She changed into it on the spot, carefully folding her old white robe and tucking it into her pack.

The new robe was deep blue, with silver runes embroidered on the collar and cuffs; wearing it, she seemed to possess a more serene temperament.

“Looks good!” Tie Dun gave her a thumbs up.

Su Yurou's cheeks flushed slightly, but she couldn't suppress the smile at the corners of her mouth.

Their second encounter was against a lone Level 17 Elite.

A Goblin Witch Doctor. It could cast various curses and poison mists, making it extremely difficult to deal with.

Lin Feng launched a frontal assault while Shadow Snake ambushed from the flank; the two coordinated for several rounds before slaying it.

The Witch Doctor dropped a green-quality staff, but its attributes were curse-oriented and not suitable for Su Yurou.

Lin Feng casually tucked it into his pack, planning to sell it to a merchant in Zhenyue City later.

The fourth night ended, the gray mist dissipated, and the sky began to brighten.

The group dragged their weary bodies back to the cave, taking turns to rest as usual.

But this time, Lin Feng didn't immediately close his eyes to rest; instead, he gathered everyone together.

“Let's tally our levels.”

Zhao Hu grinned and said, “I'm halfway through Level 15!”

Tie Dun scratched his head. “I'm Level 15 too, just leveled up.”

Wang Wu nodded. “Level 15, still more than halfway to Level 16.”

Arrow Eye: “Level 15.”

Su Yurou said softly, “I'm Level 15 now, with a small bit of extra experience.”

Shadow Snake emerged halfway from the shadows and said calmly, “Level 16.”

Everyone gasped, turning their eyes toward Shadow Snake.

“Sister Shadow Snake, your leveling speed is...” Tie Dun's eyes widened.

Shadow Snake didn't explain, only glancing at Lin Feng.

A trace of a smile touched the corner of Lin Feng's mouth.

He had long expected Shadow Snake to level up quickly; her nightly kill count was often more than double that of the others, so reaching Level 16 was only natural.

“What about me?” Lin Feng said calmly. “Level 17.”

Everyone gasped once again.

Lin Feng smiled.

“Alright, let's talk business.” Lin Feng pulled back his smile. “The national subsidy from Zhenyue City is almost here.

Counting the time, it should be in the next day or two. Let's return to Beacon Fire Town first to receive the supplies and rest for a few days.”

Everyone's eyes lit up in unison.

“Really?!” Tie Dun was the first to jump up. “We can finally go back!”

Zhao Hu let out a long breath, a relieved smile appearing on his face:

“These four nights have truly exhausted old Zhao. Even though Miss Su was healing us, my nerves were constantly frayed; I didn't even dare to sleep soundly.”

Wang Wu rubbed his shoulder and said with emotion, “Back at Juyi Manor, we couldn't kill this many monsters in a month. What we killed in these four nights is more than I killed in an entire year.”

Arrow Eye rarely spoke more than a few words: “Go back and sleep well.”

Su Yurou smiled and said, “I also want to go back, take a bath, and change into clean clothes.”

Even in Shadow Snake's cold eyes, a very faint trace of anticipation flickered.

Looking at the exhaustion and anticipation on everyone's faces, a complex feeling welled up in Lin Feng's heart.

This team had come all the way from Black Wind Camp to the present, transforming from bandits into the backbone of Beacon Fire Town, and from fighting individually into a well-coordinated team.

Four nights of high-intensity combat had left everyone exhausted, yet no one complained and no one retreated.

“Pack your things and get ready to move.” Lin Feng stood up, his gaze fixed on the morning light outside the cave entrance. “Back to town, collect the supplies, and rest.”

“Yes!”

Everyone responded in unison, their voices filled with irrepressible joy.

Soon, their packs were ready. Seven figures emerged from the cave and quickly departed along the path they had come, heading toward Beacon Fire Town.

Behind them, the Crying Rift Valley stood silently; the gray mist had fully dissipated, leaving only the empty canyon and the occasional sound of wind from afar.

In the afternoon, seven figures appeared outside the north gate of Beacon Fire Town.

The Awakened guarding the gate spotted them from afar and immediately shouted loudly, “The Lord is back! The Lord is back!”

The town gates slowly opened, and Lin Feng led the way, stepping into the town.

The sight within the town gave him a slight start.

In just four short days, the changes were not small.

The streets were much tidier than before, the crushed stone pavement had been leveled, and the drainage ditches on both sides had been cleaned thoroughly.

The miscellaneous items that were originally piled up haphazardly were gone, replaced by neatly stacked timber and stone.

Residents moved back and forth in small groups; some were transporting materials, some were repairing houses, and some were gathered by the well drawing water and chatting.

Seeing Lin Feng and his group, they all stopped their work and bowed in greeting.

“The Lord has returned!”

“Thank you for your hard work, Lord!”

Lin Feng nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over those unfamiliar faces.

There were many more people.

Zhang Ping had already rushed over upon hearing the news, jogging all the way and stopping before Lin Feng out of breath, bowing in greeting: “Lord, you've finally returned!”

Lin Feng waved his hand. “Rise and speak. Let's head to the Council Hall first.”

...

Council Hall.

Everyone took their seats. Zhang Ping stood in the hall, holding a thick stack of account books, and began to report.

“Lord, during the four days you were away, everything in the town has been well.”

He flipped open the first page: “The 1,100 newly arrived Refugees have all been settled.

According to your plan, they were arranged in the residential area in the southwest corner of the town. A total of 220 wooden houses were allocated, with five to six people living in each.”

Lin Feng nodded.

“Regarding the fields...” Zhang Ping flipped to the next page, a rare smile appearing on his face.

“We had good luck. Following what you said, I looked around Beacon Fire Town; there are large tracts of abandoned farmland outside the town. Although they've been fallow for a year, the foundations are still there.”

“In these four days, I organized manpower to reclaim a thousand mu, all of which have been planted with Gray Potatoes and Black Rye.

Li Si said these two crops have a short growth cycle in the Nightmare World and can be harvested in two months.

With him, a Junior Farmer, here, it can be about ten percent faster.”

Lin Feng's brow twitched slightly. “A thousand mu?”

“Yes, a thousand mu.” Zhang Ping nodded with certainty. “During Qingshi County's peak years, there were nearly ten thousand mu of fertile land outside the town.

We currently have limited manpower, so we only opened a thousand mu, but that's enough to support the existing residents' rations with some to spare.”

Zhao Hu, listening from the side, was tongue-tied. “A thousand mu... in two months, we won't have to worry about food?”

Zhang Ping smiled. “More than just not worrying about food. Gray Potatoes and Black Rye have high yields. Besides rations, they can also be used to brew liquor and make dry rations.

Brewer Zhou has been nagging for several days, saying that once the new grain comes in, he wants to brew a batch of good wine.”

Everyone broke into smiles.

Food was a hard currency at any time.

Zhang Ping continued flipping through the account book. “Regarding the Copper-Tin Mine, Scarface Liu and A Wang have been leading men to dig for three days.”

“There are a total of one hundred miners, and each person can dig about one unit of ore per day.

Currently, the warehouse has 150 units of copper ore and 150 units of tin ore.”

“Blacksmith Wang said the ore needs to be smelted before it can be used. Roughly three units of copper ore can produce one unit of pure copper, and the same goes for tin ore.

The resulting copper and tin ingots can be used to forge equipment, repair machinery, or be traded with the Great Xia officials or other territories.”

Lin Feng nodded slightly. “How long does smelting take?”

“Blacksmith Wang said the current furnace can smelt thirty units of ore a day. Once ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) he finishes building the new furnace, the capacity can double.”

Zhang Ping closed the account book. “Lord, these are the detailed accounts for the past few days. Please look them over.”