Zhang Shi made his selections, and since he had reclaimed some farmland, he prioritized trading for high-quality seeds and farmland improvement cards, which were in high demand.

Among them, a familiar ID was Zhang Shi, who was contacted through private chat from his friend list. The props sent by this ID caught Zhang Shi's attention.

Liu Yu: "Zhang Shi, would you be interested in exchanging [Stone House Blueprint (Green) x1] for [Bone Bow] and [Wilderness Hunter Set]?"

Zhang Shi was very interested in the stone house design. Now that he had Gong Yi, through his learning ability, Zhang Shi had the opportunity to transform from an arms dealer into a real estate businessman.

"Most survivors have upgraded to shelters above the Stone House level, so this blueprint isn't very useful anymore. The equipment I'm selling, although only of high quality, comes with extra attributes. You'll have to pay extra if you want to trade."

Liu Yu seemed to have anticipated this situation and immediately sent another item message.

Gunpowder Recipe (Green) x1

Add this thing, but I also need ten extra sets of fine iron armor.

Zhang Shi was surprised that Liu Yu could actually get his hands on the gunpowder formula. It seemed that Liu Yu, who specialized in mining, was indeed very knowledgeable about this area.

Fearing the other party might change their mind, Zhang Shi added the equipment as requested and decisively clicked the trade button.

Afterwards, Zhang Shi specially selected some useful design drawings to trade, and this clearance sale came to a successful conclusion.

It was noon, and Zhang Shi's recruitment that morning was complete. As usual, he assigned soldiers of various branches to squad leaders, and then called everyone to stop working and go into the fortress for lunch.

The guard unit has now expanded to 22 people, making it somewhat crowded to eat together. Ge Dalong proposed building a mess hall specifically for the soldiers.

Zhang Shi happened to have a stone house design drawing, which he immediately handed to Gong Yi at the dining table, instructing him to study the drawing first. If he succeeded, he was to build some stone houses for the guards' daily use. As for Gong Er and Gong San, they continued refining the materials, and would study the design drawing Zhang Shi had given them when they rested in the evening. The subsequent work would await Zhang Shi's arrangements.

To do a good job, one must first have the right tools. Once Zhang Shi had accumulated a certain amount of refined steel, he planned to replace the equipment of everyone in the shelter with refined steel gear.

Considering that the number of people will continue to increase, Zhang Shi plans to clean up the area around the shelter to eliminate potential threats.

He handed over the seeds and farmland improvement cards he had obtained from the morning's transaction to Ge Dalong, instructing him to manage the newly reclaimed farmland. He then re-planned a piece of land, enclosing it with a wall of gold-refined stone, intending to build a training ground there specifically for the guard team to use, thereby improving their combat capabilities.

Currently, all forces are recruiting soldiers and horses, and the atmosphere in the entire wilderness world has become extremely tense under the influence of the extreme heat disaster. Zhang Shi also has to prepare for the situation and at least have the means to protect himself.

Under the blazing sun, Zhang Shi, drenched in sweat after completing the expansion of his territory, hurriedly ran into Zhao Feng.

He was fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan, his clothes soaked with sweat, as he carried a large basin of ice into the room.

Upon seeing Zhang Shi, Zhao Feng complained.

“Hey Stone, it’s been four days already. According to past patterns, the temperature should have dropped by now. Why is it still so hot? There’s no sign of it cooling down at all.”

Zhang Shi was also somewhat puzzled. The high temperature had lasted for several days. If it continued like this, many wild plants would wither and die, and wild animals would not be able to survive, which could lead to unknown dangers.

Does the Book of Revelation offer any new hints?

Zhao Feng shook his head, his face full of bitterness.

“I’ve been watching closely, but there’s been no change on the parchment.”

...

As the sun set, the weather finally cooled down a bit, and the recruitment of new soldiers was complete. Gong Yi also kept up, successfully learning the stone house design plans and building the first batch of stone houses.

Zhang Shi replaced the original wooden huts and arranged the houses properly, providing dormitories, canteens, and bathrooms to ensure the soldiers' living conditions to the greatest extent possible.

At dinner, Zhang Shi made a special trip to the mess hall. The quality of the food remained unchanged; Zhang Shi ate the same food as the soldiers, and all the meals were prepared by Xiao Mei and the support soldiers. Catering to more than twenty people was no easy task, but with Xiao Mei's perfect mechanized calculations and the help of the support soldiers, this difficulty was easily overcome.

After the meal, Lao Bai reported his work to Zhang Shi as usual.

"My lord, with the population growing, our food reserves are being depleted rapidly. While we can sustain ourselves in the short term, we fear that in the long run, our income will be insufficient to cover our expenses. I suggest that, in non-combat situations, we appropriately reduce the expenditure on soldiers' food..."

Zhang Shi waved his hand to interrupt Lao Bai, responding in an unquestionable manner.

"The soldiers' meals will continue at the current standard for now. I will find a way to solve the food problem."

Old Bai nodded in agreement, and then reported on the situation of the livestock and farmland.

"The Kun chickens have hatched new chicks; the sheep have begun to give birth on a large scale; and the wild boars are growing rapidly. The golden rice that was planted earlier has matured, and Mr. Ge has dried the first batch of rice seeds to promote germination. Large-scale planting can begin tonight, and the harvest is expected in three days."

Zhang Shi was somewhat surprised by the growth rate of the livestock and crops, guessing that it might be due to the effect of spiritual energy, which further spurred their growth.

Ge Dalong was doing housing allocation work nearby when he heard Lao Bai mention him, so he got up and walked over to Zhang Shi.

Zhang Shi deliberately put on a surprised expression, his mouth agape, as exaggerated as possible.

"Old Ge, you are truly a hidden talent. As a young master, you are even proficient in farming. I really admire you."

Ge Dalong jokingly pushed Zhang Shi, saying, "Who told you that working in an office building means you have to be ignorant of basic agricultural knowledge? Your thinking is dangerous; it's a sign of being out of touch with the masses."

Ge Dalong's early selection of Golden Light Rice seeds undoubtedly solved Zhang Shi's immediate problem. Three days later, a large quantity of Golden Light Rice matured. Although the soil quality had been lowered after the second cultivation, and many rice seedlings were only of high quality, at this stage, quantity was more important than quality when it came to food; filling the soldiers' stomachs was the top priority.

Ge Dalong, unusually, chatted with Zhang Shi for a while, but the message from Zhao Feng made their faces turn gloomy.

"Enemy activity!"

The two quickly climbed to the outer wall of the fortress, where Zhang Shi was looking out with a telescope. Upon seeing the two arrive, he pointed in a direction from the riverbank.

"Cai Yi discovered it during his patrol. There were human footprints there. According to him, there were about three people. They have now disappeared without a trace. They should also be scouts from other forces."

Seeing Zhang Shi and Ge Dalong deep in thought, Zhao Feng added.

"I suspect it's the Eagle Gang. They've taken advantage of the barrier disappearing to target us again."

Zhang Shi nodded, called over Zhang Dazhuang and Lao Bai, and gave them instructions.

"Pass down the order: starting tonight, send people to take turns keeping watch. Report any situation immediately. Everyone, please work hard and be ready to fight at any time."

The two men received their orders and went to arrange the work.

Zhang Shi then dispatched the Black Mist Guard to patrol in conjunction with the scouts. He instructed them to eliminate any potential threats without reporting them.

Zhang Shi's face was gloomy, and his voice was cold.

"The Eagle Gang has come to cause me trouble time and time again. It seems that I haven't been ruthless enough and haven't hurt them enough."