"The Alliance Association hasn’t publicly announced the outcome, but the family that did it is now under control," Jia Liangcai said.

Qin Ziwen scoffed. "Something like this happens, and instead of figuring out how to handle it properly, Zou Jianghe comes to me."

Qin Ziwen shook his head. "When something so heinous occurs, the first thing to do is arrest the murderous family and execute them publicly to make an example of them.

"Otherwise, if actions like wiping out a family to steal their Cards go unpunished, what credibility will the Alliance Association have left? With a precedent like this, everyone in the Alliance will live in fear from now on."

Jia Liangcai also couldn’t understand Zou Jianghe’s actions. "Even in the Great Yong, when such a vicious crime occurs, the Government Office would apprehend the culprit and behead them in the streets to reassure the populace."

Qin Ziwen nodded. "Your Great Yong handles these things well."

Jia Liangcai gave a slight smile. "Not quite. They just apprehend *a* murderer, not necessarily the *real* one. If you have enough Silver Coins to grease the right palms, it’s not hard to find a few death row inmates of a similar build and swap them out."

"I’m afraid that trick wouldn’t work in the Gated Community. It’s full of familiar faces; everyone knows everyone."

At this point, Qin Ziwen couldn’t help but sigh. "When the Alliance Association was founded, Zou Jianghe was full of vigor and had some courage. How did he end up like this?"

Jia Liangcai said, "My Lord, I’ve heard that the Lord of the Homeland receives a settlement every time they cross through a map?"

"Yes, there’s a map settlement," Qin Ziwen confirmed with a nod.

Hearing this, Jia Liangcai pondered for a moment before saying, "My Lord, I have a plan."

"Tell me."

"My Lord, if we treat the system behind the Home as the Court and you as a powerful magnate, then why not temporarily lend Cards to others? This would be like tricking the Court into issuing military provisions. Once the provisions are handed out, you can have them repay the debt with the new Cards they’ve obtained. This way, my Lord, you gain fame and profit, and the Qin Alliance’s power will surge. Wouldn’t that be a triple win?"

Qin Ziwen nodded. "That’s a good idea, but what if some people refuse to pay back?"

Jia Liangcai replied, "My Lord, you hold the righteous cause. None will dare to disobey. If there are any stubborn fools who refuse, we shall execute them as a warning to the rest, striking fear into their hearts."

Qin Ziwen thought for a long time before nodding. "Alright. But even if we’re lending them, it won’t be for free. The number of Cards is limited, so we can’t provide for everyone. Only those with good performance will get priority."

"My Lord is wise."

...

「It was midnight.」

A settlement notification sounded in Qin Ziwen’s mind.

[You have successfully survived for one week in the Gobi Map, current day: eighteen. During this week, you obtained a large number of Cards, successfully nurtured an Extraordinary Recruitment Pet, and completed one Hunting Celestial List Level 2 Task... Comprehensive Score: 2380]

[Rewards Acquired: [Breakthrough Card] Extreme Breakthrough Card x2, [Duplication Card] Advanced Building Copy Card x1, [Advanced Building Card] Martial Arts Arena x1, [Expansion Card] Sand Expansion Card (Large) x1, [Function Card] Insight x1, [Enhancement Card] Ordinary Building Enhancement Card x1]

The rewards were as generous as ever.

This was also why he had made a special trip back to the Home today.

It was like payday each month—you had to have a little ceremony.

If there were any suitable Cards, he could use them right here in the Home and save himself another trip.

As usual, he took stock of the Cards.

First was the Insight Card.

Qin Ziwen used it immediately.

[Function Activated: Level 4 Insight]

[Authority has been upgraded. Current Authority: Level 3 Authority (3/8)]

[Level 4 Insight: Can be used on Card buildings, resource points, recruited units, humans, beasts, and plants to discern their basic rules or attributes.]

A new capability was added: it could now be used on plants.

Qin Ziwen went to the farmland and saw the mysterious little tree.

He used Insight.

[Heaven-Reaching Fruit (Extraordinary): Consumption increases body size. Effects diminish with repeated use. After consumption, the mind’s apertures are temporarily closed and thoughts become sluggish for a short period.]

"Liangcai, what does ’the mind’s apertures are temporarily closed’ mean?"

Jia Liangcai pondered after hearing this. "I once read in a book that when one’s mind-apertures are clear, their consciousness is sharp and their thoughts are agile."

Qin Ziwen understood. ’So the side effect of the Heaven-Reaching Fruit is that you get dumber for a short while after eating it!’

’Good thing it’s not permanent, or the drawback would be huge.’

"Black." Qin Ziwen plucked a fruit from the tree and held it to Black’s mouth.

Black sniffed it, and upon discovering it wasn’t meat, turned its head away in disdain.

"You little brat, getting picky now!"

Qin Ziwen pried open its mouth, shoved the purple fruit inside, and then held its jaws shut.

Black’s eyes welled with tears in panic, not understanding why it was being forced to eat this sour thing.

Finally, with a gulp from its throat, it swallowed.

Qin Ziwen mused that it was a good thing this little guy was just born. If he waited until it was bigger, he probably wouldn’t have the strength to hold its mouth shut.

Then he used the Home to deduce Black’s maximum body size.

[This mutated Tyrannosaurus’s maximum weight is 60.5 tons.]

He remembered its weight had only been 55 tons before. ’A single fruit increased it by ten percent?’

Then he plucked another fruit.

Seeing its master about to feed it again, Black struggled desperately, but it was a step too late.

[This mutated Tyrannosaurus’s maximum weight is 65.9 tons.]

...

[This mutated Tyrannosaurus’s maximum weight is 82.4 tons.]

After feeding it a total of six Heaven-Reaching Fruits, he had finally pushed Black’s maximum weight past 80 tons.

The First Stage of the Third Gear task to become Extraordinary was finally complete.

As for the Second Stage, Qin Ziwen considered it a separate task altogether.

In the Second Stage, besides him and Black, all of his recruited units could participate. The Beaked Eagle and Du Yu could also join in.

The more difficult the target of the hunt, the richer the rewards. If possible, it was naturally better to choose a stronger target. In the Gobi Desert, the most difficult challenge task was the Giant Rock Dragon.

But so far, there was no trace of any Giant Rock Dragon.

Besides the Giant Rock Dragon, both Tyrannosaurs had been killed. At this stage, the most suitable targets were the Duck-billed Dragon or the Zungar Rhinoceros.

Looking at the farmland, Qin Ziwen took out the Ordinary Building Enhancement Card and raised it to Level 5.

Currently, the only ordinary building in his Home that had reached Level 4 was the farmland.

Still, using it on the farmland wasn’t a loss. The higher the farmland’s level, the faster the Heaven-Reaching Fruits and other produce would mature.

The only one who would have a harder time was Wei Zhaohua, who would probably be a bit busier every day.

Other than the soil’s color becoming deeper, the upgraded Level 5 farmland didn’t show many other changes.

Afterwards, he went to the Martial Arts Arena.

He prepared to use the newly acquired Martial Arts Arena Card to raise it to Level 2, but he received a notification.

[New building upgrade requires a 50x50 meter area. Please confirm there is enough empty space nearby, or reselect the building’s placement area.]

’Upgrading an Advanced Building increases its area requirement?’

Before the upgrade, it was only 30x40. After upgrading to Level 2, the area had more than doubled.

He first used the large Sand Expansion Card, then upgraded the arena.

[Level 2 Martial Arts Arena: Level 3 Physical Training Amplification, Level 2 Stamina Recovery, Level 2 Long-Range Weapon Enhancement] (Special Effects: Omitted)

...

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