Bonus Chapter for getting 5 Reviews. Thanks for the support everyone, we reached top 100 in powerstone ranking.
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Another soldier raised his hand. "I want to live on the second floor."
"No problem!" Zeke said without hesitation. He selected a house and directly built a second story, connecting the levels with a wooden ladder.
"Is it going to collapse?" The soldiers looked at the unscientific construction with a mix of concern and fascination.
"A suspended one! I want to live in a floating house, like a bird's nest!" a younger-looking soldier shouted excitedly.
"Yes, yes, whatever you want." Zeke built with gusto, and the soldiers' enthusiasm only grew.
They chimed in with all sorts of ideas—some reasonable, some completely wild. Zeke accepted them all, and for a moment, the scene was almost festive.
"What's all this racket!" a stern shout rang out.
The middle-aged commander of the armored units walked over, his face grim.
His gaze swept over the excited soldiers. "You're just increasing the engineering burden for no reason. Everyone, quiet down and return to your posts."
"Don't be too hard on them, Commander," Zeke said, patting the man on the shoulder. "It's only the difference between thirty seconds and forty seconds. It's no trouble at all."
"When building a house, the most important thing is that the people living there are happy."
Zeke's eyes drifted over the group. These soldiers had just emerged from a life-or-death situation, having survived both betrayal and the threat of extinction. Moreover, many of them—like Dance—still had the lingering innocence of youth on their faces.
The commander's lips twitched, but in the end, he said nothing more and stood to the side with his hands behind his back.
Zeke looked back at his handiwork. It was orderly and practical, but he felt something was missing.
Right, it lacks the colors of nature.
Zeke pulled out several saplings. He walked to the front of each newly built house and placed a sapling in the dirt beside the door.
He then took out some Bone Meal to force their growth.
Trees shot up, and flowers burst from the soil.
Vibrant red poppies, pale purple violets, and pristine white daisies appeared.
Some soldiers looked on with expressions of utter confusion.
Others recognized them. "Those look like flowers... I saw them once in an encyclopedia."
"Alright then." Zeke clapped his hands and spread his arms wide. "Don't just stand there staring. Go check out your new homes."
Cheers erupted again, even louder than before. The soldiers shouted with joy as they swarmed toward the places they could finally call "home."
The commander's cold, hard expression softened slightly, a flicker of emotion passing through his eyes.
Standing to the side, Zeke listened to the endless stream of praise and watched those radiant faces. He tried his best to maintain the poise of a "Grand Architect," but he couldn't stop his lips from curling into a grin.
As expected, gold shines wherever it is. The fact that I'm a Master Builder is indisputable.
Zeke proceeded to set up Infinite Water sources and farmlands, which took him about two hours.
Once the construction was finished, Zeke took out a Blueprint and fully copied the first structure he had completed on Cadia.
[Please name the construction]
Zeke's eyes rolled as he typed into the naming bar:
[Transcendent · Perfect Balance of Utility and Aesthetics · Exemplar of Battlefield Living · Light of Cadia · Zeke Mason's Prototype Work No. 1]
[Name is too long]
Fine. Zeke tried again.
[Self-Built Fortress No. 1]
[Naming Successful]
"Hey, Zeke, over here!"
Bela poked his head out from the entrance of a dark green tent and waved at the idling Zeke.
Outside the tent sat two large crates: one filled with potatoes, and the other with wheat and a few heads of cabbage.
"The way your crops grow is downright unnatural," Bela said, stepping out of the tent. "Even the mutated weeds on an Imperial Agri-world don't have this kind of efficiency."
Bela grunted as he started dragging the potato crate. "Come on, give me a hand."
Zeke lifted the heavier crate with a single hand.
The two of them moved the harvest into the tent, one after the other.
Thump! Thump!
The crates hit the floor with a heavy dull sound.
"With these, plus the fields you just expanded outside, I'll have enough to feed everyone in this camp," Bela said, turning around. "To be honest, seeing everything you've done for our camp, I'm starting to feel a bit of regret."
"Oh?" Zeke crossed his arms. "You've realized you were a bit too greedy this morning? What, has your conscience kicked in? Planning to lower the profit-sharing ratio?"
"Cough, cough!"
Bela cleared his throat. "As the saying goes, a deal made is like water poured out—there's no taking it back."
He winked at Zeke.
"However, if I didn't show some form of appreciation, it would make me look a bit heartless, wouldn't it?"
"So?" Zeke asked with interest.
"So, I plan to make it up to you in a different way," Bela said with a mysterious smile. He dragged over a stool that was taller than himself, wiped the seat vigorously with his sleeve, and made a "please" gesture.
Zeke sat down.
As if performing a magic trick, Bela produced a piece of linen, stood on his tiptoes, and tied it around Zeke's neck.
"You're treating me to a meal?" Zeke looked at the neatly arranged "dining table"—which was actually just a thick wooden plank resting on two stacked crates.
"Bingo." Bela snapped his fingers.
As he spoke, he turned and drew a specialized dagger from a leather sheath at his waist. Calling it a dagger was a stretch; it looked more like a cleaver that had been meticulously modified.
He raised the custom cleaver and took a practice swing in the air, the blade letting out a faint whistle as it cut the wind.
"And now..." Bela took a deep breath, his entire aura shifting.
"Wait a second." Zeke raised a hand, interrupting him.
Seeing Bela's confused look, Zeke asked, "I just need to be sure... this isn't going to give me diarrhea like that Mold Soup this morning, right?"
Only after receiving Bela's solemn assurance did Zeke breathe a sigh of relief and settle back into his seat.
Bela whipped away a canvas sheet, revealing a variety of ingredients.
Beyond the potatoes, wheat, and cabbage Zeke recognized, there were various cans, strange-looking mushrooms, and herbs emitting peculiar aromas.
Bela lit a small stove nearby.
In the next moment, he moved.
His arm blurred as the cleaver slammed onto the cutting board piled with ingredients.
Thump!
The force of the strike caused all the ingredients on the board to bounce into the air.
Like a player of Fruit Ninja, Bela's wrist flicked with precision in mid-air, prepping every side dish in seconds.
"First dish: Creamy Mushroom Soup."
Bela tossed the sliced mushrooms and animal fat into a small skillet, sautéing them rapidly over the flame. Then, he took some milk from Cow and poured it into the pan, adding a pinch of crushed spices.
"Inspired by that miraculous milk of yours."
The soup gradually thickened, turning an enticing creamy white.
"Give it a try."
Zeke picked up a wooden spoon and took a sip. The temperature was perfect; the steam carried the rich scent of milk blended with the earthy freshness of the mushrooms.
"It's delicious!" Zeke praised sincerely.
"Second dish—the heavy hitter: Fire-Roasted Ant-Bull Meat Pie."
"Third dish: Sautéed Cabbage."
"Fourth dish... fifth dish..."
[What a unique flavor! You have consumed 5 types of food. Max HP +1]
[What a unique flavor! You have consumed 5 types of food. Max HP +1]
Zeke's Max HP reached 23.
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