Frost Gem and Troop Type Gem Functions! (continued)

Of course, novice lords didn't need to worry about any of that for the time being.

After all, they struggled even to raise an elite★ troop, let alone upgrade a nest to elite grade.

Clap! Clap!

After counting his spoils, Shen Xing clapped his hands and wheeled himself toward the edge of his territory.

Then he spent 60 Soul Stones and 60 silver coins to build six more [Arrow Towers] in his territory.

[Construction in progress. Estimated time: 07 hours 24 minutes...]

The territory now had eight Arrow Towers, two each to the east, south, west, and north.

There was no helping it. Without walls to shield it, the territory was like a girl tied to a table for monsters: they could come at her from whichever direction they wanted.

Uh... he meant attack.

But walls were too expensive.

A level 3 campfire illuminated an area with a maximum diameter of 80 meters and a circumference of 250 meters. It would take 50 wall segments to enclose it.

Altogether, that would cost at least six hundred Soul Stones.

Even if he emptied the territory's coffers, he still couldn't afford it.

So he could only build a few Arrow Towers to serve as outposts for now.

"Sigh, I still don't have enough resources. I'm too poor."

"I need money. More Soul Stones. Otherwise, how am I supposed to achieve my beast-eared girl... my grand ambition as a lord?"

Just as Shen Xing was sighing to himself, the phone in his pocket vibrated softly.

He didn't need to look to know it was a message from the group chat.

After all, Shen Xing didn't have any other friends who would contact him first.

Cilantro Who Loves to Play: "Shen Xing, Jiayi, did you get a text?"

Spark: "What text?"

Cilantro Who Loves to Play: "It's from Zhou Zheng. He said the plans for the Mist Void Realm at Mingyue Bay Park have changed and wants us to go to the Times Building in downtown Jiangcheng first thing tomorrow morning."

Shen Xing and Xu Jiayi were both a little surprised. They each checked their messages and found that they had indeed received one.

I Eat Eat Eat Eat: "The plans changed? Does that mean we aren't getting the spots he promised us?"

When they encountered that Abomination at the mall a few days ago, Zhou Zheng had promised to take them to the Mist Void Realm.

But he had only mentioned it casually at the time, and none of the three had paid it much attention.

After they got back, though, they searched the forums and realized that the Mist Void Realm really was quite important.

And because the one in Jiangcheng was a low-level secret realm, it contained many resources that novice lords could only hope to stumble upon.

Besides the advancement materials needed to break troops through to Tier Two extraordinary, there were legion secret treasures, special troop recruitment scrolls, building blueprints, and so on.

Although Shen Xing and the others hadn't reached the maximum level of Tier One yet, they still needed to prepare for what came next.

Once Hellscream or Gorehowl reached the maximum level, they could break straight through to Tier Two extraordinary. Wouldn't that be awesome?

Cilantro Who Loves to Play: "I don't know either, but when I was lurking... gathering information in the local forum, I saw some related discussions."

"Apparently, quite a few players want to enter the Mist Void Realm this time, and spots are limited."

"But I doubt they'd refuse to give us our spots. Zhou Zheng did promise us himself. Maybe something came up."

Xu Jiayi and Shen Xing fell silent for a moment.

Shen Xing replied, "Then let's go together tomorrow and see."

Xu Jiayi also sent a sticker of a nodding rabbit.

Cilantro Who Loves to Play: "All right, same as usual. I'll drive over and pick you up."

After the chat ended, Shen Xing wheeled himself to the window, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"The Times Building... I think that's the activity center for Jiangcheng's pioneers."

"Which means we might run into other players tomorrow..."

"Why did Zhou Zheng ask us to go there?"

It was already late at night.

A crescent moon hung high on the horizon, its gentle light pouring down like liquid silver.

The city's countless lights dotted the darkness, while police cars and fire engines raced along the roads.

"No point thinking about it so much. I'll find out when I get there tomorrow."

Shen Xing put the thought aside and held out his right hand. Thick mist poured out of the Flower of Mist.

When the mist dispersed, a fruit appeared, blood-red all over, with blood-colored veins across its surface.

It was a [Blood Fruit], which could improve recovery.

Over the past few days, he had been materializing one fruit from the game each day to eat.

Besides the Blood Fruit, he had tried them all: the Brain Fruit, which increased mental power; the Bone Fruit, which increased bone hardness; and the Flesh Fruit, which increased constitution...

Combined with his increase in level, the effects were quite noticeable.

Shen Xing could clearly feel that he had more stamina than before and that his mind was sharper.

Crunch.

After eating the Blood Fruit, Shen Xing first went to take a look at himself in the mirror.

His complexion seemed much better than before, and his upper body was noticeably bulkier.

"But... why only my upper body?"

"If I keep strengthening myself, am I going to turn into a musclebound guy with a strong upper body and skinny legs?"

Shen Xing pictured it and found the image a little hard on the eyes.

Just then, his gaze turned to a pair of crutches leaning against the wall, already covered in dust.

"Should I try standing up?"

He hadn't used them in many years.

After all, he could only exert strength with his upper body, which simply wasn't enough to support him.

With a little anticipation, Shen Xing wheeled himself over to the wall.

Then he placed the crutches under his armpits and gripped the handles with both hands.

"Up!"

He exerted himself, and his arm muscles abruptly tensed!

Relying on brute strength far beyond that of an ordinary person, he forced himself up from the wheelchair.

"I'm standing!"

Shen Xing supported himself, his face full of excitement.

Although he was relying on his upper-body strength and still had no feeling in his legs, it was a good sign.

Just as he was about to move the crutches and walk a couple of laps around the room, his body suddenly went limp. The crutches lost their balance, and he fell sideways to the floor.

"Damn it."

Shen Xing lay on the floor. Fortunately, his strengthened constitution had spared him any real injury.

"Just as I thought, the improvements from the game can only strengthen my constitution. They can't completely repair dead nerves."

"But that's all right. At least it's a good start."

"One day, I'll stand on my own again!"

He clenched his fists, a hopeful light appearing in his eyes.

Then he pushed himself up with his arms and easily returned to bed.

The night flowed slowly, like water.

But undercurrents were stirring in the Land of Mist.

Not far from the territory, a brown-haired young man held a monocular to his eye, looking through layers of mist at the territory ahead.

The lens reflected a blazing campfire and a group of busy orcs.

"Heh heh..."

The brown-haired young man's lips curved slightly. "Found it."

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window, quickly warming the rented room.

"The great northeast~ is my hometown~"

The ringtone woke Shen Xing. He answered groggily and heard Qin Lang's voice.

Qin Lang had already picked up Xu Jiayi and was on his way over.

Shen Xing checked the time. It was only eight thirty in the morning. He's really early.

Shen Xing hung up, went to the bathroom for a quick wash, then wheeled himself downstairs.

By the roadside, Qin Lang, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, and Xu Jiayi, wearing pink rabbit pajamas, waited beside the roadside greenery.

After they exchanged greetings, Qin Lang put the wheelchair in the front passenger seat, then carried Shen Xing into the trunk.

The silver Lexus sped down the road, the scenery flashing past the windows.

The three listened to music as they chatted about what had happened in the game and how they had progressed over the past few days.

Before long, they arrived in downtown Jiangcheng and parked in an open-air parking lot.

Before them stood a magnificent building, nearly two hundred meters tall.

They passed through the roadside security booth and registered their identities.

Qin Lang pushed Shen Xing, and together with Xu Jiayi, they arrived at the building's entrance.

There was no receptionist, however, only a closed glass door.

Just then, a message automatically appeared on the doorframe, informing them that facial recognition was required.

"Beep! Identity verified. Welcome!"

Before they could react, the facial recognition had already gone through.

The glass doors opened automatically, revealing a spacious lobby.

"What the hell? When did they register my information?" Qin Lang looked utterly baffled.

"That's normal. Players like us who have come into contact with that game are all under close official scrutiny."