Chapter 84: Building a Wooden House

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Building a Wooden House

The stone house wasn’t large. When Luo Jiuyin returned, all three stone walls had been erected. The walls were about a person and a half high, with no roof, but they were absolutely solid.

Lan Lan was clumsily working on some wood. Luo Jiuyin put down the stones she was carrying, picked up a piece of wood, and began learning alongside her.

The sky was already growing dark, and Wang Gang’s group had arrived nearby.

Seeing that Shi Zhile’s group of three had already claimed a spot, the others each found their own places, spreading out to stake their own claims nearby.

Hu Yaqin, who was trailing them, saw Shi Zhile’s group of three gathered together and approached.

"Can I stay with you guys?"

Lan Lan was about to speak, but Luo Jiuyin cut in coldly, "No. You agreed to go your own way, so stay away from us."

Hu Yaqin glanced at the three of them, then lowered her head and went over to Wang Gang.

With three hours left until 8 PM, Shi Zhile looked at Luo Jiuyin and Lan Lan. "I contributed fifty pieces of wood earlier, so you two each need to put in fifty pieces for the shelter."

Without a word, Luo Jiuyin placed fifty pieces of wood on the ground.

Lan Lan said sheepishly, "Sister Zhile, I don’t have fifty pieces of wood right now, only 43. Can I give you the rest tomorrow? Or I could just give you fifty pieces tomorrow."

There wasn’t much time left in the day, and they had enough wood for now, so Shi Zhile agreed.

She called the two of them into the courtyard. "The rules say it’s safe in a wooden house at night, so our stone enclosure alone is useless. The wooden house is the key.

Now that the courtyard is up, let’s talk about the wooden houses. I suggest we build them inside this courtyard, and preferably, we should each build our own.

First, if one house gets damaged, we’ll still have another place to stay.

Second, we’ll each have our own private space. We’ll share the cost of the materials for the courtyard, but we’ll each be responsible for the materials for our own house. Plus, it’s faster this way."

Luo Jiuyin thought for a moment. "I agree. Since we’re building them separately, we should each be responsible for our own house. It’ll prevent arguments later over construction quality if one collapses."

The other two agreed.

Shi Zhile looked at Lan Lan. "It’ll be dark in three hours. I’m not going to the beach tonight. If you’re staying with me, you need to build your own wooden house as quickly as possible, at least enough to last the night.

Lan Lan, you don’t have enough wood to build it. I can lend you 50 pieces, but you must pay me back tomorrow."

Lan Lan was still hesitating, torn between worrying about where to stay for the night and the prospect of borrowing and repaying the wood.

Shi Zhile didn’t wait for her. She took out her own wood, used her axe to cut grooves in the ground, and drove wooden stakes into them, standing them upright.

The wood chopped in the forest was different from the wood found in chests. Wood from chests mostly consisted of planks of uniform length, while the chopped wood was round logs that could be broken down into posts of various lengths.

Shi Zhile first secured four support pillars, then dismantled a wooden crate she had picked up.

[Wooden Crate dismantled. Obtained: Wood x6, Iron Nails x24.]

The number of iron nails was more than Shi Zhile had expected. She used long pieces of wood and the nails to connect the four pillars.

Luo Jiuyin’s method was even simpler. She tied three logs together at the top, spread the bottoms apart and anchored them to the ground with stones, then nailed planks across two of the faces.

"Shi Zhile, it’s getting dark! We don’t have a fire, and these huts are too flimsy. Why don’t we go to the beach?"

Shi Zhile was busy hammering. Her supply of nails was limited, so she was leaving the widest possible gaps in the walls of her hut, but even then, she didn’t have enough.

Wang Gang gathered closer. "You didn’t find any animals while exploring the island today. The monsters in this instance will probably come out of the sea.

The tide was already rising when we came over from the beach. Going to the starting point means we’ll have to stand in the seawater.

Being on the shore without a fire is dangerous, and while you might think it’s easier to run, the beach is actually more dangerous than staying here.

I don’t recommend going to the beach. Since the wooden houses aren’t finished, we can all gather together. We’ll form pairs and split into five groups to keep watch through the night."

Wang Gang’s intentions were good, and his plan was fair. Shi Zhile had no objection.

Luo Jiuyin sighed. "But Rule Three says the starting point is the only safe place. It’s supposed to protect players when the monsters come out at night. We’d have to stand in the water, but it would be very safe."

Xiao Yi shook his head. "How can you be sure all the rules are true? Two of the six rules mention wooden houses, which implies they’re important. But Rule Three uses the word ’only.’ If that’s a fake rule designed to trick us, we’ll be walking into a death trap.

Staying at the starting point means being on your feet all night. The perfect time for a monster to attack is when you’re exhausted. What if your legs go numb? It would be a death sentence, wouldn’t it?"

Luo Jiuyin countered, "But what if the rule is real and we’re just overthinking it? Wouldn’t that be even more dangerous?"

As the others started arguing their points, Shi Zhile continued to build her wooden house.

For the roof, she simply connected four long posts and covered them with reeds she had gathered from the edge of the swamp.

Three of its four walls were full of gaps and the fourth was missing entirely, but the moment she finished the roof, a system notification appeared.

[Wooden House construction complete. Current Level: Level One. Effect: Granted absolute immunity to monster damage while inside.]

Shi Zhile sorted through the stone pile, picking out a few small stones and some large, flat rocks. She then laid the flat rocks over the uneven ground inside her hut to create a floor.

Wang Gang spoke again. "Both options are risky. We’re running out of time, so there’s no point in arguing further. Let’s do this: whoever wants to stay here can group up and remain here.

Whoever wants to go to the beach can go to the beach."

Xiao Yi was the first to speak. "I’m staying."

Li Ran looked toward the ever-busy Shi Zhile. "Shi Zhile, what are you choosing?"

Without looking up from reinforcing her structure, Shi Zhile replied, "I’m staying."

Lan Lan declared, "I’m with Sister Zhile! I’m staying!"

A thin young man frowned slightly. His name was Guo Funing. "I’m going to the beach. We’ll have to stand in the water, but the instance’s rules explicitly state the starting point is safe.

The first day in an instance is almost always the safest. Is anyone coming with me?"

Hu Yaqin glanced back and forth between the groups. "I’ll go to the beach, too. I brought a torch. Monsters are afraid of fire, so with that double guarantee, it’ll definitely be safer than staying here."

At the mention of fire, the hesitant Song Chaoyun and Li Haohao immediately decided to join as well.

"I’m going to the beach. If there are rules, my priority is to follow them."

"That’s right. It’s called Rule Island, so there can’t be any fake rules."

Li Ran walked over to the still-busy Shi Zhile. "Can I stay with you tonight? I can help with the work."

Li Ran was the brawns-over-brains type, but her greatest asset was her obedience—she did exactly as she was told.

’Right now, Wang Gang and Xiao Yi have paired up, and the other three men have formed their own group. All I have is Lan Lan, who isn’t much of a fighter. I have no reason to refuse.’

Shi Zhile was busy trying to start a fire with a hand drill. Her palms were practically smoking from the friction, but not a single spark had appeared yet.

"Alright."