It had been colder before, but with the temperature staying constant, he had gotten used to it and no longer woke from the cold.
Now that he had the "1.0 Heating System," the temperature rose, but once the hot water in the copper pipes cooled, the temperature fluctuations made him uncomfortable.
So—
He planned to build a "2.0 Heating System" before dark to provide continuous heat to the Camp.
The plan was simple.
The Camp's current Heating System collected rain through copper pipes connected to the outdoors, heated it in a Boiler inside the Wooden Hut, then sent it through the copper pipes inside to warm the hut.
Without a Circulation Pump, however, the process required some manual operation and could not be fully automated.
What he needed to do now was cobble together a "Circulation Pump" to provide pressure.
First, he spent two Eerie Stones to create a Beast Trap, then another ten to upgrade it into "Ground Spikes."
He chose the "increased power" upgrade path to strengthen the pressure.
Next.
He made a square copper pipe, one meter wide and one meter thick, and stood it on top of the Ground Spikes. The whole thing looked like a ⊥, but since the Ground Spikes were also one meter long and wide, the two fit perfectly.
Half an hour later.
"Done."
Standing outside the Camp, Chen Fan gazed at the structure that looked like a black dick, his hands on his hips. He was slightly out of breath, but a satisfied smile spread across his face.
Mission accomplished!
The Ground Spikes triggered under sufficient pressure, sending hard, black Wooden Spikes shooting upward. He modified them, first chopping off and smoothing down their tips, greatly reducing their power, then stripping some hide from the Monkey-Head Entity and fitting it over the top of the "Ground Spikes."
That way, when the Ground Spikes triggered, they would thrust upward rapidly beneath the Wraith Hide.
Like a—
Giant leather piston.
Moreover, the Ground Spikes trap structure used extremely little energy and could trigger many times before breaking, making it practically a perpetual motion machine.
Then.
He connected a thicker copper pipe to the Furnace inside the Wooden Hut, using that pipe as a large Boiler, then used narrow copper pipes to connect the outdoor "Piston Structure" to the Boiler and the rest.
The copper pipe atop the Piston Structure was open, with another copper pipe extending horizontally near its top, passing through the City Wall toward the Wooden Hut.
Once rain filled the upright copper pipe outside the Camp and supplied sufficient pressure, the Ground Spikes would detect the weight and activate, thrusting upward. Under that pressure, the rain inside the pipe would flow through the horizontal pipe near the top and pour into the Boiler inside the Wooden Hut.
It would force the existing hot water out of the Boiler and into the indoor copper pipes, then remain in the Boiler, supplying it with cold water.
The spent hot water would flow outside through a copper pipe.
With that.
The "2.0 Heating System" was complete!
For appearance's sake.
The horizontal copper pipe connected to the top of the "Piston Structure" ran along the ground and walls for its entire length. Although this cost a few more Eerie Stones, it reduced the risk of collapse—after all, copper pipes were merely building modules and hardly all that sturdy—and made the system look better.
Crippled Monkey and the others gathered around the Piston Structure outside the Camp, where it stood right against the City Wall. After hearing Chen Fan explain how it worked, they stood dumbfounded, unsure what to say.
"..."
Wang Mazi looked at the five Ground Spikes beside the Farmland, then at the Piston Structure standing on the ground, his eyes filled with bewilderment.
Ground Spikes...
Could they really be used like this?
Why hadn't he thought of it?
Only then did he look toward Chen Fan's retreating back, a flicker of fear crossing his eyes. He had thought Chen Fan's rise came from obtaining the Builder Inheritance his mother had left behind. Now, it seemed that was not the case at all.
An inheritance could be passed down, but could intelligence?
A young master bullied by everyone in the Chen Family had suddenly wised up after reaching the wilderness?
Impossible!
Both his conduct and his bearing were completely different from the Chen Fan Wang Mazi had seen in the Chen Family. Hiding his abilities for so many years, all to one day escape the Family's control and spread his wings—that kind of resolve was downright terrifying.
"Young Master!"
Crippled Monkey limped around the Piston Structure again and again in excitement. "I never imagined the Ground Spikes trap could be used this way. And I get the feeling this structure you named a piston could have even more uses, couldn't it?"
"Of course."
Standing outside the Camp, Chen Fan looked at the extremely crude Piston Structure with considerable satisfaction and chuckled. "This is only a basic application of a piston. I've named this field... mechanics."
"Mechanics?"
"You can think of it as boiling water."
"Oh, oh..."
This was a fantasy world.
But...
He was not a native of this world. In his hands, Ground Spikes that triggered under pressure and consumed extremely little energy could be far more than just Ground Spikes.
"Um..."
Just then—
Wang Kui timidly raised his hand and asked hesitantly, "Station Master, this heating device is perfect and all, but its main water supply comes from the heavy rains of the rainy season. Once the rainy season ends and Winter Season arrives, how will it work?"
As soon as he finished.
The others exchanged glances.
Right.
Winter was the coldest season, cold enough to kill. Without an ample supply of Rain, wouldn't this heating system become useless?
"No need to worry."
Chen Fan said casually, "Right now, wastewater from the Wooden Hut's heating pipes drains straight outside. Once the rainy season passes, we only need to add an intermediate buffer device and connect the drainage pipe to the piston. Then we can recycle the water."
"It's the rainy season right now, so water isn't scarce. We might as well save the Eerie Stones we'd spend making more copper pipes."
"Every little bit counts."
The next moment—
"Station Master!"
Zhou Mo's loud shout came from the edge of the Camp. After Crippled Monkey checked him, he hurried over to Chen Fan with his men and said excitedly, "Station Master, we had a good haul today, and on the way back, we also..."
"Huh?"
Zhou Mo suddenly noticed the pitch-black copper pipe standing nearby and asked in surprise, "What's this?"
"..."
Smiling, Chen Fan took the Great Knife exotic treasure from inside his clothes and tossed it into Zhou Mo's hands. "Let them explain it to you. I'm going inside to rest. Come report to me later. It'll be dark soon, so everyone get ready."
"Take this knife and use it."
"Ahem."
Crippled Monkey raised a fist to his mouth and coughed lightly, then said solemnly, "First, nothing I'm about to tell you may be shared with outsiders. This is a secret building technique the Young Master just developed. He has named it 'mechanics.'"
"It is a closely guarded secret."
"The structure you see is called a piston. Inside it is a set of Ground Spikes that provides pressure, and..."
Seeing Zhou Mo's increasingly bewildered gaze, Crippled Monkey grew more enthusiastic as he explained, the corners of his mouth lifting uncontrollably.
This was his Young Master's masterpiece!
There was nothing else like it in all of Northbank City!
A good while later.
Zhou Mo looked at Crippled Monkey with a serious expression.
"Brother, you really don't need to worry about me telling anyone."
"Because I haven't understood a single thing you've said. Even if I wanted to share it, I couldn't."
"But..."
"This knife is really nice."
Zhou Mo looked down at the Great Knife exotic treasure in his arms, grinning almost from ear to ear. Unable to put it down, he walked into the Camp with a foolish smile.
"Ah."
Crippled Monkey let out a long, helpless sigh. These people were so uneducated. Back when he attended the Chen Family Private School, he had topped his theory classes every year.
The Piston Structure the Young Master invented was worth far more than that lousy knife in your hands, you know.
He could vaguely sense that this was not merely a heating structure, but the beginning of a brand-new era belonging to the Young Master.
Like... a foundation.
In the blink of an eye.
A towering building could rise, hosting a feast for guests from across the world.
Before you continue