Journey to the West: Building a Celestial Empire Starting from Lion Camel Ridge

120.

Loyalty score is 100 out of 100, and Ali's is 120.

Chen Pingan stared at the number for a while, and after confirming that he hadn't misread it, he curiously clicked on the details.

The details page expands, revealing an additional line of explanation.

Loyalty: 120%

[Components: 100% sense of belonging to the sanctuary, 20% synergy with the lord]

[Note: Loyalty has a cap of 100, but a resident's sense of belonging to the shelter and their personal bond with the lord can be combined. Amounts exceeding the cap are recorded as overflow values. The higher the overflow value, the deeper the resident's bond with the shelter, the stronger their willingness to actively protect the shelter's interests, and the less susceptible they are to external interference.]

Chen Ping'an read it carefully and pondered the explanation.

"Unaffected by external interference..."

Chen Ping'an pondered, "Residents' loyalty to the shelter should change naturally, but it should fluctuate within a reasonable threshold."

"But Ali is an exception. Her feelings for the shelter have made her regard the shelter's interests as the most important thing."

"Even more important than life itself."

Chen Ping'an remained silent and took a deep breath.

He looked up and surveyed the shelter, which now consisted of only a few simple buildings and meager supplies.

But one day, this place will become the burial ground of the three demons of Lion Camel Ridge.

I'm definitely going to eat this barbecue!

Even Buddha couldn't keep me here, I'm telling you!

......

After calming himself down, Chen Pingan continued to look through Zhao Gou'er's information.

Name: Zhao Gou'er

[Personality: Quiet and reserved, kind and reliable]

[Realm Level: Mortal (Not Yet Entering Cultivation)]

[Body Constitution: Above Average]

[Talent: Immense Strength]

Skills: Cooking (Master), Fishing (Skilled), Carrying (Skilled)

Loyalty: 32%

Recalling Liu Cheng's words about how strong the child was, it turned out he really was talented.

Chen Ping'an looked at the talent section and was very happy. All the hard work in the shelter could be handed over to this boy.

In my past life, I was just an office worker, and if I really tried to exert myself, I wouldn't be able to keep up in the short term.

Perhaps it is possible after embarking on spiritual practice.

As for cooking.

Ah Li is skilled, Zhao Gou'er is proficient.

Fan Qiming has sent him a chef who is strong enough to lift a cauldron.

No problem.

A cook who can't fight a tiger isn't a good Wu Song.

"This child doesn't talk much; he keeps all his skills to himself."

Chen Pingan turned off the panel, jumped off the purification platform, and stretched.

We'll talk about spiritual practice tomorrow.

There is another important matter today—

Upgrade the barrier.

---

There are 183 demon crystals remaining in the reserve.

Chen Ping'an, who was already considered a wealthy man, pulled out the building list and focused on upgrading the shelter.

The shelter was upgraded last time, expanding its coverage area while consuming 80 demon crystals and adding the property of suppressing evil.

However, Chen Ping'an does not want to increase the size of the barrier at present. In other words, a comprehensive upgrade of the shelter is not suitable for the current environment.

The rainy season is coming, but there are only three people in the shelter.

The immediate priority is to improve durability; as for coverage, that can wait until after the rainy season.

Fortunately, in addition to providing options for a comprehensive upgrade of the shelter, the system also offers separate options for enhancing specific attributes.

Chen Ping'an looked through the various characteristics and couldn't help but frown.

too expensive!

It's more expensive than honestly upgrading the barrier!

Chen Ping'an sighed, finally fixing his gaze on a self-healing property.

【Characteristic: Self-healing. Level 1】

【Consumable: 150 Demon Crystals】

[Note: The barrier's durability automatically regenerates by 2 points every hour. It remains in effect until the barrier's durability reaches 0.]

Expensive reason.

Chen Ping'an pondered that this characteristic should be an ability possessed only by advanced sanctuaries, and that it was already a great deal to obtain it for only 150 demon crystals.

Two points in an hour, and twenty-four points in a day.

That doesn't sound like much.

But think of the rainy season, when death energy surges and the barrier will be under constant attack. The attacks from the monsters will surge like a tide, crashing against the shelter day and night.

This means that the barrier's durability is decreasing every moment.

Self-healing perfectly solves this problem.

As long as the barrier doesn't completely collapse, it will continue to be repaired without his need to worry or consume demon crystals.

Like the ability to suppress evil spirits, it is a passive characteristic.

Chen Ping'an clicked "confirm," and the 150 demon crystals vanished instantly.

hum!

The golden light of the barrier flashed slightly, not like the outward-spreading ripples that occur during an upgrade.

Instead, the entire light curtain tightened slightly, like taking a deep breath, compressing its own thickness inward.

More substantial, more weighty.

Then, the golden light spread out again, evenly and steadily.

After battling the Death Toad head-on, plus last night's Bone Demon attack, the barrier's durability has dropped to 45.

Now, with the added benefit of his self-healing ability, Chen Ping'an finally breathed a sigh of relief.

---

It was close to noon.

Zhao Gou'er processed the fish he brought back from the underground river, squatted in front of the stone stove to start a fire, and moved silently and smoothly.

Ah Li leaned against the weapon rack, sharpening arrowheads, occasionally glancing over there.

Chen Pingan used the remaining demon crystals to deploy another arrow tower, and then smelled an enticing fragrance.

He looked up and gazed over.

The aroma wafted over from the stone stove.

Today's ingredients are simple: fish.

The fishy smell was completely removed, leaving only freshness. Paired with a handful of wild scallions dug out of the cellar, the cooking was done with a steady heat, the aroma was subtle, but the fragrance was quite strong.

A skilled cook is a great tool.

Chen Ping'an thought to himself.

Zhao Gou'er divided the three bowls, brought them over, handed one bowl to Chen Ping'an, placed another next to Ali, and then squatted down to eat the third bowl himself.

Chen Pingan took a sip. The soup was clear, the fish was tender, and the pungent aroma of wild onions brought out the freshness of the fish. One sip warmed him from his throat to his stomach. It was clean and not greasy.

He put down the bowl and glanced at Zhao Gou'er.

"good."

It's really good.

Zhao Gou'er lowered his head and picked out the fish bones. He paused for a moment, then continued picking them out without looking up. His ears slowly turned a little red, and he tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing a barely suppressed smile.

Ali held the bowl, glanced at Zhao Gou'er out of the corner of her eye, said nothing, and finished the rest of the soup in the bowl.

They ate quietly in the shelter, while outside, the rustling sound of bone demons wandering through the ruins could be heard occasionally, kept away by stone walls and barriers, as if they were from another world.

------

After putting the bowl away, Chen Ping'an pulled out the control panel and, as usual, glanced at the demon crystals that had been deposited.

and many more.

The column for "Demon Crystal Income" has a new line added today:

[Resident Approval Reward - Already Triggered]

[Trigger condition: Zhao Gou'er's loyalty exceeds 50%]

[Reward: The shelter produces an additional 2 Demon Crystals daily, which is ongoing and stackable (triggered once when each resident's loyalty first exceeds 50%).]

Zhao Gou'er's loyalty level was 32 before lunch, and now it's—

He opened the resident directory and flipped to Zhao Gou'er's entry.

Loyalty: 51%.

Going from thirty-two to fifty-one only takes one lunch and a simple "Not bad".

that's it.

Chen Pingan closed the panel and glanced at Zhao Gou'er.

The boy was tidying up the area around the stone stove, neatly stacking the firewood, and putting the used earthenware bowls back in their original places. He did all the tidying up himself without being told.

Quiet and reserved, kind and down-to-earth.

The residents' comments were correct.

Chen Pingan counted on his fingers and looked at the sky outside.

The rainy season is still ten days away.