After Yang Long left, Qin Ziwu returned to the Urban Village, having just received treatment from Qian Muzhen.

"Bro, I’m ready to break through to the Extraordinary level," Qin Ziwu said gravely.

Qin Ziwen looked at the fresh scab on his brother’s face. "Are you sure you’re ready?"

Qin Ziwu’s eyes shone brightly as he clenched his fist. "I am."

Qin Ziwen took out an Extreme Breakthrough Card and handed it to Qin Ziwu. "Consider your options carefully and choose your difficulty. Don’t push yourself beyond your limits."

"Okay."

Taking the Card, Qin Ziwu crushed it without hesitation.

Amidst the shattering motes of dark-gold light, Qin Ziwu closed his eyes.

A long time later, he opened his eyes.

"Which path did you choose?"

Qin Ziwu had a strange expression on his face. "Bro, I have a feeling that these Extraordinary breakthrough missions are related to our current situation, maybe even to my everyday activities."

"Oh? What are your missions?"

Qin Ziwu listed them.

[First Gear: Hunter]

[Mission Requirement: Within seven days, personally kill ten male humans or humanoids in frontal combat. Each target must not weigh less than yourself.]

[Second Gear: Conqueror]

[Mission Requirement: Within the next seven days, lead a force of intelligent beings (no fewer than one hundred) to defeat an enemy force ten times its size.]

[Third Gear: Deep Sea Nightmare]

[Mission Requirement: Within ten days, personally hunt and kill one healthy marine creature weighing at least one thousand times your own body weight.]

After hearing the options, Qin Ziwen felt there might be a connection.

He was the Alliance Leader of the Qin Alliance, so his three breakthrough paths were Director, Leader, and Master.

His brother, on the other hand, usually went out with the Hunting Team, sometimes even leading expeditions himself.

Therefore, his paths were Hunter, Conqueror, and Deep Sea Nightmare.

"First Gear is the easiest. Completing it would be a cakewalk for you."

"First Gear is just the baseline difficulty, for those who aren’t confident about later missions," Qin Ziwu said, unwilling to settle for the easiest option.

Otherwise, what was the point of him delaying for so long, honing his skills in the Arrow Gallery and the training grounds?

"So you want to pick Third Gear?" Qin Ziwen teased.

"Second Gear!" Qin Ziwu said helplessly. "Bro, you think way too highly of me. A thousand times my weight? What even is that? I’m about one hundred ninety pounds right now. That means I’d have to hunt a monster of at least eighty-five tons. That’s just asking me to get myself killed."

Eighty-five tons. What did that even mean?

To put it in perspective, that was the same class as marine Giant Beasts like a Mosasaurus or a Fish Dragon.

And even they might not be heavy enough.

If he had the power to hunt one of those things single-handedly, why would they even be bothering to besiege Hongding Mansion? Just give him a knife and he could slaughter his way through the whole building.

"If you’re going with the Second Gear mission, you’ll have to wait. An opportunity might present itself soon," Qin Ziwen mused. The Blood Words Gang or the Fishmen were both suitable targets.

The Blood Words Gang was already on the verge of collapse. It wouldn’t be long before an opportunity arose.

"For now, take some men and stand guard here. Don’t let anyone inside get out. If they try to break out all at once, you can gather our elites, crush them in a frontal assault, and complete your mission," Qin Ziwen instructed his brother. "But don’t do anything reckless otherwise."

He was afraid his brother would get hot-headed, suddenly decide he needed to prove himself, and lead the elites charging in.

"I know, Big Bro. I’ll learn from your cautious approach," Qin Ziwu promised, patting his chest.

"Good."

Qin Ziwen then called over the Yan Family’s Three Brothers and told them to keep a close eye on things.

Afterward, Qin Ziwen returned to the Home via the anchor point.

Within the vast Home, the Yanwu Military Equipment Supervisor was a hive of activity.

Aside from the elite troops stationed on the opposite island, the remaining able-bodied members were all here, working at full tilt.

Mining, smelting, and forging.

A steady stream of stout trees was brought over from the other island, processed into lumber of various sizes, and then crafted into Crossbow Wagons, Catapults, and long ladders...

When Jia Liangcai heard news of his Lord’s return, he immediately hurried back.

"My Lord, many people from the Alliance Association have been secretly joining us recently. We’ve already taken on over two hundred outer members."

"Hmm, have they been vetted?" Qin Ziwen asked.

"They have been. They’re all from decent backgrounds. At this point, dozens of people are coming to join us every day."

"Any reaction from the Alliance Association?"

Jia Liangcai replied, "No reaction. They’ve likely given their tacit approval."

"Good. Vet them thoroughly. Have people run background checks from multiple angles. We’re recruiting, but we’re not desperate. Don’t make it too easy to join, but once they’re in, treat them all as equals."

"Understood."

"You can get back to your work. Send Old Wei to see me."

Watching Jia Liangcai’s retreating figure, Qin Ziwen wasn’t particularly surprised that people from the Alliance Association wanted to join the Qin Alliance.

After all, people naturally gravitate toward better things. Since everyone lived in the same Gated Community, the members of the Alliance Association could clearly see the improvements in the Qin Alliance’s quality of life right next door.

He estimated that by the time this map concluded, only one voice would remain in the Gated Community.

About ten minutes later, Wei Zhaohua came running.

"Alliance Leader, you were looking for me?"

"What’s the status of the Farmland?"

Wei Zhaohua reported, "All the vegetables have been harvested. We’re on our second crop now."

He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "But the Farmland’s yield is a little insufficient. Alliance Leader, I suggest our next step should be to increase the number of Farmlands."

"We can do that," Qin Ziwen nodded.

Wei Zhaohua hadn’t expected the Alliance Leader to agree so easily. The speech he had prepared in his head was now useless.

Seeing the subtle change in Wei Zhaohua’s expression, Qin Ziwen smiled. "You’re the head of the Qin Alliance’s agricultural division; you can make these decisions yourself. Besides, it’s not very cost-effective to keep upgrading the Level of this current Farmland anymore."

The Farmland in their Home had already reached Level 5.

To upgrade it again would require a total of sixteen Level 1 Farmland Cards.

"And what about those two plants? What’s their status?"

Wei Zhaohua knew the Alliance Leader was referring to the two Extraordinary Plants.

He immediately straightened up. This was the subject he had been focused on recently.

"Alliance Leader, I tried to propagate them through division and transplantation, but it failed. Normal horticultural methods don’t work on these special plants. However, I have roughly calculated their growth cycles. The Heaven-Reaching Fruit Tree needs about twenty days to mature, while the Deep Sea Oxygen only needs about ten."

"Ten days for a thousand units?"

"Ten days, one thousand units," Wei Zhaohua confirmed.

Qin Ziwen sighed. "That’s still too few. It’s not enough."

At first, he thought a thousand units would be enough, but now he realized it was far too few.

During wartime, a thousand units was nowhere near enough.

If one hundred people went underwater, they would only get ten units each, which would only be enough for a total of ten hours underwater per person.

"Alliance Leader, I..." Wei Zhaohua looked troubled. He had tried cutting off a small piece of the Deep Sea Oxygen and planting it nearby, but it had failed.

...

...