When the morning light of the tenth day, just as punctual and unharmed as during the previous nine days, shone through the hole in the roof of the main house and scattered golden patches across Chen An's face, he did not get up at once. He lay quietly on the hay bedding, listening to the chirping of unknown insects by the well in the courtyard and feeling the breeze, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees, blowing in through the cracks.
A strange sense of calm had replaced the bone-deep fear and the wild joy of surviving a disaster that had filled his first few days.
He was still alive. Not only was he alive, but in this peril-ridden Primordial World, he possessed an absolutely safe foothold. After nine consecutive nights of watching "horror movies" unfold before him, he had gone from being scared out of his wits to becoming somewhat... numb. He could even "appreciate" the bizarre slaughter outside the courtyard with an almost scientific composure.
Fear still existed, but it was no longer the only force dominating his emotions. His instinct to survive, along with a deeper, distinctly human desire to "build," had begun to quietly emerge.
He sat up and swept his gaze across the still-dilapidated but now thoroughly familiar main house. It passed through the doorway and fell upon the plot of land in the courtyard that he had initially turned over and cultivated. Under the sunlight, the dark soil gleamed with a moist sheen.
He could not continue muddling through each day and responding passively. He had to make plans proactively and truly turn this small Safe Zone into a "home" capable of supporting him through long-term, perhaps even permanent, survival.
A clear thought took shape in his mind: survive here for the long term.
Once he made this decision, his entire state of mind underwent a complete transformation. He was no longer a fugitive living in constant dread, but a pioneer who needed to manage his own territory. This shift in perspective brought about a qualitative change in his ability to act.
He needed a plan, a practical blueprint for survival.
He walked into the courtyard, picked up a relatively straight stick, and began drawing and writing on the fairly flat mud beneath his feet. Without paper or a pen, the earth would serve as his draft paper.
Primary Objective: Basic Survival Security (Short Term, to be completed within 1–3 days)
1. Reinforce the shelter: The hole in the main house's roof was the most urgent danger at present. Rain would soak everything, while cold wind would carry away precious heat. It had to be repaired. He needed materials: flexible branches, plenty of dried thatch or broad leaves, and perhaps some clay to serve as adhesive.
2. Establish a stable food supply: The remaining beast meat would not last more than a few days. He had to cultivate the vegetable garden and sow seeds immediately; that was his hope for the long term. At the same time, he needed to explore the possibility of obtaining Protein within the Safe Zone. For example, could he set traps to catch small animals that occasionally wandered near the edge of the Safe Zone? Or were there fish or shrimp in that well?
3. Manage the water source: The well had plenty of water, but his water-fetching tools were crude. That broken clay jar was too inefficient and easily shattered. He needed to make a more durable container with a larger capacity, such as a wooden bucket or a larger clay jar.
Core Tasks: Upgrade Tools and Increase Productivity (Mid Term, Ongoing)
This was the foundation for achieving the primary objectives. His existing machete and hoe were too crude, inefficient, and badly worn.
1. Make more practical tools: This was the most crucial task at present. He needed:
* A sharper, sturdier ax: To chop thicker timber and obtain building materials and fuel.
* A lighter, more efficient hoe/shovel: For cultivating and preparing the land more precisely.
* A chisel and hammer: For processing stone and wood and making more complicated components.
* A saw? If he could find a suitable thin stone shard or a piece of hard beast bone, he might be able to try making the most primitive saw, for cutting wood.
2. Explore the possibilities of different materials:
* Stone: There were quite a few kinds of stones scattered around the courtyard. He needed to test their hardness and toughness to see which were suitable for making tools.
* Wood: There were several different kinds of trees in the courtyard. How hard and tough was their wood? Which kinds were suitable for handles, and which for structural materials?
* Bone/horn: If he could obtain the bones or horns of small Demonic Beasts, they would be excellent materials for making tools and weapons.
* Fibrous plants: He needed to search for suitable vines or bark to make rope for bindings and traps.
Long-Term Vision: Improve Quality of Life and Explore the Unknown (Long Term)
1. Improve living conditions: Make a proper bed, tables, chairs, and storage cabinets. Try firing pottery to replace the stone bowls and broken jars.
2. Utilize energy: Could he harness water power—the drop in the well's water level?—or wind power? Even making a simple lever or pulley system would save a great deal of physical effort.
3. Record and study information: Make proper use of the pen and notebook to record the weather, crop growth, Demonic Beast habits, and so on. Try to decipher the mysterious carvings on the courtyard wall.
4. Test the Safe Zone's boundaries: Under absolutely safe conditions, could he conduct some extremely cautious boundary-interaction experiments? For example, could he use a long pole to bait small animals into the edge of the Safe Zone before catching them?
Once the planning was complete, the ground was covered with various symbols and lines. Chen An looked at this crude yet clear "five-year plan," and a long-lost fighting spirit belonging to an engineer surged within him.
He knew that the prerequisite for all of this began with one thing after another—making better tools.
He stood up, picked up the machete, whose edge had already curled slightly, and walked toward the pile of stones of various materials and shapes that he had gathered in the corner of the courtyard. Today, his work was no longer blind chopping and digging, but purposeful "material testing" and "tool development."
He selected a piece of black flint that looked uniform in texture with a sharp edge. Using another stone, he carefully struck it, trying to flake off fragments to see whether he could make a stone-flake blade. He then found a heavy piece of granite and tried to grind it into the rough shape of a stone hammer.
The sounds of striking and grinding rang out rhythmically in this silent mountain valley for the first time. This was no longer the noise of a desperate struggle for survival, but the overture to the construction of civilization.
Chen An worked with complete concentration, forgetting the passage of time. Sweat slid down his temples and dripped onto the stones at his feet, evaporating instantly. His palms blistered again, but he paid no attention. His eyes shone with focus and the light of creation.
When the sun sank toward the west once more, several semi-finished items had already been laid out before him: a crude stone-flake knife with a sharp edge, a stone hammer beginning to take shape, and several carefully shaved wooden sticks intended to serve as handles for his new tools.
Although success was still a long way off, he had already taken the first step solidly.
He looked at the evening clouds on the horizon, then at the embryonic tools beneath his feet and the land waiting to be sown. His heart was filled with a sense of solidity and anticipation unlike anything he had ever felt before.
Stay alive, and live better. This was the first—and only—goal he had set for himself in this Primordial World.
(End of Chapter Ten)
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