40: Chapter 40 Lin Yin's Massage Service

"Third time's the charm, I don't believe it!" Lin Tian took a deep breath, as if trying to dispel the shadow of being an "unlucky soul." This time, he used both hands simultaneously, pressing them onto the last two silver treasure chests. "Give it to me, open!"

Buzz!

Two silver-white beams of light, brighter and more solid than before, suddenly emerged. They converged, illuminating a corner of the warehouse as if it were broad daylight! Within the light, complex runic phantoms seemed to flash and vanish in an instant.

"It dropped!" Lin Tian's eyes lit up; this light effect looked extraordinary! His bad luck finally hadn't stuck with him until the end.

As the light dissipated, two items floated in the air.

The first was a small tower model with an exquisite structure and shimmering light-blue energy flows. It was about a palm's width high, with every detail rendered vividly, and a crystal-like core slowly rotating at its peak.

[Obtained: Special Building Blueprint (One-time use) - Warning Tower.]

Lin Tian couldn't wait to check its information:

Warning Tower: A special detection-type building. It can detect all units within a certain range centered on itself that harbor hostility toward the territory, marking and issuing warnings. Detection range and precision increase with the building's level. Requires daily injection of energy (Low-grade Spirit Crystal) to maintain operation.

Construction Requirements: wood × 500, stone × 500, iron ore × 500, Low-grade Spirit Crystal × 500.

Level 1 Attributes: Detection radius of 100 meters. Upgradable.

"Radar! This is a territorial radar!" Lin Tian was overjoyed. Although the construction and maintenance costs were high, for them, who were about to lose their protective shield, the strategic value of this item was immeasurable! "It's a bit pricey, but we have a big business now, we can afford it! It must be built!"

Without hesitation, he selected an open space next to the Lords Mansion and invested the resources. Moments later, a Warning Tower about ten meters high, constructed entirely of silver-gray metal and stone with a massive detection crystal embedded at the top, rose from the ground, its body flowing with quiet blue light patterns.

Sinking his consciousness into the control core, a semi-transparent circular map immediately unfolded before his eyes. The inner circle in white represented safety, while the outer circle at this moment was densely packed with piercing red dots—the Nocturnal Monsters lurking outside the protective shield!

"Too practical!" Lin Tian marveled. "In the future, whoever wants to sneak in will have to ask my 'eyes' for permission first!"

Calming his excitement, he looked at the second item. It was a heavy leather scroll edged with some kind of silver metal wire, emitting a cold, hard military aura.

[Obtained: Permanent Blueprint - City Defense Giant Crossbow (Silver Quality).]

City Defense Giant Crossbow: A large fixed defensive weapon with an extremely long range and immense power, possessing certain armor-piercing and knockback effects. Must be installed on a sturdy city wall or a specific crossbow platform. Can be built repeatedly. Requires Spirit Crystal filling; one filling costs 1,000 Spirit Crystals and allows for continuous automatic firing at enemies. Must be refilled once the Spirit Crystals are exhausted.

Note: Let the giant beasts that dare to approach taste the sensation of being pierced by giant bolts.

"Great stuff! This is the heavy hardware for city defense! Much fiercer than arrow towers! But the cost per filling is too much, it's heart-wrenching!" Lin Tian stroked the cool surface of the blueprint, unable to put it down. "Once our city walls are up and we mount several rows of these things, then we'll truly be impregnable! As for the arrow towers... we'll just use them as high-level observation decks in the future."

By the time he finished opening all the chests, more than ten minutes had passed. The successive "shocks" and "surprises," combined with the fierce battle during the day and the planning in the evening, made even Lin Tian's Bronze-grade physique feel a hint of mental exhaustion. He casually pulled over a simple but sturdy wooden stool from beside the warehouse door, sat down with a thud, and let out a long sigh.

"Finally done... let's see what's new in the 'Channel'." He muttered, opening the Regional Chat Channel he hadn't browsed carefully for a long time.

The first thing that caught his eye was the cold number in the upper right corner: 8914/10000.

The relaxed expression on Lin Tian's face faded, and he fell silent for a moment. This number meant that over two hundred more Lords had fallen on this fourth day. "Living... is really not easy," he sighed softly, his tone complex.

He felt fortunate to have started with the heaven-defying talent of "Fusion of All Things." Otherwise, starting with ordinary Militia and facing the increasingly dangerous environment and elusive Polluted Monsters, he might be shivering in some corner right now, or perhaps he would have already become one of the statistics.

This sense of fortune made him cherish everything he had now and strengthened his resolve to continuously grow stronger.

Lin Yin had been quietly accompanying him by his side, watching his vivid expressions of disappointment or surprise when opening the chests, his focus when checking the Warning Tower's functions, and the fleeting gravity and lamentation when he saw the numbers on the channel.

Now, seeing that he seemed to have temporarily finished his business and was just sitting quietly on the stool gazing at the night sky, that back which was always held straight appeared, under the outline of the firelight and moonlight, to show an imperceptible hint of... fatigue?

Her heart stirred slightly.

With almost no further thought, as if simply following a natural impulse, she walked slowly behind Lin Tian.

She hesitated for a brief instant—something extremely rare in her decisive and swift combat style—then she gently raised her long, fair hands and, with a trace of an indiscernible tremble, placed them on Lin Tian's broad and tense shoulders.

Lin Tian, who was immersed in his thoughts, suddenly felt a weight on his shoulders, followed by two points of warmth—soft yet firm, and not lacking in gentleness—pressing down.

Immediately after, that familiar scent—a mixture of a faint fragrance and a very slight aura of bloodlust—quietly enveloped him from behind, clearer than ever before, and more... intimate.

His body stiffened almost imperceptibly as he turned his head in surprise, his tone carrying astonishment and a hint of subtle nervousness: "Lin Yin? What are you...?"

Lin Yin did not stop immediately. Her fingertips maintained a moderate pressure, gently kneading the stiff muscles to try and dissolve the tension. She lowered her head slightly; from this angle, she could see Lin Tian's well-defined profile and the curve of his ear.

Her voice was several degrees softer than usual, as if afraid of disturbing something: "I saw that the Lord has been busy all day, between the battles and the planning, and just now opening the chests was also mentally taxing... you must be tired. I... I'll rub your shoulders to help you relax." At the end of her sentence, there was a hint of cautious expectation that she herself hadn't noticed.

"Tired? I'm not tired!" Lin Tian straightened his back almost as a reflex, blurting out the words as his subconscious image of an "omnipotent" Lord rose up. "You all are the ones who are truly tired from fighting on the front lines; I'm just in the back talking, how tired could I get?" He spoke briskly, as if the comfortable sensation coming from his shoulders didn't exist.

Hearing this, Lin Yin's movements paused slightly. She blinked, looking at the man's forced posture, and the bit of shyness in her heart was suddenly brushed by a streak of clever playfulness.