บท 17: Please call me Logger Li
บรรณาธิการ: Atlas Studios
Around 2 PM was the hottest time of the day.
It was bearable in the shade, but stepping out of the shade was like getting onto a barbecue grill. The heat waves that were like spicy noodles sprinkled with ghost pepper made Li Siwen practically sizzle from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. The only thing lacking was the fragrant smell of cooking.
Everyone still came out to work under the strict requirements of the militiaman Song Hu. The militiaman Song Hu carried a spear and patrolled the area about 200 meters around the logging hut. His expression was dark. The conflict between him and the four loggers was just like this weather, a bit short of becoming a fiery hot mess like Mars. Logger Old Zhao and the others were still obedient for now, thanks to their lingering awe of the boorish Feudal Lord.
But by tomorrow, if the muddleheaded Feudal Lord still could not return, conflict would be inevitable.
Under those circumstances, Li Siwen kept an even lower profile.
None of the four loggers left the shade.
Old Chen was making what he called a trap.
Cao Da was making a straw rope.
Old Zhao was strengthening the fence as much as possible.
Liu Er and Li Siwen chopped trees in the patrol area. Since they had to keep watch for two nights, the militiaman Song Hu told them they just had to cut one or two trees each.
However, within a radius of 200 meters in the patrol area, they had cut almost all trees down. If they wanted to cut down more trees, they would have to leave Song Hu's patrol area.
Hence, Liu Er unwillingly chopped down a small tree, then ran back to the shade of the tree as though he were fleeing from something.
Li Siwen couldn't do that. He carried his iron axe and went over 200 meters away. He didn't have to be so reckless, but he had his own plans. Why not get more Vitality Points before the boorish Feudal Lord returned?
Even if the boorish Feudal Lord could not come back, there was nothing wrong with getting more Vitality Points. It does not clash with his aim of reducing his presence here.
In addition, he chose a place with a wide view, south of the logging hut. If the gray wolves come, they could only come from the north. Even if they detoured and went round either side, there would be other people who would sound the warning. They wouldn't be able to sneak attack Li Siwen from behind.
The sun was bright now and they could see well. Once the gray wolves appear, Li Siwen would have enough reaction time to activate his Spirit Vision. Since he could kill one elite gray wolf, he could kill another one.
After all, his Strength was now 9 points. It was already the standard as that of a logger.
"Woo!"
The sound from the swing of his axe cutting through air was somewhat mournful. The tree trembled, and sawdust flew. The dull thud of the axe's impact was curt and powerful, which showed that the force did not diverge. The center of gravity of felling did not shift. The cut was effective and excellent.
"The axe has gotten lighter."
Li Siwen skillfully pulled out the axe from the trunk of the tree. 9 points of Strength was just amazing. One chop of the axe could cut about 10 CM into the trunk. When he had 5 Strength, just making a 3 or 4 CM cut took all his strength.
One chop of the axe followed by another. It was methodical and effective. After only a few dozen chops from the axe, he cut the trunk of the tree through by a third. This result was comparable to even the strongest logger Old Zhao.
However, Old Zhao definitely didn't have 15 Stamina.
After wiping the sweat off his face, Li Siwen stopped to rest. At the same time, he re-wrapped the axe handle with rags to prevent slipping.
The afternoon was too hot. The heat would drain extra Stamina. Dehydration would also drain Stamina.
This was why people like Old Zhao would find excuses not to cut down trees. When the weather was good, cutting a tree would only consume 1 point of Stamina. Under such heat, it would require at least 3 to 5 points.
In addition, food intake, salt supply, and changes in a mood all affected work efficiency.
"That's why people who only focus on the numbers and don't pay attention to the changes in the environment are just being unreasonable!"
Li Siwen made light of things in his mind but did not forget to observe the surroundings vigilantly. After he was sure that he was safe, he took the water gourd from his waist, took two sips, and put it away again. He was very thirsty now, but not yet at his limit. Although the water gourd was still two-thirds full, he had to take into consideration the fact that it might not rain that night.
It took over 50 minutes to cut down a big tree. Li Siwen took three breaks, each time for about ten minutes. He tried to conserve his Stamina, but he still consumed 2 points.
Considering that he had no other specific data, he estimated that his work efficiency at the moment was felling two water bucket-thick trees in 100 minutes, consuming a total of 5 points of Stamina.
"Extract!"
Extracting 1 Vitality Point from the green orb, he added it to Strength, making Strength 10 points. This was already more than the average Strength of a logger.
Li Siwen had added points based on environmental changes and the current situation.
Now that he had 15 Stamina, he had an advantage over others in that he could work more. That meant he could get more Vitality Points, endure hunger better, and eat more.
Since they planned to guard the logging hut, they would not need to escape. Hence, he did not have to add to Agility yet.
If there was combat, his Spirit Vision could make up for his shortcomings in close combat. Any gray wolf which dared to approach him wouldn't be able to dodge his attack. In this case, Strength was important as it could increase the damage caused.
From 2 PM to 5 PM, the weather was always extremely hot and humid. The few clouds in the sky seemed to have been nailed there. They didn't move at all.
Regardless of the direction, the sun was scorching.
The militiaman Song Hu stopped patrolling a long time ago, and the others had stopped working. Li Siwen cut down two more trees and stopped obediently after adding one more point to Strength.
The weather is too hot. Under ordinary circumstances, felling the two enormous trees would consume at most 3 points of Stamina with his Strength at 10 points. However, he was shocked that he had used up 7 points. The excess Stamina was lost because of the heat.
But fortunately, he had basically achieved his current goal. That was to make his Strength 11 points—stronger than the strongest logger, Old Zhao.
If the boorish Feudal Lord and his party were really delayed because of the heavy rain, they would definitely be back before this evening.
Otherwise, something really bad must have happened. At that time, even though there was still a chance that the boorish Feudal Lord would return, Li Siwen could no longer keep a low profile. He had already provoked the wolves and made an enemy of them. If there were no more trees to take shade under, it would be foolish rather than clever to continue hiding.
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