Chapter 131: The "Aloof" Zhang Ya

"Oh?" Ye Da, hearing Zhang Ya suddenly change her mind, felt not so much joy as suspicion. "Didn't you say you'd rather die than follow me? What made you change your mind?"

Zhang Ya did not shy away. "I had already decided this. Going it alone in this world is unrealistic; one needs a team at the very least!"

"And the team I have in mind is you!"

"Although the idea of becoming your subject is a bit hard for me to accept, your partner said that as long as I am dissatisfied with you, I can leave at any time."

"This condition doesn't seem any different from being your partner, so I have chosen to join you."

After listening, Ye Da wanted to give Zhang Ya a thumbs up!

"Excellent!"

He loved subjects who could fill in the blanks themselves. Even if their initial loyalty wasn't high, he could rely on their self-imagination and internal rationalization to raise it quickly.

Plus, Zhang Ya was capable of both offense and defense—a top-tier talent!

The kind that needed to be recruited aggressively!

Since she volunteered to join, Ye Da was naturally very welcoming!

[Contract conditions met!]

[Zhang Ya is willing to become your subject. Are you willing to accept her into your territory?]

[PS: Once the contract is concluded, you will bear the responsibility of caring for and protecting your subjects!]

[Subjects cannot betray you at will. Once a subject harbors thoughts of betrayal, their loyalty will drop rapidly; you can use loyalty to judge a subject's attitude toward you.]

[Sixty percent loyalty is the passing line; over eighty percent is considered loyal. When a subject's loyalty reaches one hundred percent, they will enter a state of adoration for the Lord, and may even be willing to die for the Lord!]

[Of course...]

[The loyalty of a subject is affected not only by the subject themselves but also by the Lord. If the Lord mistreats the subjects, leaving them hungry, cold, or even abusing them, their loyalty will drop rapidly.]

[When a subject's loyalty drops to thirty percent, they will harbor malice toward the Lord.]

[When a subject's loyalty drops to twenty percent, they may attack the Lord.]

[When a subject's loyalty is ten percent or lower, they are very likely to attack and kill the Lord.]

[Please think carefully about whether you have the ability to protect and care for your subjects before accepting them; otherwise, when the subjects revolt, the Lord may face extremely severe backlash!]

Since she had delivered herself to his doorstep, there was no reason to refuse.

When Ye Da saw the flurry of terms pop up on the screen, he immediately chose to agree!

[I am willing to accept "Zhang Ya" as my subject!]

[Contract successful!]

The moment the contract was finalized...

Ye Da saw a line of text appear above Zhang Ya's head!

[Level 1 Subject: Zhang Ya]

[Loyalty: 75% (Ahhh, I'm so shy! It's actually my idol! I never expected this person to be my idol, I'm so happy!)]

[Status: Hungry (Prolonged hunger will affect a subject's health and loyalty.)]

[PS: Once the Lord has ten subjects, you will gain a Lord-exclusive skill to help you better manage your territory.]

"Huh?"

Seeing the content of this subject's note, which had changed from the initial:

[PS: If the Lord loses their only subject, the Lord System will shut down, and it will be difficult for you to gain the allegiance of new subjects due to low reputation!]

...to the promise of a skill upon reaching ten subjects, it seemed his status as Lord had shifted from uncertain to upgradable.

So he could get a Lord skill with just ten subjects?

Then he would have to keep working hard and trick more people into joining his territory!

Beyond the final note, there was another point that surprised Ye Da. He had assumed Zhang Ya's initial loyalty would be quite low, given how cold and aloof she was. Yet, seeing it at 75% was surprising, but even more so was the small text following it, revealing her true inner thoughts.

"Ahhh, I'm so shy! It's actually my idol! I never expected this person to be my idol, I'm so happy!"

Tsk tsk!

You really can't judge a book by its cover. Who would have thought such a cold, aloof young lady was actually such a fanatical fan? And the star she followed was him!

No wonder she had been so stubborn when he first invited her. Once she heard he was the "Bear-Slaying Master," she immediately changed her mind. It all made sense now!

Seeing the girlish heart hidden beneath Zhang Ya's cold expression, Ye Da felt like laughing, but he didn't want to ruin their dynamic, so he covered it with a cough.

"Ahem, ahem..."

"Lord, are you alright?" Chu Ping asked with concern. Ye Da shook his head. "I'm fine, I'm just very happy that Zhang Ya is willing to join my territory and become my subject. This is worth celebrating."

"Then..." Zhang Ya tentatively suggested, "Shall we celebrate?"

"Not right now." Ye Da shook his head. "There isn't much time left today, and I still have to go somewhere!"

That place was the volcanic hot spring lake.

It was a place Ye Da had wanted to visit for a long time, but he had been tied up with various chores, and it was a bit far. But the forest where Zhang Ya was located was no longer too far from the volcano; if they hurried, they should make it in time!

And more importantly...

East: [1950 meters ahead, there is a volcano with a large hot spring lake at the base, and there is a treasure chest in the lake.]

[PS: Only 8 hours and 27 minutes remain before the treasure chest respawns.]

The chest was about to despawn! That was why he had to go; he wanted that chest!

"Oh."

Hearing that Ye Da didn't intend to celebrate, Zhang Ya replied with a faint "oh" after a long pause. Although her expression was one of indifference, Ye Da caught a trace of disappointment in her eyes.

He glanced at the subtext of her loyalty.

It had changed!

[Loyalty: 75% (Ahhh, what could be more important than feeding your subjects? I'm really starving to death, please, someone give me something to eat, anything! Wuu! This damn place, food is so hard to find, but I don't want to eat that disgusting goblin meat, so gross!)]

That was a lot of inner monologue!

She was clearly starving to death, yet she still put on such a cold front, only answering with a single...

"Oh?"

"Oh," my foot!

Ye Da was speechless at the gap between Zhang Ya's internal thoughts and what she actually said. If he couldn't see her inner state, her "face-saving-leads-to-suffering" personality would probably get her killed sooner or later!

Although Ye Da could simply give her some food and solve her biggest problem, the more stubborn Zhang Ya was, the more he wanted to tease her!