Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Cross Marks, Strange Changes in the River
Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
It was so powerful and terrifying!
It was already at Tier 2, 5 stars even without any equipment, and had three powerful green skills.
After upgrading it with the military talent tree, wouldn't it become even more godlike?
This was also his second type of army, making up for the shortcomings of the territory's army.
If Murlocs were light infantry, good at sneaking and ambush, then Naga Warriors were heavy infantry, good at frontal combat.
Each had its own advantages and disadvantages.
Apart from its slightly unusual unit characteristics, Ji Chen was very satisfied with the Naga Warrior.
Returning to the treasure chest, he collected its contents and obtained 30 units of star iron.
After confirming that there was nothing left behind, he left with the Murlocs, Alice, and the newly acquired Naga Warrior.
With the Omniscience Map, Ji Chen now felt at home in the jungle. No monster or beast within a radius of 1 kilometer could escape his sight.
He could precisely locate his prey hidden in the jungle as if he was cheating.
The targets hid in the vegetation, up in the treetops, and even buried in the ground, but none could escape his grasp.
The River Murlocs and Naga Warriors, aided by Alice's terrifying singing voice, caused a bloody storm in the jungle, killing every target in their way.
The forest was thrown into chaos.
The remaining beasts and monsters that had been hiding nearby all this time fled the forest in panic, afraid that they would be found by the terrifying upright ape in the next second.
For a moment, the forest was unprecedentedly quiet.
Half a day later, Ji Chen looked at the map in front of him and couldn't help but frown.
"Eh? There were so many wild beasts and monsters before, so why were there only a few left now? Did I kill them all?"
"Forget it. It's almost time anyway. Let's call it a day."
Thinking about it, he closed the map and walked towards the territory.
After a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
He looked at a tree not far away.
There was an obvious cross mark on the bark of the tree.
"Everyone, be on alert!"
Ji Chen walked over cautiously and crouched down to examine it.
The cross-shaped marking appeared fresh, with two clean, straight scratches that looked as if they were made by a knife.
It was unlikely that the Murlocs or Naga's weapons could have caused such marks by accident.
Ji Chen surveyed the area, noting that they were approximately three to four kilometers away from their territory, deep in the forest.
Even he and his companions had not been to this area before.
According to what the residents had said, they had not reached such a deep place before. This trace should not have been left behind by the residents.
Therefore, he ruled out the possibility that they were the ones who left it behind.
After eliminating all the possible factors, he came to a conclusion.
His gaze turned solemn.
There were people on this island!
There was a high chance that it was not a player, but a native!
Ji Chen's discovery of the cross mark on the tree was confirmed when he found the same mark on two nearby trees, along with the remains of a bonfire.
This was great news for the territory that was lacking labor.
"If we found the gathering place of the aborigines and directly kidnapped them..." he coughed, "I mean, if we politely invited them over, we could build a rich and beautiful territory together!"
But where would the natives on this island gather?
Ji Chen considered the factors that usually determined a gathering place: flat terrain, sufficient water sources, convenient transportation, and nearby food sources.
Possible locations included the mountains in the northeast, the valley in front of the mountains, or even areas he had not explored yet, such as behind the giant forest or other sub-islands.
These locations appeared to be the most probable ones.
It looked like he would need to widen his search range in the future.
That morning, he planned to bring these natives into the territory to provide an additional labor force.
With this idea in mind, he made his way back to the territory.
.....
The next morning.
Ji Chen and Alice were sitting in the lord's mansion, leisurely having breakfast.
Due to someone's perverse taste, Alice was currently wearing a specially made human girl's outfit, which made her look very slim and beautiful.
If any player were to see her, they would definitely recognize it as clothing from Blue Star, the JK uniform.
"My Lord, is this what human females usually wear every day? I feel a bit strange in this outfit..."
Alice's face turned slightly red as she tugged on the hem of her skirt, feeling a bit exposed. She feared that even a gust of wind could blow her skirt up at any moment.
Before, she didn't pay much attention to her clothing as she had her protective layer, but after interacting with humans and being exposed to their culture, she started to notice certain things.
Ji Chen replied with a serious expression, "Yes, it's what young human girls wear. Don't you think it's pretty?"
"The outfit is very pretty," Alice pouted. "But why is it different from the clothing worn by human females outside?"
"Well... it's called a girl's outfit, so naturally, it's different from what older women wear."
Ding!
Alice's blue eyes looked at Ji Chen, who seemed a little guilty, with a hint of suspicion.
But she didn't say anything. After all, she also liked this beautiful outfit.
Seeing that Alice didn't ask any further questions, Ji Chen breathed a sigh of relief.
It's good that he managed to fool her. Wearing a JK outfit was like a treasure for a girl!
However, he still secretly thought of wanting to get a pair of stockings for Alice from the tailor.
He liked both black and white ones.
But what material should the stockings be made of?
How about silk cloth produced from silkworm?
It seems that in the future, he should also pay attention to whether such materials exist when exploring outside.
Just as he was lost in thought, a sudden commotion outside broke the silence, as if a villager was panicking.
"My lord! Something bad has happened!"
A moment later, Wilus knocked on the door with an anxious expression.
"My Lord, the water in the river has been polluted."
He closed the chat channel and frowned slightly.
Pollution?
Could it be that the cave miners were bathing in the pool again?
If that was the case, he would have to teach them a lesson.
"What's the situation like now?"
"Reporting to my lord, when I arrived at the river, the water had turned completely red."
"The water has turned red?"
He saw the grave expression on Wilus' face.
Ji Chen's expression became serious as he set aside his half-eaten breakfast and led Alice and the others to the scene of the incident.
As they passed through a narrow forest path, they were met with a river that was already red in color.
Upon looking upstream, they saw that the river's red water was flowing continuously from the source, as if someone was pouring jars of dye into it.
It was unknown what the river was contaminated with, but it was certainly not safe to drink.
This river, which was less than five to six meters wide, was currently the only water source in the territory.
If the issue wasn't resolved soon, the territory might face a freshwater crisis. The water retorting system alone would not be able to sustain dozens of people in the territory.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone