Chapter 42

Li Feifei looked at the closed City Wall, then glanced at the protected homeland beneath her feet, the Bodhi Tree swaying gently in the breeze, emitting a soothing fragrance.

She took a deep breath; although there had been a small mistake, this solid sense of security was real. "Well, at least the main body of the City Wall is built, which is more important than anything. The Gate will be found eventually."

Li Qingxuan's eyes flashed with a hint of determination as he scanned the three City Walls and began to carefully plan the Gate's location. "We need to first decide where the Gate will open. This open space right in front of the fortress is the most suitable—convenient for entry and exit, with an exceptionally wide view…"

The two returned to the fortress and began posting messages on the Regional Channel, seeking to purchase a Gate at the Trading Center.

【Regional Channel】

【Li Qingxuan: Buying Gates or Gate Blueprints at high prices, Private Chat with price】

【Li Feifei: Same, can exchange Wood, Clean Water, Tang Sword, or materials, urgently needed】

After the message was sent, like a stone sinking into the sea, the previously silent Regional Channel instantly rippled with a few waves.

After a few seconds of silence, Li Feifei's Private Chat messages began to flash wildly, dense red dots almost filling her view.

"There's a response!" Li Feifei's spirit lifted, and she immediately opened the filter.

【Private Chat】 Zhang Dashan: "Gate Blueprint? I have a 【Simple Wood Door Blueprint】, but it can only make a wooden door, decent for blocking small things, though likely insufficient against big monsters. Trade 100 units of Wood plus 20L water—interested?"

【Private Chat】 Sun Xiaoya: "Boss! I have a 【Fine Iron Fence Gate】! Its defense is decent! But it needs fine Iron Ingots—do you have any? If not, we can trade High Energy Food or medicine instead!"

【Private Chat】 Wang Tiezhu: "I don't have a Gate Blueprint, but I have a 【Damaged Mechanism Gate Core】; the description says it can be repaired and used to activate the Gate mechanism. Exchange for one of your Bodhi Fruits, or something of equivalent value that boosts Spirit! I also traded for it after seeing your Bodhi Fruit posting—I urgently need it!"

【Private Chat】 Zhao Ling'er: "Sister Li Feifei! I see you're collecting Gates! I… I have a 【Mist Array Disk】; though not a Gate, it can shroud an area, placed at the entrance to confuse monsters so they can't find the door! Would ten water purifiers work? Our region's water pollution is too severe…"

【Private Chat】 Qian Duoduo: "Hehe, Li Qingxuan boss, what a coincidence! I just drew a 【Small Suspension Bridge Gate Blueprint】, made of steel, and it even comes with a winch that can lift and lower! How about it, is it good stuff? But… the price… we need to negotiate properly—I want the Wood output of three days' work from the Fully Automatic Logging Machine, plus five Bodhi Fruits! Rest assured, it's absolutely worth this price!"

The messages were myriad and complex—useful and useless, reliable and outrageous—various haggling and probing intertwined.

Li Feifei's fingers flew across the virtual light screen, sliding, filtering, replying, her brows sometimes knitting, sometimes relaxing. She needed to quickly judge which offers were truly valuable and within their means.

Li Qingxuan wasn't idle either; he kept an eye on the Regional Channel for any new public posts while closely monitoring the status of purchase listings posted at the Trading Center.

The Black Goat seemed infected by the duo's solemn atmosphere, no longer lounging leisurely under the Bodhi Tree, but walking with heavy steps along the base of the newly built City Wall, its huge head occasionally nudging the cold stone wall to sniff, its curved giant horns lightly scraping the stone, producing a rustling sound.

Its pair of deep-set beast eyes, under the faint glow emitted by the Bodhi Tree, appeared especially focused, as if it too, in its own way, was inspecting this solid City Wall lacking a Gate.

Time ticked by, the sunset's afterglow stretched the City Wall's massive shadow long, enveloping the fortress and the Bodhi Tree, bringing a sense of safety while deepening the urgency and absurdity born from the lack of a Gate.

The Fully Automatic Logging Machine had long stopped working; it was safely enclosed within the City Wall, yet it also lost the freedom to go out 'foraging'.

Without a Gate, not only is their coming and going inconvenient, but it also means that the channels for acquiring resources have been temporarily blocked off by the very City Wall they built themselves.

"How is it?" Li Qingxuan asked in a low voice, his gaze shifting from the Black Goat to Li Feifei, who was still swiftly processing messages.

Li Feifei rubbed her throbbing temples, let out a light sigh: "There are a few options that are still somewhat valuable, but either the items aren't suitable, or the other side's price is too high; we're still negotiating."

That Suspension Bridge Gate Blueprint sounds the most practical, its defense should be decent, but Qian Duoduo's asking price is too harsh—it's basically a lion's huge mouth.

Wang Tiezhu's mechanism gate core is quite interesting, but the extent of damage is unknown, repair materials are also a problem, and he wants a Bodhi Fruit…" She paused, looking toward the Bodhi Tree planted not long ago beside the Spirit Spring, its branches sparse, "the fruit hasn't grown yet."

Li Qingxuan's eyes narrowed slightly, his fingers unconsciously tapping the Stone House wall: "The Suspension Bridge Gate… indeed is the type we need. We have the logging machine for Wood, so that's not an issue later—we can agree to give him part of it. But Bodhi Fruit is out; we need it ourselves, and the tree just planted has limited yield. In bargaining, we can offer more Wood, but at most two fruits, to be given later when they grow, or substitute with other items of equal value."

"Alright, I'll try to haggle with him some more." Li Feifei nodded lightly, her fingers swiftly tapping the screen, and she replied to Qian Duoduo.

She then opened Zhao Ling'er's Private Chat: "The Mist Array Disk is fine, but ten is too many—we don't have that many; we can give you at most five."

Inside the fortress, Li Feifei hovered before a light screen only she could see, communicating, judging, and haggling in a low voice, quickly.

Outside the fortress, the Black Goat's heavy footsteps echoed within the empty City Wall, accompanied by its occasional heavy snorts, becoming the sole background sound in this tranquil space enclosed by the high walls.

The Bodhi Tree, heavily protected, swayed gently in the breeze, its leaves emitting a soothing faint fragrance; yet beneath this tranquility lay the urgent problem of the Gate that needed solving.

After some haggling, they finally exchanged six water purifiers, three days' worth of Wood, and two advance Bodhi Fruits for the 【Small Suspension Bridge Gate Blueprint】 and the 【Mist Array Disk】.

【Blueprint: Small Suspension Bridge Gate Blueprint】

【Construction Conditions: Manufacturing Table, 2500 units of Iron Block】

【Description: Can construct an arched Steel City Gate 8 meters wide, 9 meters high, 0.5 meters thick, with a Protection Value of 1500, and a Steel Hanging Bridge 10 meters long, 8 meters wide, 0.3 meters thick, with a Protection Value of 800.】

【Item: Mist Array Disk】

【Effect: Centers on the Array Disk, shrouding a thick mist in a ring 50 meters outward.】

【Description: A stone disk engraved with Mist Runes; when activated, it releases Mist, capable of generating a ring of thick fog around it.】

Having obtained the Blueprint and the Array Disk, the joy that had just appeared on Li Qingxuan and Li Feifei's faces froze instantly upon seeing the construction requirements.

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