Chapter 57: Frenzied Construction
... The servants, carrying guns on their backs, continued gathering materials as before. Only Number One and Saad remained vigilant, patrolling the area with weapons in hand, alert to their surroundings.
From the moment they had entered the territory, Saad had already spotted them. At the same time, Number One had dashed toward the small building at the base, clearly rushing to report to Mu Jiu’er.
“Whew…”
Mu Chen let out a long breath. Though this exploration had lasted only about nine hours, it gave him the strange feeling of having been away for days.
A few minutes later, Mu Chen and his companion returned to the base entrance with Little Bone in tow. The nearby servants greeted him with respectful bows upon seeing him return. Mu Jiu’er said nothing, but strode forward and threw herself into his arms.
“Brother…”
At this moment, only the sound of Mu Jiu’er’s quiet sobs could be heard. She held him tightly, savoring the warmth of their reunion as siblings.
“What’s gotten into this girl today…” Mu Chen was a little at a loss from the sudden embrace. Glancing at the bewildered faces all around, he could only offer a gentle smile and nod, signaling for the servants to continue their gathering.
It was quite a while before Mu Jiu’er finally released him, and the group slowly entered the base to begin unpacking their bags.
...
Clearly, after a long period of gathering and exploring, the fifty slots in the [Damaged Storage Chest] were now barely enough. Other than food, the three of them shuffled items around in their packs, but could only just manage to make everything fit.
Mu Chen sorted through the primary resources:
[Wood*3450]
[Stone*9755]
[Iron Ore*140]
[Hemp*1870]
[Copper Ore*71]
[Mithril*28]
[Gold Ore*31]
[Refined Iron Ore*59]
[Source of Turbidity*176]
[Resentment Crystals*108]
[Dark Matter Souls*87]
[Twisted Bones*145]
[Superior Bones*17]
[Nightmare Tiger Meat*22]
[Tough Tiger Hide*9]
[Lord Hiryuko’s Bones*19]
[Demon Hiryuko’s Bones*74]
[Hardened Limb Segments*8]
This trip had truly been a fruitful one, and with the territory’s own constant collection efforts, the base’s resources had taken a qualitative leap forward. And this was only the material inventory, not counting the food stored in the trading post.
“Sister Ivy, your clothes…”
He winked at Ivy, who, realizing her state, blushed deeply. Her once-white long dress was now caked with mud and torn in several places, though even the grime could not conceal her fair skin. After a brief greeting to Mu Chen, Ivy hurried upstairs, her face still flushed.
“Tsk…”
Whatever Mu Chen and his companion had been through, Mu Jiu’er was simply overjoyed that they had returned safe and sound. She turned her attention to Little Bone.
“Brother, is this little skeleton a new pet?”
She circled around Little Bone a few times, occasionally poking at its body.
“Little Bone…”
“Its name is Little Bone, a mutant species. You can try communicating with it.”
Mu Chen glanced at Little Bone, who obligingly made a clicking sound in response.
“…”
“It can understand us?!”
Mu Chen nodded indulgently, then shifted his gaze away from Mu Jiu’er, who was still playing with Little Bone, and opened the [Building List].
[Level 1 Mysterious Watchtower: Wood*100, Stone*50, Twisted Bones*10, Source of Turbidity*8, Mithril*5]
[Blacksmith: Stone*500, Iron Ingots*200, Wood*100, Hemp Rope*100]
[Level 1 Well: Stone*100, Wood*50, Hemp*20, Source of Turbidity*5]
[Level 1 Workshop: Stone*300, Iron Ingots*50, Wood*500, Hemp Rope*100]
[Shabby Trading Post: Stone*300, Wood*200, Hemp*50, Source of Turbidity*10]
Mu Chen pondered the materials required for the buildings. Ten wells, a workshop, a blacksmith, and a simple trading post—even if all these were constructed, they would only consume about half the available resources.
He finally decided: after building these, he would add a training room, and use all remaining materials to construct as many Mysterious Watchtowers as possible.
Previously, he’d lacked enough Source of Turbidity for the watchtower, and so it remained unbuilt when he left. Now the resources were sufficient—it was time to do it all at once!
...
Within the territory, the water supply area already had twelve Level 1 wells. Now, he placed the projections for another ten wells.
[Level 1 Well]
[Quality: Common Building]
[Area: 1 sqm]
[Structural Integrity: 100]
[Water Capacity Limit: 20L]
[Production: 200ml per hour]
With twenty-two Level 1 wells, daily output would be about 105 liters. With Ivy purifying the water each day, they would no longer need to worry about shortages.
However, with so many wells, collecting water each day would become a chore—he’d likely need to assign someone specifically to the task.
Leaving the water area, he placed the [Level 1 Workshop] and [Shabby Trading Post] not far from the base building, less than a hundred meters apart, which would be convenient in the future.
As for the [Level 1 Blacksmith] and [Level 1 Training Room], he set them at the center of the territory.
...
He glanced at the remaining resources in his pack—126 units of Source of Turbidity were left.
He opened [Construction] and selected the [Level 1 Mysterious Watchtower]. A towering projection fifteen meters high appeared. Mu Chen moved it near the eastern mining site and set it down.
“A range of only a hundred meters—still a bit close…” he muttered to himself.
After some thought, he decided to place a watchtower every two hundred meters between the mining site and the base.
When five [Level 1 Mysterious Watchtowers] were placed, he exited construction mode—not because he didn’t want to build more, but because he’d run out of mithril.
“After this, even if monsters invade, at least the servants gathering resources will be much safer.”
Mu Chen looked over at the servants busy collecting materials. Now, with enough resources, all that remained was for the servants to begin building.
...