【Chapter 61: Bounty Protocol System】
Jax showed no signs of discouragement; he had merely built these Walls with an experimental mindset.
Now it seemed his plan had failed, confirming his suspicion that blocking the path with other objects couldn't trap these Sandworms.
So, Jax simply waited in place for the mission to complete.
The current mission no longer posed any challenge, as they were all the most basic Sandworms, and everyone now knew how to handle them, facing no difficulties.
【Kill Tier 1 Sandworm*1】
【Kill Tier 1 Sandworm*1】
【Mission complete, obtain Tier 1 Barricade*20, obtain Tier 2 Barricade upgrade permission!】
Hearing this system prompt, Jax finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Finally completed the mission. Thankfully, it's not Barricade blueprints but Barricades themselves, so I don't have to worry about wasting Stardust Stone!"
Currently, Jax didn't know how to obtain Stardust Stone and Refined Iron, which made him feel somewhat helpless.
After all, each mission only gave a tiny amount of Stardust Stone and Refined Iron. For future upgrades, he really couldn't afford any mistakes; otherwise, if the mission wasn't completed, he'd face a Penalty.
After finishing the mission, Jax couldn't help but glance at the collapsed Wall in the distance, secretly making a decision.
He called everyone back to the room to sleep. Lying on the hard ground, Jax couldn't fall asleep, still wondering what new buildings would appear in the Tier 2 fortress.
The next morning, Jax got up early and went to check the collapsed Wall from yesterday.
"Both sides of the path are steep cliffs, very hard. If the insect race wants to come from here, it might be quite troublesome!"
Then, Jax began pacing to measure the width of this area.
The widest part was about 20 meters, while the narrowest was less than 10 meters wide.
Jax looked at the unused Walls in his storage space and fell into thought.
"Using them all at once feels wasteful, but building just one wouldn't serve any purpose!"
Next, Jax found the narrowest spot and examined it: "This place is only 8 meters, about over 10 meters in total. Building two Walls should require about 20 Walls, which should be enough!"
So, Jax used a total of 10 Walls, each 5 meters long, leaving only a 3-meter path for the insect race. If they wanted to pass, they'd have to turn, which could serve some purpose.
"Keep 10 Walls for next time!"
Then, Jax checked the time.
"7 o'clock, and it's still dark. Looks like the time for Black Rain to fall is getting closer!"
Thinking of this, Jax couldn't help but recall that huge worm-like monster.
"I wonder if these Walls can block that guy! Hope those big ones don't come in too many numbers, or we really won't hold up!"
That night, Jax and the others continued guarding the platform, observing the situation below.
Until a system prompt sounded in Jax's mind.
【Warning, a wave of Tier 2 Rodent-Maw Creepers is approaching. Please add Energy Shards to the Defense Tower!】
Jax checked his storage space; he now had nearly 40 Tier 1 Energy Shards, but this was still far from enough. Who knew how many Energy Shards it would take to kill that huge worm.
From what Jax saw, over a dozen Rifles had fired all their bullets without taking down that Spiked Dune Lord.
【Mission: Kill 50 Tier 2 Rodent-Maw Creepers. Mission Reward: Unlock Bounty Protocol System】
【Mission Failure Penalty: Current builder level reduced by one】
After receiving this mission, Jax vaguely felt that this mission should be related to various resources.
Then he said to everyone, "Rodent-Maw Creepers are coming! Everyone needs to be prepared this time!"
Hearing Jax's words, everyone grew tense.
After all, Rodent-Maw Creepers weren't as easy to kill as Sandworms, and they had burrowing skills, making it very difficult to take them down.
Kaleb held a Rifle, but only had one bullet left.
Jax looked at him, feeling somewhat helpless.
A minute later, under the distant lights, some long hairs indeed appeared swaying back and forth.
"Rodent-Maw Creepers are here!"
Kaleb aimed his Rifle at the distant Rodent-Maw Creepers, silently counting in his mouth.
"One, two, three... seventeen, eighteen... Phew, too many to count!"
But Jax kept frowning as he watched the Wall's direction. Since the Wall was only about 30 meters from the platform, the critical moment would only come when the Rodent-Maw Creepers reached there.
Then, Jax heard the sound of bolts shot from the Sentry Tower.
With a "whoosh," a bolt accurately hit a Rodent-Maw Creeper, and the others immediately stopped moving. However, they weren't staying still; they started burrowing underground.
"Damn, they're digging underground!"
But Jax felt a surge of joy.
Great! Just as I planned to test whether these Rodent-Maw Creepers would be hindered by the Walls, they're here!
So, Jax closely watched the small mounds rising from the ground.
Like moles in cartoons, these Rodent-Maw Creepers began burrowing forward, but their speed underground was slow. They took nearly 10 minutes to cover a mere 100 meters and reach the front of the Wall.
Seeing this, Jax held his breath, praying inwardly that they must be blocked.
However, over the next dozen seconds, Jax saw those small mounds stop moving, all blocked by the Walls.
"Damn, did they discover the Walls blocking them and keep digging downward?"
Jax couldn't figure it out, but after waiting a minute, Kaleb suddenly exclaimed.
"Boss, look, those Rodent-Maw Creepers changed direction!"
Hearing this, Jax immediately looked toward the corner.
Sure enough, a slightly raised small mound was slowly advancing, though their speed was a bit slow, almost like a different species compared to their speed on the surface.
Then, Jax quickly took out two Energy Shards and inserted them under the Howitzer Turret.
With a series of mechanical sounds, the Howitzer Turret's dark barrel began adjusting direction.
A loud "boom" echoed.
A shell shot straight toward the distant ground.
With a "crash," the sandy soil was blasted open.
Then, several Rodent-Maw Creepers were blown out from underground.
Next, the Sentry Tower's bolts accurately hit the Rodent-Maw Creepers.
【Kill Tier 2 Rodent-Maw Creeper*1】
Hearing the system prompt, Jax finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Great! Just like in the game, as long as you leave them a path, they'll go around the Walls!"
Thinking this, Jax continued observing the distant Rodent-Maw Creepers.
Since the Rodent-Maw Creepers burrowed slowly, and Jax had set up two Walls to make their path more complex, it bought some time for the Howitzer Turret.
Soon, after adding Energy Shards for the third time, those underground Rodent-Maw Creepers were completely wiped out.
【Mission complete, obtain Bounty Protocol System!】
Jax quickly checked his system interface and indeed found the 【Bounty Protocol】 option.
"Great! I wonder what Bounty Protocols are available! Let's check first!"
So, Jax swiftly opened the Bounty Protocol.
The interface showed several options: SSS, SS, S, A, B, C, D, E, F—nine types of mission lists.
However, currently, only the F-level mission icon was lit up; the others were dim and unopenable.
Jax checked the time; it was already 8:30 at night. But as someone who had crossed over, used to staying up late, this time was for overtime work or dining with friends in his previous life.
So, after thinking for a moment, Jax pressed the F-level Bounty Protocol.
【F-level Bounty Protocol: Price Tier 2 Cores*10, kill 100 Rodent-Maw Creepers, time limit 60 minutes, mission Reward, Refined Iron*100】
【Mission Failure Penalty: Deduct 10 Bio-Score attribute points!】
【Accept mission?】
Seeing this mission, Jax was stunned.
"No way, accepting a Bounty Protocol costs money? Ten Tier 2 Cores?"
"But the mission Reward is tempting! 100 Refined Iron, exactly what I lack now!"
In the end, Jax gritted his teeth and pressed the accept mission option.
The 15 Tier 2 Cores he had painstakingly saved in his storage space instantly became 5, making Jax's heart ache.
Now, everyone watching the retreating Rodent-Maw Creepers breathed a sigh of relief.
"Finally retreated! We can rest! I'll take the first half of the night, Kaleb, you take the second half!"
Kaleb nodded with his Rifle: "Alright!"
Silas wore a relaxed expression as he tossed a piece of wood into the campfire.
"Boss, you all go back and rest! I'll guard the first half tonight! Kaleb the second half! Old Lü rests today!"
But Jax shook his head: "Wait, more Rodent-Maw Creepers will come later!"
Hearing Jax's words, everyone was stunned.
"What? More? No way, two waves in one day?"
Jax shook his head; he didn't know if after completing this Bounty Protocol tonight, he could receive other new missions.
If possible, Jax planned to farm a bit more tonight, as leveling up was imminent, and wasting this opportunity would be a pity.
He aimed to upgrade all the fortress buildings to the top level before the Insect Swarm arrived; if possible, upgrading to a Tier 3 fortress would be even better.