The planting room
As darkness completely set in, the leaden black night blanketed the entire wasteland.
The wind and snow outside the cave did not stop. Through the thick rock walls, one could hear the faint, continuous howling of the wind, like countless fine threads tearing at the night. Inside the cave, the campfire burned quietly, its orange flames steadily suppressing the coldness of the room and illuminating the stone cave with varying shades of light and shadow. After days of intense exploration and fighting, the surroundings finally welcomed a moment of peace, with only the faint crackling of firewood remaining in the air.
Lu Heng looked up, lightly tapped the Wristband's screen with his fingertip, and brought up the storage interface.
Three brand-new building modules were quietly displayed in the display case: a Basic Planting Zone, Geothermal Heating Module, and Ecological Water Storage and Circulation Module. Without any hesitation, he confirmed their activation in turn.
The next instant, a deep, muffled mechanical hum echoed from the depths of the cave.
The sound was low and not harsh, yet it carried a heavy, precise quality, like the workings of a machine. The stone ground beneath my feet trembled slightly, and the subtle undulations spread from my soles throughout my body. Extremely faint friction sounds came from the rock walls on either side, as if the rocks were being reshaped and reconstructed by an invisible force.
Space is expanding silently.
The originally cramped cave area quietly expanded, the rough edges of the rock walls were automatically smoothed and shaped, the uneven stone surface became flat and firm, and the originally narrow depth gained a spacious open space. The whole process was silent and without dazzling light and shadow, only a real change in space.
Even under the cover of darkness, visibility inside the cave remains unaffected. The newly expanded functional area is equipped with an independent and controllable lighting system. Lu Heng lightly touched the touch switch on the rock wall, and two soft, cool white lights instantly illuminated, precisely covering the planting area and the ecological water storage area. The light was even and clean, illuminating the structure and facilities of the new space clearly, without any dimness or blurriness.
Lu Heng stood up and strolled slowly, briefly circling the two new districts. A very faint hint of surprise flashed across his eyes.
He comes from the technologically advanced modern world and knows that spatial transformation, ecological recycling, and underground thermal energy extraction all require large-scale equipment and complex engineering to achieve. Yet, in this trial ground, a single module can construct a complete functional area out of thin air and reshape the layout of a dwelling. This extraordinary ability to create things is completely illogical, but it is firmly rooted in the reality of survival in dire circumstances.
Lu Heng quickly suppressed the turmoil in his heart.
Useless lamentations are never a guarantee of survival in dire situations. As long as these things can save your life and enhance your will to survive, that is the best gain; there is no need to delve into unnecessary doubts.
He followed the path along the rock face and found the energy storage tank embedded in the dwelling. The screen lit up with data, clearly showing the changes in energy consumption. With three new functional devices running simultaneously in standby mode, the energy consumption rate suddenly doubled, and the remaining reserves in the tank had dropped to a low level, unable to sustain operation all night.
Lu Heng dared not delay. He swiped his fingertip to open the Storage Space, took out the surplus Energy Core he had accumulated, and precisely embedded them into the energy storage slot.
A soft click.
Stable energy instantly filled the entire pipeline, the low mechanical hum became smooth and gentle, the light brightness remained constant, and the Geothermal module and water circulation module all entered a stable standby state. The entire survival system of the residence was completely and reliably in place.
Having dealt with the energy supply, there were no more hidden dangers to worry about inside the cave. Lu Heng fetched some clean water to wash up quickly, washing away the dust and chill from his journey.
Walking to the inner rest area, he began to tidy up the bed. The original bed was only covered with animal hides. He took out the bedding he had opened from the treasure chest earlier and laid it at the bottom, smoothing out the wrinkles. Then he put a complete, thick, warm animal hide on top, layering it to insulate against the cold.
He knew in his heart that the final extreme cold of the Seven-Day Trial would only become more severe each day, and the peace tonight was only temporary. He needed to prepare for the cold in advance to avoid being hit by the low temperatures in the middle of the night.
As the Geothermal modules continued to operate, the warmth hidden underground slowly rose, seeping into every corner of the cave through the cracks in the rocks. The cold stone walls gradually lost their chill, and a warm, gentle feeling enveloped the body.
Lu Heng lay on the bed, the thick blankets and animal hides keeping out all the chill. His muscles, which had been tense for many days, completely relaxed, and all the fatigue from the fighting, running around, and being on guard surged up.
A sense of security filled his heart, and he no longer thought about the dangers of the trial. He closed his eyes for a moment and then fell into a deep sleep.
A peaceful night.
The next day, as dawn broke, the wind and snow continued unabated.
Lu Heng suddenly regained consciousness, without the slightest drowsiness or sluggishness. The first thing he did upon opening his eyes was to raise his Wristband's screen, where cold data appeared—the real-time outside temperature was minus thirty-three degrees Celsius.
He got up and walked to the lookout point on the high ground of his residence, looking out.
A blizzard raged, with snowflakes the size of goose feathers obscuring the sky and earth, turning everything into a ghastly white expanse. Gale-force winds whipped up waves of snow that washed over the entire wasteland, piling up layer upon layer of snow that visibly increased in thickness. The overnight snowstorm threatened to bury the entire land completely.
As soon as I opened the public survival channel, a flood of messages popped up, the screen filled with the anxious cries of survivors.
"Holy crap! This snow is insane! My treehouse, which is three or four meters high, is almost covered by snow. If it keeps piling up, it'll collapse the house!"
"Don't even mention the treehouse, the cave was even worse! My doorway was almost completely blocked by snow, and the ventilation openings were nearly sealed off! In temperatures below minus thirty degrees Celsius, I could only keep moving around to warm up, my hands and feet going numb from the cold, while desperately clearing snow, terrified of suffocating from lack of oxygen inside the cave!"
"Is there a reliable and quick way to clear snow? I can't keep going by sheer physical exertion, it's too cold!"
The channel instantly became lively, with survivors from all walks of life quickly summarizing practical snow removal techniques based on their own experiences, and updating the chat with one post after another.
"Don't use your hands to shovel loose, soft snow! Find a large, hard board or thick animal hide to use as a snowplow, and push the whole layer forward—it's less strenuous and faster!"
"Use your weapon to break up the compacted, hard snow into small pieces and clear it away. Don't try to move it by force; it will deplete your body heat!"
"Prioritize ventilation! Don't clean the entire entrance area; first, dig a narrow passage to ensure airflow. Survival is the most crucial thing!"
"Take breaks while working! If you get too cold, immediately go back inside the cave to warm up for a few minutes. Don't try to tough it out and risk hypothermia!"
"Remember! Never pour hot water on it! Hot water freezes instantly upon impact, forming a hard ice layer that's much harder to clean!"
Each and every piece of real and reliable survival experience is a practical conclusion drawn from the struggles of people in extreme cold.
Lu Heng quietly watched the messages flooding the channel, when a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
In reality, brine is commonly used for snow melting in winter to lower the freezing point and melt ice. Could it be used here as well?
The thought had barely formed when someone in the channel immediately pointed it out, preventing this misconception from arising.
"Don't even think about using salt water to melt snow! It might work, but it's only suitable for temperatures around 0 degrees Celsius or a few degrees below zero! Right now it's below -30 degrees Celsius, the temperature is too low. Salt water simply can't withstand the extreme cold; it will still freeze and solidify, forming stubborn, corrosive ice that sticks to the ground and is even harder to clean. It's more of a hindrance than a help!"
Upon seeing this sentence, Lu Heng's heart stirred, but he silently suppressed the thought that had just begun to form in his mind.
Fortunately, I didn't speak up or try anything rashly.
He chuckled to himself, silently reviewing his actions. He had spent years fighting ferocious beasts in the wilderness, surviving through strength, composure, and ruthlessness—a true battlefield warrior. In terms of killing, survival combat, and endurance in dire situations, he was second to none.
However, he was not good at these life skills and the intricacies of environmental theory.
He secretly made up his mind.
From now on, I will never reveal such superficial cleverness or theoretical folly on public channels, nor will I speak carelessly, lest my immature ideas become a laughing stock.
He just needs to do his job well.
Be a silent, decisive warrior who lets his strength speak for itself; speak less and do more; establish yourself through battle; and steadily endure this trial of adversity.
Even with the Wristband's channels turned off, the howling wind and snow outside could still be faintly heard in my ears.
Lu Heng looked up at the entrance of his cave. Overnight, snow had piled up to a height of half a person outside the door, and the edge of the ventilation opening was mostly covered by snow.
The true harshness of the extreme cold trial has now fully arrived.