Chapter 1977

"Alright, I'll check that for you right away… There are 3 bounty missions already completed. Here is the list. Please confirm and pay the reward."

【Mission Completion List】:

「Collar Improvement Manual」

「Tail Plug Super Improvement Manual」

「Ladies' Short Skirt Super Improvement Manual」

【Mission Reward】130 gold

【Service Fee】2.6 gold coins

"Why are they all improvement manuals…"

Zhao Chi muttered to himself.

The staff member heard Zhao Chi's words and explained, "Generally, once people obtain blueprints, they're more likely to study them themselves. But if they get improvement manuals, basically no one studies them, so relatively speaking, improvement manuals tend to be more abundant, and the bounties get completed faster."

"Alright, then why are blueprints cheaper?"

"After all, once everyone studies a blueprint, they make the item, and once it's made, they sell it. So there are plenty of finished products on the market — if you need one, just buy it directly. Blueprints are comparatively worthless."

Zhao Chi didn't feel like chatting with her.

After all, time was limited.

But this staff member clearly had a very favorable impression of the people from the Jade Squad, so she was extremely enthusiastic.

Zhao Chi stopped engaging and quickly paid the reward.

He received three improvement manuals.

Now he had both the 「Improvement Manual」 and the 「Super Improvement Manual」 for 「Collar」 and 「Tail Plug」.

All he was missing was a blueprint!

He'd worry about that later.

But for the 「Ladies' Short Skirt」, he already had a complete set.

He hurried back to make improvements.

He didn't know when the battle would start.

It'd be nice to make a few first and equip Gu Qing and the other female heroes with them.

Just as he stepped out of the mission hall, Su Qin sent a voice message.

【Zhao Chi, neither the Trading House nor any other family has 「Race Expansion Stones」 or 「Costume Expansion Stones」 — at least no one's selling them. I've bought quite a lot of materials for the Elven Bow and other costumes. See if there's anything else you need? The Trading House is about to close, tell me quickly】

Zhao Chi hurriedly checked the materials needed for the Ladies' Short Skirt.

Zhao Chi 【Yes, these — buy these for me too. Nothing else】

Su Qin 【Received】

At this moment, Gu Qing also sent back a message.

Gu Qing 【My lord, Shopkeeper Wanyan says she has somewhere to go and won't be coming to our side for now. The earliest batch of our custom items is on its way back. It was originally scheduled to arrive on the 4th, but with the situation here… She asked me if we want to pre-store them at Tianfeng City first? Or should we pick up the goods at the spatial rift later?】

Zhao Chi 【Have her transport them as usual. We'll pick up the goods at the spatial rift. Once you've finished negotiating, return as soon as possible】

Gu Qing 【Understood】

The arrival of these werewolves has thrown a lot of things into disarray.

A stable environment is simply too important.

Zhao Chi returned directly to his territory.

In Taoyuan Village, the soldiers already stood in neat formation.

Zhuang Ya, Tang Ruan, Qi Yue, and 1,350 female soldiers stood ready for battle.

Zhao Chi ordered, "Rest where you are. Relax a little. There's still some time before the battle."

"Yes!"

Fortunately, it was winter now.

The female soldiers in full armor wouldn't get too hot.

If it were summer…

The blazing sun on the armor would be like grilling meat on an iron plate.

Soon, Gu Qing also returned.

The moment she saw Zhao Chi, Gu Qing said, "My lord, here's the list for the first batch of goods. Shopkeeper Wanyan wants us to prepare the balance payment — we'll trade at the spatial rift."

"Alright, let me take a look."

【First Batch Item List】

「Attribute Jade」×3

「Mysterious Lady Ruler Fragment」×3

「Fuxi Zither Fragment」×1

「Kunlun Mirror Fragment」×1

「Race Improvement Manual」×200

「Technology Improvement Manual」×200

【Balance Payment】11092

A 20% deposit had been paid earlier, along with service fees, shipping fees, and other charges.

Now only the 80% balance for the goods needed to be paid.

Zhao Chi roughly calculated it — no problem.

Several of these fragments and the Attribute Jade were very expensive, all between 1,000–2,000 gold coins.

After all, this counted as a kind of bounty, and Shopkeeper Wanyan's merchant guild also needed to make some profit.

The two kinds of improvement books aren't cheap either — both cost 5 gold coins, but compared to the fragment-type items above, they seem like a bargain.

Zhao Chi had quite a few things custom-made, for instance he ordered 10 each of the Attribute Jade and Mystic Maiden Ruler fragments.

Only 3 have been shipped back so far.

Looks like they're genuinely rare — not easy to get hold of.

The two kinds of improvement books, on the other hand, were all bought in full…

Still, they're useful.

But for now, I can't afford to expect too much.

Until something is actually in hand, treat it all as uncertain.

Suddenly, a forced voice message rang in his ear.

It was an official notice from the World-Breaking Army.

【Important Notice!!】

【It can now be confirmed that the scale of this werewolf invasion is 3 combat regiments】

【The range is enormous!】

【The numbers are extremely large!】

【Their strength is extremely formidable!】

【Fighting solo will be very difficult!】

【To avoid needless casualties, we have decided to abandon the following villages】

【Squad leaders and clan heads of each village, please assess the situation rationally — only if our people stay alive will anything be possible】

【The following village-level squads, please gather your personnel quickly and evacuate immediately!】

【Even if the werewolves are bound by the formation, do not engage in combat】

【Even if the werewolves appear few in number, do not fight — werewolves understand tactics too; their main force may be right behind them】

【Below is the evacuation list:】

【Floating Bridge Village, Gaotian Village, Nanlin Village, Stream Village — personnel from these 4 villages, please evacuate to River Valley Town, under the temporary jurisdiction of Captain Shangguan Ting】

【Beiliu Village, Nangu Village, Jin Sha Village, Binhu Village — these 4 villages, please evacuate to Horn Cliff Town, under the temporary jurisdiction of Captain Li Ruanyu】

【Please bring the villagers into your territory as soon as possible; once ready, each captain should immediately notify Captain Shangguan and Captain Li, and transfer your territory connection points】

【This notice has been synced to everyone's system for easy viewing】

【Please evacuate immediately!】

【Execute at once!】

Zhao Chi felt his eardrums had been shattered.

No idea who sent the notice — didn't even identify themselves, just yelling the whole way through.