Chapter 10: Hope

Zhao Hai did not calm down until the sun had fully emerged from the horizon. Yes, this was the first sunrise he had seen in this other world. The magnificent landscape left him feeling refreshed and filled with high spirits, which was why he couldn't help but speak those words.

When Zhao Hai turned around, he discovered that Green and the others were standing at the foot of the city wall. Behind them stood the one hundred slaves. It was clear that these slaves had been carefully selected; there was an equal number of men and women, all of them strong and free of illness. They were now washed clean, and their clothes were tidy. However, the male slaves all bore a brand on their foreheads—a rampant, claw-wielding dragon. It was the emblem of the Buda family, designed based on the name of their ancestral battle qi.

As soon as Green saw that Zhao Hai had noticed them, he bowed to Zhao Hai and said in a loud voice, "Young Master, the glory of the Buda family will surely shine upon this entire land. Please, Young Master, give us your instructions." As soon as he finished speaking, the slaves behind him all knelt down in unison, bowing their heads to the ground. Not a single one dared to look up at Zhao Hai.

In his previous life, Zhao Hai was just an ordinary shut-in; he had never seen such a scene before. For a moment, he stood there stunned, at a loss for what to say.

After a while, his emotions slowly calmed down. Seeing that Green and the others were still bent over, he quickly said, "Grandpa Green, please rise. Everyone else, rise as well. We have arrived in such a place—a place where there is nothing. The land cannot be farmed, the mountains have no ore, and we only have this abandoned castle as our shelter. You people now share a common surname: Buda. Whether you are willing or not, you have already been branded with the mark of the Buda family. You are now people of the Buda family. If the Buda family exists, you have a reason to exist; if the Buda family disappears, you will also disappear. This is an unchangeable fact. Yes, we have nothing right now, but we have our hands. Everything in this world is created by human hands. Each of us has a pair of hands, so we will not starve. We will make our lives better. Most of you are slaves, and you might think that whether life is good or not has nothing to do with you, because no matter how good life gets, you are still slaves. But what I want to say today is this: as long as you work hard, as long as you can contribute to the Buda family, I can revoke your status as slaves and make you commoners. Your children will no longer be slaves; perhaps one day they can join the Buda family's army and become glorious warriors. If they perform well, they might become knights, or even nobles. I demand the best from you, and I will give you the best in return. As long as you work hard, I, Adam Buda, swear here by the honor of my family that I will fulfill the promise I make today!"

A slight commotion rippled through the slaves. It must be known that before these slaves were sold, they had undergone professional training. When their master was speaking, they were not allowed to move; even if they needed to pass gas, they had to hold it in. A commotion like this should not have happened.

But Zhao Hai's words were truly too shocking. On this continent, no noble had ever turned slaves into commoners. Once you became a slave, you were a slave for life, and your descendants would be slaves forever. This was unchangeable.

If Zhao Hai had just said these things empty-handed, the slaves would not have believed him. But Zhao Hai had sworn by the honor of the Buda family. One must know that nobles on the Ark Continent do not swear oaths lightly, and even if they do, they rarely use their family's honor, which is what all nobles value most. Once they swear by their family's honor, they will definitely fulfill it. In other words, everything Zhao Hai said was true!

What is a slave's greatest wish? It is to one day become a commoner, to regain their freedom, and to ensure their descendants no longer suffer the hardships of slavery. For this, many slaves had resisted; they rebelled and revolted, but they were quickly suppressed by the nobles because they were only slaves. They had no weapons, no armor, and no battle qi. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for them to defeat the heavily armed noble armies.

Now, Zhao Hai was telling them that they didn't need to revolt. As long as they worked hard and contributed to the Buda family, they could obtain the status of commoners. For these slaves, this felt like a dream.

Slaves were required to work hard because if they didn't and were caught, they would be executed, or at the very least, face the harshest punishments. So, no one dared to slack off. Now, someone was telling them that as long as they worked hard, he would give them what they wanted most. The impact of this was immense.

Green and the others were also stunned. They hadn't expected Zhao Hai to say such things. To be honest, Green didn't quite agree with Zhao Hai saying this, because slaves working hard was a given, and no noble on the continent would turn a slave into a commoner; there were too many implications involved.

But since Zhao Hai had already spoken, he couldn't refute him. He would have to wait until they returned to the inner castle to have a proper talk with Zhao Hai about the situation.

Glancing at the people below, Zhao Hai knew that having such a reaction was already good enough. From Adam's memories, he already knew the status of these slaves. It was precisely because he knew this that he used what they wanted most as bait.

Human creativity is infinite. As long as you give them hope, the energy they can unleash is unimaginable. And right now, this was exactly when Zhao Hai needed them to unleash that energy, which was why he did this.

Zhao Hai was quite satisfied with their reaction, so he continued, "You can use any method you like. As long as it brings benefits to the Buda family, or if you create something that improves our lives or is useful, you can take it to Steward Green. As long as I determine that what you have created is useful and good, I will record your merit. Once your merit reaches a certain level, you can become a commoner. Even if you can't do anything else, as long as you work hard and perform well, you can earn merit. Once that merit accumulates to a certain level, you can become a commoner, a member of our Buda family, a citizen of the Black Soil Territory."

The slaves were even more excited. They now practically viewed Zhao Hai as a god, because only a god could be so benevolent. A surge of spirit erupted from all the slaves, a presence so intense that it made Green, who stood before them with the strength of an eighth-rank warrior, feel a bit startled.

Green turned to look at the slaves and discovered that they seemed to have gained something new. Before, when he looked at these slaves, he always felt they were lifeless, like stones. But now, they looked like people; they had gained vitality and drive.

Green felt a shock in his heart. He suddenly understood Zhao Hai's approach. If the Buda family wanted to develop, relying on one hundred lifeless slaves would never work. But if they were one hundred people full of drive, it would be completely different. Green didn't know what one hundred driven people could achieve, but he knew exactly what one hundred slaves could do. Green let out a long breath, a genuine smile appearing on his face, along with a hint of determination. He believed that the opportunity for the Buda family to rise again was coming.

Zhao Hai also sensed the change in the slaves. He smiled slightly, knowing his words had taken effect, so he immediately said, "Good, go to work. First, arrange all these supplies; there will be new tasks for you tomorrow." The slaves responded and walked quickly toward the supplies. Their steps were much more powerful than before, and their entire beings were filled with drive.

Zhao Hai nodded with satisfaction, descended from the city wall, and walked slowly to Green's side. He said to Green, "Grandpa Green, let's go back. I have some things to ask you."

Green responded and led Merlin and the others, following behind Zhao Hai toward the inner castle. Watching Zhao Hai's back, Green knew that Zhao Hai had truly changed. He was no longer the young master Adam who only knew how to cause trouble. He was now the patriarch of the Buda family—a true patriarch.

The group soon arrived at the dining hall of the inner castle. After sitting down, Zhao Hai flipped his hand, and the half-radish he had left over appeared in his palm. He placed the radish on the table and said to Green, "Grandpa Green, look, what is this?"

Green didn't make a sound. Zhao Hai looked at Green curiously and found that Green was staring blankly at his hand. He also knew why Green had such an expression: it was because of the way he had just produced the radish.

On this continent, there was such a thing as space magic, but it was extremely difficult to learn and had very harsh requirements, so not many people studied it. Although there were spatial items that could be used to store things, opening those items required energy—whether magic or battle qi, as long as there was energy, they could be opened. But he, having drunk the Water of Nothingness, couldn't open such items even if he had them, let alone the fact that he didn't.

Zhao Hai smiled slightly and said, "Grandpa Green, look, what is this?"

Green finally snapped out of it and stood up excitedly, saying, "Young Master, just now? You just..."

Zhao Hai waved his hand and said, "It's nothing. That is an ability I obtained by chance. You just need to know about it; don't tell anyone else. Come and take a look at what this is."