With the advent of electricity, night was no longer synonymous with fear. The bright beams of searchlight, like the sword of the gods, cut off the darkness and the unknown dangers lurking within, keeping them outside the walls of the shelter.
Warm lights shone through the windows of every public area, illuminating the peace that people had regained on their faces with exceptional clarity.
However, as the initial euphoria and excitement subsided, and as light became the new normal, another, more profound bottleneck concerning quality of life and the progress of civilization emerged before Lin Feng in an undeniable way.
water.
In the early days of the shelter's establishment, Lin Feng led everyone to accomplish a great feat.
He utilized the terrain to divert water from a glacier a kilometer away and excavated a sturdy canal built of schist and clay.
This canal, like a gentle artery, slowly draws the glacial water into the central square of the shelter, where it gathers into a clear reservoir.
This is undoubtedly a remarkable achievement, allowing everyone to leave behind the primitive stage of trekking long distances and risking their lives to fetch water from the river every day.
However, this only solves the problem of "whether it exists or not".
The water in the canal was still stagnant.
When people needed water, they still had to carry wooden buckets and earthenware jars to fetch water from the reservoir, one bucket at a time, and then carry it back to their villas.
The newly built public bathhouse, a paradise that could wash away everyone's fatigue and dust, has become a "water-consuming behemoth".
To fill that huge bath, it would take almost all the female members an entire afternoon to line up and carry the water from the pool to the underground water tank, bucket by bucket, like diligent ants carrying food.
This turned what should have been an everyday pleasure into a luxurious activity that required a great deal of effort to complete.
What made Lin Feng even more uneasy was the potential health risks.
Open-air canals and reservoirs inevitably accumulate dust, fallen leaves, and even the corpses of small insects.
Despite his repeated orders that all drinking water must be boiled, pollution of domestic water is still difficult to avoid.
People wash and do laundry by the pool, and the wastewater can only be splashed nearby. Over time, this has made the core area of the shelter muddy and damp.
On a snowy afternoon, Lin Feng stood alone by the reservoir in the central square of the shelter.
He looked at his reflection in the pool, his face reddened by the wind and snow, and the rows of brand-new two-story buildings behind him.
The water was right there, yet it couldn't flow freely to where it was meant to go.
In his mind, a vast torrent of knowledge, as boundless as the universe, surged once more.
Countless drawings and models of fluid mechanics and hydraulic engineering flashed by like lightning.
Ultimately, a blueprint for a classic and efficient modern water supply system, consisting of pumps, towers, pipes, and valves, was firmly established.
He could almost see it: the clear river water, awakened from the reservoir by a steel heart, roaring up the tall water tower, and then flowing through countless branch pipes to every corner of the shelter.
That will be the liberation of productive forces!
He turned abruptly, his gaze falling on the highest hill within the shelter.
In his eyes, it was no longer an empty space, but a water tower that was about to rise from the ground, symbolizing new life!
A massive project, which he named "Fountain of Life," is about to be launched under his will.
Lin Feng immediately summoned the core members—Qin Lan, Li Xiangbin, and Pang Dahai—and announced the grand plan to establish a modern water supply system.
He clearly explained how electric centrifugal pumps pump water from the reservoir to a high tower, and then use gravitational potential energy to provide pressurized, readily available tap water to the entire shelter through a pipeline network.
"With this system, we only need to open one valve, and the bathhouse pools will automatically fill up! Each of our rooms will have a tap, and water will come out as soon as you turn it on!"
When Lin Feng described this blueprint, all three of them were extremely excited.
"Sir, if this plan succeeds, it will completely free everyone from repetitive labor time and greatly improve our quality of life and hygiene!"
Qin Lan said excitedly, but then she suddenly thought of something and said with a worried look, "However, we may not have enough materials to manufacture this 'water pump' and lay such a huge pipeline network."
"You've hit the nail on the head."
Lin Feng walked to the animal skin map and pointed his finger towards the depths of the swamp forest and the distant black mountain ridge.
“We need two things. First, ‘hollow iron-jointed bamboo,’ which is the best natural material for making pressure-resistant water pipes. Second, we need to hunt ‘tough-skinned water rhinoceros,’ whose skin is rich in oil and is the only choice for making high-pressure pump shaft seals.”
“But the tough-skinned water rhinoceros is extremely dangerous, and hunting it is extremely difficult,” Qin Lan said, frowning.
"I see."
Lin Feng showed no fear: "So this time, I'll lead the team myself. Qin Lan, you select three female members. Li Xiangbin, you come with me. Pang Dahai, Tang Bao, and the others will stay behind to oversee the shelter's daily operations and initial technical preparations."
"I?"
Li Xiangbin was stunned for a moment, then excitedly patted his chest, "Alright! Big brother! I've been wanting to go out with you and pull off a big heist for a long time!"
Three days later, at dawn.
The six people, along with ten of the strongest horned wolves led by "Wangcai," left the shelter without a sound.
They were well-equipped, each carrying a sturdy animal hide backpack filled with concentrated jerky, compressed biscuits, water, first-aid herbs, and sharp skinning knives and chopping tools.
Li Xiangbin was carrying a huge warhammer that he had forged himself, with sharp fangs of strange beasts embedded on the hammerhead, exuding a ferocious sense of power.
Their first target was the hollow iron bamboo deep in the swamp forest.
As the group entered the forest, the light quickly dimmed.
Huge, strangely shaped trees blocked out the sun, and a damp, putrid smell filled the air.
The horned wolves are scattered around the group, using their keen sense of smell and hearing to constantly protect the group from potential dangers.
Before a highly venomous lizard, lurking in the treetops like a chameleon, could launch an attack, Wangcai pounced on it with lightning speed, its sharp claws instantly tearing apart its throat.
After a difficult half-day trek, Lin Feng and his companions finally arrived at the area marked on the map.
This is a strange bamboo forest.
The bamboo here has a dark, iron-gray color throughout, and each section is exceptionally thick, resembling a natural iron pipe.
"This is... hollow iron bamboo?"
Li Xiangbin stared in shock at the scene before him. He stepped forward and tapped a bamboo stalk with his fist, producing a clanging sound like striking metal.
"So hard!" he exclaimed.
"Its hardness is comparable to pig iron, but it is more resilient and hollow, making it a perfect natural pipe."
Lin Feng explained, "Let's get ready to collect."
Li Xiangbin excitedly raised his big hammer, mustered all his strength, and smashed it down on a piece of iron bamboo.
"clang!"
A loud bang, sparks flying everywhere.
On the hard iron bamboo, only a faint white mark remained.
"Holy crap! It's so hard!" Li Xiangbin's hand went numb from the impact.
"Use skill to attack the joints where the bamboo segments meet; that's the weak point," Lin Feng instructed from the side.
Li Xiangbin suddenly realized what was going on. He adjusted his posture, aimed at the thin ring-shaped pattern between the two sections of bamboo, and swung the hammer again.
This time, with a crisp "crack," the huge iron bamboo snapped in two.
Over the next hour, they successfully felled twenty huge iron bamboo stalks, cut them into sections, and had the wolves carry them away, temporarily hiding them at the edge of the forest.
Having completed the first objective, the team did not rest but immediately turned to the location of the second objective—the Black Ridge.
The Black Ridge gradually rises in elevation, with bare black rocks forming the main body of the mountain range, resembling a silent ancient behemoth under the gloomy sky.
Soon, they stopped on a cliff with a wide view.
Below, a wide river rushes by, and in its waters, a dozen enormous beasts are frolicking.
They look like rhinoceroses from Earth, but are three or four times larger, with skin that is a peculiar, oily dark gray, smooth yet tough.
Looking down at the behemoth that resembled a mobile armored vehicle, Li Xiangbin gripped his warhammer tighter and asked in a low voice, "Brother, how do we fight it? Should I lure it out?"
"No need."
Lin Feng shook his head, raised his head, looked at the gray sky, and let out a long and clear whistle.
The whistle pierced through the clouds and split the rocks, echoing through the valley.
Just a few seconds later, Li Xiangbin and Qin Lan felt the light above their heads suddenly dim!
Two enormous shadows loomed over the cliff where they stood, like dark clouds!
They looked up in horror and saw that Chasing the Wind and Moon were silently hovering high in the sky.
They are so huge that their wingspan is tens of meters, just like two gliding fighter jets!
Their wings are not ordinary feathers, but seem to be forged from ice crystals and light. With each flap, they refract a cold yet magnificent glow, dazzling and mesmerizing.
This was Lin Feng's true trump card, the overlord who conquered this airspace—the Shining Wing Ice Falcon.
"Did you see that?"
Lin Feng pointed to the largest leader among the water rhinoceros herd below and gave a concise command to Chasing Wind in the sky: "Target, that's it."
With a high-pitched cry, it folded its wings and transformed its entire body into a dazzling streak of light, plunging down into the valley below at a terrifying speed that seemed to tear through the air.
It was moving so fast that the air was compressed, producing a sharp whistling sound!
The water rhinoceros herd below clearly sensed a fear emanating from the sky and originating from the depths of their blood.
They immediately stopped playing, let out uneasily low growls, gathered together, and looked warily at the sky.
The water rhinoceros leader roared to the sky, attempting to intimidate the invading enemy with his power.
But it was facing the king of the sky.
Instead of attacking directly, the wind suddenly spread its wings at a height of tens of meters above the water, performing an elegant and swift spiral.
The immense wind pressure, like an invisible hammer, slammed into the water's surface, creating towering waves that scattered the panicked water rhinoceros herd.
Just as the water rhinoceros leader was thrown off balance by the giant wave, another, slightly smaller but equally swift radiance—"Chasing the Moon"—quietly arrived.
It opened its beak, and a visible, extremely cold white vapor, like the breath of an ice dragon, surged out.
This icy aura precisely covered the area around the water rhinoceros leader, and the rushing river water was instantly frozen into a layer of ice half a meter thick, firmly freezing the water rhinoceros leader's thick limbs to the riverbed!
"roar!"
The water rhinoceros leader roared in pain, struggling wildly, its immense force causing the ice to crack and shatter.
It furiously raised its head, attempting to attack the enemy in the sky with its single horn, but in doing so, it completely exposed the weakest and lightest patch of skin below its neck!
The time is ripe.
The "Wind Chaser," which had been hovering high in the sky, waiting for this moment, finally moved.
Its wings folded, transforming into a divine sword of light descending from the sky. There was no roar, no sound of wind, only an extremely fast and decisive trajectory.
"Pfft!"
There was no earth-shattering sound, only the sickening sound of a sharp blade slicing into flesh.
"Chasing Wind's" enormous and sharp, alloy-like bird claws, like the most precise scalpel, sliced across the water rhinoceros leader's neck in a split second.
Time stood still for a second.
The once invincible water rhinoceros leader's struggles and roars came to an abrupt halt.
Its enormous eyes were filled with unbelievable terror. A thin line of blood appeared on its neck, then rapidly widened, and scalding blood gushed out like a waterfall.
"boom!"
Its massive body crashed to the ground, smashing the ice beneath it and creating a huge spiderweb-like crack.
The remaining water rhinoceroses, seeing their leader so easily and instantly killed by divine punishment that seemed to descend from the sky, let out a terrified cry. They could no longer care about their frozen companions and turned to flee in panic upstream.
A thrilling battle ended in a near-crushing, artistic fashion, thanks to the impeccable coordination of the two Shining Wing Falcons.
Li Xiangbin stood blankly on the cliff, his mouth agape, not even noticing the warhammer slipping from his hand and falling to the ground.
He stared in disbelief at the two divine birds that gracefully landed beside the giant beast's corpse, preening their glorious wings, and then at Lin Feng beside him, who remained calm and collected.
Qin Lan stood there, completely stunned.
"Alright, stop standing there."
Lin Feng's voice pulled them back from their shock: "Skinning, we only need the most intact piece of tough skin below the neck. Take the rest of the meat back; it'll be enough for us to eat for a month."
Soon, the expedition came to an end.
Lin Feng and his men returned home with a full load.
They brought back not only valuable materials for making pipes and seals, but also a massive food reserve that greatly boosted the morale of the entire shelter.
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