Chapter 130 - 121: Operation Toad Hunt
Wang Yun observed the area for a moment before voicing his doubts. "This location is alright. It’s about six or seven meters deep, but for a creature of its size, that isn’t much. If it jumps to the bottom, getting back out shouldn’t be difficult."
"There probably aren’t any deeper ravines on the way here," Qin Ziwen recalled. From the foot of the mountain to the area around the cave, he truly hadn’t seen any pits that deep.
"But there are two other spots with similar terrain."
The group then headed up the mountain to inspect the other two locations. After some discussion, they ultimately rejected both.
One spot was relatively gentle; it was less of a pit and more of a gentle slope.
The other was surrounded by too much open ground and lacked cover, making an ambush difficult.
Qin Ziwen pointed toward the deepest part of the cave. "The last option is inside the cave itself. Its lair is deep inside. There’s water in there, and while it’s not deep, I’m worried it will still affect our Incendiary Bottle strategy."
The others arrived at the cave entrance, first glancing warily at the swarm of bats overhead.
Then, they followed the beams of their flashlights into the depths.
Wang Yun couldn’t help but exclaim, "So this is where the altar is. How would an ordinary person ever find this place?"
The journey up hadn’t seemed to take long, but that was only because they had a guide and hadn’t taken any detours.
Otherwise, on this pathless mountain, they could have wandered for half a month and still not found this cave on the mountainside. A flat, forested area in front of the entrance obscured the view from all sides.
A gray Card floated above the altar.
[Building Card] Level 1 Farmland.
Wang Yun said in surprise, "I can’t believe it’s this Card. Can anyone actually use it?"
When the others looked at him, he explained, "The altar at our place spawned a Level 1 Farmland Card once, too. It requires four hundred square meters of land. The requirement is just insane."
Deng Guang chimed in, "There’s a type of Card called an Expansion Card. It can expand the area of your Home."
Wang Yun nodded. "I know. You mean the Blank Expansion Card, right? But one Blank Expansion Card only adds 100 square meters. You’d need four of them."
Qin Ziwen cleared his throat and added, "You must be talking about the Micro-sized Blank Expansion Card. A Small-sized Blank Expansion Card can expand the area by four hundred square meters all at once."
Standing to the side, Deng Guang had a realization. ’Brother Qin must have already established a farmland in his Home.’
’His irrigation ditch has a special effect, so this farmland must have one, too. It probably either increases crop yield or shortens the growing time.’
’If that’s the case, the seeds and seedlings in the Gated Community might become even more valuable in the future.’
’They weren’t very valuable before because no one had a place to plant them. By the time everyone can, the price of seeds will have been driven way up.’
Wang Yun murmured, "So that’s how it works." He looked at Qin Ziwen. "Captain Qin, how do you upgrade Building Cards?"
Qin Ziwen said, "You need two Building Cards of the same Level. Using them allows you to upgrade to a higher-Level building."
Deng Guang voiced a question, "Do they have to be Cards? What if you’ve already used one and turned it into a finished building?"
Qin Ziwen explained, "You can also use the Card directly on the finished building. It’s the same thing."
Wang Yun said, "Oh, I see. In that case, you should take this Card, Captain Qin. We can’t use it. Who knows when we’ll ever be able to upgrade our buildings."
The other members had no objections either.
Qin Ziwen didn’t refuse. "Alright."
Wang Yun leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "Captain Qin, I have a spare Level 1 Farmland Card back at my place. Do you want it?"
"I do, but I don’t have a suitable Card to trade you for it right now."
Wang Yun gave a casual smile. "No rush. You can just give me something suitable later on. It’s just collecting dust at my place anyway."
’I wonder how much a Level 3 Farmland would shorten the growth cycle of crops.’
’Even with his current Level 2 Farmland, the crops already grew incredibly fast, especially the vegetables.’
’Vegetables already have a short growth cycle. With the buffs from Level 2 Growth Acceleration and Level 2 Fertility, their leaves were expanding at a nearly visible rate.’
"There’s another passage in here?" Wang Yun noticed another cave opening about twenty-odd meters past the altar.
Qin Ziwen said, "That’s right. That should be where the Giant Toad hibernates."
Wang Yun’s eyes widened in realization. "No wonder..."
He nodded, some of his previous questions now answered.
"I was just wondering—for a creature its size, hibernating out in the open would make it vulnerable. It could easily be gnawed on by insects and small animals, or have parasites burrow into its body."
"And if it buried itself, its body is so massive it would be hard for it to dig a hole large enough to fit in."
"A cave like this makes more sense. The temperature inside is low, so there are basically no active insects or animals. Plus, the location is secluded, making it easy to hide."
Yang Cunshen walked over to the inner passage, observing the environment inside. He then glanced at the scraped and scratched rock walls near the opening. "I think this spot is also suitable for an ambush."
Li Yue pointed to a nearby pool of water. "Here? But there’s water right there."
Wang Yun inspected the water and confirmed its deepest point was just over a meter, while the shallower parts were less than a meter deep. He mused, ’As long as it’s not a large, open body of water like a river, it shouldn’t be a problem. Gasoline is lighter than water, so it can still burn on the surface. If we add some thickening agents, it can float and burn continuously.’
’The main thing is that it’s an enclosed space. If we place plenty of flammable materials, once the thick smoke starts rolling and the fire is raging, the inside will become a furnace. I think it’s got potential. Plus, the passage is narrow. Once its eyes are stinging from the smoke, the panicked Giant Toad might not be able to find the exit.’
Qin Ziwu rubbed his chin. "I think both sides have a point. Big Bro, what do you think?"
"I want both. We’ll set up ambushes in both locations. The first chokepoint will be Plan A, the second will be Plan B." Qin Ziwen felt that both spots were excellent.
Wang Yun looked troubled. "We can do that, but I don’t have enough gasoline."
Qin Ziwen said, "If we don’t have enough gasoline, we’ll go back and gather more right now. With all the cars in the Gated Community, we won’t be short on fuel. Let’s head back to prepare, and we’ll come here first thing tomorrow morning to set everything up."
After returning to the Gated Community, everyone began collecting the necessary materials, following the plan they had formulated on the way back.
Some went to trade for gasoline, while others prepared glass bottles.
Everyone had their assigned tasks and got to work.
Wang Yun also gave the treasured Level 1 Farmland Card he had acquired to Qin Ziwen. At the same time, he consulted with Qian Muzhen. "Dr. Qian, my wife is coughing and bringing up much less phlegm than yesterday, but she seems much drowsier. Is that normal?"
Qian Muzhen stroked his beard and spoke slowly, "As long as her condition hasn’t worsened, the drowsiness is perfectly normal. She needs to eat more nutritious food. She should avoid fatty meats, and also stay away from ’damp’ foods like crab and loach, or it will worsen the phlegm in her system."
Qin Ziwen took some lean meat from the black deer he had hunted and gave it to Wang Yun. "Take this back for your wife. This venison has ’warming’ properties. Once she’s recovered, you’ll be able to focus on your work without worrying."
Dr. Qian added from the side, "Venison is considered ’warm and nourishing.’ Her constitution is on the ’cold’ side, so it’s fine for her to eat this. But remember, it should primarily be served in a clear stew."
Wang Yun accepted the venison gratefully. "Alright, I’ll head back now."
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