Reincarnated as a bamboo rat, it begins its extreme survival struggle.

Edu had already heard about the area Bell was about to visit. In fact, much of the information about the map was collected by Edu and Bell when they were disguised as Ning.

He also speculated that if Bell were to go to other cities, Redwater City would be his first choice, since although it was chaotic, it had many intelligent races and was very tolerant of other races.

"Although I know Mr. Bell doesn't need me to worry about his safety, I still hope that Mr. Bell will take care of himself and retreat in time if he encounters an opponent he cannot defeat."

"Don't worry, I'm timid and I've never dared to do anything dangerous."

After chuckling, Bell handed the purple bamboo piece he had just carved to Edu and prepared to leave the area.

Chapter 203 Highway Robbers

"Give me a hand, Acorn."

A giant white bamboo rat, even more robust than a bison, was moving several wooden boxes in the wilderness, with a skeleton next to it helping out.

Bell left Cangxing City with the supplies he had painstakingly accumulated over a long period of time, even though ninety percent of these supplies were genuine 'legacy' items unearthed from the royal tombs.

But the tomb owner is right next to him, and the tomb owner said that this is a real 'legacy' belonging to Bell, so how could this thing not belong to Bell?

These wooden crates are all block-shaped equipment, belonging to the category of special-capacity spatial equipment. After placing the four extended crates on the sturdy iron wooden cart, they took away all of Bell's assets.

The ironwood cart was a means of transportation that Bell had prepared in Cangxing City long ago. He and Edu bought it when they were both Nings, and after buying it, they left it in the wilderness, waiting to use it now.

Saying goodbye to Edu took Bell quite a while. Bell was going to go on adventures in other areas, while Edu would stay in Azure Star City to continue his studies.

However, Edu did not intend to stay in Cangxing City for long. Judging from his current growth rate, in another year or two, the resources of this barren region of Cangxing City would be difficult to help him.

Bell had previously talked to Edu about where Edu planned to go if he were to leave Azure Star City in the future.

Edu's plan is that once he is ready, he will venture towards the Six-Winged City, the settlement of demi-humans, and he wants to see how his people survive.

At the same time, he also wanted to find his damn father. Edu had sworn that if he ever met that bastard, he would beat him up for his mother.

Edu had no feelings for his father; he only remembered how difficult it was for his mother to raise a mixed-race bastard in the conservative city of Cangxing.

Perhaps the father was a significant force in bringing her into this world, but he was also undoubtedly the culprit who destroyed her mother's happiness.

"I'm going to punch that guy's face until it's bruised and battered!"

These were Edu's words at the time. As a mild-mannered man, Edu rarely spoke with such strong personal emotion.

Bell had a feeling that perhaps one day he would meet Edu again, and that they would encounter a different kind of adventure.

Before leaving, Bell gave Edu a purple bamboo token, engraved with his will. If Edu lacked resources, he could go to the bamboo forest to ask for help. Sensing Bell's will, the magical beasts or iron golems in the bamboo forest would throw out some resources for Edu to use in his cultivation.

Although Bell left some resources for Edu when he left, and even gave him a piece of Mithril of considerable value as emergency funds, Bell still felt it wasn't enough.

I've raised this kid like my own son; how could I not give him the best resources?

Edu is very sensible; he won't squander money, so Bale doesn't need to worry about him too much.

Bringing his thoughts back, Bell flicked his tail, pushed the ironwood cart onto the main road, and tossed a set of clothes to Acorn, gesturing for him to put them on.

This is the Old Rat Set. After leaving Edu, Bel retrieved this set of equipment and spent some time modifying it.

Now, the acorn is Bell's second unit. As the pilot, Bell has a wealth of experience and is considered a veteran pilot.

Because the Skeletons and Bell frequently form a mental link, manipulating Acorn's body is simpler than manipulating Edu. Acorn's physical strength is greater than Edu's, and Bell can perform more maneuvers.

"I like the style of this outfit, especially the hat. I always feel that it will make my shooting more accurate."

Under Bell's second modification, the style of the old mouse suit changed from a mask and hood to a Western cowboy style. Although it still had a full-body tight-fitting structure, the hood was an indispensable part.

How can a cowboy who shoots with a revolver not have a cowboy hat?

With a slight jump, his body shrank in mid-air and landed in the acorn's chest. The cockpit of the old rat suit 2.0 was obviously more comfortable than when he was on Edu.

Edu, being made of flesh, has limited space to accommodate Bell, but acorns are different; their skeletal structure is hollow, and acorns can be inserted into their chests to create a perfect cockpit.

With a snap of his fingers, two earth-eating boars rushed out from the weeds and bushes outside the rugged dirt road. These were the lowest-level magical beasts active in the area, and Bell used the authority of the Beast King to directly conscript them as laborers.

In terms of combat strength, these two earth-eating boars are at best able to fight on par with novice adventurers.

But now, these guys are the best laborers.

Ironwood carts are no light thing. Ironwood itself is an incredibly heavy piece of wood, and even without Bell's boxes and acorns, it would be difficult for ordinary horses to pull them.

But now, with Warcraft as cargo transport, this problem is easily solved.

The dirt roads far from Cangxing City were uneven, and the iron plank carts swayed and rattled uncomfortably on them, making Bell miss the solid stone roads outside Cangxing City.

Fortunately, the acorn sitting in the car wasn't human; its skeleton rattled and clanged from the vibrations, but it didn't experience any obvious discomfort.

After walking unsteadily for more than ten miles, the two native pigs stopped.

It wasn't that their bodies couldn't take it anymore; for magical beasts, traveling more than ten miles was nothing. The reason they stopped was that the road ended a dozen meters ahead of the earth-eating boar.

"Mr. Bell, what does it mean to raise the road like this?"

Acorn didn't quite understand what was happening. His eyes swept over several clumps of weeds and piles of rocks, locking onto the humans hiding behind these cover. If he wanted, in the next instant, these people hiding would be blown to the head by bullets.

Bell, who was located on the acorn's chest, also showed a tense expression upon seeing this situation.

My buddy had just left the area under the jurisdiction of Cangxing City when he encountered highway robbers on the road. His luck shouldn't be that bad, right?

Fifteen meters ahead of Bell's cart was a road that had been dug up, and two logs that had been pushed up and needed to be put down manually, resembling a tollbooth.

Bell thought to himself, "This is a terrible road, not a highway, and you still dare to charge me?!"

Sure enough, without keeping Beldo waiting, a very imposing burly man emerged from the roadside, carrying a large knife on his shoulder, and slowly walked to the front of the ironwood cart.

Although he didn't know how many people these guys had tricked here, Bell wasn't going to let them get away with it. He directly used his mental power to speak to Acorn:

“Acorn, if this guy is going to try to take your money, just scare him so badly he peees his pants.”

Chapter 204 God's F***ing Official Organization

The burly man with the knife, who had been so arrogant, suddenly changed his expression with astonishing speed as he shoved his knife into the ground in front of the wooden cart.

"Sir, you don't look like someone who rarely travels the streets. I came here specifically to tell you that there's a road maintenance fee for using this road. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely don't have the guts to collect this money. It's a regulation in Huangtan City, and we working people have no choice but to comply..."

Acorn couldn't understand what the guy was saying, but he could sense that the guy didn't have an aggressive aura; on the contrary, he was extremely slippery.

This left Acorn, who was about to fire a shot at a large rock nearby in a show of defiance, stunned and momentarily at a loss.

Bell, located inside the acorn, was somewhat strained.

Because he knew that the man's rapid change of expression was specifically staged for him.

The roadblocks were set up by Huangtancheng, who lived far away, and were organized and operated by the government.

Bell thought to himself, "With your road in such a terrible state, you still have the nerve to charge me a toll? In Cangxing City, the paved roads are free for people to pass through. Compared to this, the difference between the two cities is immediately apparent."

However, this is one of the predicaments facing Huangtan City. It is a notoriously poor place, ranking last in the Seventeen Cities Alliance, with its average annual city income consistently ranking last or second to last.

Cities like Cangxing City, with relatively good surrounding resources, are not doing too badly. They are also good at attracting investment from outside. Residents' happiness is one of the projects that urban construction and management need to pay attention to.

However, Huangtan City was not so fortunate. The city was surrounded by only two low-level dangerous areas, and its resource output was extremely limited. In addition, it had to pay high taxes to the four upper cities. Every year, half of the city's resource output would end up in the pockets of the four upper cities.

As a result, the remaining resources are simply insufficient to support any powerful individuals, thus reducing many ways to generate revenue.

Not to mention, every year, highly skilled professionals choose to leave Huangtan City and head to the resource-rich eastern region to make a living.

Even highly skilled professionals need to make a living, and they consume more resources than those of less skilled professionals. If they stay in this resource-scarce place, they will see no hope of becoming stronger.

In an effort to generate revenue for the city, the administrators of Huangtan City have gone to great lengths. Charging tolls is just one of many fees they charge; there are all sorts of other strange and unusual ways to collect money within the city.

In this environment, the people are full of complaints, and violent coups to overthrow the authorities occur from time to time.

No matter how much a newly appointed ruler boasts before gaining power, he will soon return to a situation similar to that of the previous tyrants.

There are many reasons for this, such as the lure of profit, collusion between officials and businessmen, or the fact that those who seize power are not clean themselves.

However, the core pressure that leads to this problem has always stemmed from the huge taxes levied on the four cities. No matter whether the newly appointed authorities genuinely want to change the city, they always make a series of blunders when faced with the tax payments.

Years of management turnover have also transformed the development pattern here.

A complete and utter mess.

A city councilor proposed a ten-year agricultural development plan, intending to allocate city resources to agricultural professionals. However, before his plan could be fully implemented, the tax burden on the four upper cities had already led to a reshuffling of the city council.

Over the years, Huangtan City has seen its share of outstanding administrators who wanted to develop independently and break free from the constraints of the four upper cities.

However, these managers often step down faster than incompetent ones, and many die mysteriously or disappear without a trace.

It's quite possible that he was handling government affairs in the morning, and by the afternoon he was in a stinking ditch outside Huangtan City.

The reason for this situation is simple: no matter how much those outrageous guys who made stupid moves cheated their own people, and no matter how much they squeezed out of the ordinary people in Huangtan City, the taxes they paid to the four upper cities were always in full, and even more than the expected taxes.

They knew that by preparing lavish gifts for the arriving inspection team, they would try to cultivate relationships with high-ranking officials and dignitaries in the four cities.

Those who want to develop their careers can only pay the most basic taxes, so that the officials of the four cities won't bother them. But the nobles who have been receiving tributes for years and the inspection teams are not willing to do so.

With the support of the oversight group and prominent groups, the city council has been controlled by a few major families for many years, taking turns in power.

The complex web of interests and the long-standing chaotic environment made the residents of Huangtan City realize that leaving the area was the best option.

But if they can realize this, the administrators of Huangtan City must also realize that the direct impact of the population loss problem is the reduction of the city's resource output. With the reduction of resource output, they will face greater tax pressure from the four upper cities.

Within Huangtan City, the best solution to prevent population loss was not to offer generous treatment to talented individuals, but to cultivate a large number of official bandits outside the city and have these bandits capture and bring back the fleeing refugees.

This method is economical and practical. Although it cannot retain those high-level professionals, it can at least ensure that the basic productivity of the city can be maintained at a certain level.

The official bandits enjoyed much better treatment than the city's residents, and even better than their counterparts in the surrounding areas, giving them special privileges and binding their interests to Huangtan City.