Chapter 37: Dream Home

The three Bull Demon Kings used their bodies to demolish the three strongest holdouts. Even though they sacrificed themselves in the process, they achieved the glorious feat of inflicting heavy losses on the enemy.

So, when daylight broke on the third day, the exiled devourers saw rows upon rows of neatly aligned ruins. Those left with three walls were considered lucky, as half of the exiles' houses were missing three walls.

It took several deep breaths for Chen Shijin to calm down.

Worse yet, when the remaining twenty-five of them went to the construction site to get materials for repairs, the swallowtail foreman, who had not caused trouble for two days, finally revealed a malicious grin.

"The construction site has only so much material for building houses. You all better use it sparingly. Otherwise, it won't look good on the fifth day."

Chen Shijin, looking at the pile of materials that seemed plentiful but was actually insufficient for twenty-five people to repair their houses, and then at the neatly arranged various bricks, stones, and timbers to the right of the swallowtail foreman, asked the question on everyone's mind:

"Can't we use all those materials over there?"

The swallowtail foreman sneered, "That material is reserved for building the master's Dream Home. How could it possibly be for your use? And for free at that?"

"A specialized construction team will arrive shortly to begin work on the master's home."

Chen Shijin realized that the Dream Home was not for them, but for the devouring monsters themselves; they were merely the contrast group amidst the ruins.

Perhaps against such a backdrop, the bliss of the Dream Home would be more pronounced.

Upon hearing the foreman's words, Jiang Hong and the others' expressions darkened, and Chu Tiankuo asked in a deep voice, "If free isn't an option, can we exchange energy values for building materials?"

The foreman, with a cigarette in his mouth, replied, "That's possible, but prices are fixed with no credit. A red brick costs 10 energy values, a steel rod 20 energy values, and a steel plate 50 energy values."

A quick calculation revealed that repairing three walls would cost thousands, if not tens of thousands of energy values.

A young man with glasses grimaced, "All my savings wouldn't even buy one wall."

"We've already entered the exile world! Why can't I afford even a single wall?!"

He began to wail.

Several others who couldn't afford a house, along with those who had bought houses but hadn't finished paying off their mortgages, showed expressions of sorrow.

It felt as if a significant amount of energy had been drained from them.

"Enough with the long faces! We still have building materials here! Hurry up and take them back to patch up the walls!" Chen Qiang shouted, swiftly claiming a section of materials for himself and his friends: "Folks, to avoid any disputes later, we'll take this batch for our group, alright?"

He casually marked off roughly a third of the materials, appearing to be fair.

But between him and his friends, they were seven in total, leaving Jiang Hong's group of six, Chen Shijin's trio, and Chu Tiankuo's team, which was the largest with nine members.

"The remaining two-thirds clearly won't be enough to go around."

Chu Tiankuo raised an eyebrow, glanced at Jiang Hong and Chen Shijin's group, and shook his head, "If we're dividing, let's do it fairly, based on the number of people."

"Brother Qiang, with this method of division, Xiao Jia, Xiao Yi, and... the hooded brother here will hardly get any materials."

Chen Qiang's face immediately showed displeasure. If it were up to his usual self, the three unteamed individuals getting nothing would just be that.

However, he looked up at the three of them.

The hooded one ceaselessly played with fire on his fingertip, Xiao Yi was daydreaming, and Xiao Jia...

Was Xiao Jia sneakily breaking off a piece of wood and stuffing it into his mouth?!

"Are these guys alright? It's like they're just asking for trouble!"

But the more he saw this, the less Chen Qiang dared to act rashly.

Experience and dramas told him that those who seemed clueless might be dangerously cunning behind the scenes!

Thus, Chen Qiang reluctantly nodded after a facial twitch, "Alright then."

"Worst comes to worst, we'll just make the house smaller or lower. That'll do."

"The main goal is to survive the task. As long as there's a house standing on the fifth day, it's fine."

So, everyone divided the remaining building materials per capita.

Chen Shijin looked at the red bricks, wooden planks, steel rods, and cement in front of him, then at his house missing three walls, frowning deeply.

"Together, these materials will hardly suffice to fully repair the house. And with only enough red bricks for two walls, am I supposed to use wooden or steel plates for the remaining wall?"

"He could hardly bear to imagine what the house would end up looking like."

"Just then, the professional construction crew for the Dream Home arrived, each clad in yellow overalls and orange-red safety helmets, energetically carrying tools. The sixty-six workers, as if having rehearsed countless times before, began building with extreme proficiency."

"By the time Chen Shijin had finished repairing one wall, the foundation for the Dream Home villa was laid."

"When Chen Shijin completed the second wall, the steel reinforcement frame for the Dream Home villa was erected."

"As Chen Shijin sighed, using wooden and steel plates to patch up the third wall, the red bricks of the Dream Home villa were already being laid."

"At this pace, by tomorrow, the villa will likely have its garden, pond, and swimming pool all completed."

"Turning around, Chen Shijin saw all the exiles gazing at the Dream Home villa with extreme longing."

"Not just the homeless exiles, but even he, once a wealthy man with eight properties, couldn't help but feel a pang of envy and jealousy."

"So this is what it feels like to be without a home when seeing others with one, ah, he could somewhat understand the expression of envy and separation."

"The devourer of this Dream Home knows how to play with people's hearts."

"However, compared to having a large house, the exiles yearned more for the safety of survival. Thus, while they envied, their envy was quickly replaced by worries about potential mishaps or disasters awaiting them tonight."

"Before sunset, the three team leaders gathered to discuss: 'If another herd of bulls comes tonight, we'll truly be out of building materials for tomorrow. What then?'"

"None of them were fools; they clearly understood the intention behind limiting the building materials in the Dream Home—it was designed to incite them into a deadly competition for resources, thereby completing the survival task."

"But knowing the nature of higher-level devourers, they feared that in the end, only one team, or even just two or three individuals, would survive the ordeal. And those who did make it might never dare to live in a house again."

"'Damn it, if I weren't just a level three, I'd fight it out with them! Always tormenting people like this, expecting me to go mad!' Chen Qiang cursed."

"'What's the use of cursing?' Chu Tiankuo spoke up, 'We all know that this mission is essentially about sacrificing our comrades' lives. Of the thirty-six employees who arrived here with me, only eight remain, and yet, I must grit my teeth and continue to survive.'"

"'But this time, there might be a chance for a turnaround,' Chu Tiankuo's gloomy eyes slightly brightened."

"Jiang Hong took a deep breath, 'Chu team, are you referring to those three?'"

"'I also feel those three are different from the rest. Especially the one with the hood playing with fire; he reminds me of someone.'"

"'But even if he really is who we think, it might not make a difference. At most, he can ensure his own safety from being forcibly devoured, but he might not be able to help us complete the mission.'"

"Chen Qiang nodded solemnly."

"Chu Tiankuo watched a young bystander who wandered around the construction site, idly picking up a plank of wood or a brick to put in his mouth."

"Now, this Xiao Jia is gnawing on a steel rod, then suddenly grimaced as if his teeth were stuck."

"Chu Tiankuo: '...'"

"His earlier thoughts suddenly became uncertain."

"'Did you guys catch the Omnivision broadcast of the Gourmet World mission before?'"

"Chen Qiang shook his head, 'Was busy taking down low-level devourers at the time.'"

"Jiang Hong, however, nodded and his eyes also lit up, 'Chu team, are you saying? That one!'"

"'Mouth Bro!'"

"Chen Shijin, who was secretly nibbling on the energy within the steel rod, nearly turned his head upon hearing his nickname but managed to control himself at the crucial moment."

"However, he discreetly gave himself a little buff by tapping his ear for better hearing."

"'Right, Mouth Bro has triggered two world missions consecutively. In Gourmet World, he even directly led 300 people to victory. Most importantly, the Mad God had publicly sought him out in Gourmet World to recruit him for city building.'"

"'So! If the Mad God is here, then...'"

"Jiang Hong and Chen Qiang's eyes lit up: 'Mouth God might actually be here!'"

"'Exactly, exactly. If they're looking to build a city, the Dream Home would be the core of the Devouring World they'd most want to get their hands on!'"

"At this moment, the three team leaders grew excited, then faced a small dilemma:"

"'So, between Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi, who is Mouth God?'"

"All three simultaneously turned to observe Bystander A and Bystander B."

"Bystander A continued to foolishly grab whatever he could find and stuff it into his mouth, only to disdainfully spit it out."

"Bystander B was sitting on the roof of his house, resting his chin on his hands, watching Bystander A's random eating, occasionally showing an amused smile."

"The three team leaders: '...'"

"Chen Qiang: 'It's not that I mean any disrespect to Mouth God.'"

"Jiang Hong: 'I understand.'"

"Chu Tiankuo: '...Forget it, maybe my speculation is wrong. Let's leave it to fate tonight.'"

"'If we really must, we can always ask around later.'"

"Chen Shijin angrily tossed away a red brick. 'Dammit, chewing on this feels like gnawing on an over-dried, super hard kernel of corn. Not only is it hard to bite, but a whole brick only gives 1 point of energy value.'"

How much does he need to consume to recover 10%?!

"The 5 points of energy in the steel bars are more than this."

"But gnawing on steel rebar is like chewing on super tough beef tendon, too hard on the teeth."

"Also, how can those three captains with poor judgment not differentiate between me and that obviously unserious, irresponsible guy as the verbal god? How could that guy possibly be me?"

"Before nightfall, Chen Jia, nursing his teeth, devoured all the residual energy in the discarded construction materials at the site."

"Bit by bit, he regained 1085 energy points."

"For any exile in those three teams, these 1085 energy points would be a fortune to cheer about."

"But for the verbal god, these 1085 energy points aren’t even enough to add 0.1 to permanent strength."

"And it's tough on the teeth."

"Chen Jia lies on the recliner inside his house, touching his teeth and peacefully lying flat."

"Waiting for tonight's disaster to strike."

"Tonight, it seems there are no wild bulls coming to crash into the walls."

"And it didn’t rain either."

"Just the sound of the wind howling outside the window."

"The wind grew louder and louder, whistling through the cracks of the window like the wails of ghosts and howls of wolves."

"'Squeak!' The silver-gray-blue-eyed groundhog pretended to be scared and buried its head in Chen Shijin's embrace, its little paws pressing down in approval."

"Chen Shijin felt his belly pressed and patted the groundhog's bottom."

"He smiled threateningly: 'Be good. Don't be like a certain spineless black cat, huh.'"

"The groundhog nearly lost its composure, squeezing its legs together, but fortunately, it managed not to give itself away."

"By this time, the wind outside had become frighteningly powerful."

"Then—"

"Bang!"

"A boulder picked up by the violent wind smashed hard against the glass of Chen Shijin's small house, shattering the window instantly."

"The fierce wind poured into the entire house."

"Chen Shijin's expression changed in an instant, and he grabbed the groundhog, darting to the sturdiest corner of the wall."

"What followed was a countless barrage of sand, stones, broken bricks, and even bent steel rods carried by the furious wind from all directions."

"Chen Shijin could hear the faint cries of exiles injured in the tempest."

"Boom and crack—"

"Chen Shijin watched as the furious wind overturned his roof, his face wooden as he pondered over how much energy he had lost."

"As Chen Shijin's expression grew uglier with each point of energy lost,"

"Chen Qiang was exerting all his strength to make his way out of the steel-plated house."

"His brick house, built a day late and still unroofed due to forced demolition, meant he and his teammates were still living in the initial steel-plated house they constructed."

"After all, despite not being very stable, the steel-plated house offered the best protection against wind and rain and was sufficiently sturdy."

"So, as long as it didn’t rain, it was quite comfortable here."

"But the rain had stopped, and now a strong wind had started."

"At first, Chen Qiang was pleased that his steel-plated house was almost windproof and wouldn’t be damaged by flying sand and stones."

"But soon, he couldn’t laugh anymore because he discovered that his steel-plated house was starting to move as a whole."

"He immediately thought of what Bystander A had said and changed color, rushing outside."

"He was quick to react, using immense effort and nearly depleting his energy to open the door against the fierce wind and run out."

"The moment he stepped outside, what he considered the incredibly sturdy steel-plated house, which he thought impossible to be blown away by the wind, was lifted into the air right before his eyes by the terrifying gale."

"Also lifted into the sky were five other steel-plated houses, along with his two teammates screaming in terror inside one of them."

"'Brother Qiang!!'"

"'Help—'"

"However, Chen Qiang could do nothing but squat in the corner of the house, watching in utter rage as he lost two more brothers."

"The fierce wind blew for most of the night."

"It finally passed at three in the morning."

"At this time, the exiles standing inside their houses could see each other, disheveled in their once again damaged homes, through the light of their finger-lamps."

"It was the bespectacled young man who, wiping the dust off his face, couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears: 'My house is gone again! I'm doomed to be homeless for life!'"

"Tonight marks the third night."

"Tomorrow is their last day to build houses."

"But all the free building materials have been completely used up."

"What will they use to build houses tomorrow? And how will they face the disaster of the fourth night and the survival task check on the fifth day?"

"In the night, everyone was silent."

"Until they heard a voice: 'Everyone.'"

"'We can't just sit here and wait for doom.'"

"'How about we all pull off a big one together?'"

"Everyone's heads snapped up, with Feng Tianhuo excitedly rubbing his hands together: 'Who are we hitting?!'"

"Chen Shijin gave him a sidelong glance, then looked deeply towards the construction site opposite."