Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Black Gold

Xu Xin thought for a moment and decided to plant some fruits and vegetables first.

There’s no need to plant too many fruits. Plain green-grade fruits only serve to fill one’s stomach and quench thirst, without any other purpose.

Moreover, currently, the jungle is rich with fruits, so nobody lacks them, and planting them wouldn’t have a market. Green-grade trees like poplar and pine are simply too high–even with an indoor height of five or six meters, it’s not enough to plant them inside.

Xu Xin planted a row of apple trees and a row of orange trees in a spot near the center with higher ceilings. These two types of trees can be maintained at a height of around three meters, making them suitable for indoor planting.

In the remaining space, Xu Xin casually sprinkled some seeds of red berries or strawberries. Let’s plant them first, and change them for green-grade materials suitable for indoor planting when found.

Xu Xin had considered planting cotton, but with just a few flower pots, the yield was really pitiful. Better to wait until the rainy season passes to cultivate a piece of land below for planting.

The pine and birch forests downstairs have not yet fully grown, and it’s unknown if they’ll be affected by the rain.

Keke was also on the top floor, staring blankly at the sky through the glass, seemingly attracted by it.

Xu Xin picked up Keke, preparing to take it back to the third floor.

“Whimper!” Keke suddenly pointed at the sky.

“Danger!” Xu Xin suddenly became alert.

“Whimper.” Keke shook its head and pointed at the sky again, “Whimper!”

“No danger?” Xu Xin was somewhat puzzled. “What do you mean? Are you saying there’s something up there?”

“Whimper!” Keke nodded.

“Is this thing not dangerous?” Xu Xin also looked up at the sky. Through the glass, he could only see scattered stars.

Keke shook its head again, then nodded, scratched its little head, perhaps not knowing what to say, and buried its head into Xu Xin’s arms.

Xu Xin petted its constantly wiggling big tail, pondering, “Maybe it’s because the next event is the rainy season, Keke might sense the change in weather early. Or maybe…”

He looked up at the sky, squinting his eyes.

“Or maybe this rainy season is created by something, and now this thing is directly overhead.”

No matter the case, Xu Xin doesn’t currently have the ability to confront it. All he can do is simply survive.

Everything inside the house has basically been taken care of; next is installing weapons outside.

Currently, he only has one heavy crossbow outside, and its attack coverage is too small. The tree house has four sides; he needs to install three more.

During the hunt for the Blood Patterned Cat, he got two special materials that can be used to enhance the heavy crossbow.

Xu Xin sent a message to Li Wenxi, requesting some iron blocks.

Li Wenxi responded quickly, but it wasn’t a trade.

“Xu Xin, I acquired a new metal ore!”

Hmm? New metal ore?

Xu Xin immediately put aside the trading matter and directly initiated a video call with Li Wenxi.

In the video, Li Wenxi was somewhat excited. “Xu Xin! Metal! A brand new metal, and it’s blue-grade!”

Li Wenxi was holding a piece of pitch-black stone; it looked plain, but to Xu Xin’s discerning eye, it emitted a blue glow.

“What ore is this? Did you get it from the dungeon’s box?”

“No, I mined it myself. The dungeon’s exit is a mine; the mine is full of this ore!” As Li Wenxi spoke, she held up another black metal block; though black, it still had a metallic sheen.

The metal block was heavy, and judging by her appearance, lifting the block was quite laborious.

“This is a forged metal block. Its name is strange, called black gold ore and black gold block! But I don’t know what it’s used for.”

Mine! That means there’s an endless supply of ores!

This little rich lady has some unknown ability; the mine at home keeps expanding, truly enviable.

“Hmm… this isn’t useful for you, right? Why not…” Xu Xin was eager to obtain the black gold block from Li Wenxi; with his ability, as long as he got the black gold block and combined it with his existing materials, he could unlock the formula related to black gold!

“Hehe, I know you have the ability to make metal tools. If I give this to you, how will you repay me? Ah!” Li Wenxi laughed while shaking the black gold block, and it was so heavy she couldn’t hold it steadily, dropping it to the ground.

With a “bang,” Li Wenxi quickly picked up the black gold block and patted her chest, saying, “Lucky, lucky, it didn’t break the floor.”

Judging by her tone, it seems she already plans to give the black gold to him. Xu Xin breathed a sigh of relief.

“Everything I make related to black gold, you get a share, how’s that?” Xu Xin smiled.

“You said it, no going back. I’ll provide the raw materials, and you must craft for me for free!”

Li Wenxi wasn’t so naive, but as Xu Xin mentioned, she could only use the metal as a brick, heavy and cumbersome; handing it to someone who could use it would be a win-win cooperation.

“Free crafting, huh?” Xu Xin showed a troubled expression, “And your raw materials…”

“No charge! Use as much as you want, but everything you create must have a duplicate for me!” Li Wenxi, generous as always, waved her small hand and initiated a trade, giving Xu Xin the metallic block for free.

This profit is equivalent to Xu Xin using one finished product to exchange for two raw materials, with a profit margin of one hundred percent!

A win-win cooperation of technology and resources!

Xu Xin received that piece of black gold and the moment he held it, his hand sank, almost losing his grip.

So heavy!

[Black Gold Block (Blue): The hardness and toughness have reached an extreme balance, an exceptionally tough metal block with extremely strong electrical conductivity!]

Extremely strong conductivity!

Could it be…

Xu Xin immediately opened the crafting list, and the new crafting blueprint made his eyes widen.

[Basic Electrical Crafting Table (Blue): Can be used to craft basic electrical devices, provided the crafting method is unlocked. Requires Black Gold Block (Blue) *5, Iron Block (Green) *20, Wood (Green) *20]

It’s electrical!

Xu Xin was instantly excited. He thought he needed to obtain copper and silver blocks to unlock electrical devices, but surprisingly, the crafting table required this special metal.

“How many black gold blocks do you have now?” Xu Xin quickly asked Li Wenxi.

“I’ve refined five or six blocks already. Why, have you unlocked a blueprint? What is it?” Li Wenxi was a bit curious, as the description of the black gold block in her hand was [a very tough metal with special properties], without mentioning any function.

“Electrical devices! We might be able to use electrical devices, give me four more blocks, I want to make a crafting table!”

“Really?! I’ll get some!” Li Wenxi also widened her eyes, then immediately left the screen, and after about ten seconds, she ran back and initiated a trade with Xu Xin, giving him four black gold blocks.

Xu Xin immediately crafted the [Basic Electrical Crafting Table (Blue)].

Then he eagerly opened the crafting table’s list.

To his disappointment, the list currently only had one crafting item: [Lightning Rod].

This… lightning rod, is it also considered an electrical device?

[Lightning Rod (Blue): A metal rod that can avoid lightning damage, the absorbed lightning can provide electricity to the treehouse. Requires Black Gold Block (Blue) *5]

Xu Xin instantly didn’t think the lightning rod was useless anymore.

This is a thunderstorm charger!

However… this list only has this one crafting item, without any other electrical devices or storage devices for electricity, so… at this stage, besides avoiding lightning, there’s truly no other use.

But it’s also timely, after all, the storm season is approaching.

“Why aren’t there other electrical devices, could it still require copper and silver ore?” Xu Xin pondered, “My ability is to unlock blueprints with all kinds of raw materials, it seems those electrical devices require other materials.”

The voice of Li Wenxi came from the other side of the screen: “How is it? What kind of electrical devices can you make, can we finally have electricity?”

“Sorry to let you down.” Xu Xin returned to the screen, helplessly spreading his hands, “It seems the electrical devices still need other metals to unlock, the crafting table can only make lightning rods, keep an eye out for copper and silver mines in the future.”

“Oh~ got excited for nothing, I’ve been keeping an eye out for copper mines, haven’t found any yet. But lightning rods will do too, the storm season is almost here. How many black gold blocks do you need to make them, I’ll give them to you!”

“It takes five black gold blocks to make one, give me ten.” Xu Xin calculated it clearly.

“What? That many? Are you trying to scam me out of my ore?” Li Wenxi looked at Xu Xin with some suspicion, then persuaded Xu Xin earnestly, “Actually, you don’t need to scam my ore, just make one for me too, and you can use it however you like.”

“Who’s scamming your ore?” Xu Xin gave her an annoyed look, then sent over the attributes of the [Lightning Rod], “See for yourself.”

“It really needs that much…” Li Wenxi touched her head embarrassedly, “Wait a minute, let me see if the ore I brought back this time is enough. It’s so far to go over there, no idea when we’ll have a means of transport.”

“…” Xu Xin restrained himself from boasting about his Silver King, fearing Li Wenxi would feel unbalanced inside. Fortunately, Silver King usually rested in the corner, and the screen’s video angle couldn’t see it at all.

“Just wait a bit, it’s enough, but refining is slow, you have to wait. Why don’t you make a crafting table for me as well? Then I can do it myself.”

“You haven’t unlocked the crafting blueprints, you wouldn’t be able to use it even if I gave you a crafting table.”

“What you say makes sense, alright, let’s leave it for now. I’ll give you the black gold blocks in two hours.”

“Alright. Exchange some iron blocks with me, I’m running low here.”

“Okay, by the way, I didn’t notice earlier, you’ve decorated the treehouse pretty nicely, impressive!”

“Haha, can’t live so rudely forever.”

After ending the video, Xu Xin immediately crafted two special blue-level crossbows and one regular blue-level crossbow and placed them in three other directions, so the attack range of the crossbows could cover the entire area around the treehouse.

But it’s not fully covered, as the crossbows are positioned lower on the first-floor wall and can attack below the treehouse canopy but cannot attack too close to the trunk or the trunk itself.

To attack these positions, for now, Xu Xin has to come out himself, let the treehouse roots hang him below the canopy, then attack with a crossbow or spear.

Thus, he refurbished the inside and outside of the treehouse, and finally finished all the tasks at hand.

Next, Xu Xin needed to decide on something important.

Should he let the Silver King take the mutation potion to become a mutant creature?