Chapter 26: The Plan

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【Omni-Pickaxe (Bronze) Lv.1 (Upgrade Requirements: 2 Copper Ores, 20 Magic Crystals)】
【Magic Crystals: 111】
【Spatial Backpack: 10 (Maximum capacity per slot increased to 200 units of the same material)】
【Recipe: Creation Workbench (Includes recipes for Campfire, Homestead Cannon (requires Bronze-level workbench), Warm Jacket, Warm Trousers, Warm Boots, Warm Gloves)】

The original Black Iron-level Omni-Pickaxe had upgraded to Bronze, resetting its level to Bronze Level 1. Its appearance hadn't changed much, though the texture seemed more refined. While Liu Hen couldn't feel a change in weight himself, given the amount of ore integrated into it, he estimated the pickaxe now weighed several dozen catties. The capacity of a single slot in his spatial backpack had doubled. This alone was enough to excite him, but what followed was even more thrilling—

【Homestead Construction Mode unlocked. This mode can be activated in locations where a campfire is placed.】
【All building modules constructed in Homestead Mode will receive defensive bonuses based on the campfire's level. The campfire level determines the maximum defense and construction area of the homestead buildings.】
【'Bulk Material' harvesting mode unlocked. Silently contemplate harvesting bulk materials to use this function.】
【Bulk materials are impure; some must be re-harvested into smaller portions before use.】

'Bulk materials? How big?' Liu Hen wondered, suspecting these were a form of storage material. Suddenly, Little Black Stone whispered, "My lord, those people have passed by."

Liu Hen snapped back to reality and peeked from behind a boulder to see Pang Xuan leading his men toward the Red Conch Camp.

"Lords of the Red Conch Camp, this is Pang Xuan," Pang Xuan announced loudly from a distance to avoid any misunderstandings.

As soon as he finished speaking, an exoskeleton suit rushed out from within the Red Conch Camp. The machine gun on its shoulder opened fire directly at Pang Xuan and his group. The person inside the suit roared while firing, "Damn scavengers, die, die, die!!"

"Rat-tat-tat!"

Dense gunfire shattered the nearby rocks. The sudden turn of events stunned Pang Xuan and his group.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Two members of the team were riddled with bullets on the spot, blood spraying everywhere. The others turned pale, scrambling for cover and retreating in a panicked frenzy. The mech, however, had no intention of letting them go, continuing its frantic fire as if venting all its fury upon them.

Liu Hen, watching from afar, was initially pleased, his face full of schadenfreude. But soon, his joy faded as he considered the potential consequences.

'Damn it, this is trouble!'

Seeing the situation, it was highly likely the Red Conch Camp had suffered heavy losses at the hands of the itinerant merchant Hong Ming. Given the screams he had heard earlier, many had likely died. The camp couldn't handle powerful meta-humans and lacked the courage to pursue them into the darkness, so they would inevitably vent their anger elsewhere. Since scavengers were essentially considered outsiders, the Red Conch Camp would likely take their rage out on other scavengers. For a short time—no, perhaps for a long time—people in the Red Conch Camp would be hostile toward scavengers, or even deliberately target them. This would make it incredibly difficult for scavengers to trade for food there.

Watching as five members of Pang Xuan's scavenging team died, with the remaining six fleeing into the darkness, Liu Hen quickly left with Little Black Stone.

'Even if I ration my food to just survive, I have enough for three months, but to eat my fill, it will last only about twenty days.' He had to plan for the future; he didn't want to experience the uncertainty of not knowing where his next meal was coming from.

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'Hmm? Isn't it deep night? How can my vision still see so far?'

Suddenly, Liu Hen realized his visibility was still around twenty meters, a full doubling of his previous range. It wasn't just his vision; he listened carefully and found that the sound of the wind and even the distant footsteps of Pang Xuan's fleeing group were clearly audible.

'My physical condition has indeed improved this time, but it wasn't that obvious. Yet my hearing and vision have increased so much.'

This was definitely good news, as sharper senses would allow him to detect potential enemies in the dark much sooner. This was a massive advantage—the initiative to fight or retreat would be in his hands, unlike before, when he only knew enemies were nearby once arrows started flying.

Finally, after walking over three thousand meters and reaching a safe area, Liu Hen impatiently took out his Omni-Pickaxe, eager to test the bulk harvesting effect. He walked up to a boulder, silently contemplated harvesting a bulk material, and began.

"Snap..."

With one swing, a large chunk of the boulder vanished, leaving behind a square-shaped gap.

【Large Rock Debris +1】

A block of large rock debris appeared in an empty slot in his spatial backpack. While it was hard to gauge the size from the backpack interface, judging by the gap in the boulder, the piece was a cube measuring one meter on each side.

'This is a bulk material?'

Liu Hen was stunned; he had only swung the pickaxe once.

'Again!'

He swung the pickaxe again.

"Snap..."

Another massive gap appeared, and he harvested another piece of large rock debris. He grew excited and began swinging the pickaxe repeatedly. The boulder in front of him rapidly diminished, and in the blink of an eye, it was completely harvested. Little Black Stone watched in amazement, as it looked as if something was devouring the boulder.

However, she kept her mission in mind, maintaining a vigilant state, eyes and ears alert to prevent any danger from approaching while her lord worked.

'Very good, excellent!'

Liu Hen continued harvesting.

"Snap!"

A swing, and a boulder blocking his path vanished into thin air, leaving only a few stone chips on the ground.

"Snap!"

Passing by a rock protruding from the ground, one swing turned it into debris, its essence fully harvested.

'It seems bulk materials also fill a slot at 200 units. This is too good.'

Liu Hen was thrilled. He could now store massive amounts of materials, saving significant time and increasing his storage capacity. Concerned that the knocking sounds might attract danger, he didn't stay in one place, harvesting as he walked. Everywhere they passed, the jagged rocks in the stone mountain area were leveled, creating a relatively flat path.

A twisted, low-growing tree appeared ahead. Liu Hen stepped forward and struck it with the axe-blade end of his pickaxe.

"Bang—"

Large cracks appeared on the surface of the twisted tree, but unlike the stones—and even different from how it harvested small materials—nothing was gathered this time. He wasn't discouraged and swung again. After two more hits—

"Boom!"

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The twisted tree exploded, turning into wood chips that scattered into a pit; even the roots vanished.

【Large Wood +3】

Three units of large wood were added to his backpack.

'How big is this large wood?'

Liu Hen focused his mind and withdrew a piece of wood.

"Thud..."

The ground shook violently as a log one meter in diameter and three meters long dropped out.

'…Wow!'

Little Black Stone, who was standing guard, was stunned, and even Liu Hen was taken aback. If such a large piece of wood were put into the campfire's fuel chamber, how long would it burn?

He quickly stored the log and tried withdrawing a piece of large rock debris to check its size.

"Thud!"

The ground shook again as a square-shaped boulder, one meter on all sides, dropped out, creating a pit in the frozen earth.

'It's a one-meter cube indeed!'

Liu Hen was even more excited. If he used this material to build walls, he could construct a one-meter-by-one-meter area in a single second.

Storing the boulder, he continued on his way with Little Black Stone, harvesting as he went. Because the harvesting speed had increased so dramatically, he didn't need to stop; he simply struck at reachable rocks or wood while maintaining a normal walking pace. Even so, his harvesting speed was far superior to before.

About an hour later, they reached the abandoned mine area, roughly ten kilometers from the Red Conch Camp.

'The homestead cannon requires a Bronze-level workbench, so I'll harvest more iron ore here, get the workbench to max Black Iron level as soon as possible, and then search for copper.'

As Liu Hen pondered which mine to enter first, his ears twitched. He quickly hid behind a boulder with Little Black Stone. She looked confused, having heard nothing unusual.

About half a minute later, just as she was about to ask, the whistling wind carried the sound of dense footsteps approaching from the distance.

'This…'

Little Black Stone was shocked; her lord's hearing was truly that powerful? It was deep night, so she couldn't see who was traveling, but the hurried footsteps suggested urgency.

'Is it Pang Xuan's scavenging team?'

Liu Hen saw them. The group hurried past from fifteen or sixteen meters away, looking like they were fleeing for their lives.

'Were they scared off by the Red Conch Camp? Worried about being hunted?'

He suspected this because Pang Xuan's group included elderly, women, and children, numbering about thirty people in total. They carried luggage and kept glancing backward, clearly fleeing with their families in tow.

"We've reached the mine area. We'll rest here tonight and continue once the deep night ends," Pang Xuan announced, leading everyone toward a nearby abandoned mine.

'These guys are going into the mine? These mines are very deep; they'll definitely have to check for other dangers inside first.'

A plan formed in Liu Hen's mind. He gestured for Little Black Stone to stay quiet, and they followed stealthily behind.