Shawn considered himself an honest man who always kept his word. So whether he liked it or not, since he had accepted this task, he was going to see it through properly.
First, he needed to free Vanessa VanCleef from her restraints.
Shawn jumped down from the Domesticated Wild Boar and walked over to Vanessa. He reached out and removed the white cloth gagging her, then went behind her and untied the rope binding her hands.
When Vanessa stood up, Shawn clapped his hands and walked back around to face her. Looking at the poor little girl before him, he smiled. "Vanessa, you heard everything Rick and I just said, didn't you?"
Vanessa was clearly calmer and more mature than other children her age. She raised her head to look at Shawn, her childish voice ringing out. "Vanessa saw everything. Vanessa wants to stay with big brother Shawn. You'll take care of me, right?"
Her composure and maturity were just as he'd expected, and Shawn thought even more highly of her. He nodded. "Then come with me. You can stay with me until your father comes to take you home. You've walked a long way with Rick. Are you hungry?"
Vanessa nodded.
Shawn smiled and held out his hand. "Come on. I'll get you something to eat."
Vanessa took his hand. Shawn led her toward Saldean Farm.
The Domesticated Wild Boar looked up at Shawn and Vanessa, wondering how its master could like such a skinny girl. By its own standards, a girl had to be plump all over and weigh at least two hundred pounds to be worth a second look. But its master's taste had never been all that great, so whatever.
After rooting around in the fresh, tender grass one last time, the Domesticated Wild Boar strode after them.
When they returned to Saldean Farm, Old Saldean and his wife took an immediate liking to Vanessa. The little girl was clever, and she hadn't yet grown into the bitter, vengeful person she would become in the future. She was sweet-tongued, too, and knew how to greet people politely.
Seeing how well they got along, Shawn felt at ease.
A week flew by, and the Space Garrison had changed dramatically.
With the soldiers' help, Shawn had an abundant supply of lumber and stone. He converted a large amount of materials into Garrison Resources, and all kinds of buildings went up at a dizzying pace.
The Fishing Shack, Herb Garden, Lunarfall Excavation, and Pet Menagerie.
Construction on all four buildings began at nearly the same time, and they were completed together.
A lake of unfathomable depth lay beside a simple fishing hut. All sorts of fish swam through its waters. There was no way to catch them by casting a net or diving in. There was only one way: fishing.
But aside from Shawn, there was no one in the Space Garrison.
That was when the importance of the Follower interface became clear.
Any of the 25 followers could be assigned to the Fishing Shack. Based on a follower's fishing skill, the Fishing Shack would automatically produce different types of fish each day. The higher the follower's fishing skill, the more valuable and plentiful the fish.
Of course, they might also fish up all sorts of random things, such as junk, materials, Garrison Resources, or equipment.
A plot of land was enclosed by a fence, with all kinds of herbs growing inside. Silverleaf, Peacebloom, Earthroot...
Followers could also be assigned to the Herb Garden. Based on their herbalism skill, it would automatically yield different kinds and quantities of herbs each day.
A small mine contained all sorts of ores. Gold, silver, iron, copper...
Once followers were assigned to it, the mine would automatically produce various ores each day, based on their mining skill.
Last came the Pet Menagerie.
Of the four fixed buildings, the Pet Menagerie was the only one that didn't require a follower to operate. All Shawn had to do was capture pets and place them inside. They could then be tamed and trained efficiently, helping them grow as quickly as possible until they were ready to fight alongside him or take on other tasks.
Pets also had levels, with a maximum of 25. In addition to levels, they had quality grades: common white, uncommon green, rare blue, epic purple, and legendary orange.
A pet's quality remained the same from the time it was captured until it reached level 25. Only then could its quality be improved through various means. In theory, a level-one pet with common white quality could be raised to level 25 and legendary orange quality.
The Pet Menagerie was only level one at present and could hold just five pets.
Shawn decided it was time to go on a pet-catching spree.
Besides the four fixed buildings, Shawn had also gone through the Portal of Time and Space twice over the past few days, clearing two new dungeons: "Spider Nest" and "Filthy Sewer."
The Spider Nest dungeon was fairly difficult, its difficulty roughly somewhere between "Kobold Den" and "Murloc Shoal." Most of its monsters were spiders with challenge levels no higher than three. Only the Broodmother had a challenge level as high as six, and she gave Shawn a miserable time.
What's more, at least half the spiders in the Spider Nest were venomous...
Luckily, Shawn had decent endurance and barely managed to hold on. After killing the Broodmother, he obtained a bead said to neutralize all poisons and safe to eat. After consuming it, his poison resistance increased by three points.
His final clear rating was "B." He received four free attribute points and put them all into endurance. The Lucky Roulette gave him a green-quality pet, a "Crystal Spider," which was a pleasant surprise.
The Filthy Sewer dungeon, on the other hand, was relatively easy. Its difficulty was only slightly higher than that of "Kobold Den." Every monster was a giant sewer rat with a challenge level no higher than three. Each one was more than three times the size of a normal rat. They looked terrifying, but there weren't many of them. The dungeon mostly just took time—and the sewer environment was pretty disgusting...
In any case, despite earning an "A" clear rating, Shawn received no free attribute points. He began to understand that not every dungeon awarded free attribute points. Only dungeons whose difficulty matched his current strength could grant them. If a dungeon was far too easy for him, he wouldn't receive any attribute points.
The six rewards on the Lucky Roulette were all low-tier, too, on par with those from "Kobold Den."
This time, Shawn's luck was only so-so. He won just one hundred Garrison Resources, but it was better than nothing.
After studying the Harvest Watcher, the Golem Factory researched the Reinforced Multi-function Shredder and the Reinforced Multi-function Quarry Machine. Shawn immediately built several Shredders and Quarry Machines. Logging and stone quarrying sped up considerably, greatly accelerating construction of the Mage Tower.
That day, Shawn was letting the boar graze not far from the Mage Tower, while taking his first pet, the Crystal Spider, out to hunt. Suddenly, a familiar person appeared once again.
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