Chapter Fifty-Six: Impossible to Finish, Absolutely Impossible!

After a thorough exploration, he found that although the residential area was small, it was complete in every aspect. He dismantled everything that could be dismantled and packed up what couldn't, taking away items like sofas, beds, mirrors, and other household goods. Water and food, however, were scarce. Even when he did find some, they were on the verge of spoiling. The most alarming discovery was that some opened bottles of water had turned black, likely affected by the red mist. This made Mu Chen worry about the food stored at the grain depot.

Lost in thought as Ivy carried him forward, he soon found himself at the entrance to the grain depot. Little Bone clicked and pointed at three headless corpses of juvenile mutants across from the main gate, leaving Mu Chen helpless. Clearly, it had a deep obsession with corpses.

After dismantling the three headless bodies, Ivy carried him into the grain depot. This was the first time he had truly entered it. The tall, original architecture made it obvious what was stored inside.

He didn’t rush in. Instead, he walked straight to the area near the corpses of the Ten Death Beasts and Biryuko, took out his workbench, and began his familiar routine.

“Obtained ‘Hand Bone of the Ten Death Beast’ x10.”
“Obtained ‘Evil Eyeball’ x6.”
“Obtained ‘Turbid Source’ x20.”
“Obtained...”

The joy he felt when he first dismantled things had grown into calm acceptance. He no longer counted the exact numbers—he knew that after this trip, even the word ‘wealthy’ could not describe him.

But the most crucial thing now was food!

Three towering grain storage buildings loomed nearby, making Mu Chen’s heart pound—if he brought it all back, it would last for ten years, maybe more...

“Ivy, let me down. I feel much better now.”

Ivy looked at him with suspicion as he stretched his body. Aside from slight dizziness and headache, he was much better than when he’d first been found.

They searched around the storage warehouse and soon found the main door. Though it was sturdier than the others, it only lasted three kicks under Ivy’s assault.

Inside, the air was thick with a rich aroma. A straight, wide corridor stretched ahead, flanked every ten meters by small, unlocked storage rooms—saving them a lot of trouble.

Entering the nearest warehouse, Mu Chen squinted at the stacks of grain bags on the shelves. There were at least several hundred bags.

“Obtained ‘Corn/25kg’ x1.”

“Obtained...”

Soon, all the grain in this room was packed into his backpack—a total of two hundred bags.

There were nearly twenty doors along the corridor, meaning twenty such storage rooms. After looting the first, Mu Chen and Ivy exchanged no words; Ivy was stunned.

In Ivy’s original world, she vaguely remembered food being extremely scarce. People saved and never wasted a scrap, yet famine was everywhere.

Now, she could hardly believe her eyes.

“These bags are food, right? Why is there so much? How long would it last?”

The sudden surge of happiness overwhelmed her, making it hard to process.

They entered the second warehouse—its contents mirrored the first, and Mu Chen’s backpack gained another two hundred bags.

They continued through each warehouse, until half an hour later, all the grain was packed away.

“Exactly four thousand bags.” His backpack’s storage section could hold up to two thousand of the same item, so the grain now occupied two slots. And this was just the first floor.

On the second floor, he collected another four thousand bags.

The third floor yielded fewer—only two thousand.

After exiting the storage warehouse, Ivy kicked open the next one, and the process repeated...

“Collect! Next room! Collect... Next room...”

At last, when Mu Chen and Ivy had filled every empty slot in their backpacks, Mu Chen thought of the trading post.

Listing items anonymously required an extra Turbid Source, but Mu Chen chose anonymity anyway.

A man’s reputation brings trouble; to foolishly display his name would invite nothing but envy.

He listed half the grain—two thousand bags per lot—at a nine-digit price in Turbid Source.

Once everything was settled, Mu Chen tallied the grain.

Thirty thousand bags—seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds, roughly six hundred stone—enough to feed the base’s residents for over a hundred years.

“It’s impossible to finish it all! Absolutely impossible!”

...

After the complete ransacking, there was no reason to stay at the depot; aside from a few machines, only piles of wooden items remained.

Eight hours had passed on this expedition, and his territory had suffered no accidents—an immense relief. The massive haul left him satisfied, and he yearned to return.

In summary, despite hardships, the outcome was good.

On the way back, Mu Chen examined some unfamiliar items in his backpack:

‘Evil Eyeball,’ ‘Rare Soul,’ ‘Strange Manual,’ ‘Hand Bone of the Ten Death Beast.’

Leaving aside most, he had long coveted the ‘Carrion Beast Recruitment Scroll,’ but had always lacked the ‘Hand Bone of the Ten Death Beast,’ delaying its creation.

Now, with all materials gathered, only production remained.

“A simple workbench—place the required materials, consume a bit of mental energy, and you can make the recruitment scroll. The process takes one minute; best do it somewhere quiet, or a failed attempt will cause the contained entity within you to revive.”

“This...”

“Failed production lowers sanity...”

Sanity, this hidden attribute, was wide-ranging; there might be many unknown dangers, giving Mu Chen pause.

‘Rare Soul’

“After use, 100% chance to promote a servant or ordinary recruit to ‘First Tier’ quality.”

Note: Only works on ordinary units.

“It allows your territory to gain a new champion with the ‘Expel’ skill, and most precious, this champion’s potential can now grow!”

Reading the properties, Mu Chen immediately thought of Sade. His loyal nature aside, Sade had never shirked a task since recruitment, and Mu Chen had promised him a reward.

He quietly decided the Rare Soul’s destination, then glanced at the other materials—only the ‘Evil Eyeball’ was special, used for a different recruitment scroll.

That scroll required many unfamiliar materials; the only ones he recognized were ‘Evil Flesh Bud’ and ‘Evil Eyeball.’

He packed all the materials away.

Regaining his composure, he found that he could already see his territory in the distance through the open landscape.