Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 377: Workaholic King Thomas

As the morning light gently broke, Li Wei woke up from a deep sleep. Another day full of energy!

He leapt up silently, changed his clothes, and glanced back at Hathaway, who was still fast asleep in bed like a spring crabapple. She would probably sleep until the sun was high in the sky.

Last night, she hadn't returned until 2 AM and unceremoniously woke Li Wei up, so Li Wei could only be unceremonious in return.

He pushed the door open and left, first going to patrol the wheat fields. When he returned, he saw Thomas already sitting on the ridge of the field with a smiling face, waiting.

Before long, fully eight electric heavy trucks came humming from the distant highway. They were transporting cement, steel rebar, concrete mixers, and corresponding machinery, accompanied by thirty engineers and fifty engineering team members.

They were led by Linus's deputy, Zhao Qingshan. He was a yellow-skinned native freeman. It was said that his homeland was on the other side of this planet, and he had been studying abroad here when the apocalypse struck. He had managed to scrape by for over a decade, and now, finally, a glimmer of hope had arrived.

He himself held a doctorate in engineering and was also a Three-Star Artisan, Two-Star Carpenter, and Two-Star Woodcutter. He counted as one of the very few individuals in Li Wei's territory with the most solid academic knowledge. Moreover, he was the top staff officer in Nelson's advisory team. If Nelson had an eligible daughter, he would probably be Nelson's son-in-law by now.

"Lord Baron, the Second Engineering Team under the Engineering Department reports to you! Sixty personnel expected; eighty personnel actually present."

Seeing Li Wei, this man in his thirties revealed an overflowing sense of intimacy and excitement.

"Old Zhao, why did so many people come?" Li Wei patted his shoulder and asked with a smile."Reporting to the Lord. Because the main body of Southern Fortress has basically been completed, it only requires Minister Linus to lead the First Engineering Team to handle the rest. Last night, Head of Freemen Nelson convened an emergency meeting attended by almost all departments. We collectively agreed that the importance of constructing the riverside Great Bridge and Earth Fortress is extraordinary, and the difficulty is quite high, so we must dispatch our crack troops and capable generals to provide support."

"Of course, Commander Zhao Xuanxuan also asks you to rest assured; there won't be any problems with the patrols and perimeter security in the eastern region of the territory. Currently, Northern Fortress has been put into use, and Paladin Benjamin is leading two squads to garrison it."

"Alright then. Since that's the case, let's eat first and talk while we eat. Qingshan, I'm quite curious. The construction requirements for this bridge shouldn't be low. Can we handle it?"

"Reporting to the Lord, the construction techniques definitely won't be lacking. We currently have medium-sized concrete mixers and all the relevant equipment for pouring concrete. Previously, the biggest difficulty was the insufficient supply of cement and steel rebar. This year, we built Northern Fortress and Southern Fortress, which took up a majority of the resources. But with the main-body pouring of Southern Fortress completed, we can now provide the supply."

"However, we don't have enormous engineering machinery to move the poured bridge segments onto the bridge piers. That aspect might require spending some effort. But it isn't a big problem. After all, it's merely one hundred and fifty meters long and a two-lane dual carriageway. We also have ample electricity on our end, so setting up a small gantry crane isn't difficult either. If we work overtime, I dare issue a military pledge that it can be built and opened to traffic within thirty days!"

"However, counting on building the Great Bridge first before preparing to construct Earth Fortress would truly waste this month's time. We have ample manpower and ample supplies right now, so I suggest the two projects be carried out simultaneously. In my view, the project over there can be divided into several parts and executed together, such as pioneering and pouring the foundation, constructing the mountain road, and mining materials. This way, by the time the Great Bridge opens to traffic, the preparatory work for Earth Fortress on the south bank will essentially be finished. The only thing left will be pouring the main structure."

"Speaking of which, we have now summarized an entire set of experiences in fortress construction. If Northern Fortress and Southern Fortress were version 1.0, then this Earth Fortress must at least be built as version 2.0. Assuming no other matters interfere, then by late September or early October, I can guarantee that this fortress will be operational."

"Additionally, here are the construction blueprints for Earth Fortress, which Minister Linus personally surveyed and designed over a month ago."

"Alright, I'll leave these matters to you professionals. Also, Riverside Fortress will provide you with thirty craftsmen this time, and the Earth Baron can also provide five hundred strong laborers. How exactly to command and dispatch them will be your business."

"Now, Thomas, I need your help. We have to build a makeshift bridge across this river."

Li Wei laughed heartily. Nowadays, they possessed both the power of the technological era—such as electricity, mixers, welding tools, and even small gantry cranes—and the blessing of supernatural power.

Normally speaking, setting up a makeshift wooden bridge over a river with a somewhat rapid current and a depth approaching six meters wasn't that easy.

But when Thomas transformed into a stone golem nearly six meters tall, hoisted a thick fifteen-meter-long One-Star Log, and stepped into the river, he himself became part of the bridge pier.

Gripping the thick log, he raised it high and smashed it down heavily. With a single strike, it plunged seven or eight meters deep into the silt. Then, he continued to smash it down until it penetrated nearly ten meters into the silt, leaving just one end barely exposed above the water surface. Next, he smashed in the second and third logs.

Every five logs were bundled together, and Li Wei used steel-wire ropes to bind them tightly. Thus, a wooden bridge pier took shape.

Building one of these bridge piers every ten meters and connecting them with logs ultimately created a makeshift wooden bridge that was two meters wide.

Although it swayed slightly and sat closely against the water surface—meaning a flash flood would definitely wash it away—the point was that Thomas had finished it in just over half a day.

Then, that afternoon, escorted by a few small boats, the five hundred strong laborers from Hathaway's territory who had successfully activated and bound their Profession Cards, along with the thirty craftsmen from Li Wei's side, rapidly crossed the river. Along the way, they also transported the majority of the tools and supplies over.

That very night, they lit their lamps and engaged in a night battle.

They first found a relatively flat and spacious spot on the highway on the opposite bank to serve as a camp. Felling trees, digging earth, building wooden cabins—chainsaws, hacksaws, shovels, and pickaxes all went into action simultaneously. Under the illumination of massive searchlights, Li Wei took the lead personally, Thomas acted as a benchmark, and Hathaway supervised the work with a whip in hand. Five to six hundred people worked howling like livestock.

Using only half the night, they completed the camp.

The craftsmen and strong laborers casually ate some food before going to sleep, but Li Wei and Thomas were still competing. At first, Hathaway found it quite normal; as a player, who hadn't seen this kind of situation? But later, she genuinely became astonished. That Thomas was simply a humanoid excavator! This was no exaggeration; whenever the earth and stones on the ground encountered him, it was like a son meeting his father.

He didn't even need a shovel; he just ruthlessly smashed a single fist down, and the path became flat.

He forged the path, while Li Wei took responsibility for clearing the debris from behind. They continued working like this until dawn. When the craftsmen and freemen woke up and took a look—good heavens, a spacious mountain road capable of accommodating a truck had already been opened all the way to the mountain summit.

It wasn't until a female cook came over to deliver meals that Li Wei and Thomas finally stopped.

"No, Li Wei, where did you find such a monster?"

Hathaway was incredibly surprised as she used a wet towel to wipe the dust off Li Wei's face while whispering in his ear.

She could naturally see Thomas's strategic value. That's right, strategic value. With such a massive physique and those overall attributes on display, he was a bona fide Level 5 Stone Golem.

But usually, the Level 5 Stone Golems that Ability Users transformed into were muddle-headed and devoid of intelligence.

A type like Thomas was entirely different. He listened to commands and understood cooperation. If paired with an elite squad, he would bulldoze indiscriminately across the battlefield and could crush opponents a level higher than him.

Since when was the foundation under Li Wei's command so robust?

This was just one Thomas; who knew what kind of person that Zhao Xuanxuan was?

For a brief moment, a touch of loss finally surfaced in Hathaway's heart. Her prior suggestion of joining Li Wei's territory as a staff officer had really just been all talk.

But now, she felt as if she had missed out on some major opportunity.

"He's not a monster. He is my staff officer, my teammate, and a brother who will brave life and death with me in the future," Li Wei said calmly. Thomas had been mining iron ore nonstop over the past few months, and having additionally maxed out his Two-Star Attribute Cards, he should have achieved an all-attribute Level 2 Awakening by now. Even his City Builder code name had leveled up.

It felt like he was a bit stronger than before.

So, should he level him up to Five-Star first?

Thomas's combat profession didn't pay much attention to the level of the Profession Card; it only required continuously stacking attributes.

Thinking it over, Li Wei checked Thomas's overall stats through his Prestige Card.

[Name: Thomas]

[Age: 45]

[Status: Staff officer under the command of Locke Kingdom's Flame Baron Li Wei, and a Four-Star Mercenary of the All-Heavens Lord Alliance. Note: After becoming a staff officer, one can no longer concurrently hold Lord status unless one resigns from the staff officer position to become a Lord again.]

[Profession Cards: Four-Star Mason, Four-Star Miner, Four-Star Farmer, Four-Star Butcher.]

[Destiny Grid: Mason Destiny Grid 72, Miner Destiny Grid 81, Farmer Destiny Grid 19, Butcher Destiny Grid 12.]

[Has activated the hidden talent Dulling. Current: Dulling +4 (After Mason Destiny Grid and Miner Destiny Grid reach 60, every 10-point increase grants 1 point of Dulling.)]

[Code Name: Mountain Cleaver Thomas. Enhanced Level 1: Life +100, Stamina +100, Strength +20, Agility +1, Defense +30, Dulling +1.]

[Base Attributes (Including Equipment and Code Name): Life 500, Stamina 600, Strength 50, Agility 35, Defense 90.]

[Attributes After Activating Dulling Talent (Stone Golem Form): Can last for 30 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of Weakness. Life +1000, Stamina +1000, Strength +100, Agility +5, Defense +150. If you exit Stone Golem Form within 10 minutes, Weakness will not occur, and you can transform into Stone Golem Form again after twenty minutes.]

These stats were a bit luxurious.

Li Wei hesitated for a moment and ultimately abandoned the idea of upgrading Thomas for the time being. This was because his Mason Card and Miner Card could both be strengthened to Rare after returning to the main base.

If leveled up to Five-Star right now, not only would the future strengthening costs be slightly higher, but the success rate was also said to undergo minor changes.

Let's leave it at this for now. However, the speed at which this kid's Mason Destiny Grid and Miner Destiny Grid were increasing was way too fast. Had he simply been eating until full, sleeping, and waking up to work every day, continuously mining in the caves for months?!

He was the invincible Workaholic King!

Even Li Wei felt ashamed of his inferiority. He couldn't compare. He truly couldn't compare.

(End of this chapter)