Hiring someone costs 3,000 points per month.
Sure, there's a slight discount for a yearly contract—but you still need points?
Are you trying to kill me here?!
> [Ding! Reminder to the host: After the beginner phase ends, the system will no longer provide free building materials aside from the construction team. The host will be responsible for all materials.]
Pfft—
Luo Lan hadn't even recovered from the last piece of bad news when this bomb dropped.
"System, are you even human?!"
If he could, Luo Lan would've started cursing the heavens on the spot.
He quickly clicked on another building option just to distract herself.
As expected…
The system only sells blueprints. If you want the actual building, you'll have to rely on a construction team.
And as if that wasn't enough, the system doesn't even allow regular materials—you have to use something called Standard Construction Material.
Each building lists exactly how many units of this stuff it requires.
So Luo Lan searched up "Standard Construction Material"—
Good lord.
1 unit = 1 point.
And that dormitory building he was looking at earlier?
500 units.
That's another 5 million Berries down the drain.
How's anyone supposed to live like this?!
Looking at his current points, Luo Lan had originally thought she could go all out.
But now… all he could do was let out a long, defeated sigh.
As expected—
Still broke.
Someday, when he's strong enough, he has to visit Skypiea.
Clenching his fists and swearing to himself, Luo Lan refocused on the task at hand.
"System, use the high-level talent recruitment ticket!"
> [Ding! Drawing talent…]
[Congratulations! You've acquired one B-rank Manufacturing Specialist]
Manufacturing?
And only B-rank?
He still remembered the S-rank science talent—Seras—that he pulled from the beginner pack. Compared to that, this one was seriously underwhelming.
Still, a B-rank is better than nothing, right?
Luo Lan opened the character profile anyway.
> Name: Barton Baker
Race: System Bio-Human
Loyalty: 100 (Permanently Locked)
Special Effects: +30% efficiency to all managed production lines, +3% product yield
Hmm…
Not bad, actually.
Luo Lan rubbed his chin in thought.
Currently, in Base 157, he had two factories—one for firearms and one for everyday necessities. Both had been operating in disarray due to a lack of proper management.
After all, Luo Lan didn't know the first thing about production lines, and neither did anyone else.
Now with a professional on board—one who boosts both efficiency and product quality—that's a major win.
He nodded and used the system's summoning function.
Based on past experience, the recruit would arrive in three days. As for how the system handles transport…
Not his problem.
Time to return to construction planning.
Points.
What should he build first?
The most urgent thing was a proper port—after all, the Danaan was over 200 meters long. Without a suitable docking facility, the ship had nowhere to anchor.
But that brought another issue.
Building a large, open-air port wasn't difficult. Technically, even before the system upgrade, he could've done it.
But doing so would completely expose Base 157.
Anyone passing by could immediately spot it.
Unacceptable.
Luo Lan wondered if any C-rank builders had designs that included hidden or camouflaged ports.
He searched for "Port"...
Rows of buildable options appeared.
The first few were the standard ones from the D-rank builder category.
He kept scrolling…
Eventually, the C-rank options appeared—larger, more advanced ports with added features.
But none of them really felt right.
Until—
He found a structure that made his eyes light up:
[Fully Enclosed Hidden Naval Port]
> Building Grade: C
Site Requirements: Cliffs or Coastal Mountains
Construction Team: One C-rank crew
Build Time: 15 days
Materials: 2800 units of Standard Construction Material
Blueprint Cost: 4800 points
Special Effect Slots: 2
The requirements were strict.
First, the port had to be carved into a cliff or coastal mountain, since the whole thing was built inside the rock.
From the outside, it would look like just another piece of cliffside.
But if needed, massive camouflaged doors would slide open, allowing ships to enter.
Submarines could even bypass the doors entirely and slip in underwater.
The stealth factor was top-tier.
Not to mention—it had two special effect slots.
All the D-rank buildings he'd seen so far had only one.
As for the S-rank Research Institute and A-rank Undersea Prison?
Forget it. He couldn't even apply effects to those yet—their levels were way too high.
Of course, the port wasn't without drawbacks.
Compared to other C-rank ports, this one was both more expensive and material-heavy.
In total, it would cost 7600 points to build.
But for the Danaan?
Luo Lan clenched his teeth and went for it.
A flurry of clicks followed.
His remaining points: 3,640.
But he wasn't done.
He continued browsing and quickly locked onto another building:
[Training Center]
> Building Grade: C
Site Requirements: Leveled land
Construction Team: One C-rank crew
Build Time: 3 days
Materials: 800 units of Standard Construction Material
Blueprint Cost: 1800 points
Special Effect Slots: 2
From his year of using the system, Luo Lan had learned a thing or two:
When a building is completed and you spend points to apply special effects, those effects are context-based.
Build a football field, and you're not getting "document processing speed" as a bonus.
So if he builds a training center… maybe he could get things like enhanced training efficiency or increased comprehension rates?
Definitely worth testing.
And it wasn't that expensive.
2,600 points? Done.
Another rapid round of button smashing. He also set the training center's construction priority to the top of the list.
His remaining points: 1,040.
Not even enough to roll for one C-rank special effect.
Still, Luo Lan wasn't worried.
He still had several million in loot left to process, not to mention the bounties on the Fishmen like Arlong.
In the near future, he could expect close to a billion Berries in income.
Leaning back in his boss chair, Luo Lan happily daydreamed about the day the training center would be completed, three days from now.
But just then—
BANG!
The office doors were kicked open.
"Luo Lan!!!"
"Would you care to explain where the hell my 200 million Berries went?"
"Why are there only 3 million left in the treasury?!"
---
A/N: Bonus Chapter Goal!
For every $20 in donations, I'll post 30 bonus chapters outside of my regular update schedule as a thank you!
(https:// ko-fi.com/sami27)