Chapter 6: Moving Camp

More than a hundred people worked together, and the cave entrance was soon sealed.

Although there was firelight inside the cave, once the entrance was sealed, it grew much darker.

Likely due to the sense of security from being enclosed, the pain on the campers’ faces eased somewhat.

Yet their expressions remained lost, their faces filled with confusion.

“Brother, what do we do next?”

Xia Chuan’s voice immediately drew all eyes to Xia Hong.

From first identifying whether Xia Ding was real, to leading the desperate fight for survival, to finally that life-saving little fire.

Without Xia Hong, almost no one in the camp would have survived.

Now, everyone naturally placed their hopes on him.

Xia Hong could clearly read the dependence in their gazes, and felt immense pressure mount.

In truth, he had no choice but to step forward.

Xia Ding and the logging team—thirteen men total—had been confirmed dead.

The massacre just now claimed another seventy-two lives.

He had just counted: the camp now had only 154 people left.

Of these, only fifty-three were able-bodied adults.

The older people who stayed behind at camp instead of joining Xia Ding’s logging or hunting expeditions did so because their strength was too weak—mere normal human levels.

Of the remaining 101, twenty-five were around his age, including himself; the rest were all between three and twelve years old.

He was already the strongest person in the camp.

Added to that, he was the son of the former leader, Xia Ding; leading the camp to survive was naturally his responsibility.

Xia Hong pushed aside his chaotic thoughts, scanned the cave once, and made his first decision:

“We can’t stay here. Pack up. We leave when night falls.”

The Gui on Redwood Ridge already knew the camp’s location and could return at any moment.

Staying here any longer meant certain death.

“Brother, which cave are we moving to?”

“West. To Cave Four.”

In this world, humans spent their entire lives—from birth to death—fleeing.

Fleeing daylight, fleeing ice tides, fleeing cold beasts, fleeing Gui .

After years of constant flight, humans had long developed the habit of the cunning rabbit with three burrows.

The Great Xia Camp was no exception.

Having lived on Redwood Ridge for decades, the Great Xia Camp had long established six hiding spots—all caves.

The six caves were spaced only five to six hundred meters apart, arranged in a ring around the eastern slope of Redwood Ridge.

They were currently in Cave One; Cave Four was the farthest from it, and for safety’s sake, Xia Hong chose Cave Four.

No one objected. Everyone turned and left, following Xia Hong’s orders to pack their belongings, preparing to depart after nightfall.

Taking advantage of the moment, Xia Hong turned his attention to the camp system he hadn’t yet examined closely.

【Camp: Great Xia (Level 0)】

【Lord: Xia Hong】

【Population: 154】

【Resources: Wood 15 Coal 0 Iron 0 Silver 0 Gold 0】

【Structure: Small Firepit (Level 1), daily wood consumption: 2 (already placed)】

Small Firepit: Significantly raises temperature within a ten-meter radius, has deterrent and damaging effects against Chujigui , but strongly attracts cold beasts.

Special Function: Every ten units of wood burned generate one special small torch, identical in function to the Small Firepit, portable.

Resources needed to upgrade Small Firepit: Wood 200, Iron 50.

Below the active interface were eight dim, grayed-out options:

Wooden Dummy, Green Bamboo Fence, Marker Stone, Decoction Pot, Yellow Earth, Polishing Stone, Small Wooden Table, Thick Iron Chain.

Xia Hong’s mind shifted slightly—he selected Wooden Dummy—and instantly, information appeared:

Wooden Dummy (Unconstructed)

Resources required for construction: Wood 100, Iron 20

Indeed, the other seven structures required resources to unlock.

Six of them required wood, coal, and iron.

The Small Wooden Table required silver; the final one, the Thick Iron Chain, required gold.

Having witnessed the power of the Small Firepit, Xia Hong naturally coveted these structures.

But realistically, he hadn’t even seen coal in the month since arriving in this world, let alone silver or gold.

Just upgrading the Small Firepit to Level Two required 200 wood and 50 iron.

Xia Hong shifted his focus and walked to one side of the cave wall.

On the ground lay three massive trees, each about thirty meters long and over three meters thick.

Though Xia Hong had never gone out to cut wood himself, he had seen the forest nearby from the cave entrance during the past month.

The trees in this world grew with terrifying vigor.

Not only did they grow terrifyingly large, but their weight was equally extreme.

Due to the frigid temperatures, every tree’s bark was coated in ice crystals, greatly increasing the difficulty of felling them.

Without a base strength of at least five thousand jin, felling them was impossible.

That was why logging had become a marker of strength.

Every time Xia Ding went out to log, he always chose the thinnest trees.

Not because he didn’t want thicker ones—he simply couldn’t cut through them.

Even if lucky enough to cut one down, they might not be able to carry it back.

Xia Hong stared at the three trees on the ground, his eyes thoughtful.

“These three trees are roughly fifteen units of wood. That means to upgrade the Small Firepit to Level Two, I’d need at least twenty such trees, plus twenty units of iron.”

Thinking of this, Xia Hong shook his head and quickly halted the thought.

Forget twenty trees—according to what Xia Ding and the logging team had said, before breaking five thousand jin, even cutting down trees was a problem.

And iron? Around Redwood Ridge, only Luo Ge’s camp might have any.

“Right now, survival is the top priority. Also, I must train harder. I’d planned to break five thousand jin gradually over a month—but now I must do it as fast as possible!”

Xia Hong murmured softly, a sharp sense of urgency gripping him.

Fifteen units of wood would last the Small Firepit only seven and a half days.

They could endure the nights, but without fire for warmth during the day, the camp would freeze to death.

…………

They had endured daylight before, but for the campers, these four hours today had been unbearably hard.

On one hand, they had just suffered disaster, losing many loved ones; their spirits were already low.

On the other, knowing they would relocate tonight filled them with uncertainty about the future.

Yet somehow, this day had finally passed.

Xia Hong pried open a crack at the cave entrance and peered outside.

Night had fallen. Though no light shone, the ice crystals and snow had draped the earth in silver, granting decent visibility.

More importantly, once night arrived, the temperature rose.

Xia Hong turned and looked at the entire camp, each person carrying a pack.

The 154 people had been divided into three groups.

The first group of forty were able-bodied adults, men and women alike;

the second group consisted of seventy-six children and thirteen adult women;

the third group was himself, Xia Chuan, and another twenty-three young adults.

“Able-bodied adults lead. Twelve of you carry the three trees.

All children stay in the center; you thirteen women, look after them.

Xia Chuan, and you twenty-three, follow with me as rearguard.

Keep the formation tight. If anything happens, blow the bone whistle first—don’t shout. Don’t attract trouble. Understood?”

“Understood!”

Hearing the unified response, Xia Hong waved his hand to signal departure.

More than a hundred people filed out of the cave one by one.

Only after the last group had left did Xia Hong turn back to the Small Firepit.

With a flick of his mind, the firepit extinguished, and its status in the camp system reverted to “unplaced.”

Having dealt with the firepit, Xia Hong immediately broke into a light run to catch up with the rear of the column.

The group moved westward, their white fur coats blending with the snow, as if slowly dissolving into this cruel, icy world.

(End of Chapter)