33: Chapter 33 Fortress Upgrade

"Revive! My love!"

Chen Ze felt a surge of excitement and blurted out the words subconsciously, but as soon as he finished speaking, he realized the atmosphere was off and quickly coughed twice to correct himself.

"Upgrade! My Fortress!"

He focused and raised his hand, his fingertips lightly tapping the Fortress upgrade button on the system interface.

In an instant, the entire Blockhouse Fortress began to tremble violently. The thick, solid stone walls began to rapidly reinforce and expand, while the foundation was continuously rammed down and widened, causing the whole Blockhouse to shake slightly.

"Ah! ... What's happening? Why is the Blockhouse shaking?"

Wang Yalan's voice came from the second floor, followed immediately by the sound of her thumping down the stairs, her face pale and filled with panic.

"Mr. Chen, it's an earthquake! Run! Run!"

Seeing this, Chen Ze quickly raised his hand to calm her, smiling as he spoke to steady the panicked woman.

"Don't be afraid, this isn't an earthquake!"

He pointed to the surrounding walls that were vibrating slightly, a hint of a smile in his eyes.

"It's our Fortress upgrading. It's about to advance to a level 2 Fortress, which is why the commotion is so big."

"Level 2?"

Wang Yalan covered her small mouth with both hands, her almond-shaped eyes wide open in utter disbelief.

"This is only the second day of survival, right? Our Fortress is already upgrading? This is too fast!"

Chen Ze nodded slightly.

"Right! We have to be fast! One step ahead, every step ahead! Only then can we live like proper human beings!"

The Blockhouse upgrade lasted for about a minute. The entire Fortress, in both length, width, and height, had doubled in size.

The original Blockhouse had transformed, looking like a small castle standing in the midst of this apocalyptic ruin.

The walls had become thicker, and the blue-gray stone bricks on the surface were completely encased in concrete, emitting a cold luster under the moonlight, like an impenetrable shield.

The once slightly narrow firing ports had also been widened, not only providing a broader field of view for shooting but also making it easier to install larger defensive weapons.

Moreover, the interior space was much more spacious. The Blockhouse originally had four floors, but now it had added two more, reaching a total height of six floors. Each floor's ceiling height had also increased, making it much brighter than before.

The lobby on the first floor was large enough to accommodate over a dozen people moving around at the same time, and there were several extra small rooms that could be used for storing supplies or as temporary resting areas.

[Ding, level 2 Fortress upgrade complete!]

[Congratulations on unlocking new functions: Forge, Coordinate Positioning!]

[As you are the first survivor in this region to upgrade the Fortress to level 2, you are rewarded with one Random Relocation Token and one set of e-rank Automatic Crossbow Construction Template. A region-wide broadcast is now being made!]

A series of system notifications left Chen Ze grinning from ear to ear.

Almost at the same time, all survivors in the 11332 region received a system notification.

[Congratulations to survivor "Shanghai Li Yunlong" for being the first to upgrade the Fortress to level 2. We hope all survivors will continue to work hard and improve their strength!]

The communication channel completely exploded.

Doubao Never Lies: "What the heck? I haven't even solved my food and drink issues yet, and someone has already upgraded to a level 2 Fortress?"

Maruko Loves Fishing: "It's big shot Li Yunlong! A big shot is indeed a big shot; he's upgraded the Fortress on just the second day!"

I Have No Famine: "I remember now, the one who just sold the e-rank tomato was him!"

Florida Idler: "Comparing people is really infuriating! Does anyone know who Li Yunlong is? Should we group up and go seek refuge with him?"

Feifei: "Brother Long, do you need special services?"

Chen Ze had absolutely no interest in paying attention to the discussions in the channel and casually closed the communication interface.

The system page had some changes.

Looking at the top right corner of the interface, a clear line of numerical coordinates, 123, 112, quietly appeared, clear at a glance. This was obviously the Coordinate Positioning function he had just unlocked, and it represented the location of his Blockhouse.

The Fortress survival world had no iconic terrain, just cracked earth everywhere. With the coordinate function, even if he went out to collect resources, he could find his way back by following the coordinates.

But along with this convenience came hidden, endless danger.

Once the coordinates of his own Fortress were accidentally leaked, it would be equivalent to lighting a beacon for those with ill intentions in the crisis-ridden darkness.

Those greedy survivors would likely track the coordinates and show up at his doorstep, so the Fortress's coordinates must never be easily leaked.

Thinking of this, Chen Ze remembered that the system also seemed to have rewarded him with a Random Relocation Token.

He opened his backpack and immediately saw a pitch-black token.

Random Relocation Token (one-time item)

Item Description: After use, it can randomly move the holder's Fortress to any unlocked area.

"Good stuff!"

Chen Ze said excitedly.

Holding this Random Relocation Token, he had gained another hidden trump card.

Even if a powerful enemy were to target his coordinates in the future and come in force to besiege and attack, he could immediately use the Relocation Token, move the entire Fortress silently, disappear from everyone's sight, and avoid all pursuit.

Besides that, the system panel also had an exclusive Forge option.

He tapped to open it, and a brand-new operating interface immediately popped up.

The interface listed various categories such as weapons, armor, and practical tools, but no matter which category he opened, it was completely blank; there were no items available to craft.

Two clear lines of functional introduction appeared at the bottom of the page:

[Forge function description: You must possess the corresponding manufacturing blueprint or construction template to unlock recipes and automatically craft various survival supplies and combat equipment.]

[Manufacturing blueprints are one-time consumables, while construction templates can be used repeatedly.]

Seeing the rules, Chen Ze was suddenly enlightened; so that was the difference between blueprints and templates.

One-time blueprints were rendered useless after one use, but the e-rank Automatic Crossbow Construction Template he had obtained could be used for repeated crafting, making its long-term value far exceed that of ordinary blueprints.

He immediately pulled out the e-rank Automatic Crossbow Construction Template he had just received from his backpack and used it directly. A new option immediately appeared in the Forge's weapon category.

e-rank Automatic Crossbow.

Required materials: e-rank beast tendon * 1, e-rank wood * 10, beast core of any rank * 1

e-rank crossbow bolt.

Required materials: e-rank wood * 1

"Good grief? What is this e-rank wood? Also, why would a crossbow need a beast core to be built?"

Chen Ze was completely speechless this time.

There was no need to think about the goal of the damn system; it clearly wanted him to step foot into the Light Curtain Forest again.

"What's wrong, Mr. Chen?"

Wang Yalan asked, seeing Chen Ze's strange expression.

Chen Ze didn't hide it and directly shared the system page with her.

Wang Yalan looked at the material requirements displayed on the system page and also looked helpless.

"These materials are indeed quite tricky!"

She paused and continued.

"But you don't have to be too anxious; perhaps future zombies might drop them too?"

Chen Ze nodded slowly, thinking to himself that Wang Yalan's guess would likely come true, but time waits for no one. By the time e-rank wood could be easily dropped, what value would his Automatic Crossbow have once built?

As it stands, if he wanted to mass-produce Automatic Crossbows as soon as possible, the Light Curtain Forest was the only channel.