At this very moment, in Chen Beipan's shelter, Redneck, his adjutant, and One-Eyed Dragon were sitting around a table, discussing something with him.

The one-eyed man looked suspicious, his tone filled with distrust, "Are you sure that person is Zhang Shi?"

The mercenaries were not in the same area as Zhang Shi, and all the information they had came from Chen Beipan. They had only recently met someone, and apart from their business dealings, there was no trust between them.

"After we evacuated that day, we sent people to investigate the vicinity of his shelter, only to find that the entire shelter had disappeared. We estimate that he probably used a migration card or something similar to hide. We can't find his exact coordinates, so we can't take any action against him."

The adjutant shared the information from the scouts with Chen Beipan, who remained indifferent.

"It's alright. The monk may run away, but the temple will. The enemy is in the open while we are in the dark. As long as Zhang Shi is still active in the chat channel and trading market, we will have a way to target or find him."

...

The next morning, Zhang Shi got up early and first used his VIP privileges to open the treasure chest dropped by the Grey Wolf King.

Ding! Successfully opened the exquisite treasure chest (green), triggering VIP privileges. Items doubled. Obtained:

[Workbench (Green) x2: Can be used to craft various facilities, props, and equipment. Once mastered, it can significantly increase construction speed and reduce material consumption.]

Zhang Shi immediately built a wooden hut in the courtyard, placing a workbench and some commonly used tools and materials inside for the engineers to use, intending to develop it into a research and development center.

Last night's soldier recruitment was completed. Zhang Shi gathered all seventeen soldiers together, categorized them, and appointed Zhang Dazhuang, Gong Yi, Yi Yi, and Cai Yi as squad leaders. After distributing equipment to the new recruits, Zhang Shi built several wooden huts for them to live in.

Seeing that everything was ready, Zhang Shi notified everyone to use the resource acceleration card, and then began recruiting soldiers according to the same configuration.

As the number of soldiers gradually increased, their food and lodging became a major problem. To address this, Zhang Shi assigned Yi Yi to be Xiao Mei's deputy and even asked Ge Dalong for help in handling the logistics of the shelter.

Ge Dalong had already made some plans for the construction of the shelter. The first thing he did was to arrange supporting facilities for the soldiers' dormitories, and he even paid out of his own pocket to buy bathroom fixtures.

In his words, while soldiers may be resistant to extreme weather, it doesn't mean they won't get sick. In such a concentrated environment, viruses could easily spread, causing widespread transmission. Therefore, maintaining good personal hygiene is crucial.

Subsequently, Ge Dalong arranged for the assault troops to temporarily suspend their training and instead follow him to cultivate farmland within the shelter.

With the increase in the population of the shelter, the amount of food needed also increased significantly. Ge Dalong and Zhang Shi discussed it and decided to cultivate some farmland, obtain some seeds from the trading market, and grow some high-yield staple foods to fill the food gap.

Zhao Feng drove his jeep early in the morning, braving the high temperatures, to explore the area around the shelter with two winged youths. Occasionally, they would go to the river to collect fish and also gather some fresh wild fruits to cultivate seeds.

After thinking it over, Zhang Shi realized that the protective light barrier was temporarily ineffective, and the Eagle Regiment might come back to cause trouble again. Having someone patrol would be a good way to prevent any potential problems, and it would also be a good opportunity to test the scout's abilities. So he agreed to Zhao Feng's request, but still repeatedly reminded him to be careful.

Everyone got to work in their own routines, hoping to maximize their profits within those 24 hours.

Zhang Shi specifically sought out Gong Yi and Gong Er to inquire if they possessed any construction skills. This inquiry yielded a pleasant surprise.

Gong Yi bowed respectfully as before, and then answered Zhang Shi in detail.

"Reporting to the lord, I can manufacture heavy crossbows. These crossbows can be installed on the walls and are extremely effective against large beasts, greatly enhancing the defense capabilities of the sanctuary."

Gong Er, a portly man in his thirties, answered shortly after.

"Reporting to the lord, I am skilled in refining materials. Through my craft, I can refine various common materials to a higher level."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shi was overjoyed. Currently, the supply of refined iron in the shelter relies entirely on that one smelting furnace, and production is somewhat lagging behind the pace of development. Now that Gong Er has joined, Zhang Shi can alleviate some of the pressure on ironware production.

Grant access to the warehouse to the two engineers, informing them that they can freely use the workbench and materials in the warehouse. Their current task is to utilize their expertise to construct weapon refining materials.

Upon entering the so-called research center, the two immediately noticed two workbenches, their eyes firmly drawn to them.

Seeing that they were still somewhat reserved, Zhang Shi spoke up.

"Don't be shy. These two workbenches are for your use for now. Use your skills to your advantage and don't worry about failing. There are plenty of materials!"

Hearing Zhang Shi's words, the two engineers stopped being hesitant and started working. Zhang Shi, on the other hand, watched curiously from the side, supervising their work.

To be honest, once the two got into work mode, their entire demeanor changed completely. Gone was their previous timid and hesitant appearance; their very demeanor seemed to have transformed. They resembled two master craftsmen, their various tools clanging and clattering, leaving Zhang Shi dazzled.

Soon after, Gong Er finished his work first, handed a shiny piece of metal to Zhang Shi, and reported excitedly.

"My lord, I have not failed you. This is a material refined from fine iron."

Zhang Shi picked up the metal and examined its properties, his eyes widening in surprise.

[Steel (Green) x1: An alloy with high hardness and resistance to deformation, it is a high-quality basic material in the wilderness world.]

He never expected that Gong Er could smelt steel with his bare hands using refined iron, breaking the law of conservation of matter. His skill was nothing short of turning stone into gold.

In his excitement, Zhang Shi didn't forget to ask questions.

"Very good, what is your refining success rate?"

Gong Er considered it carefully for a moment before giving a cautious reply.

"Reporting to the lord, if all the materials used for refining are refined iron, my success rate is about 30%."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shi found the success rate acceptable and inquired about the success rate of refining pig iron into refined iron. The answer he received was 50%, a probability similar to that of a smelting furnace.

Zhang Shi nodded in satisfaction and gave the instructions.

"Keep going, and try to increase the success rate while ensuring the quality of the steel."

Perhaps due to the resource acceleration card, Gong Yi also quickly completed the production of the heavy crossbow.

A heavy iron crossbow, about half the height of a person, appeared before Zhang Shi. Zhang Shi realized that the size of this crossbow was similar to that of the ballista in ancient warfare, and it was definitely not the light crossbow that he had imagined could be controlled with one hand.

Zhang Shi tried to pull the bowstring and found that the crossbow was quite powerful. He needed to use some strength to fully draw it. If it were an ordinary soldier, it would probably take two people to use it.

Gong Yi explained from the side.

"My lord, this is a common quality heavy crossbow, with a range of up to a kilometer. The exact range depends on the materials and quality of the crossbow and arrows."

Zhang Shi weighed the steel in his hand and asked.

"If I give you this material to make crossbows and arrows, can you make a high-quality heavy crossbow?"