Chapter 5: The Living Shelter

  Morning light slipped through the cracks of the wooden window and fell onto Lan Chi’s eyes. He sat up and avoided the glaring sunlight.

  “Sigh… another day of survival. More tiring than working overtime every day.” He resigned himself, climbed out of bed, and walked out of the bedroom.

  Today he had to upgrade the shelter. This partition didn’t block light at all — even sleeping in was impossible.

  “Get up. Time to work.” Lan Chi kicked the axe monster, driving it out to chop wood. He sat down on a chair, picked up a wild fruit, and stuffed it into his mouth.

  After taking a bite, he suddenly stopped. “Right, the fruit I planted yesterday!”

  Lan Chi rushed out of the shelter and ran toward the mutated plant outside.

  The sight in front of him made him stop short. The mutated seed he planted yesterday had already grown into a strange plant nearly two meters tall.

  Its entire body was dark purple-black. Semi-transparent fruits hung from the branches, and beneath the skin ran dark red vein-like patterns. The fruits varied in size — the large ones round like apples, the small ones delicate like walnuts.

  Although its appearance was somewhat terrifying, the attributes on the screen made Lan Chi cry out:

  【Mutated Wild Fruit: Unnamed】: Edible. Restores vitality and a small amount of mental energy after consumption.

  “Restores HP and MP — good stuff!” Lan Chi looked delighted and quickly began harvesting. He picked the large fully ripe fruits and left the smaller unripe ones to continue growing.

  After piling all the fruits behind the shelter, Lan Chi grabbed one and bit into it. Red juice burst out, sweetness filling his entire mouth.

  “Delicious.” He devoured the fruit in a few bites and immediately felt full of energy.

  He opened the panel and checked the information on it:

  【Current Reserves: Wood ×2.00, Stone ×25】

  “Still short 25 stones to upgrade.” Lan Chi muttered. He looked at the remaining tools in the corner — a rusty iron pickaxe, a slightly dented stone knife he had used a lot, and a hammer.

  “If I’m digging stone… then you it is.” He picked up the iron pickaxe, planning to use his mental power to mutate a worker. Since the stone axe could become his employee, there was no reason this iron pickaxe couldn’t.

  He took a deep breath and, just like yesterday, focused all his attention on the pickaxe in his palm, trying to connect with the warm energy inside his body.

  As mental power flowed in, the texture of the pickaxe began to change. The pick tip trembled rhythmically. The handle softened, and several long wooden legs extended from its base. A slit opened in the center of the pick head, revealing a large cloudy eyeball even murkier than the axe monster’s, rolling around restlessly.

  With yesterday’s experience, Lan Chi did not panic much. He placed the pickaxe monster on the ground, pointed at the stones nearby, and said, “Take a look. This is called stone. Later you go help me carry stones.”

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  The pickaxe monster blinked once. The pick head nodded slightly. Lan Chi sensed a stream of consciousness transmitting a message: “Un… der… stood…”

  “Very good. Let’s go. We’ve got a busy day.”

  …

  One man and one monster worked quickly. Soon, 25 stones were gathered.

  Lan Chi moved all the building materials into the living room, then stood at the main door. To prevent another attack like last time, he called the axe monster and pickaxe monster back to guard him on both sides.

  【Resources gathered. Upgrade conditions met. Upgrade immediately?】

  “Yes.”

  The moment he spoke, the shelter changed again. The thick wooden walls compressed and trembled. Countless fine stone particles seeped out from the gaps and filled the spaces tightly. The foundation slowly lifted, forming stone supports about ten centimeters high underneath.

  After about ten minutes, the upgrade completion notification appeared again.

  Lan Chi sent the two tool monsters to gather resources and hurried inside to check.

  The shelter had expanded to fifty square meters, neatly divided into a living room, one bedroom, one workshop, and a simple washing area.

  The bedroom was no longer yesterday’s crude partition. A door had been added, along with a window that opened outward from the inside. The living room now had two wall cabinets and several empty log shelves. The original fire pit had been replaced with a heavy stone fireplace.

  “An upgraded house really is nice. Much more comfortable than yesterday.” Lan Chi was very satisfied. The only bad thing was — no quilt.

  Last night he had still used the beast hide he skinned the day before yesterday. It was warm, but the strong smell of blood kept drilling into his nose, making him unable to sleep well all night.

  Lan Chi walked into the workshop. Inside was a workbench carved with strange patterns. As he approached, a system prompt appeared: 【Please insert materials】.

  Materials? Lan Chi thought for a moment, then went to the door and picked up some wood and stone from the pile outside, placing them on the workbench.

  【Please select the item to manufacture】

  Under the system’s prompt, the workbench changed. Small exquisite models emerged from the patterns. Lan Chi watched curiously and, after comparing them, selected a wooden barrel and a stone pot. These were perfect for fetching and boiling water. Yesterday he boiled water using a hollowed log. The water boiled, but the wooden cup nearly burned apart.

  After confirming, the workbench immediately transformed. The wood and stone on the surface melted into liquid, then, under a fantastical force, recombined into new shapes.

  “Wow!” Lan Chi opened his mouth wide. This was really magical — and incredibly interesting!

  He checked the barrel. It was over a meter tall and could hold a hundred liters of water easily. He made another one, then carried both barrels outside.

  “You two, come here.” Lan Chi called the two tool monsters over and pointed at the wood on the ground. “One each. Fill them with water and bring them back.”

  After arranging the water-fetching task, Lan Chi stood at the door and let out a long breath. For a better life, upgrades must never stop.

  He looked at the piles of wood and stone on the ground, then at the tool monsters walking away. Suddenly, inspiration flashed in his mind — a crazier idea appeared.

  “Wild fruits can mutate. Tools can mutate…” His gaze slowly shifted to the wooden house behind him. “Then can the shelter mutate too?”

  The more Lan Chi thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. The two tool monsters were already so useful. If he had obedient house monsters too — just imagining it felt amazing.

  He acted immediately. He entered the shelter again, sat on the living room floor, and pressed his hand against it. The warm energy inside his body flowed down his arm into the ground.

  The lifeless structure responded instantly. A low rumble rose from beneath the floor. The walls slowly wriggled. The stiff wooden boards seemed to gain life. Thin blood vessels quietly grew, accompanied by rhythmic pounding sounds. The entire shelter was undergoing a transformation.

  The rate of mental energy consumption far exceeded Lan Chi’s expectations. His vision blurred. The once clear wood grain doubled into afterimages. Sharp roaring sounds filled his ears.

  “Just… become!” Lan Chi gritted his teeth and forced the last bit of mental energy into the floor.

  At that instant, he felt as if he had fused with the house itself. An unprecedented wave of exhaustion swept through him.

  “…Hungry…” a childish voice sounded in his mind.

  Then Lan Chi’s body tilted, and he collapsed onto the floor, completely losing consciousness.