Qin Ziwen took out the Function Card and used it as usual.
[Function Activated: Level 4 Guild]
[Authority has been upgraded. Current Authority: Level 4 Authority (11/16)]
[Level 4 Guild: You can choose to form an alliance with other Lords of the Homeland. Current maximum alliance members: 40. The following functions will be unlocked after forming an alliance: Goodwill Alliance, Shared Building (2), Alliance Chamber of Commerce, Auction House]
A new Auction House function had appeared.
Qin Ziwen checked it and figured out its purpose. The Auction House allowed the Alliance Leader and other Alliance members to list items for trade.
At first glance, this function seemed to conflict with the Alliance Chamber of Commerce.
But in reality, the Auction House had two unique features.
One: Auction tickets. For each auction, a corresponding number of tickets could be generated. The number of tickets depended on the quality of the auction; the higher the quality, the more tickets could be generated. These tickets could be given to Lords of the Homeland who were not in the guild, granting them access to the auction.
Furthermore, everyone’s identity within the auction was hidden. Besides the guild leader, no one could know the true identity of the buyers.
Two: Consignment. Non-guild members could put their resources up for auction on consignment, but they needed a ticket and had to pay a certain commission fee.
If the Alliance Chamber of Commerce was for internal resource exchange within the guild, then the Auction House was a new function for acquiring external resources and expanding the guild’s influence.
’It’s not very useful for now, though.’
After using the Function Card, next came the Height Expansion Card.
He had previously obtained a Height Expansion Card (Medium), which could expand the spatial height by 10 meters.
But this Height Expansion Card (Large) could expand the spatial height by a full 50 meters.
Qin Ziwen took out the Card and crushed it to use it.
The sky over the entire Home was enveloped in a layer of white light.
Then, it rose section by section, expanding layer by layer.
When the light dissipated, the sky above the Home had been "lifted" up by a large margin.
He estimated that, if his calculations were correct, the internal height of his Home should now be 65 meters.
In a modern city, that was equivalent to the height of a twenty-story building.
This height was already enough to meet the needs of most construction sites.
Still, ten thousand square meters was not bad. No one ever complained about their Home being too small.
He crushed it to use it, extending the new space to another empty area to the side of the Yanwu Military Equipment Supervisor.
After using the Expansion Cards, his gaze fell upon the [Task Card] Home Task Generation Card. This was the second time he had obtained this Card.
The Task Card was bronze-colored overall, with an amber border and a pitch-black question mark on its face.
[Task Card] Home Task Generation Card (After activation, a random task will be generated based on the current state of the Home. A reward can be obtained upon completion.)
’I have two of these Cards,’ he thought. ’I’ll use one to test the waters and see how difficult the Home tasks are.’
He crushed the Card, and the bronze Card dissolved into motes of light.
The small sphere of light from the Home popped out.
[Generating task...]
[Home Task (Golden Fisherman): Please salvage and capture a total of over 100 tons of seafood in the time allotted.]
[Task Reward: Level 4 Marvels (Golden Fishman Statue)]
After reading the task, his brow relaxed. This task wasn’t difficult.
It was just an accumulation task. Aside from being time-consuming, it wasn’t very hard.
One hundred tons of seafood... with a little hard work, it was still possible to complete.
Nevertheless, Qin Ziwen assigned the task to Jia Liangcai.
In the remaining time, the Home needed to hunt more to try and complete the task before the map ended.
This was a Level 4 Marvels; it would be a waste to miss out.
He then headed to the Nan Bamboo Forest.
The bamboo forest in the southern part of the Home was sparse, with only a few small, young bamboo shoots left inside.
The mature bamboo had been felled in large swaths.
In addition to this recent harvest, he also had the Ordinary Resource Copy Cards he had accumulated before.
There were eight in total.
Qin Ziwen first duplicated, then synthesized, then upgraded.
He finally raised the Nan Bamboo Forest to Level 4.
[Level 4 Nan Bamboo Forest: Level 3 Bamboo Body Hardness, Level 2 Bamboo Body Resilience, Level 1 Bamboo Body Weight Reduction]
Resource Upgrade Card, used.
The Nan Bamboo Forest before him was instantly enveloped in light.
When the light dissipated, the originally sparse bamboo forest, which had only young stalks left, became dense and tall once more.
Stalks of dark green bamboo, as thick as sea bowls, stood ramrod straight, their surfaces dotted with small, faint golden stars.
Each stalk was over thirty meters tall.
[Advanced Resource: Level 3 Starlight Bamboo Forest: Level 4 Bamboo Body Hardness, Level 4 Water and Fire Immunity, Level 3 Super Strong Resilience] (Trait: Spiritual Affinity: Starlight Bamboo has an extremely strong affinity for Extraordinary Power)
"Water and Fire Immunity... Super Strong Resilience." Qin Ziwen looked at the Starlight Bamboo before him.
"Xiaowu, have someone cut down a few stalks later. I want to see how hard this bamboo is. And aren’t Li Yue and his team trying to improve the Crossbow Wagon? Have them try this new material."
"Alright!" Qin Ziwu shouted excitedly.
...
Just as Qin Ziwen was entering a phase of development.
On the other side, Xie Ya received a report from her subordinate.
"What? The Node channel hasn’t been opened at all?"
Her expression shifted constantly. She had considered many possibilities, but she never imagined that after completing one transaction with her, he would just hide from her and disappear.
’What is this?’
’A one-and-done deal, then?’
Xie Ya lowered her head and sneered, "It seems he only wanted to make one trade and be on his way. Forget it. The kid has no idea what kind of opportunity he’s missed. He can’t blame me for that."
...
"You’ve finished the new model so quickly?"
Qin Ziwen stood in an open space in the Yanwu Military Equipment Supervisor’s workshop. Before him was a modified Heavy Crossbow with a menacing aura.
This Crossbow Wagon’s base was fitted with special wide tires. A dozen or so craftsmen and apprentices were gathered around, while Li Yue and a few core artisans were beside the frame, making adjustments.
Li Yue patted the frame, his voice filled with obvious excitement. "Brother Qin, this is the first prototype improved with the new material. Just the strength of the crossbow arms and the projectile weighting alone make it a cut above the old model. Our initial calculations show its penetration and destructive range are at least double what they were before."
Hearing this, Qin Ziwen took a few steps closer, his eyes sweeping over several key load-bearing parts of the Crossbow Wagon.
He focused on the connection between the bow arms and the base. Within the wood grain there, faint golden specks were vaguely distributed.
This reminded him of the new Advanced Resource Points he had just acquired: Starlight Bamboo.
"Let’s go," he said, retracting his gaze. "Set up a target. Test fire."
Li Yue waved his hand, and several craftsmen quickly used a cart to move a solid block of granite, working together to set it up securely two hundred paces away.
Everyone retreated behind the Crossbow Wagon.
Following Li Yue’s command.
BANG!
A deep, muffled explosion made the air tremble as the Crossbow Arrow shot out, becoming a blurry black shadow.
From two hundred paces away came the sharp clang of metal striking stone.
In the distance, the front of the Crossbow Arrow was embedded deep within the granite. Under the powerful impact, the arrow’s shaft split into four pieces and continued to tremble.
Li Yue said, "Right now, we’re limited by the material of the arrow shaft. Ordinary materials can’t withstand such a violent impact. If we had a material hard enough to serve as the shaft, the destructive power could be increased even further."
...
...