Chapter 62: A Vibrant Flourishing
Another major drain, one he had to take seriously, was his Rune Energy Bar.
This was especially true for his summoning Rune.
Keeping Xiaoye active and having her frequently use Skills was a significant drain on his energy.
If not for the Jade Pendant around his neck and the eerie green mineral crystal in his backpack acting as two portable chargers, Su Chen’s Energy Bar would have been empty long ago.
Furthermore, the Shadow Summoning Rune’s upgrade mechanism had also reset his Rune Energy Bar once.
But even with that reset, his intense energy consumption had left him with less than 10%.
He paused the hunt for now.
Xiaoye also stopped summoning her Phantom Clones.
In standby mode, his energy recovery rate just barely managed to keep pace with the drain.
’Time to rest for a bit.’
It was nearly noon, but the sun wasn’t directly overhead.
By his rough estimate, high noon in this world probably corresponded to around 1:30 PM Earth time.
Despite his earlier detours searching for a cave, he had generally been moving forward. Su Chen now found himself in a shaded patch of woods near a sunlit path.
He was on high ground, with an excellent, open view.
As the forest grew slightly hot and muggy, the monsters became much less active.
Su Chen sat on a protruding stone ledge and placed his hiking pack by his feet. He took out a portable alcohol stove, placed a solid fuel cube inside, and lit it, a small flame flaring to life.
He immediately placed a large, lightweight titanium cup on top. After pouring in some clean water, he tore open two blocks of instant noodles, dropped them in, and added a seasoning packet.
In just a moment, steam carrying the savory aroma of noodles began to rise.
Besides the carbs, he couldn’t go without some protein.
He easily opened a can of luncheon meat with his Small Straight Knife and began eating directly from it with chopsticks. He even dropped two slices into his cup, letting the fat melt and spread through the water.
’Too bad I can’t listen to the radio.’
If there was one regret, this was it. Su Chen was genuinely interested in what the authorities were up to.
The Dongfu City broadcast tower had limited range. Deep inside this dense forest, a distance of just ten kilometers was enough for the signal to degrade severely.
Trees, after all, absorb a significant amount of radio waves.
As he lifted his titanium cup to eat, he had no idea that at that very moment, the authorities were announcing the morning’s discovery. They had revealed the existence of the mysterious Rune Store and its inventory to the public, and had already dispatched an engineering corps to fortify the perimeter of the Holiday Shopping Plaza.
But this gap in information wouldn’t last long.
He finished the noodles and drank the last of the broth.
As Su Chen pulled out two Snickers bars to replenish his energy, he suddenly froze.
He narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on the slope below him.
In the distant, dense woods, a small building had inexplicably materialized out of thin air.
The whole scene was as surreal as a mirage, making it impossible to tell if it was real or an illusion.
Su Chen didn’t act rashly. He quickly devoured the chocolate bars and then, from his high vantage point, simply began observing through his binoculars.
...
"...The Rune Store is currently located at the Holiday Shopping Plaza in Wanghai District, situated in the border zone. Capable individuals are welcome to come and help garrison the area, as well as conduct clearing operations in the surrounding forest along the boundary."
Back at the Qingye Collection campsite, a broadcast was relaying the important official announcement.
"Sounds like the authorities are issuing a call to arms, but Wanghai District is pretty far. You’d have to cross almost half the city to get there."
Someone else griped, "Besides, going from one border zone to another? That’s just absurd."
Everyone at the base agreed with that sentiment.
It was too far and not worth the effort.
Besides, they barely had enough quintessence for themselves. They were saving up to synthesize Runes or trade for other things. Who had extra quintessence to spend on items?
"Enough talk. Our squad is falling behind. It’s our own fault for not being good enough to kill monsters. No one eats until we finish reinforcing this vehicle barricade."
After their brief exchange, the team from the camp’s engineering department got to work, each to their own task.
One of them drove a forklift, easily lifting a derelict car. Once it reached the right height, he stacked it directly on top of another vehicle.
The tires of the bottom car were already flat. In addition to increasing friction, someone had chocked the wheels with solid red bricks to keep it from being pushed.
Nearby, someone else, feeling the barrier wasn’t strong enough, had taken things a step further. They had removed all four wheels from the bottom car, drilled holes into weak points on the chassis, and then hammered in high-strength carbon steel ground spikes, pinning the vehicle firmly to the earth.
"What do you think? It probably couldn’t stop a charge from a giant bear, but anything smaller—tigers, wolves, you name it—they won’t be breaking through this fortification."
A master craftsman from the engineering team grinned, his grease-stained face beaming. He was clearly treating the task like a sacred work of art.
"Master Zhang, in the time you’ve spent on that one, the rest of us could have finished three cars!"
Jokes aside, when they all tried to push the car together, their eyes lit up.
"So what if lunch is late? It’s not like Manager Shao is going to stiff us. Besides, the other team is still out there logging."
The whole campsite had been busy with a major public works project since early morning.
Namely, reinforcing the camp’s existing defensive fortifications.
Overnight, the river channel had dried up completely, becoming little more than a dry moat. The vehicle barricade, which had been built along the riverbed, was already crude to begin with and had suffered various degrees of damage during the previous night’s attack.
As soon as Manager Shao woke up, he immediately organized the reinforcement efforts, putting the camp’s two forklifts to use stacking derelict vehicles.
To motivate everyone, he even handed out extra food supplies to those who participated.
At the same time, with so much ready-made timber just outside the camp, it would be a waste not to use it.
It was a ready source of material for a natural palisade.
Unfortunately, the ancient trees of this new world were exceptionally tough. Even with the smaller ones, just getting through the outer bark was a struggle. Chainsaws strained against the wood, their engines overheating long before they could fell a tree.
But while the ancient trees were too tough, there were still plenty of native Earth tree species around the camp, and the slopes of Cyan Dragon Ridge were covered in usable timber.
One after another, derelict vehicles were dragged to the camp entrance by the tow hooks of SUVs, followed by several heavy-duty pickups loaded down with logs.
By noon, wisps of cooking smoke had begun to rise over the public campground.
With at least three hundred people having gone out in batches to hunt that morning, the camp itself felt sparsely populated.
The clearing operations around the perimeter meant that very few land-based monsters managed to wander into the camp. This peace and quiet allowed the fortification work to proceed smoothly.
"...October 29th, 2025, of the old calendar. Day two of the New Era. The official record of the *Gourmand’s Guide to Otherworld Monster Ingredients* now begins." At a nearby campsite, Bao Fusheng spoke into a voice recorder, starting his culinary journal.
A former food blogger whose channel had failed to take off, Bao Fusheng was too afraid to face life and death in combat after arriving in the new world. But determined to make his mark on this vast new frontier, he decided to return to his old trade.
He imagined the Human Race thriving and developing in this new world, and he realized he might have just found a way to leave his own name in the annals of history.
’I could become this world’s Shennong!’
His friends had laughed themselves silly at this delusion. After all, besides tasting a hundred herbs, Shennong was a bona fide leader of the Human Race.
This was why a red-faced Bao Fusheng had changed the name to the less ambitious, if rather theatrical, *Gourmand’s Guide to Otherworld Monster Ingredients*.
When Manager Shao, who was making his rounds through the camp, happened to hear about this, a wave of warmth spread through his chest.
"Wonderful," he sighed.
On just the second day after the city’s transportation had ushered in an apocalypse, order was already being rapidly re-established. People’s spirits weren’t broken; on the contrary, they were more united than ever.
Instead of fighting and scheming over a piece of bread, people were actually dreaming of the future, thinking about how they could leave their mark on this new world.
Manager Shao glanced around at the construction work proceeding in full swing. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion. Before him was a scene of vibrant life and boundless potential.