Chapter 30: A Grand ‘Welcoming Ceremony’

"Oh... how amazing!"

Upon entering the house, Little Heishi looked around with wide-eyed curiosity. To an outsider, it would be unimaginable that this structure—including the five-meter-high perimeter wall—had been built in just half an hour.

"Whoosh!"

With a thought, Liu Hen ignited the campfire. Instantly, the small cabin was bathed in light, the flames banishing the darkness and bringing warmth.

"You should get some rest. It’s been a long time since you’ve slept. Don't worry about training for now; we need to conserve our food," Liu Hen said while pulling out his crafting table.

Since he didn't have any small iron ore on hand, he took out a large piece of iron ore and began processing it. The speed of harvesting small iron ore was far greater than before; a single swing of his All-Purpose Pickaxe yielded one piece. After ten minutes of work, he had collected over six hundred pieces of small iron ore when the one-meter cube of raw ore suddenly shattered, crumbling into a pile of fine debris and stone.

'So many impurities,' Liu Hen mused. He estimated that if the raw material were pure enough, a single large block could yield up to a thousand small units. Since his inventory space could hold two hundred large blocks, he wouldn't be running out of iron for a long time, provided he didn't waste it.

'Hm?'

His ears pricked up. He could faintly hear the sound of rapid, rhythmic movement. It was distinct from the shuffling of the "madmen" he had encountered before; it sounded less like two-legged creatures and more like four.

'It sounds like horse hooves. Is someone riding? And there seem to be quite a few of them.'

He moved to the window on that side of the house to look out, but the perimeter wall blocked his view entirely. In truth, even without the wall, he wouldn't have seen anything; it was the dead of night, and the sound of hooves was coming from hundreds of meters away.

'There are no horses in this area. Why would there suddenly be so many riders?' Liu Hen felt a surge of unease. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen.

'Could it be related to that traveling merchant, Hong Ming?' Since Hong Ming was the first person he had seen riding a horse after crossing over, his mind went to him instinctively.

"Master..." Little Heishi spoke up from the corner, sounding hesitant. "My clothes... they are getting too tight..."

"Too tight?" Liu Hen asked, turning to look at her. He had been so busy lately that, living together day and night, he had overlooked the subtle changes in her. Looking closely, he realized she had grown significantly. She had been at most 1.2 meters tall, but now she was at least 1.3. She had also filled out, her face no longer showing the gaunt, skeletal appearance she had when they first met.

"You're growing that fast?" He was surprised. Could a normal person grow so quickly?

Still, considering Little Heishi’s true age was likely far greater than her appearance suggested, and that she had been severely malnourished before, it made sense that she would have a growth spurt now that she had adequate food.

"If they're uncomfortable, take them off. I'll make you a new set." He opened the crafting interface, estimated the size for a girl of around twelve or thirteen, and began working.

"Master, I'm sorry to be a burden," Little Heishi said, looking guilty. "Actually... I don't really need clothes. I'm very resistant to the cold."

"How can you not wear clothes? Humans aren't animals," Liu Hen replied. "You can do without other things, but clothes are a necessity. Don't worry about it; they're already being made, and they don't cost much."

"Thank you, Master."

Behind him, he heard the rustle of fabric. Taking a quick glance, he noticed that without her old clothes, the changes in her were even more apparent. The skeletal frame was gone; while she was still quite thin, she finally looked like a human child. She was still bony, but she was a long way from her previous state.

Two minutes later, the new clothes were ready. Liu Hen handed them to her. "You're growing, so I made them a bit larger. They should last you a while."

"Thank you, Master," Little Heishi said, her eyes full of gratitude. She didn't know how she could ever repay his kindness.

Liu Hen smiled. "Go get some rest. The thermal boots and gloves will take a little longer."

"Yes, thank you, Master." She nodded obediently, put on her clothes, and went to the corner to lean against the wall and close her eyes.

Since the boots required wood, he took out a large log, and with one swing of his pickaxe, he harvested ten small pieces of wood. With the materials ready, he crafted the thermal gear. When he opened the fuel compartment of the campfire, he discovered that large logs could also be used as fuel. He placed the large log inside, and the campfire’s burn time extended by 9,900 minutes.

'So, one large log can keep the fire burning for ten thousand minutes?' Liu Hen was secretly amazed. When he had harvested small wood previously, a low, twisted tree only yielded two or three hundred pieces. By harvesting the large-scale material first and then processing it down, he was getting far more efficiency.

'So, harvesting small materials directly leads to a lot of waste?' He realized he should stick to harvesting large materials from now on.

Soon, the boots and gloves were ready. After she put them on, he spent six hundred iron ore and six magic crystals to upgrade his crafting table. The process would take five hours. Not wanting to wait idly, he shared a bowl of tree-paste porridge with Little Heishi and went to sleep.

...

In the pitch-black stone mountain region, a dozen tall, powerful horses galloped at high speed, each carrying a rider with a formidable aura.

"Zhang Wuyou, are you certain this is where the Yin Stone fell?" one of the women on horseback asked in a deep voice. "This is a matter of great importance. I hope you aren't lying to us, or the consequences will be more than you can bear."

At the front, the sturdy Zhang Wuyou replied coldly, "What would I gain by lying to you? I have no intention of keeping such a treasure for myself; I have no desire to be targeted by those high-and-mighty Awakened."

"See that you don't!" the woman replied. "What do you know about the Yin Stone? We can't just wander around in the dark looking for it."

"The Yin Stone creates Extreme Yang Branches or Extreme Yang Grass nearby. We just need to follow those clues," Zhang Wuyou answered. "A group of 'earth rats' lives here; they should know something."

"Extreme Yang Branches and Grass?" The woman pondered this, then asked, "According to the route, we should be reaching that underground human settlement soon. Do you have a plan?"

"Courtesy first, then force," Zhang Wuyou said flatly. "If those 'earth rats' are sensible, it will save us some effort."

Up ahead, a faint glow appeared. They didn't slow down, continuing to gallop toward the settlement.

"Huh, what is that?" someone suddenly asked.

The others noticed it too. Above the walls of the human settlement ahead, several massive steel figures had appeared.

"Looks like outdated exoskeletons. What are they doing? They aren't planning on fighting us, are they?" someone laughed.

"I think they're welcoming us. Even if these 'earth rats' are backward, they have technology; they must have detected us," another laughed.

"For these underground dwellers, this welcome ceremony is quite grand," the woman added.

Zhang Wuyou was about to speak when his expression suddenly shifted.

*BOOM—*

A cannon shell streaked through the air, exploding on impact and tearing three of the horses to pieces.

"Scatter!"

The others jumped or dove, terrified. Even so, some were too slow, suffering the same fate as their mounts. The group was stunned; they had just arrived, they hadn't done anything yet!

"How dare they?!" the woman roared with fury.

Before they could even touch the ground, more shells rained down from the walls, illuminating the darkness of the area.

"These 'earth rats' don't know when they're going to die!" Zhang Wuyou’s face was frozen in ice. "Kill them! These wretches definitely know something—just make sure to leave a few alive!"

The survivors landed and dispersed, dodging shells while charging toward the city walls.