Power increased by 10 percent.
What kind of black tech is this?
But seriously, is this thing a candy or some sort of stimulant?
Chu Guang wasn't clear on its composition—there was no manufacturing date or ingredient list on the packaging.
"A duration of 10 hours…"
A 10 percent boost is nothing to scoff at. Even a small increase in strength could shift the balance in a critical moment.
But eating a lollipop in the middle of a battle...
That really doesn't suit his tough, hardened image.
And there's no telling when it'll start working.
After some thought, Chu Guang decided to keep it stashed away.
An extra ace up his sleeve could only be a good thing.
---
The next morning.
The players logged in as expected.
Though real-life work during the day left them exhausted, they seemed to shake off all their fatigue the moment they were online, brimming with energy and vigor.
Old Bai's cement kiln had finally dried completely.
He and Kuang Feng took a trip to a worksite on the map, carting back several dozen kilograms of limestone, then heading to the riverside to fetch buckets of clay and sand, preparing for the first trial firing of silicate cement.
In fact, the recipe for ordinary silicate cement was readily available online.
Simply put, it involves crushing limestone, mixing it with clay and iron shavings in specific proportions, and then heating the mixture to 1450°C in a specially designed kiln.
The resulting cement clinker only needs to be combined with sand and water to form mortar suitable for construction.
Using some professional websites, they could even find specific ratios for different types of cement to suit various construction needs.
Doing a little homework before logging on made things much easier than, say, being transported back in time and starting from scratch.
Since it was his first attempt, Old Bai chose the simplest recipe, which wasn't too demanding on materials, allowing him to manage with what they had at the outpost.
Relying on his "god-given strength," he raised his hammer to crush the stones he had gathered at the site as finely as possible, then mixed them with clay and iron shavings reduced from charcoal, loading everything into the newly completed kiln.
Charcoal was ignited.
A curl of smoke rose.
Fang Chang eagerly lent a hand nearby, operating a makeshift bellows made of tree branches, pipes, bark, and cotton strings, which pumped ample air into the kiln, intensifying the burn within.
"How do we know the temperature inside the kiln?"
"No idea."
"No idea?!"
"Well, do you have an industrial thermometer? Just keep working the bellows—push harder and more air in there! Ah… if only we had a generator."
Old Bai sighed thoughtfully, rubbing his chin, while Fang Chang looked a bit exasperated.
This guy.
Ever since becoming the "chief of construction," he'd really begun to take on the air of a foreman.
While turning the branches, Fang Chang absentmindedly wondered where Kuang Feng and Ye Shi had disappeared to...
In truth, even Chu Guang didn't know where they'd gone.
He could see who was online or offline and had a rough idea of their distance and direction, but precise coordinates weren't within his control—at least, not yet.
But just as Chu Guang was pondering what those two players were up to, they suddenly appeared, approaching him with a bucket in hand.
"Where did you go?"
Faced with the administrator's inquiry, Kuang Feng answered truthfully.
"Near the mutant leech nest."
Chu Guang frowned.
"Didn't I tell you not to go there?"
"We didn't go inside; we just set up traps near the nest… Look, these are mutant leech larvae."
Before Kuang Feng could speak, Ye Shi, noticing the administrator's displeased expression, hurriedly placed the bucket on the ground and began explaining.
Chu Guang glanced into the bucket, finding a few glass jars within, each containing larvae about the size of a palm.
They writhed, stretching and contracting malformed mouthparts, tangled together in a mass, resembling something out of a lurid comic.
"Interesting… How did you manage this?"
He had never heard of anyone catching these things back in Beth Street.
Though mutant insects were rich in protein, they were also rife with parasites—not something that could be dealt with by simply boiling it for a while.
Given their unique habitat and unpredictable combat ability, few survivors showed interest in them.
"Blood! We lured them with animal blood into baited glass jars—the larger leeches couldn't fit, while the smaller ones wriggled in but couldn't escape!"
Ye Shi explained excitedly, with Kuang Feng adding a few words.
"These mutant leeches seem to forage at night and retreat to their nests during the day. Apart from some broken jars, most of the larvae remained trapped. I just wanted to try, and the results were surprisingly effective."
Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.
"I see… That's a clever idea."
No wonder Kuang Feng had asked him for some game meat yesterday; he'd intended to use it as bait to catch the mutant leech larvae.
But…
"What are you planning to do with these things?" Chu Guang asked Kuang Feng.
"You can't eat them, that's for sure."
"I'm not planning to eat them. I'm planning to use them for fishing."
"Fishing?"
"Yes," Kuang Feng nodded, a hint of excitement in his eyes. "While exploring the lakeshore, I saw some large black birds fishing in the lake! If there are fish in the lake, we can catch them as a food source!"
Brilliant idea!
Chu Guang's eyes lit up as he listened to Kuang Feng.
He had considered fishing before, as it was generally safer than hunting. But his fishing skills were so lacking that even with decent tackle and bait, he'd come up empty-handed.
Moreover, if fish were that easy to catch, why hadn't the survivors settled by the lake?
The fish in Ling Lake were mutated species—"variants," as survivors called them.
After several failed attempts and losing the painstakingly crafted gear, Chu Guang had given up.
"Do you know how to fish?"
Startled by the administrator's question, Kuang Feng replied, "Not exactly… but I found some designs for fish traps online, and I'm planning to try building a few."
Since previous conversations about the real world had seemingly gone ignored by the NPC, Kuang Feng simply spoke his mind.
Chu Guang was thrilled but kept his expression calm.
"Alright, since you know how to fish, I'll leave this task to you!"
Receiving his orders, Kuang Feng and Ye Shi immediately set off to build traps.
Fishing seemed much more enjoyable than chopping trees or moving bricks!
Chu Guang watched as they gathered branches and plastic strings, scavenged from who knows where, setting up in a corner.
He let them be and turned his focus to smoking the meat with tobacco leaves.
Yesterday, following the method of the Beth Street survivors, he had rubbed crushed tobacco leaves over the meat and slowly roasted it, hoping the tar's ketone compounds would seep into the meat's fat layer, killing parasites and microbes…
But was it just his imagination, or did it smell off?
"This shouldn't be happening…"
Lifting a piece of hind leg meat to his nose, Chu Guang frowned.
Ordinarily, this method should give the meat a nicotine-like aroma, with the surface turning a glossy, charred yellow.
Yet the piece in his hand was dark red, cooked outside but raw within, carrying a faint whiff of rot.
"Did I mess up the process?"