Chapter 52: Forcible Partnership

Hearing the conversation outside, Liu Hen opened the door and took a glance.

Seeing the situation outside, a smile instantly appeared on his face.

"Just as I thought, my previous guess was correct. The campfire has become a special kind of light source."

As the very first recipe of the Creation Workbench, the campfire had the lowest manufacturing difficulty, yet it was the most miraculous and the one he needed the most.

Or rather, it was what this world needed the most.

He wondered what kind of changes would occur once the level became even higher in the future.

It was truly something to look forward to.

He nodded toward Chang Xin, closed the door again, and went back inside to rest.

The night passed in the blink of an eye.

The next day, Liu Hen put away the campfire, dismantled the shelter architecture, recycled the large iron ore, and then led the group to continue their journey.

After setting off again, Chang Xin remained silent the entire time. She had not slept well at all the previous night.

Because she realized that she probably wouldn't be able to bring Liu Hen under her command. With the miraculous abilities he possessed, his advantage in building a faction far surpassed hers.

Although Liu Hen's ability did not seem combat-oriented, he was by no means lacking in combat methods.

After all, he had previously shown her a ranged weapon—a grenade.

She suspected that he might even be able to manufacture firearms, which would be terrifying.

And all of this was merely what she had seen.

In places she couldn't see, he might possess even more means.

Coercion was completely out of the question, and she didn't have anything in her possession that would be sufficiently attractive to him.

"Since I can't bring him under my command..."

Chang Xin took a deep breath. "...then I will join his command. At worst, I'll submit to his leadership. As long as my goal is achieved, it doesn't matter who leads!"

Having made up her mind, along the subsequent journey, she once again took the initiative to attack whenever they encountered monsters, and after killing them, she brought the magic crystals straight back to Liu Hen.

"...What is the meaning of this?" Liu Hen asked in confusion, looking at the large handful of magic crystals Chang Xin handed over.

"You are the leader of this team, so of course all the spoils belong to you," Chang Xin explained with a natural expression.

Liu Hen looked suspiciously at the wilderness survivor, who, despite looking a bit grimy, possessed the air of an imposing older sister.

Though he had no idea what she was up to, he certainly wouldn't refuse magic crystals delivered right to his doorstep.

Whether for the Omnitool or the upgrading of various other pieces of equipment, magic crystals were required.

To him, magic crystals were hard currency, and he welcomed them all.

Throughout the rest of the journey, Chang Xin became even more proactive. Not only did she take the initiative to kill blocking monsters, but she also volunteered to stand guard and patrol during rest breaks.

Such behavior left Zong Ni and Chen Ye bewildered, and the Wu siblings were utterly baffled, yet they dared not casually guess at the actions of an Esper.

With two Espers leading the way, the party's traveling speed was extremely fast.

In just two short days, they had covered a distance of over a hundred kilometers.

They had good luck that day and did not encounter any fiends or monsters.

And when late night fell once again, they finally walked out of the rocky mountain region.

The ground beneath their feet was no longer entirely hard stone, but predominantly soil.

The surrounding trees had also visibly increased. When luck was on their side, they would encounter one every few hundred meters.

Liu Hen had no intention of leaving them behind; wherever they passed, all the trees were harvested down to the very last root.

When his spatial backpack could no longer hold them, he simply took out the campfire and tossed the large logs directly into the fuel chamber as fuel.

Consequently, after a single day of this, the continuous burning time of the campfire increased directly to three years.

It was a continuous burn of three years, rivaling an everlasting lamp.

"Let's rest here and continue our journey tomorrow."

Seeing that late night had arrived once again and the temperature was dropping rapidly, Liu Hen had the team stop.

He directly took out the campfire and activated the shelter building mode to construct a temporary dwelling place right there.

It was still an eighty-one-square-meter foundation with ordinary iron ore walls, though tonight he installed two additional louvered windows for easier observation of the outside.

However, no sooner had the shelter been built than faint yet dense footsteps suddenly echoed from a distance.

"Someone is coming."

Chang Xin took the initiative to step forward. "I'll go check it out."

To avoid unnecessary accidents, she directly summoned her silvery-white battle armor, intending to display her strength immediately to deter those strangers.

Zong Ni, the other young woman, and the Wu siblings all grew alert.

Liu Hen was also on guard, turning his head to look in that direction.

A group of dozens of people could be seen protecting a spider-like vehicle as it approached.

The number of such vehicles was quite large, resembling a convoy. Their eight spider-like limbs allowed them to move smoothly over uneven terrain.

The tops of the vehicles were covered with black cloth, concealing whatever was inside.

Suddenly, that group of people stopped a hundred meters away, and many of them immediately drew rifles and other firearms, standing ready—they had clearly already spotted them.

"They have guns?" Liu Hen's expression changed slightly.

Chang Xin's expression also shifted, but she did not panic, lest she be looked down upon.

When encountering others in such darkness, only by displaying formidable strength would one not be treated as prey.

"Who goes there ahead?"

Among that group, someone asked in a cold voice, muffled as if wrapped in something.

The speaker was built with an absurdly massive physique. Though it was hard to see clearly due to the dim light, Liu Hen guessed that the person might be wearing an exoskeleton.

Otherwise, a normal person shouldn't be that tall.

Seeing that the other party hadn't opened fire, Chang Xin let out a silent breath of relief, then said with detachment, "This is the temporary dwelling of the Esper Lord Liu Hen. I am Chang Xin, the foremost warrior under Lord Liu Hen's command. And who might you be?"

"What..."

"An Esper?!"

The crowd was greatly startled, seemingly frightened.

Hearing Chang Xin's self-introduction, both Zong Ni's group and the Wu siblings exchanged glances in utter bewilderment.

"Since when did this happen?" Zong Ni asked.

Chen Ye shook her head. "I have no idea either."

*...What is this woman playing at? When did she become the foremost warrior under my command?*

Liu Hen was equally dumbfounded.

Wasn't this woman trying to subdue him just a moment ago?

How did she suddenly turn into the foremost warrior under his command?

In the opposing team, the massively built figure who had spoken earlier let out a muffled voice: "Pardon the abrupt intrusion, and I hope the Esper lord ahead will not take offense. We are suppliers from the [Bronze Dragon Camp], on our way to trade copper ore with the Red Snail Camp."

"Copper ore?"

Liu Hen instantly perked up and hurriedly said to Chang Xin, "Invite their person in charge over for a chat."

With that, he suddenly turned around, walked back inside, and directly ignited the campfire, making the area warm as spring.

Since they were going to trade, he naturally needed to show a certain level of confidence first to let them know he wasn't someone to be trifled with.

Hearing Liu Hen's words and simultaneously sensing the surrounding temperature rising rapidly, Chang Xin immediately spoke up, "So it's friends from the Bronze Dragon Camp. Would you care to come over for a chat?"

"To be invited by an Esper lord is naturally my utmost honor."

Whether the camp's people were simply naive or possessed sufficient confidence, the leader immediately walked toward them alone.

As he drew closer, Chang Xin finally saw that the man was indeed wearing an exoskeleton, complete with a machine gun mounted on the shoulder and even folded firearms at his waist.

Clearly, these people were not to be trifled with either.

Soon, the man in the exoskeleton stepped into the warmth-radiating perimeter of the campfire and suddenly felt invigorated.

Because here, he actually sensed a warmth rising from the depths of his being, as if some mysterious power was sheltering this place.

Not only that, but upon entering this perimeter, the built-in instruments of his exoskeleton scanned that the surrounding temperature was rising rapidly, soon reaching a comfortable level.

In addition, visibility within this range was clearly far superior to other places.

It felt as though this area was truly guarded by some mystical force.

*Is this the legendary power of an Esper?*

His heart shook, and only then did he finally believe that there truly was an Esper here.

Immediately, he grew cautious, losing his previous casual demeanor. He looked at Chang Xin with instinctive reverence, even though the other party couldn't see his expression through his exoskeleton mask.

This was still because he didn't know Chang Xin was also an Esper, assuming she was merely a close follower of that Lord Liu Hen.

"Ah, I haven't introduced myself yet. How discourteous of me."

He hurriedly opened the mask of his exoskeleton, revealing the bearded face of a middle-aged man: "I am Tong Kun, the eighth captain of the Bronze Dragon Camp caravan. Greetings, Lady Chang Xin."

Quite unlike the wilderness survivors who never bathed from birth, his face was relatively fair and smooth, without a speck of grime.

Chang Xin nodded. Had it been a month ago, seeing such a person would have terrified her, making her too afraid to even draw a full breath.

But now, at this distance, she was not afraid of the other party opening fire at all; the battle armor she wore was no pushover. "Follow me, my lord wishes to see you."