Woke Up to Find the Game I Made Came True

On the 29th game day of establishing her territory, Ye Bai's merchant caravan arrived at Baiye Village a day earlier than the expected five days.

As soon as she stepped within 700 meters of the Tree of Creation, even before officially entering the dirt road of the territory, Ye Bai received a series of system notifications:

【The trade route between 'Meluo City - Baiye Village' has been opened.】

【As ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‍a visionary lord, you have successfully opened the first external road for your territory, granting an additional 5 productivity!】

【You have established trade with a magic school's main city (Meluo City). Your territory will gain an additional 3 productivity points per month, and the territory's magic school affinity has increased by +10.】

Seeing the notifications, Ye Bai couldn't help but smile. With the productivity she had accumulated during her absence, she could soon go on another round of "clicking" through the tech tree.

Opening trade routes for a territory was no easy task—it was time-consuming and labor-intensive. Therefore, successfully establishing a new trade route from scratch always came with productivity rewards. However, while the first route granted 5 points, subsequent ones only offered 2 points.

Additionally, depending on the level of the town or city the trade route connected to, the territory would receive monthly productivity bonuses. For example, connecting to a magic school's main city like Meluo City granted the highest monthly bonus of 3 points, while ordinary towns and villages offered 2 and 1 point, respectively.

In the later stages of the game, upgrading the tech tree could cost upwards of 10 productivity points, making the establishment and maintenance of trade routes a crucial source of productivity.

Similarly, in the event of territorial wars, cutting off an enemy's trade routes could effectively cripple their productivity.

As for the magic school affinity, it was tied to the development of high-end technologies within the territory. A higher affinity increased the likelihood of attracting special talents aligned with that school, and even the monsters and plants in the surrounding area would evolve to align with that school's characteristics.

Affinity was a valuable metric, especially in the late game, where unlocking high-end technologies required the territory to reach a certain affinity level. In a way, it represented the territory's "potential" in a specific technological path.

That said, Ye Bai hadn't yet decided to fully commit to the magic school route. It was merely a coincidence that the first city she encountered was Meluo City. The three major school routes each had their advantages, and the biggest difference between a player's territory and NPC towns was that players could pursue all of them!

As she pondered this, the caravan entered the dirt road of the territory, and the figures of villagers hard at work came into view.

From a distance, the villagers spotted Ye Bai and excitedly called out, "Lord Ye Bai!"

"I'm back!" Ye Bai waved back at them.

"The lord has returned!"

By the time the caravan was unloading supplies at the territory's warehouse, word of Ye Bai's return had spread throughout the territory.

Carrie rushed over from the energy crystal mine just as Ye Bai was directing the villagers and the transport team to unload the goods.

"Lord, you're finally back," Carrie said.

Ye Bai quickly approached her. "Carrie, you've worked hard in my absence. How has the territory been?"

Since Dennis, the old man who had been eyeing the horse team, insisted on leaving immediately after delivering the goods, and the journey back required the protection of the mercenaries, Ye Bai had to prioritize dealing with the caravan first. She hadn't even had the chance to check on the Tree of Creation or the overall state of the territory.

After all, she couldn't let Dennis poach her mercenaries right at her doorstep. If she didn't convert them into villagers this time, there was no guarantee they would return after escorting the transport team back to Meluo City.

Carrie shook her head at first, then hesitated and glanced at the mercenaries and Dilina, who were curiously observing Baiye Village. "There are some new villagers, but it's not urgent. You can handle your current tasks first, Lord."

"Alright, thank you for your hard work," Ye Bai replied. The mention of new villagers immediately brought to mind the possibility of special talents. The second batch of refugees hadn't yielded any, but with a 15% bonus, the third batch was bound to produce one!

"It's my duty," Carrie said, then turned her gaze to Dilina, who was approaching. "And who is this?"

"Lord, won't you introduce me?" Dilina also looked at Carrie and said.

The positioning suddenly became awkward: Carrie on the left, Dilina on the right, and Ye Bai sandwiched between them.

On one side was her reliable right-hand woman who had diligently managed the territory in her absence, and on the other was a high-level talent who had already contributed equipment and effort before even arriving at the territory.

Ye Bai couldn't help but feel her eye twitch. Why did this feel like some kind of bizarre love triangle? *"Territory Building: High-Level Talents Compete for My Affection"*?

It must be a misunderstanding, definitely a misunderstanding!

"This is Carrie, my territory's senior engineer and a key assistant," Ye Bai introduced, standing between them. "And this is Dilina, a senior tailor I recruited from Meluo City."

Carrie smiled warmly and extended her hand to Dilina. "Welcome! I hope you'll enjoy your time here in our territory."

Dilina's eyes lit up as she shook Carrie's hand. "Thank you, it's a pleasure to meet you."

【Villager 'Carrie's' loyalty to you has increased by +10.】

【Senior Tailor 'Dilina's' favorability toward you has increased by +10.】

【You have gained 2 points in 'Deception' proficiency.】

Ye Bai: "...System, don't be ridiculous!"

Unbeknownst to her, Carrie and Dilina were having similar thoughts.

Carrie was thinking: *The lord managed to recruit such a high-level talent. She's truly capable. Staying in Baiye Village will definitely lead to great things!*

Dilina, on the other hand, was thinking: *This small Baiye Village already has a senior engineer? It's full of hidden talents. The lord is so capable; she'll surely be able to fulfill my request!*

Ye Bai had no idea that this simple meeting had inadvertently caused her two most valued high-level talents to essentially "self-convert."

Well... it wasn't a bad thing. As long as their favorability was increasing, the more, the merrier!

Meanwhile, Dennis and his transport team had finished unloading the twenty crates of supplies Ye Bai had brought. Without delay, he came to bid her farewell.

"Lord, the goods have been handed over to your people," Dennis said, glancing at the sky. "It's still early, so we should set off on our return journey soon."

Ye Bai offered politely, "You've had a long journey. Why not rest here for the night? We've recently built quite a few new houses in the village."

This was no exaggeration. Before leaving, Ye Bai had instructed Carrie to assign the latest batch of refugees to work on the energy crystal mines and to build houses in the planned residential area.

From the storage area, Ye Bai could see that the previously empty grid in the residential zone was now filled with neat rows of basic Level 1 houses.

"No need to trouble you, Lord. We must return to the guild to report," Dennis quickly declined.

Seeing his insistence, Ye Bai didn't press further. Instead, she turned her attention to the mercenaries standing nearby.

"What about you all?" Ye Bai asked, looking at the hesitant mercenaries.

Originally, they had agreed to stay in Baiye Village for a few days after arriving, to wait for the crocodile materials to be crafted into equipment. Many of the mercenaries had already considered staying in Ye Bai's territory. After all, serving a promising lord was far better than being rootless mercenaries.

Moreover, this lord was a powerful mage with both strength and wealth, and she had saved their lives during the crocodile swamp battle. Ye Bai had earned immense respect among the mercenaries; it was only a matter of breaking that final barrier.

However, Dennis's urgency to return and his offer of additional payment for the return trip had left them conflicted. Normally, the return trip didn't come with a fee, so this was essentially free money—hard to pass up!

Ye Bai naturally understood the situation. At this point, he no longer pretended and directly extended an invitation to everyone in front of Dennis: "From my perspective, what I hope for most is that all of you would be willing to stay in my territory and develop, becoming my direct combat force."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the mercenaries present became excited. A lord's direct combat force was not the same as an ordinary combat unit—it represented the lord's high regard.

Beside them, Dennis's expression changed slightly, as if he wanted to say something. However, Ye Bai immediately took a step back and smiled, saying, "Of course, it's everyone's freedom to come and go. What I want to say is..."

Ye Bai straightened his expression: "My promise will always stand. Your share of the equipment is ready for you to claim at any time, and the gates of Baiye Village will always remain open to you."

With this speech, Ye Bai masterfully employed the art of retreating to advance.

Blaze, who had remained relatively calm up until now, fell silent for a moment before decisively stepping forward.

"Thud! Thud!" The swordsman in his thirties slightly bowed to Ye Bai and tapped his chest with his hand, performing the standard gesture of allegiance used by warriors across realms.

"Lord Baiye, swordsman Blaze is willing to follow you from this day forward and become the sharp blade in your hand."

[Mercenary 'Blaze' has requested to join your territory. Do you accept?]

[Yes]

"It is my honor."

Ye Bai also tapped his chest in response.

Where there was one, there would surely be more. It was as if a signal had been given, and the other mercenaries stepped forward one after another, all expressing their desire to follow Ye Bai and join Baiye Village.

Even the mercenary who had not participated in the battle at Crocodile Marsh and had stayed behind to guard the wildebeest caravan made the same choice as the others. The night before, he had heard his companions recount Ye Bai's "glorious achievements," and as is often the case with retellings, the story had become somewhat exaggerated. After a few retellings, Ye Bai had gone from being a close-combat mage to a "master of both magic and martial arts."

This scene left Dennis completely unprepared: "You... you all..."

This was outrageous! Was he really going to lose his entire crew on this trip?!

Ye Bai turned to Dennis and added, "Mr. Dennis, don't worry. If you need escorts for your return journey, the warriors who are willing to accept your employment will accompany you back and then return here."

With the addition of ten first-tier warrior villagers, Ye Bai was no longer the least bit anxious.

Once they were "registered" in the system, their favorability turned into loyalty and satisfaction ratings. As long as these didn't drop to dangerous levels, they wouldn't leave.

In fact, Ye Bai was now hoping that Blaze and the others would earn as much money as possible from Dennis. Since they were returning the same way they came, they wouldn't encounter any battles, so the journey would be faster and wouldn't take up much time.

By the time they returned, facilities like the tavern in the territory would have been built. When they spent their earnings in the territory's establishments, the money would ultimately flow back to Ye Bai.