132: Chapter 132 Merging Areas

"Special talents... are hard to come by. Take it slow. As long as people arrive and settle down, who knows, maybe one day, I really will unearth a treasure?"

The night deepened, and dew silently crept onto the blades of grass.

Lin Tian finished his dinner hastily and returned to the third-floor bedroom of his villa.

The magic crystal lamp illuminated the room brightly. He slumped into his recliner, staring blankly at the ceiling for a while before seeming to remember something.

With a thought, he brought up the deep blue [Regional Chat Channel] panel.

After just a glance, he straightened up from his chair as if poked in the backside by a needle, his sleepiness vanishing instantly.

In the top right corner of the panel, that number stung his eyes: 3000 / 10000.

"Exactly three thousand?" Lin Tian gasped, rubbing his eyes to confirm he hadn't misread it. It was over thirty-five hundred earlier today, even without a beast tide. How long had it been since then?

Another five hundred plus living people were gone!

Scrolling down through the chat history, he understood quickly.

Messages were still scrolling in the channel, but the atmosphere was completely different.

The clamor, bragging, mindless trash talk, and cheap scams of the past were gone, replaced by an oppressive silence, cautious probing, and naked resource trading.

"Acquiring any healing items. Price is negotiable. Urgently needed to save a life!"

"Many lords have used an 'attack order token'. Everyone, watch your mouths!"

"Looking to buy defensive building blueprints. Price negotiable."

...

Between the lines, a sense of tension regarding "precarious survival" and "careful speech" permeated everything.

Occasionally, someone would speak aggressively, immediately drawing silence or a lukewarm warning:

"Brother, say less. Careful about getting 'targeted'."

"attack order token..." Lin Tian tapped his fingers unconsciously on the armrest, his eyes showing understanding, mixed with a hint of cold amusement.

"It seems all lords who survived the beast tide are rewarded with this thing!"

The effect is immediate.

Coming through the 'internet cable' for real-life PVP is certainly more intimidating than just trash-talking in the channel.

This has completely torn away that last fragile fig leaf of 'civilization'."

He closed the channel, his mouth curling into a cold, joyless arc.

Merging regions? It seems to be a matter of a day or two. Whether the new neighbors are wolves or tigers, he would know soon enough.

Others might fear being "targeted", but he certainly didn't.

In fact... he was even faintly looking forward to it. If there really were someone blind enough to use that damn attack order token to teleport into his iron-clad Lin Tian City...

Heh heh, that scene would be too beautiful to even imagine.

It would be perfect for his new recruits to practice on, and he could make a "windfall" too.

Without further thought, he switched to the [Trading Platform].

With a large amount of spirit crystals in his hands, if not now, when?

Like someone clearing out a store, he began to wantonly acquire various things useful for territory construction.

Mainly various basic production blueprints: intermediate carpentry workshop, stonemason workshop, primary textile workshop, etc.

As well as some rare crop or cash crop seeds.

Spirit crystals flowed out rapidly, exchanged for piles of blueprints and strange seeds, filling his storage space to the brim.

After clearing out the trading market, he opened his friend list and first found Master Blacksmith Li Zhenguo and Chen Hao.

"Brother Li, Refined Iron, another ten thousand."

"Brother Chen Hao, black-yellow stone, same old rules, ten thousand."

The message was sent, and Master Blacksmith Li Zhenguo quickly confirmed, completing the transaction readily.

Things were a bit slower on Chen Hao's side, but when he replied, his tone was tinged with excitement and mystery:

"Boss Lin! No problem with the black-yellow stone, I have it anytime! But... I hit the jackpot while mining today! I dug up a warm jade vein! Although the reserves aren't large, the quality is good!"

Warm jade? Lin Tian raised an eyebrow, feeling interested. This thing sounded like a type of jade containing fire-attribute energy.

Chen Hao quickly sent over the item information.

[Warm Jade]:

A type of jade containing gentle fire-attribute energy. It feels warm to the touch, and wearing it for a long time has the effect of slightly nourishing the body and dispelling cold.

It can be inlaid into equipment to slightly increase resistance to ice-attribute attacks.

It can also be smelted into weapons to add a minor, continuous fire-attribute burn effect. However, the energy is gentle and not very aggressive.

[Quantity]: Ten thousand units.

"Interesting. It's good for making accessories or as auxiliary enchanting material."

Lin Tian commented. But immediately after, Chen Hao sent another message, attached with a picture.

The picture showed a crystal the size of an egg, bright orange-red throughout, with what looked like molten lava flowing slowly inside, radiating astonishing heat.

"Boss Lin, look at this! Flame Jade!

It was dug out from the very core of that warm jade vein, close to the geothermal fire source!

It's a treasure formed after the warm jade was tempered by geothermal fire essence for years!

The energy in this thing is much more intense. It can be used directly as a one-time fire bomb, or as high-level enchanting material for fire mages or weapons!

It's a pity the quantity is too small. Only about two thousand units were dug out before the vein dried up. Who knows how many years it would take to form again."

[Flame Jade]:

Formed by pure warm jade tempered for a long time by refined geothermal fire, containing explosive fire-attribute energy.

It can serve as a high-power fire energy carrier, which can produce a violent explosion when triggered instantly.

It is one of the core materials for crafting high-tier fire magic equipment, scrolls, and potions.

[Quantity]: Two thousand units.

"Warm Jade, Flame Jade..."

Lin Tian's eyes lit up.

Flame Jade is definitely good stuff. Whether it's used to manufacture high-power one-time explosives or for the future Fusion of new troop types, it has great potential!

"Chen Hao, I want both of these!" Lin Tian said without hesitation. "One spirit crystal for two units of Warm Jade, and one spirit crystal per unit for Flame Jade, how about that?"

Chen Hao naturally had no reason to refuse, and the transaction was completed quickly.

Looking at the ten thousand pieces of warm, smooth Warm Jade and two thousand pieces of scorching Flame Jade that had appeared in his storage space, Lin Tian felt very satisfied.

Next, he opened Lord Su Wan's avatar.

Moonlight Grove was his important logistics base, especially as a source of food and herbs.

"Lord Su Wan, are you there? Same as usual, I'll take all your surplus vegetables and fruits, moon birch spirit wood, healing potion, and holy lotus fruit. The price remains the same."

Lord Su Wan replied very quickly; she seemed to have been there all along.

The transaction was completed quickly, and another large batch of fresh food, wood, and potions entered his inventory.

After handling the daily supplies, a thought occurred to Lin Tian, and he remembered the [Mount Card (Dayuan Steed)] he had obtained.

Since they had discovered plains to the south of the territory, cavalry was definitely a direction for future development, and cavalry couldn't do without fodder.

With a 'let's see' attitude, he asked:

"Lord Su Wan, there's one more thing I want to ask. Do you have... any kind of plant seeds that are suitable for large-scale cultivation, grow very fast, and are mainly for livestock (like horses or cattle) to eat?"

"It doesn't matter if people can eat it or not; the key is high yield, fast growth, and enough nutrition for livestock consumption."