95: Chapter 95: A Bucket of Rice, A Bucket of Gold! (Unlock accelerated)

Right now, more than seven billion lords across the globe are watching this human defense war.

If they cannot hold this Void Road-Bridge, then countless Undead Legions will appear everywhere following the emergence of the Gate of White Bone.

This is a matter concerning everyone's safety; those lords who cannot participate can only clench their fists and cheer for everyone from behind.

After all, no one wants a ten-thousand-meter-tall Gate of White Bone to suddenly appear while they are farming at home, with millions of Undead Legions pouring out.

Everyone can only pray—pray that these hundred lords chosen to represent humanity can stop the undead army on the Void Road-Bridge here on the Death Plateau.

As the big screen flashed with images of countless heroic lords fighting bloody battles on the front lines, the global lords watching the live stream were all filled with deep respect!

To protect the Lord Continent from invasion, these heroes had sacrificed so much blood and sweat to hold off the first wave of the offensive; it was truly not easy.

Just watching the live stream made their hearts pound and their skin crawl.

However, when the camera turned to Xu Xuan and showed him leisurely eating breakfast on his island, his meal actually turned out to be fragrant white rice!?

Wait!?

Are you kidding me, bro?

[Nearby Chat Channel]

[Miyamoto Takeshi: You brat, where did you get rice? It looks like high-quality rice, too!]

[Zhou Wu: It looks so delicious; I'm starting to miss the taste of rice.]

[Li Shunyao: Brother! Big brother! I'll trade one cow for a pound of rice... no, two cows, five cows would work too! Just give me a bite, don't make me beg you.]

In this world, there is truly no shortage of fish and beef; wild cattle and boars are everywhere right now.

But rice is different!

Rice isn't something you can get immediately just by unlocking technology; it requires cultivation and breeding.

But Chi You, who was under Xu Xuan, was a master of rice cultivation, possessing knowledge passed down from Shennong, and had bred high-quality rice.

Rice cultivated by a Divine General was absolutely incomparable to what ordinary people could produce.

Chi You possessed extensive breeding knowledge, while other lords lacked such talent; they could only slowly cultivate rice and improve their varieties over time.

While others were still eating millet or miscellaneous grains, Xu Xuan appeared before the global audience holding a bowl of white rice.

At this moment, only those who hadn't eaten rice for days would understand just how high the "gold content" of this plain bowl of rice truly was.

[Zhou Mei: Brother Xuan, can I trade a gold bar for a bowl of rice?]

[Zhou Wu: I want some too! I'll trade gold for it.]

[Li Fei: Same here! Please, brother, give me a bite to eat.]

Seeing the white rice in Xu Xuan's hand, especially that fragrant bowl of rice, who knows how many people were moved to tears by their cravings.

Particularly those from the Sinosphere who grew up eating rice.

Lords from Dongying, South Korea, Annan, Siam, and other countries all found themselves drooling uncontrollably.

Regarding his own people's request to trade a gold bar for a bowl of rice, Xu Xuan was very generous.

It was just a bowl of rice; using it to win people's hearts and giving it to fellow Great Xia people was worth it—he didn't want to seem stingy.

It was currently time for a break, so he would let the Great Xia Lords below have a full meal; who knew how many more brutal battles awaited them next.

Xu Xuan was not a short-sighted person; he knew there were several more waves of attacks coming, and he would need Zhou Wu, Zhou Mei, and the others to draw aggro.

"Men, send down a bucket of rice!"

"Yes!"

An armored soldier put down his spear, lifted a bucket of cooked rice, and stepped onto the lift to descend to the ground.

When Zhou Wu and the others saw the bucket of rice being delivered, their eyes went wide.

Tears of hunger poured uncontrollably from their mouths.

Swallowing hard, twenty-three Great Xia Lords rushed forward, each holding a pottery bowl to share the bucket of rice.

Picking up chopsticks made of green bamboo, they shoveled the rice into their mouths.

Zhou Mei, this young lady, felt her eyes well up instantly.

It was so delicious. She used to hate rice and always ate various breads, noodles, and such.

But in this impoverished Lord Continent, eating a bite of rice like this was simply a luxury.

A simple bowl of rice left everyone with red eyes; it tasted of home, a nostalgic feeling like their mothers' cooking.

Meanwhile, the other lords could only watch them with envy, swallowing repeatedly. Miyamoto Takeshi said sourly,

"It's just a bowl of rice... Dammit, I want a bite too."

He had to admit that bastard Xu Xuan had it good; bringing his entire island over was equivalent to bringing an entire warehouse.

He could eat whatever he wanted, while the foreign lords could only gnaw on dried meat that tasted like wax.

By the time Zhou Wu finished his meal, every single grain of rice in the wooden bucket had been scraped clean by everyone.

Seeing the soldier preparing to take the bucket back, Zhou Wu immediately called out to him.

"Wait, this is a small token of my gratitude. Please tell your King to accept it."

With that, Zhou Wu pulled a gold bar from his backpack and placed it in the wooden bucket.

Seeing this, the other Great Xia Lords followed suit, taking out gold nuggets and placing them inside as well.

The soldier had come with a bucket of rice and returned carrying a heavy bucket of gold bars.

When the bucket of gold was delivered to Xu Xuan, he was stunned.

"These people are quite thoughtful, I..."

The moment Xu Xuan picked up a gold bar, a line of text popped up before his eyes.

[You have obtained refined pure gold! Unlocked new functions: Accelerated Cultivation! Accelerated Construction!]

[By consuming gold, you can send civilians into the Battle Qi Academy to instantly complete five years of training.]

[Currently, 100 grams of gold can train one Battle Qi Soldier.]

Seeing this, Xu Xuan realized that gold actually had such a use.

He had mined a lot of gold ore before, but he had never refined it.

After all, during wartime, utility was paramount.

Gold couldn't be used to forge weapons or iron armor.

Therefore, the mined gold ore had been left in the warehouse without being refined.

The workshops were busy smelting copper and iron; there was no spare labor to refine gold.

He never expected that his unintentional act of kindness in giving others a bucket of rice would actually trigger the unlocking of gold's functions.

It seemed that whenever he mined new minerals in the future, he should refine them; they might just be the key to unlocking new features.

Just as he was studying the gold, the system prompt sounded.

[The second wave of the offensive will arrive in 10 minutes, consisting of an Undead Legion of three million. It includes 10 Undead Generals and special elite units, as well as Magic Units. Lords, please be prepared.]

Upon seeing this message, everyone's expressions turned tense.

Ten Undead Generals, elite units, and Magic Units.

These were all critical pieces of information. Next, they would likely face an even more brutal enemy!

Xu Xuan then spoke up: "Gong Clan, Tao Shi! Order the furnaces to be cleared immediately. Take all the gold in our warehouse and refine it. Be quick!!!"

"Also, Chi You, go and select 999 elite troops. Hu Zi Mei, get ready. I'm going to send you to the Battle Qi Academy."

With that, Xu Xuan took out his Legion Card. This card could instantly turn 1,000 ordinary people into elite soldiers possessing Battle Qi.