Thanks to days of gathering supplies and hunting beasts, Wei Qiyue was now quite wealthy. Although he had spent a large sum a few days ago to purchase the Qingna Tiger-Sinew Bow and twenty high-quality Tier 1 arrows, having that superior equipment in the following days made hunting beasts much smoother and more successful. He had even managed to hunt a Tier 2 Ice Bear.
By now, he had explored a ten-kilometer radius around his Shelter. Strangely enough, after the snowstorm stopped, the beasts in this area became exceptionally numerous. He wondered if this region naturally had so many beasts, and they had only kept away initially because of the Azure Dragon's droppings. Once Wei Qiyue cleared away the droppings and the dragon's aura vanished, the beasts gradually returned. Fortunately, Wei Qiyue's combat power was no longer what it used to be; he was no longer the weakling he once was.
As a law-abiding young man from the twenty-first century who had never fought, brawled, or even killed a chicken, Wei Qiyue had originally possessed a combat power of virtually zero. After undergoing training for so many days, he now looked very much like the protagonist in a novel.
The first time Wei Qiyue used the "Snow Treading" skill, he was exceptionally thrilled, intoxicated by the breathtaking sensation of lightness akin to the trace-free movement found in martial arts novels. It was a normal person's first brush with something beyond comprehension, bordering on a superpower. This truly made Wei Qiyue realize that this Doomsday World was indeed no longer the world he once knew. Aside from the apocalypse, there were all kinds of powerful superpowers here. In this place, as long as you put in the effort, soaring through the skies, burrowing into the earth, moving mountains, and filling seas was no longer a dream; you could even become a deity. As long as you survived, and as long as you worked hard.
Yet Wei Qiyue didn't want to work hard; he wanted to lie flat. As long as he survived, he just wanted to find a quiet place to lie flat in the apocalypse. Since he wanted to lie flat, he needed to put in the effort to create good conditions for lying flat—such as upgrading the Shelter.
After the effort Wei Qiyue had put in during this period, he took stock of all his supplies. He kept the necessities and recycled all the items that weren't very important to him back to the Marketplace in exchange for Survival Points, making Wei Qiyue instantly wealthy once again.
Requirements for upgrading to a Tier 3 Shelter: 5,000 wood, 2,000 stone, and 500 iron ingots. He already had enough wood; being in the forest, he had collected plenty over the past few days. He also had enough stone, mostly obtained from opening chests. Only the iron ingots were lacking; he currently had only 100 iron ingots, leaving a shortage of 400. After checking the price of iron ingots and looking at his current balance, Wei Qiyue made the decisive purchase.
"Materials required for Shelter upgrade detected. Do you wish to upgrade?" A cold voice rang out.
"Yes!" Wei Qiyue didn't hesitate at all.
A flash of light swept past. This time, the process took much longer than before. About a minute later, a brand-new house appeared in Wei Qiyue's field of vision.
The 100-square-meter stone house had vanished, replaced by a 200-square-meter luxury residence unfolding before his eyes. The living area had doubled in size. In addition to a living room, bedroom, kitchen, workshop, and bathroom, the house now featured an additional smelting workshop, a forging workshop, and a Shelter Storage (100 cubic meters). The fence outside the Tier 3 Shelter was a size larger and had transformed into a white stone wall.
Wei Qiyue checked the information on the new Shelter.
Shelter
Tier: 3
(A sturdy and durable stone house capable of withstanding some medium-sized beasts and certain extreme climates.)
Next upgrade requirements: wood, stone, sand, 5,000 iron ingots, Foundation Core x1
Defense:
Area: Living area of 200 square meters, usable area of 400 square meters
Prompt: Your current Shelter is Tier 3 and can now withstand most medium-sized beasts, some large beasts, and most extreme climates. However, it is still unable to withstand certain powerful large beasts and terrifying apocalyptic disasters. Please upgrade promptly.
"Foundation Core? What is that?" Wei Qiyue looked at the information after the Shelter upgrade. Wood, stone, iron ingots, and even sand were completely unsurprising, but what was this suddenly appearing Foundation Core? He had never even encountered it in the original Marketplace.
Wei Qiyue stopped pondering this and turned his attention to the other two items that interested him: the smelting workshop and the forging workshop. When he upgraded to the Tier 2 Shelter, he had gained a manufacturing workshop, where the manufacturing workbench could produce items based on blueprints. But this smelting workshop and forging workshop...
The smelting workbench could smelt and synthesize materials.
The forging workbench could forge weapons and equipment based on blueprints by inserting the required materials.
Wei Qiyue was wild with joy. In the future, he wouldn't need to buy many materials from the Marketplace, and he could forge his own weapons and equipment. That wretched Marketplace was far too ruthless! From now on, he would collect materials himself, smelt them, and then forge them. Perfect—saying no to middlemen making a profit on the difference.
Feeling pleased with himself, Wei Qiyue then looked at the Shelter Storage.
Shelter Storage (100 cubic meters): A special Shelter dimensional space capable of storing supplies and items.
Wei Qiyue beamed with delight once more. The supplies he gathered daily were increasing, and the storage inside the Chosen One Mark and the Dimensional Backpack were becoming less and less sufficient. Besides, the living area of the Tier 2 Shelter wasn't very large and couldn't hold many items at all. Now, with this storage facility, he could store even more supplies in the future.
At this moment, Wei Qiyue looked at the new Shelter. The living room had become larger and more luxurious. There was an extra bedroom, the kitchen had been enlarged, and a dining area had been partitioned off. The fireplace in the living room was still there, but it looked much more exquisite. Hanging from the ceiling of the living room was a magnificent chandelier embedded with a ring of luminous stones. At the same time, Wei Qiyue noticed that the bedroom, kitchen, and workshop all had chandeliers embedded with luminous stones. There was a switch by the door that seemed to control the chandeliers. The bathroom was finally no longer a pit latrine; it featured a shower and a toilet, with hot water available in the shower. Outside the bathroom stood an extra-large water storage barrel, which supplied the water for the shower.
Sofas, tables, and chairs were arranged in the living room, and the floor was covered with carpets. Everything looked no different from some small villas he had once seen on Earth, or a spacious, well-decorated apartment.
"Ah, my house~" Wei Qiyue excitedly threw himself onto the sofa.
The insulation of the entire Shelter had also improved significantly. Even if Wei Qiyue took off his cold-weather three-piece set and wore only ordinary autumn clothes inside the house, he didn't feel cold at all. The indoor temperature constantly hovered around 15 degrees Celsius. Combined with his exceptionally strong physique and the Snow-Melting Jade Pendant, he could completely move around the house bare-chested.
"It finally feels like I'm back to the days on Earth," Wei Qiyue said, looking at the new Shelter with satisfaction.
Moreover, the defense had increased, and there was a wall encircling the outside, allowing it to fend off even more beasts.
Wei Qiyue checked his personal information again.
Name: Wei Qiyue
Gender: Male
Age: 26 years old
Physical Condition: Healthy
Strength: 33
Spirit: 21
Agility: 22
Constitution: 72
Charm: 5
Fortune: 3
Tier: Mortal Tier
(Evaluation: I am an ordinary person—an extraordinary ordinary person.)
By hunting beasts during the day and exercising, eating Qiliu Fruit, and consuming the meat of those beasts at night over the past few days, Wei Qiyue had increased all his attribute points. The Qiliu Fruit in particular remained effective when eaten daily, boosting his constitution. Coupled with the bonuses from his weapons and equipment, his attribute values were now vastly higher than before. If the current Wei Qiyue were placed back on Earth, he would undoubtedly be a top-tier special forces soldier. Especially in terms of constitution, he could completely be called a mini-superman. The wound slashed onto him by the Ice Bear had already healed, and his recovery ability was exceptionally high. This was probably the special ability brought by a high constitution. In this extremely cold climate, Wei Qiyue had never fallen ill, nor had he even caught a single cold.
"It's a pity that upgrading to a Tier 4 Shelter requires too many supplies, and it also needs some kind of Foundation Core. I still have to keep working hard to make money~" Wei Qiyue shook his head and sighed. "I won't go out these next few days; I'll stay home and recover properly. Hunting beasts and gathering supplies every day is exhausting. Who knows when this bitter cold will end?"
The bitter cold had lasted for two months, except that there had been no more blizzards during this period, though the temperature remained extremely low.
Checking the Marketplace and the storage once more, he saw that the storage slots had increased. Now, with the Shelter Storage, the storage space native to the Chosen One Mark, and the Dimensional Backpack, Wei Qiyue no longer had to worry about having nowhere to put his supplies.
As for the Marketplace, Wei Qiyue discovered that his purchasing level had increased; many items that previously could not be bought were now available for purchase.
"Is this the benefit of a Tier 3 Shelter?" Wei Qiyue muttered to himself as he looked at the Marketplace. "Right, I should be able to craft the Flowing Moon Cloak now. Oh well, I'll talk about it tomorrow..."