10: Chapter 10 First Manufacturing

Manufacturing the workbench was more troublesome than Lin Qiming had anticipated.

It wasn't because of a complex structure—the design on the blueprint was simple: a metal sheet for the tabletop, four support legs, and a few clamps for fixing. The trouble was the materials.

He needed a metal sheet at least one meter long and half a meter wide. In the Hive Bottom, a relatively flat metal sheet of this size had either long been scavenged by gangs or was rusted beyond recognition.

"Hephaestus, scan for suitable materials nearby."

[Scan radius expanded to 100 meters...]

[Potential material source discovered: 73 meters to the southeast, wreckage of an abandoned mining cart. The side panel of the cart is approximately 1.2m × 0.8m, made of low-quality steel, with moderate corrosion.]

[Warning: A weak life signal detected in the area, quantity: 1, type: unknown.]

"A life signal?" Lin Qiming frowned. "What is it?"

[Signal strength too low for precise identification. Size estimate: small to medium creature. Threat level: low to medium.]

Low to medium... which meant there might be no threat, or there might be.

He weighed his options. The workbench was key to increasing manufacturing efficiency; without it, all subsequent manufacturing would be half the work for twice the effort. Moreover, that mining cart side panel sounded like the most suitable material nearby.

"I'll take the gamble." He grabbed his dagger and metal pipe, shoved some rope and a few spare metal scraps into his backpack, and said, "Lead the way."

[Navigation enabled.]

A simple wireframe map appeared on the panel, with a path extending from the cave leading southeast.

Lin Qiming carefully crawled out of the cave entrance and moved along the tunnel. Hephaestus's scan was accurate; the tunnel indeed led to a more open area—it looked like the intersection of old mining tunnels, with rusted rails and broken sleepers scattered on the ground.

The mining cart wreckage was in the center of the intersection. It was an old, overturned mining cart with its four wheels facing the sky. The body was severely rusted, but the side panel was still relatively intact.

Lin Qiming didn't approach immediately. He hid behind a protruding rock wall and observed carefully.

Some bones were scattered around the mining cart—small animal bones that looked picked clean. There were drag marks on the ground, and some... claw prints?

[Biological traces detected. Database comparison: Hive Mutant Rat (large specimen).]

[Speculation: This area is the hunting territory of a large Hive Mutant Rat.]

"A rat..." Lin Qiming breathed a sigh of relief. He had seen rats, and he had killed them. Although a large specimen might be more dangerous, it was at least not an entirely unknown monster.

He gripped his dagger tightly and approached the mining cart silently. His eyes constantly scanned the surroundings, and his ears pricked up, catching any slight movement.

The rusted metal plate was heavy. He tried to pry open the fixing rivets with his dagger, but the rivets were rusted shut; the blade of the dagger bent without any movement.

"I need more force." He switched to the metal pipe, inserted it into the gap between the rivet and the cart body, and pried hard.

Creak—

The harsh sound of metal grating was exceptionally loud in the silent tunnel.

Almost at the same time, a rapid rustling sound came from the shadows on the right! A black shadow lunged out, heading straight for Lin Qiming's calf!

Lin Qiming was prepared; he rolled to the left while sweeping the metal pipe horizontally!

Clang!

The metal pipe struck the shadow, producing a dull thud. The shadow, in pain, let out a sharp screech, retreated a few steps, and revealed its true form.

It was indeed a Hive Mutant Rat, but much larger than any he had seen before—about the size of a medium-sized dog. Its fur was sparse, revealing dark red skin underneath; its eyes were a cloudy yellow, and it bared yellowed fangs. Most striking were its front claws, which were abnormally large, with long, curved nails like small sickles.

[Target: Hive Mutant Rat (Large · Elite)]

[Energy Level: approx. 15 ona]

[Threat: Relatively high (for your current state)]

[Weaknesses: Head, spine.]

The rat didn't give Lin Qiming more time to observe. It lunged again, this time aiming directly for his throat! The speed was extremely fast!

Lin Qiming couldn't dodge in time and could only raise his left arm to block—crack! The rat's fangs bit into the splint; the sound of wood splintering! Intense pain radiated from his left arm!

HP -8!

But his right hand didn't stop. The dagger stabbed upward from below, piercing deep into the rat's abdomen!

Squish!

The blade sank in, feeling viscous. The rat let out a shrill scream and struggled frantically, its claws leaving several bloody scratches on his chest.

HP -3! -2!

Lin Qiming gritted his teeth, twisted the dagger in the rat's belly, and then yanked it out, bringing with it a spurt of dark red blood. The rat's struggling weakened, but it wasn't dead yet. He seized the opportunity, aimed the metal pipe at the rat's head, and smashed down with all his might!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three heavy blows. The sound of a skull cracking. The rat finally stopped moving.

[Kill: Hive Mutant Rat (Large · Elite)]

[Experience +120!]

[Obtained: Mutant Rat Meat ×3 (requires processing), Rat Skin ×1 (damaged), Reinforced Claws ×2 (material).]

Lin Qiming collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. The splint on his left arm was completely shattered, and heart-wrenching pain radiated from the fracture. The scratches on his chest burned. His HP had dropped to 12, and his stamina was down to only 19.

But he was still alive. And the loot was good.

He treated his wounds first. He used his dagger to cut off a relatively clean piece of his clothing lining to re-bandage his left arm, and used the remaining metal scraps and rope to make a sturdier temporary splint. The scratches on his chest weren't deep, so he cleaned them and bandaged them simply.

Then he processed the rat carcass. Skinning it, carving the meat—although disgusting, in the Hive Bottom, meat was a precious source of protein. Three pieces of rat meat, each about the size of a palm, enough to eat for two or three days. Although the rat skin was damaged, it could be tanned and used for padding or wrapping. The two reinforced claws were very hard and could serve as tool or weapon materials.

After finishing this, he returned to the mining cart. There were no more interruptions this time, so he focused on dismantling the side panel.

The rivets were rusted shut, so he used the metal pipe and a rock to smash them hard. After smashing for over ten minutes, he finally broke all four rivets. The side panel loosened, and he pulled it off the cart body with all his might.

Clang!

The metal plate hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

[Obtained: Low-quality Steel Plate ×1 (size 1.2m × 0.8m, thickness approx. 3mm).]

[Weight: approx. 25 kg. Transporting will consume a large amount of stamina.]

25 kilograms... Lin Qiming weighed it in his hand; it was indeed heavy. But he had to carry it back.

He wrapped up the rat meat, rat skin, and claws, and stuffed them into his backpack. Then he tied the metal plate with rope to make a simple dragging device—standing the metal plate up, looping the rope over his shoulders, and dragging it along.

This saved effort, but it was slow and noisy. The sound of the metal plate's edge scraping against the ground echoed in the tunnel.

[Warning: Noise may attract other creatures. It is recommended to increase speed.]

"I know..." Lin Qiming gritted his teeth and quickened his pace.

The journey back felt exceptionally long. Waves of pain hit his left arm, and his stamina was slowly decreasing. But he didn't dare stop.

Finally, the cave entrance appeared ahead. He practically crawled inside, then dragged the metal plate in, leaned it against the rock wall, and collapsed to the ground.

[Returned to base: Zero Point.]

[Current status: HP 12/68 (severely injured), stamina 7/100 (extremely fatigued).]

[Recommendation: Rest immediately and treat wounds.]

Lin Qiming didn't even have the strength to speak. He crawled to the edge of the puddle, gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, and then pulled a piece of rat meat from his backpack—it was raw, but he couldn't care less; he cut off a small piece with his knife and shoved it into his mouth.

The texture of the raw meat was nauseating, and the smell of blood rushed into his nostrils. But he forced himself to swallow it.

[Consumed: Raw Rat Meat ×1]

[HP +3, stamina +8]

[Warning: Eating raw food may cause parasitic infection or disease.]

He had a bit more strength now. He sliced the remaining rat meat into thin strips and roasted them on the metal plate next to the fire—the fire had been left as embers before he left, and it reignited as soon as he blew on it.

The meat slices sizzled on the fire, emitting a... indescribable smell. It wasn't exactly fragrant, but at least it smelled like meat.

After roasting, he ate a few slices. With hot food in his stomach, he finally felt like he had come back to life.

[Consumed: Roasted Rat Meat ×3]

[HP +6, stamina +15]

[Current HP: 21/68, stamina: 30/100]

His condition improved slightly. He rested for a while, then began to tackle today's biggest goal: manufacturing the workbench.

First, the support legs. He didn't have four metal pipes of the same length, but he found some relatively straight wooden sticks—dismantled from the support beams of the old mine tunnel. He smoothed them with his dagger, making their lengths roughly uniform.

Then the tabletop. The metal plate was oversized, so he needed to cut it. Without power tools, he had to use the most primitive method: marking a line, then using a chisel—actually a sharpened metal piece—to repeatedly strike along the line, chipping out a groove bit by bit, and finally snapping it off.

This process took a full two hours. The sound of striking made the cave hum, his arms were sore and numb, and blood blisters formed on the web of his thumbs. But when the last piece of excess metal was snapped off, leaving a flat tabletop exactly one meter long and half a meter wide, the sense of accomplishment was indescribable.

Next was assembly. He drilled holes in the four corners of the tabletop—slowly twisting with the tip of his dagger, combined with hammering. Then he inserted the wooden support legs, knocked them tight with carved wooden wedges, and finally secured and reinforced them with rope.

Finally, the clamps. He used the remaining metal scraps and springs to make two simple "G-clamps" that could be fixed to the edge of the tabletop to hold workpieces in place.

When it was all finished, it was completely "dark" outside—the eternal dimness of the Hive Bottom had become even deeper, with only the light of the fire in the cave flickering.

Lin Qiming stood before the workbench, looking at this rough but sturdy contraption.

The tabletop was flat, the support stable, and the clamps functional.

This was the first "piece of furniture" he had manufactured since arriving in this world.

[Manufacturing complete: Simple Workbench]

[Quality: Crude]

[Effect: Manufacturing speed +15%, manufacturing success rate +5%, capable of finer processing operations.]

[Durability: 30/30]

[Manufacturer: Lin Qiming]

[Experience +200!]

[Skill [Basic Manufacturing] proficiency increased! Current: Lv2 (87/200)]

[Triggered perk clue: Artisans Heart—unlocked after successfully manufacturing 10 different items. (Current progress: 3/10)]

His experience points had jumped significantly. His manufacturing proficiency was also about to reach Level 3.

Lin Qiming placed his tools one by one on the workbench: the dagger, pliers, metal pipe, a few sharpened metal pieces acting as chisels, and the rat claws and rat skin harvested today.

Then he sat down—he had made a simple stool using the remaining wood and rags.

Sitting in front of the workbench, looking at the neatly arranged tools, he suddenly had a strange feeling.

Yesterday, he was still curled up in a crack near the cesspit, barely surviving on a metal pipe and half a piece of bread.

Today, he had a base, a knife, and a workbench.

And an AI partner that had been sleeping for sixty million years.

"Hephaestus." He said softly.

[I am here.]

"Record: Day two of the New Era. Killed one large Hive Mutant Rat. Obtained food and materials. Workbench manufacturing complete. The base 'Zero Point' now has preliminary production capabilities."

[Log recorded.]

[Supplement: stc core repair progress increased from 8.05% to 8.08%.]

[Analysis: The act of manufacturing itself has promoted the synchronization of the core with the material universe.]

[Conclusion: You are transitioning from a "survivor" to a "builder".]

Builder...

Lin Qiming looked at his hands. Full of blood blisters, scratches, and grime. But these hands had held a homemade dagger today, dismantled a metal plate, and assembled a workbench.

From the garbage heap, he had created things that would allow him to survive.

"From garbage to dagger, I have evolved." He whispered, repeating what he had said yesterday, but today it held a deeper meaning.

Evolution wasn't just about creating things.

Evolution was that he had begun to have the ability to change the environment, rather than just being changed by it.

He stood up, walked to the cave entrance, lifted the door curtain, and looked out into the endless darkness.

The Hive City was still roaring. The universe was still spinning. Chaos was still whispering. The Emperor was still sleeping.

But in this small cave, which he had named "Zero Point", there was a workbench, a pile of tools, and a fire.

And a person who had decided not to just "survive", but to "build something".

He turned back to the workbench, picked up the blueprint for the "Simple Workbench", and flipped it over.

There, on the edge of the blueprint, a motto from the Golden Age was printed in tiny letters:

"A great workshop begins with the first wrench, and a great civilization begins with the first workbench."

Lin Qiming smiled.

"Then let's start with this workbench."

He sat down, picked up the dagger, and began to sharpen the blade.

Tomorrow, there were more things to build.

The road was still long.

But at least, he had a starting point.

Zero Point.

The place where everything begins.