Facts proved that silk dresses were indeed the most suitable style for deserted island life. Julia and Momo, the first to try on the new clothes, gave rave reviews shortly after.
Soft, comfortable, and breathable—their evaluations were roughly what Chuck expected. Though they didn't mention it, Chuck naturally witnessed the aesthetic appeal himself.
However, the next morning, watching Julia, forced to walk splay-footed in her tight, sexy new clothes, wobbling her round, perky butt down the stone slope to work in the greenhouse...
Chuck couldn't help but scratch his chin.
These loose silk robes were great, but the color was too plain.
If all the women at home wore the same style in the future, it might look to Chuck like a funeral or a gathering of some lewd cult.
In ancient China, silk and even ordinary cloth came in various colors—vermilion, plain white, deep purple, and dark cyan. In many occasions and formalities, the color of cloth and silk used for food, clothing, and daily necessities was linked to status and purpose.
Therefore, dyeing was also an indispensable part of weaving skills.
The women at home had different nationalities, ages, personalities, and naturally, different favorite colors. If he could sort out dyeing the fabric and make clothes in various colors according to their preferences, it would not only please the women but also allow Chuck to feast his eyes.
Especially black...
Silk, silk. When Chuck first decided to raise silkworms, the first thing that came to mind was black silk stockings. If he could create such top-tier attack-speed-boosting gear on this deserted island, all the tossing and turning would be more than worth it.
So he had to find a way to solve the dye issue next.
But on this deserted island, aesthetics were far less important than practicality, so dyeing naturally wouldn't be a high priority. Right now, with a lot more work to do, Chuck had to prioritize the important things.
The blueprint for the deserted island residence expansion designed by Yitong earlier had long been parsed by the blueprint DIY function, and now it was finally time to view it.
Opening the blueprint interface, the words "Parsing Complete" appeared before Chuck. After tapping lightly, the long string of text that emerged left Chuck completely stunned on the spot for a moment.
[Residence Expansion Blueprint (DIY Small Villa), Type: Tier-9 DIY Custom Blueprint, Description: Expand the original stone residence into a two-story small villa]
[Prompt: This blueprint is a large complex blueprint, therefore the system has divided it into sub-blueprints, which need to be completed one by one in order]
[Sub-blueprint — Foundation Expansion and Reinforcement (Progress 15%): Concrete × 100]
[Sub-blueprint — First Floor Wall and Roof Structural Reinforcement (Progress 30%): Steel Beam × 20, Stone Brick × 100]
[Sub-blueprint — First Floor Northeast and Northwest Room Expansion (Progress 45%): Steel Beam × 10, Concrete × 30, Stone Brick × 200, Glass × 18]
[Sub-blueprint — Second Floor Expansion (Progress 85%): Concrete × 100, Steel Beam × 20, Stone Brick × 500, Waterproof Resin × 350, Hardwood × 100, Glass × 40]
[Sub-blueprint — Wooden Staircase Construction (Progress 90%): Hardwood × 50, Metal Nail × 200]
[Sub-blueprint — Drainage, Water Supply, Smoke Exhaust, and Heating Pipe Installation (Progress 100%): Metal Nail × 600, Metal Pipe × 100]
[Total Materials Required for Blueprint: Steel Beam × 50, Concrete × 200, Stone Brick × 800, Glass × 58, Hardwood × 150, Waterproof Resin × 350, Firebrick × 60, Metal Nail × 800, Metal Pipe × 100, Woodworking Tool × 1, Striking Tool × 1]
This fucking...
Despite being mentally prepared, actually seeing this dense list of terrifyingly high material requirements made Chuck's scalp tingle.
It even triggered this so-called "sub-blueprint" mode for the first time due to being overly complex. The final accumulated material requirement was terrifying, probably more than all the materials he had spent on construction blueprints so far combined!
Just the 800 stone bricks alone was an unimaginable material requirement, one could only imagine how much labor it would consume. Not to mention, two new materials appeared for the first time in this expansion blueprint.
— Steel Beams and Concrete.
"Has it finally come to this..."
Looking at the light screen before him, Chuck let out a long breath, feeling somewhat emotional.
As everyone knows, reinforced concrete is the bones and flesh of modern high-rises. When building a house requires these two materials, it proves its sturdiness has reached the level of modern buildings.
From a thatched shed to a wooden cabin, from a stone house to a villa, this was the pinnacle.
But once this residence expansion blueprint was completed, living in this two-story small villa with his harem, the housing issue could finally be considered completely solved.
Viewed this way, such a massive material requirement didn't seem so excessive.
But the immediate problem was this so-called sub-blueprint function, which required Chuck to construct them in sequence. And the first one to bear the brunt was the concrete needed for the foundation.
Chuck had only synthesized mortar before; he had never tried synthesizing concrete.
But facing the issue of unlocking new materials every time he started a new blueprint was something Chuck was long accustomed to.
And with his current conditions, figuring out concrete shouldn't be difficult.
Chuck was already quite skilled at the process of exploring recipes. With Momo, the little think tank, and Yitong, the former real estate insider, combined with the cheat's synthesis prompts, Chuck quickly figured out the steps for synthesizing concrete.
Very similar to mortar, it was based on fired lime, but the main material for concrete was cement, which required additionally adding settled clay. After mixing, it became the so-called "cement."
Concrete, on the other hand, was based on cement, adding hard gravel. This way, its strength after solidifying would far exceed the mortar Chuck previously used to smooth the foundation—the main material of all buildings in modern society.
Chuck had all the required materials on hand, and the sources were quite abundant, so the rest was simple.
It was nothing more than, as in the past, arranging tasks with the women. Those with tasks worked; those without gathered supplies, chopped wood, fired kilns, made ash, etc., under Chuck's arrangement.
Everything proceeded methodically, and days passed in a blink, two more days gone.
With everyone's efforts, the 100 units of cement would soon be gathered, but Chuck wasn't in a hurry.
Under a barrage of texts from the northern island, Chuck finally packed some supplies, settled matters at home, and set off towards the volcano again after three days.
...
...
Another afternoon. The sky was gloomier than usual, the sea breeze colder, the waves more turbulent.
A storm was brewing.
Living on the island until now, the survivors of the northern settlement could predict this, so they moved fire and miscellaneous belongings from the jungle into the cave after lunch.
They had been doing this for the past days.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Just now, an abrupt, hoarse cough echoed in the cave.
"Na-eun..."
On a bed of straw mats lay the younger Lee sister, the once lively and stylish pink-haired Lee Na-eun, her face pale, lips blue.
Her sister Lee So-yeon stayed by her side, gently stroking her smooth white forehead, eyes full of worry and heartache.
And a trace of fear.
She had lost several companions recently. Though heartbreaking each time, if her sister was next, she didn't know if she could take it.
Lee Na-eun opened her eyes, looking at her sister with bloodshot eyes, showing a faint smile.
"It's okay... just a cold. Cough, cough... I'll be fine after a sleep."
"Then don't talk. Rest well, sleep more."
Lee So-yeon pulled up the jacket and palm-woven blanket covering her sister, then turned to look outside the dim cave, her frown deepening.
Days ago, Na-eun went on a two-day hunger strike out of anger. Luckily, Tang Yumo persuaded her to eat that night.
But perhaps due to days without proper food and weakened immunity, she developed a headache and fever the next day, falling ill with a cold.
Though just a cold, the fever was at its worst now, and the weather coincidentally turned like this...
Past storms lasted nearly two days. They survived by hiding in the cave, carefully burning wood for warmth, but inevitably suffering from the cold.
Now, with her sister acutely ill, she didn't know if she could survive this rain...
Thinking this, Lee So-yeon couldn't sit still. Gritting her teeth, she got up, looking at her companions and whispering.
"Please take good care of Na-eun. I'll go gather more firewood."
"Sister So-yeon, it's about to rain. Don't go too far."
"Don't worry, I know."
Walking straight out of the cave, Lee So-yeon ran into Tang Yumo returning with branches and dry leaves.
Seeing the firewood in her arms, she paused.
Though not much, it was a rare supplement. Tang Yumo probably had the same thought—it was for the sick Na-eun.
Warmth rose in her heart. She nodded at Tang Yumo.
"Tang, thank you."
Tang Yumo shook her head, looking at her in confusion.
"Where are you going?"
"It shouldn't rain just yet. I'll gather more; who knows how long it'll last."
Tang Yumo nodded, but suddenly looked up at the sky, frowning slightly.
"Speaking of which... shouldn't he be arriving soon?"
"It's about to rain. That man isn't stupid; why would he come out now? I've urged him so many times these past three days, one more day won't matter."
Lee So-yeon shook her head, annoyance flashing in her eyes.
Putting the matter out of her mind, she brushed past Tang Yumo.
Watching her disappear into the jungle, Tang Yumo narrowed her eyes, turning her gaze to the jungle outside the river valley on the other side of the beach.
Lee So-yeon didn't know, but she did.
Storms on this island were avoidable disasters to them, but to Chuck...
It was a completely different story.
...
Nearing 3 PM, the storm poured from the gray sky as expected. Gale-force winds from the sea whipped the waves and bent the jungle trees.
Inside the northern cave, ten women sat shoulder-to-shoulder around a pitifully small fire. Na-eun lay nearby, sleeping soundly.
A clay pot of wild vegetable soup boiled on the fire, its taste making the women feel waves of weariness.
Days of wild fruits, vegetables, and shellfish, with only occasional fish. Even the least picky eater would get sick of it.
Not to mention they had enjoyed such a satisfying meal a few days ago.
The aroma of lamb stewed with sweet potatoes lingered in their minds even when they closed their eyes.
Then their mouths watered, yearning intensely, making the bland vegetable soup before them even more repulsive.
"I really want to eat meat..."
At this moment, a younger European girl among them stared blankly at the flickering light, muttering in English.
Instantly, sounds of swallowing saliva echoed around the fire.
No one responded, nor did anyone refute. As her words fell, everyone involuntarily recalled that meal of lamb and sweet potato soup.
Yes.
They really wanted another meal like that.
Looking at her companions' expressions, Lee So-yeon's face paled.
Beside her, Tang Yumo slowly lowered her head.
But the next second, as if sensing something, she looked up towards the cave entrance.
Outside the pitch-black cave, amidst the dense, violent curtain of rain, gradually...
A blurry, tall figure appeared.