The sky was overcast, and thunder raged.
As the thunder faded, a torrential downpour followed.
Seeing the heavy rain, Lin Fan quickly shouted, "It's raining, it's raining, quickly get inside to take shelter!"
He covered his head and hurried into the newly built three-bedroom, two-living-room house.
Bai Xiaosa rolled his eyes at him, dissatisfied with his impatient nature, finding it utterly undignified.
He moved slowly, maintaining his elegant demeanor, as he walked towards the house.
However, the rain was too heavy. Midway through, he was drenched like a drowned rat. His long hair was matted, and his Hanfu clung to his skin, faintly revealing glimpses of fair flesh.
Seeing that he still had half the way to go, he gritted his teeth and quickened his pace. With a few flashes, he was inside the house.
Lin Fan pointed at him and burst into laughter,
"Haha, you crack me up! You, with your drenched appearance, mock me for lacking grace? Look at yourself, a drowned rat, that's true lack of grace."
"Hmph, this young master refuses to stoard with you!" Bai Xiaosa was furious. The thought that he had just mocked Lin Fan filled him with bitterness.
He wished he had abandoned his pride earlier.
The ancients were indeed right: pride comes before a fall.
At this moment, the Awakened and natives outside were already soaked like drowned chickens.
The natives scattered in panic, diving into ruins to find shelter from the rain, while the Awakened headed towards Lin Yu's small house.
When they reached the entrance of Lin Yu's house, they found Lin Fan standing at the door, blocking their way.
Someone pleaded, "Young Master Lin, could you please let us in to take shelter from the rain? We're not many people, we won't take up much space."
Others chimed in with their requests.
"That's right, we're all from the same place, and I'm even your fan."
"When you're out and about, fellow countrymen should help each other, shouldn't they? It would be bad for your reputation if word got out. Don't you agree?"
"How about this, we'll pay a lodging fee. What do you say?"
Lin Fan's eyes lit up at the mention of a lodging fee. He put on a solemn expression, feigning difficulty.
He said with a serious face, "Fellow countrymen abroad should indeed help each other."
"I see you're all in quite a pitiable state. I'll just have to grit my teeth and let you take shelter."
"Fifty thousand star coins per person. Just a small token, not to make things too difficult for you."
Upon hearing the fifty thousand fee, everyone inwardly cursed, but the thought of shelter made all sorts of sweet words pour out of their mouths.
"Young Master Lin, you are truly noble!"
"You are a Bodhisattva reincarnated, full of compassion."
"It is our honor to share a roof with you."
Lin Fan tilted his head slightly, feigning reluctance, but the smile on his lips betrayed him.
He was actually feeling incredibly pleased, like having eaten honey on a hot summer day.
It felt so good to be praised. I wonder if they're sincere? Lin Fan mused.
"Alright, hand over the money!"
Hearing this, everyone dared not hesitate and began to pay.
At this time.
Lin Yu was already inside the room. He used his elemental power to create more furniture and installed a smooth metal plate in the living room, planning to use it as a projector later for watching movies when he had time.
Furthermore, the three bedrooms were also meticulously decorated.
There were beds, tables, and cabinets.
Although it was bare construction without soft furnishings like sofas, in this world, it was undoubtedly considered luxurious.
He heard the commotion outside and glanced at Lin Fan, sighing,
"Sigh, Lin Fan is at it again, scamming people. I, on the other hand, have a good conscience and never trick anyone!"
He looked at his house and then at the group of drenched people outside, frowning.
"I can't let them in and mess up my masterpiece. I'll build them houses outside instead!"
With a thought, dozens of clones emerged, ready to begin construction.
At the same time, he notified Lin Fan.
Outside, after paying the money, a group of people looked expectantly at the furniture appearing inside the house.
Compared to Blue Star, it was certainly lacking, but here, it filled them with anticipation.
However, as they stepped onto the stairs, they were suddenly stopped.
Lin Fan apologized, "I'm sorry, my elder brother just said you can't stay here."
His words immediately ignited the fury of the crowd.
"You're a cheat!"
"Give us our money back, three times the amount! What if I get sick in this rain?"
"You can't do this! Are you toying with us?"
Lin Fan coughed a few times and quickly said, "Don't worry, everyone. My elder brother meant that it would be inconvenient for you to stay with us."
"My elder brother said he'll build two more three-bedroom, two-living-room houses for you!"
This statement instantly silenced everyone.
"We misunderstood you. We apologize. It was our fault. Please don't take it to heart."
"Hahaha, right. We were short-sighted. Please don't hold it against us."
"Please proceed with building the houses. We won't disturb you."
Since they had paid, Lin Yu had no intention of deceiving them further, as reputation still mattered.
A total of fifty clones, using the three-bedroom, two-living-room technique, constructed two bare three-bedroom, two-living-room houses in just a few minutes.
Everyone's eyes lit up, and they rushed inside.
Upon entering the houses and seeing the bare shells, they looked back at Lin Yu's fully furnished house, and their faces fell in disappointment, their envious eyes almost popping out.
When they then looked at where the natives were sheltering, they felt some solace.
Those natives didn't even have a place to live; they were far worse off. One should be content.
At this moment, Lin Yu finally finished his decorating work. He returned to his master bedroom and had his clones move in the two stone tablets.
Meanwhile, the sky had completely darkened, and night had fallen.
The rain intensified.
Pitter-patter!!
It was as if a hole had opened in the Milky Way, and water poured down incessantly. Looking through the window, it seemed like a waterfall before their eyes.
Fortunately, the house Lin Yu had built was sturdy and unaffected.
However, large amounts of rainwater began to accumulate outside, forming small rivers. Before long, the water level was about to reach their calves.
If they didn't add some reinforcements to the house, the water would flood in. Lin Yu had his clones build a meter-high wall around the house to block the rainwater.
He refused to believe the rainwater could exceed a meter!
Lin Yu looked at the natives huddled together for warmth, looking rather pathetic, and sighed. He sent a thought to Lin Fan.
Then, he fully dedicated himself to the stone tablets.
"System, translate the Soul Suppression Tablet!"
"Ding, requires one million upgrade points. Translate?"
"No way? This small tablet requires a million?"
"Yes, translate?"
"Translate it!" Lin Yu had no other choice and said helplessly.
"Ding, one million upgrade points consumed. Translation successful!"
The next moment, a new soul technique appeared in his mind.
Soul Manipulation Technique!
It allows one to control soul-based beings weaker than one's own soul, including anomalies, by consuming soul power.
Lin Yu was overjoyed and felt an urge to experiment.
With a thought, a soul cage sphere appeared before him.
He released the anomaly imprisoned in the soul cage and then used the Soul Manipulation Technique on it.
Instantly, the anomaly froze. Following that, Lin Yu found that he could control this anomaly.
"The range is roughly the same as my clones' control range, but it's more strenuous. With my current soul power, I can only control five at a time. It's still too taxing on soul power!"
"Fortunately, as proficiency increases, the consumption will gradually decrease."
"I've gained another new method!"
Finally, he turned his gaze to the other large stone tablet.
What soul technique did this Town Soul Tablet contain?