Territory Construction

Lonely Swordsman shared the Happy Fatty Water with the others.

"Awesome!"

As everyone gulped down the ice-cold Fatty Happy Water, the uniquely exhilarating chill of the carbonated drink shot straight from their tailbones to the tops of their heads.

Even Qi Ji felt that the Fatty Happy Water produced in this dungeon tasted better than it had in his previous life.

And when had adventurers ever enjoyed something like this?

They were all shocked and delighted!

Cat MeowMeow said, "Lord, what exactly is this? I've never had such a delicious drink before. Is this a specialty of this Secret Realm?"

Qi Ji replied, "It's called Cola, a common beverage in the Secret Realm world. And it isn't the only specialty here. The content and materials in this Secret Realm are far richer than you can imagine!"

"That's fantastic!"

"Never thought you'd be such a generous Lord!"

The adventurers' eyes lit up. While many adventurers enjoyed adventure itself, enjoyable experiences alone without any gains were not sustainable in the long run.

The Surface World was severely polluted.

It could not produce enough food and clean water to sustain people.

Adventurers were the world's primary producers. If there were not enough long-term returns, how could they maintain their lives?

People needed to eat, drink, and relieve themselves.

Adventurers were no exception.

They still had to face birth, aging, illness, and death on the surface. They also needed all kinds of supplies to survive. A Secret Realm that could operate steadily over the long term needed reasonable output.

Even if it was only ordinary water and food.

And this crate of Happy Fatty Water was top-tier beverage.

If it were brought to the trading market in Black Stone Town, it could probably be exchanged for at least a month's worth of drinking water!

The Raging Tide Secret Realm was not only interesting.

It also offered a decent return.

The three adventurers decided to continue the challenge!

Adventurers had to consume Energy Points to challenge a Secret Realm, and their Energy Points were related to their level.

That was right.

Like players.

Adventurers could level up too.

It was just that the process was complicated, and the requirements were harsh.

Nearly all of Black Stone Town's hundred thousand adventurers were First Order.

Black Stone Hammer King, Cat MeowMeow, and Lonely Swordsman were no exception.

However, even among First Order adventurers, there were differences in strength. Black Stone Hammer King and Cat MeowMeow were both newbies. They only had 5 Energy Points per day and could challenge Secret Realms at most five times.

Lonely Swordsman was already very close to Second Order.

He was a near first-rate adventurer in Black Stone Town, with 8 Energy Points and the ability to challenge Secret Realms eight times. The three had decided to spend all their Energy Points today challenging the "Doomsday Frenzy" Secret Realm!

And so...

Adventurer "Lonely Swordsman" has died. Mental Strength +1, Soul Crystal +1!

Adventurer "Lonely Swordsman" has died. Mental Strength +1, Soul Crystal +1!

Adventurer "Black Stone Hammer King" has died. Mental Strength +1, Soul Crystal +1!

Adventurer "Cat MeowMeow" has died. Mental Strength +1, Soul Crystal +1!

The three adventurers took turns challenging the Secret Realm, slowly advancing their progress. They painstakingly completed their search of the starting building and found where most of the supplies were stored.

Not only that.

They also found the underground parking garage.

Through the relatively safe underground parking garage, they left the zombie-infested streets and explored the surrounding area to a certain extent.

The game was too difficult.

Zombies were everywhere.

And zombies could Randomly Spawn.

The slightest mistake in the process meant a gruesome death.

Yet the three adventurers were having the time of their lives.

The tense thrill of exploring an unfamiliar world, along with the freshness of discovering new supplies and new locations, made it impossible for them to stop. The challenge itself also offered decent rewards.

They obtained Beer, Fatty Happy Water, Candy, Chocolate, and other supplies.

These basic resources.

Were extremely precious in this world.

The adventurers were getting more and more into it. In their final run, they even found a MAC-10 Silenced Submachine Gun and experienced the satisfying thrill of Mowing Down enemies with sustained fire. Waves of zombies were knocked over by the hail of bullets, flesh and blood flying everywhere.

"This is way too awesome! Who could resist this?!"

"I just can't stop!"

"With this weapon!"

"Tomorrow, we'll definitely kill our way out of here!"

"Ahhh, I still want to play, but I don't have enough Energy Points!"

"Lord, your Secret Realm Creation is excellent. There are just too few dungeon Secret Realm Crystals. Can you add a few more? I'm planning to call all my good buddies over to support you, but one Secret Realm Crystal is nowhere near enough!"

Qi Ji smiled faintly.

Tomorrow's business seemed secure too!

He said, "Don't worry. Although my dungeon is only just getting started, the number of Secret Realm Crystals and all kinds of facilities will soon be improved, so that every adventurer who comes to explore can have a good time."

"Good!"

"With your word!"

"We can rest assured!"

"Farewell, see you tomorrow!"

"..."

The adventurers left.

They had all played to their hearts' content.

Miracle City experienced its first City Closing.

Dungeon Secret Realms were generally only open for twelve hours a day.

Why was that?

It was related to the rules governing this world.

A day in this world also had twenty-four hours.

Twelve of those hours were shrouded by the Chaos Tide.

In other words.

During the first twelve hours, the underground world was filled with chaos energy. All Dark Races were unable to leave their sheltered areas, while Secret Realms could operate by drawing energy from the Chaos Tide.

During the latter twelve hours, the Chaos Tide shrouding the underground world receded. The Secret Realm Crystals lost their energy supply and could not operate. At the same time, the Dark Creatures and Dark Races of the underground world became active.

These beings were the greatest threat to a dungeon.

However, every dungeon automatically generated a protective energy field when it was born.

It was the newbie protection period.

It could last for thirty days.

There was no need to worry about being attacked during this period.

Simply put.

City Opening was business hours for receiving adventurers.

City Closing was when the Lord managed, built, and developed the territory.

Qi Ji took stock of his first day's gains. He had harvested adventurers eighteen times today, gaining a total of 16 Mental Strength and 18 Soul Crystals.

He activated the Lord Core.

And opened the Territory Management option.

There were three sub-options within it.

They were: Population, Construction, and Management.

The Population option could manage troops and residents. Miracle City had neither for the moment, so he skipped it.

Qi Ji selected the Construction option. It had two sub-options: Basic Construction and Special Construction.

Basic Construction was a set of facilities that came with the core.

They could be built simply by consuming the specified Soul Crystals.

Special Construction involved building additional facilities beyond the basic ones.

There were a huge variety of these facilities, strange and unusual, with all kinds of functions.

However, they cost more to build. Not only did they require more materials, but they also required the relevant Construction Blueprints. The main way to collect blueprints was to defeat Dark Races, though they could also be obtained through trades at the Lord's Market.

He opened Basic Construction.

A relevant list appeared before him.

Secret Realm Crystal, 5 Soul Crystals.

Arrow Tower, 50 Soul Crystals.

Warehouse, 50 Soul Crystals.

Mercenary House, 100 Soul Crystals.

Monster Camp, 300 Soul Crystals.

Essence Soul Altar, 500 Soul Crystals.

Warrior Barracks, 1,000 Soul Crystals.

...

Underground Transfer Station, 10,000 Soul Crystals.

There were more than ten types in total.

Every building had practical functions.

Some served adventurers, some increased military strength, some assisted with operations, and some were defensive structures... all were essential infrastructure for running a dungeon.

Qi Ji could only build Secret Realm Crystals.

Secret Realm Crystals were the entrances to Secret Realms.

A Secret Realm Lobby could accommodate up to 100 Secret Realm Crystals.

If a Secret Realm Lobby was compared to an internet café, then Secret Realm Crystals were the number of computers.

Adventurers, or players, needed Secret Realm Crystals to play games, while maintaining the crystals also created territory expenses, equivalent to an internet café's rent, utilities, and water bills.

Fortunately.

The consumption was not high.

As long as they were not forcibly activated during the receding tide period.

Each crystal only consumed 5 Soul Crystals per month.

Although a single crystal did not consume much, if there were too many Secret Realm Crystals, the accumulated costs would become a considerable operational burden. Especially if the Secret Realm created was unpopular and lost traffic, it could lead to expenses exceeding income and eventual bankruptcy.

The reverse was also true.

If too few Secret Realm Crystals were built.

They would fail to meet adventurers' demands, affecting territory revenue and even its reputation.

Although a Secret Realm Lobby could only hold up to one hundred Secret Realm Crystals, a Lord could increase the capacity by upgrading the lobby or building more Secret Realm Lobbies.

You are constructing Secret Realm Crystals.

This construction will consume 15 Soul Crystals. Continue? Yes/No

Qi Ji chose to build without hesitation. Including the original one, his dungeon now had four crystals and could accommodate four adventurers challenging it at the same time.

After this construction.

Tomorrow's income would surely multiply several times over!

Thanks to InkPainting2016 for the 1,000 Qidian Coin tip!