He took out the new Function Card.

[Insight Card] Anchor Connection.

[Function Activated: Level 2 Anchor Connection]

[Authority Increased. Current Authority: Level 3 Authority (6/8)]

[Level 2 Anchor Connection: Lock onto a target Gated Community to establish a permanent anchor point. You can travel to that Gated Community from your Home via the anchor point. Current anchor capacity: 2]

’This anchor point can lock onto a Gated Community?’

’What’s the use of locking onto a Gated Community? Isn’t the Home already inside one?’

But then, a thought struck Qin Ziwen.

’The Gated Community it anchors to... it doesn’t say it has to be my own, does it?’

’In other words, does this mean I can anchor to other Gated Communities?’

’Thinking about it the other way, if residents in other Gated Communities have also unlocked the Anchor Connection function, couldn’t they anchor to my Gated Community as well?!’

If every Gated Community was an isolated island traveling through different worlds, then this Anchor Connection function would be like building a bridge between them!

Of course, considering the Home had already introduced features like challenges and safe houses, Qin Ziwen reasonably deduced that there was probably an "anti-anchoring" function to counter this.

In the end, it would most likely come down to a contest of Authority.

But when it came to a contest of Authority, Qin Ziwen was confident.

Unless he encountered a Gated Community that had crossed over much earlier than his.

Otherwise, among his contemporaries, few should have a higher Authority than he did.

After upgrading his Authority, just as Qin Ziwen was about to get up, he saw Tao Fu hurrying over.

"My lord, the Keel Ship is starting to take shape. Would you like to come and see?"

This was a vital mode of transportation for the next map, so Qin Ziwen followed him over.

They arrived at the Dock.

In an open area, the seven-to-eight-meter-long wooden frame of a ship rested upside down on the dry dock.

The outer hull was planked between the ribs, and one could already make out the rough outline of a ship.

"About how long until it’s finished?"

"It should be done within seven days." Tao Fu gave a rough estimate.

"Mm." Qin Ziwen knew this speed was actually not slow at all, thanks to the buffs from the Dock building and the assistance of the Military Equipment Supervisor.

[Level 1 Dock: Level 1 Shipbuilding Efficiency Enhancement, Level 1 Worker Efficiency Enhancement]

But he still wasn’t satisfied.

Including the time already spent, it would take about eight or nine days to build one ship, and a small one at that, only seven or eight meters long.

A ship of this size couldn’t handle the open ocean. It would be restricted to coastal waters.

Considering the full forty-five days of the next map, they could at most build only five small ships.

For the average person, this might be satisfactory; with small boats like these, they could at least scrape by fishing in the coastal waters.

"What are the bottlenecks limiting our shipbuilding speed?"

Tao Fu said, "Manpower and the scale of the Dock. Mr. Jia has transferred a few helpers from the Military Equipment Supervisor, so we have enough people for this ship for now. But if we expand production, we’ll be short-staffed for new ships. Ideally, the new recruits would be skilled shipwrights. These helpers are all greenhorns when it comes to shipbuilding; I still have to train them myself."

"Understood." Qin Ziwen nodded. He looked through his Cards, shuffling through them repeatedly, but the only one that could help the Dock was his single remaining Ordinary Building Enhancement Card.

The effect of an Ordinary Building Enhancement Card was to unconditionally raise any ordinary building below Level 5 by one level.

Using it on a Level 1 building was truly a bit of a waste.

After all, to upgrade a Level 4 building to Level 5, it required a full eight identical Level 1 Building Cards.

"I’ll think of something else." After leaving the Dock, Qin Ziwen pondered for a moment, and a thought flashed through his mind. ’Is it really impossible to build the right tools without a corresponding Building Card?’

’That can’t be right.’

’It would just be slower, at worst.’

He found Jia Liangcai. "About what I asked you to look into last time—did you find anyone in the Gated Community with shipbuilding talent?"

"Reporting to my lord, I haven’t found anyone yet. The Gated Community wasn’t a coastal city before, so there aren’t many people with that kind of talent. Most of the people related to the shipping industry were in procurement or marketing, not front-line workers."

Hearing Jia Liangcai mention "procurement" and "marketing," Qin Ziwen was certain he had done a thorough investigation.

"If there’s no one for shipbuilding, skilled workers in other carpentry fields will do." After pondering for a moment, Qin Ziwen continued, "Also, you can search more intensively around the tavern and the congee shed."

"Yes."

Watching Jia Liangcai’s back, Qin Ziwen called out to him, "Liangcai, if you have too much to do, you can find two Assistant Officials to help. Don’t work yourself to exhaustion."

Afterward, he summoned Du Yu, Qin Ziwu, Cao Biansheng, and the others.

He gathered the members of the core Hunting Team.

He had noticed a growing air of overconfidence among them, though he wasn’t sure when it had begun.

Perhaps it started when Du Yu had his breakthrough, becoming the first Extraordinary in the Qin Alliance. Or maybe it was when the Beaked Eagle broke through, or even after their successful hunt of the Giant Rock Dragon.

"It looks like everyone’s been feeling pretty confident lately. How about this, I’ll let you all in on something fun."

A smile spread across Qin Ziwen’s face. "I won’t be participating. I’ll be on the side, watching your performance."

Qin Ziwu’s brow furrowed, sensing that something was amiss.

’Based on his knowledge of his older brother, a smile like that usually meant trouble.’

Led by Qin Ziwen, the group arrived outside the Blood Sand Beast Fighting Arena.

They gazed at the blood-stained building before them, which emanated a strong, murderous aura.

Qin Ziwu’s heart sank.

Cao Biansheng asked curiously, "Alliance Leader, what’s in there?"

"Courage is in there."

"Courage?"

"That’s right. This building is called the Blood Sand Beast Fighting Arena. It’s a good place for you to recognize your own limits and temper your nerve. Don’t worry, death in here isn’t real, just like in the rings of the Martial Arts Arena."

Hearing that they wouldn’t really die, Cao Biansheng’s eyes lit up.

’But the name is Beast Fighting Arena... what beast will we be fighting? The Beaked Eagle?’

Filled with apprehension, Du Yu led Cao Biansheng and the others into the Blood Sand Beast Fighting Arena.

SLAM!

The gate behind them slammed shut with a deafening crash.

Inside the vast Beast Fighting Arena, there were no spectator seats, only tall stone walls and the hard-packed earth underfoot.

Qin Ziwen took out the Giant Rock Dragon Summoning Card and embedded it into the Blood Sand Beast Fighting Arena.

As the light faded, a Giant Rock Dragon four meters tall and ten meters long appeared opposite the group.

The summoned Giant Rock Dragon stood quietly in place, like a mountain.

Qin Ziwen noticed a key detail. The summoned Giant Rock Dragon didn’t have the prismatic Crystal Pillars on its back; instead, it only had a layer of grayish-brown outer Mud Armor that resembled an armor of rock.

The Giant Rock Dragon let out a low roar.

"MOO~"

In an instant, the earth in a ten-meter radius around the crowd gathered before it suddenly collapsed. Caught off guard, most of them sank knee-deep into the mud pit!

Only a few reacted in time and escaped.

Du Yu’s expression hardened. From that initial exchange, he keenly sensed the difference between this Giant Rock Dragon and the one they had hunted yesterday. Its abilities were cast faster, and their area of effect seemed to be larger!

...

...