Chapter 9

Li Qingxuan opened the shelter interface, and brand-new shelter information appeared before his eyes.

【Shelter: Stone House】

【Bound Person: Li Qingxuan】

【Level: 3】

【Area: 150 square】

【Protection Value: 400/400】

【Upgrade Conditions: Stone Material 1000, Iron Block 500, Wood 300】

【Upgrade Effects: Protection Value *2, Area *2】

【Description: Initially scaled stone fort, stone material integrally formed, as if naturally formed】

"Finally, I have some sense of security." He murmured softly, his tense nerves relaxing a little, "After upgrading the stone house, protection value has greatly increased; it's just that the living conditions are still lacking a bit, but overall the impact is not significant."

"Most importantly, the 【City Wall Blueprint】 I just obtained is the true strategic treasure." Li Qingxuan thought of the construction requirement of up to 1000 units of stone material, his brows involuntarily knotted; this feeling of helplessness due to scarce resources surged like a tide.

"I still need to keep grinding!" A flash of determination crossed his eyes.

"The top priority is to convert the materials on hand into resources, then craft those resources into more supplies to pour into the trading market." Li Qingxuan sat beside the wooden table, fingers rubbing his chin. "The amount of trading materials available now isn't that much; let's start with small trades using water, gradually accumulating."

After Li Qingxuan listed the water on the Trading Center one by one, each 500ml, trading for 10 Stone Material, with a note to bring your own container, he ignored it.

He glanced at the time, unaware that five hours had already passed; Li Qingxuan felt his body a bit tired, planning to take one last look at the Trading Center for anything good before resting.

Li Qingxuan sat in the central hall of the Wooden House, feeling a bit cold, he fetched some firewood, lit a bonfire, and enjoyed the warmth and light the fire brought.

At this time, just past nine o'clock, Li Qingxuan took out bread and water, began eating and drinking slowly, then leaned back in his chair, chewing while checking the Trading Center's information.

After browsing the information for a while, Li Qingxuan didn't expect there to be a pleasant surprise—a piece of equipment named 【Bright Light Armor】 came into view.

Li Qingxuan's heart stirred; this Bright Light Armor looked quite extraordinary, not only enhancing his own defense but also being greatly beneficial for hunting weird creatures.

【Item: Bright Light Armor】

【Effect: Greatly enhances bodily defense capability, avoiding bodily injury】

【Description: The full armor has over two thousand eight hundred gilded plates, linked together with iron rings. The front and back armor pieces are fastened with yellow cowhide, lined with red suede, and the front armor is adorned with a golden-bellied beast modeled after a qilin, used to protect the abdomen and fasten the waist belt.】

Looking at the description of this equipment, Li Qingxuan couldn't help but feel moved; his constitution had already reached 109, and wearing this heavy Bright Light Armor posed no problem.

Furthermore, once his defense is enhanced, he can hunt weird creatures more calmly, thereby increasing his strength and collecting treasure chests.

"I don't know how much material this equipment needs to be traded for," Li Qingxuan thought to himself.

He opened the Private Chat window and contacted the seller of the Bright Light Armor.

After intense bargaining, both sides reached an agreement; Li Qingxuan exchanged five Tang Swords and two water purifiers for this Bright Light Armor.

After obtaining the Bright Light Armor, Li Qingxuan eagerly donned it, immediately feeling his defense greatly increased.

"With this Bright Light Armor, my hunting efficiency will surely improve," Li Qingxuan secretly rejoiced, continued browsing the Trading Center, but finding no other useful equipment or blueprints, he closed the Control Panel and prepared to return home to rest.

Just then, the Control Panel's friend message notification sounded; opening it, he saw it was a message from Li Feifei.

"Li Qingxuan, are you there? I have some situation on my end, how are you?" Li Feifei's message carried a hint of tension not easily noticed.

"I just upgraded to a Stone House, traded a lot of materials, it's fine." Li Qingxuan replied, "What's wrong? Any situation?"

"If I could live in a Stone House, that would be great!" Li Feifei thought to herself, but she kept replying: "Something's off on my end! The forest is eerily silent, not even insect sounds remain; just now I saw patches of rats as big as cats surging out from deep in the woods. You must be careful! I suspect a rat tide!"

Rat tide?!

After Li Feifei said that, Li Qingxuan indeed felt that today he had gone out twice, the surroundings were eerily quiet; he immediately rushed to the small window of the Stone House, opened the iron window, and looked out through the reinforced protective railing.

Outside the Wooden House was pitch black, the forest opposite was also dead silent, no bird calls, no insect sounds, not even wind remained.

Although Li Qingxuan saw no trace of rats, a suffocating sense of oppression silently spread.

Li Qingxuan silently warned himself, knowing from novels how terrifying a beast tide could be; these rats were numerous, the size of domestic cats, their attack power certainly not to be underestimated, and once surrounded, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He quickly shut the iron window, returned to the central hall of the Wooden House, added some firewood to the bonfire, letting the warmth and light from the flames dispel his unease.

"Fortunately I just upgraded to a Stone House, which counts as advance preparation, though these are just guesses and may not be true." Li Qingxuan muttered to himself, checked his equipment and supplies, ensuring everything was foolproof.

Just then, the Control Panel's notification sound rang.

Li Qingxuan's heart jumped; opening it, he saw someone wanted to buy his Tang Sword and water purifier, and he involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.

"Good thing it's not someone again telling me they saw swarms of rats, but now is not the time for trading." Li Qingxuan thought to himself, he closed the Trading Center and focused on dealing with a possible crisis.

He went to the Storage Room, took out some food and water, placed them on the table in the Wooden House's main hall, for emergencies, then checked the Stone House's doors and windows thoroughly, ensuring nothing was missed.

After doing all that, Li Qingxuan sat in the central hall of the Wooden House, gripping a Tang Sword, his gaze sharp as he stared at the Stone House's entrance.

Time ticked by second by second; the darkness outside the Stone House lay like a giant beast, crouching silently, waiting to strike when prey showed a weakness.

Li Qingxuan's nerves were taut; he could feel the oppression and tension permeating the air, as if even his breathing had grown heavy.

Just as Li Qingxuan was growing impatient, the Control Panel's friend message notification sounded again.

He opened it to see a message from Zhang Hao: "Li Qingxuan, I've seen many rats on my end, how are you?" Zhang Hao's message carried a hint of urgency.

"I currently have no abnormalities on my end, but I'm already making preparations to respond." Li Qingxuan replied, at the same time reminding the other party to seize the time to upgrade the Wooden House and to promptly share any information.

Li Qingxuan turned and reminded Li Feifei again to seize the time to upgrade the Wooden House; if it could be upgraded to a Stone House, it should be considerably safer.

"I still have no rats here; it seems they are still relatively far from me." Li Qingxuan muttered to himself, he also didn't plan to sleep, sitting quietly in his chair, preparing to welcome a possible rat tide.

Finding the wait somewhat boring, Li Qingxuan opened the Area Chat Channel, discovering many players discussing the rat tide, everyone appearing somewhat flustered.

【Area Channel, number of people: /】

【Liu Ruyan: Brothers, what should we do if the rat tide comes? I'm really scared】

【Ling Qi: What's there to fear? We have weapons, just get it done】

【Tian Guo: Don't be careless, the rat tide's numbers are too many; once surrounded it becomes troublesome】

【Zhuan Chuai Quezi Na Tiao Haotui: Everyone don't panic, make preparations in advance, upgrade the Shelter, ready weapons and supplies to cope】

【Jiao Shi Gun: Damn, I have rats attacking my door, is there anyone who can save me?】

【Wang Xing: I have no rats here, long live, long live】

【Liu Xing: Oh heavens, can you please stop tormenting me?】

【Wang Wu: Give me a quick end, I don't want to live.】

Li Qingxuan posted an anonymous reminder in the channel, urging everyone to hurry up and upgrade the Shelter, after which he no longer lingered browsing in the Area Chat Channel.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, thinking that he had done everything he could, and the rest could only be left to fate.

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