Chapter 324 - 297: Level 3 Anchor Connection
’It’s like I’ve been flagged for PK-ing.’
Qin Ziwen’s thoughts focused, and the details expanded.
[Hidden Achievement] Bloody Road (I)
→[Requirement] Annihilate 70% of the total population of an enemy Gated Community’s Home within a single map.
’I didn’t expect this kind of Hidden Achievement to even exist. Are there others besides Bloody Road?’
In any case, this Bloody Road achievement at least gave him a Function Card.
And an Anchor Connection at that.
With a thought, Qin Ziwen retrieved the reward and used it immediately.
[Function Activated: Level 3 Anchor Connection]
[Authority has been upgraded. Current Authority: Level 4 Authority (5/16)]
[Level 3 Anchor Connection: ① After locking onto a target Gated Community, you can establish a permanent anchor point there, allowing travel from your Home to that Gated Community. ② You can leave an anchor insignia in any map area. Activating the insignia allows you to travel across maps to the anchor’s location. This ability requires Anchor Connection Lv3, Backtrack Lv3, and Node Lv3 if the anchor point is on a different map. The anchor’s duration is affected by the Backtrack function’s duration. Current Anchor Capacity: 3]
Qin Ziwen read the explanation carefully.
He finally understood why he had seen that anchor point in the Giant Rock Dragon’s underground cavern on the last desert map.
To put it simply, once Anchor Connection reached Level 3, you could not only have more anchor points, but you could also leave them across different maps.
It seemed to overlap with the Backtrack function, but every time you used Backtrack, the arrival point was fixed. It could only be a place where the Gated Community had previously been.
In other words, no matter how many times he used Backtrack, the portal it opened would always lead to the same fixed location.
But now he had another option: the anchor insignia could be imprinted in other areas.
For example, after returning to the forest map, he could ride the Beaked Eagle far out over the plains. He could then find a spot on the plains to leave an insignia. The next time he activated the anchor insignia, he would emerge on the plains.
If they discovered plants or herds of beasts on a past map that were valuable but difficult to transplant, they could leave an anchor insignia nearby.
Then they could return periodically to harvest them.
HISS—
Thinking of this, Qin Ziwen suddenly understood why that mysterious entity had been in such a hurry after the Giant Rock Dragon was killed.
It seemed they hadn’t just eaten the meat in the pot; they’d run off with the pot and the firewood underneath it too.
No wonder it tracked him down to kill him.
Realizing this, Qin Ziwen decided that in the future, if he found anything valuable, it would be best to move it directly into his Home.
If he left it outside, a new Gated Community could spawn nearby at any moment. And when another Gated Community was present, he couldn’t even open the map. He’d just have to watch as his stuff got poached.
"Chairman Qin, we’ve given them all the spring water. Their injuries have mostly stabilized," Cao Biansheng reported.
"Good. In a moment, have some people carry the wounded back. Search the entire building," Qin Ziwen said, though he wasn’t very hopeful.
After all, things had come to this. The most valuable items left in the building were probably just the iron tools and iron-producing crops.
’It’s not like any Cards would be left, right?’
But unexpectedly, one fish had slipped through the net. Qin Ziwu ran over and furtively handed him a Card. "Brother, Brother Deng found this Card in a hidden compartment on the top floor."
"There was still a Card?"
Qin Ziwen was a little surprised as he took the Card.
[Advanced Resource Card] Level 1 River of Spirits (Growth-Type Resource)
[Building Requirements] 1000x50 (can be an irregular curve)
After seeing the Building Requirements, Qin Ziwen instantly understood why this Card had been left unused.
It required a full fifty thousand square meters of space. His own Home’s total area was only 55,198 m², which was barely enough to squeeze this river in.
Let alone anyone else at the same stage. This resource point was simply impossible to build right now.
’Besides, if I can really manage to fit a river inside the Home, and if I can raise fish in it, our food problem will be greatly alleviated.’
’Looks like I’ll have to save up a batch of Expansion Cards.’
He had obtained a batch of (Micro) and (Small) Expansion Cards before, but he had distributed them to other members of the Qin Alliance based on their contributions.
The other members also needed to expand their space. A Micro Expansion Card only added a hundred square meters, while a single Large Expansion Card was worth a hundred Micros.
"Deng Guang found this?" Qin Ziwen asked.
"Yeah. When Brother Deng was searching, he checked a few spots based on the old tricks he used to hide his spending money, and he just happened to find it."
Qin Ziwen couldn’t help but marvel. ’Are they really such kindred spirits when it comes to this sort of thing?’
"Alright. I’ll talk to Deng Guang later."
After putting the Card away, he saw that Yang Long worked fast. He had called people over to fashion some simple stretchers.
Everyone worked together, carrying the stabilized patients back to the Home on the stretchers.
It was Yang Long’s first time inside the Qin Alliance’s Home. He looked up at the high, domed ceiling and the vast, open space, a flicker of longing in his eyes.
"Come on, let’s go," Qin Ziwu called to him.
Yang Long followed the group back. Returning to the oppressive Hongding Mansion, the image of that Home replayed in his mind.
"Sigh..."
Letting out a soft sigh, Yang Long felt a storm of emotions.
The Home alone was enough to get a glimpse of the bigger picture.
The gap between them wasn’t just about weapons; it included much more, much deeper things.
’With such a prosperous Home, the Level of their internal buildings must be high. No wonder they can produce Catapults, Car-Mounted Crossbows, and sets of Iron Armor.’
’Take the simplest thing, Iron Armor. It’s incredibly difficult for our Urban Village to craft even a single set.’
’We have iron ore, but besides that, you also need skilled Blacksmiths and refined techniques.’
"Chairman Qin." Yang Long came before Qin Ziwen and bowed, his expression complex, like a suspect awaiting sentencing.
Now that the Blood Words were gone, only their Urban Village’s Jianghu Association remained.
’Without the Blood Words to act as a counterbalance, is there any need for the Jianghu Association to continue to exist?’
’Putting myself in his shoes, what would I do?’
At this thought, Yang Long sighed internally.
’The weak have no right to choose.’
’They can only accept.’
Qin Ziwen’s voice broke the silence. "From now on, Hongding Mansion is yours. The war is over, so we will no longer provide free food. However, our Qin Alliance is short on workers. If any of your Urban Village residents are interested, they can come work for us. We can pay them with food."
Hearing this, Yang Long broke out in a cold sweat and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At least it wasn’t the worst-case scenario.
He was still alive, and it seemed the Qin Alliance had no intention of interfering with his position as the head of the Jianghu Association.
As for everything else, he didn’t have the energy to think about it right now.
"Thank you, Chairman Qin," Yang Long said gratefully.
Qin Ziwen smiled. ’Don’t thank me so soon,’ he actually wanted to say.
’But on second thought, some things are better left unsaid. Boiling the frog in lukewarm water is the most suitable approach.’
...
...