Chapter 018: Upgrading the Territory

Seeing the change in Zhou Bai's expression, Zhou Zhengping raised an eyebrow, "Got some good news?"

Zhou Bai nodded. "Yes, the buildings awarded in the territory yesterday are all aimed at enhancing our territory's strength, and I've built them all! It's just that the money is being spent a bit quickly."

His fighting spirit soared, but then, looking at the rapidly decreasing Gold Coins in his account, he felt a pang of heartache.

Moreover, she had just noticed that the buildings in her territory could be upgraded, and she was planning to start upgrading next, especially the fences. She definitely wanted to increase the defensive power; she did not want to experience Demon Beasts invading her territory again.

Oh right, there were also the various architectural and product drawings she received from killing Demon Beasts last night. Converting those into actual buildings and products would cost money too!

When had she ever lacked money before?

Now it seemed like she was short on cash everywhere?

It was all because of this territory!

Just then, Zhou Bai also received a notification from the system.

[Dear Host, your current wealth is less than 10 Gold Coins, and you are at risk of reaching zero at any moment, unable to purchase materials. Please ensure your account is well-funded.]

Hearing this, Zhou Bai immediately checked her backpack.

Upon inspection, she was completely stunned.

Her backpack was stuffed to the brim, almost running out of space.

She knew that the backpack's initial capacity was 10 slots, but the same type of item could stack up to 999 in one slot. As she leveled up, with each increase in Level, one additional slot was added. Even though she had been buying materials before and had been consuming them regularly, she had enough space in her backpack for the time being.

But now, at Level 7 with 17 slots, her backpack was suddenly full.

What in the world happened?

The memories of last night's residents promising to sell good things to the territory sprang to mind—apparently, they meant what they said.

It seemed that with more people in the territory, the materials purchased would increase. If she could unlock a new building next time, she would definitely need to unlock a Warehouse first—her backpack was struggling to hold everything.

Immediately looking in her backpack, she indeed saw all kinds of wood and stone materials as well as drawings.

Luckily, drawings couldn't be purchased repetitively like wood; otherwise, she would have been "bankrupt" long ago.

"Mom, can you give me some more Gold Coins?" With her funds in critical condition, Zhou Bai had to turn to her wealthy mother for help.

"How much do you need?" Ding Qiurou asked directly.

"Can I have 1000?" Zhou Bai, now determined to do well, naturally wanted to be as prepared as possible.

[Hope Village Resident Ding Qiurou has sent you 1000 Gold Coins; do you accept?]

Zhou Bai accepted immediately and then got ready to start converting the drawings in her backpack into real buildings and items.

However, Zhou Zhengping was slightly surprised, "You need that much to upgrade your territory?"

"There are other expenses," Zhou Bai explained the situation she faced, "I want to upgrade the territory, so that if we face any challenges, we should not be afraid anymore."

Had it been the day before, she probably wouldn't have been willing to spend so much money. Of course, she couldn't have even if she wanted to, but after yesterday, with the ability to invest money into the territory, she was certainly going to—especially since now, the safety of her territory was directly linked to human lives, including her own and her family's.

As for the money she borrowed from her parents, she planned to repay it once the territory started to turn a profit. Naturally, she still believed that with the right development, the territory could eventually earn money.

After hearing Zhou Bai's plans, a faint sigh flickered in Zhou Zhengping's eyes.

From the start of the Doomsday Game, becoming a Lord, Xiao Bai's growth was truly visible to the naked eye!

Although he felt some pangs at her change, Zhou Zhengping had to admit that the current Xiao Bai was the one who could live better in this Doomsday Game and who could shoulder the responsibilities of a Lord.

"If you need money, just say. Anything that can be solved with money isn't a problem," Zhou Zhengping stated simply.

A warmth spread through Zhou Bai's eyes as she nodded. Without her parents' financial strength, her work as a Lord wouldn't have been so smooth. Then, looking at the freshly added 1000 Gold Coins in her account, she continued her operations.

First, she opened the panel of buildings that could be upgraded.

[Lord Mansion (Level 1) - Lord Mansion (Level 2)]

[Fence - Level 1 Wall - Level 2 Wall - Level 3 Wall - Primary City Wall]

[Restaurant - Add Item]

[Level 1 House - Second-level Residence]

[Heroic Spirit Hall (Level 1) - Heroic Spirit Hall (Level 2)]

Zhou Bai unhesitatingly chose to upgrade the buildings that could be upgraded.

The Lord Mansion at the second level meant that its area increased a bit, and it gained another floor.

The restaurant added a new item: plain porridge.

Upgrading from a Level 1 House to a Second-level Residence meant that newly built houses could now be selected to be either Level 1 or Level 2, but the existing Level 1 Houses would not change.

However, the fence could be upgraded incrementally, and upon seeing this, Zhou Bai had already decided—she had to upgrade to the highest level no matter what.

[Do you want to spend 10 Gold Coins and 10,000 units of Stone to upgrade the Fence to a Level 1 Wall?]

[Do you want to spend 20 Gold Coins and 20,000 units of Stone to upgrade the Level 1 Wall to a Level 2 Wall?]

[Do you want to spend 40 Gold Coins and 40,000 units of Stone to upgrade the Level 2 Wall to a Level 3 Wall?]

[Would you like to spend 80 Gold Coins, 80,000 units of stone, and 10,000 units of iron ore to upgrade the Level 3 fence to a Basic City Wall?]

With every inquiry, Zhou Bai chose "Yes" without hesitation.

As the money poured out rapidly, the thought of acquiring a safe and secure wall made her feel it was well worth it!

Once upgraded to the Basic City Wall, the data appeared.

[Building: Basic City Wall]

[Introduction: Forms a protective barrier to defend the territory against demon beasts, consumes defensive power in attack state, requires timely repair.]

[Defensive Power: 80,000]

Seeing the defensive power leap by 80 times, Zhou Bai was truly satisfied.

Immediately after, Zhou Bai's gaze continued to shift to various blueprints.

The only architectural drawing she had was from the Dark Demon Wolf of Level 5 she had slain, so naturally, she didn't hesitate to build it.

[Would you like to spend 10 Gold Coins, 1,000 units of stone, and 1,000 units of wood to unlock the Basic Grocery Store?]

"Yes."

[The Grocery Store is completed, currently without a merchant. Starting self-service mode, the system will select idle items from the Host's backpack for random refreshes, confirm?]

"Yes."

The last to consider were the product blueprints, like the Anti-Black Backpack, Anti-Black Hat, and Night Vision Glasses obtained from the Hope Village Residents; completing them added three more items to the Basic Tailor Shop's inventory.

[Item: Anti-Black Backpack (Green)]

[Introduction: Increases resistance to darkness, adds 2 slots]

[Durability: 100/100 (please visit the tailor shop for repairs when below 20%)]

[Price: 50 silver coins]

*

[Item: Anti-Black Hat (Green)]

[Introduction: Increases resistance to darkness, grants invisibility in the dark for 2 minutes]

[Durability: 100/100 (please visit the tailor shop for repairs when below 20%)]

[Price: 20 silver coins]

*

[Item: Night Vision Glasses (Green)]

[Introduction: Increases resistance to darkness, allows visibility within 2 meters]

[Durability: 100/100 (please visit the tailor shop for repairs when below 20%)]

[Price: 30 silver coins]

*

[Note: Collecting the anti-black trio provides ease of movement at night, effective for 2 hours, cooldown period of 2 hours.]

...

After all the operations were executed and planned, Zhou Bai confirmed her selection and took a long breath.

Finally, it was over!

She had spent several hundred Gold Coins in one go, but compared to the results, she truly felt joy.

Infrastructure is difficult, but it seems not so when you have money.

"I'll go out and check the condition of the territory now." Operating on the Lord Map and seeing it in person would definitely be different, and at this moment, Zhou Bai was a little eager.

"Eat your meal first, you've been too busy to eat," Ding Qiurou said at her side, then prepared a bowl of chicken soup for Zhou Bai. "I cooked it with the mushrooms we traded, it tastes really fresh."

Zhou Bai took it, had a sip, and nodded, "It's good."

"If it's good, then have a little more," Ding Qiurou said tenderly. She was very clear that after last night, her daughter had changed. She couldn't do what her daughter had to do, so she would take good care of her.

She hoped never to see her daughter in the state she was in last night again.

How nice it is now! Ding Qiurou was already considering giving her daughter some money in a few days to let her spend freely.

"Yes," Zhou Bai nodded.

Zhou Zhengping, who was nearby watching the scene, quickly interjected, "Wife, I want some too."

Ding Qiurou gave him a sideways glance—this guy was always looking for attention!

Nevertheless, she still personally served him a bowl.

Watching this scene, Zhou Bai's lips gently curled.

Why was she willing to change herself? It was precisely for moments like these to continue forever!