Raising Towering Buildings, Feasting Guests from All Under Heaven

It had originally been colder, but as long as the temperature stayed constant, he would not freeze awake. He had grown used to the cold.

Now that he had the "1.0 Heating System," while the temperature had risen, the temperature difference after the hot water in the Copper Pipes cooled made him somewhat uncomfortable.

So—

Before nightfall, he planned to build a "2.0 Heating System" to provide continuous heating for the camp.

The plan was simple.

The camp's current heating system used "Copper Pipes" connected outside the Wooden Hut to collect rainwater, which was heated by the boiler inside the Wooden Hut before flowing into the "Copper Pipes" within, thereby providing heat.

However, without a circulation pump, the whole process required a certain amount of manual operation and could not be fully automated.

What he needed to do now was manually craft a "circulation pump" to provide a source of pressure.

First, he spent 2 Eerie Stones to make a Beast Trap, then spent 10 Eerie Stones to upgrade it into "Ground Spikes."

He chose "Power Enhancement" as the upgrade path, which could increase the pressure.

Immediately afterward.

He made a square Copper Pipe, one meter wide and one meter thick, standing upright atop the Ground Spikes. The whole thing looked like an upside-down T structure. Since the Ground Spikes were also one meter wide and long, they fit together perfectly.

Half an hour later.

"Done."

Chen Fan stood outside the camp, looking at the structure before him that resembled a black dick. With his hands on his hips and a slight pant in his breath, he smiled in satisfaction.

A complete success!

The Ground Spikes would trigger upon sensing a certain amount of pressure, and dark, hard wooden spikes would shoot out violently. He had modified the Ground Spikes somewhat, first chopping off and smoothing the front sections of the wooden spikes to greatly reduce their power. Then, he peeled some skin from the Monkey-Head Entity and fitted it over the top of the "Ground Spikes."

This way, when the Ground Spikes triggered, they would rapidly push upward against the Wraith Hide.

Like a—

Massive leather Piston.

Moreover, Ground Spikes, as a trap structure, consumed extremely little energy. Only after being triggered many times would they exhaust the Eerie Stones spent on their creation and become unusable. They were practically a perpetual-motion machine.

After that.

He connected a thicker Copper Pipe to the stove inside the Wooden Hut, using that pipe as a massive boiler. He then used narrow Copper Pipes to connect the "Piston" structure outside with the boiler and the rest.

The Copper Pipe on top of the Piston structure was unsealed, and a "Copper Pipe" extended horizontally near its top, passing through the City Wall and leading into the Wooden Hut.

When rainwater filled the upright "Copper Pipe" outside the camp and provided sufficient pressure, the Ground Spikes, sensing the weight, would activate and thrust upward. Under the pressure, the rainwater inside the Copper Pipe would flow through the horizontally extending pipe at the top and surge into the boiler inside the Wooden Hut.

It would squeeze the original hot water in the boiler into the Copper Pipes inside the house while remaining in the boiler to provide it with cold water.

The discarded hot water would flow outside through the Copper Pipes.

This way.

The "2.0 Heating System" was complete!

For appearance's sake.

The horizontally extending Copper Pipe connected to the top of the "Piston structure" was laid flush against the ground and walls along its entire route. Although this consumed a little more Eerie Stone, it also reduced the risk of collapse. After all, "Copper Pipes" were merely building modules and could not exactly be called sturdy. At the same time, it improved the appearance.

There were actually other solutions, such as using the energy released when the boiler boiled over, but that method had certain drawbacks.

For the time being, this solution was the simplest and most resource-efficient.

Of course, there was still plenty of room for optimization. He could slowly patch it up later. Rome was not built in a day.

Crippled Monkey and the others gathered around the Piston structure outside the camp, which stood on the ground pressed close against the City Wall. After hearing Chen Fan explain its principles, they were all left dumbfounded, unsure what to say.

"..."

Wang Mazi looked at the five Ground Spikes beside the Farmland, then at this Piston structure standing on the ground, his eyes filled with bewilderment.

Ground Spikes—

Could be used like this too?

Why had he never thought of that?

Only then did he look toward Chen Fan's back, a flicker of fear passing through his eyes. He had thought Chen Fan had risen to prominence because he obtained the Builder inheritance left behind by his mother. Now it seemed that was not the case at all.

An inheritance could be passed down, but could cleverness be inherited too?

A young master bullied by everyone in the Chen Family had suddenly become enlightened after arriving in the wilderness?

How was that possible!

Whether it was his way of doing things or his personal bearing, Chen Fan was completely different from the Chen Fan Wang Mazi had seen in the Chen Family. He had hidden his talents for so many years, merely waiting for the day he could break free from the Lineage's control and spread his wings into the sky. Such a temperament was a little too terrifying.

"Young Master!"

Crippled Monkey excitedly limped around the Piston structure circle after circle. "I never imagined a Ground Spikes trap could be used this way. And I vaguely feel that this structure you named the Piston, Young Master—could it have even more uses?"

"Of course."

Chen Fan stood outside the camp with considerable satisfaction, looking at the exceedingly crude Piston structure and chuckling. "This Piston is only the most basic application. I call this set of methods... Mechanics." "Mechanics?"

"You can simply understand it as boiling water."

"Oh, oh."

This was a fantasy world.

But.

He was not a native of this world. A Ground Spikes trap that triggered whenever it sensed pressure and consumed exceedingly little energy was far more than just Ground Spikes in his hands.

"Um."

Just then—

Wang Kui timidly raised his hand and hesitated before saying, "Station Master, this heating device is perfect, but its primary source of water is the heavy rain during the Rainy Season. Once the Rainy Season ends and winter arrives, how will this device operate then?"

As soon as he finished speaking.

The group immediately looked at one another.

That was right.

Winter was the coldest season, the kind of cold that could freeze people to death. Without an abundant supply of rainwater then, would this heating system not become useless?

"No need to worry."

Chen Fan said casually, "At present, the wastewater from the heating Copper Pipes in the Wooden Hut is discharged directly outside. Once the Rainy Season passes, we only need to add a buffer device and connect the Copper Pipe discharging wastewater to the Piston. That will allow the water to circulate."

"It is currently the Rainy Season, so there is no shortage of water. This merely saves some Eerie Stones that would otherwise be spent making Copper Pipes."

"Saving even a little is still saving."

The next moment—

"Station Master!"

Zhou Mo's loud shout came from the outskirts of the camp. After Crippled Monkey inspected him, Zhou Mo quickly led his men to Chen Fan and said excitedly, "Station Master, today's haul was pretty good, and on the way back, we also—"

"Eh?"

Zhou Mo suddenly noticed the pitch-black Copper Pipe standing on the ground beside them and asked in surprise, "What is this?"

"..."

Chen Fan smiled and took the Exotic Treasure Great Knife from his chest, tossing it into Zhou Mo's hands. "Have them explain it to you. I'm going inside to rest for a while. Report to me later. It will be dark soon, so get everything ready."

"Take this blade and use it."

"Ahem."

Crippled Monkey lightly coughed into one fist before saying with a serious expression, "First of all, nothing I am about to explain may be spread outside. This is a secret construction technique newly researched by Young Master. Young Master has named it 'Mechanics.'"

"It is a secret that shall not be passed on."

"The structure you see is called a Piston. Inside it is a set of Ground Spikes that provides pressure, and—"

Crippled Monkey watched Zhou Mo's increasingly bewildered gaze as he spoke with growing enthusiasm, unable to stop the corners of his mouth from rising.

This was his young master's masterpiece!

There was not another like it in all of Northbank City!

A while later.

Zhou Mo looked seriously at Crippled Monkey.

"Brother, you really do not need to worry about me spreading it."

"Because I simply have no idea what you are talking about. Even if I wanted to spread it, I couldn't."

"However."

"This blade really is great."

Zhou Mo lowered his head to look at the Exotic Treasure Great Knife in his arms. His grin nearly reached his ears as he foolishly stroked it with affection and headed into the camp.

"Sigh."

Crippled Monkey let out a helpless sigh. These people were all so uncultured. Back when he attended the Chen Family Private School, his theory classes had ranked first every year.

The Piston structure invented by Young Master was worth far more than that broken blade in Zhou Mo's hands, all right?

He could vaguely sense that this was not merely a heating structure. It had opened up a brand-new era that belonged to Young Master.

Like... a foundation.

In the blink of an eye.

Towering buildings could rise, and guests from all under heaven could be feasted.

PS: It's the start of the month. Could I ask for some monthly votes?

(End of Chapter)