Service Fees

But many things in this world cannot be solved just by gritting one's teeth.

Some people who followed the trend and established factions started to regret it once they realized the truth about how they worked.

What was even more disgusting was that once a faction was established, there was actually no option to abandon it.

Once you become a leader, you are a leader for life! That is, until you are killed by another player or the leader of another faction, who then takes your place.

But all of this had nothing to do with Cheng Shuili.

The development of Black Feather was truly flourishing.

Although all the buildings were starting to upgrade, Cheng Shuili still had complaints.

Upgrading the warehouse only took one hour and required only 1,000 units of materials. But why did the other buildings require a total of sixty thousand materials, not to mention a full 12 hours of upgrade time!

And that was even with the bonus from the Multifunctional Artisan Workshop.

She muttered to herself, her words full of resentment toward the system.

Yu Bing was squatting beside her, boredly drawing circles in the dirt with a wooden stick.

The territory occasionally experienced rain, even thunderstorms, but the ground was just dirt. Once it rained and someone stepped on it, it would leave shoe prints everywhere.

Cheng Shuili was pondering how to solve this issue. Just as she thought of a good idea and was about to call someone to implement it, she noticed the listless Yu Bing nearby.

Her usual job was to assist Zhou Zhuxing, and since Zhou Zhuxing wasn't busy, she naturally wasn't either.

Well then... it's you!

"How about this, tomorrow I'll find you some stones, all the same size and shape. You find a few people to pave the paths between these buildings."

"Huh? Oh, okay, Boss."

Although Yu Bing agreed, she was actually completely stunned.

She had only come over to keep her boss company because she saw her squatting there looking bored, and she hadn't expected to be assigned work just like that.

Yu Bing glanced at Cheng Shuili and, seeing that she wasn't paying attention to her anymore, carefully backed away.

Then she backed away again, and again, until she disappeared.

She swore she would never get close to the boss again!

Cheng Shuili had naturally noticed that guy sneaking away early on, but compared to the reliable Zhou Zhuxing, Yu Bing was really just like Jiang Tang; she needed more training.

Just as she was thinking this, the building in front of her suddenly erupted with a soft white light. Immediately afterward, an unknown mist covered Cheng Shuili's vision, completely shrouding the small shed that served as the warehouse.

Cheng Shuili opened the upgrade page to take a look; there was only one minute left before the warehouse upgrade was complete.

She waited patiently, and the moment the countdown ended, the mist suddenly dissipated!

A brand-new warehouse stood before her. The drafty little shed had been replaced by gray stone outer walls, and a simple wooden door had been installed on the wall facing Cheng Shuili.

Although it still didn't look like much, it was at least a proper building now!

【Warehouse level increased to LV2!】

【Storage space significantly expanded!】

【New features added: automatic material classification and organization, exchange function enabled!】

Two features added just from one level up?!

What a bargain!

Cheng Shuili scanned the two features. The former was easy to understand; previously, Xinxue had to organize everything, and now her workload could finally be lightened.

And the latter...

Cheng Shuili tested this new feature.

As for what the feature actually was, it was essentially just a shop. It didn't contain much, just basic materials like wood, stone, iron ingots, and silver ingots. Slightly more advanced items included low-level energy cores.

Of course, this exchange shop also carried intermediate energy cores and high-level energy cores.

You could say that all the materials needed for construction were available here, and they could be purchased directly using basic materials, while energy cores could be purchased directly with energy stones.

So... what was the point of such a troublesome process?

Cheng Shuili tried to purchase 10 units of wood, and a panel immediately popped up in front of her.

【Requires payment of ten units of basic vehicle materials to purchase wood, plus an additional service fee of 100 game coins!】

What?

Cheng Shuili's eyes twitched fiercely as she stared at the "service fee of 100 game coins" prompt.

"What is this? A robbery?"

She couldn't help but curse under her breath.

To trade ten units of basic materials—which might not even be worth 10 game coins—for ten units of wood, and on top of that, pay an extra 100 game coins in service fees?

The level of greed of this system was simply outrageous!

But as far as Cheng Shuili knew, this was the only way to obtain building materials!

The system had once again laid its villainous nature bare before the players: Want to build special facilities? Want to save the basic materials you have on hand? Fine, but you'll have to pay in game coins.

Fortunately, Cheng Shuili had the Taotie Furnace. Even if she found some special blueprints in the future, she wouldn't need to trade for materials with this profiteer.

"The automatic classification is quite good, but this exchange function... I'll just pretend it doesn't exist for now."

She decisively closed the panel, deciding to ignore this money-burning feature.

Cheng Shuili pushed open the wooden door and walked into the warehouse.

The internal space was indeed much larger than before. The materials that had been piled up in a mess were now sorted by category, neatly stacked in different areas. At a glance, everything was clear, and the quantities were easy to see at a glance.

The problem that Xinxue and the others previously had to spend a lot of time sorting out was solved in an instant.

"This is more like it."

Cheng Shuili nodded with satisfaction, finally feeling that those 1,000 units of materials hadn't gone to waste.

She walked out of the warehouse, her gaze returning to the five golden pillars of light that were still shooting into the sky.

The twelve-hour wait was indeed long, but thinking of the huge convenience these facilities would soon bring, this wait didn't seem like much.

Cheng Shuili returned to the vehicle and noticed several disposable lunch boxes sitting on the sofa.

She realized then that it was already noon.

And the reason for having so many lunch boxes was, of course, because she had told Qi Wanyi that they should eat something better for lunch.

Filled with anticipation for the meal, Cheng Shuili carefully lifted the lids of the containers.

An enticing aroma of food wafted over, instantly dispelling the lingering resentment Cheng Shuili felt toward the system.

In the first container, braised pork was neatly arranged, with a bright red, oily, and enticing color. It was perfectly balanced with fat and lean meat, trembling and steaming with heat. Next to it was fried eggplant; Qi Wanyi had specifically coated it in a layer of flour, making it look golden, crispy, and not greasy. There were also sweet and sour ribs and twice-cooked pork; these two dishes seemed to be in smaller portions, so Qi Wanyi had packed them into one container.

The last box, of course, was filled to the brim with white rice, the grains plump and exuding the unique fragrance of rice.

"Wanyi's cooking... it really is second to none. I'm in for a treat again."

Cheng Shuili's eyes lit up, and her stomach gave an uncooperative growl.

She had been busy for most of the day and was already starving.

She couldn't wait to pick up the chopsticks nearby, dump the rice and dishes into her golden rice bowl, and then pick up a piece of braised pork, slowly putting it into her mouth.