Chapter 256 - 151: The Mortal Realm’s Grand Plan Takes Shape

Chapter 256: Chapter 151: The Mortal Realm’s Grand Plan Takes Shape

Who the hell wouldn’t work their ass off for that?!

’300 Ghost Stones... How the hell am I supposed to spend all that?’

"..."

Chen Fan smiled and didn’t say anything more. He simply built a Level 3 Ghost Fire next to the bridgehead, then constructed a 100-meter-long Level 2 City Wall, forming a square enclosure around the Ghost Fire.

He then built a few Stone Houses inside the enclosure, completing a simple camp.

The strength of a Level 2 City Wall was enough to handle most Ghost Objects.

He also installed ten Level 5 Cannon Towers on the City Wall.

This camp’s strength was higher than that of the Mortal Realm’s other outposts. It was also connected via the Copper Pipe, officially incorporating it into the Mortal Realm’s network, unlike the other outposts, which were all standalone camps.

After all, this was a transportation hub.

A strategic location.

It couldn’t be neglected.

"Once you get your Identity Token, you’ll have the authority to control these City Walls and Cannon Towers."

"Understood!"

...

After finishing all this, Chen Fan returned to the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage and headed downstream to build more bridges.

Whenever he saw a bridge belonging to the Jiangnan Shui Family, he would simply build one of his own right next to it. The guards stationed there were numerous, yet they still had no idea what was going on.

They watched him from a distance, not daring to approach and ask questions.

A total of seven bridges.

He built all of them as Level 10 Bridges. It barely cost him anything; he just threw in all the junk Exotic Treasures he had taken from the Jiangnan Shui Family, as well as the ones already piled up in his carriage.

He now went about his business with the air of someone fabulously wealthy.

The outside world had no idea how high a monthly salary he paid the Mortal Realm Members.

In reality, ever since the Silk Road proved to be extremely effective, he had raised the monthly salary for all Mortal Realm Members to 100 Ghost Stones.

Those with minor positions, like station masters, all received 300 Ghost Stones.

Even higher positions paid 500 Ghost Stones.

As for positions like Pavilion Master and Vice Pavilion Master, their monthly salaries were naturally even higher, but their compensation went far beyond just a salary. At that level, a monthly salary was hardly worth mentioning.

There were also rewards for meritorious service.

And after a major operation, there were bonuses.

On top of that, there were all sorts of other benefits.

He didn’t know the exact monthly salaries other factions paid their subordinates, but he knew his were definitely high. Why did Wang Kui have so many complaints about the Hill and Valley Royal Family? Wasn’t it because his monthly salary hadn’t increased in thirteen years, stuck at a mere 10 Ghost Stones?

If you wanted people to risk their lives for you and work hard, the most effective method was to raise their monthly salary.

So far, the results had been pretty good.

Soon—

A total of eight bridges were completed. The seven downstream bridges were currently unguarded; once that fellow recruited enough people, he would be in charge of assigning them to collect the toll fees.

...

Chen Fan returned to the Jiangnan Shui Family’s estate. By now, the looting was complete, yielding 323,000 Ghost Stones.

"Quite wealthy."

It was the perfect time to replenish his Ghost Stones.

He hadn’t brought that many Ghost Stones with him when he set out. Paving roads could draw upon the Ghost Stones in the camp’s Warehouse; as long as he was within the Mortal Realm’s territory, he could use any Ghost Stones stored in its Warehouses.

But building the seven downstream bridges was outside the Mortal Realm’s territory, so he had to use the Ghost Stones stored in the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage. These stones had originally been set aside to activate the Heaven and Earth Chessboard.

Who knew when an unexpected situation might arise.

Now, however, his supply had been well-supplemented, leaving him much wealthier.

The road was clear.

The roadwork continued.

In front of all the onlookers, the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage once again drove onto the Jiangbei Bridge, continuing to lay the Copper Pipe along the road, heading straight for Jiangnan!

The phantom images of one copper pipe after another quickly solidified and sank into the Jiangbei Bridge.

This was the name he had given this bridge.

It was the only bridge he had named.

After all, it was the Mortal Realm’s first bridge and was worth commemorating.

Before he left, he asked the man’s name—Zhang Qianming—and after giving a few more instructions, he departed without lingering.

...

After the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage had departed into the distance, the representatives from the surrounding merchant guilds couldn’t resist sidling up to him. "Young brother, what did Domain Lord Chen say to you just now?"

"Ahem."

Zhang Qianming straightened his clothes before pointing to the camp Chen Fan had built before leaving. "Domain Lord Chen invited me to join the Mortal Realm and has established a Mortal Realm outpost here."

"As of today, the Shui Family is no more in Jiangnan."

"All the bridges now belong to the Mortal Realm—one here, and seven more downstream."

"For all merchant guilds passing through, the toll has been reduced from the original five Ghost Stones per person to just one Ghost Stone."

As his words fell, the faces of the surrounding guild members lit up with wild joy.

"This is great news!"

"The Mortal Realm is so generous!"

"Domain Lord Chen is truly magnanimous! Our transport costs will be so much lower now. And besides, the Jiangnan Shui Family’s bridges don’t even look like they’re in the same league as the Mortal Realm’s. These new ones must be very high-level, right?"

"Hmph."

Zhang Qianming snorted, then said with some pride, "They’re Max Level Bridges. The kind of collapses you saw before will never happen again. Cross them without a worry. If one of these bridges falls, I’ll bury myself under it."

"If a flood is strong enough to collapse a Max Level Bridge, then all of Jiangnan would probably be submerged anyway."

"And another thing—"

"Domain Lord Chen also appointed me as the station master for this outpost and gave me ten recruitment slots. These ten people can become official Mortal Realm Members, with a monthly salary of... 100 Ghost Stones."

"Sigh."

Zhang Qianming let out a sigh, feigning dismay. "Now where am I going to find people? You all know, recruiting isn’t an easy job in this day and age."

However, no one responded.

The surrounding guild members had all fallen silent. Not a word was spoken, but a fervent light burned in their eyes. A monthly salary of 100 Ghost Stones?

And that was just the salary for an Ordinary Mortal Realm Member?

Even the leaders of the merchant guilds were left speechless.

That monthly salary was higher than what they, the leaders of their own guilds, earned.

How could they even compete with that?