Heavy Rain

"Number Brother, are we just going to cave like this?"

Daoist Number 323 looked at the message on the Scroll, chuckled softly, and replied: "What else? We were in the wrong to begin with!"

Master of Cloud Stack Cave did not reply, but he had already collected all the materials; to take someone's money is to avert their disaster. Having accepted the resources, this matter had to be put to rest.

He had just notified the others of this when messages began pouring in.

Journey Survival did not yet have a group chat function, making communication extremely inconvenient when many people were involved.

"That's hundreds of resources per group! Isn't this aiding the enemy?" someone else sent him a message.

Daoist Number 323 glanced at the Scroll and replied: "Staying alive is more important than anything!"

How could this be called aiding the enemy? These were merely basic supplies!

He had figured it out over the past few days. Land God Temple and Mountain God Temple were not the same.

The modification paths for nests and vehicles were also different.

The first step for all Demon Cultivators to modify their nests was to make them mobile, and the second step was to shrink them so they could be carried around.

Human vehicles could already do this by default!

He had estimated that even with all their compensation, Master of Cloud Stack Cave could modify his nest at most twice, which was far from having the effect of aiding the enemy.

As for pills and special items, he hadn't given away a single one.

Some idiots had transferred pills over, but he had intercepted them.

How could he possibly do something that truly aided the enemy?

That Wild Boar killed people without a second thought at the slightest disagreement; he was clearly not someone to be trifled with. Who knew when they might cross paths again?

Aiding the enemy was impossible, absolutely impossible!

But this reconciliation was necessary! It was politically correct.

Clang, clang, clang!

A hammer struck the nest automatically, emitting the crisp sound of metalwork.

The nest visibly shrank.

Zhu Jiusi was no longer sleeping, staring at the nest without blinking.

Modifying a nest or vehicle had its pitfalls. The first time, one could modify it honestly and sleep soundly.

The second time, there would be accidents, and some people might even fail the modification if they weren't careful.

Sometimes, additional materials were needed halfway through...

Sure enough, the Scroll flickered, and a line of text appeared.

"Path Seeker, will you add leather to the nest modification to strengthen its functions? Yes/No!"

There was a countdown after the selection; there were only fifteen minutes, and if no choice was made after fifteen minutes, no more could be added.

Zhu Jiusi didn't hesitate. He immediately chose Yes.

"Leather: 0/10"

He needed ten pieces of leather, but he only had seven!

He immediately switched the Scroll to the chat area and began spamming.

Master of Cloud Stack Cave: "Buying 3 pieces of leather."

Sparrow: "What does Master Cave Lord need leather for?"

Before Zhu Jiusi could reply, he immediately sent another message.

Sparrow: "Sorry, I retract that! I didn't mean to pry into your business, Master."

Sparrow: "...How do I retract a message?"

A true bird startled by the bow.

Zhu Jiusi had killed two people in a row, and his public display had clearly made everyone wary.

Master of Cloud Stack Cave: "...It's fine. During the second nest modification, a prompt suddenly popped up requiring leather. Buying leather, trading for food!"

Sparrow: "Master is mighty! I'm already in debt just from rebuilding and my first modification. Master is already on his second."

Monkey Has Iron Rod: "Master is mighty!"

Beaver Does Not Drink: "Master is mighty!"

Then came a screen full of spam.

Master of Cloud Stack Cave: "Time is limited! I won't buy after the time is up, sell quickly if you want to!"

It was likely evening, as the number of active people was significantly lower than during the day.

It took a full five or six minutes before someone sent a message. Heals Stomach Not Body: "Master Cave Lord, I only have two pieces of leather. I've found four Bronze Gourd in total, and two of them dropped leather, but each only dropped one, not the original set of five."

"I'll take them!" Zhu Jiusi replied immediately: "Steamed buns, Yellow Steamed Bun, or flatbreads, what do you want?"

Heals Stomach Not Body: "Yellow Steamed Bun! Yellow Steamed Bun! This stuff keeps hunger at bay!"

Master of Cloud Stack Cave: "Two steamed buns for one piece of leather, one-for-one for a Yellow Steamed Bun. Leather doesn't just come from the Bronze Gourd; you can also dismantle vehicles after killing someone to get it, so it's not exactly rare."

Everyone: "...Terrified!"

You get materials even from killing people?

Heals Stomach Not Body: "...Then I'll trade for two Yellow Steamed Buns."

If he didn't trade, would the Master of Cloud Stack Cave just come over and kill him?

Zhu Jiusi immediately opened the trade interface.

Just then, another person spoke up.

White Beard's Fist: "I have two as well, I'll trade for two Yellow Steamed Buns too!"

Although he didn't know what a Yellow Steamed Bun was, Heals Stomach Not Body was a cook, so it was best to listen to the expert in this regard.

Beautiful!

Four pieces of leather arrived in his inventory at once, and Zhu Jiusi added them directly to the modification process.

He watched as the hammer clanged away, while needles and thread darted back and forth within the Nest.

The Nest grew smaller and smaller, and leather straps extended from the bottom, making it look just like a backpack.

Something even kept scanning over his body, causing the shape of the backpack to fit his frame more snugly.

Finally, after who knows how long, the hammer and the needle and thread vanished, and the backpack landed on the ground with a thud.

From the outside, it looked like a stone-and-wood gourd cut in half, with four leather straps trailing out.

One could choose to control the Nest via the Scroll.

Expand or retract.

Selecting expand, the gourd-shaped backpack extended in all directions, transforming into a Nest the size of a double bed.

It was like a broken bowl placed on the ground; Zhu Jiusi walked inside and rolled around.

It was crude but very comfortable. The interior of the Nest was no longer rough mountain stone but covered in a thin layer of keratin, likely the effect of the leather.

It was a pity there was no roof yet; he would still have to endure it if it rained or got windy.

Or perhaps he could flip the Nest over, bottom-side up, to turn it into an inverted cave?

Zhu Jiusi stuffed all the unopened gourds into the Nest, selected the backpack form on the Scroll, and the Nest shrank, automatically locking onto his back as he tightened the straps.

Those gourds were crammed tightly inside the Nest.

The Nest shrank and deformed, but the gourds did not shrink with it; the current Nest was simply a rather large backpack.

It was already much better.

Before the gourds were opened, their spatial properties conflicted, so they couldn't be put into the inventory and had to be carried by hand.

Zhu Jiusi couldn't open them all at once either—there were monsters inside the gourds, and he needed to be in good condition before opening them to avoid capsizing in the gutter.

Glancing at the Mountain God Temple to ensure he hadn't left anything behind, Zhu Jiusi swallowed the remaining two root clusters, finished off all the steamed buns, gulped down a gourd of water, and then, with the Nest on his back, wiggled his butt and set off.

The second upgrade had taken a long time, and it was already afternoon; with only five hours left until sunset, Zhu Jiusi dared not delay and jogged all the way west.

Nothing happened that day; he only found four gourds, and not a single Bronze Gourd was to be seen.

Zhu Jiusi ran the required distance for the day just as evening fell, found a leeward spot to take care of his personal business, and then hurried another two miles forward before finding a sheltered area to expand his Nest.

He had been in Journey Survival for over five days, and finally, he could get a good night's sleep in his own Nest.

But the heavens seemed to be deliberately targeting him; not long after Zhu Jiusi fell asleep, a peal of thunder rang out, followed immediately by a torrential downpour.

Raindrops the size of beans pelted down with a rhythmic clatter.

The sudden mountain rain made the already cool temperature even colder.

In this weather in the mountain forest, it was going to be the death of him...