Chapter 0030: A Day Tour of the Castle

After inspecting the accommodation building, Di Ping and Barton proceeded to the other side. It was only then that Di Ping realized that the accommodation building and the functional building on the opposite side were connected by passages on both the second and third floors, allowing one to walk directly across without having to descend to the first floor.

As the name suggests, the functional building served a variety of purposes, and upon closer inspection, Di Ping quickly understood its function.

The first floor of the functional building was dedicated to training, with several large and small training rooms. The larger rooms could accommodate up to 300-500 people, while the smaller ones, around 30 square meters, were sufficient for one or two people to work out.

The rooms were equipped with various training tools, and the training grounds featured dark stone floors that were clearly very hard. Stepping on them produced a soft sound with no echo, indicating excellent soundproofing.

The second floor was the dining area, housing a large cafeteria capable of serving a thousand people comfortably. The room was fully equipped with tables and chairs, demonstrating the castle system's attention to detail. In addition to the main cafeteria, there were two upscale smaller restaurants and luxurious private rooms, which were likely reserved for special leaders or high-ranking individuals.

The most interesting feature was a small bar styled in the Western fashion. Although not large, it could accommodate around 100 people.

With a satisfied smile, Di Ping ascended to the third floor, which was dedicated to meetings. It featured one large conference room, three smaller meeting rooms, and a room called the "War Room," which displayed several maps on the walls. Di Ping didn't examine the maps in detail, but he found it intriguing. The most surprising aspect was that the third floor also housed two small cinemas, capable of accommodating around 100 people each.

This wasn't the apocalypse—this castle felt more like a luxurious retreat. It had everything one could need: living, entertainment, and combat facilities, making it an ideal place for both residence and travel.

The castle included a circular high tower with stairs leading to all sides. There was even a special elevator that went directly to the top of the tower. Di Ping was truly impressed by the system. The Lord's Tower, the tallest building in the castle, offered a panoramic view from its glass windows. Di Ping could see the expansive castle walls, the walking paths, the glass dome in the plaza, and even the small residential area beyond the castle, surrounded by endless forests, with stars twinkling above. He felt a surge of pride—everything here was his, and soon he would gain even more power. With such a powerful system, survival in the apocalypse was no longer a concern.

The Lord's Tower was no ordinary building; it had a private resting room on the top floor, with ample natural light and a large floor-to-ceiling window. Di Ping stood there, admiring the view of the night sky.

The tower also contained a small meeting room, an office, a training room on the lowest level, and the castle's central control room.

The control room was equipped with an advanced integrated system that allowed monitoring of all systems and buildings, as well as the situation of occupied resource sites. It enabled Di Ping to send command messages to any system-generated individuals and communicate with smaller shelters and resource sites. Essentially, it was the heart of the entire shelter. Although Di Ping's own system could accomplish these tasks, it also had a more convenient function: when Di Ping was away, he could authorize a commander to manage everything, ensuring smooth communication and avoiding issues.

" Barton, how is there electricity in the castle? Where does it come from?"

Di Ping observed the lights illuminating various parts of the castle, including rooms, hallways, and corridors, all requiring a power supply.

"Master, there is a small energy-gathering formation beneath the castle."

Upon hearing this, Barton tapped a virtual screen, revealing a scene of a small basement-like area, approximately 100 square meters. Inside, there were 12 stone pillars, each about one meter tall, with a small white jade sphere mounted on top. The spheres were connected by a bright light beam, pulsating like waves, illuminating the room in a dim, shifting light. In the center of the pillars stood a thicker column, about the thickness of an adult's thigh, with a crystal-like, irregular object at its top. The light from the spheres converged onto the crystal, making it glow intermittently, as though it were powered.

"Does this thing generate electricity?"

Di Ping was astonished. Such a fantastical device could not be real—yet here it was. He couldn't help but smile, considering that his system had already brought so many unbelievable things into reality.

"Yes, Master. The energy-gathering formation collects the energy of the heavens and earth and transforms it into electrical energy to supply the entire castle."

After closing the screen, Barton explained further.

Glancing at the time, Di Ping realized it was already past midnight. It had taken him quite a while to tour the castle, but given that it was spread over more than ten acres with many different functions, spending several hours touring was quite normal. If he had inspected every detail more thoroughly, it would have taken at least a day.

Not wanting to waste more time, Di Ping focused on the next priority—the manifestation of the tavern. Only when the tavern was built could he recruit heroes and expand his power. With time running late, he quickly decided to proceed with the tavern construction.

With Barton's respectful guidance, Di Ping left the building, and Barton stood at the entrance, watching until Di Ping walked out before returning inside. The heavy iron doors slowly closed behind him.

Crossing a small bridge, Di Ping walked to the right, where there were five rows of connected villas, each with five doorways. He had already noticed that these buildings would be perfect for a manor, warehouse, or workshop, and he planned to use them for that purpose.

Standing before the first villa row, Di Ping focused his mind, and the system interface appeared in front of him. He selected the "Manor" option and then chose to bind it to a real-world building.

"Beep... Do you wish to bind this building to your manor?"

"Yes!"

Di Ping confirmed, eager to proceed.

"Beep... Binding requires 5 crystal coins. The host does not have sufficient crystal coins. Please exchange them with the system."

To Di Ping's surprise, the system required crystal coins for this binding, something he hadn't expected. His knowledge of games led him to believe that building construction would consume materials like wood, not crystal coins. But now, he was faced with the question—what were crystal coins?

"Beep... Crystal coins can be exchanged for crystal cores. The exchange rate is based on the energy level of the crystal cores."

It seemed as though the system had read his thoughts and immediately provided an answer.

"Exchange 10 crystal cores."

Di Ping had accumulated 22 crystal cores over time, so he decided to try the exchange.

"Beep... Exchange successful. You have received 12 crystal coins."

True to its word, the system exchanged 10 crystal cores for 12 crystal coins.

"Beep... Binding begins!"

A sudden burst of light appeared, sweeping across the row of villas like a brush. The light illuminated the villas, and in an instant, they transformed into a Western-style farm manor. The glow dissipated like a bubble, leaving behind the newly transformed manor.

As Di Ping marveled at the system's power, the manor's gates opened, and a middle-aged man with an Eastern appearance, accompanied by ten workers, stepped out. The man smiled and bowed deeply.

"Master, welcome to your manor! The manor manager, Derlin, is at your service!"

After the experience with Barton, Di Ping knew that this was likely another system-generated assistant, tasked with managing the manor.

"Hello, Derlin."

Di Ping treated Derlin as a human, given that he spoke and acted just like one, not like a robot.

"Derlin is honored!"

Derlin quickly bowed lower, his smile growing even more intense, though he maintained a respectful demeanor.

"Please, Master, come and inspect the manor!"

Derlin, though pleased, didn't forget his duties and respectfully guided Di Ping through the manor gates.

The manor spanned several acres and had three levels. It included workshops for timber, grain processing, iron refining, crystal processing, and even a secret silver workshop. Each workshop was equipped with a production line, making Di Ping's eyes gleam with excitement. The system had created something even more impressive than he could have imagined. Even more surprising was the presence of a material transport chamber connected to a teleportation array, which could transfer resources directly from resource sites to the manor for processing. However, since Di Ping had no resource sites yet, this feature wasn't useful at the moment.

Currently, there were 10 workers in the manor. Di Ping would need to recruit more to operate the workshops, but the equipment could only run once resources arrived.

"Master, please open the resource sites so the manor can begin operating!"

After Di Ping had finished touring the manor, Derlin eagerly looked at him.

"Understood. By the way, Derlin, how do we handle food production?"

Di Ping's priority was to address the food issue. He had many people under his command now, but food was the most urgent problem to solve.

"Master, food can be brought in for processing, or you can assign workers to cultivate the land and grow crops."

Derlin explained.

"Will they be able to cultivate the land on their own?"

Di Ping was overjoyed upon hearing this, eager to understand the specifics.

"Yes, Master. The manor is equipped with all necessary tools for land cultivation. Once you define the area, the workers will begin cultivating crops."

Derlin confirmed Di Ping's assumptions.

"Alright! Derlin, assign all 10 workers to cultivate the land for food crops. The area? Let them begin in front of the manor gates."

Di Ping immediately gave his instructions, eager to ensure a steady food supply.

"At once, Master!"

Derlin responded respectfully.

After discussing other matters related to the manor, Di Ping understood just how crucial it was to the development of his power. A well-managed manor was the foundation for everything—food would sustain more people, and more people meant more workers for the workshops. More workers meant more resources, which would help upgrade the tavern and recruit heroes. This, in turn, would increase his strength and allow him to conquer the outside world and gather more resources.

This was a self-sustaining cycle, with the manor being the key to everything. Managing it properly was vital for Di Ping. After finalizing the plans with Derlin, Di Ping noticed it was already 2 a.m. He needed to quickly build the tavern. Once that was done, he could finally start recruiting heroes and increasing his power.

Excited by the prospects, Di Ping walked quickly toward the left side of the castle, where a cluster of detached villas stood. These villas were about 200 meters away. The area was designed with independent villas to the south and east, rows of attached villas to the west, and the best spots in the rear, featuring gardens and large detached villas. Near the front, Di Ping's two small high-rise buildings were located.