Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 308: Magic Ore Vein

[Congratulations! The first special building in your Level 1 Territory — the Magic Ore Vein — has been officially completed and is now operational. This building can be operated manually or run automatically. It also grants a special privilege: you may invite one Lord-class player to permanently and strategically join your territory, becoming your advisor and partner. This will assist in team formation for more important future missions and improve mission completion rates.]

[Note: from this moment forward, Pioneering Points and Family Contribution will no longer appear within your Level 1 Territory. All previous accumulations will be settled comprehensively at month-end. All other players must now operate under the Mercenary model to complete various tasks, or receive direct subsidies from you. Additionally, within ten kilometers of your position, the risk of player elimination drops sharply — even without taking any action, players within this range enjoy the effect of a Three-Star Conspiracy Card.]

[Note: since the overall Pioneering Mission has not yet concluded, you can still view other players' Pioneering Point totals. However, first place is permanently yours — unless you are eliminated before the mission ends.]

[Note: your Level 1 Territory will not continue to upgrade, as this is theoretically the maximum. When the three years conclude, you will formally receive a Three-Star Territory.]

When the twenty-eighth day of the month arrived, lines of text appeared silently before Li Wei. Completed — and not in twenty-four hours. It had taken only fourteen.

Money really did move mountains. Five thousand standard gold coins well spent.

What made it even better was that since morning, the wind had picked up again across the land, dark clouds gathering — the final wave of this month's Radiation Storm had arrived. Cold rain turned to snow before it even hit the ground, and Li Wei could feel a massive cluster of chaotic magical particles bearing down precisely on his location.

180% difficulty, after all. The experience had to be complete.

But for a Two-Star Magic Ore Vein, these conditions were ideal — maximum load operation, optimal output.

"Quick! Brother — these two days are worth three years of normal operation! Is there any way to upgrade it?"Li Yue came sprinting over.

"On it. I'll upgrade it now. But will the mutant creatures attack the Magic Ore Vein?"

"Attack it? I'd welcome it. The Magic Ore Vein isn't fragile — why do you think I gave you those three thousand gold coins earlier? Exactly for this moment. Of course, Level 5 and above mutants can still damage it, so we'll need to go out and defend it."

Li Yue was practically vibrating with excitement.

Li Wei said nothing more. Together with Li Yue, he sprinted straight to the Magic Ore Vein — located at the southern edge of the town, actually outside the town boundary, a full three kilometers from the camp building.

It couldn't be built in a residential area.

From a distance, a thread of blue light was already rising from deep underground. And yes — there was a genuine shaft there, about a meter in diameter, its rim constructed from some special material.

The depths were invisible, filled with complex, incomprehensible magical arrays. The blue light rose roughly thirty meters high, shimmering like a tower in constant flux, drawing all the surrounding chaotic magical particles toward it.

The effect was remarkable.

The current Radiation Storm wave was intense enough to easily cause Level 3.5 Blood Plague infection — but as Li Wei and Li Yue walked toward the Ore Vein, they both noticed that within five kilometers of it, Blood Plague levels topped out at Level 2.

Li Wei upgraded without hesitation.

Five Silver Clearance Tokens consumed. Five thousand standard gold coins drawn from the family treasury — to be deducted at settlement. No issue there.

With the tokens and coins invested, it was like clicking an upgrade button in a game. The Magic Ore Vein expanded with a deep thrum — from one meter in diameter to one and a half, and the blue light tower shot from thirty meters to forty-five.

Extraordinary.

"It was all built in from the first installation. Think of it as them constructing a Three-Star Magic Ore Vein from the start — but with the back-end capacity locked. You've just unlocked part of it."

Li Yue said it casually. "You know — for my old territory, I spent enormous effort over ten years of non-stop missions to upgrade my Magic Ore Vein to Three-Star. And my Three-Star Vein only ran at 95% of normal output."

"Headquarters didn't do anything about it?"

Li Wei asked. He could accept minor imperfections — but something this blatant?

"You don't understand. Magic is allowed to have variance. The card system can't execute everything with cold mechanical precision — people will always find new loopholes. Rather than fighting it, the system builds in a buffer that keeps things from becoming embarrassing for anyone. It's like our Monthly Main Tasks — why is the cap always set so low? A month's worth of work, done in twenty-five days?"

"Alright — keep watch here. I still have some things to finish. Two days left. Consider it my final shift." Li Yue smiled.

"Li Yue."

Li Wei called after her. He felt it — in two days, she would settle and leave.

"Oh, stop being so sentimental. I've lived eighty-odd years. What storms and farewells haven't I seen? Performance is performance, reality is reality. From now on, just call me Big Sis — that'll do fine."

Li Yue laughed openly. They were practically in Three-Star Conspiracy Card mode all the time now anyway. No need for any performance.

She was getting on in years. She liked looking good, but she had no interest in pretending to be young. The rumors, the misunderstandings — she let them wash over her. No need for ambiguity. All she wanted was to drag her impossible plastic-flower old companion somewhere they could grow old in peace.

"You already knew?"

"Of course I knew. You little brat — don't you stand there moping at me. Do your job. When it's time to strike, strike. Don't go soft on those people. And don't let the Widow talk your ear off either — that old bat's problem is she goes to extremes. Strange temper. Sometimes she gets anxious and hysterical. Be patient with her, but don't do everything she says. If she were really that capable, she wouldn't be in the state she's in."

Li Yue rattled on at length, her tongue sharp as a blade, cutting Liang Yuzhi down thoroughly — but Li Wei understood what she was really saying. He smiled and nodded.

"Understood. Big Sis — you watch yourself too. Don't get caught in the crossfire."

Li Wei shifted to the new address. "Big Aunt" was out — no aunt had this much energy. But Big Sis worked.

"Pfft, I'm not afraid of anything. My future is the stars and the endless sky!"

Li Yue spat cheerfully and strode off, full of swagger.

Li Wei watched her go, feeling an unprecedented calm settle over him — no complicated feelings, nothing improper. Whatever warmth there was, it was the kind you felt for family, the quiet understanding between people who shared the same direction.

But he acknowledged it: meeting these two had been his good fortune.

And finding common ground through friction and conflict, setting aside grievances to work together — and then, when facing the special boss, trusting each other without reservation — that had been an even greater fortune.

Li Wei cherished it. And Li Yue and Liang Yuzhi — they cherished it no less.

That was what let them go further.

[Congratulations! Your Two-Star Magic Ore Vein has detected a large cluster of chaotic magical particles lingering nearby that had not yet dispersed, and has converted them.]

[Congratulations! Your Two-Star Magic Ore Vein has produced 1 unit of standard magical energy.]

[Congratulations! Your Two-Star Magic Ore Vein has produced 5 units of standard magical energy.]

[Congratulations! ...]

[Note: the Two-Star Magic Ore Vein can store up to 200 units of magical energy. Once full, excess will be automatically sold to headquarters at 500 standard gold coins per unit.]

—

The notifications appeared in rapid succession, startling Li Wei. Less than half an hour, and the results were already this visible. Wait — "lingering nearby, not yet dispersed" chaotic magical particles? Was that referring to the special boss? Or the mutant creatures killed around the camp this month?

He watched in real time as the standard magical energy counter broke fifty units in moments.

Then it slowed — settling into a steady rate of one unit per half hour.

At this pace, wouldn't it overflow in two days?

Not quite — this final wave of the Radiation Storm wouldn't last two full days. By tomorrow evening at the latest, it would begin to weaken.

But even so, producing a hundred units of standard magical energy in one burst was remarkable.

Li Wei felt a quiet satisfaction. This had been entirely unplanned.

A hidden benefit that even Li Yue and Liang Yuzhi probably hadn't known about.

Truly — if he had relocated the territory to the small city base without thinking it through, he would have lost at least fifty units of standard magical energy right here. That was 25,000 standard gold coins.

Speaking of which — what exactly could one unit of magical energy do? Was there a reference standard?

As the thought formed, the Pioneering Card bound to him automatically surfaced several reference points.

[One unit of standard magical energy can sustain a One-Star Magic Shield for one month of operation. A One-Star Magic Shield can easily resist Level 4 Blood Plague.]

[It can also replenish magical energy in any enchanted equipment. Under normal circumstances, one unit of magical energy restores 500 points of enchantment durability.]

[If an enchanted equipment's enchantment properties have been destroyed, one unit of magical energy can re-enchant 5 to 8 pieces of equipment under normal circumstances.]

[It can be used in the crafting of new enchanted equipment. With a true Enchanting Blacksmith and a proper Enchanting Forge, one unit of magical energy can produce 3 to 5 enchanted items.]

[It can be used to enrich farmland. One unit of magical energy can sustain ten acres of farmland at peak fertility for three years, after which further infusion is required.]

[It can be used in the preparation of magical potions. Specifics depend on the Alchemist's abilities and the level of the Alchemy Workshop.]

[It can be used to cultivate and strengthen Hunting Pets. Specifics vary by situation.]