Shen Feng could understand the feelings of the soldiers who had escaped from the cave. They had gone to fight the mutated plants in the underground cave because of Xiao Sheng's words. However, not long after they went down, Qiu Ming was ambushed by both mutated birds and mutated beasts. In the end, Qiu Ming did not have enough defensive power and was eventually breached by the beast tide and bird flocks.
For these soldiers, their families were all in Qiu Ming. After leaving the cave, they found out that their families might have all died in the chaos. Such a severe blow was unbearable for these soldiers.
However, if anyone was to be blamed, it should be Xiao Sheng, because this matter was led by Xiao Sheng, and everyone else was just following Xiao Sheng's orders. As a result, Shen Feng was questioned when the accounts were settled, which made Shen Feng feel helpless.
It could only be said that Shen Feng had taken the blame for Xiao Sheng this time, and in such weather, Xiao Sheng would not be able to appear here.
Shen Feng looked at the backs of the group of people leaving, and saw a few people dressed as miners. It was likely that these miners who had left underground four days ago had informed the soldiers about this matter. At that time, many miners were attacked by Qi Lingshan as accomplices of Skylaniv, and the soldiers had strong hostility towards them, having experienced many things.
Shen Feng sighed and returned to the camp, only to find that Lu Xian and Qi Lingshan had actually started digging a cellar. They were already working enthusiastically, with sweat dripping from their foreheads. It was below zero degrees, and being able to sweat meant they were truly exerting themselves.
"Are you planning to dig a cellar in just one night? I was just joking. Just bear with it for a few days, and I'll ask Zhang Zi to build us an ice house. Why take my words so seriously?" Shen Feng couldn't help but ask after seeing the two of them working diligently.
Shen Feng clearly felt that he had been too harsh on his subordinates this time, making them work late at night. They wouldn't be staying here for many days anyway, yet they were actually digging a cellar. What was the point?
But Qi Lingshan and Lu Xian said seriously, "City Lord, we'll be done in another two hours. You can wait a little longer, and we can live in the cellar. As for enduring it in the sheds, we don't think we can."
After receiving such an answer, Shen Feng was immediately surprised. Why couldn't they endure it in the sheds?
Shen Feng then went to the sheds to take a look and was speechless. The snow was too heavy, and it had already crushed the sheds that had been built. It was a helpless matter. It was a temporary shelter built with more than a dozen poles. In this weather, it would be strange if it wasn't crushed by the snow.
"By the way, where is Xu Xing?" Shen Feng asked.
Qi Lingshan explained, "Xu Xing is in a room with Zhang Zi and Qi Yunfang, and she brought the fox with her. She should be resting now."
Speaking of which, Qi Lingshan and Lu Xian had snatched the prey that Zhang Zi fancied at noon today. Although they had explained it clearly at the time, due to issues of face, neither of them could bring themselves to ask Zhang Zi to build them a shelter. Although it was just a matter of raising a hand for Zhang Zi, asking was the most difficult thing.
Shen Feng looked at the weather and realized that even enduring it in the sheds was no longer possible. If they couldn't find a place to hide quickly, they wouldn't even have a place to sleep tonight. After thinking for a moment, Shen Feng joined the two who were working, preparing to dig a cellar quickly.
The insulation effect of soil is very good. For example, in the cave dwellings of Northern Shaanxi, people live in loess. In the summer, the quilts in the cave dwellings even become damp. Therefore, in the weather of heavy snowfall, hiding underground is also a good choice. However, digging holes is not an easy task. The soil on the surface still contains ice chips. Although it is not permafrost that never melts, it is still difficult to excavate.
After digging for another hour, the cellar was finally dug out. Then, tree trunks were used for reinforcement, ventilation holes were left, and a fireplace was dug. By then, it was already five o'clock in the morning. Fortunately, the three of them were generating heat through exercise, so they didn't feel cold.
Shen Feng looked at the time. It was still a few hours before daylight, so he hurried to sleep. He put on two down jackets and went to sleep. In the cellar, some fir leaves were spread out. This area was mostly coniferous forest, and the only slightly soft things that could be found were fir leaves.
Lu Xian and Qi Lingshan also rested beside him. A small fire was lit in the fireplace, and then they slept. Even the ability users were exhausted and fell asleep after digging the cellar and fireplace.
Shen Feng, as a southerner, had only seen snow for one or two days. Seeing snow for three days was considered heavy snow. If it snowed for a week or even half a month, it would undoubtedly be a snow disaster.
By the next day, it was still snowing heavily, and the snow on the ground was getting thicker and thicker. Walking on the snow, it reached waist-high.
Shen Feng lifted the lid of the cellar and saw that the earth was covered in white. He immediately chose to continue sleeping. Such huge winds and snow were not suitable for travel.
Xiao Sheng came out of the ice house and wanted to find Shen Feng. Unexpectedly, he found that Shen Feng's camp had been covered by heavy snow, and the person had disappeared. Seeing this, Xiao Sheng was stunned: "Did Shen Feng leave under the cover of night?"
While he was wondering, Qi Yunfang walked out of an ice house holding Xu Xing's hand and said to Xu Xing, "Where is the sled you mentioned last night? Hurry up and take me to see it. I want to ride a sled too."
It turned out that Xu Xing and Qi Yunfang had lived together last night, and Zhang Zi was also with them. Three women made a lot of noise. When they talked about snow, Xu Xing mentioned the sled, and Qi Yunfang immediately became interested, saying that she also wanted to ride a sled.
Now that it was daytime, Qi Yunfang was going with Xu Xing to find the sled. Since Xu Xing couldn't see clearly, Qi Yunfang had to hold her hand.
When Xiao Sheng saw Xu Xing appearing here, he was immediately relieved. Since Xu Xing had not left yet, it meant that Shen Feng had not left either. He had been too worried. Shen Feng would not leave under such circumstances.
Xiao Sheng then stopped the two women who were about to act and said, "Xu Xing, where is your City Lord?"
Xu Xing immediately replied, "The City Lord is not mine. At this time, the City Lord should still be sleeping in the cellar."
After that, Xu Xing and Qi Yunfang rode on two foxes, letting the foxes take them to find the sled.
After receiving Xu Xing's reminder, Xiao Sheng quickly looked around and indeed found the entrance to the cellar. If he looked carefully, he could also see a chimney on the snow-covered ground nearby.
Xiao Sheng opened the entrance to the cellar. It was covered by a stone slab, with a small vent left open. When the stone slab was pushed open, the wind and snow immediately rushed into the cellar.
Shen Feng had only slept for a short while when a lot of snowflakes fell on his face, and he was immediately woken up by the cold. When he opened his eyes and saw that it was Xiao Sheng, he became furious: "Are you finished? Don't rely on others for everything. Everything requires self-reliance. Don't come to me for every little thing."
Shen Feng also had a bad temper when he woke up. He was sleeping soundly, but suddenly cold snowflakes fell on him. How could anyone tolerate this?
Xiao Sheng quickly said, "Don't worry, don't worry. I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm here to cooperate. Shen Feng, you can continue sleeping. I'll have someone send food over later. You three can sleep as long as you want. Also, Xu Xing is looking for the sled, and she has someone accompanying her, so you don't need to worry. If you have any other needs, please don't hesitate to ask."
After hearing such an answer, Shen Feng was clearly surprised, because the old saying goes: "If someone is overly attentive without reason, they are either a thief or a traitor."
Xiao Sheng's current attentiveness and his stated purpose meant that he likely had some ulterior motive.
"What is it? If you think a few meals can buy me off, then you're thinking too simply. What's your purpose? Hurry up and say it." Shen Feng directly began to question.
Xiao Sheng crawled into the cellar, saw that there wasn't much firewood left in the fireplace, and couldn't help but add two logs to the fireplace, making the fire in the fireplace much brighter. Then he said, "Actually, I just hope that Brother Lu Xian can help. We are planning to take action against the treants tonight, but we are worried that the traps will not be effective, so we hope that Brother Lu Xian can help check the situation of the traps."
After hearing this answer, Shen Feng nodded and said to Lu Xian, "Since that's the case, you can go with Xiao Sheng to check the traps later. Go quickly and come back quickly, and don't disrupt the plans of the Ability Administration."
Seeing that Shen Feng had agreed to his request so easily this time, Xiao Sheng was immediately relieved and thought, "This way, my plan can succeed."
Originally, Xiao Sheng's plan was to defeat the treants with his powerful strength. However, his strength was not enough, and Shen Feng was unwilling to make a move. Therefore, defeating the treants fairly with strength was out of the question. The next step was to set traps targeting the treants' weaknesses. As long as the treants who went out hunting could enter the traps, defeating the treants would be very simple.
However, the treants' actions were based on their perception of heat. It was easy for the members of the Ability Administration to set traps, but it was unclear how effective the traps were. In such a situation, to understand the effectiveness of the traps, it was naturally necessary to have the help of Lu Xian, an ability user with thermal perception.
Lu Xian originally didn't want to go, but after hearing that the City Lord had agreed, it would be inappropriate not to go. So he could only nod and then said, "I understand. I'll go later. Let me boil some hot water to wash up."
Xiao Sheng quickly said, "It's okay, go to my place to wash up. I have hot water there. There's no time to delay, let's go now."
After saying that, Xiao Sheng impatiently grabbed Lu Xian and was about to take him outside. Lu Xian was very reluctant. He had only slept for three hours, and he was tired from last night. Now he had to work during the day. It was truly hard work.
After Lu Xian washed up, Xiao Sheng quickly took him to the vicinity of the traps and pointed to a gully, saying, "There is a deep gully from the exit of the underground cave to the edge of the great rift. I plan to throw a large pile of prey on the road to lure the treants towards the great rift. However, on the edge of the rift, Zhang Zi only used her ability to create a slope. As long as they walk on it, they will slide into the abyss. What do you think of my trap?"
"The trap is fine, but the effect will definitely not be good, because this trap can only catch one or two treants, unless there are many prey in the gully. A single treant cannot take all the prey away. Therefore, in this situation, treants will act in groups. But if it's all prey, the treants will return after they've caught enough. So, you also need to make the prey in the gully run towards the cliff. That's what I mean." Lu Xian took a look and immediately discovered the shortcomings of Xiao Sheng's trap and pointed them out directly.
After hearing Lu Xian's request, Xiao Sheng quickly nodded and said, "Yes, yes, yes, you've been a great help to me. Fortunately, you reminded me."