Chapter 14: The Magical Thermal Garment

“Too far. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come back last night.”

“Stop complaining, we’ll be there soon.”

They were about thirty meters from the cave.

The Wu siblings were chatting when they suddenly stopped instinctively.

At the same moment, they heard the voice of Black Stone and were all stunned.

“We... shouldn’t have taken the wrong place, but how did it become like this?”

Second brother Wu Yuanguang looked bewildered.

Fifth sister Wu Yuanxia was also confused: “It wasn’t like this when we came last night. Could it be that it was too dark last night and we didn’t see that wall?”

“That’s impossible. It wasn’t that dark last night; the firelight inside the cave could be seen outside.”

First brother Wu Yuanming took a deep breath, his expression grave: “It must be that the lord used his powers to erect a defensive fortification overnight!”

“Are the abilities of the gifted really that strong?”

The others were shocked and found it hard to believe.

Because in this area of the Red Snail Camp, there were no other gifted individuals, or if there were, they kept their identities hidden—

So until now, they had never encountered or witnessed the marvelous techniques of other gifted people.

Seeing a wall seemingly appear out of thin air filled them not only with shock but also with heightened caution toward gifted ones.

“Good thing we didn’t act rashly last night,” Wu Yuanming said in a low voice. “Everyone, be respectful from now on.”

“Don’t worry, big brother. We know how to behave. Honestly, last night’s approach was fine; there’s no need to be too deliberate,” Wu Yuanxia said.

“True, being too deliberate might just annoy people.”

Wu Yuanming nodded and continued leading his four men forward.

As they approached the fortification, they keenly noticed that the trees they had used for shelter and rest last night had disappeared, replaced by a huge pit.

Even another nearby tree was gone, leaving a similar pit with the roots uprooted.

This scene weighed heavily on their minds, for uprooting two trees with roots intact was a feat no ordinary person could accomplish overnight.

Especially on such hard frozen soil.

Soon they reached beneath the wall and respectfully saluted Liu Hen within the trading window above.

“The Wu siblings have come to trouble you again,” Wu Yuanming said. “May I ask if Lord Liu Hen is available now? We would like another portion of the hot food from last night.”

Liu Hen nodded faintly: “Same price as last night.”

“It’s already prepared.”

Wu Yuanming nodded to Wu Yuanxia.

Without delay, Wu Yuanxia placed ten magic crystals and five jin of tree cakes on the trading window platform.

“Wait here.”

Liu Hen waved his hand, taking the crystals and tree cakes, then returned with Black Stone into the tree hollow.

“Lord, don’t we need to watch them?”

Black Stone asked puzzledly after entering the cave.

“No need. There will be something for you to do later.”

Liu Hen did not rush to cook the tree cake porridge but quickly took out his All-Things Pickaxe, widened the cave entrance about five meters from the mouth, then brought out a workbench.

Immediately, he eagerly cleared away the rubble, tossed it aside, then stored the previously gathered tree bark into his spatial backpack, opening the workbench’s crafting interface.

He selected the recipe for [Thermal Clothing] and chose to craft it.

Upon selection, many sizes popped up—smallest fitting a child of five or six, requiring the least materials.

The largest size was theoretically for a person five or six meters tall, needing hundreds of pieces of bark.

Liu Hen estimated his own build and height, then chose a size suitable for himself.

Ten pieces of bark and one magic crystal were consumed.

Crafting began, with a countdown of one minute.

‘I hope it really keeps warm,’ Liu Hen silently hoped.

While waiting, he took out another jin of tree cake and gathered its essence with the pickaxe.

[Tree Cake Essence +1]

As the essence was extracted, the tree cake immediately disintegrated into residue.

He divided the residue evenly into two portions and stored them in his spatial backpack, then used the campfire’s cooking function to start making tree cake porridge.

‘Too little essence for now, better to save it.’

He placed the essence aside with the one from last night and approached the workbench, noticing the thermal clothing was finished.

He immediately chose to collect it.

When the garment appeared in his spatial backpack, an introduction appeared:

[Thermal Clothing: Just as bark protects the tree, this thermal clothing retains human body heat. No matter how the cold wind blows, it greatly slows heat loss. Within a close size range, the clothing automatically fits the skin, filtering sweat and absorbing it strongly. Wearing it long-term will slowly increase its thickness as filtered sweat accumulates.]

‘This description... sounds quite impressive.’

Liu Hen’s heart brightened as he took the garment out.

It was a brown, long-sleeved, high-necked, close-fitting thermal shirt, about two millimeters thick.

Its surface looked like bark but felt very soft to the touch—quite miraculous.

‘No level stats, so it can’t be upgraded like the campfire? Or maybe absorbing sweat to thicken itself is the upgrade? That’s a truly unique method.’

But how much sweat does a human produce?

Especially in this extreme cold, unless one exercises vigorously, sweat is rare.

Meaning this clothing’s upgrade speed would be exceedingly slow.

‘Better try it out first.’

Eagerly, Liu Hen removed his three upper garments.

Under Black Stone’s curious gaze, he put on the high-necked, long-sleeved, close-fitting thermal shirt.

The next moment, something remarkable happened.

The thermal clothing slowly wriggled and completely adhered to his skin, bringing a strong sense of security.

It was as if a new layer of skin had grown outside his own.

Indeed, it felt like an extra layer of skin.

Moreover, this layer did not block the pores or sweat glands; it was highly breathable yet impervious to wind.

Because its breathability came from absorbing and filtering sweat, not allowing wind to penetrate.

In other words, it acted like a one-way channel—sweat could exit, but wind could not enter.

He couldn’t help but walk to the cave’s far end, away from the fire.

Here, the temperature hovered around one or two degrees Celsius, but he felt no cold at all.

‘Body heat really doesn’t dissipate, or dissipates extremely slowly!’

Liu Hen was amazed: ‘The cold wind can’t blow through this at all. This is practically tailor-made for the wastelanders of this world.’

Most importantly, the clothing also offered a degree of defense.

When he tensed his muscles, the areas outside his muscles became very hard, as if truly transformed into tough bark.

‘This... is incredible, worth far more than I initially estimated.’

Unfortunately, it was just the shirt.

If there were matching pants, it would be perfect.

The only discomfort was the thick layer of dirt on his body, somewhat affecting the wearing experience.

But for now, there was no chance to bathe, so he had to make do.

He hurried back and carefully estimated the size needed for Wu Yuanming’s body, then crafted another piece.

One minute later, the second thermal shirt appeared.

He took it out and handed it to Black Stone, instructing, “Take this to Wu Yuanming and tell him it’s from me. Have him try it on; he’ll understand. Oh, and remind them this garment must be worn tight against the skin, with no other clothing underneath. After giving it to Wu Yuanming, come straight back.”

Pausing, he added, “Tell them they’re lucky this shirt was just made. Use your own words, but don’t get it mixed up.”

“Yes, lord.”

Black Stone respectfully took the shirt with both hands and exited the cave.

At the trading window, he told the waiting Wu siblings, “You’re lucky. My lord just finished making this clothing. He says Wu Yuanming should try it on.”

The Wu siblings showed puzzled expressions.

Wu Yuanming seemed to guess something and said, “Since it’s Lord Liu Hen’s order... Yuanxia, bring the clothing here.”

Wu Yuanxia quickly took the garment from Black Stone.

“My lord also said it must be worn tight against the skin, no other clothes inside,” Black Stone added before turning and leaving.

“Huh, this clothing... seems a bit strange.”

Wu Yuanxia was surprised: “It looks like bark but feels very soft, and...”

Pausing, she said suspiciously, “Feels a bit like wild beast fur.”

The others quickly touched it too, all showing surprised looks.

“If I’m right, this clothing was also made using the lord’s powers. I’m somewhat looking forward to it. You all help block the wind for me.”

Seeing the gaunt little girl leave, Wu Yuanming took off five layers of clothes on the spot and put on the thermal shirt.

“Hm?”

His expression changed as the clothing began to wriggle.

“Big brother, are you okay?”

Wu Yuanxia and the others were startled, fearing Liu Hen might do them harm since they saw the shirt moving.

“Don’t be nervous, it’s a good thing.”

Wu Yuanming said, feeling the clothing slowly fitting tightly to his skin, perfectly sealing like a new outer layer.

Though this new layer lacked sensation, it felt like a callus.

More amazing was that despite wearing only this thin garment, he didn’t feel cold at all.

Because it clung tightly to the skin, the cold wind couldn’t penetrate.

Not only that, over time he felt warmer, not colder.

“This... is incredible! The warmth this clothing provides is astonishing!”

He grabbed his rusty steel knife and swung it, feeling much more agile than when wearing five layers before.

Soon, he discovered something even more astonishing—

When he tensed his muscles, the areas outside them became very hard, as if truly turned into bark.

“This... can serve as defensive armor. Though its defense might not equal real armor, it’s definitely much stronger than ordinary clothes.”

Wu Yuanming was amazed.

“Big brother, how is it?”

The others hurriedly asked, curious about the clothing made by a gifted individual.

“This clothing is literally tailor-made for us wastelanders. Having this would greatly improve our efficiency in hunting monsters. But...” Wu Yuanming’s eyes darkened with complexity, “I worry about the price. It might be beyond what we can afford.”