Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely-Chapter 178 - 129: Mining Capacity Soars

[Resources: Wood 82102 Coal 1820 Iron 1260 Silver 0 Gold 0]

In the southern mine of the valley, Xia Hong looked pleased as he converted all the iron ore and coal stone covering the ground into system units.

The previous hundreds of Iron Core Bows had depleted the camp’s iron ore completely, and the surge in wood wasn’t even worth mentioning. Xia Hong clearly remembered that when he set out previously against the Rodent swarm, the system had only over 500 units of coal left, and no iron at all.

Now there was so much, with coal being twenty pounds per unit, which converts to 36400 pounds, and iron ten pounds per unit, which is 12600 pounds.

Today is the sixteenth, and he hadn’t mined at all in the past half month.

Clearly, this extra batch of resources was mined by Xia Chuan and others.

"Big brother, I’ve worked with Yuan Cheng to equip several more Chewing Teeth Chisels, so our mining efficiency is much higher than before.

Luo Yuan and you are injured, so only Yuan Cheng, Zhao Long, and I, five in total, have been mining. We each have a Chewing Teeth Chisel, and in the past fifteen days, apart from going out for hunting four times, we’ve spent six days mining iron and five days mining coal, bringing out this much."

The coal mine yields 200 pounds a day, the iron mine 100 pounds, and the higher the Basic Strength in the Earth-digging Realm, the more the increase, with the Chewing Teeth Chisel doubling that, leading to a fourfold basic output.

With five people, that’s over 4000 pounds of coal and over 2000 pounds of iron per day, converted to system units as 200 each.

Adding to the remaining coal from before, the mining efficiency of Xia Chuan and the others perfectly matches the system’s resource numbers.

"Huang Yong and Li Pingkai have broken through, and more will follow. The iron production should increase, and before long, this iron mine in the valley might be insufficient for us to mine."

Xia Hong shook his head with a smile, naturally not taking Xia Chuan’s teasing seriously.

The exact size of the valley’s iron mine is unknown, but it can supply Rogel Camp for over a decade. Based on the size of individual iron ore pieces, even if Great Xia’s mining capacity increases several times, it would take years to finish it.

This Earth-digging Realm’s boom mainly consists of the fifteen people in the Hunting Team, not much; however, when the current Logging Realm gradually breaks through to the Earth-digging Realm, the camp’s mining ability is expected to take a huge leap.

If that happens, the valley’s iron mine really might not be sufficient.

Xia Hong, with a slight movement of his mind, instructed Xia Chuan who was next to him:

"But we can prepare in advance. Let the collection team keep an eye out for Black Tribulus when they go out, marking them if found; there’s no need to worry about coal mines, since the Golden Frost Trees of Redwood Ridge are numerous, indicating a rich underground coal deposit."

The Black Tribulus is an accompanying vegetation of iron ore; finding it means finding iron ore.

Xia Chuan nodded in agreement, hesitated a moment, and then asked:

"Leader, the Arrow Bamboo Forest has now been assigned to the Mirror Immortal Camp, so how should we deal with the original Lu Shang camp territory in Redwood Ridge?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Hong did not immediately answer but instead lowered his head in contemplation, feeling somewhat regretful about Lu Shang Camp.

If it weren’t for the appearance of the Rodent swarm, the hundreds from Lu Shang Camp would now also be people of Great Xia, but they were delayed by the Rodent swarm, and the Mirror Immortal Camp emerged from the sidelines.

By convention, as everyone is merged into the Mirror Immortal Camp, the land that originally belonged to Lu Shang Camp in Redwood Ridge should naturally go to the Mirror Immortal Camp.

But this is unreasonable;

Moreover, Great Xia would not agree!

The Lu Shang Camp’s territory was initially divided by Rogel Camp for everyone’s benefit; without Rogel Camp, they wouldn’t have gotten any land within Redwood Ridge.

Rogel Camp gave them land mainly due to the connection of being surrounding camps of Redwood Ridge, and now that Lu Shang has merged into Mirror Immortal Camp north of Arrow Bamboo Forest, they’re not considered people of Redwood Ridge.

So this land naturally can’t go to them.

A point that Great Xia wouldn’t agree to is even simpler.

In summer, other sides of Redwood Ridge are unclear, but the east side, in Xia Hong and the camp’s view, belongs to Great Xia’s sphere of influence.

To give up the rights in the 500-meter breadth to the Mirror Immortal Camp.

It’s unrealistic and impossible!

"Don’t deal with it, send people to gather and hunt as usual. If they encounter Mirror Immortal Camp intruding, warn them the first time, act the second time. I want to see if everyone in Mirror Immortal Camp is as arrogant as He Meng!"

A cold glint crossed Xia Hong’s eyes. On his return from the North Slope the last time, it was long after he realized that He Meng initially demanded all his prey and then only half, which was clearly testing the waters.

A test that was evidently for the subsequent control and oppression?

If he had conceded even a little, the outcome might have been completely different.

This made Xia Hong realize that from the first meeting, He Meng and his group had a deep-seated hostility and strong aggressive intent towards him and his people.

Recollecting these incidents, Xia Hong not only felt a lingering fear but also developed a clear dislike for the Mirror Immortal Camp and even a caution towards other camps.

"Just right, I haven’t been to the northernmost side. For the time being, I’ll hunt there and also keep an eye on Arrow Bamboo Forest to prevent any new actions."

The territory of Lu Shang Camp lies on the far north side. Previously, to respect Lu Shang Camp’s opinion, Great Xia never crossed the line. Now deciding to include that territory into their influence, Xia Hong no longer had any reservations.

"Big brother, are you preparing to hunt Intermediate Cold Beasts?"

The key to breaking through the Cold Resistance Level is Intermediate Cold Beast Blood, which Xia Chuan knew. Hearing Xia Hong mention hunting in the northern area, he immediately asked.

Hunting Intermediate Cold Beasts...

Xia Hong recalled his previous encounter with the Rat King, a hesitance flickering across his face, causing some hesitation in his heart.

The strength of that Rat King was undeniably powerful, needless to say, in a one-on-one battle.

But honestly, as long as there are enough Earth-digging Realm individuals, with well-prepared weapons, if the opponent isn’t in a group, they could be defeated.

The only crucial point is....

"Rodents are low-level Cold Beasts, but the leading Rat King is intermediate, which suggests other types of Cold Beasts might also have a hierarchical division. It’s unclear if other Cold Beasts are like Rodents and are led by a head Rat leading a group of normal Rodents. If so, hunting any Intermediate Cold Beast would be a fool’s dream."

Xia Chuan pondered for a moment and said: "I don’t think so. So far, Rodents are the only ones seen in groups; Snow Manes, Frost........"

Before he could finish the word "Wolf," Xia Chuan hesitated, his expression freezing.

Clearly, he also remembered the encounter with the Frost Wolf pack when moving from the hill to the valley earlier.

"Even though we didn’t see the head wolf that time, it’s likely Frost Wolves also gather in packs. Thus, Snow Manes and Demon Sheep might also group, so hunting Intermediate Cold Beasts shouldn’t be rushed; verification must come first!"

As Xia Hong spoke, he led Xia Chuan out of the mine.

At this time, there were still three to four hours before dawn, and many people lingered outside the wooden cabins.

Whether practicing fist techniques, collecting snow water, practicing archery, or playing around, whenever these people saw Xia Hong pass by, they would respectfully stop and salute him.

Xia Hong nodded with a smile, saying nothing more, but with a brief glance, he noticed over a hundred of them, with more than ten wearing clothes, and was curious.

"Recently, there have been quite a few new clothes?"

It’s not that they couldn’t afford it; with the camp’s current hunting capacity, as long as the clothes weren’t as exquisite as what Xia Hong was wearing, having a set for everyone wasn’t difficult.

The issue is that these clothes require Contribution Value to exchange and they aren’t cheap!

"If I remember correctly, a set of clothes requires 155 Contribution Points, with the beast skin and custom order from the Craftsmen Workshop. Do these people all have so many Contribution Points?"

Xia Chuan chuckled: "Big brother forgot about the Rodent swarm. That night many people received a sizeable amount of Contribution Value, aside from those in the Earth-digging Realm, mainly members of the Hunting Team and a few from the Logging Realm, each receiving over two hundred, with the highest getting 320, so exchanging for clothes is naturally manageable for them."

That makes sense!

"Have they all exchanged for clothes, with no one redeeming bows?"

A weapon is the greatest security, Xia Hong was curious that such a simple truth couldn’t be overlooked by camp members.

The demand for clothes clearly isn’t higher than that for bows!

Upon hearing the exchange prices Xia Chuan set for the two types of Iron Core Bows as 800 and 2000, he understood immediately.

This pricing, besides those in the Earth-digging Realm and members of the Hunting Team, seemed out of reach for others, requiring at least half a year’s savings. No wonder many opted for clothes.

"Big brother, is the set price too high?"

Seeing Xia Hong’s slightly grave expression, Xia Chuan was uneasy, fearing he was blamed for setting the price too high, preventing people from exchanging for them.

Xia Hong smiled lightly, shaking his head approvingly: "No, it’s very appropriate. The difference between the right of use and ownership matters.

Weapons are lifeless in the Camp Supply Station and are ultimately meant for use. The rental fee can be low, even directly distributed in emergencies like the Rodent incident.

But ownership differs. Once bows are redeemed, they become personal items, lost, broken, transferred, or worn out, the camp doesn’t intervene, tantamount to direct sale, so the price must be set high."

An ordinary Iron Core Bow weighs 300 pounds, from mining iron ore, Earth-digging Realm’s efforts, to forging it himself into a finished product, the resources, effort, and sweat spent are substantial.

An 800 Contribution Value price, given the current scarcity of Iron Core Bows and the applicable number in the camp, is absolutely appropriate.

"By the way, is Luo Yuan’s injury healed?"

"Almost, he left the wooden house a few days ago, should be very soon."

"Notify everyone, for the next three days, all in the Earth-digging Realm shall mine iron ore. After three days, I will take you eight to the northern area, the collection and logging teams following suit, surveying the territory in the 500-meter span of former Lu Shang Camp thoroughly, and from now on, the entire eastern side of Redwood Ridge will belong to Great Xia; any other camps are not to interfere!"

Upon hearing the final statement, Xia Chuan’s eyes gleamed with excitement, nodding solemnly in homage: "Yes, Leader!"

As they talked and prepared to enter the building, just as they stepped through the door,

"Ah..."

A sharp scream came from the valley entrance, immediately alarming everyone outside, including Xia Hong and Xia Chuan.

"What’s happening?"

Their expressions changed rapidly, both swiftly heading towards the valley entrance.