Why is my territory in a 2D anime art style?

"Xiao Anzi, aren't you planning to expand this wall?"

Erhu sat on the wall, watching Wang Zhen and Aunt Zhao drive his car back, then turned his head and asked.

They originally came to mine ore today, but he agreed to stay, so Wang Zhen had to drive the mined ore back.

According to the agreement, Erhu is definitely the most suitable person to stay, since he is practically unemployed.

Since this is an attempt to open a rift, we can't leave too many intermediate-level professionals behind at once like we did last time.

In a level 2 territory, under normal circumstances, a level 4 professional would have a high probability of opening the rift, so Erhu was left behind.

If even Erhu cannot help Sui An open the rift, then we can consider adding more people later. At this stage, the only people we can consider recruiting are Erhu, Wang Zhen, and Aunt Zhao's family.

If more people are added later, we can only invite them from these three companies first.

Sui An glanced at his somewhat cramped courtyard: "Expansion is definitely necessary. There's still enough space right now, and I only have three elemental statues. If the territory is expanded, it won't be able to cover the entire territory."

"But I still have some plans. I'll build a few more elemental statues later, and then prepare to get it all done in one go. The walls will be built to level 3, so we don't have to go through all the trouble of level 2."

Upon hearing that Sui An's elemental stone statues could be replenished, Erhu's expression froze for a moment, but he quickly recovered and asked again after thinking for a while.

"So how long do you estimate it will take to reach level 3?"

"I reckon I'll need to try to break through the rift at least two or three more times. I've already done it twice and even used a big one. Based on the speed of advancing from level 1 to level 2, it should be soon."

"It's good to have confidence~ You know, in the middle of the month, both the He family and the Song family suffered heavy losses in their territories. The Song family was almost wiped out, while only the Zhao family was completely unharmed."

Why is this happening?

Sui An frowned. He could understand that the Song family was weaker, since they didn't have parents who could be wealthy. "Given the He family's wealth, shouldn't their territory be the strongest?"

Upon hearing this, Erhu turned his head to look at Sui An with a strange gaze, as if he were looking at a naive young master.

In the end, he couldn't hold back and started complaining.

"You actually asked this kind of question? Money can't buy everything."

"Because He Chong has bad luck, he hasn't been able to get a blue-quality city wall blueprint. He's at level 3 and still using the same one as you. I heard that his bounty has been increased from 1500 to 3000 Originium, but unfortunately the bounty is still up. The drop rate for building blueprints is too random."

"Blue loot is very difficult for ordinary people to obtain, and those who can obtain blue loot are generally not short of money. They have their own social circles, and they often barter with other items."

"The Zhao family is very lucky. They have blue-quality city walls. Their territory is located on a rocky hillside and is surrounded by blue-quality level 3 city walls. Those things are five meters high and extremely thick. The top can even be used for running horses and walking. They even have special effects. Even at level 4, they can be used for a long time."

"As for the Song family, their situation is basically similar to that of the He family. The quality of their wall is too poor. I feel that the Song family will probably not try again anytime soon. The He family also suffered heavy losses twice. If they don't get new wall blueprints, they probably won't move on it either."

"I see!"

Sui An immediately understood. In low-level territories, there are relatively few flying source beasts. He had only encountered one, so the main defense in the early stages was basically the walls.

Thinking of the armored rhinoceroses that night, if he hadn't killed them beforehand, his walls definitely wouldn't have been able to withstand the charge of those wild bulls.

However, it was indeed beyond his expectations that the Zhao family was able to obtain a blue-quality city wall. There is only one word difference between a city wall and a wall, but the difference in appearance is too great.

In addition, the difference in quality means that the defensive power and effectiveness are far superior to any wall built by my own construct.

"Ultimately, it all comes down to resources. We can't do without Originium, and we need to find ways to obtain special resources, otherwise it will be difficult to develop in the long run."

Suddenly, Sui An remembered something he hadn't discussed with Erhu yet.

"Erhu, we haven't discussed your salary yet. Have you thought about how to pay you?"

"Perfect timing, Tiger's reached level 2, I'm about to bring up the issue of compensation."

"Hey~" Erhu put his arm around Sui An's shoulder and asked with a grin, "You big spender, how much were you planning to give me again?"

Sui An shook his head: "I don't know your usual income either. Can you give me some reference?"

"Let me think about it~" Erhu reached out and touched his chin, pondering for a while.

"Wang Zhen's income in the transport team is based on performance, not his vehicle's profit share. It's based solely on his personal performance, so his monthly income fluctuates greatly, ranging from about two hundred to four hundred source stones. If an attack occurs, the spoils of the kill belong to him."

"Just charge me 10 Originium a day. I won't take the loot from kills in territory defense. I'll rent out my car and earn a share of the profits."

Recruiting a Level 4 professional for an expenditure of 300 per month was an acceptable option for Sui An after some mental evaluation; it was even a bit cheap.

After all, he could earn one or two thousand Originium from a single rift. He didn't know the expenses and income of other people's territories, but he could easily cover them.

"Okay, here's the deal. Normally it's 10 coins a day, but on the day of the Rift, it'll be 30 coins extra. Battle consumption can be restored unconditionally using the stage. I'll provide you with one free session per day for your daily training. This should still be useful for you. The effect will be even better when you upgrade it to level 3. You can use the Originium you provide for the extra consumption yourself."

"Great, boss, you're very generous!"

Erhu smiled broadly and tightened his grip on Sui An's shoulder.

Sui An chuckled. He naturally had to plan for the recruitment later. He turned to look at Hu Zi on the other side.

"Tiger, your treatment will be the same as Erhu's, but you'll only get 2 Originium a day. I'll give you 8 Originium from the Rift. Is that okay with you?"

Sui An roughly outlined the basic salary and benefits in his mind, so that he could use it when recruiting people later.

Now that Sui An's territory is much safer, Tiger's original wage system needs to be adjusted.

Tiger turned his head, still grinning sheepishly, and said, "You can arrange it, I'm fine with anything."

Seeing that Hu Zi had no objection, Sui An reached out and patted him on the shoulder. He looked up and looked to the west.

"Erhu, you said there was a blood moon the night before last, what's the chance of it appearing tonight?"

"It's quite frequent in the middle of the month, a frequency of two or three days is quite normal."

Erhu subconsciously looked up at the sky. The setting sun was still on the mountaintop, and it was still a long time before the moonlit night fell.

"My esteemed lord, isn't it time to cook? I'm starving..."

"Okay, I'll go cook right away!"

Sui An patted his head and realized he needed to cook, so he quickly turned over and jumped off the wall.

Erhu watched with a smile as Sui An frantically fiddled with the stove. Suddenly, he noticed something strange beside him. He turned to look at Wang Hu, who was sitting on the wall to the side, and frowned.

"Tiger, what kind of look is that?"

"Sigh, I'm not hungry, I don't want to eat~"

Tiger shook his big head, his eyes hesitant, his face as melancholy as if he had just broken up with someone. Erhu was a little confused, and he subconsciously touched his short hair.

"You've been mining all day, why aren't you hungry?"

You'll find out soon enough~

"What happened? Where did my big, sunny, and cheerful Tiger go? How did he end up like this?"

Erhu was a little confused, but didn't think too much about it.

After a long while, a sudden exclamation came from the courtyard, followed by the sound of water being poured in.

"Holy crap, Xiao Anzi, didn't you put in too much salt?!"