174: Chapter 174 Another Dimension is a Treasure Trove

"The wool comes from the sheep; using their points to trade for my treasures... it's only fair."

When he returned to the territory, the night was already deep, and the stars filled the sky.

Lin Tian rode Chi Yan and slowly landed in the inner city square; the time had already reached ten o'clock at night.

The cool night breeze swept away the slight sluggishness from passing through the spatial tunnel, and also allowed his nerves, which were slightly tense from continuous battles and high-intensity thinking, to relax a little.

Stepping into the brightly lit Lords Mansion, he wiped his cheeks and hands while unconsciously recalling Qian Duoduo's panicked distress message from a few hours ago.

"Fatty Qian just happened to have some bad luck. I wonder how Lord Su Wan, Chen Hao, and Master Blacksmith Li Zhenguo are doing..."

Lin Tian sat down at his desk, his fingers tapping on the smooth surface.

These few were his longest-standing and most stable "suppliers," and they had established a preliminary level of mutual trust.

Under the chaos stirred up by the "Treasure List" and the attack order tokens, those lords who possessed unique resources but whose own combat power might not be prominent were indeed easy targets.

He no longer hesitated, opened his friend list, and sent inquiry messages to the three of them separately, his tone carrying concern.

After the inquiry messages were sent, he waited quietly, his fingers unconsciously twirling a charcoal pencil.

Replies soon began to arrive one after another.

Lord Su Wan's reply carried her usual tranquility and a hint of gratitude:

"Thank you for your concern, Big Brother Lin. Everything is fine here. I usually live in seclusion, and most of my trades are with you, so I have limited contact with the outside. For now, no one has disturbed my peace. The elves under my command have also increased their vigilance."

Chen Hao replied:

"Don't worry, Boss Lin! I'm doing great here! I'm hidden deep, and the cave entrance has been camouflaged. Those Earth Dragons aren't as professional at digging holes as I am! Hehe."

Master Blacksmith Li Zhenguo's reply was the most steady and pragmatic:

"Brother Lin, you are very thoughtful. There have been no unusual movements near my territory either. Business is based on integrity, and my dealings with you are the bulk of it; other sporadic trades haven't caused any grudges. For now, there are no problems. Your side is at the height of its military power, so you should be even more cautious."

Looking at these replies, Lin Tian's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down, and a relaxed smile appeared on his face.

Fortunately, these partners were all holding steady.

After all, they had traded for so long, accumulated trust, and he had grown accustomed to the stable resources they provided; Lin Tian truly did not want anything to happen to them.

"As long as they're okay."

He murmured to himself, then proceeded to confirm the types, quantities, and delivery times for the next batch of supplies with each of them, completing his routine "restocking" operation for the night.

Only after finishing all this did Lin Tian feel a deep exhaustion seeping out from his bones.

Two consecutive days of high-intensity action: raiding the Minotaur tribe, venturing deep into the different dimension, and cross-dimensional rescue.

Even with his platinum rank physique and Mental Energy, he felt weary.

He stood up, stretched his somewhat stiff limbs, and walked toward his bedroom.

The soft bedding carried the scent of having been dried in the sun; almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, his consciousness sank rapidly into darkness.

When he opened his eyes again, the sky outside the window was already bright.

The morning sunlight streamed through the window, casting mottled shadows on the smooth floor.

Lin Tian got up briskly, washed up, and changed into casual clothes suitable for action.

Breakfast was simple wheat porridge, fried eggs, and cured meat; he ate quickly, his mind already calculating today's itinerary.

After finishing hurriedly, he went to the square in front of the Lords Mansion.

Chi Yan was already waiting there; the majestic dragon-horse looked even more extraordinary in the morning light, the flames on its four hooves flickering submissively.

Lin Tian flipped himself onto its back and patted its neck.

"Let's go, Chi Yan. Let's go take a look over 'there'."

Chi Yan gave a long neigh and spread its massive dragon wings as flames surged.

Carrying Lin Tian, it soared into the sky once more, streaking across the sky above Lin Tian City toward that now-familiar spatial tunnel in the southeast.

Passing through the tunnel, the blood moon and desolation rushed at him once again.

As soon as Lin Tian's figure appeared at the bridgehead position,

A moon-white figure, as if sensing him long ago, jumped down from the temporarily constructed command platform nearby and landed lightly by his side.

It was Lin Yin. She seemed not to have slept all night, but her fair face showed little sign of fatigue, with only a hint of bloodshot in the depths of her eyes revealing her hard work.

Seeing Lin Tian, a trace of almost imperceptible relaxation flickered in her eyes.

"Brother Tian."

She walked to the side in front of Chi Yan, looked up slightly, and began to report in a clear, steady voice. Her pace was neither hurried nor slow, yet she summarized the night's situation with complete clarity.

"Everything is currently stable here. Rotations are orderly, and we are still proceeding steadily inward according to the established plan, clearing monsters and consolidating outposts along the way."

She paused and pointed toward the deeper, darker reaches of the wasteland under the blood moon:

"The scouting range of the Void Ranger has expanded again, reaching up to eight hundred kilometers."

"However, the resistance to further penetration is immense. It has been confirmed that platinum rank Polluted Monsters individuals have appeared, and the closer we get to the core area, the density and signs of activity of these high-level individuals increase significantly. No large-scale legion movements have been discovered yet, but the threat level has been raised."

As the report reached a certain point, her tone softened slightly, carrying a sense of concrete achievement:

"As for our army's gains, they are quite substantial. Through continuous high-intensity practical combat experience combined with the experience feedback from killing monsters, the soldiers have made significant progress."

"Currently, the Rank of all soldiers has steadily increased, with the lowest having reached Bronze 6-star. Combat losses are maintained at an extremely low level, and the priest team is sufficient to handle them."

"The lowest is Bronze 6-star now?"

Hearing this, Lin Tian's face immediately broke into an undisguised, bright smile filled with satisfaction and excitement.

When he woke up this morning to check his panel, he had already been surprised once by the explosion in his spirit crystal balance: forty million Low-grade Spirit Crystals and three hundred thousand mid-level spirit crystals!

All of that was the result of the million-strong army "toiling diligently" on this land last night.

Now hearing that the soldiers' Ranks had generally increased significantly, it was even more of a double blessing.

This tainted space—how was it some kind of dead-end hidden danger?

This was clearly an automated teller machine tailor-made for him!

"Since this place can both rapidly increase Ranks and steadily provide a large amount of spirit crystals,"

Lin Tian's mind immediately became active, and a clear plan formed in his head.

"Then I can't waste this treasure land. I must go back and continue recruiting new troops! Use the newly earned spirit crystals to pump out more troops, then bring them here to level up! Sustaining war with war, a virtuous cycle!"

He thought about the area around his territory; after days of dragnet-style clearing, the regular Polluted Monsterss had long since been wiped out, making it impossible to support large-scale, high-efficiency training.

This different dimension had appeared at just the right time.

His thoughts drifted to the five hundred thousand newly accepted refugees in the territory.

Under his arrangements, Yang Xu was leading these five hundred thousand people, working day and night to sow seeds in that newly opened fertile field to the east, which spanned over a hundred square kilometers.

They were tending to those magical crops purchased at high prices from Lord Su Wan and the Trading Platform, which possessed traits such as "fast-growing," "high-yielding," and "energy-rich."