Chapter 46: Chapter 46

Using Foreststride and Ghost Step, she easily avoided the few zombies wandering in the woods and reached the outermost mountain of the forest park.

“Liriope—perennial evergreen herb, extremely hardy, tolerant of trampling. Flower spikes range from deep to pale blue or purple, and the blossoms glow at night in the same color as the petals. After flowering, it produces small spherical berries, which are sweet and edible. The tuber, when dried and ground, can be applied to wounds for mild hemostatic effect...”

Under the scrutiny of her plant identification spell, nothing about the liriope could escape her notice. The more Mu Ying observed, the more delighted she became. The flowers glowed, the berries were edible, the tuber had medicinal value, and most importantly, it was tough and easy to grow.

All of liriope’s traits had mutated for the better.

When using the Claw of Recompense on liriope, she could choose to harvest flowers, berries, tubers, or seeds.

Mu Ying first plucked a cluster of berries to taste. The blue-purple fruits were plump like tiny grapes, resembling blueberries but even sweeter. It was as if a pouch of sweet water was hidden beneath the skin.

Sweet but not cloying—she instantly fell in love with the flavor.

From now on, whenever liriope bore fruit, she’d be sure to pick some.

Next, Mu Ying put the Claw of Recompense to full use, choosing to collect only seeds. She wanted to take advantage of the rain to plant liriope all over the camp.

She’d already cleared the camp of shrubs and weeds, leaving the ground a bit bare. Liriope, being tough and evergreen, was perfect for planting throughout the camp.

And with the help of this rain, it would sprout quickly.

As her hand brushed over the liriope flower spikes, the Claw of Recompense quietly gathered seeds and slipped them into her storage pouch.

Even if someone saw her, they’d just wonder why she kept touching the flowers.

After collecting a whole pouch of seeds, Mu Ying finally returned to camp. While tending to the vegetable patch and sensing the trees, she scattered the seeds.

Even if people stepped on them, it wouldn’t affect their ability to take root and sprout."

"Attracted by the large horde of zombies outside the camp, the residents’ wallets were now bulging. Even those who couldn’t afford to enter the camp had teamed up today to hunt down some of the zombies wandering in the forest.

When the zombies attacked, the territory’s protective shield gave everyone an unparalleled sense of security, drawing in another wave of newcomers to the camp.

Just like that, the camp’s population surged past a thousand, and more people began renting treehouses, quickly leading to a shortage.

Mu Ying hurried to build more treehouses, bringing the total up to one hundred.

The treehouses were spaced far apart, leaving room for residents to modify them in the future. These treehouses now occupied most of the camp’s space.

As soon as the treehouses were completed, a slew of new options appeared on the territory construction page.

First were three new functional blueprints.

As the lord, Mu Ying could design various building blueprints in the blueprint tab, and even add her own functions.

Living in the age of information explosion, Mu Ying actually had a lot of ideas about territory construction, but in the end, she hadn’t been able to realize them.

She’d tried designing blueprints for things like sub-camps and teleportation arrays before, but it never worked out. Now she realized it was because her territory level was too low.

As for the Mercenary Guild, it was a type of shop—just a chain store. When she’d previously tried to recruit shopkeepers, she couldn’t even see the option for the Mercenary Guild, let alone invite them. Turns out, that too was locked behind territory level.

Mu Ying casually clicked “approve,” then assigned a treehouse near the shop street for the guild. It would take some time for them to move in.

She took the opportunity to open the two newly unlocked blueprints.

[Facility: Sub-camp]

[Function: Allows a small piece of land within the territory’s range to be brought under the territory’s protection.]

[Size: 500 square meters to 1 hectare]

[Required materials: Territory shield, short-range teleportation array, 50,000 energy]

[Blueprint conversion cost: 1,000 energy]

[Facility: Short-range Teleportation Array]

[Function: Enables short-range teleportation within the territory.]

[Size: Variable; area determines maximum number of people per teleport.]

[Required materials: 50,000 energy]

[Blueprint conversion cost: 1,000 energy]

Looking at the long string of zeros in the material requirements, Mu Ying clutched her wallet. “That’s way too expensive!”

Not even counting the 2,000 energy needed just to convert the blueprints, building both the teleportation array and sub-camp would cost a total of 100,000 energy—the equivalent of 10 gold coins.

But right now, she only had 9,864 copper coins in her pocket—not even enough for a single gold coin. After converting the two blueprints, she’d be left with just 7,864 copper coins.

So, the sub-camp would have to wait.

Just a couple of days ago, she’d been feeling smug about how rich she was. With the territory acting as a cash cow, she thought she’d never have to worry about money again.

But after this upgrade, it felt like there were endless things to spend money on. The daily copper income was a drop in the bucket—the territory was turning out to be a giant money pit.

The moment she saw the sub-camp blueprint, she thought of her plantation, but unfortunately, she didn’t have the money to make it happen right now.

“There’s a new shop!”

“The Mercenary Guild—Qingshan Village Branch. Qingshan Village? Isn’t this Qingshan Camp?”

...

Hearing the commotion outside, Mu Ying grabbed her umbrella and stepped out.

The shop street was just a short walk behind her treehouse, a few dozen meters along the skywalk.

Located behind Bruce’s Tavern, the Mercenary Guild was now the grandest building in the territory—a full three stories, built around a tree in staggered layers, with open-air wooden stairs connecting the levels.

The sign above the lowest room read “Mercenary Guild” in large characters, with smaller text beside it: “Qingshan Village Branch.”

Mu Ying followed the crowd into the guild. The first floor was a spacious hall—probably magically expanded—with plenty of booths. Behind the main counter stood a petite girl with chestnut curls.

She kept a pleasant smile, and when enough people had gathered, she raised her voice:

“Welcome to the Mercenary Guild! I’m Kaina, the reception hall manager for this branch.”

“Become a mercenary to take on commission quests and earn rewards.”

“Senior mercenaries can also receive monthly financial support from the guild.”

“Registering as an adventurer costs just 1 silver coin. Forming a mercenary group costs only 10 silver coins.”

The lively chatter in the hall couldn’t drown out Kaina’s voice. In fact, her clear, ringing tone startled everyone into silence.