I became the King of Ryukyu

Zheng Yi waited for another two hours to confirm that the cleaner had indeed left.

He crossed his arms and slowly walked to the body of Master Bailing. Looking at the pitiful and lamentable old monk, he gently shook his head.

"A heart full of unwavering devotion, ultimately misplaced to wolves..."

As soon as he finished speaking, a pitch-black card slowly rotated on the corpse before disappearing.

[Resurrection Card: A one-time use item that allows you to resurrect one person within 7 days of their death. Players can choose to use it immediately after death.]

A faint light suddenly enveloped the entire riverbank, and the soft white light instantly enveloped Bai Ling Shangren's body.

The fatal gunshot wound healed rapidly, the bullet casings ejected from the skin, the shattered internal organs were rebuilt, the stopped heartbeat started again, and even the sphincter muscles that could no longer hold were completely repaired!

The person who had just died was forcibly pulled back from the road to the underworld and given a body that was still strong and vigorous!

Master Bailing suddenly exhaled a breath of turbid air, opened his eyes abruptly, and stared blankly at the "Monk Shouzhen" in front of him, not yet realizing why he had been brought back to life.

However, he already knew that the man in front of him was not the real Shouzhen, but Fukuzumi Takeshi's grandson, or rather, the Zheng family's son.

Squatting down, Zheng Yi looked into his cloudy and confused eyes, and slowly spoke, each word clear and striking straight to the heart:

"You have always wanted to save Ryukyu, drive away foreign enemies, and give the people of this land a way to survive."

"You despise cowardly obedience and abhor the bullying of the powerful, so you are willing to bear a bad reputation, feed the demon with your body, and seek the tiger's skin, even if you are cursed for all eternity, you are willing to take this chance."

"But you've got one thing wrong from the very beginning."

"Redemption obtained through Japanese pirates, conspiracies, and evil reformation is nothing but a mirage and a recipe for self-destruction."

"Those who cling to evil will ultimately be devoured by evil; those who seek help from wolves will surely be swallowed by wolves."

"The suffering of Ryukyu has never been ended by compromise, by going astray, or by extreme sacrifices."

"The future of the Ryukyu people has always depended solely on the Ryukyu people, and there is only one sun in our sky—that is the master of the East since ancient times, loyalty!"

In the alternation of life and death, Bai Ling's decades of obsession, darkness, despair, and self-indulgent tragic heroism completely collapsed and were reshaped at this moment.

He stared blankly at Zheng Yi, all the madness, resentment, and ferocity in his eyes fading away, leaving only utter realization and regret.

"Are you willing to work for me?" Zheng Yi asked.

"This old monk is already very old, what can I still do!" Master Bailing sighed.

"Haha, seventy-something is the perfect age to take risks!"

[Spend 40 Action Points to recruit the talent, Master Bai Ling]

[Success rate 100%]

A pale blue light screen reappeared before my eyes.

Yes.

【Name: Master Bai Ling, Level 1】

【Intelligence: 65】

[Strength: 57]

[Politics: 68]

Commander-in-Chief: 60

【Charm: 50】

Loyalty: 100

[Position: Inspector of the Warehouse]

[Monthly salary: 350000 yen]

A pale blue, semi-transparent panel floated in his field of vision. Zheng Yi's gaze swept across the list, looking at the three IDs "Little White Dragon," "Pig Wuneng," and "Sha Wujing" arranged in order. He couldn't help but laugh at himself when he thought about how he was dressed in a monk's robe and holding a tin staff.

Good heavens, without realizing it, we've actually assembled most of the Journey to the West pilgrimage team.

All that's missing is the return of the Monkey King!

Zheng Yi thought to himself with a smug satisfaction.

However, the moment his gaze slid down to the "Salary" section, his smile froze, and his right eyelid began to twitch wildly...

Wait a minute? Isn't this monk's salary a bit excessive?

So all that effort I put into recruiting them wasn't for combat power, but for a mobile money-shredding machine?

Could it be... that we've suffered a huge loss?

Just as Zheng Yi was fretting about whether hiring a high-paid employee would bankrupt him, a new system notification started ringing out.

You have a new email. Please check it.

Zheng Yi clicked on it casually.

[Congratulations to the player for successfully recruiting the local daimyo, Master Bai Ling, and receiving a massive experience reward!]

When news of the great victory at Bian Mountain reached the capital, Emperor Chongzhen, Zhu Youjian, was overjoyed. He publicly rebuked Yuan Chonghuan for his incompetence and praised Zheng Aiqing as a pillar of the nation.

[The investiture order has been issued: Zheng Yi, the local commander, is hereby promoted to Commander-in-Chief of Dongjiang Town, effective immediately.]

[Item Obtained: General's Seal for Conquering the Barbarians x1]

[Gained Permissions: Full Management Rights to One Nameless Island]

[Island Description (Can be named): A dagger planted deep in the heart of the Later Jin territory, an unsinkable aircraft carrier at sea, a player-exclusive mobile fortress. Explore more gameplay features on your own.]

[Ding! Emperor Chongzhen's rewards have all been sent to your account!]

A golden reward effect suddenly exploded on the panel, making Zheng Yi subconsciously squint.

At first, he even complained that Emperor Chongzhen was stingy.

Because the position of Commander-in-Chief is merely a post with no official rank, theoretically anyone could hold it, but in reality only high-ranking officials of the first or second rank could concurrently hold it.

The problem is that Emperor Chongzhen didn't promote him, so the "Nobility" section on the game panel still shows him as a local military commander and a sorcerer apprentice.

You can hear the reward that follows...

He stared at the lone island icon in the fiefdom section, swiftly retracting all his previous personal attacks about "Emperor Chongzhen being stingy to the core," and even mentally bowed to him in the blink of an eye.

My vision was too narrow! Your Majesty, I'm sorry!

"I retract my previous statement! Your Majesty the Great Chongzhen, you are like a second parent to me!"

"I think I shouldn't even keep the surname Zheng anymore. Let's just have the imperial surname Zhu instead! The Zheng family has a tradition of doing this!"

On the map, a bright yellow dot stood out conspicuously, several levels brighter than the grayish-white dots representing the surrounding figures. Zheng Yi swiped his finger twice in the [Family] field and typed in the new name without hesitation—

Shadow Isles.

Speaking of which, this was the name of the server he played on in his previous life when he loved playing Yasuo, so it can be considered a nostalgic tribute in a certain sense.

After choosing a name, my consciousness sank into the map according to the system permissions, directly activating the God's-eye view.

The entire Shadow Isles are laid out before you.

It's actually not that big, only about 700 acres, roughly the size of 70 football fields put together. A slow jog around the island would take a little over an hour. Compared to Kumejima, it's definitely a "miniature figure".

But despite its small size, it has everything: low hills are scattered about, clear streams flow down the mountain streams, a bright lake is nestled in the valley, the island is covered with lush vegetation, and birds flutter their wings and shuttle through the forest. Except for the lack of large animals, it is a natural seaside paradise.

What pleased Zheng Yi the most was the thick fog barrier surrounding the entire island—it was no different from having a fully upgraded invisibility buff.

According to the description on the fiefdom interface, this island belongs to the player's directly controlled Crown Territory, and the player has the highest management authority.

Not to mention that satellite radar can't detect it, even if fishing boats sail close to the edge of the island, they will only think they have encountered a mirage and will not be able to touch a single reef.

Zheng Yi tried to think about it and silently said, "Move the island 3 centimeters to the left."

The small island on the sea did indeed shift its direction almost imperceptibly, and even more absurdly, because of the fog barrier, the sea surface didn't even ripple.