11: Chapter 11 Infrastructure Maniac

The feverish wave of construction in the family territory lasted for three full days.

During these three days, the players' enthusiasm was like an inextinguishable star, illuminating this barren ancestral land as if it were a divine kingdom.

Under the precise planning of "Infrastructure Maniac" and the powerful organization of "Demolition Office Director," functional buildings rose from nothing, one after another.

The warehouse was expanded twice, filled with a steady stream of ore and timber transported back from the back mountain.

The forge's fire never went out day or night, and the clanging of hammers became the most stirring background music of this land. Countless players held "+1" or even "+2" weapons, their faces overflowing with simple and satisfied smiles.

Although the alchemy room and talisman room were still crude, the lifestyle players led by "Skillful Hands Mending" had successfully researched primary products like [Inferior Golden Sore Ointment] and [Glimmer Talisman]. Though their effects were modest, it marked the official establishment of the family's logistics system from scratch.

The evolution of the player group was visible to the naked eye.

They were no longer a disorganized mob but a combat group with clear divisions of labor and unified goals.

Combat-focused players formed hunting teams and ventured deep into the back mountain to provide the family with a steady supply of furs, meat, and contribution points.

Production-focused players sweated profusely within the territory, converting resources into equipment, medicines, and talismans.

Furthermore, intelligence-type players led by "Gossip Reporter Little Trumpet" had begun trying to build good relationships with the family's few remaining NPCs, attempting to dig up more "hidden information" from them.

Inside the ancestral hall, Lu Bei, sitting atop the memorial tablets, took all of this in.

The power of incense within his soul body had nearly doubled in these three days, its solidity far exceeding before.

Every bit of energetic construction by the players, and every moment of joy after an upgrade, would transform into the purest faith, nourishing him as the "Ancestor."

However, amidst his gratification, Lu Bei also noticed a bottleneck.

The legacy of the Black Wind Stockade and the ordinary resources of the back mountain were nearly exhausted by this swarm of locust-like players.

The iron ore quality was low, with +3 reinforcement being the limit.

Ordinary timber was of little use, and the houses built were only of mundane quality.

The beasts in the back mountain were being slaughtered to the point of extinction; even the wild boars had learned to bypass the family territory.

The players' growth curve had begun to flatten.

In the shop, the "Black Wind Saber Technique" worth one thousand contribution points remained unredeemed by anyone.

He had to find them a new "map," new "resource points," and... new "mobs."

"It's time," Lu Bei thought to himself.

He mobilized his increasingly thick soul power, and an invisible divine sense, like a spring breeze turning into rain, silently brushed across the heart of every online player.

[Family Quest (Long-term): Expanding Territory]

[Quest Description: Although our ancestral land is secure, the terrain within a hundred-mile radius remains unknown, and its fortunes uncertain. For the long-term benefit of the family and the future of you descendants, you should follow the example of the sages, explore the unknown, and map the area. Anyone who explores new lands and maps them will be richly rewarded. If strategic locations such as ore veins, spiritual lands, or secret realms are discovered, the rewards will be doubled!]

[Quest Reward: Based on map completion and exploration value, 10-10,000 contribution points will be rewarded, and family reputation will be unlocked.]

This oracle-like quest notification was like a giant boulder dropped into a calm lake, instantly whipping up a massive wave among the player base.

"A new quest! The Ancestor has issued another quest!"

"A map-opening quest! I love doing this! Open-world exploration, maximum freedom!"

"A reward of ten thousand contribution points?! Holy crap! If I find an immortal's cave, wouldn't I be able to redeem the 'Black Wind Saber Technique' directly?"

"Brothers, stop mining that crappy iron ore! The returns are too low! Let's go, let's go, form a team to open the map! The real treasures are far away!"

The players, who were just worrying about contribution points, seemed to be injected with new motivation and instantly found a direction to strive for.

They dropped their hammers and hoes, forming dozens of exploration teams in small groups, spreading out like mercury toward the unknown regions beyond the family territory.

Among the many exploration teams, one team appeared particularly professional.

The leader was a man with the ID "Miner Boss."

Unlike other players who wandered aimlessly, he held a homemade, crude "probe rod," occasionally tapping the ground or picking up a handful of soil to sniff, his expression as focused as if he were performing some sacred ritual.

"Boss, where are we going? We've walked almost ten miles and haven't even seen a rabbit hole," a player in the team complained.

"Shut up, you don't understand," "Miner Boss" said without looking up. "Follow my lead. You think finding ore is about luck? It's about science! Looking at the mountain range's direction, observing the color of earth and stone, and discerning the vitality of plants—there's a whole science to it!"

No one knew that "Miner Boss" had been a geological exploration engineer in reality, possessing a near-instinctive intuition and professional knowledge for finding ore veins.

For him, what attracted him most to this game wasn't fighting and killing, but the joy of exploring the unknown and discovering treasures.

Under his leadership, the team bypassed dense forests, crossed mountain streams, and gradually delved into a rugged hilly area.

The color of the rocks here was noticeably deeper than near the family territory, showing a dull ochre-red.

"Stop!" "Miner Boss" suddenly raised his hand and crouched down, his gaze fixed intently on a fractured rock layer beneath his feet.

In the crevices of that rock layer, he keenly caught a hint of an unusual glimmer.

The light was extremely dim; if one didn't observe closely, it would be very easy to miss.

He carefully pushed aside the rubble with his probe rod, revealing a stone about the size of a baby's fist embedded in the rock wall.

It was pale cyan all over, with a texture like crystal. Inside, a faint luster seemed to flow slowly. Holding it in his hand, he could feel a faint, cool aura permeating his skin.

"Miner Boss" didn't even look at the system notification; relying solely on that unique energy fluctuation, his breathing instantly quickened, and an unprecedented ecstasy erupted in his eyes.

"Found it... Holy shit! I found it!" he almost screamed at the top of his lungs.

The other team members curiously gathered around.

[System Notification: You have found 'low-grade spirit stone' x1.]

[System Notification: You have discovered a 'Low-grade Spirit Stone Vein (Exposed Ore Point)'!]

[World Announcement: Player 'Miner Boss' and his team have discovered the cultivation resource 'Spirit Stone Vein' for the first time, performing an outstanding service for the family's development! Each team member is rewarded with 500 contribution points, and 'Miner Boss' is awarded the special title [Exploration Pioneer]!

]

A series of system notifications rolled like thunder, not only exploding in the ears of the team members but also detonating like a nuclear bomb among the entire player base.

"Holy crap! Spirit stones! It's spirit stones!"

"We're rich! This is definitely a strategic resource countless times more advanced than iron ore!"

"'Miner Boss' is awesome! Everyone, stand up!"

In the family channel, roars of envy, jealousy, and hate filled the screen.

Meanwhile, "Miner Boss's" team had fallen into a state of immense ecstasy.

They looked at the bare hills as if they were looking at treasuries piled high with mountains of gold.

"Dig! Dig it all for me!" At "Miner Boss's" command, several people immediately pulled out their pickaxes and began a frantic assault on the rock wall.

The clanging sounds of mining seemed exceptionally sharp in the silent valley.

However, they didn't notice that on a hilltop not far behind them, two figures were coldly watching them.

They were two young men dressed in moon-white robes, their sleeves fluttering and their temperaments ethereal, completely out of place in these wild mountains.

Beneath their feet, they stepped on a Flying Sword glowing with green light, actually hovering in mid-air.

"Senior Brother, who are those ragged fellows down there? Their behavior is so crude, yet they dare to steal spirit stones on our Qingxi Chen Family's territory?" The younger cultivator on the left frowned, his eyes full of disdain.

The man called Senior Brother had a slightly more composed face. He looked them over for a moment and snorted coldly, "From the look of them, they don't seem like mundane hunters, but rather like some family's crazed private soldiers. Hmph, no matter who they are, anyone who dares touch my Chen Family's mine is seeking their own death."

As soon as he finished speaking, his right hand formed a sword incantation. With a "shoo," the Flying Sword beneath his feet turned into a streak of green lightning and shot toward the players who were buried in their digging!

At this moment, "Miner Boss's" team was immersed in the joy of their harvest.

As piece after piece of low-grade spirit stones were chipped out of the rock wall, the notification sounds of rapidly rising contribution points and mining proficiency made them unable to stop.

"War God Number One" was also in the team. He had just used his newly acquired contribution points to reinforce his [fine steel broadsword] to +2 and was looking for something to test its power on.

"Boss, this rock is too hard; my pickaxe is almost blunted," he complained. Then, his gaze shifted and he saw the Flying Sword flashing with green light.

"Eh? What's that? A newly spawned elite mob? It can fly?" Instead of being afraid, his eyes lit up, and he raised his +2 broadsword to meet it.

"Perfect timing! I'll use you to test the power of my +2 blade!"

The other players also noticed the Flying Sword, and their reactions were identical to "War God Number One's."

To them, this was just a new type of monster in the game, with a cool design and potentially higher drop rates.

On the hill, the young cultivator couldn't help but sneer at the sight. "A bunch of ants, actually trying to block a Magical Artifact with mundane iron? Truly foolish."

A cruel arc also curled at the corner of the Senior Brother's mouth.

The Flying Sword traced a graceful arc in the air, its speed suddenly increasing as the green light on the tip surged.

"War God Number One's" broadsword had just been raised over his head, and before he could strike, the green light arrived in an instant.

*Puchi!*

A slight sound of a sharp blade entering flesh.

Under the horrified gazes of all the team members, "War God Number One's" movements came to a screeching halt.

His chest had a hole the size of a bowl, visible from front to back, with blood gushing out.

His health points, which he was so proud of, were emptied in an instant.

"-358!" A huge red critical hit number floated up from above his head.

*Clang.*

The [fine steel broadsword +2] dropped to the ground, and the body of this "Life-Bargaining First Person" slowly fell backward, turning into specks of white light and vanishing.

Instant kill!

Total silence.

All the players were stunned, the ecstasy on their faces frozen and replaced by an unbelievable horror.

"War... War God was insta-killed?"

"How is that possible! He's the best-equipped person on the whole server!"

"What kind of attack was that? I didn't even see it clearly!"

They finally realized that the "mob" they encountered this time was different from any they had faced before.

"A bunch of idiots, afraid now?" The young cultivator's voice came from afar, filled with mockery and arrogance. "This is the Qingxi Chen Family's territory. Your trespassing and theft are crimes punishable by death! Now, kneel and accept your death, and perhaps we'll leave your corpses intact!"

Before he could finish, the Senior Brother beside him had already lost patience.

"Why waste words with these ants."

He pointed his fingers like a sword and made a gesture toward the surviving players below.

"Fire Crow Technique!"

In an instant, a ball of scorching flame was created out of thin air at his fingertips, quickly condensing into a lifelike fire crow. It let out a sharp cry and, trailing a long tail of fire, dove toward the crowd!

The terrifying heat made the players feel a burning pain on their skin even from a distance.

"Run!" "Miner Boss" was the first to react, letting out a heart-wrenching scream.

However, how could a mortal's legs be faster than the speed of a spell?

*Boom—!*

The fire crow exploded violently among the crowd, turning into a sea of fire that instantly engulfed three players.

Before they could even let out a shrill scream, their figures were turned to charcoal in the fire, and then became dissipating white light.

In just one encounter, a five-man team had four dead and one fleeing.

"Miner Boss" scrambled out of the explosion range, his back still scorched black by the flames, his health points in critical condition.

He looked back in horror only to see the two white-robed youths looking down at him like gods, their eyes filled with indifference and disdain.

At that moment, a fear originating from the depths of his soul gripped his heart.

He finally understood that what they had encountered was no longer mountain bandits or beasts, but a group of true cultivators who wielded extraordinary power and viewed mortals as mere grass!

From this moment on, this game was no longer the happy time of playing house in the newbie village.

"Miner Boss" didn't dare stay for a second longer. Burning with his last will to survive, he ran like crazy toward the family territory.

Behind him, the two cultivators of the Qingxi Chen Family watched his pathetic, fleeing figure and did not pursue.

"Senior Brother, just let him go like that?"

"It doesn't matter, just an ant. If he runs, he runs. It's just as well to let him go back and deliver a message, so his master knows that the things of my Qingxi Chen Family aren't something any random person can covet." The Senior Brother retracted his Flying Sword and said indifferently, "Let's go. This place has been defiled. We need to report to the family and have someone come to set up a restriction and watch over it properly."

The two figures turned into streaks of light and vanished into the horizon.

And this brief but incredibly tragic encounter, its images and information, had swept through the entire player community with the speed of a storm through "Miner Boss's" perspective.

The world channel completely exploded.

"Holy shit! What did I just see? Flying Swords? Spells?"

"War God Number One was insta-killed! One move! He was wiped out along with his gear!"

"Are those NPCs? Is that something players can even fight? The game's stats must be broken!"

"Qingxi Chen Family... damn, we've poked a nest of cultivation families!"

Panic, shock, anger, and a hint of indescribable excitement—various emotions intertwined, making all players realize that a brand new era, full of the unknown and terror, had arrived.

Inside the ancestral hall, Lu Bei's gaze was as deep as the sea.

He had "watched" the entire conflict, his expression showing no ripples.

All of this was within his expectations.

Without experiencing true despair, how would this group of fearless players ever learn to have awe?

Without awe, how could they unleash their true potential?

"Qingxi Chen Family..." he softly murmured the name.

This was the first, and most important, whetstone he had prepared for the players to step into this world.

The gears of war had begun to turn.