Chapter 14: The Power Chessboard

  Hidden deep within a dense thicket, Lan Chi and the hut lay low, recovering and regrouping. After the attack, both of them had become more cautious, contemplating their next move.

  Lan Chi realized that the information he had on hand was far too scarce. He still didn't know why they had been attacked, let alone how that person had found his shelter.

  He opened the trading channel and looked for posts selling information. There had always been intelligence trading agencies on the channel. Lan Chi had only glanced at them briefly before closing them—the prices back then were simply beyond what he could afford.

  But things were different now. Even if he had to sell everything he owned, Lan Chi needed to get his hands on some basic intelligence. Otherwise, he wouldn't even know how he died.

  [Basic Faction Distribution: 1000 Phosphorus Crystals]

  [Basic Topographic Map: 500 Phosphorus Crystals]

  [Faction Camp Distribution Map (Essential for Merchants): 850 Phosphorus Crystals]

  And so on...

  The prices were as heartbreaking as ever. Lan Chi checked his pitiful balance of 20 Phosphorus Crystals and sighed. "Still need to make money."

  "Little Hut, we need money to buy information. Here's 20 Phosphorus Crystals. Eat them and produce some meat quickly," he urged.

  "Oh, okay." The hut swallowed the crystals and spat out 200 pieces of fresh meat.

  Lan Chi quickly posted an anonymous order and started selling in bulk. The meat sold quickly. With at least ten thousand trial participants here, 200 pieces of meat barely made a ripple in the vast market.

  1000 Phosphorus Crystals in hand, Lan Chi opened the intelligence orders and purchased [Basic Faction Distribution]. A thick, leather-bound book was ejected from the system screen.

  "An actual book?" Lan Chi was somewhat dumbfounded. He opened it. The cover was roughly made, feeling like the dead skin on a heel. The pages were thick too, and the entire book didn't have many pages.

  Lan Chi stared blankly at the text. The twisted characters, untranslated by the system, were completely incomprehensible. "Wasted money! 1000 Phosphorus Crystals!"

  Just as Lan Chi was lamenting his loss, the hut suddenly interjected, "I can read it."

  "How can you read it?" Lan Chi felt a twinge of unfairness.

  "After eating that flesh mass, I could understand it," the hut replied.

  "Damn, you have that function?" Lan Chi felt like he'd won the lottery. He had long suspected the hut had the ability to read memories—how else could it understand so many modern terms he used? But he never imagined that even eating a flesh mass would allow it to access the creature's memories.

  "Come here, come here. Tell me what's written in this." He handed the book to the hut.

  The hut flipped through the book, mumbling things Lan Chi couldn't understand. After a while, a square wooden map suddenly grew out of the wall. It displayed the faction distribution from the book across different regions, making it very clear for Lan Chi to see.

  "What were you mumbling about just now?" Lan Chi asked curiously. He could tell the hut was speaking a language he didn't understand.

  "Oh, that's the local common tongue," the hut replied.

  "Right, this place has its own language systems." Lan Chi suddenly realized. He had gotten too comfortable using the system and completely overlooked this. Great. Now he had to learn a new language.

  "Don't worry. Based on the memories I got from that flesh mass, there are things here like 'Universal Magic Scrolls,' specially prepared for invading other worlds. Buy one, use it, and you'll understand their common language," the hut reassured him.

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  "Good, good." Lan Chi felt relieved. He continued studying the map and asked, "This is the border between the Bloodstained Cult and the Elves?"

  "Yes," the hut confirmed.

  "Then we should be right along this line." Lan Chi pointed to the boundary between the two factions. "We need to earn more money to buy a map."

  His Phosphorus Crystals were already gone. Lan Chi walked into the growing room. The transplanted mutated wild fruits had revived. The vines were longer than before, nearly covering the entire ceiling. Fruits of various sizes hung down, growing abundantly—a heartening sight. The other plants were also thriving.

  Lan Chi decided to conduct a controlled experiment. From several pairs of identical plants, he selected one from each pair to undergo alteration, hoping to produce something useful. Without delay, several plants began to writhe unnaturally under the enveloping force of his mental energy, each undergoing a qualitative transformation:

  [Mutated Golden Thread Grass]: Powerful hemostatic effect. Instantly restores injuries and replenishes physical strength. Growth cycle: 2 days.

  [Mutated Snake Bone Flower]: Potent paralytic agent. Can completely paralyze creatures Tier 3 and below; has a slowing effect on Tier 4 and above. Growth cycle: 10 days.

  [Mutated Wheat Berry Fruit]: A peculiar fruit resembling wheat ears. Each berry is the size of a grape; eating one provides satiety. Growth cycle: 3 days.

  Lan Chi compared the original plants with the mutated varieties. The original Golden Thread Grass took two weeks to mature; now it was reduced to two days. Snake Bone Flower went from one month to ten days. The Wheat Berry Fruit was even more dramatic, dropping from a three-month cycle to just three days.

  "This mutation effect is really good. Growth cycles are shortened across the board. Though it would be great if they could mature every six hours like those mutated wild fruits," Lan Chi muttered to himself, admitting he was being a bit greedy.

  He casually harvested the ripe mutated wild fruits and tossed them into the market at ten Phosphorus Crystals each, specially noting their "quick recovery after injury" function. Over fifty fruits were snapped up instantly. Many buyers even traced the trade order back and frantically messaged his anonymous account asking about prices.

  Lan Chi ignored the commotion. He fed all 500-plus Phosphorus Crystals he'd just earned to the hut: "Little Hut, replicate 2000 portions of meat, then open up a 50x50 space. The remaining crystals are yours."

  The hut let out a cheer. Its walls undulated, not only spitting out over two thousand portions of bright red meat, but also happily expanding its internal space, visibly thrilled.

  Lan Chi took this freshly produced meat and skillfully posted another anonymous order. As expected, the system channel exploded:

  "Holy crap, who is this? Posting so much meat again, and it's never-ending."

  "Have you noticed? The appearance and texture of this meat are almost identical. How is this meat being mass-produced?"

  "Could it be some cult's flesh craft? Mixed with that deity's faith. Once we eat it, we'll be directly converted into their believers or even sacrifices?"

  "Huh? Really? I've already grilled and eaten several pieces. Tastes no different from four-eyed boar meat!"

  "Stop guessing wildly. I just tested it with a magical detection array. It's completely clean. No residue of any divine faith energy."

  "Phew! That's a relief. I've been busy building my camp lately and haven't been paying attention to these things. I was really afraid some lunatic would pop up and cause trouble."

  The meat sold quickly. Over twenty thousand Phosphorus Crystals instantly appeared in his account. Looking at the mountain of crystals piled up in the living room, Lan Chi felt delighted. "I'm just taking advantage of the information gap to make some quick cash while I still can. Once the various factions get on track and establish their own ecological cycles, this meat won't be worth much anymore."

  The hut circled around the shimmering crystals, its tone dripping with desire. "Chi, can I eat some?"

  "First, store half in the folding space for backup. Once I buy a few key pieces of intelligence, the rest are yours."

  Lan Chi directed the hut to store half of the Phosphorus Crystals in the newly generated 50x50 folding space. Then, he opened the trading channel again, entered the intelligence section, and cleared out the key pieces of information he had his eye on.

  After purchasing the intelligence, the hut happily devoured the remaining several thousand Phosphorus Crystals. Lan Chi also had it interpret the other intelligence documents.

  Soon, new maps appeared on the wall, more detailed than the previous one. They marked the locations of various factions and the coordinates of their open trading camps.

  "Currently, the Bloodstained Cult and the Elves are engaged in covert strife in this area." The hut pointed to a boundary line on the map. "We should be right along this line. Based on the sun's position, there should be a public trading market down here, established by the Elves and their vassal races."

  "Here?" Lan Chi confirmed, looking at the map.

  "Correct."

  "Can you tell how far we are from there? Also, what are the requirements for entering this trading market?"

  "You need a Merchant Pass," the hut replied. It asked uncertainly, "Chi, are we going there? Will they attack us?"

  "I don't know if we'll be attacked, but humans are social creatures. We can't avoid them forever." Lan Chi stared thoughtfully at the map. "If we're going to survive in this world, we have to face these people. I'll spend the next few days gathering more intelligence to figure out how to safely blend in."