Qin Lan began to investigate the situation of his village on the outskirts of the city.

On the outskirts of the town are patches of farmland.

At this time, the crops are approaching maturity, and they are full of vitality and magnificence.

But......

When Qin Lan put his consciousness in the village, his face suddenly sank.

There are three villages under the jurisdiction of the suburbs.

Three villages, each with about 200 households, depend on the land outside the city for their livelihood.

But at this moment, no matter which village it is, the people inside are all yellow-skinned and malnourished.

The children were skinny and skinny, and none of the adults were strong, with wicker-like muscles sticking to the bones...... This is especially true of the old man, whose eye sockets are deep-set, and there is no sparkle in his hollow eyes.

There are large fields of rich land outside the village, but the people in the village still look like this.

Qin Lan immediately began to investigate the condition of the crops in the field.

As a god-level alchemist, he already knew the composition of various crops well.

His consciousness swept over the wheat, and after a brief analysis, the structure of the wheat instantly appeared in his mind. At the same time, the data of this wheat are naturally deduced.

"There is no problem with the condition of the land. After all, it is the land of wood spirits, and even if the wood spirits are taken away, the wood spirits have nourished the land for millions of years, causing the soil of the land of wood spirits to be more nutritious than the soil in other places. ”

"The condition of the wheat ......"

Qin Lan carefully investigated the situation of other crops.

With the investigation, Qin Lan's brows furrowed.

"Why are these seeds of such poor quality?"

According to Qin Lan's inference, with the yield of these crops, let alone having enough to eat, it can only ensure the most basic rations.

But looking at the miserable situation of the people in the village, there is more than the most basic food rations...... Even surviving has become a problem.

There should be another reason.

Qin Lan's eyes flashed with murderous intent.

No wonder, even if he woke up and accumulated soul power for so long, it was still only the size of a fist.

The most basic food and clothing for the residents of the city cannot be guaranteed, let alone any development.

Suddenly, Qin Lan was stunned, as if she had sensed something.

The corners of Qin Lan's mouth outlined a subtle arc.

"I want to see who is in my city. ”

Qin Lan's consciousness quickly returned to the city.

At this time, in the middle of the city.

A large crowd gathers here.

Some of them are the heads of the villages outside the city, and some of them are the residents of the city.

But now, without exception, they were carrying a large bag on their shoulders, and their rough hands were clutching the mouth of the bag, looking at a few people on the high platform in front of them.

There was a high platform with a bell not far away, and several middle-aged men casually looked at the civilians below, and after no one joined the crowd again, these people nodded with satisfaction.

"Not bad, not bad. You're all here, aren't you?"

One of the men with a mustache said with a smile.

There was silence below.

A sturdy man at the front couldn't help but speak: "Master Jiang, what is the matter with you asking everyone to bring the surplus grain and silver money from the family this time?

The people all looked ahead with trepidation, and the sturdy men spoke their minds.

"Yes, you have paid all the taxes. ”

The man, Jiang Yu, the head of the Jiang family, seemed to be a little dissatisfied with the man's question. But he had to explain anyway, so he simply began to explain: "My Jiang family spy sent back the news that in the jungle ten miles away, a large number of crystal beasts gathered and eyed my Yuan City. ”

"It is estimated that within ten days, they will come en masse. ”

"This increase in taxes, grain and money is the result of discussions between our two families. ”

"Right, Wei family master?"

Jiang Yu turned his head and looked at the short and fat man next to him.

The short and fat man is Wei Wen, the head of the Wei family, another family of Yuan Cheng, touched his beard with a smile at this time, and nodded: "That's right, this time the crystal beast group is menacing, and I, Jiang and Wei, must gather all the resources in the city and purchase materials to fight against the crystal beast tide." ”

"But......" the sturdy man wanted to say something.

"But what is it?" Wei Wen said impatiently, "It is a matter of course to defend Yuancheng and dedicate your strength. When the crystal beast comes, the first to be attacked is you. Now that our two families are contributing to the efforts of the people, they have sacrificed their lives to form a beast hunting team to fight against the crystal beasts, and you still don't know what to do?"

"Hurry up and hand over the money and food, don't hinder us from resisting the crystal beast herd!"

"Master Wei, it's not that we don't want to hand over the money and grain. The sturdy man said with a bitter face, "Resisting the crystal beast, although it is also a big deal. But once the money and grain are handed over, every household in our Yuan City will no longer have half a penny of surplus grain before the grain harvest. Even if we succeed in defending against the crystal beasts, the survival of all of us will become a problem......

"Moreover, I just collected a silver tax some time ago, and the money from that silver tax should be enough to resist this crystal beast. ”

"That's right. ”

"That's it, Master Jiang......"

The public also complained.

Jiang Yu's face sank: "You mean, we shouldn't collect taxes this time?"

The sturdy man kept his fists clenched and did not move: "It's not that it shouldn't be collected, it's just that the silver tax last time ......"

"Stupid!" Wei Wen scolded, "That silver tax is just the necessary funds for us to manage Yuan City. What do you fools know?"

"However, I heard that the money from the silver tax was used to buy the pearl of the city that never sleeps......"

"Nonsense!"

Jiang Yu said angrily.

At the same time, an arrow was fired from behind the platform.

The sturdy man couldn't dodge, and with a scream, the arrow went straight into his abdomen. The arrow pierced straight out of his back, bleeding profusely.

"Hmph, Liu Yunding is rebellious and misleading. Arrest immediately, and three days later, sentence to death!" Jiang Yu snorted coldly.

The people below were suddenly frightened and did not dare to speak out again.

Some timid people are even so scared that their bodies tremble.

"Hmph. ”

Seeing that the people finally shut up, Jiang Yu and Wei Wen were suddenly a little proud.

"You quickly hand over the money and food, and then continue to talk nonsense, Liu Yunding, this is your fate. A man in armor stepped forward and said indifferently.

Liu Yunding, who spoke for them, was seriously injured by arrows, and the others didn't dare to stand up and speak.

Under the full of resentment, he could only line up and hand over the money and food in his hands......

After half a ring, the crowd dispersed.

Qin Lan followed the departing Jiang and Wei families, and they came all the way to the Jiang family.

In the hall, Qin Lan's consciousness hovered in mid-air, and the important figures of the Jiang and Wei families sat down together.

The moment they sat down, Jiang Yu and Wei Wen glanced at each other and laughed heartily.

"Hahahaha, what a bunch of idiots!"

"Master Jiang, are you sure that this time, you have completely emptied the homes of these fools?" Wei Wen said with a smile.

"Rest assured, this is the last vestige of their value. Jiang Yu's eyes flashed with a treacherous light, "These fools are really a bunch of fools. Crystal Beast Tide?Hmph, this batch of Crystal Beast Tide, even if we go bankrupt to form a crusade team, we can't resist it. Desperate for these idiots?"

"Hehe, it doesn't matter. When the tide of crystal beasts comes, these untouchables will probably be killed by all the angry crystal beasts. Wei Wen smiled and stroked his beard.

"Your Wei family is ready, right?" Jiang Yu said.

"Most of them are ready, and it only takes three days to be fully prepared. Wei Wen smiled evilly, "With so many years of accumulation, the two of us will definitely be able to enter a small city in the Divine Tree District!"

"Haha, this place where birds don't, I'm tired of it for a long time!"

......

Halfway through hearing this, Qin Lan's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot and withdrew from the Jiang family.

Many of the people outside were slumped on the ground.

The Crystal Beast is one of the most terrifying disasters in this world, and many cities have been wiped out by the boundless tide of Crystal Beasts.

But.

The crystal beast tide is terrifying.

But even if you succeed in resisting it, what can you do?

All the money and food in the family were taken away by Jiang Wei and the two families, and even if they resisted the tide of crystal beasts, they would be starved to death due to lack of food.

All their family businesses and the land they live on are in Yuancheng.

Even if you leave, you will die in a different place because of poverty.

They talked to each other, and they could only hope that after successfully resisting the tide of crystal beasts, the Jiang Wei family would be kind, and some of the money and grain they had collected these days would be returned.

They feel that the Jiang Wei family, no matter how poor they are, are also the managers here, and they will not watch them starve to death in vain and ignore them.

Qin Lan sighed, as everyone knows, these two families have already abandoned this city, and are ready to run away with the money they have looted and exploited over the years.

The land they live on is here, and they can't go. But for the two families, this Yuan City is just a tool to facilitate their wealth.

Everyone's hope is just an unattainable luxury......

A monstrous anger rose in Qin Lan's heart.

"Jiang family, Wei family......"

Fortunately, Qin Lan has woken up now. A little later, Yuancheng will become a dead city with no people.

Now that he has awakened, he cannot let these two families run rampant in his city.

"It's been rampant for so many years, it's time for you to pay the price. ”