My lord, spare his life!

"What are you all doing, making such a racket in public?"

Just as Zhang Yang was about to smash Shen Zhi away with a gold brick, a woman's voice came from not far away. The red-named guard bowed to the newcomer and leaned closer to quietly explain the reason. The woman's eyelashes fluttered, and she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye before nodding and whispering something.

Shen Zhi keenly noticed that Zhang Yang, who had just been about to kill, suddenly relaxed his grip. Although he didn't know why, he breathed a sigh of relief. If things escalated now, the two of them probably wouldn't even have a chance to escape.

The woman wore a light green long dress underneath a different colored round-necked coat with floral patterns. Her cheeks were puffy, giving her a somewhat plump appearance, but strangely, she looked unwell. She was also wearing the title "Mysterious Woman."

These were not the things Zhang Yang was most curious about.

What intrigued her was that the other person's name was green.

Yes, in this side quest map of her homestead where red-named and yellow-named NPCs roamed everywhere, this was the first time she'd encountered an NPC who was green-named from the start. The key point was that it was only the woman with the green name, but after she appeared, the previously red-named guards also mysteriously turned green. The green names were friendly, meaning Zhang Yang couldn't attack them without using special methods.

She simply put away the gold bricks.

The woman asked with a smile, "Are you Shen Sanlang?"

Zhang Yang glanced at Shen Zhi, then took a step back.

Shen Zhi pursed her lips and did not answer.

"You may deny it, but you look so much like your elder brother, it's hard for me to mistake you for someone else." After saying that, the woman ordered the guards, "Go, everyone. It's all a misunderstanding."

The guard looked troubled: "They've come down to question us..."

"If they hold me accountable, just say I took him away."

Upon hearing this, the guard clasped his hands in a gesture of respect and made way.

Shen Zhi was filled with doubts. He seemed to have no memory of this woman, and his elder brother had never mentioned her to him. He kept it to himself until they entered a private residence in the city, and the woman took off the coat draped over her shoulders, at which point he finally spoke.

"Do you know my older brother?"

"I was classmates with Shen Dalang for two years."

Zhang Yang didn't understand the significance of those words, but Shen Zhi did.

In this world, the threshold for education is incredibly high. Only those from aristocratic families can easily afford it, while it is extremely difficult for children from poor families or ordinary people to even consider studying. If a woman does not have extraordinary talent or a wealthy family background, she has no chance of studying alongside her brother.

"Sit down, were you frightened?"

The woman's friendly attitude made Shen Zhi feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Excuse me for asking, what's the situation with Tianbian?" Shen Zhi was even more curious about the woman in front of him, who claimed to have been his brother's classmate for two years. What was her identity? What camp did she belong to? What was her stance?

The woman said, "Guess?"

Shen Zhi: "..."

Seeing the faint hint of displeasure on the young man's face, the woman smiled and said, "Your reaction is just like your brother's. I was just teasing you. We took over the city of Tianbianzhi without much trouble, and everything was peaceful after we entered."

The scenario that Shen Zhi was worried about did not happen.

"So, you're in league with the rebels?"

The woman, displeased with the term, poured herself a cup of tea: "Young man, don't get so worked up. Tell me, what are rebels? What are royal troops? The royal family is tyrannical, the princes are incompetent, causing chaos and misery throughout the land..."

"No matter what, you are all traitors and rebels."

Shen Zhike doesn't fall for women's tricks.

He has his own standards of judgment.

"If you are not rebels but the royal army, then who are the ones who killed innocent people and claimed credit? Who are the ones who massacred the city? Who were the soldiers I saw on the road escorting over ten thousand prisoners and leaving hundreds of thousands of corpses behind? Stop spouting these high-sounding lies, and don't try to get close to me by mentioning my brother. What good intentions can a weasel have when it offers New Year's greetings to a chicken?"

The woman patiently waited for Shen Zhi to finish speaking before calmly saying, "In war, what city doesn't suffer a massacre? Besides, massacring a city isn't about killing people; the key is getting money. We're not some heartless, ruthless villain. Who would kill for pleasure? If you don't allow your soldiers to demand money, why would they risk their lives for you? Shen Sanlang, do you think your brother hasn't done similar things before?"

"My brother—"

"What about your brother?" The woman rested her chin on her hand, watching with interest as Shen Zhi's face flushed and paled in turns. "So you're speechless now, aren't you? Isn't this always how it is in war?"

"But is it right to always do things this way?"

These words were not asked by Shen Zhiwen, but by Zhang Yang.

"May I ask your name, young friend?"

The woman focused her attention on the person speaking.

Before Zhang Yang spoke, the woman's impression of her was limited to her being Shen Zhi's female companion, and most likely, he had rescued her along the way.

But as soon as she opened her mouth, the woman changed her mind.

"Zhang Yang, Zhang Boyuan."

"Young friend Boyuan, why do you say that?"

"Plundering civilians for so-called military supplies and rewards is foolish and short-sighted. How much can you squeeze out of a group of poor people who are struggling to put food on the table? If you can't force them to give anything, you kill them. The more you kill, the more people are killed, and the fewer people are left alive. But will you get more and more money? I don't think so. I think calling them a 'mob' is not wrong."

Zhang Yang's casual words sent a chill down Shen Zhi's spine. He kept glancing at the woman's face, fearing she might suddenly lash out. However, to his surprise, the woman didn't get angry. Instead, she smiled and asked Zhang Yang if he had a solution.

Anyone can spout a few words about the great sage's teachings, but just talking about them without providing a substantial solution is just empty talk. She thought Zhang Yang wouldn't be able to offer any concrete solutions, but instead, he dropped a bombshell.

"Of course, we should ask the group with the fewest members but the most money for money. It's efficient, profitable, and doesn't take much effort."

Zhang Yang suspected that the planners hadn't added intelligence to their backend data.

Can't you even think of such a simple solution?

Asking money from ten thousand poor people who only have a hundred dollars in their pockets will only net you a million dollars, but asking money from a hundred rich people with hundreds of millions in their pockets will make you rich. What if they refuse to give? What should you do with the poor? What should you do with them?

"If you can squeeze money out of people with no money, you can definitely squeeze even more money out of people with money. Can't you even think of that?" Zhang Yang looked at him as if he were an idiot.

Shen Zhi isn't smart, and neither are the green-named NPCs.

The woman's lips twitched: "You really dare to think that way..."

"Give me the conditions, and I'll do it."

In fact, Zhang Yang has already done something similar.

This brings us to the terrifying inflation among players.

These human players each carried hundreds of millions of Alliance coins in their pockets. A simple egg pancake cost at least 50,000, and items that could boost stats cost millions or even tens of millions. If their equipment was severely damaged, repairs could easily cost 70 or 80 million. A significant portion of the money Zhang Yang used to buy his homestead was robbed from other players.

If the robbery is successful, the player will drop 10,000 Alliance Coins upon death.

A player can only be robbed ten times a day.

You can rob a maximum of ten players a day.

Homestead title, 888,888.8 billion!

Zhang Yang goes out to rob people the moment he opens his eyes every day.