Major Infrastructure Push

The plans for the Secret Realm for the coming period had been finalized.

Qi Ji intended to further develop the territory.

At present.

Remaining resources:

Mental Strength: 597.

Material Essence: 751.

Soul Crystals: 784.

After careful consideration.

Qi Ji built five basic structures in succession.

Watchtower, 50 Soul Crystals, Adventurer Capacity +0.

Warehouse, 50 Soul Crystals, Adventurer Capacity +10.

City Wall, 100 Soul Crystals, Adventurer Capacity +0.

Mercenary House, 200 Soul Crystals, Adventurer Capacity +25.

Soldier's House, 200 Soul Crystals, Adventurer Capacity +25.

Defensive and war-related facilities such as watchtowers, arrow towers, and city walls did not increase Adventurer Capacity. Their sole purpose was to protect the territory.

The instant Qi Ji confirmed the construction of the city wall, the earthen walls around the area weathered and disintegrated under an unseen force, replaced by a sturdier ring of stone walls. Miracle City's length and width expanded to six or seven hundred meters.

The watchtower's function was quite useful.

It could detect the aura of Dark Races within a two-kilometer radius.

However, there was no need to build such an early-warning structure in Miracle City.

After all, Miracle City could not currently be breached. It was better placed at Red Rock Mountain Camp.

This place was effectively the front line against Gloomy City.

Qi Ji estimated that the Dark Goblins would definitely make a move within the next day or two. As long as Dark Races appeared nearby, he would be alerted immediately and take countermeasures.

This time, he had also added a Warehouse, a Mercenary House, and a Soldier's House.

As its name implied, the Warehouse.

Was a place for storing and withdrawing goods.

It could store and retrieve not only supplies, but also Soul Essences.

A First Order Warehouse could store up to 500 cubic meters of supplies and 1,000 Soul Essences, while extending the shelf life of all items by 50%.

It was a component of logistics infrastructure. All Territory Warehouses could connect with each other, and supplies could be deposited or withdrawn from any Warehouse. Once there were more of them in the future, they could form a territorial logistics network, making it an extremely practical infrastructure facility.

As for why Miracle City already had a Mercenary House.

Why build another one?

A First Order Mercenary House only added thirty Temporary Worker slots.

The assault on Red Rock Mountain Camp alone had mobilized twenty-seven Mercenaries!

If they launched a larger-scale operation, that number would clearly be insufficient, so they had to prepare in advance.

All the basic facilities that came with the Dungeon Core could be built without blueprints. Aside from the relatively special Secret Realm Crystal, other facilities had no hard construction limit, though they did have extremely harsh hidden conditions.

Among them, functional facilities.

Had no quantity limit, but their cost increased.

And each additional one cost 100% more than the previous one.

Miracle City's first Mercenary House had cost only 100 Soul Crystals, but the second cost 200. Future upgrades for the latter would also consume twice as much, so the costs would become very high.

Therefore, in theory.

There was no limit to the number.

But in actual practice, cost-effectiveness had to be considered.

Some mature territories might have built more than a dozen Mercenary Houses, but they usually distinguished between primary and secondary facilities, focusing upgrades only on the main ones.

Lastly, there was the Soldier's House!

This was not for ordinary Adventurers.

It was a barracks built for Contract Adventurers and Exclusive Adventurers.

These Adventurers, deeply bound to the Dungeon, were part of the territory's regular forces.

Unlike Temporary Workers, they could make better use of Territory Power, and the Soldier's House could transform them into city troop types.

There was no limit to their number.

No Soul Essence was required.

And it was completely free.

There would be as much combat power generated each day as there were Contract Adventurers.

The Soldier's House could also provide revival attempts. A First Order Soldier's House could revive people up to ten times per day. Even if an Adventurer's transformed combat unit died, they could consume a certain amount of resources to revive from the Soldier's House once more.

With these facilities.

Miracle City's functions were not only improved.

Its Adventurer Capacity had increased further as well.

The Adventurer Inn and several major basic facilities increased its population capacity by 100 plus 60.

Before this, Miracle City's total reception capacity had only been 160 people. This round of construction had effectively doubled it to 320!

Another 100 Soul Crystals were spent.

The number of Secret Realm Crystals increased from twenty to forty.

This construction had consumed a great deal. Only 84 Soul Crystals remained, and the financial situation had become severely strained.

"Very good! Very good!"

Qi Ji swept his gaze over the territory. It had been less than eight days since the city was built and only five days since operations began, yet it had already accumulated a considerable foundation.

Among new lords, unless they were second-generation heirs born into top families whose lord factions came with abundant resources, no one could possibly compare to Miracle City!

Of course.

Even those with backing.

Could bring no more than a large number of Soul Crystals.

Resources like Mental Strength could not be traded.

Whether a Dungeon succeeded or not ultimately depended on one's own talent and aptitude for inspiration.

Qi Ji was full of confidence in Miracle City. Becoming the greatest Dungeon Lord had always been his dream, and he would continue advancing toward that goal without pause!

Buildings rose from the ground one after another.

Leaving the two residents living in the city utterly astonished.

Gnome Boy Arno said admiringly, "Is this the mighty power of a Dungeon Lord? I'd heard Grandpa mention it before, but seeing it with my own eyes is still truly shocking!"

Nan Xi Li Ya murmured, "Our lord is definitely no ordinary lord!"

This was a poor lord with no background or faction support, who had started with nothing but the clothes on his back... Yet through his own talent and hard work, he had developed the Dungeon to this extent in just a few days!

Unbelievable!

Perhaps this territory.

Was the hope she had been searching for!

The light in her bright eyes grew ever more radiant.

Nan Xi Li Ya decided to settle down and observe Miracle City further.

More than anyone else, she hoped to see this lord of humble origins rise to success. She hoped this tiny Miracle City could rise to prominence, because it might become the only hope of defeating the Eternal Night Dragon King!

The next day.

Early in the morning.

Upon entering Miracle City.

Black Stone Hammer King was immediately Stunned by the sight before him.

"What's going on?"

"Why are there so many people?"

"There are at least twice as many as yesterday!"

A dense sea of heads surged before Miracle City's gates. By rough estimate, there were nearly three hundred people, almost double yesterday's number.

"Lord Qi is amazing!"

"We only complained yesterday that his territory was too small, and today its scale has nearly doubled!"

"I told you Lord Qi had enormous potential. He would definitely develop at a Beyond Imagination pace!"

"Great!"

"As expected of the Dungeon I chose!"

"With such a development speed, I'm even more reassured about Miracle City!"

"..."

Miracle City officially opened.

Adventurers rushed toward the hall at the speed of a hundred-meter sprint, once again immersing themselves in the Secret Realm world. Those who failed to secure an early entry mostly stood around watching, while a small number wandered through the city to understand the Dungeon's new changes.

Pig King said, "Holy shit! An inn!"

Cat MeowMeow said, "Lord Qi really knows what he's doing!"

The Adventurer Inn looked very plain: a two-story stone building resembling a courtyard house, with a courtyard in the center and fifty rooms in total.

The inn could provide lodging services.

Without returning to the surface, Adventurers could recover their energy and spiritual power.

Not only did this make it easier to participate in Dungeon activities, but they would no longer have to worry about lining up to enter the city the next day.

"Dear Adventurer, welcome to the inn. Would you like to check in?"

Boss Qi had arranged for Arno to receive guests at the inn's front desk.

Wool Warrior asked, "How much for one night?"

The Gnome Boy said, "Our prices fluctuate daily. At present, we offer three payment methods: Soul Crystals, Soul Essence, or Contribution Points."

After saying that.

He displayed the price list.

One night cost 5 Contribution Points.

Or any one Soul Essence material, or 10 Soul Crystals.

Soul Crystals and Soul Essence materials were hard currency on the surface. This option was prepared for rich people; ordinary people would not even consider it.

Pig King said, "Five Contribution Points a day? It's a little expensive, but to make sure we can enter the city every day, bidding for a spot in line sometimes costs this much anyway, so it's still acceptable!"

Wool Warrior nodded. "Miracle City is getting more and more popular. The price of lining up will only rise in the future!"

"Yeah!"

"Stay in the territory."

"Get priority in task selection."

"Ensure we can take on missions."

Miracle City's Contribution Points could only be used in Miracle City. The more supporting facilities and services there were, the more valuable Contribution Points became, encouraging Adventurers to turn in resources and participate in territorial missions.

"I'll take a room!"

"I want one too!"

"I'm staying here tonight!"

"Hahaha, Miracle City is great in every way, but it's a little too quiet!"

"Let's get some wine and meat, hold a bonfire feast in the inn courtyard, and bring some life to this city!"

"Good idea!"

"..."

Adventurer "Cat MeowMeow" checked into the inn. You recovered 5 Contribution Points!

Adventurer "Pig King" checked into the inn. You recovered 5 Contribution Points!

Adventurer "White Little Deer" checked into the inn. You recovered 5 Contribution Points!

Qi Ji was resting in the Lord's Mansion at the moment. He was surprised when he saw the notification. Adventurers had checked in so quickly?

Not bad!

He continued scrolling through the information notification panel.

Mental Strength +1!

Mental Strength +1!

Mental Strength +2!

Soul Crystals +1!

Soul Crystals +1!

Zombie Soul Essence +1!

Jockey Soul Essence +1!

Exploder Soul Essence +1!

Watching the gains continuously refresh felt wonderful.

The number of Secret Realm Crystals and challengers had nearly doubled today, so the resulting profits were naturally higher.

Furthermore, as Adventurers gained more experience and information, their survival abilities were clearly improving.

Yesterday, they had all died in just over six hours.

Today, he had fought nonstop for ten hours.

Then—

A message

Caught his attention.

Adventurer "Irritable Little Chicken" obtained "Witch Zombie Essence Soul" from the Raging Tide Secret Realm. Your Mental Strength -30!