6: Chapter 6 Contribution Point Shop

The night, like a black cloth soaked in ink, slowly covered the Lu Family Residence.

Inside the ancestral hall, the light of the bonfire flickered, casting light and shadow on the players' faces, which were a mix of excitement, solemnity, and fanaticism.

Grandpa Li's description of the Black Wind Stockade's bloody past, far from dampening their enthusiasm, was like a ladle of boiling oil poured into an already blazing fire.

The silence lasted less than ten seconds.

"Brothers, you all heard that, right?" Demolition Office Director was the first to break the silence.

His [simple leather armor], which emitted a pungent smell, shimmered with a greasy light under the firelight, yet he looked as if he were wearing divine gear, his presence suddenly surging.

"It's just a regional Boss of a beginner village. No matter how badass the backstory is, isn't he just a courier delivering equipment and experience?" He looked around, his voice powerful and resonant. "What's a hundred bandits? We're the immor—er, we're not afraid of death! Each of us spitting once could drown them!"

His words were highly inflammatory, immediately igniting the blood of all the "reckless" players present.

"That's right! Fuck 'em!"

"The Director is right! One word: fight!"

"Once I get myself a set of leather armor, I'll be the first to charge!"

However, amidst the clamor, Infrastructure Maniac calmly pushed up his non-existent glasses and poured cold water on the idea: "Don't get hot-headed. The other side is an organized armed force. What are we? A ragtag bunch holding wooden sticks and fanged daggers. A frontal charge would be meaningless, except for increasing the KPI of the Ancestor's resurrection business."

He pointed to the dilapidated courtyard walls outside the ancestral hall: "Our advantage doesn't lie in individual combat power, but in creativity. Grandpa Li said the Black Wind Stockade is entrenched on East Hill, where the terrain is treacherous and easy to defend but hard to attack. Taking the initiative to attack is the worst strategy."

He paused, a frantic light called "wisdom" flickering in his eyes: "So, we should lure them here. In our home ground, we'll prepare a grand welcoming ceremony for them."

The title of "Trap Style Master" wasn't for nothing. As soon as he finished speaking, a crude but clearly thought-out defensive fortification map had already been sketched on the floor of the ancestral hall with charcoal.

"With the ancestral hall as the core, we'll establish three lines of defense. The first, on the outskirts of the residence, will have pit traps, tripwires, and rolling stones. The second will utilize the dilapidated walls and buildings to construct a crossfire—er, a cross-throwing network, and set up spiked barricades. The third will be a final battle zone around the ancestral hall. All melee classes... everyone who can fight will be here, using the terrain and buildings to engage them in urban warfare!"

This detailed "construction plan" calmed everyone down and made them start thinking seriously.

"This is reliable!"

"As expected of the infrastructure big shot, professional!"

"I propose establishing the 'Lu Family Infrastructure Engineering Department' with Infrastructure Maniac as the Chief Engineer!"

Gossip Reporter Little Trumpet raised a question from another angle, waving the small notebook in her hand: "There's too little intelligence. We only know there are about a hundred of them, their leader is named Wang Two Tiger, and he knows the Black Wind Saber Technique. But what about their specific troop composition? Equipment level? Patrol routes? When will they attack? We know nothing about these."

She looked at everyone with a sharp gaze: "War is not a dinner party; only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle. I suggest we must organize a reconnaissance squad to infiltrate the vicinity of East Hill and find out the enemy's details!"

For a moment, the ancestral hall seemed to turn into an efficiently functioning war command center.

The offensive faction, the defensive faction, and the intelligence faction—various ideas clashed fiercely, but their goal was surprisingly consistent: take down the Black Wind Stockade and get gold coins from the Ancestor... oh no, bring glory to the ancestors!

Just then, Appearance is Justice, who had been constantly shunned by everyone, suddenly spoke up.

"Have you all... considered a very core issue?" she said with a serious face.

Everyone was stunned, and even Demolition Office Director couldn't help asking: "What issue? Are you going to say our traps aren't dug beautifully enough?"

"Of course not!" Appearance is Justice puffed out her chest and announced righteously, "It's our flag! Our battle robes! We are the Filial Sons and Virtuous Grandchildren of the Ancestor, the glorious members of the Lu Family. How can we go to war with others without a handsome battle flag that can blind the enemy's dog eyes?!"

She became more excited as she spoke: "And our armor! Look at it now, all black and dingy—how is it any different from something rolled out of the mud? We must have a uniform! The colors must be bright, and the style must be trendy! We need to let the enemy know at a glance that we are an elite force, a righteous force, a... most handsome force!"

These words plunged the entire ancestral hall into a deathly silence once again.

Even Infrastructure Maniac felt his CPU was a bit overloaded.

Going to war... and the first considerations are flags and fashion?

What kind of logic is this?

However, to their surprise, this divine theory actually received responses from many people, especially the female players.

"Well said! The flag is the soul of the army!"

"I support this! You can lose a fight, but you can't lose your looks!"

"Big shot Skillful Hands Mending, can you research a dyeing function? I want pink leather armor!"

Skillful Hands Mending looked bewildered at the question: "Pink... we might need to find a certain type of red flower and then neutralize it with alkaline stone..."

Seeing that the war mobilization meeting was about to turn into a fashion show, Lu Bei, sitting atop the spirit tablets, felt both gratified and helpless.

He was gratified that the organization and initiative of this group of players far exceeded his imagination.

In a short time, they had spontaneously formed strategic plans and the prototypes of various departments.

This centripetal force, condensed by a common goal, was continuously transforming into the purest incense faith power, repairing his weakened soul body.

The helpless part was that their thinking was indeed too... unrestrained.

However, he soon realized that this might also be an opportunity.

Any demand from the players, as long as it could be translated into action, would ultimately become a source of his power.

So, with a thought.

[Ding!]

A crisp notification sound rang in the minds of all players.

[Family Treasury System Updated]

[New Module Added: Family Engineering]

- Clan members can create large-scale Family Engineering projects, setting goals, required resources, and contribution point rewards.

- All clan members can donate resources to projects or take on sub-tasks to earn contributions.

- Currently active engineering projects:

1. **[Lu Family Residence Defensive Fortifications]** - Chief Engineer: Infrastructure Maniac

2. **[Logistics Equipment Production Line]** - Chief Engineer: Skillful Hands Mending

3. **[Black Wind Stockade Intelligence Reconnaissance]** - Project Leader: Gossip Reporter Little Trumpet

4. **[Lu Family Battle Flag and Military Appearance Design]** - Project Leader: Appearance is Justice

[New Exchange Items]

- [Basic Tool Kit (Axe/Pickaxe/Hoe)]: 15 contribution points/set

- [Crude Hemp Rope]: 5 contribution points/bundle

- [Hemostatic Herbal Pack]: 20 contribution points/pack

The Ancestor's "oracle" descended once more, instantly putting an end to all arguments and transforming them into a concrete, executable action plan.

"Holy crap! The Ancestor is awesome! Even military appearance design got a project!"

"This system is too smart! It's practically our personal secretary!"

"Brothers, don't just stand there, let's get to work! For the Ancestor's golden coffin!"

A shout ignited the entire night.

The war machine of the fourth calamity roared to life with an almost barbaric efficiency.

The entire Lu Family Residence completely turned into a massive, bustling construction site.

Infrastructure Maniac led his "Engineering Department," using tools just exchanged from the treasury, working fervently outside the courtyard walls.

Under his command, standardized pit traps were dug out, their bottoms filled with sharpened wooden stakes;

Giant logs cut from the back mountain had their branches stripped and were mounted on the walls, becoming lethal rolling logs;

Countless vines and hemp ropes were woven into nets, hidden among the grass and ruins.

"Everyone, follow my lead! Pit trap No. 3 in Area A isn't deep enough, dig another half meter! The tripwire in Area B is too high, lower it to ankle height! The catapults in Area C—er, the slings, prepare more ammunition! Who the hell piled stones there? That's the track for the rolling logs!"

Infrastructure Maniac's roars echoed through the night sky, filled with the unique charm of a project manager rushing to meet a deadline.

On the other side, Skillful Hands Mending's "production line" was also in full swing.

Before her was a pile of [Wild Boar Hide] and [Green Vine Sinew] handed in by the players.

She didn't keep her skills to herself, instead generously teaching the production process and key points of [simple leather armor] to several skillful players willing to join the production business.

Soon, a production line workbench integrating raw material processing, cutting, and stitching was set up in the side hall of the ancestral hall.

Piece after piece of leather armor, ugly but with solid defensive power, was continuously produced and immediately snapped up by players with enough contribution points.

Meanwhile, Appearance is Justice actually pulled together a "Military Appearance Design" squad.

Instead of digging dirt or sewing leather armor, they scoured the mountains for flowers, plants, and ores that could be used for dyeing.

"This red flower is good. Let's squeeze out the juice and see if we can get a 'period red'!"

"Look! I found yellow mud! We can make a 'nouveau riche gold' battle flag!"

"Who can go to the back mountain and see if there are any peacocks or wild chickens? Pluck a few of the prettiest feathers to decorate the Director's helmet!"

They chattered away, seemingly idle, yet in their own alternative way, they added a splash of color to the oppressive war preparations.

Even I Love Exploiting Loopholes, after a bout of diarrhea, accidentally discovered that the fruit of a plant that had upset his stomach could produce an indelible, eerie green juice. It was instantly hailed as a treasure by Appearance is Justice, named "Forgiveness Green," and declared one of the official support colors of the Lu Family Army.

As for Gossip Reporter Little Trumpet, she selected two small and agile players to form the "Sharp Knife Reconnaissance Squad."

The three of them removed everything reflective from their bodies, used mud and grass juice to paint camouflage on their faces, took only the simplest weapons and medicine, and under everyone's gaze, vanished like three ghostly shadows into the night leading toward East Hill.

Atop the ancestral hall's spirit tablets, Lu Bei quietly "watched" all of this.

He could clearly feel that as the players took organized action, streams of massive and pure incense faith power were surging frantically into his soul body like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea.

That feeling was like a dying patient being injected with the most potent life potion; his parched soul was being refilled, and his strength was recovering at an unprecedented speed.

These players were locusts, a calamity, but they were also the most powerful catalysts and most primitive life force in this decaying world.

They brought their gaming experience, logic, and unscrupulous creativity to this real world, triggering a terrifying chemical reaction that no one could have predicted.

Lu Bei slowly "raised his head," his gaze seemingly penetrating the roof of the ancestral hall and the heavy night, looking toward East Hill, which crouched in the darkness like a giant beast.

There, the lackeys of the Black Wind Stockade were still drinking and eating meat, boasting about their daytime looting.

Their leader, Wang Two Tiger, was perhaps stroking his blood-soaked Black Wind Great Saber, calculating when to trample that ungrateful Lu Family.

None of them knew that a group of "madmen" from another world had already viewed them as the first "dungeon" on their path to the peak. A grand, unscrupulous hunting net was quietly being spread.

The corners of Lu Bei's mouth curled into a cold smile.

"A beginner's gift pack..."

He murmured to himself.

"I hope there's enough of you... for these Filial Sons and Virtuous Grandchildren of mine to share."