After quickly getting dressed, Zhang Shi led Pipi out of the stone house.
As soon as Pipi came out, it rushed to the iron gate and barked wildly at the creatures outside, only to be met with even more ferocious slapping.
The nighttime temperature was even more unbearable. Zhang Shi rubbed his hands together, opened the system to check the situation in his territory, and found a group of hunched-over, upright creatures outside. The spike traps in front of the wall had been triggered, and there was a corpse of one of these creatures inside.
Zhang Shi climbed the watchtower and, with the help of the searchlight, clearly saw the appearance of the intruders.
These were a dozen or so humanoid creatures covered in white fur, resembling Yetis from movies and TV shows. Zhang Shi curiously examined them and discovered they were wild beasts called "Snow Apes," all of ordinary quality.
Zhang Shi immediately felt relieved. In the dungeon, he could even cleave green-quality elite monsters in one hit, so why would he be afraid of this little Karami?
"Perfect opportunity to test the effectiveness of the new weapon."
Zhang Shi calmly took out his composite bow and fired an arrow into the sky, activating its innate arrow rain skill. The iron arrow traced a graceful arc as it fell towards the group of snow apes.
As the arrow fell, it multiplied into dozens of smaller arrows, covering a small area.
Before the group of snow apes could even figure out what was happening, they were pierced by arrows and riddled with holes. With just one strike, half of the snow apes perished, becoming Zhang Shi's blood, which stained the snow in front of the door red, creating a stark contrast.
The surviving snow apes were terrified, howling and scrambling to escape in the opposite direction from the shelter.
Zhang Shi put away his composite bow with satisfaction, easily resolving the beast's attack.
Back in his warm bed, Zhang Shi began to think about how to strengthen his defenses so he could get a good night's sleep.
...
Nothing happened that night. On the second day of the severe cold and natural disaster, Zhang Shi opened his eyes groggily and found that the sun had already risen.
Zhang Shi opened the regional chat channel, intending to stay in bed a little longer.
Today, snowflakes fell again, and the temperature dropped even further than yesterday. However, many survivors, relying on their physical attributes, still planned to brave the cold and venture out to explore.
Zhang Shi glanced at the iron ore inventory, considered it carefully, and decided to go to the mine before the snow fell too heavily to place the mining machine there.
After slicing some fresh meat and stir-frying it with vegetables, Zhang Shi began to look forward to the farmland in the greenhouse.
After finishing breakfast, Zhang Shi fed the livestock some food, and once everything was ready, he left the shelter with Pipi.
Upon reaching the outside of the wall, Zhang Shi collected the snow ape's carcass, which the system automatically decomposed into fresh meat and fur. Zhang Shi was somewhat averse to primate meat, but since he had no shortage of food, he put it up for sale in the market.
The snow had started falling sometime earlier, and the bloodstains in front of the door were now covered by the white snow. Zhang Shi locked the iron gate and, with Pipi in tow, walked towards the mine.
After several days of fierce winds and snow, the forest path was covered in snow. Fortunately, Zhang Shi's agility was not low, so even on foot, his speed was not much slower, and he soon arrived at the familiar plum tree.
The once lush foliage and bright red fruit are gone, leaving only branches covered in snow.
To Zhang Shi's surprise, there was a snow pit near the plum tree, which clearly indicated that some creature had been active in the area not long ago. Judging from its size, it was left by a large predator.
Zhang Shi became more cautious and careful on the rest of the journey. Fortunately, the trip went smoothly, and they successfully arrived at the mine.
Fearing that some animals might come in to escape the cold, Zhang Shi led Pipi and, carrying an oil lamp, carefully cleaned up the inside of the mine. Any animals that dared to fight back were all turned into fur and meat and put into their backpacks.
Seeing that the surroundings had become completely quiet, Zhang Shi took out two mining machines, replaced them with newly made refined iron picks, and added enough charcoal to last for seven days.
Zhang Shi used stones to block up all the visible openings before turning and leaving.
Wild animals frequently roam the area near the mine, the mining machines are quite noisy, and the outside temperature is rather low. Zhang Shi decided to come to the mine every few days to check on it.
"Sigh, the shelter is a bit far from the mine."
In such extreme weather, a round trip would take a considerable amount of time, so Zhang Shi began to consider moving. Adding the territory control module to the shelter would allow for a complete relocation, but this would mean redesigning many plans and compromising the area's security. Zhang Shi decided that this matter needed further consideration.
Back at the shelter, Pipi ran happily toward the poultry shed, chirping joyfully.
Zhang Shi was overjoyed, guessing that the eggs might have hatched, and quickly ran into the poultry house.
Sure enough, two chicks had hatched at some point and were looking around the aviary. Pipi carefully approached them, crouched down, and watched them curiously.
The two chicks weren't shy at all; they chirped and circled around Pipi, seemingly very happy.
Zhang Shi was overjoyed. He discovered through careful observation that the two chicks were indeed a male and a female. Thinking about the continuous supply of eggs he could obtain in the future, tears of excitement streamed down Zhang Shi's face once again.
After the two chicks got used to their surroundings, they nestled next to Pipi and chirped, looking hungry.
Zhang Shi hurriedly went to the trading market to check, but found no resources such as chicken feed or insects.
Rubbing his forehead, Zhang Shi had no choice but to make the feed himself.
Back in the stone house, they first fetched some blue-quality well water and boiled it. These newborn chicks couldn't get cold, so they had to be careful with their diet and try to give them hot food.
Zhang Shi grilled two more fish, carefully removing the bones. Then, he put the fish meat into a container, tore a piece of bread into pieces and added it, stirring it and adding some hot water to make a large bowl of batter.
Zhang Shi returned to the poultry house and poured the batter and hot water into the feeding trough. Two chicks wobbled over to the trough and began pecking at the food.
Having solved the chicken feed problem, Zhang Shi breathed a sigh of relief and then went to the greenhouse to check on the growth of the vegetables.
In the field, the four kinds of vegetables were nearly ripe after four or five days of growth. Zhang Shi was greatly encouraged by his success on his first planting attempt and began to consider large-scale cultivation.
Remembering that he still had two blue-quality potatoes in his backpack, Zhang Shi decided to plant them as soon as possible.
Zhang Shi dared not take these two high-grade foods lightly and planned to consult Wu Qing for advice and to ask about the precautions.
A video call was made, and the other party quickly answered it.
"What's up?"
He still had a cold and aloof demeanor, as if I owed him a lot of money.
Knowing that he needed someone's help, Zhang Shi lowered his stance.
"Xiao Qing, my shelter has a vegetable garden, and I happen to have two blue-quality potatoes that I plan to plant. But I don't have any experience in this area. Could you give me some pointers?"
Wu Qing glanced at Zhang Shi.
"Just call me by my name, don't be so mushy. Turn the camera to the land, let me check the quality of your land."
Zhang Shi was a little embarrassed, and hurriedly and obediently pointed the camera at the farmland.
Wu Qing opened her eyes wide and examined it carefully for a while.
"Your vegetables are growing quite well, aren't they? They're almost ripe. Once they're ready, don't eat them all right away. It's best to save some for seed. Here's how..."
Wu Qing began to explain in detail how to harvest the first crop and how to plant the second crop.
When it came to topics that interested her, Wu Qing seemed to become a different person, abandoning her indifferent demeanor and launching into a long-winded explanation of planting techniques.
"Oh, right. Planting potatoes is very simple. You just need to cut them into pieces according to the eyes, then coat them with some wood ash or charcoal powder and plant them in the ground."
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