Chapter 345 - 317: Combining Like Terms
’I agree to the fusion.’ he thought.
The three Cards transformed into streaks of light and plunged into the bottom of the Fishman Cave’s pool.
Qin Ziwen waved, gesturing for the Fishmen to come over.
[Level 1 Fishman Cave: Level 2 Residence Nest, Level 1 Reproduction Amplification, Level 1 Stamina Recovery] (Special Effect: Offspring born in the Fishman Cave have an extremely low chance of atavism.) (Settlement Quota: 0/2000)
"Recruit Fishmen?"
"Yes."
Qin Ziwen initiated the recruitment for the Fishmen behind him.
This group of Fishmen, who had just entered the Home and were timidly observing their surroundings, heard the recruitment voice at the same time.
After a moment of panic, they all looked toward Lorne.
Upon hearing the recruitment voice, Lorne chose to accept immediately.
[You have successfully recruited one Fishman]
[You have successfully...]
The notifications from the Home’s small light orb completely spammed Qin Ziwen.
It was a dense flood of messages, all about Fishmen being recruited.
Qin Ziwen simply turned them off.
Then he waved to the Fishmen. "Go on in the water and see if you like the environment."
The crowd of Fishmen following behind were suddenly surprised to find they could seemingly understand what this human was saying.
"Leader, should we go in the water?" Lorne asked, looking at the deep pool.
Qin Ziwen understood what Lorne meant. Even though he was still speaking the Fishman language, there were no longer any barriers to their communication.
’Looks like this is a little bonus ability that comes with recruiting for the Home. The upside is that I don’t have to go through the trouble of learning a new language.’
"Yes."
Seeing his older brother conversing fluently with these Fishmen, Qin Ziwu was a little surprised. When had these Fishmen learned to understand human speech?
But when the Fishmen communicated with each other, they still spoke in their own language.
Qin Ziwu was puzzled. After thinking for a moment, he figured his brother must have gotten some new Card.
At Qin Ziwen’s gesture, the Fishmen entered the pool one after another.
To them, the cool water of the pool was just the right temperature.
Diving to the bottom, they found an underwater space teeming with a complex ecosystem.
The Fishmen were very satisfied with their surroundings.
They liked this place a lot. In the eyes of the Fishmen, the surrounding scenery was beautiful.
Some Fishmen were surprised to discover three large structures at the bottom of the cave.
Qin Ziwen noticed the three structures as well.
On the far left was a cluster of stone pillars. Rows of pillars stood side-by-side, forming a massive, three-dimensional framework. Different types of seaweed were planted in the gaps between them, clinging to their surfaces.
’This must be the Undersea Algae Garden,’ he thought.
This Undersea Algae Garden was huge, standing thirty to forty meters tall and divided into seven levels.
It was overgrown with seaweed that grew with extreme vigor.
[Level 3 Undersea Algae Garden: Level 3 Algae Yield Enhancement, Level 2 Algae Flavor Enhancement, Level 1 Pest-Repelling Odor]
He used Insight on it, and a strange look appeared in his eyes.
The yield enhancement was within his expectations. Cultivation-type buildings like this usually had traits like increased yield or shortened planting time.
But this was the first time he had encountered a flavor enhancement.
’Doesn’t this mean the algae grown in this Undersea Algae Garden will be delicious?’
Qin Ziwen refused to just take its word for it. He had to see for himself just how delicious it could be!
He swam over and picked a piece of vibrant green algae. He didn’t recognize the species, but it looked lush and succulent, feeling light and soft.
Besides this type, the algae garden had six other kinds of seaweed. Each of its seven levels was planted with a different variety of algae.
Many of the Fishmen who had entered the water swam over, curiously observing the algae garden.
But without an order, they didn’t dare to touch anything.
The Fishman hierarchy was strict. Many precious things in the tribe were controlled by the upper-class Fishmen. Lower-class Fishmen wouldn’t even dream of eating them; sometimes they would get beaten just for touching them without permission.
Qin Ziwen turned to look at the next structure.
Compared to the Undersea Algae Garden, this building looked distinctly more "magical."
Its surface was surprisingly covered by a translucent, pale white curtain of water.
Inside were reefs and corals. Fat sea crabs crawled in the gaps between rocks and on the beach, schools of scaly fish swam about foraging, and the sand was covered in shellfish.
A large amount of algae floated in the water within the structure.
But unlike the algae in the Undersea Algae Garden, the algae here was more chaotic, its surface swarming with krill.
[Level 3 Undersea Pasture: Level 3 Algae Growth Acceleration, Level 2 Eutrophic Water Body, Level 1 Fish Growth Acceleration]
Qin Ziwen glanced at it. The inside of this Undersea Pasture was like a miniature ecosystem.
The most striking thing was how incredibly rich the ecosystem inside was.
It also had the largest volume of the three structures.
It occupied more than half of the underwater area.
The last structure was a floating building built against the far wall of the cave.
It was an arched dock embedded in the rock face, with a wide opening.
The dock’s entrance was supported by heavy, reinforced coral pillars. The interior was deep, with multi-level work platforms, hanging cables, and tool racks fixed to the rock walls.
[Level 3 Deep Sea Dock: Level 2 Hull Reinforcement, Level 2 Shipbuilding Speed Increase, Level 2 Material Processing]
With the addition of the three new buildings, the bottom area now seemed a bit crowded.
Qin Ziwen took out the Building Enhancement Card: Space.
He chose to use it on the Fishman Cave.
A huge burst of light enveloped the entire area, and the Fishmen covered their eyes.
When the light faded, Qin Ziwen discovered that not only had the internal space increased tenfold, but the area of the three buildings had also grown significantly.
The most noticeable was the Undersea Pasture; its internal volume had more than tripled.
He suspected it had to do with the buildings being merged. Since the merged buildings were part of the Fishman Cave itself, when the cave expanded, they expanded along with it.
’It seems there are benefits to merging after all.’
Qin Ziwen took out another card, the Advanced Building Card: Weather Altar.
This time, the Home didn’t send a prompt.
’It seems the connection between this building and the Fishman Cave isn’t very strong.’
Back on the surface, Lorne followed him out of the water.
Qin Ziwen found a small, empty patch of ground next to the Fishman Cave and chose to use the Weather Altar.
A white light surged forth, then settled in the space of a breath.
A stone altar, about ten meters square, stood silently.
It was circular, built from cyan-gray rocks of varying shades. The surfaces of the stones were covered in natural whorls and holes eroded by water.
In the center of the altar stood a pale blue Crystal Pillar about two people tall.
The Crystal Pillar wasn’t completely transparent; inside, milky-white, flocculent clouds were constantly swirling.
On the back of the altar was a huge white Jade Pendant. Gray, wispy specks were scattered across its surface.
[Level 1 Weather Altar: Level 2 Weather Prediction, Level 1 Temperature Difference Prediction, Level 1 Microclimate Stability] (Special Effect: When using abilities that change the weather or climate on the Weather Altar, the Caster will receive a corresponding boost based on the altar’s Level.)
Lorne’s eyes lit up. He gazed at the altar before him, seemingly excited. "This is... an altar."
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