The boundless night swallowed everything in the desert.
A faint firelight glimmered through the cracks in the shelter, emitting an extremely weak glow.
The unusually active mutant creatures also emerged from hidden places, wandering in the desert.
Birds flew over the stone-tipped shelter, large gray moths fluttered at the gaps, carrion beetles clawed at the soil with buried bones, and herds of mutant sheep preyed on the lone-horned rabbits grazing on wild grass...
Night, as crazy as the previous days!
In the central area of the desert, inside the shelter, Lin Yue had fallen deeply asleep.
The sense of security provided by the stone shelter was as reliable as his instincts.
Some mutant creatures slammed their bodies against the stone walls, only to find it completely ineffective, leaving them battered and bruised.
Although the awakened Little White kept chirping incessantly, Lin Yue, exhausted from a day of battle and exploration, was too worn out, entering a deep sleep.
Eventually, Little White grew accustomed to the constant sound of creatures hitting the walls, curling up in the bowl and falling asleep.
However, in this Otherworld, not many could sleep as soundly as Lin Yue.
The vast majority were greatly challenged by thirst, hunger, and threats from mutant creatures among others.
To them, sleep at night was almost a luxury!
...
One night passed.
Lin Yue stretched and yawned as he got out of bed.
There was a persistent dull pain in his left arm.
He brought his arm close to the torch, discovering a large bruise there!
Yesterday, wearing wooden armor into the Secret Realm, he was heavily knocked by the large rats inside several times. Due to excitement, he never paid attention,
he was busy digging traps, tidying up the shelter afterward, and then selling Du Ping's Shelter Design Map at the marketplace...
He didn't even know how he fell asleep in the end.
"Well, fortunately, there's no small wound, otherwise..." Lin Yue thought, realizing his carelessness.
The wooden armor had shattered, and yet he barely noticed, recalling that battle felt thrilling.
But, thankfully he endured it.
Little White was sleeping soundly in the bowl, Lin Yue didn't disturb it, instead put on new wooden armor made using the last few pieces of timber and grabbed the small round shield and iron spear before opening the stone door.
The sun hadn't risen; a vague mist lingered in the air.
Lin Yue felt that this fifth morning seemed cooler than the previous ones.
It wasn't quiet outside, he heard a humming sound coming from behind the house.
Cautiously approaching, he was surprised and delighted to find two mutant sheep lying in the trap dug yesterday!
Moreover, they had lost a lot of blood, breathing weakly as their life faded.
Lin Yue's iron spear effortlessly pierced through their throats, ending their lives and earning two Copper Treasure Chests.
"Not bad, the trap worked well, didn't it." He smiled, gaining two pieces of sheepskin, 20 kilograms of mutton, and four tusks.
After cleaning up, Lin Yue started working on something new on the other side.
The system evaluated design plans based on their basic resemblance; producing something similar grants the design map.
The previous ladder and this trap were evaluated similarly.
Given this, Lin Yue decided to create something new and see if the system would grant a design map.
The materials extracted from the Secret Realm yesterday were small cubes, so Lin Yue's inspiration stemmed from this.
He took out 4 units of stone and arranged them in a "口" shape.
No response.
What if he added another layer?
[You have obtained the Stone Stove Design Map]
Indeed!
[Stone Stove: Stone X4]
After making a stove with a hole on one side, Lin Yue noticed its size was perfect for placing the iron pot, quite fitting.
Dry grass placed below the stone stove, lit with a match!
Boiling water, two packs of instant noodle vegetables and sauce were tossed in all at once.
Soon, as the aroma wafted through, Lin Yue's stomach started growling.
On his shoulder, Little White climbed up sometime and sniffed the scent from the pot eagerly.
"Little White, would you like a bite?"
"Chirp!"
Lin Yue patted its small head, found a new pair of chopsticks from the box, picked up some noodles, and cooled them before offering them to Little White's mouth.
Like a natural noodle eater, Little White bit the noodles, slurped them all down.
"Chirp~" After finishing, it wanted more.
"Oh wow, who would've thought lizards love instant noodles?" Lin Yue chuckled.
This time, he took Little White's bowl, let the noodles cool before putting them in the bowl for Little White to eat, while he ate directly from the pot.
Soon, both pet and owner were satisfied with a burp.
Initially, Lin Yue planned to work on the Shelter Design Map immediately after eating, but who would've thought cooking instant noodles could be so enjoyable.
Now full, it's time for serious work.
Putting away the stove, iron pot, and wooden chopsticks, Lin Yue looked at the Shelter Design Map in the inventory.
"Use!"
However, despite Lin Yue's words, no familiar white light appeared; instead, the system's voice sounded.
[Shelter Design Map, please select construction category]
[1. Separate construction, position the shelter anywhere on the surface or underground]
[2. Merge construction, merge with existing shelter, enlarge shelter area]
Separate construction, merge construction?
He scrutinized the limitations of the current shelter.
The main issue was the space being too small, but both construction directions could resolve this problem.
Secondary issue... Safety!
Lin Yue checked the description of the current shelter, discovering the durability had decreased by 22 points overnight.
He didn't need to guess; he knew it was due to the nocturnal mutant creatures.
The stone shelter wasn't as safe as it seemed.
Moreover, with a snow storm now, if an earthquake were the next catastrophe, could this shelter withstand?
Among the two options, the second was to expand space; Lin Yue thought about it but excluded it.
The larger the area, the poorer the insulation.
Snow storm preparations weren't done yet, but enlarging the shelter space blindly could lead to disadvantages.
The first option, either a warehouse or a basement.
A warehouse can't be a basement, but a basement can surely be a warehouse.
"Then, let's choose to construct an underground shelter!"
[Please choose the shelter material]
So complicated.
Looking at various materials in possession now.
Timber 4, stones 72, iron blocks 25, copper ingots 43, coal 22.
[Building a stone underground shelter requires 45 stones in total]
[Please choose the construction location]
"Beneath the existing shelter!"
A white flicker of light passed.
Lin Yue entered the shelter, finding under the table, an ominous dark hole appeared, upon closer inspection, there was actually a stone staircase downward!