Shelter

The woods were quiet.

The canopy blocked most of the light. A thick layer of dead leaves covered the ground, soft underfoot and making little sound. Only the dull thuds of an axe biting into a trunk echoed through the woods, one after another.

Lu Heng picked only straight-trunked trees as thick as the mouth of a bowl. He planted his feet, lowered his stance, and swung his axe.

The old stone axe was terribly blunt, meeting heavy resistance as it struck the trunk. Every blow numbed the web of his hand and made his palm ache, while tiny wood chips showered down.

He chopped slowly, but steadily.

He felled four trees in succession, cut them into neat, even lengths, and registered them with the system, receiving 22 standard logs in total.

Eight more to go.

Lu Heng raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his temple and was about to move on to find another tree.

Suddenly, a rustling came from the dense undergrowth beside him.

Dry branches scraped together, and low grass bent down. The sound was faint, but stood out sharply in the quiet woods.

Lu Heng stopped what he was doing.

He held his breath, every muscle taut, his fingers tightening around the stone axe as his gaze fixed on the bushes.

The woods were too quiet. That quiet made him uncomfortable.

The next second, a small brownish-gray shape darted out between the blades of grass.

No fangs, no ferocity.

A wild rabbit.

Plump, with slender legs and upright ears, it seemed to have been startled by the sound of chopping and had scrambled out to find somewhere to hide.

Lu Heng's heart immediately settled.

Then another feeling welled up.

He had not eaten anything decent in two days. Wild fruit, bread, cold raw beast meat-his mouth tasted bland to the point of bitterness. This rabbit was round-bodied, its flesh looking firm. If he could catch it, he could both improve his meals and put away a ration.

The thought flashed through his mind, and he had no time at all to consider whether his aim would be true.

He put strength into his arm, flicked his wrist, and sent the old stone axe flying straight at the rabbit.

The blade skimmed past the tip of the rabbit's ear. The rabbit abruptly ducked, barely dodging it. The stone axe struck a tree root nearby with a dull thud.

The frightened rabbit kicked hard, plunged into the depths of the dense woods, and vanished in a few bounds.

Missed.

Lu Heng stood where he was, staring at the empty woods without moving for a long time.

Greed. Pure greed.

He walked over and picked up the stone axe, sensing something wrong as soon as he gripped it. The axe head dug into his hand, and a fine lengthwise crack had appeared in its stone edge. The force of the throw, combined with the impact against the root, had caused hidden damage to the already deteriorating stone axe.

The crack was small, and the axe was still usable for now. But it would not last much longer.

Lu Heng sighed and stopped thinking about the rabbit. Gathering enough logs and building a sturdy shelter mattered more than a mouthful of meat.

He continued chopping with the cracked stone axe.

The damaged axe head could not withstand heavy chopping. With every stroke, the crack widened slightly, faint cracking sounds came from the head, and the resistance grew greater.

Over the final few blows, a small chip broke off the stone edge, and a crack appeared in the handle as well, though it had not snapped yet. Gritting his teeth, Lu Heng pushed through and finished felling the last two young trees, gathering the remaining eight logs.

All thirty standard logs had been collected. The bracelet's interface lit up with a faint white glow.

[Sufficient materials detected. Available: beginner shelter construction. Build now?]

Lu Heng looked toward the cave in the mountainside a short distance away and confirmed construction.

Logs landed one after another. Short wooden stakes first sank into the soil on either side of the cave entrance as foundation posts, then thick wooden uprights rose to form a frame. Logs stacked horizontally, interlocking tightly, gradually forming a thick barrier. Most of the cave entrance was sealed, leaving only a narrow doorway in the center wide enough for one person.

The entire process was quick, finishing in mere moments.

[Beginner enclosed shelter construction complete]

[Dwelling status upgraded: basic safe shelter]

[Current protection: blocks cold winds, keeps out small wild beasts, shields against falling dust and moisture]

[Remaining deficiencies: no rainproof roof, no locking mechanism, no protection against large predators]

[Available upgrade: intermediate reinforced shelter (stone ×30, standard logs ×20)]

Lu Heng walked up to the cave and pressed a hand against the wooden wall. The foundation posts were firmly secured, and the barrier stood steadily before the mountainside without any looseness.

The cold wind was kept outside.

Since waking on this frozen ground, he finally had his first place that could shelter him from the wind and cold. He entered the cave and looked at the snake materials piled in the corner, feeling much more at ease.

He stared at the material requirements for the "intermediate reinforced shelter" for a while. Stone had become the core material for this tier. Quarrying stone meant working against the hard mountainside, which was far more difficult than chopping trees. With another twenty logs needed as well, he could not gather everything anytime soon.

He also noticed the panel's note about "no rainproof roof." This was already a natural cave set into the mountain, with thick rock overhead that rain could not penetrate. He thought about it. It was probably a standardized rule: even a structure built against a mountain needed all its components completed to meet the requirements. He gave it no further thought.

After chopping trees continuously and running back and forth, his muscles ached and felt heavy. Hunger washed over him in waves, his stomach felt hollow, and his eyelids were terribly heavy too.

He took out the remaining half loaf of bread, squeezed out the Red Pearl Berry pulp he had saved, and spread it over the bread, eating slowly with just under half a bottle of mineral water. The pulp was refreshingly sweet, offsetting the bread's dryness. Warm water slid down his throat, and his stomach gradually filled.

After eating, he felt even sleepier. He went outside the cave, gathered a large quantity of dry, broad leaves beneath the trees, and carried them back into the cave by the armful, spreading them thickly across the ground. The leaves formed a soft layer that insulated him from the cold seeping up from below. He unfolded the dog hide and wrapped it around himself. The hide was coarse but dense enough to block the wind.

Once everything was arranged, he curled up on the pile of leaves. The exhaustion of days spent running around pressed down on him, and his eyelids were too heavy to lift.

Leaning against the wooden wall, he soon fell asleep.