Night fell, and the campfire blazed to life, driving back the forest’s bone-chilling dampness and casting a warm, orange glow across everyone’s faces.
Thanks to a full day of non-stop labor, the 100 units of wood, 100 units of stone, and 50 units of thatch required for a village upgrade were finally stacked and accounted for.
Logan focused his intent, calling up the tribe management panel.
[Primary Village Shelter (Level 1 Thatched Hut) is ready for upgrade. Consume 100x wood, 100x stone, and 50x thatch to upgrade to a Level 2 Wooden House?]
"Upgrade!"
With his mental confirmation, a soft beam of white light surged from the hearth at the base of the shelter, enveloping the entire structure in a shimmering dome.
The girls gathered around in wide-eyed amazement as the flimsy walls of scrap timber and straw—which had nearly buckled under the wolf attacks earlier—began to twist, shift, and reconstruct right before their eyes!
The fragile panels were replaced by thick, sturdy round logs. The gaps between the timber fused shut automatically, sealing the drafty walls into a solid fortress.
Even the thatched roof overhead doubled in thickness, complete with a newly formed wooden door fitted with a simple pivot hinge.
Barely ten seconds later, a brand-new, rugged log cabin stood firmly in place of the old shack.
"Whoa! That is seriously magic!"
"It feels so solid! We can actually sleep in peace tonight!"
Surprised cheers erupted through the group, shooting everyone’s safety confidence through the roof.
Over the fire, wolf shanks skewered on wooden stakes sizzled as fat dripped onto the embers, sending up tiny bursts of sparks. The rich, savory aroma made stomachs growl instantly.
Having spent the entire day swinging his blade, Logan was starving.
Bai Nian handed him a golden-brown, oil-dripping wolf hind leg weighing at least ten pounds.
Logan offered a quick nod of thanks, took it, and tore straight into the meat.
His enhanced physique had boosted his metabolic and digestive capacity to absurd levels. Under the dumbfounded stares of the girls, he polished off the massive cut of meat in record time.
"Good grief, Chief, are you trying to eat an entire wolf by yourself?"
"He spent all day drilling with that heavy blade, of course he’s starved! He needs to fuel up so he can keep us safe!"
Fed and energized, Gu Xinran grabbed a few of the arts students, kicking off their shoes to dance near the campfire.
Backed by the improvised rhythm of the music majors, the girls spun gracefully in the firelight.
Laughter and chatter filled the clearing, turning a brutal survival scenario into a lively campfire social.
However, the desert-like nighttime chill dropped temperatures fast. Just past eight o’clock, the icy wind had the girls shivering in their makeshift summer clothes.
One by one, they retreated into the warm, sturdy confines of the log cabin.
There were no beds inside, but Bai Nian had thoughtfully layered a thick carpet of dry grass across the floor like a giant communal pallet, making it soft and cozy to lie down on.
Exhausted from the day’s trials, the girls abandoned all pretense of posture, collapsing directly onto the straw mat.
"Oh man... laying down flat is heaven!"
"Xinran, get over here and let me borrow some body heat! You’re practically a human space heater!" Yu Le yelped, lunging playfully.
"Get off me, you weirdo! Hands where I can see them—!"
Gu Xinran laughed as she shoved back, and the two athletic frames wrestled into a tangle of limbs.
Logan enjoyed the lively scene for a moment before offering a polite, quiet cough, instantly dropping the volume of the noise inside.
"Alright, listen up. Starting tonight, we need a watch rotation."
Logan’s expression shifted back to business. "Bai Nian and I put together a roster. Seven days a week, we take turns."
His gaze swept over the group. "Yang Na, Wang Ke, Li Si, Zhou Qian, you four are on the first half of the night shift."
The four named girls stood up.
Logan handed over four wolf pelts they had stripped and cured during the day.
"Thanks, Chief!"
"You think of everything!"
Accepting the pelts—which still held a trace of residual warmth—the girls beamed.
As Yang Na took hers, her fingertips lightly grazed Logan’s palm with a subtle, intentional brush, accompanied by a playful wink.
Pacing outside into the cool night air with their weapons in hand, the watch party took their posts.
Inside the cabin, the atmosphere shifted to something a bit more nuanced.
With the sentries gone, the room held only the remaining girls and Logan.
The grass pallet was wide, but packing over thirty people onto a single surface still made things cozy.
The air carried a blend of clean soap scents from the girls’ evening wash and the earthy aroma of dry hay.
Logan quietly claimed a spot in the far corner.
Yet his own pulse was acting up.
Earlier in the day, the girls had settled who would spend the night sharing his corner...
Regardless of how he looked at it, leaving his old life behind for this primitive reality still brought a rush of nervous anticipation.
He glanced sideways at Bai Nian and Ye Xin’er.
The two girls were huddled together in the far corner, whispering urgently back and forth.
They were probably finalizing who got the first night slot.
Killing time while waiting, Logan pulled up the world chat channel.
The global feed was as chaotic as ever.
"Damn it, it’s freezing in this dump at night! Any big shots willing to trade clothes? I’ve got half a pound of potatoes!"
"Help! Something is scratching against the outer wall of our shelter! Doesn’t sound like a beast, sounds like human fingernails!"
"Don’t scare yourself, man. Probably just the wind."
"[Village 886] is recruiting heavy male fighters! We’ve got twelve girls, all arts majors, top-tier looks and figures! Anything goes if you can keep us alive! Hit me up for pictures in private chat!"
Logan raised an eyebrow at that message.
Predictably, beauty remained a high-value commodity in any apocalypse.
He scrolled further.
"Hahaha! Our tribe bagged a wild boar today! Our combat strength just shot up! This forest belongs to the Yamato Empire now! All you weaklings better wait to be conquered!"
The poster went by the handle "Yamato Shingen."
Logan stopped scrolling.
The nationalist internet trolls managed to transmigrate too?
Wonderful. Survival wasn’t just about beasts anymore; keeping an eye out for hostile human neighbors was now on the checklist.
While he was reading, the hushed debate nearby finally wrapped up.
Logan looked up to see Ye Xin’er stepping away with a pout, looking thoroughly defeated as she retreated into the middle of the sleeping pack.
Meanwhile, Bai Nian stood frozen for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and walking over toward Logan’s corner with stiff, deliberate steps.
Her cheeks were flushed a blazing red in the flickering firelight, practically glowing.
Logan pretended not to notice, rolling onto his side to face the wall.
She had laid down.
The exact second she settled against the mat, Logan moved.
Rolling over in a fluid motion, before she could let out a gasp, he planted both arms on either side of her, pinning her safely beneath him.
"Eep!"
Bai Nian stifled a high-pitched squeak with both hands, pressing her palms tight against her mouth.
In the dim light, their eyes locked.
The proximity was absolute; Logan could feel her warm, staggered breath ghosting across his skin, their noses nearly touching.
He could clearly see her wide, dark eyes swimming with shock, shyness, and frantic panic.
"What... what are you doing..."
Her voice came out as a breathless squeak, trembling ever so slightly.
Logan didn’t answer right away. He flashed a wry grin and leaned his weight down just a fraction more.
"Bai Nian... did you plan on staking a claim on me from the start?"
He dropped his tone to a low, intimate murmur meant only for her ears.
Boom.
Bai Nian felt her brain short-circuit. A wave of heat rushed straight from her toes to the top of her head, threatening to melt her on the spot.
Too flustered to speak, she averted her gaze, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
"G-Get up first... wait until... until everyone’s actually asleep..."
Right as the words left her lips—
"Ahem!"
From nearby, Gu Xinran let out an exceptionally loud, deliberate fake cough.
Followed immediately by—
"Zzzzz—! Sn-noooore—!"
In the opposite direction, Yu Le’s ridiculously theatrical snoring echoed through the cabin with a rhythmic beat.
It was as if someone had flipped an obnoxious switch.
Instantly, the entire room erupted into a chorus of transparently fake snores and sleep-talking.
"Don’t touch my drumstick..."
"Hehe... handsome..."
Bai Nian: "..."
Logan: "..."
The awkwardness reached critical mass.
Bai Nian wanted nothing more than to dissolve into the floorboards.
Logan couldn’t decide whether to laugh or facepalm.
Over on the other side of the room, Chloe silently turned over into the straw, burying her face as a hot tear slipped quietly down her cheek.
That spot, that closeness, should have belonged to her.
Meanwhile, Ye Xin’er—still hiding beneath her blanket—peeked out just enough to glare at the intertwined silhouettes in the corner, pouting so hard she could hang a bucket off her lip and deeply regretting letting Bai Nian trade shifts with her.
As for the rest of the girls, every single pair of ears in the cabin was perked up to maximum capacity, secretly cheering Bai Nian on while shipping the dynamic in real time.
*Go get him, Class President! Claim your prize!*