Lin Feng waved his hand, smiled, and continued forward.

Deep down, he vaguely understood that although these subjects had never seen him, they could recognize him as the new Lord at first glance.

Their respectful and natural attitude, devoid of any resistance, was clearly the result of the rules of the Nightmare World.

According to what he had learned before, when a territory changes hands, the Nightmare World uses some method to imprint information about the "new Lord" directly into the consciousness of the inhabitants.

They not only knew who he was but would also instinctively accept his rule and maintain the daily order.

Lin Feng thought as he walked that this arrangement saved a lot of trouble.

Otherwise, as an outsider suddenly taking over a Sakura Country-style county town, it would have taken a great deal of effort just to get these subjects to accept him.

Lin Feng nodded slightly, feeling emotional: this Nightmare World was much more "easygoing" than the real world.

But it was precisely because of this that he felt the waters here were incredibly deep.

To be able to arrange the inhabitants of an entire county so thoroughly that they accepted a new Lord as naturally as breathing...

How much power lay behind this? And how many secrets was it hiding that he didn't know about?

However, Lin Feng quickly pulled back his thoughts.

There was no point in thinking about this now. He was only Level 19, and a county-level territory had just come into his hands; he hadn't even fully grasped its internal workings yet, so he was hardly qualified to investigate the truth of the world.

Take it slow.

He took a deep breath and continued walking forward, passing through the residential area until the South Gate was visible in the distance.

A group of people was waiting for him at the city gate.

Zhao Hu, carrying the troll tusk shield, stood at the front. Seeing Lin Feng, he grinned and said, "Lord, you've finally arrived! We've been waiting for ages!"

Tie Dun held the troll bone shield, but his eyes were fixed intently on the ten large creatures nearby.

They were a type of tall deer, with a shoulder height of at least 1.8 meters, standing a head taller than a person.

Huge antlers grew from their heads, branching out like small trees and shimmering with a dark brown luster in the sunlight.

Their fur was grayish-brown, their limbs were thick, and their hooves were as large as bowls, showing at a glance that they could carry heavy loads over long distances.

"These are Great-Horned Deer," Liu Ming introduced with a smile, standing beside the herd. "They are beasts of burden domesticated in Qingmu County. They have gentle temperaments and excellent endurance. If you ride one, traveling fifty kilometers a day is a breeze."

Tie Dun's eyes gleamed as he circled the nearest Great-Horned Deer several times, muttering, "Good heavens, these antlers are thicker than my arm! These legs are sturdier than my waist! This..."

He turned his head and looked at Lin Feng with a face full of anticipation: "Lord, can I ride one?"

Everyone laughed.

Zhao Hu slapped the back of his head: "Nonsense! Why else would we bring them if not to ride? Just for show?"

Tie Dun rubbed the back of his head and chuckled foolishly.

Lin Feng also smiled, walked over to a Great-Horned Deer, and vaulted onto its back.

The deer's back was broad, fitted with a soft saddle that felt very stable to sit on.

The others mounted their deer one after another. Shadow Snake's figure flickered, and she landed silently on the back of a Great-Horned Deer.

The deer barely even noticed, continuing to chew its fodder leisurely.

"Depart!" Lin Feng gave the order.

The ten Great-Horned Deer set off, heading south. Tie Dun sat on the deer's back, looking around excitedly like a child:

"I used to watch livestreams where the Lords of great territories rode all sorts of mounts, looking so majestic. Now we have them too!"

Wang Wu laughed: "Not just having them, we have ten. It'll be much more convenient to go out in the future."

Arrow Eye nodded rareley, gently patting the neck of the Great-Horned Deer beneath him, his eyes also holding a hint of novelty.

...

After traveling south for about two and a half kilometers, a vast forest appeared in their line of sight.

Qingmu Forest.

At the edge of the forest, a wide dirt road led straight into the woods. The further they went, the taller and thicker the trees became, blotting out the sky.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow on the ground.

The air was filled with the fresh fragrance of vegetation mixed with a faint scent of pine resin.

After traveling another one and a half kilometers, the path ahead suddenly opened up.

A clearing appeared in the woods, and in the center of the clearing was a wood-and-stone building—the logging camp.

The building occupied about 1,300 square meters. The main house was a two-story wooden building, and several sheds were built beside it, piled high with newly felled logs.

The thickest logs required two people to wrap their arms around them, while the thinnest were as wide as a bowl, stacked neatly ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) like small mountains.

In the clearing, over three hundred loggers were busy at work.

Some swung large axes to chop trees, the blades flashing as wood chips flew; some used long saws to cut logs into sections, the sound of the sawing piercing the air;

Some drove beasts of burden to drag the cut timber to the storage area; others were in the sheds stripping bark and performing preliminary processing.

"Please look, Lord," Liu Ming pointed at the busy scene. "This is the Qingmu Forest Logging Camp.

About 100 people are felling trees, and over 300 are processing and transporting. All trees cut in the Qingmu Forest are brought here for processing. Within a half-kilometer radius of the logging camp, you can directly see the quantities through the territory panel and allocate them for use at any time."

He paused and added: "The buff effect of the logging camp is a 20% increase in efficiency.

In the same amount of time, the loggers here can cut twenty percent more wood than those outside."

Lin Feng nodded, dismounted from his deer, and walked into the logging camp.

When the loggers saw him, they stopped their work one after another and bowed in greeting.

Lin Feng waved his hand, signaling them to continue, while he walked over to one of the piles of logs and reached out to touch them.

The wood was dry with a fine grain; it was high-quality pine.

With a slight thought, a panel that only he could see appeared before his eyes.

【Qingmu Forest Logging Camp】

Current Wood Reserves: 2,700 units

Daily Output: approx. 150 units

Buff Effect: Efficiency +20%

Lin Feng nodded in satisfaction.

"Lord," Liu Ming approached, "would you like to go into the forest to take a look? There are even thicker trees inside, even thousand-year-old ancient trees."

Lin Feng shook his head: "No need, let's keep moving. We still have to go to Heiyan Town this afternoon."

Everyone remounted their deer, left the logging camp, and turned north.

...

After traveling another thirteen or fourteen kilometers, the moisture in the air thickened, carrying a faint fishy smell.

They had reached Qinglin Lake.

The lake water shimmered with a faint green hue, the waves sparkling as far as the eye could see. Reeds grew in clusters along the shore, and water birds gathered in flocks.

In the distance, a few fishing boats could be seen drifting on the lake's surface, the silhouettes of fishermen casting nets clear against the sunlight.

Hupan Village was built right by the lake.

The village wasn't large, with about a hundred households. Most of the houses were wooden structures with roofs covered in thick thatch.

A stone tablet stood at the village entrance, carved with the words "Hupan Village." The characters were somewhat weathered, clearly having been there for many years. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Liu Ming led the group straight to the fish market.

The fish market was at the east end of the village, right next to the pier by the lake.

Although the busiest morning period had passed, people were still coming and going, making it quite lively.

Dozens of stalls were lined up, each filled with various catches.

Silvery crucian carp, palm-sized lake shrimp, arm-length common carp, and rows of salted fish strung together with straw ropes hung everywhere.

"Fresh Qinglin fish! Just caught this morning!"

"Dried salted fish! The more you chew, the more fragrant it gets. Perfect to go with wine!"

"Lake shrimp, lake shrimp! Big and fresh!"

The vendors' shouts rose and fell, and the air was filled with a rich scent of fresh fish.