Chapter 57: Gathering Wood

Xu Feng nodded. He naturally knew that once full ownership belonged to Earth’s Will, Earth’s Will could issue tasks globally to collect resources for camp construction. Vast amounts of resources would then be used on this camp, allowing it to grow quickly into a Nine-star Capital.

“However, before that, the camp’s construction still requires your efforts,” Nüwa said.

“I wonder how we can help?” Xu Feng asked. Behind him, Ma Wei and Zhang Qiang glanced at each other, their eyes showing a hint of excitement.

Tasks! This village chief who called herself Nüwa could actually issue tasks!

“We can help too!” Ma Wei and Zhang Qiang said in unison.

“Camp construction cannot succeed without all humans,” Nüwa said with a smile. “First, I need one hundred units of wood and one hundred units of stone to build the camp’s first structure, the Fate Store!”

The task Nüwa issued was for everyone, but at this time, only Xu Feng and the other two were in the camp, so they had to complete the task themselves.

“Accept, we accept!” Ma Wei and Zhang Qiang hurriedly accepted the task.

“Nüwa, how do we complete this task? Do we really have to chop trees and mine stone?” Ma Wei asked.

“That’s right. However, if you learn the relevant skills, it will be much easier. Without skills, both chopping trees and mining will consume a lot of your energy and be very inefficient,” Nüwa said. “Of course, whether you learn the skills or not, you first need a tool.”

“Ah, so we can’t do this task then?” Zhang Qiang frowned.

“Hehe, I have this long axe. It should work as a tool for chopping trees,” Ma Wei said, waving his long axe with a laugh.

“Great Nüwa, where can we learn these skills?” Zhang Qiang asked.

“Normally, you should buy the relevant skill books from the Fate Store. But since Nüwa Village was just established, you can now buy the skill books from me. The skill books for woodcutting and mining each cost three hundred Fate Points,” Nüwa said with a smile.

“Ah, that’s exactly the reward for the first task! Did you plan this?” Ma Wei exclaimed.

“You can choose not to buy them.”

Xu Feng watched from the side and casually accepted the task as well. One hundred wood and one hundred stone, with a task reward of five hundred Fate Points, was pretty good.

Currently, Earth’s Will had not yet awakened. Once Earth’s Will awakened, such low-level materials wouldn’t be worth this much.

Xu Feng had the Gathering Art, so he didn’t need to learn auxiliary skills. After glancing at Ma Wei and Zhang Qiang, Xu Feng turned and walked toward the forest behind them.

He walked up to a large tree and directly used his Gathering Art skill on it.

A white light emerged from Xu Feng’s palm, enveloping the entire tree. A slowly moving progress bar appeared before Xu Feng’s eyes.

Thirty seconds.

Soon, the time was up. The white light vanished, and the large tree in front of Xu Feng fell with a crash. The moment it hit the ground, the whole tree suddenly broke apart into a small pile of stacked short wooden strips, shimmering with a milky white glow.

Xu Feng promptly collected the pile of wood. This pile represented one unit of wood.

“That was easy. Just thirty seconds to gather one unit of wood. For one hundred wood, it would take less than an hour,” Xu Feng muttered to himself. “Wait, no. The Gathering Art doesn’t just take time; it also used thirty points of my Energy Value. Based on my Energy Value, it would take at least three hours to gather one hundred units of wood.”

While calculating, Xu Feng saw Ma Wei and Zhang Qiang approaching.

Ma Wei carried his long axe, while Zhang Qiang held a crude one-handed axe.

“Hey, Xu Feng, already started on the task? The skills are so expensive, and the tools are too. I had to sell an Insect Crystal to get enough money to buy the skill and tool,” Zhang Qiang greeted him, then swung his long axe and started chopping at a large tree.

Ma Wei also nodded to Xu Feng and began chopping a tree.

Xu Feng stood nearby and watched for a while. It took them at least ten minutes to chop down one tree. Moreover, after each tree, they had to sit on the ground and rest for half an hour. Their efficiency was painfully slow compared to his.

However, perhaps because they had learned the skills, like Xu Feng, the trees they chopped down broke apart into a small pile of wood the moment they fell, saving them the trouble of moving the logs.

After watching them chop trees for a bit, Xu Feng also began using his Gathering Art to continue collecting wood.

“Cheater!”

Seeing Xu Feng gather wood, Zhang Qiang and Ma Wei both shouted with envy.

Xu Feng’s Gathering Art not only didn’t require a special tool, but it also took only thirty seconds per tree. Compared to their slow, plodding pace, it was like he was flying through the task.

“Hehe, just lucky to have learned a good skill,” Xu Feng explained with a light laugh.

Through this camp establishment task, Xu Feng accepted them and began to see them as his teammates.

Though filled with envy and jealousy, Ma Wei and Zhang Qiang could do nothing about it. Who asked him to be so lucky?

They worked hard all afternoon. Watching Xu Feng leave the forest easily to turn in the task, while they had only chopped a few trees and were far from completing the task, they felt bitter inside.

“Nüwa, hello. I wanted to ask, where can I gather stone? I’ve finished collecting the wood,” Xu Feng said, bowing slightly to Nüwa.

“Chosen One favored by Earth’s Will, Child of Earth, there is a mine cave in the valley not far from the camp. You can gather stone there,” Nüwa said with a smile upon seeing Xu Feng, pointing to the left. “There is not only abundant stone but also various precious metal ores and gems. If you gather any, you can sell them to me, keep them for yourself, or use them as materials.”

“Thank you!” After speaking, Xu Feng headed in the direction Nüwa indicated.

The mine cave was still within the camp’s range, so there were no monsters inside, and he could gather safely. If this camp belonged to Xu Feng, just charging an entrance fee could make him rich, as he believed many people would be willing to enter and mine.

By evening, Xu Feng, dragging his tired body, arrived at the center of the camp.

“Respected Great Nüwa, I have gathered all the materials,” Xu Feng said.

Nüwa was an ancient goddess from myths, so Xu Feng dared not treat her as an ordinary village chief.

“You completed it very quickly,” Nüwa said appreciatively, taking the wood and stone and giving Xu Feng five hundred Fate Points.