Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

Chapter 15 Accelerating Construction

In the following days, Zhou Ye brought back all the smoked meat. He also brought back over 500 jin (250 kg) of charcoal for the brick kiln.

The old campsite now only has about 10 kilograms of potatoes left. It's basically in a semi-abandoned state. Everything that needed to be moved has been moved, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, we probably won't be going back anytime soon.

However, being delayed by the wild boar herd wasted several days. I was still a bit annoyed.

At the foot of the steep cliff, a bamboo shed has already been erected. In front of the bamboo shed, a brick kiln has also been built, but it will need a few more days to air dry.

And my calculations were indeed correct. After using some of the refractory bricks for the construction of the brick kiln, there were enough left to build a fireplace.

Finding that there were no problems with the brick kiln, Zhou Ye went to the side and carried two large baskets of stones on a shoulder pole.

It must be said that the wild boar herd also brought a sense of crisis. Their little home was still too "fragile." Just that ring of wooden stakes? Most wild animals wouldn't be a problem. But what if they encountered a herd of wild boars or a powerful beast like a bear? They really didn't have much confidence.

Therefore, taking advantage of the few days of free time, in addition to reinforcing the gate, Zhou Ye has dug up a large amount of clay. He also found many large stones at the foot of the steep cliff, which are also excellent building materials.

Zhou Ye planned to first build a stone wall behind the wooden stakes using large stones and clay. Then, he planned to build an earthen wall behind the stone wall using straw-reinforced concrete.

These two walls are more than a step wide, enough to withstand any attack. Furthermore, they are only chest-high, so they won't obstruct the view from either side. Standing atop those walls, one could even throw spears and arrows from above the fence.

The wall is now taking shape. It should be finished in the next few days during the downtime at the brick kiln... right?

He carried the large rocks back and forth several times. After lunch, Zhou Ye went to the bamboo forest to see what he had found with his traps.

With the increase in traps, the daily harvest of bamboo rats has grown to six or seven. It should be said that Zhou Ye has had no time to hunt recently, and bamboo rats have become his most important source of meat.

Today was no different. After wandering around the bamboo forest for a long time, Zhou Ye was already carrying five bamboo rats in his hand.

However, when they reached the last few traps, Zhou Ye suddenly discovered that the lasso had indeed caught a bamboo rat, but the bamboo rat was struggling desperately and seemed particularly terrified.

Bamboo rats are generally considered rather dim-witted. Once trapped, they usually remain quiet and obedient, even continuing to eat, as if they have resigned themselves to their fate.

Therefore, the unusual behavior of this bamboo rat immediately alerted Zhou Ye.

Stopping in his tracks, Zhou Ye cautiously observed his surroundings, his right hand resting on the hilt of his waist knife.

Sure enough, with careful observation, one could spot the anomaly. Perhaps Zhou Ye's spiritual essence was exceptionally high, and his eyesight was equally sharp.

Then they saw a large green snake hidden among a clump of bamboo leaves.

This snake closely resembles the bamboo viper, sharing the same bluish camouflage. It's almost impossible to spot without close inspection. However, this snake is significantly larger, reaching three or four feet in length, much bigger than the other bamboo viper. Nevertheless, let's call it a bamboo viper!

Now that it had been discovered, with a "whoosh," a flash of light appeared, and the snake's head was severed.

Upon discovering that the experience points for basic cleaving attacks were also increased by 2, Zhou Ye couldn't help but smile.

The basic slashing attack at the junior level is already this powerful. Now that we're not far from the senior level, let's grind for a few more days and try to reach the senior level as soon as possible.

I picked up the snake's body and caught a bamboo rat from the trap. Today I can have a snake and rat hot pot.

However, on the way back, Zhou Ye began to consider a few things:

First, there's the bamboo rat. To be honest, I've been eating them so often these days that I'm getting a little tired of them. And I've been catching live bamboo rats quite often, so could I raise them as pets? That way, I wouldn't have to worry about food preservation.

Secondly, there are wild boar herds and bamboo pit vipers. It should be said that dangers in the wild are indeed everywhere. Therefore, in addition to strengthening the defenses of your small settlement, you also need to patrol the surrounding area thoroughly. You should at least have a clear understanding of the area within a few miles to reduce the risk of attack.

Finally, there's the matter of one's own fighting style.

I would say that my current fighting style is characterized by high agility, quick sword strikes, and ranged throwing. This fighting style is similar to that of an assassin.

It can be very effective at times, but its shortcomings are equally obvious. In particular, the lack of strength leads to insufficient lethality.

Therefore, upon seeing the bamboo viper today, Zhou Ye immediately thought of using poison!

If we could extract the venom of the bamboo viper and apply it to arrowheads and javelin tips, that would be a powerful tool for defeating a stronger opponent.

Upon returning to their small home, they found only one dead bamboo rat, so they skinned and disposed of it, while throwing the other five live ones into a wooden bucket.

He put some wheat grains and small bamboo pieces inside as food for the bamboo rats. Then Zhou Ye went off to do other things…

However, more than an hour later, Zhou Ye was surprised to find that the wooden bucket had been gnawed and pitted, and a bamboo rat had even chewed through the bucket, its little head almost sticking out.

Zhou Ye was both amused and exasperated; this was his mistake. Bamboo rats can gnaw on bamboo, so how could they possibly contain a mere wooden bucket? Don't forget! Bamboo rats are still a type of rodent; gnawing and digging are instinctive for them.

Move the bamboo rats to a large earthenware jar, cover it, and keep them there temporarily. That broken bucket also needs some use; let's chop it up and burn it tonight!

However, there should definitely be a place where they can be kept.

Before long, at the other end of the bamboo house, Zhou Ye had chosen a spot. He then began to build what could be called a bamboo rat's nest using straw-reinforced concrete!

With ample materials and readily available tools, the bamboo rat burrow was completed before dinner. These little guys will have to endure a few more days of this until they are completely air-dried before being moved into their new home…

And so, four days passed.

In the past few days, the brick kiln has been completely dried in the shade. Zhou Ye has also started firing the first batch.

This is called a heater. When using a heater, you don't need to burn anything; it's simply to dry things out again.

The bamboo rat burrows have also been built, with a thick layer of dry grass underneath. Including the bamboo rats caught in the past few days, there are now more than 20 rats inside.

But the most important thing was that wall. After a lot of hard work, it has finally been completed. Seeing such a thick and sturdy wall, Zhou Ye felt that the sense of security had increased by another order of magnitude.

With continuous development, our little community is becoming more and more like home!