Volume 1 Chapter 8 Level Four Alliance Unlocked

Lin Yi clicked accept, and immediately received a photo. It was clearly a picture of his younger brother, Lin Chuan.

Shortly after, a message popped up: "Big brother, is that you?"

Lin Yi felt a surge of excitement. He had assumed that after transmigrating, he would never find his brother again.

On the other end, Lin Chuan was equally excited, though also nervous. He stared intently at the holographic screen, muttering, "Reply already! Just give me a straight answer."

Then, he saw Lin Yi’s reply: "Yes, Lin Chuan, I am your brother."

Lin Chuan’s heart raced so hard he could hear it, but he quickly regained his composure and sent a tentative message: "How can I be sure? You need to provide proof."

Lin Yi smiled slightly. *This kid has a decent sense of caution; at least he won't be easily swindled.*

He neatly used his watch to take a selfie, looked at his own still-handsome face, and sent it without hesitation. It was strange—the watch provided by the system had all sorts of functions, everything except video calls.

Lin Yi followed up with a smiley emoji and typed: "You little brat, you don't even recognize your own brother? [Smile]"

Seeing the selfie, Lin Chuan thought to himself, *Tsk, tsk, he looks a lot older after just two days.*

"Get lost! You haven't had a beating in two days and now you're acting up," Lin Yi muttered fiercely, adding, "If we ever meet, just you wait."

"Anyway, let’s talk business. How did you find me, and how did you confirm it was me?" Lin Yi tapped his finger and watched the "typing..." indicator spin in the corner.

After a long while, he received a lengthy message. It essentially said: "Brother, do you remember saying that if you ever had a son, you’d name him Lin Tianyi, meaning to soar together in the sky, and if you had a daughter, you’d name her Lin Tianxin, meaning happiness every day? I still remember the look on your face when you said that. Then, I saw your message ID was 'Tianyi,' so I subconsciously felt you might be my brother and added you to check."

*Uh, alright then!* Lin Yi realized why he had felt an inexplicable connection to the name "Tianyi." *So, I just really wanted a son? Goodness! I’m not even twenty yet!*

Before Lin Yi could let his imagination run wild, another message arrived from Lin Chuan: "Brother, why did you say not to upgrade the castle so quickly? I was planning to do it, but your message made me doubt."

Lin Yi immediately typed: "Xiao Chuan, don't upgrade unless you have to. The strength of the monsters arriving the day after tomorrow might be tied to the castle level. The higher the level, the stronger they are. If I’m not mistaken, those who rush to upgrade without adequate defenses are going to have a miserable end."

"How do you know? What proof do you have?" Lin Chuan was skeptical, but he was starting to believe him.

Lin Yi patiently replied: "Don't you think the third message from the system is contradictory? It says upgrading is the fastest way to improve strength, yet it also warns us not to rush. If you think about it, the system wouldn't mind us upgrading quickly unless the higher levels triggered stronger monsters."

Once he read that, even a fool would understand. Lin Chuan’s expression was one of shock, and he muttered, "Now that I think about it, that’s exactly what the system meant."

He breathed a sigh of relief. *Thank goodness I didn't upgrade; thank goodness I paid attention to that message.* He quickly typed back: "Brother, you’re something else. You actually figured that out."

Lin Yi smirked, knowing Lin Chuan had listened. "It's nothing. What kind of environment are you in? Mine is just a plain, nothing here—I haven't even seen a single villager yet."

"Heh heh, brother! I’m in a vast, boundless jungle! The resources here are incredibly rich. I’ve already got ten NPCs, and I’ve fully met the requirements for an upgrade! Let me tell you, these NPCs work at lightning speed, way faster than I could ever do it myself! So, whatever happens, I just leave it to them."

Lin Yi frowned. He realized his brother saw the villagers merely as emotionless NPCs. He advised him earnestly, "Xiao Chuan, don't just treat them as data. We have to treat them well; after all, they are individuals with their own thoughts and feelings."

Lin Chuan didn't seem to care much and quickly changed the subject: "Oh, let's not talk about that for now! How about we have a voice call? It’ll be much faster to chat."

The brothers connected, and for the next hour, Lin Yi mostly listened to Lin Chuan recount his experiences over the last two days. After hanging up, Lin Yi complained, "So much to say, my ears are calloused."

In a better mood, he checked the general chat box; some information was still useful. After browsing for a while, a post caught his eye: "Hey! Let me tell you, if you upgrade your castle to level four, you can unlock the mysterious Kingdom Alliance! Don't ask how I know—I'm just that good, a legend!"

The chat exploded.

"Is this for real?"
"Big brother, please help me out!"
"Oh my god, that's amazing!"

Then, another message appeared: "It seems to be true. A friend of mine reached level four and unlocked it. He told me to hurry up and join his alliance!"

*An alliance? Maybe I can form one with Xiao Chuan. But if we reach level four so quickly, I wonder what kind of monsters we'll have to face.*

As Lin Yi pondered this, Lin Chuan messaged him: "Brother, let’s form an alliance when we hit level four. We’ll call it the 'Yichuan Alliance.' You be the leader, and I’ll be the deputy."

Lin Yi tapped his screen to send a simple "Okay," then closed the watch. He sat quietly, his mind racing as he thought about the terrifying monsters coming the day after tomorrow.

Currently, his combat power was limited: one lonely turret and one seemingly weak Minion warrior. This was clearly not enough to face an unknown, powerful enemy.

He recalled his level-one barracks, which could hold up to twenty units. He felt a slight sense of relief, but then a new doubt arose. If the soldiers summoned from the barracks could be infinitely revived, did that mean they occupied a permanent slot in the barracks' quota?

After careful consideration, he felt this was highly likely. If he didn't plan his summons, he could end up wasting resources or failing to summon the troops he truly needed at a critical moment.

"It seems I really need to plan my summons carefully from now on," Lin Yi muttered to himself, his gaze firm and deep.