The internal stress of the four outer walls and the exact load-weight of the stone materials had all been meticulously calculated by Reed Newt.
“A total of 4,362 dress stones…
and roughly 900 tons of concrete mixture.” He couldn’t help but sigh.
Building a massive, fortress-like city completely from scratch on a completely deserted island, by oneself, no less, was a daunting task.
Fortunately, he possessed the Wilderness Survival System.
And better yet…
with an army of surprisingly compliant and heavy-duty helpers on his side, nothing was impossible.
“The sea monsters could storm the shore at any moment.
I have to race against the clock and finish this stronghold within three days!” Reed Newt took a deep, steadying breath, setting an absolute deadline for himself.
Still, accomplishing such a monumental task in seventy-two hours with just a dozen monkeys and three elephants was obviously a pipe dream.
“I need to expand the workforce.” Muttering under his breath, Reed Newt stepped out of the wooden cabin once again, venturing deeper into the uncharted jungle of the island to recruit a few more native “laborers.”
In Valley View Academy Observation Room, in front of the massive projection displaying Reed Newt’s territory, a crowd of seasoned mentors had gathered, their eyes pinned to the scene in utter bewilderment.
Every single gaze was locked onto the cleared ground near the cabin, specifically, on the sprawling, ultra-detailed architectural blueprint Reed Newt had drafted directly into the dirt.
Length, width, height, foundation depth, resource allocation, labor division, estimated time cost…
everything was mapped out with astonishing mathematical precision.
And that wasn’t all.
Within this proposed citadel, Reed Newt had even zoned out individual residential quarters, blacksmith forges, carpentry shops, tool workshops, pottery kilns, and multi-tiered storage warehouses.
“Is…
is this kid out of his mind?”
The mentors exchanged bewildered glances, reading the exact same brand of shock in each other’s eyes.
Reed Newt wasn’t just building a wall; he was genuinely trying to establish a fully functional, self-sustaining civilization on a barren island.
To execute a layout like that required master-level knowledge across dozens of specialized fields.
In normal human society, such an undertaking took thousands of people dividing the labor over years.
“That blueprint…
he’s just drawing random nonsense, right?
It can’t possibly have any structural validity!”
“Wait, he’s heading into the woods again.
“Did you notice the mortar mix?
He’s planning to use reinforced concrete as the bonding agent for the ramparts!”
“He even designed residential housing…
He doesn’t actually plan on housing those monkeys in real rooms, does he?!”
Watching the feed, the mentors were struck by a bizarre sense of unreality.
It felt less like they were evaluating a high-stakes survival assessment for an aspiring Island Holder and more like they were watching Reed Newt’s personal, wild infrastructure showcase.
Truth be told, no matter how brilliantly top-tier candidates like Rudyard Wilf were performing, their standard survival strategies couldn’t hold a candle to the absolute spectacle unfolding on Reed Newt’s island.
“Look!
They’re actually starting!” a mentor suddenly yelled, pointing eagerly at the quarry sector of the screen.
The crowd instantly shifted their gaze.
There, under Reed Newt’s clear commands, over twenty monkeys were busy operating a variety of tools in the quarry.
Some cleared paths using iron axes and shovels; others swung heavy sledges to break massive boulders into manageable blocks; a few were tasked with loading the heavy stone into custom timber pans strapped to the elephants; while another group systematically mixed raw concrete.
It was an honest-to-god assembly line.
The division of labor was razor-sharp, perfectly organized, and absurdly efficient.
Before long, a steady stream of crushed rock was being hauled directly toward the primary construction site, where yet another team of monkeys dug deep foundation trenches with shovels, working with furious dedication.
Not a single one was slacking off.
“This is…
absolutely ridiculous,” Meinhard Janek muttered, dry-swallowing hard.
He felt his entire worldview crumbling.
While every other candidate was sleeping in the mud, eating raw game, and desperately hunting low-tier sea monsters just to squeeze out a bit of strength, Reed Newt had casually launched a full-scale industrial project!
In the Endless Sea, on a distant, uncharted island.
Boom!
A graceful young woman in a flowing purple gown sat cross-legged atop a cliff.
Surrounding her body, a surging tide of majestic energy erupted, driving her internal cultivation steadily upward.
Fine beads of sweat trickled down her pale forehead as she gritted her teeth against the agonizing pain of her expanding veins.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, an invisible barrier inside her shattered with a crisp sound.
Her aura exploded outward like a runaway wild horse, skyrocketing in power. This story is hosted at g.com.
“Finally…
second-tier!” Hanna Raelene slowly opened her eyes, a sharp flicker of lightning passing through her pupils as a triumphant smile touched her lips.
As a star student of Cypress Institute, she had held second place on the regional leaderboards for days.
Ever since Reed Newt had unexpectedly leapfrogged past her, she had thrown herself into a violent frenzy, hunting sea monsters day and night to close the gap while gathering dozens of evolutionary cores to force a breakthrough.
Under normal circumstances, she would never have taken such a chaotic risk.
But Reed Newt’s overwhelming presence had left her restless, shattering her composure.
Regaining her breath, Hanna Raelene anxiously opened the Valley View regional scoreboard.
1st Place: Reed Newt | 590 pts
2nd Place: Hanna Raelene | 490 pts
A crisp 100-point gap, exactly ten sea monsters ahead of her.
Yet, what baffled her was the fact that Reed Newt’s score hadn’t moved a single digit for several consecutive days.
Could it be…
he’s stuck trying to break through to the second tier just like I was?
The thought crossed her mind, causing her expression to darken.
The joy of her fresh breakthrough instantly evaporated.
If he successfully advanced too…
“No, pull yourself together!” She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.
“Advancing to the second tier is insanely dangerous.
There’s no guarantee he’ll survive it!
The fact that his points are frozen means he hasn’t succeeded yet!”
Besides, even if he did manage to break through, they would both be second-tier evolutionaries.
She had no reason to fear him!
“Ten more sea monsters…
Just ten more, and I’ll reclaim my throne at the top!” Hanna Raelene growled under her breath, her eyes blazing with newfound resolve.
As the chosen one with multiple ninth-level Island Holders backing her, losing was simply not an option