The instant the 4th wave of monsters was cleared out, He Miaomiao had already opened her interface, splitting her focus to track her home’s durability while attacking the crows at full force.
In truth, the giant rats had higher attack power and posed a far greater threat, but night provided too much of an advantage for them. It was extremely difficult for her to target creatures hiding underground; even if she managed to land a strike based on an occasional bulge on the ground, she couldn’t take down a rat with 220 health in one go.
Landing another strike required predicting which direction they would shift toward next, taking up time better spent killing crows first. While the crows had 10 less attack power than the rats, their agility was 5 points higher—meaning in the time it took 1 giant rat to bite the fence once, a crow could attack the house twice.
After the safehouse’s Defense offset 10 points of damage, within the exact same timeframe, 1 giant rat would cause the house to lose 25 Durability, whereas 1 crow would cause it to lose 30.
The moment they drew near and launched their attacks, her originally sturdy solid-wood house wobbled precariously.
However, right before their next assault landed—
He Miaomiao’s Safehouse: Lv1 → Lv2
[Durability +2000!]
[Durability +2000! (Critical Hit)]
[Defense +10!]
[Defense +10! (Critical Hit)]
[Monster Alert Radius +20!]
[Monster Alert Radius +20! (Critical Hit)]
[Storage Slots +24!]
[Storage Slots +24! (Critical Hit)]
[Arable Farmland +4!]
[Arable Farmland +4! (Critical Hit)]
[Defense Structures +1!]
[Defense Structures +1! (Critical Hit)]
[Citizen Recruitment Slots +3!]
[Citizen Recruitment Slots +3! (Critical Hit)]
[Interior Area +20!]
[Interior Area +20! (Critical Hit)]
He Miaomiao’s Safehouse: Lv2 (70 sq m)
Durability: 5900 (1900 → 5900)
Defense: 30 (10 → 30)
Monster Alert Radius: 60m (20 → 60)
Storage Box: 92 slots (44 → 92)
Arable Farmland: 12 plots (4 → 12)
Defense Structures: 2 (0 → 2) (2 sets of Spiked Cheval de Frise)
Recruitment Slots: 10 (4 → 10) (Temporary Citizen 1, 9 empty slots)
Standing outside her door right now, He Miaomiao watched as her original 30-square-meter little home expanded to more than twice its size all at once. Not only did the yard grow noticeably larger, but the solid-wood fence enclosing the entire house doubled in height as well—visually estimated at around 2 meters. On top of that, the fence transformed into a double-layered structure, standing outside like a wooden wall that blocked out a portion of external prying eyes, appearing both handsome and dependable.
A short distance directly in front of the wooden wall, 2 sets of Spiked Cheval de Frise were set on the left and right. The 5 Corrupted Giant Rats that had previously sneaked over to gnaw on the front fence were now all pushed outside the barricades.
They continued gnawing fiercely, but when their sharp, bone-white teeth hit the spiked barricades, not a single point of the safehouse’s Durability dropped, and a red prompt popped up above every single rat’s head—
[Corrupted Giant Rat HP -30!]
He Miaomiao: !!!
The Spiked Cheval de Frise could actually ignore monster defense and deal 30 points of damage to them!
Which meant the safehouse now possessed its own attack capability! It would no longer be a passive punching bag. Although this defense was present only on the front side, it was already incredibly formidable—it ignored defense and landed area-of-effect damage, causing any monster entering its attack range to bleed health!
He Miaomiao thought through many things, yet her attacks didn’t pause for a single instant. Shifting her aim away from the crows, she blasted them rapidly onto the giant rats gnawing on the left side of her house.
The crows were airborne, making the ground-placed barricades useless against them. Right now, 20 crows were perching on top of the wooden roof, pecking away frantically.
Yet after pecking for a long time, the house’s Durability dropped by 0—He Miaomiao’s safehouse Defense stood at 30 now, whereas the Corrupted Crows possessed an attack power of 25, making them completely incapable of breaching her defense.
From now on, even if hundreds or thousands of monsters with attack power lower than 30 swarmed her home, her house would remain entirely unaffected!
“As expected, the safehouse is the cornerstone of our survival in Despair Valley.”
No matter how strong human power became, endless monster-slaying was impossible; there always had to be rest. But once the house’s defense was raised, monsters were helpless against anyone inside—even at night, players could sleep in total peace.
At the thought of this, He Miaomiao’s eyes grew inexplicably hot, and the attacks in her hands became even fiercer.
The remaining 15 Corrupted Giant Rats distributed across the left, right, and back exploded into grey mists one after another.
The 5 giant rats in front had gnawed for a long time, only to realize not only was it useless, but they were being stabbed painfully themselves. Just as they realized they needed to bypass the barricades:
He Miaomiao gave them zero opportunity. Sparks Slash crashed down like falling meteors, sending every last one of them off.
The same went for the crows.
Yet it wasn’t over yet.
The moment the final crow exploded, another 60 Corrupted Wolves, 30 Corrupted Crows, and 20 Corrupted Giant Rats sprinted out from the dark.
And right when this wave was halfway through its run, the next wave of 60 Corrupted Wolves, 30 Corrupted Crows, and 20 Corrupted Giant Rats followed immediately.
Which meant there were now 120 wolves, 60 crows, and 40 rats on the field!
With the rats directing command, He Miaomiao couldn’t hold back this many monsters at all, forced to watch as they drew near the safehouse to launch wild attacks.
Except—
[Safehouse Durability -100!]
Only the rats successfully gnawed away Durability, at a rate of 5 points per attack per rat.
The corners of He Miaomiao’s mouth—having looked rather wretched in the previous wave—curled high up.
“My turn.”
Slay!
[Congratulations to the player for clearing the Hard Monster Wave! Obtained Copper Coins ×1000, Wood ×30, Stone ×50, Hemp ×20, Iron ×15, Clay ×10, Resin ×5!]
[Copper Coins ×1000, Wood ×30, Stone ×50, Hemp ×20, Iron ×15, Clay ×10, Resin ×5! (Critical Hit)]
[Player He Miaomiao’s safehouse did not collapse, citizens suffered 0 casualties: Full Stars.]
[Congratulations to the player for being the fastest to clear the Hard Monster Wave with Full Stars! Extra reward: Copper Coins ×2000, Iron Mine Coordinates ×1, Safehouse Intermediate Expansion Item ×1, Mutual Aid ×3!]
[Copper Coins ×2000, Iron Mine Coordinates ×1, Safehouse Intermediate Expansion Item ×1, Mutual Aid ×3! (Critical Hit)]
[Congratulations to player He Miaomiao for accumulating 100 Corrupted Dog kills and achieving the Mad Dog Killer achievement! Rewarded with Blue Chest ×1! Warrior, please continue fighting!]
[Blue Chest ×1! (Critical Hit)]
[Congratulations to player He Miaomiao for accumulating 100 Corrupted Crow kills and achieving the Crow Killer achievement! Rewarded with Blue Chest ×1! Warrior, please continue fighting!]
[Blue Chest ×1! (Critical Hit)]
[Congratulations to player He Miaomiao for accumulating 100 Corrupted Giant Rat kills and achieving the Rat Killer achievement! Rewarded with Blue Chest ×1! Warrior, please continue fighting!]
[Blue Chest ×1! (Critical Hit)]
He Miaomiao: “So much money!”
There were also brand-new items she had no idea how to use—a massive fortune!
[Would the player like to continue challenging the Extreme Monster Wave? First attempt grants Death Exemption privilege.]
Unlike the Hard Monster Wave, the Extreme Monster Wave provided zero descriptions.
The selection countdown was twice as long as the hard mode’s. He Miaomiao temporarily set it aside to open 6 Blue Chests first.
Detoxification Pill ×40, Copper Coins ×200
Pure Water ×120, Copper Coins ×200
Wooden Basin ×4, Copper Coins ×200
All great items.
After briefly organizing her items, He Miaomiao looked at the selection countdown nearing its end before her.
“Extreme Monster Wave…”
By the end of the Hard Monster Wave, she had actually found it somewhat strenuous. What would Extreme be like?
“Continue.”
After drinking water and taking a Detoxification Pill, He Miaomiao didn’t hesitate much. Regardless of what lay ahead, since the Extreme Monster Wave existed, it proved she would very likely encounter it in the future. With a death-exempt opportunity to gather experience, how could she waste it?
Furthermore, the 2 sets of Spiked Cheval de Frise at her front door, 30 Defense, and 5,900 Durability provided her with immense confidence.
Tapping confirm, unrest echoed from the dark.
The first wave of the Extreme Monster Wave had arrived!
A massive, swarming crowd of monsters.
He Miaomiao’s eyesight had been honed through the previous two rounds of combat, quickly discerning the scale of the monster wave.
100 Level 0 Corrupted Rabbits, 50 Level 1 Corrupted Dogs.
Just as He Miaomiao raised her blades to meet the enemy proactively, she instantly noticed something off.
They were no longer focusing their attacks on her. Even when she initiated attacks, they didn’t stop in the slightest, rushing toward the safehouse with single-minded intent.
He Miaomiao understood immediately why this round was classified as Extreme mode—it wasn’t just an increase in monster numbers, but also because the monsters’ sole objective was the safehouse. They no longer attempted to kill the player, wishing only to destroy the safehouse.
Monsters like these were far harder to deal with. He Miaomiao could only turn around to chase and hack at them, clearing them out as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, although the monster count was high and she couldn’t pull all aggro, her house’s Defense was also high—they couldn’t breach her defense, incapable of consuming any Durability.
Not only that, but the Corrupted Rabbits and Corrupted Dogs could only charge toward the house, having their forward paths completely blocked by the Spiked Cheval de Frise.
Those entering the attack range upfront flashed “HP -30” in large swathes, while those behind were blocked by the monsters ahead, left to bark and squeak frantically in place.
Before long, Corrupted Rabbits began exploding.
Suddenly—
[Safehouse Durability -10!]
There were rats!
Having stepped into this pit before, He Miaomiao rushed toward the house immediately.
A wave of Sparks Slash to the left, and another to the right.
With the Corrupted Rabbits and Corrupted Dogs scouting the path, the 2 burrowing rats had abandoned a frontal attack, opting to ambush from the left and right instead. They were exceptionally crafty, not traveling alongside other monsters, but crossing the alert line 60 meters away while she was occupied in combat, causing her to miss them momentarily.
Deprived of the rats’ direction, the rabbits and dogs reverted to their previous behavior, pouncing at He Miaomiao as they caught her human scent.
He Miaomiao lured them toward the spiked barricades, stacking basic attacks on top of the barricades’ 30 effective damage to set off a huge flurry of grey fireworks.
“Cough, cough, cough…“
As grey mist drifted down and stuck to her body, He Miaomiao couldn’t stop coughing.
Thank goodness she had swallowed a Detoxification Pill before continuing the challenge, or she would definitely be suffering from poisoning debuffs like dimmed vision, sluggish movements, and full-body weakness right now.
The second wave.
150 Level 1 Corrupted Dogs, 100 Level 2 Corrupted Wolves, 4 Corrupted Giant Rats.
It was still the Corrupted Dogs and Corrupted Wolves stepping out first to scout. Differing from the previous wave, after the leading dogs and wolves encountered damage in front of the barricades, the remaining monsters shifted direction in unison, charging toward the left side of the house.
Neither dogs nor wolves had attack power exceeding 30, so He Miaomiao ignored them, prioritizing the rats that surfaced to gnaw on the double-layered wooden fence as usual.
1 on the left, 1 on the right, and 2 in the back.
“Thank goodness the safehouse upgraded.”
Otherwise, in the brief time it took her to clear out the rats, the other monsters would have demolished her home.
The 4 rats turned into 8 pieces of raw meat and 8 hides. With the monster wave left leaderless, He Miaomiao reused her old trick, luring them toward the barricades in batches to eliminate these invaders alongside her house’s defense structures.
The third wave.
According to the pattern He Miaomiao had observed, this wave should contain around 100 Level 2 Corrupted Wolves, around 100 Corrupted Crows, and 6 or 8 Corrupted Giant Rats.
Yet bizarrely, He Miaomiao saw only 150 crows and roughly 40 wolves enter her line of sight.
Where were the rest of the monsters?
The alert perimeter clearly indicated a massive wave of monsters invading—where had they gone?