Chapter 200: A Scene of Thriving Vitality

[Tree Hole Shelter (Level 6) Upgrade Requirements: Iron Ore851,000, Orichalcum84,600, Silver Ore89,500, Gold Ore102,000, Obsidian*8,120,000...]

Lan Qingyou felt thoroughly unwell as she stared at that string of astronomical numbers.

Not only were these figures a full eight to twelve times higher than what she had seen previously, but the list also included wooden planks, stones, vines, and other basic materials she hadn't needed for a long time.

Why?

Lan Qingyou couldn't help but ask herself.

Was it because her magic array had connected to the Shelter's shield system, causing that entire outer area and the five massive trees to be included in the upgrade scope?

Wait!

'If that's the case, shouldn't I hold off for a moment?'

At that thought, Lan Qingyou suddenly realized she had oversimplified things earlier.

She also planned to add a few warehouses to store the steady stream of alchemical materials that would be delivered later, all while resolving the Shelter's energy issues.

But things were different now. Truly different.

Setting aside the herb fields, factories, and warehouses for a moment...

Even the tree grafted with ancient branches would likely be included during the upgrade.

She had prepared that tree specifically to deal with any flying monsters that might attack in the future. Now, with the upgrade, it would definitely be counted, right?

It seemed entirely acceptable that upgrading so many areas at once would require a massive amount of materials.

'But since that's the case, my room for maneuvering just got a lot bigger!'

'Too many materials?'

'Someone else is footing the bill anyway, so what do I have to worry about?'

'Since I don't have to worry, shouldn't I organize my territory however I please?'

Having made up her mind, Lan Qingyou still felt a bit uneasy. She flew out of the Shelter and went specifically to the boundary of the magic array to inspect the situation.

It was as if an invisible wall separated the inside of the magic array from the outside.

Outside, fierce winds raged and mana was in absolute chaos. Inside, however, was a scene of thriving vitality and flourishing life.

This reassured her greatly.

After taking a relaxing bath and enjoying a wonderful night's sleep, Lan Qingyou woke up the next day and immediately initiated the plans she had calculated the night before.

Calling it a plan was a bit of an exaggeration; it wasn't anything too major.

She simply wanted to remodel a few areas.

Since she was going to farm, the extra trees and scattered stones inside the perimeter definitely had to be cleared out first. However, considering the sheer scale of this project, even if she deployed the Humanoid Magic Puppets, they might not be able to finish clearing it all within the three days of the Mana Tide.

So, Lan Qingyou simply ordered them to dig holes first—specifically, tree holes.

After all, these were meant to be used as warehouses. Since everything was going to be upgraded anyway, why not properly plan it out?

The three warehouse trees were hollowed out from the very bottom up. Each tree was excavated to have five floors, aligning perfectly with the Shelter to maintain a mindset of collective progress.

Of course, digging these tree holes wasn't actually that complicated. They didn't even need to cover as large an area as the main Shelter.

Thus, a single day was more than enough.

After categorizing the materials and tossing them into the respective tree holes, Lan Qingyou instructed the Humanoid Magic Puppets to start clearing the rubble and excess timber within the magic array. Then, she returned to the Shelter to continue writing her thesis.

The magic puppets truly were reliable; they cleared out a significant amount of space over a single night.

This was especially true for the area in front of the Shelter. Aside from the large stone previously used as the boundary marker for the Shelter's magic shield, all the other stones and wood had been swept into a pile in the center.

Save where you must, spend where you should.

These stones and logs were materials too, after all. She couldn't just throw them out and waste them, could she?

With the magic puppets working literally day and night, the cleanup of the entire area was finally completed on the evening of the fourth Mana Tide's final day.

Of course, this so-called cleanup only applied to the surface.

Lan Qingyou didn't bother dealing with the stones buried deep underground, nor did she need to.

After all, she only needed a superficial herb field.

As long as this theoretical herb field existed, the system would automatically transform it for her during the upgrade. It was simply too good of a deal.

After moving all the herbs and silt from the original first-floor herb garden out to the new designated area, she took out a large amount of extra silt and spread it over the remaining space.

Following that, Lan Qingyou took the components for the simple factory she had prepared earlier and began assembling them on the other side of the herb field.

Although this makeshift factory was a bit small, she could take her time expanding it; there was no rush.

The fully assembled factory was situated directly beneath the tree hole Lan Qingyou had previously earmarked for storing her magic puppets.

This way, the magic puppets manufactured inside the factory could head straight up into the warehouse to wait on standby until the day they were awakened.

Tower: "@Judgment, I've sent you the list of upgrade materials I need."

Tower: "@Judgment, I've sent you the list of upgrade materials I need."

Having finished her busywork, Lan Qingyou sent the "price-hiked" Shelter upgrade list to Judgment.

Judgment: "Let me take a look."

Judgment: "Are you sure this is a Level Six upgrade list?"

Less than ten seconds had passed since his last sentence before Chu Yuan sent another message.

Tower: "Yeah, I didn't expect it to change so much either."

Judgment: "Oh? What exactly happened?"

The word "change" made Chu Yuan realize there was an underlying issue.

Thus, Lan Qingyou gave him a rough overview of her magic array, and then explained the probable changes that resulted from connecting the array to the Shelter.

Judgment: "So you're saying the connection with the magic array caused that entire area to fall within the upgrade scope?"

Tower: "Exactly. After all, it's an existence capable of resisting even the Mana Tide. I think this kind of price increase is well within reason."

Judgment: "Hold on a second. Are you saying this magic array of yours can resist the Mana Tide?"

Tower: "Yeah, walking around freely within the array's perimeter during the Mana Tide isn't an issue at all. Did I not mention that?"

Judgment: "Mention my ass! Why didn't you say something so important earlier?"

Tower: "Ah! Did I really not say it? Haha, sorry, sorry! I was so busy doing the finishing touches on the magic array these past few days that I completely forgot."

Click, click, click.

Lan Qingyou reached out and snapped a few photos showing the stark contrast between the inside and outside of the magic array.

Well then.

As soon as that sentence came out, even Chu Yuan felt too embarrassed to complain further.

After all, Lan Qingyou had been busy finalizing the magic array. It was research.

When scholars got caught up in their research, working from dawn to dusk, they easily lost track of everything else. It couldn't be helped. There was just no way around it.

Sitting in his office, Chu Yuan looked at the messages Lan Qingyou had sent on his Card. Even as he consoled himself, he realized a critical point.

If they could learn how to create this magic array, didn't that mean they could build a Shelter akin to a massive gathering place?

One had to know that a circular area with a diameter of one kilometer was incredibly huge.

And judging by the height of the trees in Lan Qingyou's Shelter, a two-hundred-meter span was enough to construct a high-rise building of about sixty floors.

That could house a significant number of people.

Though, the resource consumption would be equally massive.