Before going to sleep, Zhang Shi recruited soldiers for the barracks again. Due to the limited number of barracks, only one could be built for the time being, so Zhang Shi recruited assault soldiers again.
His idea was that if the recruited soldiers were all of Da Zhuang's physique, he would train a team, and once they were fully formed, they would be responsible for guarding the shelter and dealing with invading outsiders. After the team grew in size, he would then consider venturing out to explore the wilderness.
Thinking about his future plans, Zhang Shi drifted off to sleep with ice cubes in his mouth.
Nothing happened that night. The next morning, Zhang Shi woke up full of energy. It was the fourth day of the extreme heat disaster, and the outside temperature was still unbearably hot. The ice that had been moved into the room the night before had melted into a basin of water.
Stretching, Zhang Shi clicked on the Golden Finger to sign in.
The system notifies you that you have received the following rewards for checking in:
[Barracks (White) x4: Soldiers can be recruited by consuming resources. The initial rank of recruited soldiers is equal to the barracks level.]
Zhang Shi smiled smugly. Although the items he received for signing in this time were only the most basic, ordinary level, the quantity was impressive, which was exactly what Zhang Shi urgently needed.
By remotely placing the barracks together through the system, Zhang Shi discovered that the recruitment last night had been completed, and the soldiers appeared in front of the barracks gate as he wished.
Zhang Shi jogged to the barracks and found a young man of very ordinary height and appearance in front of the gate. After glancing at his attributes, he noticed a significant difference compared to Zhang Dazhuang from before.
Race: Human
Experience points: Level 1
Rank: Common
Strength: 4
Agility: 4
Physical condition: 3
Magic: 1
Talent: None
Ability value: 3
"It seems that the attributes of the recruited soldiers are all randomized."
Before the soldiers could speak, Zhang Shi spoke first.
"From now on, you will be called Zhang Er, and Zhang Dazhuang will be in charge of management. Your job is to guard the safety of the shelter's personnel and property."
After saying that, Zhang Shi handed him a set of the same fine iron equipment.
Excitedly, Zhang Er put on his armor, picked up his spear, knelt on one knee, and respectfully bowed to Zhang Shi.
"Your subordinate is willing to serve you to the death, my lord!"
Zhang Shi nodded in satisfaction, then called Da Zhuang over and asked him to lead the new recruits to familiarize themselves with the environment. He himself recruited five groups of soldiers at the same time, still as assault troops.
"Recruiting soldiers takes too long. I wonder if upgrading the barracks can shorten the recruitment cycle. Also, the gold coin consumption is quite high. I need to think of a way to make money."
Ge Dalong and Zhao Feng arrived at Zhang Shi's side at some point. They heard him squatting in front of the barracks gate, muttering to himself. After exchanging a glance, Ge Dalong patted Zhang Shi on the shoulder.
"Don't be too anxious. The barracks upgrade isn't unlocked yet. I estimate we'll have to wait until the next phase of the shelter to see any progress. As for gold coins, everyone still has some. If you pool your resources, it'll be enough to build a team. Once you've built your team and the shelter is safe, there will be plenty of ways to make money."
Zhang Shi nodded, agreeing with Ge Dalong's assessment. With his current production capacity, he couldn't afford to maintain a large-scale army for the time being. It was safer to develop slowly and take it one step at a time.
After breakfast, the group idly stayed in their room, lost in thought. All the chores at the shelter were delegated to others, so Zhang Shi could simply sit back and relax. It was too hot outside, and Zhang Shi had no plans to go out, so he simply stayed home, lurking in the chat channels.
To Zhang Shi's surprise, Zhang Dazhuang actually led Zhang Er in training under the scorching sun. Keep in mind, the outside temperature was already beyond the limits of what ordinary creatures could endure, yet the two soldiers seemed unfazed, practicing military boxing under the blazing sun.
Zhang Shi walked out of the fortress with great curiosity and inquired about the situation of the two of them.
"Reporting to the lord, we are feeling fine. The weather is a bit hot, but it hasn't affected our work at all."
Hearing Zhang Dazhuang say this, Zhang Shi had another bold guess.
"Could it be that these soldiers recruited through the system have resistance to natural disasters?"
Zhang Shi decided to test it out when he had the chance, but since the two soldiers ignored the effects of the extreme heat, Zhang Shi decided to make the most of their advantages.
"When there are no external enemies, you can patrol around the shelter, kill or drive away wild animals, and collect anything of value you find. But the most important thing is your safety. If there is any situation that threatens your life, remember to prioritize your own safety."
Zhang Dazhuang and Zhang Er nodded, packed their gear, and excitedly went out to explore.
Zhang Shi's original intention was to train the two new recruits, but unexpectedly, this unintentional act yielded a surprising result.
In the afternoon, Zhang Shi inexplicably received a system notification.
"Ding, gained 200 experience points."
Not long after, Zhang Dazhuang and Zhang Er dragged a wild bull back to the shelter.
Zhang Shi spotted the two from afar and went out to investigate out of curiosity.
"My lord, on your orders, we patrolled the area around the shelter and encountered this wild bull blocking our way, so we killed it."
Although the bull was just an ordinary-level wild beast, Zhang Shi still licked his lips with great satisfaction. He used the system to easily break the bull down into beef, then summoned Xiao Mei and instructed her to cook a sumptuous feast using the beef as the main ingredient that evening.
Zhang Er carefully presented a treasure chest with both hands.
"My lord, these are the spoils we found on this expedition. Please take a look."
Zhang Shi was taken aback, discovering that the treasure chest was of exquisite quality. Before opening it, a sudden idea struck him.
"The effect of the 'Courageous First' title has just refreshed. Let's see if we can upgrade the treasure chest."
With a whoosh, a purple light landed on the treasure chest, and Zhang Shi knew he had succeeded.
Sure enough, a purple metallic treasure chest appeared in front of Zhang Shi.
Zhang Shi gave the two soldiers some high-grade food as a reward and then sent them away, using his VIP privileges to open the treasure chest.
Ding! Rare treasure chest (purple) successfully opened, triggering VIP privileges. Items doubled. Obtained:
[Skill Card - Shadow Step (Purple) x2: Upgradeable mobility skill. After use, allows you to blink behind the target unit, increasing the damage of your next attack by 50% for 3 seconds.]
Zhang Shi happened to lack this type of skill, which compensated for his lack of mobility. Without hesitation, he learned one of the skill cards, and a purple skill appeared in his skill bar.
Zhang Shi discovered that this skill was different from Triple Strike; it could be upgraded by consuming skill cards. Coincidentally, he had an extra identical Shadow Step skill card, so Zhang Shi clicked to consume it.
An experience bar appeared below the Shadow Step skill, and the experience bar, which was originally 0, increased to 80%.
"It seems that consuming skill cards with the same name yields more experience."
After studying it, Zhang Shi discovered that the skill's range was roughly a 10-meter circle. The skill required a selectable unit within the range to be used, and both enemies and allies could be used as stepping stones.
Excitedly trying out the Shadow Step, Zhang Shi instantly flashed behind Pipi, who was dozing in the living room, startling it.
Zhang Shi looked at the 5-second cooldown and laughed out loud, then picked up Pipi and gently comforted her.
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