To build a house, you usually need
a solid foundation, steel reinforcement, and concrete
.
For ordinary people, this process would be
long and tedious
.
But with
Xiao Xuanwu
, Mu Liang
skipped 90% of the work
.
The
foundation?
Already provided by the turtle’s
massive shell
.
The
cement and steel?
Unnecessary—since Mu Liang could
fuse stones together with his ability
.
All that remained was the
simple act of stacking stone bricks
to form
the walls
.
“This is amazing!”
Mino held a
stone brick
and carefully placed it on
a pre-drawn line
.
The moment she let go—
The
brick fused seamlessly
with the others,
leaving no gaps
.
“Mino, don’t stack that wall too high! We need to leave space for a window.”
Mu Liang finished drawing the blueprint onto the shell and turned around—
Only to find that Mino had
already built an entire wall up to her height
.
He sighed and walked over, using his ability to
remove a few bricks
, carving out
a rectangular window
.
“Won’t this let thieves crawl inside?”
Mino’s voice was
uncertain
.
In the
wasteland
, most homes
didn’t have windows
—to prevent thieves from sneaking in at night.
Mu Liang flicked her forehead
playfully
.
“You’re forgetting—who would dare climb up here?”
Mino blinked, then suddenly
realized
She wasn’t living in some
vulnerable wooden hut anymore
.
She was
on the back of a giant armored turtle
!
Who would be stupid enough to try stealing from them?!
With the
windows complete
, Mu Liang turned his attention to the
doorway
.
He didn’t bother
explaining
the structure to Mino—
She probably
only cared about how the house looked
, rather than
how it actually worked
.
The layout was simple but
efficient
:
Two bedrooms
, each about
ten square meters
.
A
central living area
, spanning
thirty square meters
.
A
bathroom
, positioned
in the corner of the courtyard
, with a
waste drainage system
leading
off the shell
to prevent odors from collecting inside.
The
courtyard wall
, which was
half a meter high
, served as a simple
barrier
.
The
entrance gate
was placed
on the turtle’s side
, with a
hidden signal system
that would let Xiao Xuanwu
summon a staircase
when needed.
Time passed
quickly
as they worked.
By the time they
looked up
, the sky had
turned orange-red
from the setting sun.
“Is it evening already?”
Mu Liang gazed at their
roofless
stone house, feeling a
rare sense of accomplishment
.
“Wow~~ We’re already halfway done!”
Mino
cheered
, her
blue eyes sparkling
.
She clenched her fists
excitedly
.
“Let’s work harder! We can finish it by tonight!”
Mu Liang
shook his head
.
“We need wooden beams to support the roof before we can place more stones.”
Mino
froze
.
“Huh? Then… let’s go find some wood!”
She was already
turning to jump down
when—
Mu Liang
grabbed the back of her collar
.
“No need. There’s already wood nearby.”
Mino’s
rabbit ears twitched
as she thought for a moment.
Mu Liang
chuckled
.
“Think, Mino—do you think everyone has already left the camp?”
Mino’s
eyes widened in realization
.
“It’s almost dark… They must have left hours ago!”
Then, her expression
lit up
.
“Wait! That means… we can take wood from the abandoned houses!”
Mu Liang
smirked
.
“Exactly. Let’s go back to camp.”
He patted
Xiao Xuanwu’s shell
, giving it a simple command.
“Awoo~~”
The
massive turtle
rumbled and
began walking
.
As the turtle moved, Mino suddenly
froze in place
.
Then, she
blinked in shock
.
“Huh? Xiao Xuanwu is walking… but I can’t even feel it shaking?”
Mu Liang
chuckled
.
“That’s because he’s absorbing the vibrations.”
The
bigger something is
, the
harder it is to keep steady
.
To prevent the
house from trembling
, Xiao Xuanwu
automatically balanced itself
.
Mino’s
jaw dropped
.
“That’s… incredible.”
Though
slow-moving
, Xiao Xuanwu’s
huge steps
covered as much ground as
several human strides
.
So, despite its
pace
, it was actually
faster than walking on foot
.
After
ten minutes
, they arrived at the
edge of the abandoned camp
.
Three-Color Lizard had already
scouted ahead
and confirmed:
The camp was completely deserted.
Mino stared at the
empty land
.
She
felt… something
.
A strange,
hollow emotion
settled in her chest.
“They’re all really gone, huh…?”
She whispered, watching the
darkened huts
with
no signs of firelight
.
Mu Liang’s voice
broke her thoughts
.
“How far is Moonlake Tribe from here?”
Mino hesitated before answering.
“I heard the hunters say… it takes five or six days to reach.”
Mu Liang’s
black eyes flickered
.
Then, he asked curiously:
“How big is Moonlake Tribe?”
Mino
took a deep breath
.
“I think… about ten thousand people?”
Her
voice held disbelief
.
To her,
ten thousand people
was an
unimaginable number
.
How much food would that even take? How much water?
Mu Liang
chuckled
, then patted her shoulder.
“Well, there’s only one way to find out.”
Mino
blinked
.
Then—
Her eyes lit up.
“Wait… you mean—we’re actually going there?!”
Mu Liang
grinned
.
“Why not? Do you want to go?”
Mino
met his gaze
.
In his
black eyes
, she saw
encouragement
.
Her hands
curled into fists
.
She
bit her lip
Then
nodded firmly
.
“Yes! I want to go! I want to find my sister!”
Mu Liang’s
smile widened
.
He raised a
thumbs-up
.
“Then Moonlake Tribe is our next destination.”
Mino
stared at his smile
.
For some reason…
Her heart suddenly started beating faster.
She
pressed her hands over her chest
, her face
turning red
.
“Stop daydreaming.”
Mu Liang
reached out—
And
pinched her rabbit ears.
“Ahh! Stop pulling my ears!”
Mino
panicked
,
stomping her foot
.
Any strange
emotional fluttering
she had felt—
Vanished instantly.
A few moments later—
They both stood at the camp entrance.
Mu Liang turned to her.
“Which houses do you want to take wood from?”
Mino
hesitated for only a second
Then, she
pointed
.
“Those ones. Their kids used to steal my lizards.”
Mu Liang
grinned
.
“Good choice.”
And so—
They began
tearing down abandoned homes
for
building materials
.
By the time they
returned to their house
, one corner of the courtyard was
stacked with logs
.
Their
moving home
was nearly
complete
.