Chen Yu, lying on the bed, looked at the watch on his wrist.
The slave list.
1. Prairie Lion Jack, loyalty 200.
2. Long-horned Mole Mage Kuka, loyalty 200.
3. Prairie Lion Rou Si, loyalty 200.
Loyalty fully maxed.
He hadn't fought Kuka.
Swore an oath.
They had just talked, and Kuka's inner demons were resolved, causing his loyalty to surge to the maximum of 200.
Exited the slave list.
He glanced at his private messages; Jiang Yaqing hadn't messaged him.
It seemed he couldn't "harvest" her yet.
Chen Yu couldn't afford to put all his eggs in one basket. He needed to find more avenues.
Simply put, he needed to expand his base.
Relying on only ten exploration tickets a day to traverse the underground caves wouldn't yield much in terms of resources.
He needed to maximize his own benefits.
"Boss, what are you thinking about?"
Heidou, holding a piece of cheese, leaped up.
"This cheese cost you quite a few contribution points. Be careful; I've got it all noted down," Chen Yu glanced at him. Heidou grinned, "You're just bluffing them. I know you're not that kind of person."
Heidou understood perfectly.
Chen Yu wasn't a bad person.
If he were someone who valued profit above all else, someone who would ruthlessly abandon others without it, Heidou wouldn't be following him.
Either he wouldn't accept them, or once accepted, Chen Yu would take charge of their affairs.
However, except in special circumstances.
They needed to earn what they needed through labor.
The key was "earn."
Chen Yu wasn't giving charity; he was offering an exchange, preserving the dignity of those he accepted.
Nor was it endless exploitation.
The more you did, the more food you received.
If you didn't work, you'd wait to eat what was readily available.
No way.
No way would someone be so shameless.
Who lives without needing to work?
If Chen Yu only cared about profit, why would he have given Kuka a piece of cheese earlier and had that heartfelt talk with him?
He had his own ways of dealing with people, using different approaches for different individuals.
At least from Heidou's perspective, everything Chen Yu did was right!
"Tch~"
Chen Yu pouted.
This black cat was a sly one.
"Boss, what are you really thinking about?" Heidou licked his lips, "Are you thinking about a cute sister (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)?"
"Do you think I'm like you?"
Chen Yu said dismissively, his face contorted in a sneer.
"I'm thinking about expanding the base," Chen Yu murmured. "If I only rely on myself getting ten tickets a day to explore the caves, the returns are too low."
After all, he was a slave owner.
How could he be out and about every day? He should have his slaves working for him.
He needed to change his strategy.
Have the slaves below work for him.
He needed more slaves.
Otherwise, what was the point of learning "Demon's Whisper"?
"That's easy," Heidou grinned. "Capture slaves! We can look for lions, brown bears, those with decent combat power among beasts, or those who produce resources!"
"That's what I was thinking too. We'll discuss it tomorrow."
Chen Yu stretched lazily, yawning, and glanced at Heidou, who was still lingering on the bed.
"What are you still doing here?"
"It's comfortable here when you sleep," Heidou grinned. Chen Yu glanced at him, "Dare to fart on my face, and I'll cut off your scales. Go to sleep."
The night quietly passed.
When Chen Yu awoke again, it was already dawn in the cave space.
Sitting up, Chen Yu saw Heidou (=̴̶̷̤̄₃=̴̶̷̤̄), his little paws stretched forward.
"Come, let Black Grandpa touch you."
Hearing this sleepy mumbling, Chen Yu almost burst out laughing.
"What sweet dream are you having?"
He raised his hand and patted Heidou's behind. Heidou, startled from his deep sleep, flipped over.
"Who said I didn't pay?!"
"Pfft!"
Chen Yu burst out laughing.
"You little kitten, you're not having proper dreams."
Chen Yu couldn't stop laughing. Heidou, whose fur had bristled from the scare, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Chen Yu, "You scared me to death. It's you, boss. I thought it was that fox sister calling for the black bear security."
"Get up and get ready; it's time to work."
The Perfect Condensation Water device had astonishing water condensation efficiency.
Overnight.
A wooden barrel that could hold 15 liters of water was already half full.
"I need to find a blueprint for a larger water storage barrel," Chen Yu murmured.
As the condensation water device's level increased, its efficiency also grew.
The 15-liter wooden barrel needed to be replaced.
Not to mention the future, but even with the current Perfect Condensation Water device, over 24 hours, including Chen Yu's Greedy Critical Strike, the condensed water volume reached 20 liters.
He glanced at his private messages.
The boycott was still ongoing; this was his standoff against the entire region.
Whoever blinked first would lose.
Even though he was short on resources now, he would never buy from the trading channel.
He wanted them to come begging him.
After pouring the water from two condensation devices into one wooden barrel, he let them continue to condense water in the empty barrels.
Chen Yu already had a wooden barrel with 10 liters of water from before.
Currently, not counting the bottled water outside, Chen Yu possessed 23 liters of drinking water.
If you added the 70 liters of Ice Pure Spring water, 27 liters of Scale Milk, and the 500 bottles of 550ml bottled water outside, the water storage capacity alone would make other cave survivors extremely envious.
Not to mention his food reserves.
His current food reserves, it was no exaggeration to say, could sustain a hundred-person team!
He glanced at the regional channel.
The number of people was 7562.
The death rate had already reached a quarter.
"It seems others' exploration journeys have been very poor," Chen Yu murmured, but he paid them no mind. Their life and death had no impact on him.
With Chen Yu's current strength, there was almost no danger in the outer regions.
What he needed to do was to become stronger.
Acquire more resources.
Their deaths were merely a reminder for Chen Yu to be more cautious during his explorations.
The drowned were those who could swim.
Even though his overall strength was good now, he absolutely could not let his guard down.
After a simple wash, Chen Yu glanced at his camp.
[Excellent Survival Camp (Upgrading): Time remaining 5:43:23]
It was still upgrading.
Checking his private messages, Jiang Yaqing still hadn't sent any.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Sounds occasionally came from the side yard. Chen Yu walked out and was stunned by what he saw.
A pile of mole corpses.
Judging by the number, there must have been dozens.
"Kuka, you're not sleeping."
Chen Yu looked surprised.
"Boss, you're awake?" Kuka, holding a shovel and smashing a mole with a thud, grinned, "We moles sleep lightly, and what you told me last night enlightened me. I need to work even harder."
"It's good to work hard, but don't risk your life."
"You bet."
Kuka patted his chest and gave a thumbs-up.
Beside the pile of mole corpses was the body of a large beast and a bronze treasure chest.
[Pine Bear Carcass: Corrupting in 6:12:57]
"These..."
Chen Yu gestured towards the corpses on the ground. Kuka smiled.
"Jack and Rou Si brought them back last night."
"Where are they?"
"They're sleeping together in the side yard."
Walking to the training area, Chen Yu saw Jack and Rou Si embracing, their affection making him tremble.
(˘³˘)(´e｀)
Unbelievable!
Chen Yu didn't disturb their affection.
He approached the corpses.
Decompose.
Selected 300g as the decomposition unit.
[Cave Reminder: 300g Pine Bear Meat +21]
[Cave Reminder: Pine Bear Gallbladder +1]
[Cave Reminder: Pine Bear Bones +9]
[Cave Reminder: Intact Pine Bear Fur +1]
[Ding: Hungry Person's Greed triggered, Food Greed Critical Strike 50x]
[Greed Critical Strike: 300g Pine Bear Meat +1050]
Clang.
A pile of pine bear meat appeared in the yard.
Chen Yu quickly put it into his bracelet.
The space within the bracelet was almost full.
"There's really too much food."
Chen Yu murmured.
A critical strike multiplier of 50x directly resulted in over a thousand portions of meat; who could handle that?
Taking a deep breath.
Chen Yu dragged the bronze treasure chest over.
Opening it.
[Cave Reminder: Copper Ore +6]
[Cave Reminder: Fire Elemental Fragment +2]
[Cave Reminder: Unclaimed Survivor's Watch +1]