Damn it!
How dare they sneak attack the camp.
Chen Yu, crouching in front of the crocodile beast, gritted his teeth in hatred, staring with wide eyes and poking the crocodile's face several times with his finger.
"Ransom!"
"If the ransom is too little, you'll all be sent to mine coal."
The crocodile was stunned.
Ransom?
He even suspected if he was hallucinating.
"You, want us to give ransom?" The crocodile lowered its head and looked at its naked self. "Camp Chief Chen, you've taken all the money and equipment from us. We admit this lesson, and you still want us to pay ransom?"
"Any problem?"
Chen Yu smiled and spread his hands.
"From the moment you fell into my hands and became hostages, everything you possessed should have belonged to me. Is it wrong for me to take what is mine? Ransom is to buy your freedom for the rest of your lives. You can refuse to pay and go mine coal?"
"Camp Chief Chen~"
"He talks too much, drag him aside and let him quiet down for a while." Chen Yu didn't want to communicate further with the crocodile. He raised his finger, and Er Gou grabbed the crocodile's arm and dragged him outside.
In less than half a minute, screams could be heard incessantly.
"Does anyone else have any questions about this matter?"
All the beastmen, without exception, shook their heads like rattles.
"Very good, here, this is one of your wristwatches." Chen Yu took out a wristwatch and threw it on the ground. "Contact your families to redeem yourselves. There is no fixed amount; it depends on how much you are worth in their hearts. If it's not up to my satisfaction, I won't take the money and will send you directly to mine coal."
With that, Chen Yu slowly stood up. Before leaving, he turned back and grinned.
"You can also call for help. If you can take them away, that's your skill. If you can't, hiss... then our story might have a sequel."
Stretching lazily, Chen Yu walked out of the hostage area.
Coincidentally,
Kailin was also preparing to leave the camp.
"Camp Chief~"
Kailin smiled brightly when she saw Chen Yu.
"Did you stay with Illyria well last night?" Chen Yu whispered. Kailin smiled and nodded, "Very well, please rest assured, Camp Chief. I will get along with Illyria nicely."
"Alright."
Chen Yu nodded.
Although Kailin said this now, Chen Yu still felt a bit uneasy. He had a feeling that these two, who were among the most beautiful, well-figured, and elegant people in the camp, might clash and create some sparks in their competition.
However, Chen Yu couldn't delve too deeply into this.
"Are you going to the city-state?"
"Yes," Kailin whispered. "I plan to see if there are any suitable talents for our camp there. Also, the camp is currently lacking managers, so I'm going to scout for some promising ones. Moreover, the shops you mentioned earlier will have resources replenished today, so I'm going to procure them."
"Then buy some fruit too, any kind of fruit, just buy it."
"Okay."
"And inquire if anyone is selling orchards."
"Orchards?" Kailin was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "Kailin has noted it. Does the Camp Chief have any other instructions?"
"Go to the Black Street again."
"Black Street?"
"It's a street that uses the guise of 'Food Street.' When you get there, go to the very back and find someone selling candied chestnuts. Buy all his chestnuts and then ask him about the medicinal effects of the chestnuts on Bronze, Silver, and Gold realm cultivators."
"Okay."
"That's about it, go ahead."
Watching Kailin, along with a few escorts, crush their return scrolls and disappear from the camp, before Chen Yu could do anything else, his eyes were covered.
"Guess who I am~"
A faint fragrance entered his nose.
There were quite a few people in the camp with body fragrance, like Kailin and Nuoya, but this one, which was somewhat clear with a hint of the sea, could only be Illyria.
"Illyria, aren't you dancing anymore?"
"Ah, Brother Chen Yu, how did you know it was me?" Illyria, releasing her hands, pouted. "I disguised myself so well."
"Haha..."
Chen Yu couldn't help but laugh and walked to a chair in the main camp to sit down.
The mermaid princess followed close behind him.
"Brother Chen Yu, are you busy?" Illyria squatted beside Chen Yu, staring at the page on Chen Yu's wristwatch. "Are you upgrading the camp?"
"Upgrading some facilities."
As he spoke, Chen Yu clicked open the camp details.
Details page.
It listed all the upgradeable facilities in Chen Yu's camp.
Water Condenser.
Cheese Maker.
Drying Rack.
Grill.
...
"Wow, Brother Chen Yu's camp has so many facilities." Illyria's small face widened in surprise. When she saw Chen Yu's series of operations, her surprise deepened even more.
"Brother Chen Yu~"
Illyria, moving her small lips, seemed to doubt her own eyes.
Chen Yu was indeed upgrading.
But—
He was upgrading everything.
All Perfect grade facilities in the camp were being upgraded to Excellent grade.
Upgrading isn't strange.
For instance, the Water Condenser, after upgrading, its water condensation efficiency would be significantly improved, which was understandable. The problem was, why were the Grill and Drying Rack also being upgraded.
As long as it was a Perfect grade facility, Chen Yu didn't let any of them go.
"What's wrong?"
Chen Yu glanced over with a smile. Illyria licked her lips, her face full of disbelief.
"You're even upgrading the Drying Rack."
"Ah..."
"Using a Legendary Upgrade Scroll to upgrade a Drying Rack?"
"Heh, I have plenty of these scrolls," Chen Yu said with a smile, spreading his hands. "They're just sitting around anyway. Upgrading the Drying Rack can also shorten the drying time, which is quite cost-effective."
"Brother Chen Yu, you're really... rich."
"Indeed, I'm not lacking."
Chen Yu didn't deny this point. He wasn't just rich now; he had so much money that it was almost burning a hole in his pocket. If he didn't spend lavishly, he felt he wouldn't be doing himself justice.
Upgrading the Drying Rack, so what?
Upgrading the Grill, so what?
He wasn't short of money.
He had 5000 Legendary Upgrade Blueprints, what else were they for if not to enhance the overall strength of the camp?
Furthermore—
Upgrading would increase his overall rating and solidify his position on the rankings.
Why wouldn't he upgrade?
When he had time, Chen Yu planned to dismantle all facilities below Perfect grade and remake them. Once they were all Perfect grade, he would upgrade them to Excellent grade.
All the facilities in his camp must be the best!
Illyria watched, dumbfounded.
From Chen Yu, she saw the demeanor of a nouveau riche from the underground caves. Upgrading basic infrastructure like the Drying Rack and Grill was something she truly couldn't comprehend.
Even in their Mermaid Kingdom, she hadn't seen anyone upgrade such facilities.
Chen Yu didn't bother with these thoughts.
After upgrading the facilities, he began to plan the personnel recruitment.
Providing them with return scrolls.
It was absolutely impossible to let survivors enter the city-state!
At the current stage, the fewer people who came into contact with the city-state, the better. Without contact with the city-state, they couldn't understand the specific commodity prices within the underground caves.
This would be beneficial for the development of Chen Yu's trading platform.
Not entering the city-state...
Online text interviews weren't particularly reliable.
After pondering for a long time,
Chen Yu suddenly slapped his thigh.
"I've got it!"