Forest City
Linsey is having trouble sleeping.
Although the territory had been upgraded once before.
But that process was so simple and quick that he didn't feel it was real.
This time, after a long period of preparation and the hard work of searching for resources, Linsey felt a surge of excitement as she saw that she had reached the target number of gold coins.
Like a child playing Strategy Game for the first time, he counted his resource list:
"Stone, wood, metal, Sulfur, Mercury, gemstones..."
"There's nothing more to think about, let's get started right away!"
[Town Hall) → Town Hall (Feudal Dynasty)]
Linsey chose to upgrade the building.
Just like last time, a series of clanging sounds emanated from the Town Hall, and the upgrade progress bar below was displayed.
[Upgrading in progress - 23:59:59]
"..."
"This time it took even longer, a whole day."
Linsey slowly walked out of the Town Hall.
Unlike the last upgrade, this time, in addition to the rising stones and wood, the surrounding banyan trees also began to spread, enveloping the hall with their branches and leaves, as if wrapping up a rice dumpling.
A few seconds later, the twigs and leaves stopped moving and did not continue to penetrate deeper into the Town Hall.
"What kind of change is this?"
As Linsey looked on in confusion, a notification popped up on her Attribute Panel:
Miracle plant detected in territory
[The Town Hall (Feudal Dynasty) can be transformed into a special city (Forest City)]
[Confirm/Cancel]
"..."
"There's even system-wide coordination involved?"
Linsey certainly wouldn't let go of such a freebie.
He immediately clicked to confirm, and the banyan tree branches resumed their activity, continuing to pour into the Town Hall.
The changes don't stop there.
The moment Linsey confirmed the change, the plants throughout the Banyan Forest seemed to become more active. The buildings on the trees and on the ground, each closely connected to the nearby branches, began to undergo further wondrous changes.
As a result, Linsey's face turned pale instantly.
Aside from the prepared materials, what ultimately provides the energy for activating the technique is the Essence within his body.
The original standard upgrade would have been appropriate.
However, this mutation and upgrade greatly increased the demand for Essence, and even ruthlessly drained 4/5 of Linsey's Essence!
Soon, Hilude, who was in the library, also came out in her wheelchair.
Hilude only needed one glance to understand everything, her vast knowledge allowing her to comprehend it all, and her panicked gaze softened subtly:
"My master, what has happened?"
"Your confused and vulnerable little administrator is feeling anxious and helpless right now. I need your warm embrace to soothe my wounded soul."
"..."
Linsey completely ignored Hilude was acting like a drama queen.
He looked eastward, where Hammer was also rushing over.
Linsey shouted to her loyal subordinate:
"Hammer, don't panic!"
"Remember the massive changes that happened in the city last time? This time it's the same, but even more miraculous! Go and inform the people that this is nothing dangerous, and everything will be settled in a day!"
Hammer was about to rush over, paused in his tracks.
After thinking for a moment, he obeyed the order and walked to the city square, rang the warning bell, and explained the situation to the gathered people.
On the other side, Hilude, who had been ignored by Linsey, continued to approach with a resentful expression.
She went straight to Linsey:
"Linsey, I've been working all night helping you organize these documents, can't you be a little more enthusiastic towards me?"
Linsey cast a glance at him:
"Have you finished sorting it out?"
Hilude an awkward smile:
"These messengers are really clueless. Although they left in a hurry, they still took away some important information. Based on the missing parts, I only found a type of awakened being called the Invaders. They seem to be very ancient beings, even before the Godslaying War!"
"As for more information..."
"Hehe—I haven't finished organizing it yet."
Hilude's expression was subtle, but Linsey began to think seriously.
Information about the Extinction Crown and the Abyss is kept secret and cannot be revealed to others, but now that Hilude has uncovered this much information...
Linsey weighed the pros and cons and decided to provide hints selectively:
"Hilude, have you seen any descriptions of the Extinction Crown or the Abyss?"
Hilude shook her head decisively:
What is that?
Linsey explained:
"Just as musicians and painters are artists, the Extinction Crown and the Invaders you just mentioned are also awakened beings of the Abyss's art."
Hilude looked somewhat tempted.
She slightly closed her left eye, but before she could even look closely, nor closed her right eye, she simply gave up on trying to glimpse her destiny:
"What the hell is that?!"
"What ancient secret is this from which year and month?"
"I haven't even found my fate line yet, and I already feel like my eyes are about to be blinded!"
Linsey explained:
"Their leader perished together with the king of the City of Law a long time ago, and he's probably here for revenge. Now you know what level of information this is, right?"
"..."
Hilude's gaze was somewhat vacant.
It wasn't because of fear or any negative expression, but because she was extremely excited!
In some older, even more obscure, myths and legends.
The heroic figures that Hilude admires will never be absent.
Now, her protégé 'Hero Linsey' is about to deal with these myths and legends!
"Linsey, even if you tell me now..."
The young writer had barely begun to speak when Linsey interrupted her again:
"The emergence of the Revivalist should also be a result of the Abyss's operation."
"..."
Hilude simply stopped talking.
She pushed her wheelchair toward the library.
This guy didn't even bother with the building upgrade; he went straight inside and began a more urgent examination of the data.
Watching the girl's departing figure, Linsey shook her head and smiled.
He didn't go home at all, and instead dealt with his business at the entrance of the Town Hall.
Sunrise and sunset, and another day has passed.
All the city buildings are connected by banyan trees, making them a unified whole.
The path beneath our feet has been paved with ancient trees, and even the artistic patterns designed by Hilude have been extended throughout the forest, making the surrounding environment magnificent.
But what Linsey was most worried about was naturally the grand Great Undertaking for the branch base.
He didn't even look at the list of buildings that came into the new era.
Instead, he went to the university first and looked through the newly unlocked technology options.
Among a host of technical projects, such as [Accelerate Plant Reproduction], [Treant Guardian], and [Natural Cycle].
Linsey finally found what he needed—
[Second Base]
Research cost: 500 gold coins.
Effect: Increases the initial base quantity limit by 2.