Preparing for Action

Regional Channel, current population: 539.

"Anyone near the Withered Forest? I've made a huge discovery! This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get rich!"

Seeing this message, Colin perked up, as he was almost certain the person was talking about the foot of Crow Mountain, where he had gone yesterday.

However, Colin didn't reply, intending to observe from the shadows first.

After this person spoke, someone in the chat channel quickly followed up: "I know that forest, I saw it yesterday, but I was afraid there might be trouble so I didn't go in. What did you find?"

"No wonder when I was being chased by a few Aberrations, they stopped following me once I ran in. I didn't expect there to be a boss there," someone said with lingering fear.

Colin took a quick look and saw that about twenty people had either approached or entered that forest.

To a certain extent, this also indicated that these people were not far from him.

"It seems a region shouldn't be that large, but what about outside the region?"

Colin wondered curiously, and then he saw the person who started the topic appear again.

"Look at this! [Condensing Light Stone] [Sunlight Mushroom] Yesterday, I risked going into the forest and saw an open-pit collapsed mine. There was a pile of these things inside. Unfortunately, I only had time to grab a few before monsters showed up."

Colin had already seen the Condensing Light Stone, so he curiously clicked on the Sunlight Mushroom to take a look: a slightly glowing white mushroom, growing together in clusters like long needles.

Note: Consuming it will dispel inner fear and provide a certain degree of attribute improvement. It contains trace amounts of toxins; excessive consumption will lead to adverse consequences.

[Hint: You seem to be able to hear the mushroom emitting a sound that is difficult for the human ear to notice: Praise the sun!]

[When the daily consumption exceeds three portions, it will make people involuntarily praise the sun. When the daily consumption exceeds five portions, one will temporarily become a fool who only knows how to praise the sun. When the daily consumption exceeds ten portions, one will become a glowing fool who praises the sun.]

This thing is a bit dangerous, Colin shivered, feeling a sense of evil.

At this moment, the people in the Regional Channel became excited immediately after seeing these two items.

Then, he saw that person continue: "I'm planning to form a team now. We gather in the morning, explore in the afternoon, and split the loot in the evening—pardon me, I mean split the profits."

"I'm interested, but how do we gather? That forest seems quite large."

"I'll mark the perimeter as I go. Just follow the signs if you see them. I'll be waiting outside until around noon."

"Brother, how much health do you have to be able to wait that long?"

"No, you might have misunderstood. There is no Gray Fog in that mining area, so I can wait indefinitely."

"Friendly reminder, there is a big monster in the forest. I saw it yesterday, and its footprints were bigger than me lying down."

"Besides, how can we trust you won't scam us? I don't believe anyone would be kind enough to share such a good thing."

"Fine, there are some monsters inside the mine that I can't handle alone. Only with more people will we have a chance."

"As for that huge monster you mentioned, I know it too. It's quite dim-witted. As long as you stay in the mining area for a while, it will leave on its own. I don't know where it goes, but we can just escape the forest during that window."

"Brothers, I have a hunch that there is something in the mine that can permanently dispel the Gray Fog. You don't want to carry a Hurricane Lamp for the rest of your lives, worrying about your blood running out every day, right?"

"Also, the main point is this Condensing Light Stone. You can use it to enchant weapons; it's definitely good stuff."

"Besides, those who don't even have the ability to travel far shouldn't come to join the fun."

"."

This person is lying. Colin looked at the other party's statements and was very certain of this.

If it were as easy as he claimed, he wouldn't have been waiting to die in such despair after seeing that corpse yesterday.

But Colin wasn't quite sure of the purpose behind this person's lies.

Because that Lord-level Aberration would indeed abandon its current target if it couldn't kill them and a more viable target appeared.

So Colin guessed whether the other party was like him, trying to use others to come over so that he could escape himself.

"I'm in, starting at noon?"

"Count me in!"

"I'm not going. Just a reminder to be careful; schemes in the Gray Fog are common occurrences now."

The Regional Channel had already started organizing.

Colin looked, but ultimately decided not to go, because he knew very well just how terrifying that Lord-level Aberration was.

Without a means to kill the opponent, Colin would likely not head in that direction.

Because such an action was full of uncertainty; to put it bluntly, it was not valuing one's own life.

With the hints he had, Colin didn't need to take such risks.

At this time, Colin looked at the Regional Channel while searching the trading market, but in the end, whether buying or selling, he didn't see any good acquisitions and could only shake his head.

It was time to act.

"Number One, here is one hundred milliliters of blood. Your job is to collect as much water as possible. Remember, it must be boiled into Level 3 Water before storing it. If you find ore, especially iron ore, dig it up first, bring it back, and put it into the warehouse."

The Level 2 Territory had a warehouse with space similar to a backpack, which could store a massive amount of supplies.

The servants themselves also had backpacks, but the space was very small, only one slot, and it had a weight limit, only able to carry about ten kilograms.

As for the problem of finding the way, Colin wasn't worried for now. His spawn point was quite good; it only took a few minutes to see the river.

With records and other measures in place, it wouldn't be difficult to remember this route.

"Right, if you encounter danger and feel you cannot handle it, run away immediately. Do not attempt any resistance; your priority is to save your lives. As long as you make it back to the territory, there generally won't be any issues."

"Yes, my lord!" Number One nodded.

After giving these instructions, Colin looked at the squad Number Two had organized. He had trained them for a short while, and although they still weren't standing in perfect formation, they were much better than before.

A neatly standing squad does not necessarily equate to combat effectiveness.

But for a group of soldiers who cannot even stand in formation, one should not expect them to be of much use.

"Alright, time to eat! We depart fifteen minutes after the meal!"

As Colin spoke, he took out a dozen black breads and several pieces of Mildly Rotten Meat in front of everyone.

Although he wanted to buy some fresh meat from the market, it was a pity that everyone now understood the importance of food, which led to people selling all sorts of things—except for meat.

On the contrary, after more than half an hour of frenzy, the price of water had finally dropped.

"I spent all of yesterday exploring and didn't see a single animal track. I wonder if the priest killed them all."

Colin muttered to himself, then, under the green, hungry gazes of his subordinates, he placed the materials onto the Synthesis Table.

"Dig in!" Colin said with a smile, no longer keeping these people waiting.