???
Freedom Town.
This was his town, wasn't it?
Staring at his wristband, Chen Yu was stunned for a long time, disbelieving that things could be so coincidental that the bandits around his territory had gone to Yu Pu.
He had found it familiar when Yu Pu told him.
He never expected it to be true.
"I must say, this Free City-State is truly something. If they were going to clear them out, they should have done it thoroughly."
"Leaving some stragglers to run to me."
"I'm truly down on my luck. When I first entered the underground, it was all desert, and I nearly died of thirst. Now that things are slightly looking up, the bandits have come to set up camp here. What do you say about that..."
"This is bullying an honest man!"
Yu Pu, with a face full of worry, did not notice Chen Yu's expression in the wristband as he complained. His mind was entirely focused on the bandits; indeed, these bandits were putting too much pressure on him.
"Old Yu, that's my town."
Looking at Yu Pu's troubled expression, Chen Yu couldn't help but clear his throat.
???
Instantly, Yu Pu, who was muttering, was also stunned.
"Your... your town?" Yu Pu stretched his neck and stared blankly for a long time. Chen Yu nodded with a wry smile, "My town. I remember those bandits. When I was clearing them out initially, I gave them time to evacuate. I eliminated the few holdouts who remained."
"Then how could they have come to me..."
Yu Pu, gasping, suddenly slapped his thigh hard.
"Am I near your town?"
"There is indeed such a possibility," Chen Yu said, his gaze narrowing. "When did those bandits appear around your mining area?"
"It's been a few months, approximately."
Yu Pu, with his lips pursed, pondered and said, "When they first arrived, they were quite well-behaved, and I didn't pay them much mind. It's likely that now that their camps have stabilized, they've started eyeing my mining area. However, some camps are quite decent; like the ones coming to my place to buy ore today, but some camps..."
Chen Yu remained silent, listening to Yu Pu's words.
Judging by the timeline, the appearance of those bandits in Yu Pu's territory indeed confirmed that Yu Pu's location was not far from Chen Yu's Free City-State.
This surprised Chen Yu; he hadn't expected Yu Pu to be so close to him.
"You want equipment because you want to defend against those bandits, right?" Chen Yu murmured, tapped Yu Pu's chat window, and sent a batch of equipment as a gift.
Yu Pu, who received the equipment, visibly froze for a moment before opening his mouth.
"Benefactor, this..."
"If you're counting on the Goblin artificers, it takes too long. If you need equipment, you should have come to me directly. You must be able to see that my resource exchange center always has equipment for sale." Chen Yu said, his gaze fixed, "Use these thousands of sets of equipment first. If it's not enough, tell me."
"How many resource points is this equipment? I'll pay you with currency."
"No need."
Chen Yu waved his hand carelessly.
Several thousand sets of Bright Silver Armor were only a few hundred thousand gold coins, which was nothing to Chen Yu. Moreover, the relationship between him and Yu Pu didn't require such meticulous calculation.
If nothing else, the mining rights Yu Pu granted him were invaluable.
Since Yu Pu held the coal mine for extraction, the mineral ore Chen Yu received as a share was immense, more than enough to sustain the energy consumption of the entire Freedom Town.
"In the future, if you lack any resources, just tell me directly."
"I know you don't want to owe me. At most, you can transfer the money to me, and I'll have someone buy it for you. Your location is relatively remote, making it difficult to purchase resources, which is not a problem for me."
As he spoke, Chen Yu gifted Yu Pu several tons of food and seeds.
"You have more people under you now, so take this food. Tell me when you run out. As for the seeds, find some people to plant them. With so many people, you should consider self-sufficiency."
"I understand."
Looking at the resources Chen Yu gifted, Yu Pu's eyes were filled with gratitude.
He wasn't someone who could say many eloquent words, but he would keep this kindness firmly in his heart and would go all out to do what he could when Chen Yu needed it.
"Give me your coordinates later, and I'll have people from my town scout your location."
"If we are truly at a moderate distance."
"Then I'll send people to help you take down that city-state, and in the future, your resources can be traded directly with my Freedom Town."
"You need a city."
"The Tato Kingdom is about to go to war. You need at least one city to establish yourself."
"I'll do as you say," Yu Pu nodded solemnly and sent his coordinates to Chen Yu without a second thought. "This is where my current barracks are located."
Receiving the coordinates, Chen Yu felt a slight warmth in his heart.
The feeling of being trusted was truly wonderful.
The coal mine Yu Pu possessed was enough to make many people envious, yet he still unhesitatingly told Chen Yu his coordinates when asked.
It was not in vain that Chen Yu was so devoted to him.
"How many goblins do you have under you?"
After roughly handling Yu Pu's affairs, Chen Yu then asked about the goblins.
"The entire tribe is around 2,000," Yu Pu replied without hesitation. Chen Yu licked his lips and asked, "They should be able to forge bows, warhammers, and shields, right?"
"I don't know."
Yu Pu shook his head and said, "I didn't inquire too deeply. When they mentioned high-purity ore before, I just wanted to secure the ore before considering what weapons to forge. Do you need them to forge equipment?"
"Yes, I need a batch of bows, warhammers, and shields."
"I'll ask later."
"I will provide the ore. Tell me directly what purity you need," Chen Yu said, his voice stern. "Their wages will also be paid by me."
Unexpectedly, Yu Pu in the projection frowned.
"Benefactor, are you insulting me?"
"Why would you need to pay their wages? They are already working under me. If you had to pay their wages, I, Yu Pu, would be a terrible person, wouldn't I?"
"You don't need to worry about the remuneration. I'll get back to you after I ask."
"Alright!" Seeing Yu Pu's seriousness, Chen Yu didn't refuse. "Then I'll trouble you to ask carefully. It would be best if you could also clarify their forging efficiency and grade, as I'm in a hurry for this batch of equipment."
"No problem."
"Also, please distribute the equipment I gave you to your people as soon as possible. The leaders of the camps you're negotiating with might not genuinely want to trade with you. While you shouldn't harbor ill intentions, you must also guard against others," Chen Yu kindly reminded him. "There are few good people among these bandits. If they followed the rules, they wouldn't have survived this long."
Yu Pu, listening in the wristband, nodded slightly.
"Understood."
The video ended. Chen Yu immediately sent Yu Pu's coordinates to Cailin and then leaned back in his chair, contemplating.
If Yu Pu's location was indeed adjacent to Freedom Town, then they could indeed cooperate and trade to develop and grow stronger.
As for how Yu Pu would develop, that was up to him. Chen Yu had never thought of annexing Yu Pu or making him his subordinate. In this underground world, he still hoped to have more friends; otherwise, it would be too lonely.
He sighed softly. Yabo also returned to the barracks with the first batch of personnel who had completed their assessment.
"City Lord, the first batch of assessments has concluded."
"What were the results?" Chen Yu immediately collected his thoughts, a smile on his face as he looked at the dejected civilians and nodded slightly. "It seems the results are slightly less than satisfactory."