Chapter 41: No Wonder It's the Home‑Guarding Artifact

Only with good luck could he have such a pet, and Lin Yifan can't bear for it to die.

In this damned place, he doesn't even know when he'll encounter his own kind.

If his judgment is wrong and everyone isn't on the same plane, they might never meet.

Such loneliness will eventually drive a person mad; even with a chat channel to communicate with peers, it's hard to endure.

But if by his side there is a creature of decent intelligence to keep him company, occasional communication that elicits emotional response, the endurance might last longer.

Therefore, Lin Yifan absolutely will not allow Mao Mao any mishap; even if it's not a Golden Eagle, even if it's just a cockroach or a mouse, he will protect and raise it.

Mao Mao is also very obedient; after rubbing its head against Lin Yifan's palm, it obediently hides in his pocket, only its little head peeking out curiously at the world outside.

At this moment, the time finally reached 8:30.

Lin Yifan habitually opened the weather/date page and indeed saw that the temperature had dropped again.

Yesterday it was still twelve or thirteen degrees; today the temperature fell to 9–10 degrees, and yesterday's moderate‑to‑heavy rain turned into heavy rain.

When he opened the door, a dense curtain of rain, heavy with moisture, further reduced visibility.

Even with Lin Yifan's eyesight, he can at most see about ten meters ahead; beyond that it's unclear.

Looking at the downpour before him and the shallow puddles accumulated in front of the house, his worry deepened.

The terrain here is really low; even though there are no nearby lakes or rivers, as the rain continues, his Shelter could easily be flooded.

It seems that even without moving the Shelter, he must dig a drainage ditch around it.

Lin Yifan was about to go out, but then suddenly remembered that the previous ranking reward had given him an item he called a home‑theft protector, the Illusion Light Dome.

Even though this cursed weather makes it unlikely anyone would steal a home, not using it would be foolish!

Lin Yifan took out the Illusion Light Dome, which is essentially a compass‑like object.

However, the text on it is abstract, the patterns are unique, yet at a glance it exudes a mysterious charm.

Lin Yifan placed the compass in the main hall of the Shelter and activated it.

In an instant, the compass emitted a dazzling ring of light that expanded point by point, eventually enveloping the entire Shelter, even pulling in a large circle outside.

The Shelter is only about seventy or eighty square meters; this light dome ring directly pulled in a large low‑shrub forest directly in front of the Shelter.

Lin Yifan strode beyond the light dome, turned his head, and saw that his Shelter had vanished!

And where the Shelter once stood, a massive banyan tree appeared.

But on close inspection, the size of the entire banyan and the canopy it covers match the Shelter's dimensions exactly.

Lin Yifan stared at the illusion before him, both startled and delighted.

He originally thought that this so‑called Illusion Light Dome would at most create a patch of fog on the spot to cover the Shelter.

He didn't expect it could directly turn the Shelter into something else; that's truly astonishing.

But it must be said, this thing is indeed useful; if it weren't Binding with the Illusion Light Dome, he might not be able to locate his Shelter.

Because as he walked forward, the illusion persisted; even standing in front of where the Shelter was, he could only see the massive banyan before him.

In other words, even if someone knows this is an Illusion Realm, without a way to dispel it, they can never enter, even if they know the Shelter is the banyan.

This is definitely the ultimate anti‑theft artifact!

No wonder it's a Total Ranking List reward; it's truly remarkable!

Thinking of this, Lin Yifan couldn't help but open the Ranking List, looking at the three people ahead of him.

He, ranked fourth, already has such a generous reward; the top three must have even richer rewards.

It seems he needs to work harder to push his rank forward when the Ranking List refreshes next time.

He just doesn't know whether there will be a reward next time.

But those matters aren't what he needs to consider right now.

Lin Yifan is clear‑headed, so after a brief daydream he immediately returned to reality.

After he contentedly admired the Illusion Image for a while, he finally began today's exploration with peace of mind.

He was actually quite curious about the Random Buff he drew today.

The Seek Gold Path, whether from its name or description, only mentions metal items.

Could it be that today he'll find a lot of metal supplies?

If so, that's a good thing!

The metal items he currently holds, besides the Flat Pan at home, are only this ordinary iron axe in his hand.

Leaving the Flat Pan aside, that thing is essentially a household item; even if it could be used to smash someone's head, for Lin Yifan the Flat Pan is still more suitable for daily use.

But this ordinary iron axe is different; although most people still wield rusty, inferior axes.

He can have an ordinary iron axe because of his talent bug, but overall he still wants a level‑100 higher‑grade axe.

Moreover, besides the axe, he now urgently needs an iron spade and a hoe; if he is to dig a drainage ditch, these are indispensable tools.

There are also sickles, hatchets, kitchen knives, etc., all urgently needed.

Lin Yifan calculated in his mind while pressing forward in exploration.

The direction he chose today is straight ahead of the Shelter; the left and right have been roughly scouted, not in detail but confirmed—there are no rivers or lakes nearby on either side.

Only the front and rear remain unexplored; the front extends 500 meters, consisting of low shrubs, the tallest about a person high.

They don't really block the view, but in this weather, fog mixed with dense rain already makes visibility low, so whether they obstruct sight is less critical.

Anyway, without marking the path, one will definitely get lost.

Therefore, to avoid getting lost, Lin Yifan today also chose to clear a path with his axe, fearing he wouldn't find his way back.

Thus his speed naturally isn't fast, but he isn't in a hurry.

Frankly, being hurried is useless!

However, today's Treasure Chests are far more than yesterday's; in less than half an hour he already found two White Treasure Chests.

Because White Treasure Chests mostly contain Basic Supplies, and Lin Yifan doesn't lack Basic Supplies now, he is too lazy to open them.

Directly toss the Treasure Chest into the Ring Space, waiting until a day when it can be opened with a 【Item Sublimation】 or 【Harvest Double】 buff, then open it.

This can achieve maximum profit.

After continuing to explore forward for a few hours, Lin Yifan suddenly discovered that at the base of a nearby hillside, there was actually a tiny cave.

The cave was truly tiny, about the size of a sea‑bowl's mouth; if it weren't for a pile of strange stones scattered outside the cave, he might not have even noticed it.