Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

That scream was truly too shrill, alarming many people outside the wooden house.

Xia Hong and Xia Chuan were the first to rush to the entrance of the tunnel, and their hearts tightened at the sight before them.

Inside the tunnel, a screaming, wailing figure of fire was struggling and rolling on the ground, constantly reaching out for help. His body was already being burned and dissolving, but when he saw Xia Hong approaching, he recognized him at a glance.

"Ah, I am Wang He, save me, save me… … … …"

"Leader, save me, save me… … … …"

The entrance to the mountain passage was guarded by dedicated personnel every day. Unless someone from the camp was entering or leaving, and upon returning from the outside, a password was required before the gate would be opened.

The two gatekeepers had already retreated, their expressions extremely panicked. Seeing Xia Hong approach, they quickly bowed and saluted, then quickly explained the situation.

"We two were assigned to guard tonight. We heard someone outside say the password, and thought it was the people from the gathering team and the logging team returning, so we opened the gate. We discovered it was Wang He, who went missing from the gathering team some time ago.

As soon as Wang He entered the tunnel, he spontaneously combusted before taking two steps!"

Xia Hong frowned as he listened, and by the time the man on the ground named Wang He had been burned to ashes, the two men's narration had just finished.

"Some time ago, there was indeed a Wang He among the missing personnel from the logging team, but it has been three or four months. How could he suddenly return, and moreover, be related to a 'Guei'?"

Hearing Xia Chuan confirm Wang He's identity, Xia Hong frowned even more tightly.

The moment he saw this person spontaneously combust, he and Xia Chuan knew that the person on the ground was no longer the original Wang He.

Ever since the camp had a surplus of wood, both torches and solidified oil had been in a state of oversupply for a long time.

When hunting outside, torches could serve as bait for cold beasts.

Solidified oil could be used to defend against 'Guei'.

Since both of these supplies were in surplus, Xia Hong naturally wanted to make use of them.

He had already ordered people to smear a layer of solidified oil all around the valley, especially at the tunnel entrance, where a layer was applied every day.

This Wang He, who was connected to the 'Guei', had obviously come into contact with the solidified oil in the tunnel when entering the camp, which caused him to spontaneously combust, just like the situation when the wooden puppet 'Guei' used a fake body to escape.

Many people in the camp were aware of the solidified oil application.

The two gatekeepers also realized this at this time, knowing that Wang He was a 'Guei', and their faces revealed a hint of fear.

Everyone who had just gathered outside the wooden house had faces full of fear.

Had a new 'Guei' emerged in Red Maple Ridge after only half a year?

Xia Hong was also shocked in his heart, but seeing the fear on the faces of the surrounding people, he still calmed down a little and spoke in a steady tone:

"Don't panic. 'Guei' dare not come within the radiation range of the iron smelting furnace, and we have solidified oil all around the valley, so no 'Guei' can enter.

You two clean up here and close the gate quickly."

After comforting everyone with a few words and instructing the two gatekeepers to clean up, Xia Hong went straight upstairs, with Xia Chuan following closely behind.

"Knowing the password to enter the camp, and even recognizing people. Judging from his reaction before death, he might not even have known that he was being controlled by a 'Guei'. This… …"

As soon as they reached the third floor, Xia Hong's face immediately darkened.

"This is probably an existence even more difficult to deal with than the wooden puppet 'Guei'… …"

Hearing Xia Hong's whisper, and combining it with Wang He's reaction to being burned to death just now, Xia Chuan also reacted immediately, and said with a heavy expression:

"Brother's meaning is that this Wang He was only used to scout the strength of our camp, and that 'Guei' is hiding behind the scenes?"

Xia Hong did not answer, but his tightly locked brows were already an answer.

Obviously, this 'Guei' was very similar to the wooden puppet 'Guei', and could also hide in the dark to control people. Even judging from Wang He's situation before death, its abilities were much stronger than the wooden puppet 'Guei'.

Since it could send Wang He to act as a vanguard, that proved that the other party already knew about the Great Xia's valley base, and it was even very likely that the 'Guei' was hiding not far away outside when Wang He came in just now.

Thinking that there was a 'Guei' stronger than the wooden puppet 'Guei' staring at the Great Xia camp around the valley, Xia Chuan felt a chill down his back, and immediately suggested:

"We are in the light while the enemy is in the dark, Brother. The camp should suspend all outdoor activities, otherwise… …"

"I'm thinking, wait!"

Xia Hong raised his hand to interrupt Xia Chuan, and after pondering for a moment, shook his head and said:

"No need. Since it sent Wang He to act as a vanguard, that proves that this 'Guei' does not dare to enter the valley itself. At least it does not dare to enter now. There is no need to disrupt our formation for it. It is always the case that we are in the light while the enemy is in the dark. Whether we go out or not makes no difference. If it likes to stare at us, then let it continue to stare. As long as there are no casualties, just pretend it doesn't exist!"

The camp's resources were limited, and a long-term suspension of outdoor activities was definitely not feasible.

Wood was not a problem, but cold beast meat could not be consumed without replenishment; the iron ore was in the valley, so it was fine, but the coal mine was in Red Maple Ridge, and they had to go out.

The wooden puppet 'Guei' dared to come to their door head-on in the beginning because Great Xia's strength was too weak at that time; but today was different. Torches and solidified oil were inexhaustible, the Earth-Digging Realm was not lacking, and there were more than two hundred Lumbering Realm cultivators.

This 'Guei' knew about the valley base but did not dare to enter head-on, and instead sent Wang He to scout, which proved that Great Xia's current strength was enough to make it afraid.

"According to the way He Meng and those people act, the Mirror Immortal Camp is very likely to cross the border into Red Maple Ridge recently. If we do not go out for a long time, our territory might even be lost. It is not worth losing so much to guard against a 'Guei' that does not dare to confront us head-on!"

Xia Hong's meaning was very clear. A short-term suspension of outdoor activities would not affect the 'Guei' at all. It would still continue to stare in the dark. Not only would it have no effect, but it would also slow down the camp's own development speed, which would be even more disadvantageous to him, who was eager to break through to the Cold-Resistant level.

And a long-term suspension of outdoor activities would cause the camp's resources to become tight, and the territory of Red Maple Ridge might be encroached upon by the people of the Mirror Immortal Camp, or even lead to the established fact of being occupied by others. And in this process, the 'Guei' would still be unscathed, and its strength might become stronger, allowing it to come up with more ways to deal with the camp. As the situation changed, the gains would not outweigh the losses.

"In short, if we don't go out, the only thing the 'Guei' cannot do is kill our people during this period, but it is still there, and it is always staring in the dark. It has enough time to waste, but we don't. When the resources are exhausted, we will eventually have to go out, and we will be even more passive then."

Xia Chuan thought for a moment and also reacted, nodding his head and saying: "But in that case, the risk of going out will be very high. During this period, solidified oil and torches must be adequately equipped for everyone, and if possible, the gathering team and the logging team should also be equipped with several Earth-Digging Realm cultivators. It's just that we don't know what the strength of that 'Guei' really is… … … …"

As he spoke, Xia Chuan's expression, like Xia Hong's, became gloomy.

The wooden puppet 'Guei' was able to suppress a large group of Earth-Digging Realm cultivators even before it was promoted to the intermediate level, and that included Yang and Li from Beishuo Town. This newly appeared 'Guei', from the current point of view, was very likely to be above the wooden puppet 'Guei' in terms of strangeness and strength.

If that was really the case, then even the hunting team might not be safe when going out, let alone the gathering team and the logging team.

"There is no need to guess randomly. As long as this 'Guei' does not take the initiative to show itself, we will always know nothing about its specific strength and abilities. Since that is the case, we can respond to movement with stillness. It would be best if it is willing to take the initiative to show itself. If it does not show itself, then just pretend it does not exist and live our lives as usual."

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"Understood, Brother!"

Although the two said so, it was impossible for them to really not take it seriously. After all, the previous experience of encountering a 'Guei' was too terrifying. If they were not cautious, they would definitely suffer a big loss.

After speaking, the two immediately went to the camp supply warehouse on the second floor.

"Leader, Master Xia Chuan, the current inventory of torches is a total of 5192, and the inventory of solidified oil is a total of 1210 blocks.

Currently, the iron smelting furnace mainly burns coal on weekdays, but it can also burn wood at the same time.

Since the wood was in surplus, under Master Xia Chuan's instructions, we usually produce torches and solidified oil in batches at maximum efficiency. We can produce up to 50 torches and 5 blocks of solidified oil per day."

While listening to Shi Ping's report, Xia Hong recalled that when he joined forces with Luo Ming and others to deal with the wooden puppet 'Guei', he only had a few blocks of solidified oil in his hand, and he had to hide them and use them sparingly. Looking at the thousands of blocks of solidified oil piled up like a small mountain in front of him, as well as the many small torches next to them, his expression was slightly dazed.

Although he was dazed, Xia Hong was not very shocked in his heart.

Although this inventory was large, it was still relatively reasonable given the camp's current wood surplus.

The iron smelting furnace burns 10 units of wood to generate a torch, and burns 100 units to generate a block of solidified oil. According to the camp's current logging ability, even if only about a hundred people are specially assigned to logging, the daily income will be at least more than a thousand units, or even more.

A Lumbering Realm cultivator can chop down a tree in one night with a stone axe, which can produce about five units of wood, but that was in the early days on the earthen slope.

Now, Great Xia has iron tools, and there are many people. With mutual cooperation and using saws, one person can produce at least ten units of wood resources per day.

Under such circumstances, as long as there are no major changes, these two supplies, solidified oil and torches, will definitely not be lacking in the future.

"Tell Cheng Feng and Bai Dongying about the 'Guei'. From today onwards, whether it is the gathering team, the logging team, or the hunting team, whoever goes out must first come to the camp supply office to apply a layer of solidified oil, and also bring a torch.

When gathering and logging outside, there must be at least ten people in a group, and when hunting, there must be at least three people in a group. No one is allowed to leave the line of sight;

The solidified oil around the valley and the passages must be applied regularly;

The password to be matched when returning to the camp must also be changed every day.

Eliminate all possibilities of 'Guei' mixing in."

"Yes, Brother!"

Xia Chuan nodded heavily in agreement, and immediately turned around and left the warehouse to handle it.

Xia Hong stood in place, his face gradually becoming shadowed.

This newly emerged strange entity had unknown strength and unclear abilities. They didn't even know what it looked like. Most importantly, the other party probably had a considerable understanding of Great Xia's situation.

This feeling of being on the defensive was truly unpleasant.

Especially when he thought about the immense pain that the Wooden Puppet Abomination had brought to Redwood Ridge previously.

Xia Hong even felt a trace of fear in his heart, and his expression became even more grave.

"We just drove away the Gnawing Rat Swarm, and the arrogant Mirror Immortal Boundary wasn't enough, and now another new strange entity has popped up. Is Great Xia just unlucky, or does this Ice Abyss World really not intend to give humans a way out...?"

Xia Hong stood in place and pondered for a long time, finally clenching his fist.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I originally wanted to use a more cautious method to break through to the Cold Resistance Grade, but it seems that won't work. I still need to find a way to break through first!"