Chapter 469: Chapter 469: Increasing Favorability

People in the Shadow Circus Troupe are mainly professionals, and they’re all high-level professionals, which is why they can enter Doomsday City with impunity.

What Song Jian currently cares about the most is how this circus troupe managed to cross the black fog outside Doomsday City. It must be very dangerous in that patch of black fog. If not for a random system teleportation or having teleportation door technology, no NPC would be willing to enter Doomsday City through the black fog.

However, this is just his first interaction with the Shadow Circus Troupe. The old beastman standing before him seems to be the troupe director, and since they’re performing near his region, there will be many chances for further encounters. He can ask questions later.

After finishing his conversation with Hacus, Song Jian suddenly received a system notification:

System: Your territory has attracted the Shadow Circus Troupe, the satisfaction of residents in your territory increases, and all NPCs will have their work efficiency increased by 30% during the stay of the Shadow Circus Troupe;

Hint: The Shadow Circus Troupe is a hidden group within the game. Players could obtain numerous valuable items through it, so players should explore by themselves;

“Work efficiency increased by 30%? Many valuable items?” Song Jian was slightly stunned as his gaze shifted to the constructing Magic Tower. Indeed, the efficiency of the dozen or so construction workers seemed to have significantly increased. Joy filled their faces and each of them brimmed with energy.

After hesitating for a moment, Song Jian decided to postpone his plans to explore the Abyss Demon Cave. From a distance, he regarded this strange circus troupe with a keen interest.

It seemed like this circus troupe did not aim for profit. The performance venue they built was open, with no walls or fences, nor anything like a ticket booth. Anyone who was interested could come and go freely.

By the time the circus troupe finished setting up their performance venue, it was already evening. All the NPCs in Song Jian’s territory started to rest. After changing their clothes, they walked towards the circus troupe in small groups;

Only then did Song Jian realize how many NPCs were in his territory. From a distance, the number already exceeded one hundred.

Moreover, the Shadow Circus Troupe didn’t only attract NPCs from Song Jian’s territory. Even the NPCs from other players and those from several streets away were drawn in as well.

This area had pretty much become a safe zone. Unknown to Song Jian when it started, no more NPCs were refreshing on the streets. But some resources would refresh inside the abandoned buildings. Every day, some low-level players would search for resources in the buildings.

The performances of the circus troupe were splendid, prompting sighs of awe or laughter from the watching NPCs now and then. They clapped their hands enthusiastically. Song Jian observed them from the afternoon until he noticed that the troupe consisted of quite a number of rare professions.

The Beast Tamer who performed animal training, the Flying Knife Master who performed masked knife-throwing, the highway knight performing stunts on a motorcycle through a ring of fire, they were all rare professions. If any players below level ten who hadn’t undergone a profession change found out about this place, it would be a blessing for them.

There were still many ordinary professions in the game. For every ten professions that one came into contact with, there would be only one or two rare professions. If they wanted to acquire a more powerful profession, they would have to try their luck in areas with higher-level monsters. Many players died in those high-level monster areas for this reason.

The circus troupe’s performances went on until around ten o’clock at night. They performed for six to seven hours straight. For the Shadow Circus Troupe that had just come to a new place, such a long performance was quite strenuous.

“I wonder how long they’ll stay here?” Song Jian watched the busy circus performers and pondered.

“Honorable Lord, what do you think of our performance?” Old Beastman Hacus strolled over and asked with a smile.

Song Jian glanced at Hacus. Hacus had just performed a magic trick, controlling five or six burning fireballs to dance around him. He even made several seemingly dangerous moves, causing the surrounding spectators to gasp in amazement.

“Excellent, a spectacular performance!” Song Jian praised with a smile. At this moment, an idea flashed through his mind. He said to Old Beastman Hacus, “As a token of my gratitude to the Shadow Circus Troupe, I would like to provide you with some provisions.”

As he spoke, Song Jian summoned his steward, George, and whispered a few words to him. Moments later, a group of NPCs brought a batch of food over.

Most of the food was meat, with many pieces of bread and cakes as well.

There were vast farms and a Livestock Pen in Song Jian’s territory, which provided more than enough food for self-sufficiency.

“This is marvelous, thank you, merciful Lord!” Hacus expressed his gratitude with a look of appreciation.

System: You have provided a large amount of food to the Shadow Circus Troupe, earning the gratitude of the Troupe’s leader, Hacus. Your relationship with the Shadow Circus Troupe has improved to a friendly status;

“As expected, giving gifts to NPCs is the best way to improve relations!” Song Jian thought to himself.

After enhancing his relationship with the Shadow Circus Troupe to ‘Friendly,’ Song Jian discovered while walking around the circus that the staff of the circus troupe would greet Song Jian when they noticed him. Some of them would even offer Song Jian a toast.

The evening celebration entertained not only the members of the Shadow Circus Troupe but also the NPCs in Song Jian’s territory. After all, big celebrations like this were rarely held in his territory. The loyalty rating of many residents towards the territory increased by three to five points.

It was a clear benefit for the NPCs to boost their loyalty towards their territory. Not only would they work harder normally, but NPCs with high loyalty would also fight back when the territory was invaded. To them, defending their territory meant defending their homes. In contrast, those NPCs with less loyalty would panic with aimless running or even flee when there was an invasion.

The population was also a crucial element for a territory. If the NPCs started to flee as soon as a war broke out, it would impact the development of the territory.

At night, Song Jian returned to Manor Castle. After absorbing the essence of the moon for fifteen minutes, he slowly opened his eyes. At this growth stage, his sense of touch was the most acute, so he suddenly felt a hint of coldness in the room.

Swoosh~

The vertical eye on his forehead instantly opened, emitting a silver glow, and a semi-transparent figure appeared in the room.

“The Eye of Discernment?” A hoarse voice echoed around the room. The once semi-transparent figure wavered like water and materialized out of thin air.

…