Chapter 146 - 49: [Underground City Project]

Chapter 146: Chapter 49: [Underground City Project]

Samael’s UI went black, and his Nether Copper Helmet trembled so much it nearly fell to the ground.

Facts proved that some things were grander than he had imagined. If he were to truly rebuild "New Rondolan," he was afraid it would cost him half his life.

"Alright... let’s... take it step by step. Build a small one first, then slowly expand, right? Rome wasn’t built in a day." He struggled to hold his helmet steady.

"Indeed. We must start with the foundation. The foundation is exceptionally important. If it isn’t laid properly, the Underground City will collapse shortly after it’s built," Yaki nodded. "The cornerstone and initial construction of the Underground City require large amounts of Molten Stone and ash concrete—the other Exiles are driving the Rot Root Balls to build calcining furnaces."

He pointed at the one-horned, taro-like Rot Root Balls running around the open space. Carrying the soil and rocks of various sizes excavated from the Insect Path by the Demon Insects under Talia’s control, they had already piled up two large earth-and-stone furnaces, made of a mixture of air-dried hard soil and rocks.

Seven or eight Rot Root Balls were stuffing high grass stalks into the furnace hearths—the high grass stalks slashed and harvested by Samael’s Vine Blade Undead were used perfectly here as fuel.

More than a dozen Exiles held carving knives, chiseling Rune Circuits into the furnace walls. Once the circuits were carved, they used a small stove to burn a Rusted Copper Log. They poured the semi-molten rough copper obtained from the burning into the Rune Circuits. After cooling, it formed a ring of copper Spiritual Rune Circuits on the furnace walls.

"These high grasses are also a type of Demonization material. They contain Spiritual Energy, so the flames ignited by them are also Spiritual Flames. Under the reshaping of specific Rune Circuits and the Spiritual Energy of the Demon Race Furnace Workers, rocks that undergo calcination by Spiritual Flames for a certain period will produce Molten Stone. It retains the characteristics of the original stone material, but is harder, more durable, and has higher strength. Moreover, it can undergo multiple reshaping processes through calcination with Spiritual Flames," Yaki explained the craft process.

Yaki looked very proud. "The Molten Stone craft is also the secret to creating high-precision stone sculptures and magnificent stone architecture. Dwarfs also know the Molten Stone craft, but their level of magnificence falls far short of the Demon Race’s.

"The Dwarfs’ method of controlling Spiritual Energy is very clumsy. Although their forge Rune Circuits are finer than ours, without the constant Spiritual Energy adjustments from a Demon Race Furnace Worker during calcination, the craftsmanship will inevitably be very rigid."

"Ash concrete, on the other hand, is a building material used to strengthen the overall structural integrity. Pre-mixed ash concrete slurry can also be poured into cracks. Once solidified, the ash concrete will expand to varying degrees depending on the material ratio. It can fill cracks, repair damaged structures, or, like an expanding sponge, forcefully push an unbalanced foundation back into equilibrium. However, all of this requires precise ratios and complex calculations for the raw materials of the ash concrete slurry, comparable to the mixing process in Magic Potion Science. Therefore, it’s best to try and get it right the first time; we cannot always rely on ash concrete." The Demon Race architect Kassen chewed on the end of his charcoal pencil, looking somewhat anxious.

"Moreover, if a large number of cracks appear in the building, and we have to smear ash concrete everywhere to repair them, it will look very ugly. The architect in charge would also be mocked as a ’paste worker’," the Demon Race architect Steven added.

Yaki tapped his finger on the hemispherical vaulted dome on the blueprint. "Anyway, once the excavation of the Insect Path is complete, we’ll first send the Rot Root Balls in to purify the environment and use their roots to reinforce the tunnels. Then, we transport the Molten Stone, slowly paving a dome along the rock layer, reshaping it into a single solid piece. After that, we cast ash concrete slurry to bind and enhance the structural strength.

"Once the structural strength of the underground dome passes inspection, we’ll rely on the Demon Insects to gnaw downwards, carving out vertical shafts for the dome’s support pillars and the hollows for the foundation. Using the crustal rock and the soil compacted by the Demon Insects as natural molds, we’ll fill them with Molten Stone and ash concrete slurry. As they cool and solidify, they will form load-bearing, tower-like megalithic pillars and an integrated foundation.

"After that, we’ll reinforce the foundation to strengthen the overall structural stability. However, we need to drill an Insect Path deep underground in advance to check if there are any cavities or fissures down there, and whether it can support the structural stability of the foundation."

"It’s already been tested. No problems." Talia took off her Hand Armor and tossed it aside, wiping sweat with the back of her hand. She sat in front of the tent to rest, panting heavily. "Actually, the underground rock and soil layers here are surprisingly solid. The stratum below is very firm."

She wasn’t wearing a helmet. Sweat and mud marks stuck to her cheeks, her wet gray bangs were plastered to her forehead, and damp strands of hair clung to the side of her face. Operating Demon Insects for high-precision excavation work was no easy task; it simultaneously consumed Spiritual Power and physical stamina.

Two filthy Demon Insect larvae, covered in mud and clods of dirt, drilled out of the ground and circled around Talia.

One of the Demon Insect larvae opened its spiral long fangs and snapped at the other, but it was swatted away by the Nether Copper Limbs tied to its body. With a CLACK, sparks flew, and it bit nothing but air.

"Thanks for your hard work." Samael instinctively reached out, wanting to wipe the sweat and mud marks off her face, but when he looked down, he realized his Hand Armor was covered in wood chips from the Rusted Copper Trees.

"Use mine." Gwyneth, who was driving the Rot Root Balls nearby, handed over a handkerchief. "Old Duke has also found a clean water source over in the woodland. They’ve already taken the Tree Ghost Monkeys and are carrying water buckets over to fetch water."

"Didn’t you dig up any groundwater?" Samael asked.

He suddenly realized that he and the Undead could work like crazy without eating or drinking. They wouldn’t betray him, and they wouldn’t make mistakes, perfectly executing all tasks with absolute coldness and precision. But living people couldn’t.

"Living people are a bit troublesome," he thought instinctively.

In the game "Oxygen Not Included" that he used to play, the colonial duplicants controlled by the player also had to breathe oxygen, eat, drink, and prevent diseases. The player also had to build recreational facilities, schedule rest times, and prepare more advanced, delicious gourmet food to boost morale.

With the slightest negligence, they would suffer emotional breakdowns due to their inability to handle stress—either crying loudly or vomiting. They might even become overly emotional due to stress, destroying key equipment or defying important commands. They required patient and sincere care, as well as detailed planning and arrangements...

"Loud crying... vomiting... stress reactions..."

"Living people... are so troublesome..."

"If they were all Undead..." He froze for a moment, shaking this strange thought out of his helmet.

"Do you want to come to my tomb..."

"Tomb, graveyard, whatever you want to call it... A place with only Undead, with no disgusting living people to disturb us... We kill all the living..." Lahador’s words echoed faintly inside his helmet.

An immortal, pure Undead Realm.

A completely flawless... cold void.

"No, no, no. Are you kidding me?" he thought.

"Living people are great! I like taking care of living people. They are flesh and blood, they have emotions, they have flaws, they cry and laugh, they argue and make noise... The living... need my patient care."

"There’s a subterranean stream between the shallow rocks, flowing from the southeast. But it’s very dirty, full of mud, stinky, and tinged with green. Without the Garden’s ecological filtration and decomposition, it would absolutely make you sick to your stomach." Talia curled her lip, taking Gwyneth’s handkerchief. "The area to the southeast of here is probably a swamp-like terrain; mostly slimy stagnant water and insect eggs."

The Beast Shepherd and Garden Master Gwyneth covered her mouth and chuckled lightly. "Wherever there are Rot Root Balls, there’s no need to worry about drinking water. To find a clean water source, you just need to follow the root tunnels of the Rot Root Balls. They excavate tunnels, drawing dirty water through the plant roots for filtration, absorbing the humus and pollution, and channeling the filtered water into clean, solid stone aqueducts.

"If you follow the root tunnels and dig a few meters underground, you’ll find the stored water that has been filtered and purified by the Rot Root Balls—the purification level is high enough for direct consumption."

"Hm?... Oh, that’s great," Samael replied absentmindedly, shaking the strange thoughts from his head.

"Samael?" Talia asked. "What’s wrong?"

"It’s nothing. I’ll go check on Elder Duke and the others... see why they haven’t returned for so long and if they need my help." He turned and left.

RAT-A-TAT! RAT-A-TAT! RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT! The sonorous sound of the Nether Bronze War Drum echoed over the High Grassland.

The Undead’s rotting, festering eyeballs and hollow skeletal sockets watched the Nether Copper Monarch stride away. They remained in quiet silence, continuing to execute the work orders issued by the Nether Bronze War Drum amidst the sonorous drumming.

"Living people are great," he told himself.