In the valley, the construction of the new residence is in full swing.
The fifteen-meter-high wooden walls on all sides have been erected, and the internal load-bearing columns are being constructed in conjunction with the roof;
One after another, the already cut giant pieces of Golden Frost Wood are being continuously transported to various parts of the wooden house for installation;
Countless iron materials are also being collectively transported to various locations to assist with the construction…
Clink… thunk…
"Pass me a piece of wood over here!"
"Old Tony, we need a hammer here, bring it over quickly."
"Coming, coming, they still need four planks over there, each seven meters long, to get some people to move them quickly."
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In the valley, the bustling crowd is everywhere, full of busy figures hurrying around, and the clanking and banging sounds from the iron and wooden materials and tools are constant.
Nowadays in Harper, unlike half a year ago, Bruce and others returning with prey is no longer something novel.
People merely greet them, but the majority remain fully engrossed in their construction work.
After instructing someone to process the Cold Beast, Bruce walked into the wooden house alone, found the Force Measuring Stake, and after fiddling with it for a while, his already furrowed brows grew even more serious.
"Just over twenty thousand kilos, it seems I wasn't mistaken. The Cold Beast Meat I'm eating currently has a negligible effect on my enhancement. What could be the reason…"
In the first month after moving into the valley, Bruce's Basic Strength increased from thirteen thousand to fifteen thousand;
In the subsequent five months, by the day the new house broke ground, he had measured just over twenty thousand;
By today, the eleventh day since the new house started construction, his Basic Strength has only increased by at most one or two hundred.
As Basic Strength increases, the rate of improvement slows down.
An initial jump of two thousand in the first month, followed by a gradual decrease each month is understandable.
But to drop to only a hundred or so kilos in ten days is clearly not normal.
Looking at the string of Cold Beast Meat hanging by the stove, Bruce seemed lost in thought.
"The more I eat Cold Beast Meat, the less heat my body generates, and the increase in Basic Strength diminishes. Logically, this means that lower-level Cold Beast Meat no longer works on me, so must I eat Intermediate Cold Beasts' meat to continue improving?"
This thought popped into Bruce's mind, and he shook his head vigorously.
Not to mention the lower-level Cold Beasts, the ones he's encountered so far are only three kinds.
There are still three more he hasn't seen in the Cold Beast Scroll left by George.
He knows nothing about what Intermediate Cold Beasts are like or how strong they are.
In this situation, let alone hunting them, he might not even be able to save his own life if he accidentally bumps into one.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be Intermediate Cold Beasts. The Cold Beast Meat I've eaten so far comprises only Snow Mane, Frost Wolf, and Demon Sheep. Maybe my body has developed immunity to these three types of Cold Beast Meat, and trying others might still be effective."
Bruce considered a second possibility.
After eating Cold Beast Meat, the body heats up.
This symptom is very much like signs of poisoning.
Moreover, the Cold Beast Meat is azure, and the blood is dark green.
Considering these two features, it's not hard to deduce that Cold Beast Meat should have some degree of toxicity, and humans increase their Basic Strength by absorbing its essence, which certainly has a limit.
At least for lower-level, or the three types of Cold Beast Meat Bruce has encountered, it's like this.
"Wild guesses are useless. To be safe, I'll continue slowly increasing with these three kinds of Cold Beast Meat. As long as it still works, I'll eventually hit the thirty thousand kilos limit, though it might take a bit longer; being bolder, I'll expand the hunting range and test other three kinds to see if my guess is correct!"
Bruce took out the Cold Beast Atlas left by George.
After contemplating the last three types of Cold Beasts, he made a decision.
"According to this, the other three kinds of Cold Beasts, despite having different abilities, still fall under the lower-level Cold Beasts category. As long as I'm careful, there shouldn't be any issues, plus the spinal cord of the Cloud Mist Teng Jiao is a necessary material for making bows, originally an essential item. If George could successfully hunt them with a team, so can I!"
The importance of bows and arrows isn't fully evident in the hands of people in the Axeheart Realm.
After all, with the strength of those in the Axeheart Realm, even if they hit a Cold Beast, at most, they'd injure it; killing it is completely impossible.
But in the hands of people in the Earthripper Realm, it's different.
An arrow shot with ten thousand kilos of force inflicts greater damage on Cold Beasts, and coupled with the Earthripper Realm's inherent ability to confront lower-level Cold Beasts head-on, their hunting success rate should certainly be higher with bows and arrows.
Especially considering that the bows and arrows currently used by the camp are only ordinary iron and not Ten-forged Level iron.
When Bruce noticed this earlier, he began to plan.
With a plentiful supply of iron ore, in the future, each member of the Harper Hunting Team will definitely be equipped with a broadsword and a set of bows and arrows.
Although the timber in this world is strong, it can't compare to the even stronger Basic Strength of humans.
To make bows and arrows usable by both Axeheart Realm and Earthripper Realm individuals, the bow body and arrowheads must be made of pure iron, and since the bowstring needs to withstand tension, the material requirements are the most stringent.
It must be made from the spinal cord of a Cloud Mist Teng Jiao.
The Cold Beast Atlas left by George states clearly that the spinal cord of a single Cloud Mist Teng Jiao can be drawn out to a length of thirty meters, enough to make at least ten longbows.
"Expand the hunting range, prioritize finding Cloud Mist Teng Jiao, and the other two Cold Beasts can wait. Given my current strength, taking five Earthripper Realm individuals with me shouldn't lead to any unforeseen events."
Bruce made up his mind and quickly gathered Charlie, Aaron, and the other three.
The five of them held weapons, their upper bodies bare and their foreheads slick with sweat, clearly indicating the substantial impact Bruce had just delivered, causing them to plunge into intense training upon their return.
Seeing their diligence, Bruce's expression showed a hint of comfort.
"Charlie, how much Cold Beast Meat does the camp currently have in reserve?"
"176,820 Kilo."
Charlie reported the number almost without hesitation.
Upon hearing this astonishing figure, neither Aaron, Michael, nor Bruce showed any change in their expressions, as if it were routine.
Since they were responsible for the hunting, they generally had a rough idea of the number of Cold Beasts they had killed over the past half-year, so the number didn't surprise them.
The meat distribution system seemed highly consuming, but that was based on insufficient hunting ability.
Carefully calculating, according to the earliest method, the Hunting Team, Logging Team, and reserves consumed about seven hundred Kilo per day, totaling twenty-one thousand Kilo a month; adding the two thousand Kilo monthly for those under thirteen, and finally the large share for Bruce, it would be at most twenty-five thousand Kilo.
Six months ago, Bruce led the team and hunted three Cold Beasts on the first night, acquiring a total of 4,200 Kilo of Cold Beast Meat.
Therefore, as hunting ability improved, the surplus Cold Beast Meat rapidly increased, and the rate of reserve growth was quite formidable.
It's noteworthy that when the meat distribution system was first implemented six months ago, in the first six days the camp's Cold Beast Meat had overflowed by over ten thousand Kilo.
Even without considering the later enhancement in the Hunting Team's strength, accounting for ten thousand Kilo every six days, after six months, the Cold Beast Meat reserves should be at least over three hundred thousand Kilo.
In fact, if Bruce hadn't spent significant time on mining, iron forging, and building new wooden houses, the Cold Beast Meat reserves would have easily exceeded three hundred thousand and more.
"Seventeen thousand Kilo, that's enough for the camp for many days, right?"
Hearing this question, Charlie showed a peculiar smile, shook his head, and replied: "Currently, the camp has 140 Axeheart Realm, excluding the ten in the Hunting Team, the remaining 130 are all part of the Collection Team and Logging Team, and a few are taken in by the Camp Supply Station and Craftsmen Workshop, with a daily quota of 5 Kilo.
The reserves have recently been replenished with a batch, totaling 212, and this part's daily quota is directly calculated at 2 Kilo; plus the 372 individuals under thirteen, they receive monthly allocations averaging 60 Kilo per day.
Including the head, and the five of us, our current daily consumption of Cold Beast Meat is roughly 1,300 Kilo; considering the current camp's Cold Beast Meat reserves, even if we don't hunt for four months, it wouldn't be a problem!"
Charlie, as the Camp Supply Officer, was evidently quite competent.
Whether it was the total reserves of Cold Beast Meat or the current consumption in the camp, he was well-acquainted and discussed it eloquently, drawing a few nods of approval not only from Bruce but from Aaron and the others as well.
Though Bruce had a general idea about the consumption of Cold Beast Meat, it wasn't as precise as Charlie's report.
Six months ago, with a Hunting Team composed of fifteen Axeheart Realm, Bruce could lead them to kill three Cold Beasts in one night, gaining a total of over 4,200 Kilo of Cold Beast Meat, not to mention now.
Yet now, the daily consumption of Cold Beast Meat in the camp was only 1,300 Kilo.
This meant that the hunting ability of Harper had already far exceeded the demand of the current camp's population.
"Leader, the Cold Beast Meat surplus is huge. I think we can also recruit those over thirty into the reserves; these people are in their prime, and as long as they have a fixed Cold Beast Meat quota, they could break through to the Axeheart Realm."
"Alright, you can handle this matter."
Without much thought, Bruce agreed to Charlie's suggestion.
The number of people over thirty in the camp was fewer than two hundred, so even bringing them all into the reserves would only increase daily consumption by three to four hundred Kilo, which wasn't much.
"Besides, try gathering a group of children ranging from six to thirteen years old to find the lower age limit for the reserves; as long as they can cultivate normally after eating Cold Beast Meat, they can be included in the reserves in the future."
Charlie's eyes lit up as he heard this, and he immediately nodded.
The four others around, especially Aaron and Michael, couldn't help but widen their eyes and show a look of excitement.
The current requirement for the reserves set the minimum age at thirteen, which was previously based on numbers rather than actual cultivation age.
If relaxed, the number of reserves would increase significantly.
Determining the age restriction for the consumption of Cold Beast Meat was a highly strategic task set by Bruce, and once this experiment was completed, it would mean that in the future, children in Harper could receive Cold Beast Meat as soon as they reached the cultivation age.
This was no trivial matter.
Reproduction is one of the most basic and stable human concepts; hoping for better conditions for the next generation and wishing them a better life is entirely normal.
Aaron and Michael had families and children, which explained their intense reaction to Bruce's words.
Bruce didn't think as far ahead as Aaron and the others; his initial intention was simply to consume more Cold Beast Meat.
Though there was no risk of Cold Beast Meat spoiling, idly sitting on it meant it was just a pile of dead stuff; turning it into strength was where its true value lay.
After a moment's thought, Bruce turned to look at Aaron and the others, asking:
"Additionally, Aaron, among you, who knows the locations of Brocolli and Vegeta's camps?"
Hearing this, Aaron paused for a moment but quickly caught on, an excited expression on his face as he nodded: "I know roughly where they are. Give me some time, and I can find them quickly. Leader, are you planning to absorb the people from those two camps?"