The three players ate something at the base, then excitedly pushed their cart away, looking as if they were moving house.
Cheng Shaofeng clicked his tongue to himself.
"Later, the base will definitely need more transportation. Next time I go to Salt Well Town, I should buy two more carts."
"Have the players gather more supplies, and I'll use them to trade for money."
"Oh, right. If I save up 300 Iron Coins, I can even get a gun from the Colossus City caravan."
Although he had equipment dropped by the Loot Generator and high-quality weapons crafted by Xiao Xiao, there was still a huge difference in power compared to firearms.
After all, the famous seven-step theory was right there. He had no choice but to believe it.
As long as they were still flesh and blood, they would be unable to contend with firearms for a long time.
Unless the base could carry him into mechanical ascension.
At that thought, Cheng Shaofeng suddenly had an idea.
"Zero, you said before that the base's energy was too low, so there were few available functions, and the Robots could only deploy low-level Nano Engineers. Now that I have more energy, shouldn't the Calamity Base's functions be updated?"
Zero: "Your current energy is only 1.49%, which has not reached the minimum requirement for unlocking new functions. The next stage will unlock when base energy reaches 5%."
"What functions will the base unlock? Will there be nanobots that can kill people invisibly with just a sneeze?"
Zero: "You will need to unlock them and check for yourself. My memory functions have been restricted, so I cannot know in advance either."
"Fine."
Cheng Shaofeng had not learned about the base's future functions, but at least he now knew that 5% was a crucial threshold.
"The players need to work harder! If you don't work properly, how am I supposed to get stronger?"
"I just received three sets of electronic components. Together with the prey the players handed in today, as long as I make sure those players can still revive, I should be able to summon new players tomorrow."
When controllable, creatures like players were naturally better in greater numbers.
Especially since players needed to kill monsters and level up before they could slowly grow stronger. The sooner they were summoned, the faster the Calamity Base's strength would grow.
"Although no Raiders or other factions have discovered that we've settled here yet, there's no telling what will happen in the future. We must raise our combat strength before other factions find us."
Just as Cheng Shaofeng was planning the base's future, Forgiveness Hat returned.
He carried a huge burlap sack on his back, filled with all kinds of mushrooms and fruit.
The most numerous among them were Icefire Mushrooms, half red and half blue.
"Lord, these are the Icefire Mushrooms you wanted. I found twenty-one of them!"
Cheng Shaofeng: (⊙⊙)
Twenty-one!!!
Happiness had come too suddenly. Cheng Shaofeng used the advanced mathematics knowledge he had gained from failing make-up exams three times in his previous life to calculate it.
The calculation was complicated!
But he still worked it out in his head.
Twenty-one times thirty equaled six hundred and thirty.
These Icefire Mushrooms alone could sell for 630 Iron Coins!
A wheeled handcart only cost 30 Iron Coins, and a whole Mutated Hyena cost less than 80! With 300 Iron Coins, he could get a gun from the Colossus City caravan!
If these mushrooms were traded for beans, they could get a full 525 catties of beans. If stored properly, that was enough food for one person for an entire year.
Ridiculous!
Absolutely ridiculous!
The three of them, Thin Dog included, had worked themselves to death fighting and killing, yet they were not worth as much as the mushrooms Forgiveness Hat had casually picked.
"Forgiveness Hat Wholesaler, you did very well. These mushrooms are high-quality materials. I can trade them to merchants from large settlements for resources our Calamity Base can use. You've rendered meritorious service, so I'll give you an additional 200 Merit Points!"
Quest Completed: "Gather Icefire Mushrooms" Because the collected quantity exceeded the quest requirement, the Lord has granted an additional reward. Obtained: 21 Iron Coins, 400 Merit Points
Forgiveness Hat looked at his watch and revealed a satisfied smile.
"Thank you, Lord! It is my honor to serve you!"
Cheng Shaofeng immediately said, "Icefire Mushrooms are an important resource. I need more of them. If you can gather more, I will give you even greater rewards."
Ding~ New Quest Received: Gather Icefire Mushrooms II Quest Requirement: Gather 30 Icefire Mushrooms. Current Progress: 0/30 Quest Reward: 30 Iron Coins, 300 Merit Points. Gathering more Icefire Mushrooms will earn additional rewards from the Lord.
"Huh? A quest chain? Then I need to search more carefully."
"Oh, right, Lord. Could I borrow the base's cart?"
Cheng Shaofeng said, "You need a cart too?"
"Uh... Thin Dog and the others borrowed it?"
Cheng Shaofeng nodded.
Forgiveness Hat could only give Cheng Shaofeng a helpless pat before leaving.
He muttered to himself, "How am I supposed to haul Iron Ore without a cart? I'll wait until Thin Dog and the others come back. I'll go search the mine for more mushrooms first."
Hearing Forgiveness Hat's words, Cheng Shaofeng pondered for a moment.
"Soldiers, come with me to Salt Well Town. We're going to purchase some necessary supplies."
He had long planned to buy a batch of supplies for the players. Previously, he had lacked valuable resources, but now that he had twenty-three Icefire Mushrooms, he could buy many items they urgently needed.
If they truly wanted to purchase supplies in bulk, the Colossus City caravan would be the best trading partner. They came to Four Mountains once every half month, but they had just passed through yesterday, so they would have to wait another half month.
In Cheng Shaofeng's memories, there were several human settlements in the Four Mountains region where they could trade, but none offered a safer route than Salt Well Town.
He often traveled this route. Its greatest advantage was that there were no Raiders.
"There really aren't many Raiders."
Thin Dog hid behind a huge boulder beside Raider Camp 1 and observed the area.
Just as Demon Fox had expected, the main Raider force had gone out, leaving only four behind.
Lin Tang stared at them for a while, and rage immediately rose within him.
"Damn it! These are the four little monsters that dismembered me last time! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—don't look down on the poor youth! Today, nobody can stop me! I, Lin Tang, am going on a killing spree!"
The other two: "..."
Demon Fox pondered for a moment. "Actually... we can go on a killing spree today. Everyone's equipment has been upgraded, after all. But fighting four at once is a little risky, and we don't know whether there are Raiders hiding in their Cellar. How about this? To be safe, we find someone to lure some of them away first. We'll vote on it."
Lin Tang: ?
Three minutes later, Lin Tang walked out while cursing, then shouted at the four distracted Raiders, "Your grandpa has revived again! Come catch me!"
The four Raiders were immediately startled.
Then they chased after Lin Tang.
Yet, faintly, those four not-too-bright Raiders felt that this scene seemed strangely familiar.
It was as though they had dreamed of this scene before. Even the person they were chasing was the same human currently running ahead of them.
After Lin Tang lured the Raiders away, Thin Dog and Demon Fox entered the Cellar once more.
This time, they knew the way.
There were no guarding Raiders inside, nor were there any captured humans. There were only three empty prison cells.
Thin Dog pointed to the innermost cell. "This is where we found the Lord."
"Go in and take a good look."
Demon Fox picked up a torch from the wall and walked into the Dungeon. Without changing expression, he pushed aside the rotting corpses on the ground and searched for traces that someone had once been there.
As the two searched, two clusters of scarlet light lit up behind them.
A Skeleton... stood up.
Ahem, where I'm from, anything before midnight counts as daytime. What about you?
Before you continue