Chapter 29: Building a Home for the First Time

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The Wu siblings were still in shock.

The thick wall that seemed to have been created out of thin air was like an iron fortress, completely sealing off the mine.

No matter how violently the madfolk on the other side battered it, the wall did not tremble in the slightest.

“We have no idea what happened either.”

Hearing Liu Hen’s question, Wu Yuanming hurriedly replied, “This mine isn’t very deep. We originally planned to rest at the end, so we would only have needed to defend one direction. But just as we approached the end, a large number of madfolk suddenly charged out from inside.”

In truth, they were puzzled as well. It was extremely rare to see so many madfolk gathered together.

After hearing this, Liu Hen’s heart stirred, and he could not help associating it with the underground human race mentioned by the peddler Hong Ming.

However, he had never heard of an underground human race in this region, nor did he know what characteristics they possessed.

“Was there anything unusual about those madfolk?” he asked.

“I didn’t look closely before, but…” Wu Yuanming thought carefully. “If I had to name something unusual, would the fact that none of them were wearing clothes count?”

Liu Hen had noticed that as well, but he had not thought much of it. When he had first encountered Little Blackstone, Little Blackstone had not been wearing clothes either.

Even in such an extreme environment, there were quite a few wastelanders who had no clothes to wear. That alone could not serve as evidence.

But when he considered the underground human race…

Living beneath the earth and wearing no clothes did seem more plausible.

Of course, there was still the same problem: he had never seen an underground human, and did not know what traits they possessed. Thus, he could not determine from this information whether those madfolk were underground humans.

“If you’re all right, then leave,” Liu Hen said, no longer elaborating.

Wu Yuanming hurriedly asked, “Sir, you said earlier that you don’t intend to rest here? Once you finish gathering the materials, could you let us stay here? We’ll keep watch for you while you collect them.”

This place was not particularly close to the other mines, and traveling at night was unsafe.

More importantly, what had happened earlier had left them deeply shaken. They were worried that they might encounter the same thing if they entered another mine.

This place, however, had been sealed by Liu Hen’s “ability.” Judging from the thickness of the wall, those madfolk should not be able to break through. It was safe here.

“That’s fine,” Liu Hen said with a nod.

“Thank you, sir.”

The Wu siblings were delighted. They immediately left the abandoned mine and went outside to keep watch.

“Sir, I’ll keep an eye on them,” Little Blackstone said.

Liu Hen nodded and continued gathering materials.

After spending a little over an hour in total, he collected six hundred chunks of large iron ore, filling three slots in his spatial backpack before finally stopping.

When the Wu siblings returned to the mine and saw the entrance of the abandoned mine, now expanded several times over, both of them stood there dumbfounded and astonished.

Once again, they realized that ability-users and ordinary wastelanders were creatures from entirely different levels.

To them, such methods were scarcely different from a miracle.

“Sir, we heard that spirits have been appearing in this area. Please be careful.”

Before parting, Wu Yuanming offered a reminder. “Of course, I don’t mean to question your strength.”

Spirits were different from demon monsters and the other creatures of darkness. They were ordinary living beings that had cultivated into spirits.

However, spirits feared demon monsters as well, so they hid most of the time, and wastelanders rarely encountered them.

To the vast majority of wastelanders, spirits and ability-users were much the same: both belonged to legend. They had only heard rumors about them and had never seen either with their own eyes.

“Thanks for the warning.”

Liu Hen nodded, then led Little Blackstone into the night fog.

Because of his earlier nightmare in the mine, he had developed something of a shadow over caves. He planned to build himself a place to sleep outside instead.

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“Sir…”

After they had gone some distance, Little Blackstone suddenly asked, “Are you afraid of spirits?”

Of course I am. I’m afraid of any kind of monster.

Liu Hen did not say that aloud. As if trying to bolster his own courage, he replied calmly, “I’m not someone to be trifled with either.”

He had no intention of going far. After walking roughly three hundred meters, he took out a campfire and placed it on the ground, preparing to build his home there.

Only an area where a campfire had been placed could be used to construct a home. However, he did not light the campfire immediately, lest it attract danger.

Little Blackstone spoke in a small voice. “My father said that some spirits are actually good. They aren’t necessarily all bad.”

“Your father certainly knows a lot. Don’t talk for now. Go keep watch.”

Liu Hen paused briefly, allowing Little Blackstone to focus on keeping watch, then activated Home Construction Mode.

Unlike Free Construction Mode, Home Construction Mode had a limited range.

The moment Home Construction Mode was activated, a square region of green light appeared, covering a total of nine square meters.

At the instant the mode was activated, Liu Hen suddenly understood a great deal of information, as though enlightenment had descended upon him—

The green region represented the area empowered by the campfire’s level. Home Construction Mode could only be used within that range.

To expand the construction area, he had to upgrade the campfire. Once the campfire rose above level ten, the available construction area would increase.

From then on, all energy consumed by lamps and other objects used within the home would be supplied by the campfire.

Is the campfire an energy source as well?

This realization made Liu Hen aware once again of the campfire’s importance.

He wasted no time and immediately began construction.

Home Construction Mode required him to build a foundation first.

The foundation had to be made from large materials, such as large chunks of rubble or large iron ore.

He had thrown away all the rubble earlier to free up space in his backpack, leaving only the large iron ore.

In any case, the home could be dismantled later, so he directly used the iron ore for construction.

Since the campfire was the source, the first foundation piece had to be placed where the campfire stood.

With a snap, something miraculous happened. The first foundation piece appeared directly beneath the campfire, supporting it from below.

The foundation would never cover the campfire. The campfire would always remain above it, as if the two existed together in some wondrous state of coexistence.

Using the campfire as the center, Liu Hen continued placing foundation pieces.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

One piece of large iron ore after another was placed. Each piece covered one square meter, and in the blink of an eye, a nine-square-meter foundation had been constructed.

Most of the foundation sank into the ground, leaving only about ten centimeters protruding above the surface.

Next, Liu Hen began constructing the walls.

Walls could be made from any material, but he only had large iron ore at present.

So he continued using large iron ore.

Since the foundation was too small, he did not leave room for a corridor and placed the walls directly along the outer edge.

Snap!

The first wall was successfully placed.

It was one meter wide, twenty centimeters thick, and a full three meters high. It was extraordinarily sturdy.

In addition to the material’s inherent strength, it was also empowered by the campfire’s level. Any being below the campfire’s level that attacked the home would have its attack nullified.

That was right—nullified.

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Only beings of a higher level than the campfire could damage the home’s structures.

This is far too miraculous… But the campfire’s level is still too low.

Judging from the level of the Universal Pickaxe, Liu Hen felt that the Four-Armed Demon Monster was probably in the Second Stage, corresponding to the Universal Pickaxe’s Bronze level.

By that calculation, the campfire’s level was indeed very low.

Fortunately, its low level could at least be supplemented with thick walls made of large iron ore.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

He continued placing the walls.

At last, all four walls were complete. Only the center of the wall facing the abandoned mine remained open, with a one-meter-wide space left for the doorframe.

There were very few construction modules available at present: floors, ceiling slabs, walls, doors, windows, stairs, and the like.

Still, they were enough for the time being.

Soon, the doorframe and door were in place.

It was worth mentioning that once the door had been constructed, a password could be set. However, the password was meant for other people. Liu Hen himself only needed a thought to open the door.

But considering that Little Blackstone might not understand passwords, and that he would not allow any outsiders to enter his home, he chose not to set one.

After constructing the doors and windows, Liu Hen continued by building the ceiling. This also required nine pieces of large iron ore, with each piece covering one square meter.

His special advantage seemed to have converted everything into data. One was one, and it would not bother calculating weight, area, or anything of the sort.

Even a floor, ceiling, or slab one meter long, one meter wide, and twenty centimeters thick consumed one piece of large iron ore.

Finally, there were the vents.

There was no ventilation module yet, so windows had to serve in its place.

Thus, apart from the wall with the door, Liu Hen placed a louvered window on each of the other three walls.

Windows could merge with walls. Once successfully placed, openings immediately appeared in the previously solid walls, creating windows.

The slats of the louvered windows were very narrow. They provided ventilation while also making it convenient to observe the outside.

At last, an ordinary coffin-like room was complete.

Since it was only a temporary residence, he had never intended to make it attractive.

But this still was not safe enough.

Liu Hen deactivated Home Construction Mode, went outside, and used large iron ore to build a wall around the house.

Calling it a wall was somewhat inaccurate. It was more like a city rampart.

This so-called wall was five meters high and one meter thick.

Of course, so that he could observe the outside, Liu Hen left a one-meter-wide opening on each of the four sides, with each opening positioned one meter above the ground.

That way, even if a demon monster invaded, an opening only one meter high would be easy to block.

“All right. Come inside.”

Liu Hen led Little Blackstone, who had been shocked numb, into the room. “We’ll definitely get a good night’s sleep tonight!”

Of course, he did not go to sleep immediately. Instead, he prepared to upgrade the workbench.

The workbench was already level five. Once it reached level six, a head covering should appear, assuming nothing unexpected happened.

At that point, the winter clothing set would be complete.

He was extremely curious whether this warm clothing set would produce a set bonus.

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