Chapter 107: When in Doubt, Head to the Black Forest!

As everyone knows, when one’s thoughts hit a stalemate, there is an urgent need for something to shift one’s perspective and provide inspiration. This something could be a living creature, an object, or perhaps a landscape.

When Mo Fangyuan lacked inspiration, he enjoyed wandering into the Dark Forest, killing a few monsters, gathering experience, and collecting drops along the way. This was an excellent habit he had cultivated a year ago, and it had gradually solidified into a routine. Now, with the bonus from the Blade of the Empire, he no longer had anything to fear from monsters.

"Ah, nightfall. Wonderful, simply wonderful!" The glow of the sunset washed over his cheeks as he stood there, lost in thought. He had been feeling overwhelmed by matters of law and patriotic studies. With evening approaching, he decided to take this opportunity to clear his head in the Dark Forest.

"Nom, nom!" After swallowing a baked potato and a long strip of wheat bread to satisfy his hunger, Mo Fangyuan donned his iron armor and the bone crown—crafted specifically from the bones of a mutated drifter—and set off toward the outskirts of the Central Castle.

As the heart of the Block Kingdom, the Central Castle was directly connected to the industrial and agricultural zones. The southern gate led straight into the residential district. Since it was the end of the workday, people were returning home one after another, making the area quite lively.

"Wow! It's His Majesty the King!"

In his current attire, Mo Fangyuan stood out in the residential district like a pink sheep in a flock of white ones. Many residents immediately recognized their brave, majestic, wise, and benevolent King.

"It’s His Majesty!" A little girl jumped up, trying to see over the adults to catch a glimpse of her idol.

"It’s the King!"
"It’s real! The living King!"
"Holy cow! It’s His Majesty!"

The already bustling residential district erupted at Mo Fangyuan’s arrival. Upon hearing the news, the block-people swarmed around him, forming an impenetrable circle.

"Ah—this..." Mo Fangyuan was momentarily dazed by the intensity of his people.

"Greetings, fellow citizens!" Perhaps having experienced this many times before, he instinctively raised his hand, flashed a practiced, professional smile, and responded loudly to the crowd.

"Long live His Majesty!" The crowd surged, responding to his call with fervent passion.

"You have worked hard, fellow citizens!"
"We don't mind! It is for the glory of the Kingdom!"

The King was so concerned for them; how could they not contribute to the Kingdom's development? At his words, the onlookers became as excited as if they had been injected with adrenaline.

"Good! Very good! You are the pride of the Block Kingdom! You are all magnificent! Keep up the production and contribute your strength to the development of our nation!"

"The Block Kingdom belongs to you! The future belongs to you! Keep working hard... my fellow block-people!"

"Yes!"

Mo Fangyuan felt deeply moved. He had not expected that a whim to go for a walk would yield so many "most adorable people" who loved to work overtime.

"Well done! I will remember you all!" *I’ll definitely call on you for overtime in the future!*

Those who did not understand the true meaning behind his words continued to respond.

"What an honor it is to be remembered by His Majesty!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty! I will do my best!"
"I hope His Majesty remembers me too..."

He stood there for half an hour. It took a Herculean effort for him to finally squeeze out of the overly enthusiastic crowd.

"That was a bit too much enthusiasm..."

Mo Fangyuan still did not quite understand why their emotions were so heightened upon seeing him. Wiping away a non-existent bead of cold sweat, he left the residential district as quickly as he could.

"Build high walls, store plenty of grain." Influenced by traditional Chinese philosophy, Mo Fangyuan had a particular fondness for building defensive structures and stockpiling food. The warehouse in the plaza, filled with grain, was the best proof of his talent for "farming" in the Chinese tradition. And the majestic defensive line—a wall five blocks wide and seven blocks high, bristling with stone-throwing towers and archery turrets that completely encased the city—was his commitment to "building high walls." He was a man of authentic Chinese thought.

"Your Majesty!" Li Jianqiang, captain of the defense company, struck his chest with his right hand to show respect to their King.

After a year of skills training and six months of field drills, Mo Fangyuan deemed the Free-Man warriors capable of defending the Block Kingdom and assigned them to the walls to serve the safety of the realm.

"Open the gates!"
"Yes!"

The gates, made of solid iron blocks, were slowly pushed open by the concerted efforts of four Free-Man warriors. The fields and roads outside lay before Mo Fangyuan.

"Lads, work hard, hold your posts! Contribute to our homeland!" Before leaving, he didn't forget to give them one last boost of morale.

Torches were placed on wooden fences to dispel the darkness and guard the grain. With his night vision, Mo Fangyuan could see night watchmen patrolling the edges of the farmland in the distance. Since torches only lasted two to three hours before burning out, the watchmen’s tasks—besides killing monsters—included relighting the extinguished torches. With many torches and few watchmen, each person was responsible for a large area, making their workload quite heavy. Mo Fangyuan had no short-term solution for this; he would have to wait until he could enter the Nether to obtain netherrack or glowstone.

"Thank you for your dedication and contribution to the Block Kingdom. You will be rewarded!"

Stepping onto the stone path through the fields, Mo Fangyuan sped toward the Dark Forest. As he stepped outside the territory under the Block Kingdom’s direct control, he felt the restrictive force in his heart return, though it was noticeably weaker than before.

*【His Majesty went out for our safety! When I grow up, I will also protect our home!】*
*【His Majesty cannot stay in the Kingdom forever; he must save other fellow citizens!】*
*【There is a reason why His Majesty takes risks...】*

"So that's how it is..." He seemed to grasp a bit of the meaning behind the restrictive force. It might be related to the attitude the people who believed in him or followed him held toward his actions.

Mo Fangyuan made a mental note of this and continued toward the Dark Forest. The sky was obscured by clouds, wind, and snow, preventing the vast, infinite stars from twinkling; the entire block world was shrouded in darkness.

"Dark! It's damn dark!" Mo Fangyuan swung the Blade of the Empire, cutting down several monsters that had just spawned near him, and cursed at the sky.

Vegetation grew slowly in the winter, and the small "holes" Mo Fangyuan had carved into the Dark Forest yesterday showed no signs of healing. Encouraged by yesterday’s success, he decided to fill half his experience bar today. That would likely require several thousand common monsters or a few dozen elite ones.

"When in doubt, go to the Dark Forest!"
Troubled? Go to the Dark Forest and slay monsters!
Thoughts stuck in a stalemate? Go to the Dark Forest and slay monsters!
Going to the Dark Forest to slay monsters can solve all your worries! What are you waiting for? Let’s go to the Dark Forest and slay monsters together!

With that, Mo Fangyuan moved deeper into the Dark Forest.

It was already late at night, but the Ministry of the Interior remained busy. They had encountered a serious problem while pushing forward with national reforms: a shortage of personnel.

This was a problem they had faced when first establishing state institutions, but back then, there were fewer departments, and they could squeeze people from other industries to fill the gaps. Now, things were different. The Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Agriculture, and others totaled ten departments. The number of administrative branches had increased, but the number of talented individuals remained the same. The most obvious case was the [Department of Scientific Research], which, including the total number of records, only had three people.

"What are we to do?" They were at a loss; they had never experienced this before.

"Transfer some personnel from less critical departments, and notify His Majesty to see if we can find talented individuals in other industries!" Old Fu instructed the staff of the Ministry of the Interior with a stern expression.

"This matter is of great importance and must be resolved." Education had not yet taken off, and it was impossible to cultivate a large number of talents in a short time. They could only look to the common folk to find young people with talent to join their ranks.