The Dungeon Hall in Xinwang City was once again packed with people.
As the core of the hall from Old Mohai City was moved back, the people who worked within the secret realms also returned to their posts.
Qi Xuanheng and the construction crew from the Heavenly Crafts Academy were also inside the dungeon secret realm.
Previously, Chen Xu had provided eight new Dungeon Cores for Xinwang City, and the officials had provided several additional ones later on.
Consequently, Qi Xuanheng and his team had immediately plunged into the development of the secret realms right after finishing the city's construction.
Although Xinwang City was no longer threatened by Mohai and the harsh sandstorms of the past were gone, allowing people to live in the Blue Star world instead of being crowded into dungeons, the secret realms remained vital.
Their primary function was to serve as sectors for agricultural and industrial development.
Daxia would plan and transform these secret realms based on their environments, unique species, or other beneficial attributes.
For example, there were dedicated grain secret realms, specialty fruit secret realms, or specific livestock secret realms. Those unsuitable for planting or breeding would be used for large scale factories for industrial production.
The reason Chen Xu rushed to the Dungeon Hall immediately upon arriving in Xinwang City was because of a message from Qi Xuanheng.
Qi Xuanheng mentioned that among the Dungeon Cores provided by the Daxia officials, one was a secret realm with a Yin-attribute environment. Knowing Chen Xu was a Necromancer, he asked if Chen Xu was interested in participating in its development.
Chen Xu had agreed immediately.
Walking into the Dungeon Hall, he saw the familiar street vendors hawking their wares nearby.
He took out his smart terminal and sent a message to Qi Xuanheng, then went to buy two Lightning Mutton Buns. He had not eaten them in a long while and quite missed the taste.
After paying, Chen Xu found a corner, squatted on the ground, and began to eat.
While Chen Xu was enjoying his meal, Qi Xuanheng's voice came from a distance.
"Little Friend Chen, why are you squatting on the ground to eat? There are chairs right over there."
As he spoke, he pointed toward the tables and chairs in front of a nearby shop.
Chen Xu stood up, finished the last of the bun in a few bites, wiped his mouth, and said sheepishly, "I did not buy anything from their shop, after all. Besides, it was just a quick snack."
Qi Xuanheng shook his head and led Chen Xu toward the entrance of the secret realm.
Along the way, he gave Chen Xu a preliminary briefing on the situation.
"This Yin-attribute secret realm has a total area of about six hundred square kilometers, and it is almost entirely flat. The only water source is a small pond in the middle. Furthermore, there are almost no native species, only a few old willow trees by the pond."
"Therefore, it has almost no value for planting or breeding."
"If it is all flat land, it should be quite good for building factories, right?" Chen Xu asked.
"Topographically speaking, it is very suitable. However, this is a Yin-attribute secret realm. Unless we build a fully automated factory, few people can handle working in a Yin-attribute environment for long periods."
"Alternatively, we could spend money to set up arrays in the factory to resist the Yin-attribute erosion, but it would not be cost-effective."
Daxia's factories were generally established in secret realms suitable for long-term human life and activity.
Industrial construction was rarely done in secret realms with such prominent single attributes unless the native species or mineral deposits offered extreme advantages.
In terms of the working environment, Daxia's basic protections were very thorough.
After all, in this dungeon era, those who chose to work in factories were either tired of the dungeon-clearing life and had ordinary classes with no hope of reaching the top, or they were short on money for equipment and needed a temporary job to get by.
As the saying goes, everyone can afford plain noodles, but not everyone is gifted with a cheat.
Therefore, for ordinary professionals, every dungeon run required full preparation. Consumables and equipment were necessities.
Regardless of the type, workers cared deeply about their working environment and benefits.
Moreover, it was not just the workers who cared; factory owners were also very concerned.
It was no joke. Those coming to work in factories were all professionals with Transcendent powers.
As the saying goes, when one carries a sharp blade, the urge to kill arises naturally. These people who had been through dungeons and experienced life and death situations were truly indifferent to death and ready to fight at the slightest provocation.
Since everyone was just there for the money, it was best not to ruin the harmony.
"Since factories, planting, and breeding are all unsuitable, why did you call me here, Elder Qi?"
"Actually, it is not that it is unsuitable. To be more precise, it is unsuitable for humans."
"What do you mean? I do not understand."
Qi Xuanheng's words left Chen Xu even more confused.
"It means that factories, planting, and breeding are all possible, but they must be done by skeletons instead of humans. You understand now, right? I suspect Daxia placed this secret realm in Xinwang City with this in mind."
"So you are after my skeletons."
Chen Xu realized the truth. It was likely that the skeleton construction crew had done such a good job that the officials had taken notice. Now they were looking for forced labor, essentially re-employing them for civil engineering.
As they spoke, the two of them entered the Yin-attribute secret realm.
Looking out, it was a gray, desolate expanse of land stretching as far as the eye could see.
Although it was light, there was no bright sunshine. Low-hanging dark clouds created an extremely oppressive atmosphere.
After entering, Qi Xuanheng tightened his collar and shivered slightly.
"Ignoring everything else, this temperature alone makes it unsuitable for long stays."
Chen Xu, on the other hand, looked perfectly comfortable and felt no discomfort at all.
"Elder Qi, while I agree with replacing human labor with skeletons, you have seen the size of my skeletons. Existing factory designs probably would not work for skeletons of that size."
"Yes, they are indeed unsuitable."
Qi Xuanheng did not argue. Most factories in the human world were designed for human proportions.
Designing a specialized factory for four-meter-tall skeletons would take quite a bit of effort.
Furthermore, as Chen Xu leveled up, his skeletons would only get larger, but factories could not simply grow with them. That was also a major issue.
"Then how about planting? Daxia has some Yin-attribute crops that can be provided to you. Besides, your skeletons are large enough that you would not even need oxen to plow the fields. Two skeleton palms would be the best plows."
"As for breeding, there are currently no species suitable for long-term survival in a Yin-attribute environment."
After saying that, Qi Xuanheng fell silent for a moment, thinking, before speaking again.
"If you do not want to do any of those, there is one more path."
"What is it?"
"I have heard that evil cultivators in those cultivation worlds like to find Yin soil like this to raise corpses and nurture ghosts. Think about it. There is a cold pond in the middle and Yin willows by the side. Does that not perfectly fit the description of a prime spot for raising ghosts?"
"Although, as far as I know, Daxia has no cultivators who follow the path of corpses and ghosts, you could raise them well and sell them to evil cultivators from other worlds. It could be considered earning foreign exchange."
After hearing Qi Xuanheng's suggestion, Chen Xu did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"Elder Qi, let's not even talk about whether this place can raise good corpses or refine good ghosts. Even if they are raised, where would you find stable customers? Those evil cultivators are hated by everyone. I am afraid I would be killed the moment the transaction finished."
"When that time comes, I would have a bunch of ghosts and corpses with no one to buy them. It would be a waste of effort."
"You are right about that. Fine, I have no other ideas. Anyway, this secret realm belongs to you now. You can do whatever you want with it."
"Whatever I want?"
In that case, Chen Xu actually had an idea.
Next, Chen Xu summoned Sindragosa and began to fly around the perimeter of the secret realm.
After one lap, Chen Xu had his answer.
"Elder Qi, I have an idea. However, I will need a lot of materials. I wonder if the Heavenly Crafts Academy or Daxia has them?"
"What materials? Give me a list, and I will take a look."
A short while later, Chen Xu finished writing a list of materials and handed it to Qi Xuanheng.
As Qi Xuanheng read it, his eyes slowly widened.
"Little Friend Chen, what on earth are you planning to build that requires so many materials?"
"I am going to build a Natural Wonder!"
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