Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 41: Penny’s Ambition

After breakfast, Li Wei began reinforcing the perimeter wall. Previously, he had wasted most of his time driving away birds and beasts. Now with only seven days left in the month, he needed to complete this month's main quest as quickly as possible.

Of course, he had actually already gathered enough trees that needed to be cut down. What he needed to do now was take the shovel and dig holes along the outer perimeter of the wall, then place segmented logs into the holes and fill them with compacted soil.

Next, he would strip tree bark to twist into ropes, or use cut vines as substitutes, using cross-lashing methods to secure the existing wall to these logs.

Speaking of which, the cross-lashing technique was something he learned from Penny - it was very convenient and efficient.

Of course, the downside was that it could easily be cut open with a knife, and exposure to wind, sun, and rain would quickly cause it to weather and break, often requiring replacement every few months.

But that was a problem for the future. Right now, reinforcing the wall was about surviving the winter and preventing large wild animals from raiding their home.

It would also incidentally help guard against bandits and robbers, if such people actually existed.

The day's labor was quite ordinary, while the sound of iron forging in the camp basically continued all day. Today even Fila had joined in to help, along with Mixi and Leon, creating a very lively and bustling atmosphere. They were almost finished gathering enough iron nails needed for the house expansion.

And next, Penny seemed to be planning something big.

"Could it be steelmaking?" Li Wei pondered thoughtfully.When he returned to the camp courtyard, Li Wei saw Penny, Mixi, and even Leon discussing something, with Fila listening nearby.

From the looks of it, they seemed to have already come up with a practical and feasible plan.

So they really were going to make steel - Penny's ambitions were always this grand.

However, after discussing for a long time, the group ultimately didn't proceed further.

This wasn't hard to guess, because engaging in primitive steelmaking now wouldn't bring any benefits to the Family Head. But if Penny waited until next month when she was re-elected as Family Head, then bringing out primitive steelmaking would be the most cost-effective approach.

Li Wei even realized that Penny, Mixi, and Leon were likely to form an alliance. If Mixi was also quite accomplished in this area and possessed substantial knowledge - after all, tailors could also make armor.

Additionally, he couldn't help but suspect that Leon's first profession might well be Craftsman too.

But none of this mattered. Even if Penny succeeded in primitive steelmaking and gained massive contributions and more benefits, Li Wei could still obtain marginal advantages.

With the family developed to this extent, no matter how unwise Penny might be, she wouldn't randomly use Plot Kill on other family members while her advantage was overwhelmingly ahead.

If nothing else, wouldn't they still need manpower for logging to make charcoal, farming, hunting, mining, and carrying ores in the future?

Moreover, if the family became wealthy and attracted the covetous eyes of bandits and robbers, wouldn't they need to prepare in advance and work together united against external threats?

In short, he wouldn't stir up trouble, would maintain his basic position, and just watch them show off.

As expected, the primitive steelmaking plan went quiet. Penny didn't even plan to make a saw anymore, because a saw made from wrought iron was inferior to using an axe.

Penny, Mixi, and Leon seemed to have formed a combat team, vigorously expanding the house, essentially helping Penny complete her main quest.

Even Fila wore a smiling face all day, providing good food and drinks to serve them.

For several consecutive days, the house expansion progressed rapidly. By the time Li Wei had almost finished reinforcing the perimeter wall, the house expansion was also basically completed.

With three days left until the end of the month, all family members completed the Monthly Family Main Quest ahead of schedule. Although there were still three days before electing next month's Family Head, it meant that during these three days, anyone could initiate a Plot Kill.

Overall, apart from Leon suffering losses this month, everyone else made substantial gains.

Li Wei quietly reviewed his own harvest.

First, he received 15 points from the monthly main quest. The farmland yielded six units of one-star quality seeds, earning him 6 points. Additionally, he donated all the pheasants and wild rabbits he hunted this month to the family, gaining 5 points. With last month's balance of 52 points, his total Family Contribution for this month had reached 78 points.

This was truly a safe number. Although he hadn't caught up to Penny, he should be close to catching up with Fila, because she hadn't produced any one-star dishes this month - that wasn't an easy task. Also, she hadn't donated any personal assets.

Secondly, his Farming Experience successfully broke through to 300 points. This was a huge benefit brought by the wheat harvest - quite excellent.

His Hunting Experience also reached 200 points. Although shooting one pheasant only gave 5 experience points, small amounts could accumulate into something substantial.

Finally, his Logging Experience also broke through to 300 points, because he had cut the most trees this month. His axe alone had been taken to Penny for requenching and sharpening over a dozen times due to wear and tear.

However, he didn't obtain a one-star logging card. It seemed the conditions for activating and binding a third profession were somewhat stringent.

Or perhaps, in his current state, he could only possess two professions at most?

Just as he was thinking this, a Plot Kill message suddenly flashed before Li Wei's eyes.

[Professional Chef *** initiated Plot Kill, hoping for youngest son Leon to be stung to death by poisonous bees within twenty-four hours. Do you agree?]

Wow, Fila was teaching Leon a lesson. She might not necessarily want to eliminate him from the game, but she definitely wanted to show him what this game was really about - don't think anyone can be trusted. One moment everyone's getting along fine, the next they're killing each other, and that's normal.

Incidentally, this also amounted to backstabbing the emerging Penny alliance.

Because since Leon arrived, he hadn't experienced a Plot Kill yet. He needed to develop some caution toward Penny.

Well, at least that's how Li Wei understood it.

Then he casually selected abstain - not opposing, not supporting, letting things play out as they may.

As expected, Mixi directly chose to agree. She didn't mind killing off a competitor, since it wouldn't harm her anyway.

But Penny immediately chose to oppose.

Combined with Leon's opposition, this created a situation with one abstention, two agreements, and two oppositions.

Plot Kill invalid.

A close call, but safe.

But visibly, Leon's face turned pale, cold sweat pouring down - giving him a little taste of Plot Kill shock.

The next second, Penny casually initiated a new Plot Kill, hoping Mixi would die from dehydration due to diarrhea from eating something bad within twenty-four hours.

Li Wei decisively chose to agree, and Leon also viciously agreed.

Then Fila agreed, with only Mixi herself opposing.

Plot Kill succeeded, but Mixi didn't care at all, spending 3 Family Contribution points to exempt herself.

This gave Leon, who had thought this wicked woman would definitely be eliminated, another small shock.

Because he also hadn't encountered Family Contribution yet.

Yes, for the first twenty days of this month, Fila had taken him fishing. Since that was during Fila's task period, he only gained Fishing Experience but wasn't qualified to make donations. Later, he enthusiastically helped Penny complete the main quest, but could only gain experience there too - where would he get Family Contribution from?

This month was truly Leon's time of being exploited for free labor.