Opening the treasure chest could be a useful resource, or it could be an unknown danger.
But Jiang Chen could only take a gamble at this time.
"System reminder: iron block + 2.
System reminder: 400ml drinking water + 2
System reminder: wooden treasure chest + 1."
Two of the items were automatically sucked into the system's backpack.
"System notification: wooden treasure chest can be broken down into four parts of wood. Do you wish to break it down?"
"System notification: two bottles of drinking water can be broken down into 80ml of water and two bamboo tubes. Do you wish to break it down?"
Jiang Chen calculated in his heart and muttered, "The wooden treasure chest will be broken down. Water will not be broken down."
"System notification: wood 4+"
"My luck is not bad. This treasure chest actually has water resources."
Although Jiang Chen was a bit disappointed that there were no seeds, water resources were another pleasant surprise.
Water was scarce no matter where it was, not to mention that the current situation was even more abnormally precious.
A thought flashed through Jiang Chen's mind. "Fetch a bottle of drinking water!"
His hand sank.
A bamboo tube filled with water fell into his hand.
It was like an interspatial ring.
"With water, I can live for a few more days even if the food runs out first."
"According to the initial hints, there should still be something to gather here. I wonder if I can find the seeds I need..."
Jiang Chen continued to lead two soldiers to explore the area.
They began to circle around the area of their territory in search.
"Starbeck: inedible. When you reach out to touch them, their leaves will shrink and wrap themselves around them. They're common plants in the foggy continent."
Jiang Chen crouched down and began to gather.
Half a minute later, he had completely gathered everything.
Jiang Chen thought to himself,
"Perhaps the plants will produce seeds when they mature. I'll gather them first. They might be useful in the future!"
"System reminder: mimosa 10+"
Then, Jiang Chen continued to search in a carpet-like manner.
In the tree hole, under the rocks...
Two hours later, Jiang Chen had almost gathered all the resources around his territory. He didn't even let go of the roots of the trees.
Jiang Chen had already changed into a leather armor. This was when he'd come across another treasure chest while he was collecting resources. There were also two pieces of bread and props that had been extracted from it.
However, there were no seeds of any plants. This caused Jiang Chen to feel somewhat distressed.
"Could it be that I have to go further away to look for them?"
Jiang Chen looked at the forest in the distance. There were definitely seeds that the plant life system needed in the forest, but the question now was, could he have the ability to protect himself after entering the forest?
"The answer is no!"
Jiang Chen thought to himself.
The hints from the beginning of this world had indicated that there were wild beasts and powerful creatures in the outside world. He didn't have any ability to escape from danger at the moment.
Although he hadn't found the seeds he needed, Jiang Chen had collected quite a few good things during this period of time.
They were basically all building materials like stones and iron blocks.
"I won't think about it for the time being. The most important thing now is to build the territory first."
Yes, Jiang Chen's territory had nothing at all. There was only a leaky straw shed, and more than ten people who needed to support themselves. Food was enough for the time being, and housing was the first problem to be solved.
After two hours of searching, the migrant workers had also gathered enough basic materials like wood.
He returned to the courtyard and began to inspect the territory's board.
He then opened the 'Building' option.
"Inspect the tent!"
"Elementary tent. Requirements: wood * 10, wood grass * 10. Area: 4 square meters. Capacity: 2 people. Effects: recover 1 point of stamina per hour."
Then he looked at his current backpack.
"Wood 143x, stone 160x, water 171,400 ml, iron 13x, bread 2x, flint 12x."
Jiang Chen had a rough idea after reading through it.
The most important thing in expanding a territory was undoubtedly the population.
It wasn't just migrant workers, more professionals were needed as well!
As the population grew, there were bound to be more problems to be solved, such as safety, housing, eating, drinking, leisure, etc. . There were even long-term developmental goals such as education!
"Those are still far off. Let's solve the housing and other problems for now!"
Jiang Chen thought silently in his heart.
"Build ten tents."
"System notification: the construction of the basic tents has begun. Countdown: 2 hours."
Then there was the issue of recruiting talents.
After Jiang Chen had observed the entire panel, he discovered that if he wanted to recruit special talents, apart from some special recruitment scrolls, he could also recruit them through the union.
The union could recruit all kinds of talents, but only if the level of the union was sufficient. The higher the level of the union, the more capable the talents they would recruit.
Based on the resources available at the moment, Jiang Chen could only build a level one union at most.
"Let it be level one then. We can't just sit around and wait for death no matter what."
Jiang Chen's idea was very simple. The task of gathering resources would be handed over to the migrant workers, and the two soldiers could barely serve as guards. He still lacked specialized jobs...
With skilled jobs, there would be production.
He would use the union to recruit special talents, and then distribute the work according to the profession of the person he recruited. This way, he wouldn't be stuck at a standstill.
Jiang Chen once again clicked to start building the union according to the system's panel.
"System notification: Level One Union has begun construction. Countdown: 3 hours."
Following that, a few building phantoms appeared, and Jiang Chen understood.
After assigning the tents and the construction site of the Union, Jiang Chen confirmed in his heart that the shadows were sitting in the position that Jiang Chen had chosen.
The few migrant workers didn't need Jiang Chen's reminder. They felt as if they had received an order and began to move the materials and build the tents.
It was almost afternoon.
Jiang Chen looked at the countdown on the screen.
"I can finish building the tents before nightfall. Very good, I finally have a place to rest that can barely shelter me from the wind and rain."
After thinking for a bit, Jiang Chen started observing his surroundings once more.
Five hundred meters in front of the valley was the forest, and the roars of wild beasts could be heard from that direction from time to time. This was also the reason why Jiang Chen didn't want to enter now.
Behind the territory was a plain that seemed to be descending, and Jiang Chen couldn't see the end of it clearly.
But he still wasn't prepared to take the risk. No one knew what would be on the other side of his line of sight.
The current situation wasn't clear. Everything had to be done slowly.
Jiang Chen thought for a while and thought about the other lords. He also didn't know how they were progressing.