The construction of the fortress began in earnest.

Lin Feng first drew up detailed fortress design blueprints. He doubled the size of the core area of ​​the shelter, and the new walls would have a double-layered structure, with thick stone walls on the outside and sturdy steel plates on the inside.

The interior of the wall will be filled with mud and gravel to increase its impact resistance. The top of the wall will be fitted with gun emplacements and watchtowers, and equipped with outward-sloping steel spikes to prevent wild animals from climbing it.

Lin Feng designed multiple layers of defensive fortifications around the perimeter of the wall.

The first layer is a trench five meters deep and about three meters wide, with sharp barbed wire and pointed wooden stakes at the bottom. Outside the trench, there will be a dense array of "suspension traps" and simple animal traps.

The entrance to the shelter will be constructed with two heavy steel gates, equipped with massive stones and logs that can be dropped from the inside as barriers.

This is a massive and complex project that requires a large amount of specialized machinery and manpower, even on Earth.

But on this alien planet, Lin Feng could only rely on the primitive tools in his hands, as well as the hands of the "Golden Silk Miners" and everyone else—including the women.

Lin Feng ordered the "Golden Silk Miners" to focus their main efforts on quarrying stone. Near the shelter was a solid rock mountain with dense rock, an excellent material for building a fortress.

The "Golden Silk Miners Team" wielded heavy-duty iron picks and chisels specially made by Lin Feng, carving deep pits into the rocky mountain.

Their sharp claws and immense strength allow them to demonstrate astonishing efficiency in quarrying stone. Huge blocks of stone are detached from the mountain, and then, under Lin Feng's direction, they are pried off with steel cables and wooden pry bars, rolling down the mountainside.

Transporting the stones was a huge challenge. These stones were incredibly heavy, and even the "Golden Silk Miners' Team" had difficulty moving them alone.

Lin Feng directed them to make simple wooden rollers and pulley systems. Using the lever principle, they loaded large stones onto trailers, which were then pulled by several "monkeys" to transport them towards the shelter.

From that moment on, women truly began to engage in heavy physical labor.

Their assigned task was to use hammers to break the small and medium-sized stones that had rolled down from the rocky hill into suitable sizes, and then transport these stones to a designated storage point.

"Everyone must complete at least one cubic meter of stone handling every day!" Qin Lan announced solemnly, holding a measuring ruler made by Lin Feng.

This is undoubtedly a huge challenge for women who have long been engaged in light physical labor.

Women like Tang Bao, Shen Jiaqi, and Ruan Mengtian felt an unprecedented sense of alienation and powerlessness the moment they picked up the hammer and pliers.

Their palms quickly developed blisters, which then broke open and bled. The stones were heavy and rough, and each time they carried them, their backs ached terribly.

"It's so heavy..." Qian Xiaoxiao tried to lift a stone but found it wouldn't budge, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"Don't complain! Complaining won't make the stone lighter!"

Qin Lan said coldly. She was also moving stones. Although she was not as strong as the men, she gritted her teeth and persevered. Although her movements were not elegant, they showed a tenacious spirit of not giving up.

She knew that only by setting an example could she gain the trust of others.

After the stones were piled up like mountains, Lin Feng began to instruct the "Golden Silk Miners Team" on the initial cutting and polishing of the stones.

He used simple tools he made to mark cutting lines on the stones, and then had the "Golden Thread Miners" cut along the marked lines with heavy hammers and chisels.

Neatly cut stones were cut out, waiting to be used as the walls of the fortress.

The excavation of the fortress foundation was an equally enormous undertaking.

Lin Feng directed the "Golden Thread Miners" to use large shovels and picks to dig foundation trenches three meters deep and about two meters wide around the shelter. These trenches would be the foundation of the future steel fortress.

The women were assigned the task of digging out the soil and gravel from the trenches and transporting it to a designated location for stacking.

This work was equally arduous; the soil was frozen solid, and each shovelful required tremendous effort.

After the foundation excavation was completed, Lin Feng began to instruct the "Golden Thread Miners Team". They first laid a layer of gravel at the bottom of the trench, and then poured a simple "cement" made of clay and alien plant fibers as the base.

Next, the huge, pre-cut stones were slowly lifted by the "Golden Thread Miners" using pulleys and levers, and then precisely placed onto the foundation.

The women were responsible for mixing the "cement" and transporting the stones. They used wooden sticks to stir the viscous "cement" in huge wooden barrels, then poured it into the prepared gaps between the stones, ensuring that each stone was firmly bonded together.

They were also responsible for filling the gaps in the walls with smaller stones to increase the density and strength of the walls.

When Shen Jiaqi and Ruan Mengtian were mixing "cement", they were often splattered with mud and slime, but they gritted their teeth and persevered without stopping their work.

They knew that if the wall wasn't sturdy, their lives would be in danger.

Inside the walls, Lin Feng designed an inner steel plate structure. He used an iron smelting furnace to produce large quantities of steel plates and steel beams day and night. These steel plates were hammered into hard and flat shapes under the scorching heat of the furnace.

Under Lin Feng's guidance, the "Golden Silk Miners Team" used special tools to rivet steel plates and steel beams together, forming a series of sturdy steel inner walls.

These steel inner walls will be tightly integrated with the outer stone walls, forming a double defense.

Despite the biting wind and heavy snow, the construction site surrounding the shelter was a hive of activity.

Lin Feng was like a perpetual motion machine; he was always the first to arrive at the construction site and the last to leave.

He personally guided every step of the process, resolved all technical difficulties encountered, and ensured the smooth progress of the project.

Under his strict management and the principle that "value determines survival," no one dared to slack off. Everyone gave their all, striving for the common goal of survival.

Qin Lan also demonstrated her iron-fisted approach during the management process.

She was ruthless towards those who slacked off, immediately cutting their food rations and forcing them to reflect in the cold wind. Her strictness, complementing Lin Feng's coldness, kept the entire construction team highly efficient.

In just over a month, the shelter's outer perimeter wall began to take shape. A stone-steel composite wall, about eight meters high and three meters thick, encircled the shelter like the arm of a giant, firmly protecting it. The outward-sloping steel spikes at the top of the wall gleamed coldly in the sunlight from the sun-wheel wood, inspiring awe.

After the main structure of the wall was completed, Lin Feng began to work on improving the defensive facilities.

First came the construction of watchtowers and gun emplacements. Lin Feng ordered the "Golden Silk Miners' Team" to build five towering watchtowers at the four corners of the wall and at the entrance.

These watchtowers also employ a stone and steel hybrid structure, with a rotating iron platform on top for mounting long-range weapons and observation.

At the base of each watchtower and in specific areas of the perimeter wall, Lin Feng designed multiple retractable iron "turrets".

These gun emplacements weren't actual cannons, but rather used to mount giant crossbow bolts modified by Lin Feng, or to launch heavy objects. He even experimented with creating a rudimentary "catapult" that could launch burning beast grease to increase long-range attack capabilities.

The women were assigned more detailed tasks. They were responsible for grinding lime and mixing it with clay to create a better adhesive.

They are also responsible for grinding the edges of the steel plates, removing burrs, and applying rust prevention treatment to the steel parts.

At the same time, they also learned how to weave stronger alien vines to make ropes for grappling hooks.

The deployment of rope traps is a key aspect of Lin Feng's defense upgrade.

Using the digging skills of the "Golden Thread Miners' Team," he dug a trench five meters deep and three meters wide outside the wall. The bottom of the trench was lined with dense, sharp wooden stakes and caltrops.

Outside the trench, Lin Feng directed the "Golden Thread Miners" to dig a large number of hidden trap pits on the ground.

These trap pits were also lined with sharp wooden stakes inside, and the openings were covered with camouflaged wooden planks and soil.

Women, especially Tang Bao and Su Wanqing, played an important role during this stage.

Tang Bao demonstrated amazing patience and meticulousness in weaving the slings.

Although her hands were often chafed by the vines, she still meticulously wove each rope.

She knew that these ropes would determine the success or failure of the trap, and even the life or death of everyone involved. She poured all her energy into this task.

Xiaomei and Qian Xiaoxiao were responsible for camouflaging the entrance to the trap pit. They carefully covered the entrance with dry grass, leaves, and soil, making it blend in with the surrounding snow without leaving any trace.

After a month of arduous construction, in the harshest winter on the alien planet, Lin Feng's steel fortress finally took shape.

The shelter's original fragile wooden walls have been replaced by an indestructible steel wall.

The towering watchtower, like the eye of a giant, is always vigilant about everything around it.

The moat surrounding the wall was bottomless, and beyond the moat were countless hidden traps, like gaping maws waiting for their prey.

At the entrance to the fortress, two heavy steel gates gleamed with a dark luster under the light of the sun-wheel wood, their bolts thick enough to withstand any impact.

The entire shelter has been upgraded from a simple camp to an impregnable steel fortress!