With the fisheries of Lake of Hope on track, providing a stable and abundant source of protein for the sanctuary, Lin Feng's attention naturally turned to the other two great treasures surrounding the lake area—the Forest of the Sun Wheel and the Black Sheep Plain.

If the lakes are the empire's "granary," then these two lands will become the empire's "energy center" and "livestock base."

This time, Lin Feng adopted a two-pronged approach.

Li Xiangbin's construction department was responsible for conquering the Sun Wheel Forest on the east coast.

Qin Lan's Iron-Blooded Army was given an even more challenging mission—to conquer the vast plain to the west, which was named "Black Sheep Sea".

The development of the Forest of the Sun Wheel is a technical task, not a physical one.

Li Xiangbin, along with Wang Jianguo and his elite technical team, plunged into this strange forest that glows at night.

When they first entered the forest at nightfall, everyone was awestruck by the sight before them.

On the canopy of each towering tree, every leaf radiated a soft and warm orange-yellow light.

Thousands upon thousands of trees come together, illuminating the entire forest like a magnificent, never-ending twilight palace.

Walking through it, instead of the eerie terror of a forest at night, one feels a sense of warmth, tranquility, and even sacredness.

A faint, sandalwood-like fragrance filled the air, which was refreshing and pleasant.

“Incredible… This completely violates our known law of conservation of energy.” Wang Jianguo stroked a glowing leaf and muttered to himself.

The leaves felt warm and dry, like a piece of silk dried in the sun.

"Forget about any laws, Professor Wang." Li Xiangbin's eyes were filled with excitement: "What we need to figure out now are three questions. First, how do you cut this thing? Second, will it still be shiny and hot after being cut? Third, how do you transport it back?"

It took them a full half-day to overcome these three problems.

The wood of the Japanese sapwood is exceptionally hard and extremely dense; when struck with an ordinary steel axe, it can only leave a white mark.

Li Xiangbin's craftsmen tried various methods and finally discovered that only by using the shelter's most advanced smelting technology and adding a rare mineral called "black tungsten sand" to create a "black gold saw" could slowly and effectively cut it open.

When the first sun-wheel tree was successfully felled, they were pleasantly surprised to find that even after being separated from the trunk, the leaves could still continue to glow and generate heat in the darkness.

Although the brightness will slowly decrease over time, this process can last for up to a month.

"This means that it is a 'solid energy' that can be stored and transported!" Wang Jianguo announced excitedly.

The biggest challenge is transportation. A mature Japanese privet tree can be over three meters in diameter, weigh tens of tons, and has a huge canopy, making it impossible to pass through narrow forest paths.

Finally, Li Xiangbin came up with a clever solution.

Instead of cutting down the mature, huge sun-ring trees, he set his sights on the newly grown saplings that were only a little over a meter tall.

Lin Feng designed a special "core extractor" for him, with a huge circular blade.

By aiming this machine at the roots of a sapling, it can remove the sapling, along with the soil around it, completely, like scooping out an ice cream ball.

Then, these intact "tree balls" were carefully loaded onto carts and transported back to the shelter or to the new settlement in Wanghu County for "live transplantation".

Under Li Xiangbin's plan, the main roads of the future shelter and Wanghu County will be lined with this type of sun-ring tree.

They will provide perpetual, free lighting and heating for the entire city at night.

The branches of the mature giant trees that were felled were cut into uniform sizes, bundled together, and transported to various workshops in the shelter and to the homes of ordinary people as standard "energy bars".

With it, the shelter's residents had, for the first time, a clean and efficient light and heat source that they could use at will.

Unlike the meticulous work at the Forest of the Sun, Qin Lan's operation on the Black Sheep Plain was a true "land grab," filled with iron-fisted battles and a spirit of conquest.

Black Sheep Plain covers an area of ​​over 300 square kilometers.

Tens of thousands of docile black giant sheep, like a flowing black ocean, slowly migrate across the plains.

The first problem Qin Lan faced was not how to defeat them, but how to control them.

Tens of thousands of sheep, once startled, can create a "sheep tide" that is enough to flatten everything.

“We cannot be like hunters, shooting and moving on.” Qin Lan said to her centurions at her military conference, “What the leader wants is control. It is to turn these wild sheep into the property of our empire. What we must do is be shepherds, the rulers of this grassland.”

Her strategy was named by herself as "encirclement by iron hooves".

The first step is reconnaissance.

Her elite scouting team spent more than ten days, like ghosts, tracking the sheep from afar. They figured out the sheep's migration routes, watering spots, and the distribution areas of the several types of pasture they liked to eat.

The second step is deterrence and division.

Qin Lan divided the three hundred Iron-Blooded Soldiers into three large detachments. Like three sharp scissors, they moved from different directions, extremely slowly but resolutely, to strategically encircle the huge flock of sheep.

They did not launch an attack, but simply formed a formation at a distance, with the black dragon flag fluttering in the wind.

The chilling aura made the naturally timid black giant sheep uneasy, and they began to subconsciously avoid them, moving in the direction Qin Lan had predetermined.

This process is extremely demanding on patience. Every day, the soldiers had to travel dozens of kilometers on horseback or on foot.

But no one complained. They were like a pack of experienced sheepdogs, driving the huge flock with discipline and willpower.

Finally, a week later, the main force of the sheep was successfully driven into a huge basin surrounded by mountains on three sides with only one exit.

Once the sheep entered the basin, Li Xiangbin's construction department immediately coordinated the operation.

Under the protection of the Iron-Blooded Army, thousands of laborers worked day and night, and in just five days, they built a two-kilometer-long, indestructible "cutoff wall" made of ironwood and huge stones at the only exit of the basin.

At this point, these tens of thousands of giant black sheep were completely trapped.

Having completed the process of raising them in captivity, the next step is to tame them.

The first step in taming them was to conquer another, even more arrogant creature on this plain—the iron-hoofed horse.

Compared to the docile black giant sheep, the Ironhoof Horse was unruly, highly alert, and extremely fast. The Ironblood Army attempted to capture it several times, but all attempts ended in failure.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Lin Feng returned to the Black Sheep Plain.

He brought neither an army nor traps. He walked alone, slowly toward the herd of iron-hoofed horses that were grazing with their heads down.

The herd immediately became alert, and the lead horse, which was entirely black and larger and more majestic than its kind, let out a loud neigh, full of warning.

Lin Feng stopped and did not go any further.

He simply stood there quietly, and then, an invisible, gentle, friendly, and non-hostile telekinetic force, like a spring breeze and gentle rain, slowly enveloped the entire herd.

This spiritual power was completely different from the domineering and unparalleled power he displayed when moving the giant stone.

It was like a peaceful lullaby, gently echoing in the minds of the horses.

It tells them that the person in front of them has no ill intentions. He can bring them fresher pasture and clearer water.

The herd of horses gradually quieted down. The magnificent lead horse tilted its head, its intelligent eyes curiously observing Lin Feng.

Lin Feng slowly stretched out his hand. In his palm, his telekinetic energy slightly condensed, and the moisture and essence of plants in the air actually gathered into a ball of emerald green energy that emitted a sweet fragrance.

Toastmaster hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he could not resist the fatal temptation.

It carefully, step by step, walked up to Lin Feng and gently touched the energy ball in Lin Feng's palm with its lips.

When that pure energy merged into its body, the horse snorted comfortably and even nuzzled Lin Feng's shoulder with its head.

This scene left Qin Lan and all the soldiers, who were watching from afar, dumbfounded.

In this way, Lin Feng subdued the leader of the Ironhoof Horses without shedding a drop of blood.

With the lead horse's submission, the entire herd naturally accepted this new, mysterious, and powerful "master."

When Lin Feng rode his magnificent black steed back to the camp, he was greeted by Qin Lan and all the Iron Blood Army soldiers, who showed him the most fervent, soul-deep awe and worship.

With the addition of iron-hoofed horses, the Iron-Blooded Army was like a tiger with wings.

They became true "steppe cavalry." They learned how to herd sheep, how to deliver babies, how to shear sheep, and how to identify the fattest and strongest sheep.

A huge, open-air "Royal Ranch" that ranched the entire basin was thus established.

A steady stream of mutton, wool, and sheepskin began to be transported through the purification corridor to the shelter and Wanghu County.

Pang Dahai's logistics department had to expand its warehouses again, and his butchers and tanners were extremely busy.

Every citizen in the shelter wore a warm wool sweater and ate delicious roasted lamb chops. Their sense of happiness reached an unprecedented peak.