Yuto Saito surveyed the options on the floating island upgrade interface and thought, "You can only choose four. You need to think this through carefully."
"Option A upgrades the main city's annex, mostly for entertainment. Not necessary right now."
"Option B raises the villa to four floors. We still have five empty rooms, so that's not a priority. Even if we get more people, the rooms are spacious enough. We can easily add another bed and have the girls share. This isn't an option either."
He nodded to himself, continuing, "Option C, the refining pharmacy, is essential. It'll allow pharmacists to produce enhanced potions efficiently."
"Option D, the hospital... no, we don't need that yet."
"Option E, a high-end community, is a must. It'll give us space to start recruiting farmers."
"Option F, greenhouse cultivation, is also crucial. It needs to be selected."
"Option G, the commercial street... that can wait for the next upgrade."
Finally, he considered, "Option J upgrades the elevator and improves its quality. Definitely needed."
Yuto Saito confirmed aloud, "System, I choose C, E, F, J."
The system responded, seeking confirmation: "Host is sure to choose C, E, F, J?"
"Confirm!" Yuto affirmed.
"Upgrading in progress," the system announced.
A faint tremor shook the floating island, catching Hu Tuan'er and Rice Noodles off guard. They had never experienced such an upgrade before. Meanwhile, in the distance, Nazi spotted several high-rise structures emerging. Her eyes widened in awe as she ascended into the air using her flight ability. "Captain! Did you upgrade the floating island?"
Yuto Saito smiled, "Yes, I upgraded it to level 4. Out of ten possible options, I could only select four. I went with a high-end community, a refining pharmacy, greenhouse cultivation, and an elevator upgrade."
He didn't bother hiding the changes—the girls could clearly see the upgrades from their vantage point.
Nazi beamed, "I can see the high-end community—there are five houses!"
"Exactly," Yuto nodded. "Each house can accommodate 200 people."
Yu Qi's excitement bubbled over, "Does this mean we can start recruiting people now?"
"As long as they pass the necessary tests, yes," Yuto confirmed.
Hu Tuan'er's eyes widened in disbelief. "It's incredible how the floating island can construct entire buildings by itself!"
"Not just buildings," Yuto explained, "but also automatic water pipes and wiring."
"That's amazing!" Hu Tuan'er exclaimed.
Rice Noodles cheered, "This is great! With a refining pharmacy, once we gather the materials, I can start making potions for everyone. So far, we only have snake blood, but we also need bear blood, chicken blood, and turtle shells."
Mina chimed in, "Chicken blood is easy, but bear blood and turtle shells will be trickier."
Ni Shuang smiled confidently. "Don't worry, I'll find them."
Yun Yun approached Yuto, handing him a small pile of stones. "Xiao Tu, here are the harvested spar—325 of them."
Ni Shuang followed suit. "I've got 278."
Natto joined, "I have 183."
Mina added sheepishly, "Only 137 from me."
Ruoruo apologized, "I only managed 36... I was busy boosting your status."
Nako stepped up, "I've collected 189, and I also have 32 golden sore medicines."
Yuto smiled at the group. "Keep the golden sore medicines, just in case we need them in an emergency."
The girls nodded in agreement, and one by one handed over their spar.
"Nice work, Yu Qi!" Yuto praised as she blushed happily. "You gathered over two hundred—well done."
Yuto then turned to the entire group. "You've all worked hard, and I want to reward you."
Mina's eyes sparkled with curiosity, thinking, "Is he planning to spoil us?" The other girls seemed to share similar thoughts.
Yuto pulled out a pouch filled with shimmering pills. "These are double-experience pills. Take one before battle, and your experience points will be doubled."
He carefully distributed the pills among the team. Yuto had some higher-multiplier pills, but he kept those for more critical situations. The team members each received 10 double-experience pills, and they were thrilled.
"Wow, Brother Su!" Ruoruo exclaimed. "If we'd had these pills earlier, we could've earned twice the experience points!"
Yuto chuckled. "I just got them after the upgrade."
Ruoruo smiled sheepishly, "Oh, I see."
Yun Yun reassured her, "Don't worry. Next time, we'll use the pills and get even more experience."
The girls agreed, their excitement building for future battles.
Yuto checked the remaining spar after the upgrade. He had used up 1,000 spar to bring the island to level 4, but with the recent contributions, he now held a total of 3,700 white spar and 3 red spar in his Na ring. To upgrade the island again, he would need 10,000 white spar.
Suddenly, the system chimed in: "Upgrade complete. Team map activated. Team members can now view the floating island map."
The girls eagerly opened the map to explore their new surroundings.
Ni Shuang pointed out the key landmarks, "Our villa is in the southeast, the greenhouse is in the southwest, the refining pharmacy is to the east, and the high-end community is to the south."
Yun Yun glanced at the vast open space to the north. "Will you build a commercial street here in the future?"
Yuto nodded. "Yes, though I couldn't choose it this time. It's part of the next upgrade."
"Good call," Yun Yun agreed. "It's too soon for a commercial street."
Mina suggested, "Let's go check out the high-end community!"
"Great idea!" Ruoruo agreed enthusiastically.
As they made their way, Yuto instructed, "When you get there, you'll need to furnish the houses with beds, appliances, tables, and chairs. Pick those up along the way."
With a quick gesture, Yuto sent a message to Yun Yun and Ni Shuang, transferring a list of items from his inventory.
The girls gathered everything they needed—beds, refrigerators, tables, and even cooking utensils—before heading toward the newly built high-end community.
Meanwhile, Yuto opened the floating island's status page:
Name: Floating Island
Level: 4 (0/10,000 spar)
Area: 1 million square meters
Main City: Three-story villa + hot spring pool
Outer City: Refining pharmacy, high-end community, greenhouse cultivation area
Features: Beam teleportation
The island now allowed for 12 beam circles, with five of them already placed strategically—two in the high-end community, one near the refining pharmacy, and two in the greenhouse area. The remaining six were scattered across the open lawn.
The girls marveled at their surroundings as they reached the upscale neighborhood, excited to see the next stage of their journey unfold.