Apocalypse Architect: A Tower Defense LitRPG

Chapter 132: The Technique Factory

“Vehicle approaching!” Barnaby shouted, pointing toward the valley entrance.

The team on the platform watched as the pickup truck rumbled into the compound. Jax and Elena hopped out, looking dusty but triumphant.

“Status report?” Jax asked, his eyes scanning the defenses.

Gareth stepped forward, wiping grease from his hands. “Solid, Boss. The Tier 3 Acid-Web Arachnids tried a push, but they choked in the kill zone. We bagged over 30 of them. The line holds.”

“Excellent,” Jax grinned. “Keep the pressure on.”

He didn’t waste time on pleasantries. He headed straight for the construction node on the platform.

“This is it,” Jax murmured, checking his inventory. “Five hundred Refined Iron, five hundred Stardust Stone. My entire net worth.”

He was broke, but the investment was necessary. The mining operations were automated enough now that he could afford to be patient. All he needed was the catalyst to speed up the process.

The only shadow hanging over him was the threat of the Spiked Dune Lord. Raven’s intel from The Sprawl was spotty at best; no one knew its true tier or capabilities. Rumors claimed it was an evolving bio-weapon, but whether it stopped at Tier 5 or went higher was a terrifying unknown.

“Worry about the worms later,” Jax told himself. “Build the factory now.”

He selected a plot on the right flank and authorized the construction.

[System: Constructing Tier 1 Technique Factory…] [Resources Consumed.] [Time Remaining: 01:00:00]

An hour later, the construction field dissipated, and the crew gathered around to see the new high-tech wonder.

They stared. Then they frowned.

Jax had expected a sleek, arcane laboratory or a futuristic chemical plant. Instead, sitting on the platform was… a shack.

It looked like a dilapidated soup kitchen from a medieval village. A sagging wooden roof, mismatched walls, and in the center, a large, bubbling cauldron.

“This… is the Technique Factory?” Gareth asked, scratching his head. “It looks like my grandmother’s outdoor kitchen. Actually, hers was nicer.”

“Is this a joke?” Barnaby squinted at the cauldron. “Boss, did you get scammed?”

“It’s… rustic,” Elena offered diplomatically, though her eyes betrayed her skepticism.

Jax kept his face neutral, but internally he was screaming. Five hundred rare resources for a soup pot?

But as he touched the structure, the System interface popped up, silencing his doubts.

[Tier 1 Technique Factory]

Production: [Tier 1 Miner’s Haste Potion]

Description: Increases the mining speed of all User-controlled Miners by 100% for 24 hours.

Cost: 1,000 Tier 1 Cores per batch.

Capacity: 2 batches per day. Max storage: 2 potions.

“One hundred percent speed boost,” Jax whispered, his eyes widening. “For 24 hours.”

He turned to the group, his voice filled with authority. “Don’t let the looks fool you. This shack is a gold mine. It doubles our resource income overnight.”

The cost—1,000 Cores per potion—was steep, but manageable. Jax had a stockpile of over 300 Tier 1 Cores, 1,000 Tier 2s, and a handful of Tier 3s. Given the exchange rates, he could fund this boost for a long time.

He did the math. The real money sink wasn’t the potions; it was The Vault. The gacha shop’s prices had skyrocketed since the Bastion hit Tier 3. Everything cost thousands of Tier 2 Cores now, and most of the items were useless junk. He only used his daily refresh to snipe cheap resources.

Jax checked his watch. Midnight.

“Alright, show’s over,” he dismissed the crew. “Get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.”

As the others dispersed, Jax stayed on the platform, watching Annie take her post for the night watch.

“We’re too thin,” Jax thought, leaning against the parapet. “I need a dedicated logistics team. Scavengers, couriers, butchers for the bug carcasses. And a real combat squad. Relying on just Elena and Raven isn’t sustainable.”

He pulled out a notepad and began sketching a new organizational chart.

Logistics: Move the mining operations closer to the Bastion to cut travel time.

Combat: Create a Recon/Strike team for deep wasteland exploration.

Expansion: Recruit specialized personnel (medics, engineers).

He wrote until his hand cramped.

The next few days were surprisingly quiet. The frequency of the Insect Swarm attacks dropped significantly.

It wasn’t a relief; it was a warning. The calm before the storm.

After lunch on the third day, Jax gathered the team.

“I don’t like this silence,” Jax announced. “I’m taking a team deep into the valley to recon. We need to know what’s gathering out there before it hits us. Who’s with me?”

Elena’s hand shot up instantly. “Me.”

Jax nodded. She had hit Level 3 recently and was itching to test her new stats.

“I’ll go,” a cool voice added.

Raven stepped forward, checking the magazine of her pistol. “You need someone who can sense psionic signatures. Plus, I need to make sure you don’t do something stupid.”

She shot a smug look at Elena.

Elena turned red. She pinched Jax’s arm hard, whispering, “Don’t take her! That vixen is just trying to get alone with you!”

Jax ignored the pain and the jealousy. “Fine. Raven is in.”

“Jax…” a quiet voice piped up.

Annie stepped forward, looking nervous but determined. “I… I want to go too.”

Jax paused. Annie? She was their medic-in-training, usually timid.

He looked around. Barnaby was in his room sculpting. Gareth and Silas were suddenly very interested in the floor tiles.

“Boss,” Silas coughed. “We, uh… we really need to focus on the Energy Shard production. Can’t leave the wells unmanned.”

“Yeah,” Gareth added quickly. “Vital work. Very busy.”

They were terrified of the deep valley. Jax didn’t blame them.

“Alright,” Jax nodded at the three women. “Elena, Raven, Annie. Gear up. We leave in 10 minutes.”

Everyone returned to their rooms to pack their things, and Jax also began planning his next steps.