Chapter 49: Chapter 48: Main Building Upgrade

Inside the Undead Fortress’s Castle Main Tower, Li Ziyu looked at Liu Xingxing. The boy sat before him, knees together and hands on his lap, the very picture of a well-behaved, sunny young man. Li Ziyu couldn’t help but rub his temples.

"Liu Xingxing..."

"Yes, Boss? What is it?"

"Do you have some kind of special constitution? The kind that’s especially good at stirring up trouble? Or is that just a built-in feature of your treasure-hunting ability?"

"Uh, Boss, I really don’t have a constitution like that. Please don’t misunderstand."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, absolutely sure!"

Li Ziyu gave Liu Xingxing a disbelieving look. ’This kid’s ability to stir up trouble is absolutely top-notch. Ever since I met him, life has suddenly become much more... colorful.’

’First, he dug me up. Then he planned to go dig up someone’s ancestral grave. This time was a little better—at least he didn’t go digging in the ground. Instead, he provoked another Transmigrator. He just can’t stay quiet for a second. If we hadn’t dug up a huge amount of Skeleton last night and expanded our Skeleton Undead ranks, who knows what would have happened today. It was lucky that the one he provoked was just a Goblin City Lord with little strength. Otherwise, even I might have been taken down with him.’

After ordering Liu Xingxing not to cause any more trouble, not to think about digging up ancestral graves, and especially not to go looking for Transmigrators to provoke, Li Ziyu sent him away.

Li Ziyu spent the rest of the day reading through the chat channel’s history. It wasn’t until the sun went down that he gathered the Undead to continue digging for Skeleton.

Yesterday, he had replenished the Soul Energy for the Tombs of the Dead. Now, an additional 50 newly born Skeleton Undead joined the excavation army.

The Swamp Graveyard Liu Xingxing had discovered was truly a massive treasure trove for Li Ziyu. There was no telling how long the swamp had existed, nor how many creatures were buried within it. The Undead dug like perpetual motion machines, and a steady stream of Skeleton was sent into the fortress.

To speed up the process, Li Ziyu continuously converted Skeleton into Undead. Overnight, he gained another thousand Undead under his command. His strength grew once more, and the speed of excavation increased.

By the time the first rays of sunlight broke through the Darkness, the Swamp Graveyard had been dug to a depth of ten meters, transforming it into a massive pit. This was the masterpiece of two thousand Undead. Even deeper down, they could still dig up Skeleton, much to Li Ziyu’s amazement.

Li Ziyu used the surplus Skeleton and other materials to build five more Tombs of the Dead. Now, as long as he had enough Soul Energy, he could produce 100 Skeleton Undead every day.

After replenishing the Soul Energy of the Tombs of the Dead, the Undead Fortress entered Hibernation Mode.

This day, Liu Xingxing didn’t cause any trouble. Night fell as scheduled, and the Undead once again entered their work phase, traveling back and forth between the Swamp Graveyard and the Mobile Fortress.

With the Tombs of the Dead now active, Li Ziyu was in no hurry to use more Skeleton to summon Undead. Two thousand-some Undead were more than enough for the job of excavating the graveyard. He could now sit comfortably in his main tower and research what to build next.

’Previously, development of the Undead Fortress had been slow due to constraints. I simply didn’t have the resources to support many buildings and technologies. For example, there were the hidden buildings I’d unlocked, the Alien Tomb and the Tattoo Workshop. There were also fortress enhancements like the White Bone Wall, the Light Bone Shield, the Fierce Horn, the Edge Spike, and the White Bone Watchtower. Then there were resource-type buildings, like the Warehouse, the Mine, and the Lumberyard. All of these could increase my power.’

’And then there was technology. The items available for research in the Weapon Workshop and Armor Workshop weren’t limited to just the Little Bone Saber and the Little Bone Shield. There were all sorts of other weapons and armor to develop. If all goes well, these weapons and armor could unlock even more troop types.’

’And most importantly, the Castle Main Tower!’

’The Castle Main Tower determined the Level of the Mobile Fortress. It’s equivalent to the main city hall in the construction games I used to play—its status is paramount and its significance is immense. Many key buildings require the castle to reach a certain Level before they can be built.’

Li Ziyu opened his information page to take a look. It was already vastly different from before.

[Mobile Fortress]

[Level] Level 1 (Area: 100 units)

[Buildings] Castle Main Tower (Fortress), Weapon Workshop (4 units), Armor Workshop (4 units), Skeleton Engine (10 units), Warrior Training Camp (20 units), Big Bone Wheel x4, Little Bone Wheel x2, Tomb of the Dead x10 (1 unit x10)

[Race] Undead System - Skeleton Race

[Traits] Skeleton Architecture (Some buildings can transform into Skeleton Undead during combat), Hibernation Mode (The city can burrow underground)

[Speed] 30 km/h + 100 km/h (Skeleton Engine)

Although he didn’t have many buildings, they already occupied 48 units of area. A Level 1 fortress only provided 100 units of usable space, so upgrading the fortress’s Level had to be put on the agenda.

Before, he had been too embarrassed to even check the fortress’s upgrade requirements due to his lack of resources. But now he dared. Controlling the Swamp Graveyard gave him that much confidence!

[Castle Main Tower Upgrade Requirement: Skeleton * 1000 units, Soul Energy * 5000 units]

Li Ziyu took a deep breath. ’Thank you, Swamp Graveyard and Lizardman Warriors, for your generous gifts. Without you, I don’t know when I would have ever had the chance to upgrade the main tower.’

’Alright, no need to think about other buildings for now. I’ll focus on the main tower. It requires the most resources, and it’s an essential upgrade. Upgrading sooner is better than upgrading later.’

Seeing that he had enough resources on hand, Li Ziyu issued the upgrade command to the system.

Beneath the moonlit sky of the Wasteland, the Undead Fortress standing on the plains suddenly began to tremble. The entire fortress was like a Giant waking from a deep slumber. Every bone seemed to take on a mind of its own, rearranging and reassembling.

The Undead, who had been diligently digging in the Swamp Graveyard, stopped their work. They all turned their heads in unison to look toward the fortress. They felt a call, a surge of power, and excitement welled up within their Soul Fires.

Amidst the rumbling tremors, a drowsy, half-asleep Liu Xingxing was jolted awake. He ran out of the main tower and stared toward the Undead Fortress’s Castle Main Tower, his mouth slowly falling open.

The support frame inside the main tower grew thicker and larger, extending upward. More bones continuously attached themselves to it, filling in and encasing the frame layer by layer. It became much heavier than before, and its height rose along with the frame. The main tower, originally just over ten meters tall, grew to a height of more than 30 meters before stopping.

An aura of bone-chilling cold, majesty, and terror spread out from the main tower, blanketing the surrounding area. The wild animals around the fortress fled in panic. Even the insects stopped chirping. Those that were too slow to escape were scared to death, their hearts literally bursting from fear.

The platform surrounding the main tower began to expand. Layers of Bone Plates extended outward, making it even wider.

[Congratulations, City Lord. Your Castle Main Tower has been upgraded to Level 2.]

The strange activity throughout the fortress only ceased completely when the system’s notification sounded in Li Ziyu’s mind. He excitedly clicked open the message.

[Level 2 Castle Main Tower: Area increased to 300 units, base Speed increased to 50 km/h.]

It was a very simple introduction, but Li Ziyu knew that, judging by the commotion just now, the changes were definitely not so minor. The system’s introduction just didn’t list them all.

"Boss—" Liu Xingxing rushed in from outside, his face etched with alarm.

"Shouldn’t you be sleeping? What are you doing running over here?" The fortress upgrade had put Li Ziyu in a good mood, and he asked with a smile.

"Your fortress... it suddenly got bigger!" Liu Xingxing spread his arms wide, gesturing emphatically.

"Relax, relax. It’s just an upgrade," Li Ziyu said with a dignified smile, playing it cool.