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After all the commotion, the sky had completely darkened.
"Beep beep! Detected two hundred and thirteen units of available wood."
"Detected five hundred and forty-nine units of available stone."
"Detected one hundred and ninety-eight units of available iron."
"Detected five hundred and thirty-five units of Source Crystal."
Tang Yu smiled; with such resources, it was enough to construct either a workshop or a building in the market.
Out of the four core buildings, half were quickly assembled.
Standing on the open space behind the castle, one could see the lights of the castle not far away, particularly striking in the dark night. Yet no Demonized Beasts were attracted; after two days of clearing the surrounding Demonized Beasts, the number left within the resort's territory was already minimal, and there hadn't been a red dot on the territory map all day.
After some thought, Tang Yu decided to establish the workshop first.
Both the market and the workshop were significantly useful, but comparatively, once the workshop was built, it could start functioning immediately, whereas the market... Tang Yu estimated that with the limited Source Crystal at hand, there was no budget to build any market!
He opened the construction panel, selected the core building area, and chose to build the workshop.
"Ding! Building a workshop, consuming five hundred units of Source Crystal, one hundred units of stone, and one hundred units of iron. Do you confirm?"
"Confirm!"
From the small mountain of waste materials around, countless materials levitated, suspended in mid-air, and the Source Crystal in his pocket disintegrated, emitting a faint light like a long dragon made of fireflies, weaving these materials together.
Soon, a building five meters high and covering over two hundred square meters appeared before Tang Yu.
Even though it was the second time seeing this scene, Tang Yu still felt astounded. This was an unparalleled force, and he didn't know what the system truly was. Although it could project a voice into his mind, genuine interaction was impossible. His seamless usage mainly stemmed from his gaming experience before the apocalypse.
However, the real system was not always the same as in games. Previously, Tang Yu noticed some differences from the game at the tavern, indicating that past experiences could not be blindly borrowed. Some buildings from the late period he hadn't even constructed in the game, and when the time came, he might be at a loss.
Shaking his head, these matters still seemed far off. Developing the territory in reality was much harder than in the game; at least, acquiring building resources and Source Crystal happened much faster in the game than now.
He wasn't too dissatisfied though.
The workshop's exterior bore no special distinction, resembling an ordinary small workshop before the apocalypse. The previous tavern was the same, looking plain; not bad, but far from as splendid as the castle, seemingly lowering its class at once.
Out of curiosity, Tang Yu walked into the workshop.
The workshop was completely enclosed, without any windows, and only after opening the door did he see that it was lit inside. The floors and walls were uniformly monotonous, and the entire room was empty, except for a large black box placed in the middle.
The black box was square, wrapped in a black shell, with openings at both ends. After searching around, Tang Yu finally found something resembling an operation panel.
It ought to be the operation panel.
Tang Yu checked the workshop's function introduction, which was much simpler than the tavern's. It was merely about putting materials into the input port, then operating on the panel, and finally retrieving equipment from the black box's output.
A Level One workshop came equipped with basic blueprints, including basic weapons for all professions, basic Longsword, basic Magic Wand, basic musket, basic dagger, and Basic Holy Hammer. Defensive equipment included several types like the most ordinary light armor, heavy armor, leather armor, and robes.
Apart from weapons and armor, the most important section was the Rune section.
Runes were special symbols carved with Source Power, capable of bearing special powers. Even the most ordinary Sharp Rune etched on a common sword could make it as sharp as cutting through iron like mud.
Although the Level One workshop's equipment blueprints were ordinary, they could bear the power of one Rune unit, substantially upgrading the quality of all equipment.
Similarly, among the basic blueprints of the Level One workshop, there were also the most basic Rune blueprints.
The Basic Sharp Rune, which could slightly enhance the sharpness of weapons.
The Basic Mana Rune, which could slightly amplify the mana of the holder.
The Basic Armor Rune, which could slightly improve the protection level of armor.
Though few in number, they were fully functional.
As long as there were enough materials, a complete set of equipment could be assembled. Even though in the game this was just ordinary beginner's gear, Tang Yu believed, once obtained in reality, it would sufficiently surpass alloy weapons, stab-proof vests, and similar gear by a significant margin.
The materials for manufacturing equipment were similar to constructing buildings, mostly iron and Source Crystal. If it was making armor, sometimes some fur was needed, like Demonized Beast pelts.
Fortunately, some building materials were left, and quite a lot of Demonized Beast pelts had been collected these days, initially with no use found, they had been piled up to the point of rotting.
Tang Yu placed the materials into the input port and selected the equipment he wanted to make on the operation panel.
The operation was mindless and very simple.
[Manufacturing Basic Sharp Rune, consuming five units of Source Crystal.]
[Manufacturing Basic Mana Rune, consuming five units of Source Crystal.]
[Manufacturing Basic Longsword, consuming five units of iron, five units of Source Crystal, one Basic Sharp Rune.]
[Manufacturing Basic Magic Wand, consuming five units of wood, five units of Source Crystal, one Basic Mana Rune.]
[Manufacturing Basic Armor Rune, …]
[…, …]
...
Lindong Sanctuary.
Compared to other small shelters, which were cloaked in darkness at nightfall, many areas of Lindong Sanctuary were still lit.
Wang Tai, dressed as an ordinary survivor, watched the flow of people, including some Awakeners in fine equipment, and felt a sense of deep discontent.
He had once been the head of a shelter, with dozens of Awakeners under his command and countless resources. But now, he was no match for even some mercenaries at Lindong Sanctuary!
Having escaped from the Demon Tide, with over half of the dozen or so direct subordinates he brought dead or injured, by the time he stumbled into Lindong, only two of his direct subordinates were left. Others had elite mercenary teams with five or six Awakeners and firearms and other weapons. He had neither manpower nor weapons, nor did he have any Source Crystal, which had significant value in Lindong and could serve as universal currency, because he had left it in his former shelter due to the hasty escape.
The sanctuary had already been annihilated by the Demon Tide. He neither could nor had the ability to establish another shelter. But if he could retrieve those Source Crystals hidden in the villa, he'd still have a chance to rise again. However, having just survived the perils of the wilderness, Wang Tai realized that with just him and his two remaining subordinates, they probably wouldn't even make it halfway to the resort before dying. Moreover, after arriving in Lindong, if he ended up empty-handed, it was uncertain whether his two direct subordinates would stick with him.
Wang Tai's face fluctuated between different expressions.
At this moment, an unremarkable middle-aged man approached from a distance, and Wang Tai immediately plastered a fawning smile on his face.
The middle-aged man remained expressionless and merely stated, "What you mentioned, the boss has agreed. We'll set out first thing tomorrow morning, with me leading the team. I hope what you said is true, otherwise, you should know what might happen."
Wang Tai, hearing this, didn't express any dissatisfaction, but instead showed joy, "Of course, of course, how dare I deceive President Lin? But tomorrow, I'll have to rely greatly on Captain Han."
Han Jing glanced over, "No problem." Then he left right away.
Wang Tai watched Han Jing walk away, clenching and unclenching his fists.
With his strength alone, there was no way he could reach the resort. But if he could find a powerful backer, things would be different. Fortunately, during this escape, he made a significant discovery. Using this piece of information, he managed to establish a connection with President Lin, who was a boss-level figure, ranking among the top three in influence in Lindong!
This time, to verify the information he provided, President Lin even dispatched Han Jing, a top expert almost reaching the fourth layer of Awakening, to lead the team. With such a team, reaching the resort was as good as certain, no matter how many leftover Demonized Beasts from the Demon Tide still lingered there or what unique situations they might encounter along the way; everything would be crushed under absolute strength.
When the information was verified, he would have truly established a connection with President Lin, gaining leverage in Lindong, and secretly retrieving the hidden Source Crystals at the resort to use as initial capital for future development in Lindong.
He still had a chance to rise again!
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