Finding a bear cave as a shelter, Lu Zhe made bamboo doors, Iroquois fire starters and bear oil lamps, gaining 4 more potential points.
Unknowingly, Lu Zhe had already accumulated 28 potential points.
He didn't immediately add these potential points to his traits, after all, his current traits were sufficient, it would be more appropriate to add them to a particular ability in times of crisis to solve problems.
Now, with the firelight in the cave, although it didn't provide much heat, they could clearly see each other in the dark cave, bringing warmth and comfort to everyone's hearts.
Jiang Yao said happily, "It feels so cozy with everyone squeezing in here!"
Tang Xiaoguo nodded, "Yeah, listening to the thunder and rain outside, I'm not scared at all."
Lin Qianqian said, "Actually, when I was little, I always fantasized about a heavy wind and rain outside, and myself and the closest people hiding in a warm and safe little cave. Just like now!"
Ning Shu nodded, "Actually... I've fantasized about that too, but I always feel like what Jiang Yao and I imagined is similar but also different..."
Shen Bing asked with concern, "Lu Zhe, do you want to take a rest too?"
Lu Zhe shook his head, "Not yet!"
He took the bear oil lamp and went to the innermost part of the cave, using the lamp to illuminate the cave wall, and started to carefully observe the geological structure of the cave.
Shen Bing knew Lu Zhe wanted to expand the cave, but she wanted Lu Zhe to rest for a while, so she said, "Actually, it's not absolutely necessary to expand the cave. The way it is now... isn't it quite good already?"
Ning Shu also said, "Yeah, maybe the rain will stop soon."
Tang Xiaoguo said with a flushed face, "Won't the little mountain feel violated?"
Lu Zhe shook his head, "Judging by the thickness of the clouds, the duration of this rain won't be short. It would be a blessing if it could stop after two or three days!"
"Ah?" Jiang Yao complained, "How come? If you're not going to rain, don't rain. If you're going to rain, don't rain for so long?"
Everyone squeezed together in this cramped place for a few hours was fine, but to really stay for three to five days, it would drive people crazy.
Lin Qianqian said, "If you're going to dig, let's dig together with you!"
Lu Zhe nodded, "Okay, I do need help moving soil, handling soil, and lighting. Let's divide up the tasks, and we'll start expanding the cave after I determine the location!"
Jiang Yao said happily, "It's like tomb raiding, how thrilling!"
Ning Shu shivered, "What if we really dig up a zongzi?"
Tang Xiaoguo said, "Eat it! Savory zongzi is always amazing!"
Qianqian said, "The class monitor meant moving zombies!"
"Ah?" Tang Xiaoguo said, "Then I don't know how to deal with it."
Jiang Yao said, "Let it help us dig!"
Lu Zhe didn't have the heart to joke around with them. He carefully observed the cave and found that the cave was formed by huge stacked rocks, and their small cave was just the small gap between several huge boulders stacked together.
It was a small gap, but it was big enough for them to move around inside.
Because of its ancient age, the top boulders had already fused together, forming an exceptionally sturdy structure. As long as they dug along the soil layer without damaging the rocks, the cave wouldn't collapse.
It seemed that this cave had some development value.
First expand the expandable area!
"The top is made up of two huge boulders stacked together, forming a sturdy roof structure. Now we can shovel the soil here to increase the height bit by bit."
Jiang Yao nodded, "Yeah, at least Tang Xiaoguo can stand upright."
Tang Xiaoguo looked at Jiang Yao, "I want to bite you now."
"The soil on the top layer is thin, no need to worry about injuring anyone, but it will still get very dirty on the body. It's best to first put the bear skin clothes and pull rod boxes away to avoid dirtying them and make them hard to clean."
"Got it!"
Lu Zhe swung the engineering shovel. In less than twenty minutes, he had shoveled away the top layer of soil, gradually revealing the rocky ceiling of the cave, getting higher and higher as it went deeper inside.
In fact, the ground could also be dug downward, but in order to ensure a flat ground, Lu Zhe gave up on that idea.
He just cleared away the straw and a layer of loose soil on the surface.
Jiang Yao held the bear oil lamp to light for him.
Lin Qianqian and Shen Bing were responsible for gathering the fallen soil.
Ning Shu and Tang Xiaoguo were responsible for taking the soil out of the cave.
After expanding the cave ceiling, next was to expand the interior space of the cave.
Lu Zhe's strength was very great now, his stamina was also super strong, his efficiency was equal to two experienced migrant worker brothers!
If it wasn't for the small tools, the efficiency could be even higher.
Jiang Yao marveled, "I feel that when we return to the city, we can study going into tomb raiding partners. Looking at how you swing the shovel, it has a bit of Third Uncle's flair..."
"Yao Yao, watch less paranormal shows. Tomb raiding is illegal, it's a serious crime!"
Jiang Yao thought about it, "That's true too!"
With the efforts of several partners, after five or six hours of digging, the space inside the cave was expanded by two-thirds.
Although it was very tiring, and they were all dirty, having more space made the partners very happy!
Ning Shu said, "When we push out the last pile of soil, let's use the helmets to catch some water to wash up properly, then eat something."
"Wait! Don't throw out the last pile of soil yet, it may have other uses. Let's just wash our faces and hands with some water first. Your majesty is starving, we need to eat something first."
"Got it!"
Ning Shu and Tang Xiaoguo opened the bamboo door again. The wind blew their hair into a mess. The two girls were stunned!
Half an hour ago when they took the soil out, it was pouring rain outside, with whiteness all around!
In less than half an hour, it was pitch black outside like night!
If they didn't know any better, they would have thought the cave entrance was sealed.
Was it night already?
Tang Xiaoguo checked her watch, "It's only 2:30 in the afternoon!"
Suddenly, above and below turned white again, and they could still see the pouring rain all over the mountains.
However, this scene lasted less than a second, and it was pitch black again immediately.
Two to three seconds later!
"Boom!!"
A loud sound shook the girls into screaming, and Ning Shu and Tang Xiaoguo also ran frightened to the innermost part of the cave.
"It's thunder!"
Looking outside, Lu Zhe said, "But don't be afraid, it should be in the direction of the mountain top. We're inside the cave now, this is the safest place. The trees on the mountain top are like lightning rods protecting us! It's safe to use the helmets and aluminum boxes inside the cave. Just don't take them outside to collect rainwater."
"But why did the sky turn black?"
"It's because a large amount of clouds blocked the sunlight over the entire sea area."
"Then we can't collect water anymore?"
"It's fine with plastic bottles. But now, I need to make a simple drainage system!"
Ning Shu was very puzzled, "Why do we need to do this?"
"We'll have to wash up and such inside the cave later. To keep the cave dry, we need to let the wastewater drain out. With this drainage system, we don't need to open the bamboo door to dispose of water! Also, if anyone needs to pee, they don't have to go outside!"
The five girls blinked, not knowing what to make of it.
But they seemed to be closely related to survival, so they supported it!
Lu Zhe carved out another handy bamboo stick to use as a shovel. He dug a long, narrow pit on one side of the cave, leading directly outside.
The deeper he dug towards the outside, the steeper the slope, then he removed half of the bamboo sections to create gaps and plugged it into the pit. A simple drainage ditch was completed.
This way, they could use a cut plastic bottle to collect rainwater and fill up all the bottles they had.
The partners used the collected water to wash their hands and faces, then ate something to regain some strength, and got ready to rest for a while.
But a new problem came up.
Due to the lack of sunlight, the temperature kept dropping. Even inside the cave, they could all feel the chill.