Cave Refuge

If we say that the depth of about a hundred meters could still be resisted by the physical qualities of the Martial Artists, the depth of several hundred meters, although some Martial Artists with high Cultivation Levels could still dive without equipment,

but the soil required for contracting the Plantation Area, if they rely solely on the strength of those Martial Artists, I estimate they would tire themselves out without even gathering enough soil needed for one acre.

After all, to obtain soil from the underwater, without the support of a Companion Spiritual Treasure, one would not only rely on physical qualities to combat the increasingly strong water pressure but also overcome gravity, carrying the soil quickly to the surface.

If the amount of soil dug from the seabed is little, it is manageable, but if carrying a large amount of soil, not only is it impossible to utilize the buoyancy in the water, but the heavy load might also slow down one's ascent.

Simply put, even if one successfully dives to the seabed to dig soil, if they carry only small amounts each time, they would need to make countless trips to accumulate enough soil to the depth of about one meter for an acre.

And if each time the amount of soil dug from the seabed is too much, then the soil carried would definitely slow down one's ascent from the seabed. In case of an accident, it's very likely that the soil carried could drag them to death.

Some might suggest using Storage space to collect soil from the seabed, but putting aside the scarcity of Storage space, there's also the issue of deep-sea pressure. Retrieving items might be manageable, but when it comes to storing items, as soon as one opens the Storage space, it would probably face the situation of backflow immediately.

Therefore, at this time, the best method to retrieve soil from underwater is to choose those Companion Spiritual Treasures that have chosen the Submersible Navigation branch. Just attach an external mechanical arm to the Companion Spiritual Treasure, and digging soil from underwater becomes effortless.

Robinson William and Ye Liuyun's Companion Spiritual Treasures had already chosen their evolutionary branches. Robinson William did not choose the Strengthening Base branch, which strengthens the sturdiness of the Companion Spiritual Treasure but instead chose the Wave-Breaking branch, which increases the navigation speed of the Companion Spiritual Treasure.

Robinson William made this choice because it was related to his current occupation. Initially, under the introduction by Dong Tianyu, he entered the Officials realm and became a constable.

Although the starting point was low, relying on Robinson William's strong personal power, his position rapidly ascended, and he has now become an arrest officer. Don't be fooled by the minor difference between constable and arrest officer; in terms of official rank, the difference spans several levels.

Unlike the Government Officials responsible for the safety and stability patrolling the streets, constables primarily work on solving cases and arresting people. When some suspects learn they are wanted by the Officials, they immediately leave the base, and at this time, the constables have to leave the base to pursue them.

This is why Robinson William chose the Wave-Breaking evolutionary branch, so he could catch the suspects preparing to flee at the fastest speed.

Apart from this, Robinson William chose the Wave-Breaking branch for a bit of personal reason, just like Dong Tianyu chose the Submersible Navigation. Once the evolutionary branch for the Companion Spiritual Treasure has been determined, its size still continues to grow as it constantly absorbs Black Devil Core.

Even though Robinson William chose the Wave-Breaking evolutionary branch, his Companion Spiritual Treasure's size has now grown to the extent that it can accommodate thirty to forty people simultaneously.

Robinson William chose the Wave-Breaking evolutionary branch also to ensure that in the face of unstoppable natural disasters, he could quickly evacuate the area with his family, thereby moving away from the source of danger.

Among the four different evolutionary branches, Ye Liuyun would undoubtedly only choose the Bearing direction. After all, for merchants, choosing the Bearing branch means at the very least, they would acquire a storage space the size of a regular room, and this storage space can continue to expand.

If the base was not expanded, then their choice would not pose any issues.

Even now that the base has already expanded, for the vast majority of ordinary people, or those who do not prefer to rear animals or till the land, not choosing the Submersible Navigation branch wouldn't pose any problems.

Even for those who want to contract an area from the Officials to farm, their concern is only how to obtain low-cost soil, letting them choose the evolutionary branch for their Companion Spiritual Treasure, most likely, they would not choose Submersible Navigation.

Now, unlike before the natural disaster, although the message still propagated is "unity is strength," everyone understands the principle of "When the mountain falls, the support is gone; when men flee, there is no reliance." Therefore, most people, when choosing the evolutionary branch for their Companion Spiritual Treasure, will only pick what benefits them personally and will not consider the so-called greater good.

Due to this reason, the vast base, despite having hundreds of evolved Companion Spiritual Treasures, only had a handful of them opting for the Submersible Navigation evolution branch.

After the Officials publicly announced the contracting conditions for the Plantation Area, although some Martial Artists whose Companion Spiritual Treasures chose the Submersible Navigation branch were approached, most of them were not interested in the suggestion of underwater excavation.

Although the price of the Dark Green Trick Nucleus was not high and it was very easy to add underwater mechanical arms to the Companion Spiritual Treasures, even with the addition of mechanical arms, bringing up the mud from the bottom of the water was not an easy task.

Thus, most owners of Companion Spiritual Treasures capable of choosing the Submersible Navigation evolution branch outright rejected proposals for collaboration from others.

In fact, they could see clearly that those approaching them under the guise of collaboration were mostly either people or organizations.

The typical collaboration method was that they would be responsible for the excavation while the other party would handle planting and managing the land; the initial revenue share was 20% for them and 80% for the other party.

At this point, Evolvers capable of choosing the Submersible Navigation branch were either already part of an organization or strong independent warriors like Dong Tianyu.

Hence, when hearing the meager share offered by those who came knocking for collaboration, they would simply walk away without any desire to negotiate.

However, it must be said that while those Lone Wolves could ignore those who came seeking collaboration, Martial Artists who were backed by organizations had no choice but to follow their organization's arrangements and earnestly delve into underwater riverbeds for excavation.

In reality, if they were to actually contract the planting area opened by the Officials, even though the short-term profits might not be high, the long-term returns would undoubtedly be substantial.

These Lone Wolves were not unwilling to collaborate with other organizations, but they understood very well that although they currently seemed invaluable, in reality, they would only serve as a foot in the door during the collaboration.

Without them excavating underwater, others couldn't contract the planting area opened by the Officials; but once they brought up enough mud, they would become expendable to their collaborators.

Perhaps the other party would follow the agreed share for the first year, but as time went on, there was no guarantee that the collaborating organization wouldn't kick them to the curb.

After all, once the most crucial mud was available, their role would become redundant.

If those people were willing to offer sufficient benefits directly, these Lone Wolves wouldn't mind taking a temporary job as an excavation machine.

However, the organizations actively seeking collaboration, possibly hoping to reap where they had not sown, were all adopting a collaboration model based on sharing profits, even increasing the share from the initial 20% to now 50%.

Unfortunately, the higher the proposed profit-sharing ratio, the more reluctant those Lone Wolves possessing Submersible Navigation Companion Spiritual Treasures became to collaborate with them.

Although some Lone Wolves had explicitly stated they did not want a share, preferring a lump sum payment, those seeking collaborators acted as if they hadn't heard, still insisting on collaborating with the Lone Wolves.

The situation thus remained at a stalemate, and when some impatient Lone Wolves tried to directly dredge mud from underwater for sale, they always encountered various mishaps, eventually causing them to lose the painstakingly obtained mud.

After several such incidents, those Lone Wolves simply gave up in frustration.