Chapter 158 - 157: Enduring Hardships to Pioneer the Wilderness

Chapter 158: Chapter 157: Enduring Hardships to Pioneer the Wilderness

In the woods outside the cave entrance, a bustling scene of intense activity was unfolding.

"Make way, make way!"

Steam rose from Vice President Zhao’s body. His knotted muscles bulged as his remaining right arm cradled a thick, heavy log—one that would normally require a person’s full embrace—as effortlessly as if he were carrying a stalk of straw. Behind him, several Power Awakened wielded various tools, busying themselves on the trunk of another massive tree.

With a loud CREAK, another massive tree slowly toppled over.

"Watch the direction of the fall!" Vice President Zhao roared over his shoulder, dragging the giant log as he continued forward.

HONG LONG!

The thick tree trunk crashed into the pre-cleared open space, sending mud and water splattering in all directions.

"Strip the bark and remove the branches. It’s getting late. We need to transport as much wood back as possible before dark," someone shouted.

Several Awakened immediately stepped forward with sharpened axes and saws, briskly processing the timber.

***

Deep inside the cave, a roaring bonfire burned in a newly cleared open space. Wooden planks and strips, chopped into various shapes, were suspended over the flames.

Three Fire Awakened focused their Spirits, controlling the temperature and spread of the flames. Slender, thread-like Fire Lines slowly coiled around the timber.

The flames licked the surface of the wood with a sharp CRACKLE. Wisps of water vapor rose into the air, filling the cavern with the fragrant, roasted scent of baking wood.

"Keep the temperature more even! Old Li, your flames are too fierce over there. Careful not to crack the wood!" a middle-aged Awakened with a bit more practical life experience reminded him.

"Got it!" Old Li wiped the sweat from his brow, struggling to control the leaping flames in his palms.

On the other side, the soil-tamping squad led by Lü was making rapid progress. A large area near the cave wall had already been roughly flattened. Han Ning had assigned Snow Cake here to Support their work.

At Lü’s request, Snow Cake condensed a layer of dry, hard earth and spread it across the ground. Utilizing Snow Cake’s Earth Element Manipulation Ability, they built a series of half-meter-tall low walls in the designated "residential zone" to serve as the foundations for future wooden cabins.

Lin Qianqian led several Water Awakened, carefully inspecting the cave walls. A faint white luminescence lingered on her fingertips as she gently brushed them over the cold rock surface.

PULSE!

The white light expanded. As the light swept over the wall, several hard-to-spot seepage cracks were clearly highlighted.

"There’s water seeping out here. We can use this as a reservoir to collect fresh water," she said, pointing to an inconspicuous crack in the rock face. Tiny trickles of water were slowly oozing from the fissure, forming a small puddle below. Due to the dim lighting, it was quite difficult to spot with the naked eye.

"The volume is too small..." one team member frowned. "This trickle won’t even cover our daily needs, let alone irrigation."

"Every little bit adds up. If we find all the seepage points in the cave and pool them together, the total water storage should be substantial," Lin Qianqian explained her thought process. "Long, please dig a deep pit here to act as a reservoir. Yu, go see if you can find a suitable stone trough or container so we can make a simple filtration and settling tank."

"You got it!" Yu leaped up, his legs turning into a blur as he dashed deeper into the cave.

***

"Professor Ye, the trenches are dug!" Xu Ming wiped away his sweat, pointing to the crisscrossing shallow ditches at his feet. The few Awakened had worked with immense efficiency, already completing the ridges and drainage ditches exactly as requested.

"Good!" Professor Ye set down the Stone Slab and picked up a small bag of seeds. These were shade-tolerant vegetable seeds he had selected, such as Malabar spinach, water spinach, and amaranth. "Let’s plant these first."

"I’ll do it, I’ll do it!" Hearing that it was time to sow, Xu Yinyin, who had been resting on the sidelines, instantly rallied her Spirit. She carefully scooped up a small handful of seeds and, mimicking Professor Ye’s technique, earnestly scattered them one by one into the soft soil.

"No issues here..." Han Ning murmured to himself.

This was likely a cave abandoned by some creature. To ensure there were no other organisms present, Han Ning had meticulously searched every inch of the space, mapping out its internal dimensions. The interior space was roughly two-thirds the size of a soccer field. It didn’t look like a naturally formed cavern, but rather a space jointly excavated by a certain creature—or perhaps an entire biological cluster. This was evident from the pitted bite marks along the edges.

However, those creatures hadn’t lived here for a long time. Han Ning hadn’t spotted any droppings, nor did he find any traces of recent biological activity. Furthermore, the Treasure-Seeking Bee had likely led him here precisely because the place had been abandoned for so long.

"Mr. Han, the mutated planting zone is cleared as well." Just as Han Ning walked out from the depths of the cave, he heard Xu Ming call out to him.

"Good."

He walked over to the reserved mutated planting area, pressed both hands against the earth, and activated Natural Blessing.

An emerald-green halo, even richer than the usual Natural Blessing, rippled outward from his palms like tangible water waves, rapidly blanketing the entire mutated zone. The halo seeped into the soil. At a glance, the small experimental plot, mixed with High-Energy Soil, showed no obvious physical changes. Yet, on a microscopic level, the soil particles infused with Energy Stone Energy were actively soaking in the Power of Nature.

Now that he possessed the Communication with Nature Skill, Han Ning no longer needed to rely on blind trial and error, painstakingly trying to mutate ordinary plants into Extraordinary Plants step by step. This current operation was purely to enhance the soil’s fertility, laying the groundwork for planting useful crops in the future.

***

After enduring a fierce battle, followed by an arduous trek while carrying heavy loads, many were utterly exhausted. Still, everyone rallied their Spirits, working hard to develop this new habitat. Even the surviving ordinary people were pitching in with equal fervor.

As they toiled away, the temperature steadily dropped. Before they knew it, the last faint glimmers of light outside vanished, plunging the world into total darkness. Everyone who had gone outside returned to the cave.

Snow Cake lay sprawled by the main entrance. With its chin resting on its front paws and eyes half-closed, it watched Xu Yinyin and the other busy people running about, the tip of its tail twitching occasionally.

Inside the cavern, the rich aroma of food filled the air. A few nimble-handed women were using makeshift stone stoves to simmer a thick broth mixed with fresh vegetables and various dried meats. Next to them, iron pots steamed with fragrant white rice.

SIZZLE SIZZLE!

A man who used to be a chef at the resort hotel stood by another temporary stone stove, vigorously stir-frying vegetables. This was what little food they had managed to bring with them, and it served as their dinner for the night. Only on a full stomach could their Spirits remain stable, giving them the drive to face whatever tomorrow might bring.

The chopping of wood, the thud of heavy objects being moved, the low murmurs of conversation, the crackle of flames, the patter of torrential rain... all these sounds intertwined, filling the space with the bustling, grounding warmth of everyday life.