was stuck in the middle of the three huts, its flame flickering in the wind, barely dispelling the evening chill, but also highlighting the emptiness and simplicity of the barracks.

"Good grief..." He walked around these three "works of art" once, reached out and poked the drafty wall, his fingertips immediately stained with some cold, damp mud. "This is the 'luxury dormitory' for my warriors? If a strong wind blows at night, I'm afraid they'll have to collectively perform 'The Thatched Hut Is Torn Asunder by the Autumn Wind,' and then the brothers will have to huddle together for warmth."