In the next scene, five tough guys wearing nothing but oversized boxer shorts grabbed whatever tools they could find and went wild on the nearby trees!
In just half an hour, these five infrastructure maniacs had stubbornly relied on primitive techniques to gnaw down three bizarre trees so thick that it would take two people to wrap their arms around each one.
Not only that, Malou put his signature habit of never leaving empty-handed to good use.
He pulled up every vine around the tree roots and stripped away all the withered thatch growing nearby until not a single scrap remained.
“Ding!”
A system notification appeared simultaneously in all five players’ fields of vision.
[Daily Quest One: The God’s Sanctuary (Material Collection Stage) Completed!]
[Please proceed to the designated area beside the church and begin construction.]
“Enough materials!
Fall back, fall back, fall back!”
Like a band of victorious bandits returning from a raid, the five players each carried a heavy bundle of timber and vines, huffing and puffing as they made their way back to the church.
With a loud “boom,” they dumped their mountain of materials onto the open ground outside.
Sivier, the nun who had been waiting there the entire time, was completely dumbfounded.
The little girl rubbed her eyes repeatedly as she stared at the five sweating believers covered in dirt and wood shavings.
The gods above!
These divine believers, who could easily crush monsters, had actually gone into the forest just to chop trees for her?
And because they had no proper tools, they had used their precious hands to smash the trees down piece by piece!
Sivier’s eyes reddened, and tears streamed down her cheeks like beads from a broken string.
With a soft thud, she knelt on the ground, facing Lynn’s divine statue inside the church, and prayed silently in her heart.
“Great Lord of Ashes…
Your mercy shines upon this humble servant like sunlight…”
“Even if Sivier were to be crushed into pieces, there would be no way for me to repay Your grace!”
Lynn, sitting atop the altar: “…”
Watching the little nun’s hopelessly brainwashed and fanatical appearance, Lynn silently watched as the Faith Value she contributed skyrocketed under the influence of her overwhelming emotions.
He could only sigh inwardly.
Silly girl, what are you even getting so moved about?
When did they say they were doing this construction work for you?
They’re doing it for the ten Ash Coins I gave them—their revival fund!
Meanwhile, the five players outside the church couldn’t hear Sivier’s heartfelt prayer at all.
Right now, their eyes were filled with nothing but the house they were about to build and the ten Ash Coins they were about to earn.
“Old Ji, this game doesn’t have a one-click building function!
How are we supposed to put these logs together?”
[Passing Pure Love God of War] stared helplessly at the pile of materials scattered across the ground.
“What are you afraid of?”
[Ji Luo] slapped his thigh.
“Even if you haven’t eaten pork, haven’t you seen a pig run?”
“Haven’t you guys seen those short videos about people building wooden houses with their bare hands or surviving in the wilderness for three hundred days?”
“Right, right, right!”
Malou’s eyes lit up.
“I’ve watched Ed Stafford!
And those guys who dig entire swimming pools out of mud!”
“Isn’t it just building blocks?
Just do it!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the five internet-addicted youths sprang into action.
These guys struggled to change a light bulb in real life, yet in this otherworldly realm that claimed to be 100% holographic, they somehow managed to squeeze every last bit of their ancestral construction instincts out of themselves.
Since there were no iron nails or mortise-and-tenon tools, they could only resort to the most primitive method of all—
binding.
[Kindergarten Boss] transformed into a human pile driver, carrying large blue bricks and forcibly smashing four holes into the ground beside the church to serve as the foundation.
[Passing Pure Love God of War] relied on his stylish white-haired, muscular physique to carry thick black logs by himself and plant them firmly into the holes.
[Malou Also Has Dignity] took advantage of his agility, climbing up the tree trunks like a real monkey and using the tough vines they had collected to tightly bind the crossbeams.
As for our “broken-feeling male god,” [I Am Not Jiahao]…
Because his character’s body had been set far too skinny, he was assigned to stand at the bottom and pass bundles of thatch to everyone else.
While doing so, he didn’t forget to flip his irritating middle-parted fringe and deliver lofty critiques of their crooked framework.
“People our age are all working as cogs on assembly lines, while we are reconstructing spatial order in the wilderness.”
“This rugged aesthetic is brimming with postmodern deconstructionism!”
“It’s just that kind of thing, you guys understand, right?”
“I understand your grandpa!”
Malou, who was already on the roof, nearly lost his footing.
“Hurry up and pass me that bundle of thatch!
I’m about to lay the roof!”
Amid the bustling atmosphere of this makeshift construction site, time slowly passed.
By afternoon, the five big fellows were already panting heavily, drenched in sweat and exhausted.
Their beginner boxer shorts were stained with black mud and tree sap.
At that moment, Nun Sivier timidly emerged from the dilapidated shrine.
In her hands was a crude water bowl that appeared to have been carved from some kind of beast skull.
It was filled with slightly murky well water.
“Gr-Great Lords of the Envoys…”
Sivier’s face flushed as she carefully handed the bowl to the exhausted group sitting on the ground.
“You have suffered so much for Sivier.
Please…
please drink some water.”
[Passing Pure Love God of War] froze for a moment.
He took the bowl, tilted his head back, and gulped down a large mouthful.
“Holy shit!”
His eyes suddenly widened as he wiped his mouth.
“This water actually tastes a little sweet, with a faint earthy flavor!
This taste simulation is absolutely perfect!”
[Ji Luo] also came over and took a sip, marveling repeatedly.
“The key is this NPC’s intelligence level!
It’s way too terrifying!”
“She can even see our stamina bars dropping and proactively come out to deliver water and offer condolences?”
“With this level of interaction logic, those so-called cross-era masterpieces on the market that claim to have AI engines aren’t even worthy of carrying this game’s shoes!”
Malou rolled his eyes mischievously before creeping closer to Sivier.
“Little sister, do you know any other intelligent interactions?
Like…
giving out hidden quests or something?”
Seeing Malou’s inherently criminal-looking face suddenly lean toward her, Sivier recoiled like a startled rabbit and hurriedly took two steps back.
“Get lost!
Don’t use that face of yours to scare the NPC!
What if her favorability drops?”
[Ji Luo] kicked Malou away.
After resting for a while, the group resumed their tireless construction work.
…
As evening approached, the final bundle of thatch was thrown onto the roof.
The five-person team’s “masterpiece” was finally complete.
A doghouse-style cabin less than two meters tall stood proudly in the cold wasteland wind.
Its four corners weren’t even on the same level, and its entire structure was covered in a battle-damaged aesthetic.
Although its appearance was truly nothing to write home about, at least…
It was technically a shelter that someone could crawl inside.
[Ding!]
A crisp system notification rang out simultaneously in the minds of the five players.
[Daily Quest One: The God’s Sanctuary, Completed!]
[Evaluation: Although it looks like an illegal structure that could collapse at any moment, it can barely provide protection from wind and rain.]
[Quest Rewards Distributed: Experience Points +50, Ash Coins +10!]
“WE’RE GETTING PAID!!!”