Chapter 91 - 87: Advanced Building Card
"CAW!"
The remaining Black Falcons fled in alarm. They sensed the humans below were tough opponents and gave them a wide berth.
"A perfect shot," Zhao Pu marveled. He had seen it clearly; the spear throw was both fast and accurate.
Qin Ziwen was also amazed. ’Du Yu said he was good with sabers and staves, but I didn’t expect him to be this good with a spear, too.’
’Perhaps it’s because spears and staves are both polearms; they must have something in common.’
The five of them climbed up to the front of the mountain cave. Hearing the cacophony of bat calls from within, Du Yu’s brow furrowed.
If countless bats were to descend upon them, he couldn’t guarantee he could protect everyone.
From his perspective, this cave was extremely dangerous.
If it were the old him, he would have definitely avoided this place. There was plenty of other prey out there; no need to get into a life-or-death struggle with bats.
But after hearing from Qin Ziwen that there was something inside the cave they had to get, Du Yu weighed his options and then said, "Let me go."
"No, it’s my turn today." Zhao Pu let out a laugh and took a motorcycle helmet from Deng Guang, putting it on. "Don’t you try to fight me for it."
Qin Ziwen stood at the cave entrance, peering inside.
Deep within the cave, he could see a speck of blue light.
’A blue Card?’
He couldn’t help but wonder, ’Are there blue Cards?’
Building Cards were gray with a metallic sheen. Resource Cards were silver with black borders. Blank Expansion Cards were white; if it was for special terrain like a desert, the card face would have a corresponding image. Enhancement Cards were green, and Function Cards were red and crystalline.
Currently, the most valuable were the Red Function Cards. Based on his estimates, one would need a rating of about one hundred points to obtain a Red Function Card. Next in line were the green One Star Enhancement Cards and small special-terrain Expansion Cards, which both required about fifty points.
But this was the first time he had ever seen a blue Card.
Zhao Pu, flashlight in hand, headed into the cave.
The cave was silent. The ground was covered in a thick layer of bat guano, and even with his helmet on, he could still smell the faint stench.
The ground was somewhat damp, with thin trickles of water running along the cave’s edges.
The deeper he went, the wider the cave became.
Finally, he reached an altar.
Strangely, the top of the altar was pristine, without a single dropping of bat guano on it.
Climbing onto the altar, Zhao Pu walked over and picked up the Card. He let out a slight sigh of relief. ’Mission halfway complete.’
Suddenly, he whipped his head around. He heard a low, rumbling sound coming from deeper within the cave, like distant thunder or an earthquake.
Zhao Pu’s face changed. Not daring to delay, he quickly started heading back.
He didn’t even dare to shine his flashlight into the depths.
He walked faster and faster.
"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK~"
The swarm of bats overhead suddenly erupted into chaos.
A dense mass of bats flapped their wings. The sound of their flapping filled the air, surrounding him from above and all around.
"HUFF, HUFF..."
Zhao Pu could even hear a bat fly right over his head.
He stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.
His breath fogged up his visor.
Fortunately, for some reason, the bats didn’t attack him; they just flew past.
Running all the way out of the cave, Zhao Pu looked up at the dense swarm of bats flying into the sky. He panted heavily, bending over and placing his hands on his helmet to take it off.
"I... I got it."
Zhao Pu handed the Card to Qin Ziwen.
With a grave expression, Qin Ziwen gently patted Zhao Pu’s shoulder. "Let’s go."
The five of them quickly headed down the mountain.
Zhao Pu was still shaken. "Those bats just now suddenly started flying all over the place. Several of them flew right over my head. I really thought they were about to bite me."
Qin Ziwen said, "They weren’t just flying all over. Right when you grabbed the item, a cry suddenly came from deep inside the cave, and it scared all the bats into flying out."
Zhao Pu’s pupils contracted.
"That was a cry?"
Qin Ziwen glanced back at the cave behind them with trepidation. "Yeah. You were probably inside the cave, so the echo made it hard to hear clearly. We heard it at the entrance. It was definitely the cry of some creature."
’I thought this swarm of bats was guarding the Advanced Altar.’
’Now it seems the bats were just the gatekeepers. There’s something else inside.’
’But whatever it is, it doesn’t seem to have any interest in us, just like a person wouldn’t go out of their way to bother insects on the side of the road.’
Qin Ziwen said, "I took the Card yesterday, so for this one, I’ll use my and Xiaowu’s previous contributions. Xiaowu, this Card is for an Advanced Building, the Celestial Star Arrow Gallery. I’ll make it up to you with a Card of the same level later."
Qin Ziwu instantly became wary. "What? Are you trying to split up the family and kick me out?"
Qin Ziwen shot his younger brother an exasperated look. "What’s wrong with that? Everyone else has their own Home. Don’t you want to build one for yourself?"
Qin Ziwu quickly shook his head. "What do I need a Home for? It’s so much trouble. I think things are great just the way they are now."
He looked at his older brother. "Brother, do you remember when we used to play house as kids? Back then, you said you wanted to be the Emperor, and I said I wanted to be the great general."
Qin Ziwen didn’t press him. "Just let me know when you feel like building your own Home."
He looked down at the blue Card in his hand.
It had the same texture as a gray Building Card, but the color was completely different.
It was an azure metal Card, its surface shimmering with specks of blue light.
More importantly, the information it transmitted to him was: [Advanced Building Card] Level 1 Celestial Star Arrow Gallery.
’Advanced Building Card...’
’From the name alone, you could tell it was a higher-tier Card than a normal Building Card.’
Because they were more familiar with the route, it was still light out when the group returned to the Gated Community.
It was just past six o’clock, the liveliest time in the community.
This was the time of day when the day’s hunting and gathering were done, a short period of rest and relaxation after dinner.
Once they reached the bottom of their building, the five-person team went their separate ways.
"Let’s head up." They had acquired so many Building Cards, but this was the first Advanced Building Card.
’I should check out what this Advanced Building can do.’
Back in his apartment, he took out the Celestial Star Arrow Gallery Card and received a prompt.
Requires a 50x10m empty area.
Qin Ziwen was completely stunned. This building needed five hundred square meters of land?
Even the farmland was only 400 square meters.
And the dimensional requirement was so strict—50 by 10 meters. It was a perfect rectangle.
Qin Ziwen frowned. That would require five micro-Expansion Cards, or two small ones, and he would still have to move some other buildings around to make enough space.
’This Advanced Building Card requires way too much space.’
Fortunately, area was the only hard requirement. There were no height restrictions or other bizarre construction conditions.
In his opinion, a simple area requirement was the easiest to deal with.
"Sir, you’re back!" Li Tieshan came out of the Blacksmith Shop, holding a prototype of a long saber.
There were still many rough spots in the details that needed to be polished, but the general shape and outline of the saber were already clear.
It was the Precepts Saber that Li Tieshan had forged according to Du Yu’s specifications. "Take a look. If it’s too heavy, I can shave some more off."
Du Yu took the Precepts Saber. The eight-jin saber felt as light as a feather in his hands. He gave it a few beautiful flourishes and casually remarked, "No need. The weight is perfect."
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