Leo moved quickly through his quests. Thanks to the large boost in stamina, he finished all four tasks in under two hours.
Luck was on his side, too—among the ruins, he found a cement mixer. Unfortunately, it was broken, but he planned to see if there was any way to repair it.
The rewards from the four quests were excellent, and one of them gave Leo something absolutely crucial.
A crucible.
Without it, steel ingots couldn't be made. Without steel ingots, reinforced concrete was impossible. Leo was in a great mood because of it.
The other three rewards didn't disappoint either: two wrenches and twenty antibiotics.
Antibiotics significantly reduced infection levels, making them extremely valuable—especially since the trader was already out of honey.
What really shocked Leo, though, was Kelly and Tsunade's mining efficiency.
"You two are insanely fast."
Looking at the mine in front of him—at least ten meters deep and nearly thirty meters long and wide—Leo was genuinely stunned. Kelly, carrying her pickaxe with her face and body smeared in dirt, didn't think much of it.
"It only takes two hits to break a cubic meter of dirt. I actually think this is kind of slow. I was worried I might dig out the foundation of wherever you plan to build."
Kelly casually took a sip of beer. Leo didn't ask where she'd gotten an ice-cold beer, but Kelly deliberately tugged at the collar of her shirt, letting her sweaty odor waft straight into Leo's face.
She wasn't like Erina. Erina would sweat too after exercise, but the smell was faint.
Kelly was different. Once she started sweating, the salty, fishy odor came out in full force, mixed with strong scents of gunpowder, oil, and alcohol.
Leo waved his hand in front of his face, glaring at Kelly with visible disgust as he looked at her mud-streaked chest and the beads of sweat on it.
Earlier it had been eye-catching.
Now it wasn't.
"Hehehe!"
Kelly noticed his expression and immediately jumped over, locking Leo's head under her arm and forcing him to experience her sweat smell up close.
Leo felt his head slam into something soft, followed by an overwhelming mix of sweat, smoke, and alcohol. He could tolerate most of it—but the alcohol stench was unbearable.
He struggled free, though not before getting covered in dirt himself. Just as he was about to complain, he noticed Tsunade climbing out of the mine as well, equally filthy and clearly irritated.
Leo immediately changed his tone.
"I remember the trader sells a tailoring station. It's not expensive. I'll buy one later and make you some new clothes."
"No need. I've been through worse."
Kelly shook her head. During the worst days of the resistance, they'd been bombed nonstop for half a month. Changing clothes was a luxury—sometimes even urine nearly became a strategic resource. This was nothing.
"Besides, there should be old clothes in those houses. Just wear those. Money's better spent elsewhere. And anyway, I can make clothes myself."
She casually tossed a Duke Casino token in the air, grinning.
"Don't underestimate kids raised in Gendt. From machine repairs to embroidery to childcare—there's nothing I can't do. Hand-made grenades, incendiaries, even Gatling guns—I can make them all!"
As she spoke, she boldly pounded her chest, making it bounce dramatically.
"Uh…"
Leo subtly looked away, then suddenly remembered the cement mixer he'd dragged back earlier.
But another thought hit him immediately.
"Wait—did you say you can make grenades?"
Leo stared at Kelly intensely.
"Yeah. Supplies don't always make it through, so we had to make our own."
Kelly grew uncomfortable under his gaze and stepped back.
"Then what do you need?"
"Metal cans, explosives, detonators—those are essentials. But don't tell me you want me making grenades nonstop. Forget it. Your materials aren't even close to enough. At best, I can make some explosives or mines. Proper grenades are impossible. And there's no gasoline or oil here either, so Molotovs are out."
She shook her head firmly. Without tools, parts, or even a lathe, there was only so much she could do.
"With love?" she added dryly.
"…Damn."
Leo's spirits sank—but then something clicked.
"Kelly."
He pointed at a nearby fuel barrel.
"If we modify the barrel and stuff explosive charges inside… could that work as a cannon?"
He vaguely remembered something like that existing.
"You're saying—"
Kelly froze mid-sentence. It wasn't impossible. She frowned, then shook her head again.
"…It might work, but it's insanely dangerous. It could explode on launch. You don't even have welding tools here. Still, testing it isn't impossible."
She spread her hands helplessly.
"Then please help me make some gun-triggered landmines. Otherwise, even with a fortress, I won't feel safe."
Leo sighed. Kelly hadn't witnessed the zombie tide like he had—she couldn't truly understand that fear. He didn't blame her.
System-made materials had a flaw: they were fully numerical.
Real-world wooden structures could withstand pressure. System wooden frames shattered quickly under zombie attacks.
He worried concrete might be the same.
His gaze drifted, once again, to the invincible wall.
Worst case, he'd build a semi-suspended structure—anchored to a cliff-island, with escape routes ready.
"Don't worry. Mines are doable."
Kelly nodded.
"Good. Then let's keep mining."
Checking the time—it was only around ten—Leo smiled, grabbed his tools, and joined them.
The growing stockpile of ore eased his anxiety. The furnaces burned nonstop, steadily accumulating materials. He even went out to chop trees, feeding more iron into the smelters and converting everything into steel ingots.
They worked until afternoon before eating. Leo was still energized from stat boosts, and Kelly and Tsunade were far from ordinary people, so lunch was brief before they returned to work.
By five in the evening, all three were exhausted. To ensure safety, they decided to rest.
After dinner and washing up, Leo suddenly realized he'd forgotten something important.
Beds.
Thankfully, none of them cared much, so they all fell asleep inside Leo's small wooden shack.
However…
In his hazy sleep, Leo felt like a massive python was coiling around him. The air was being squeezed out of his lungs—he felt like he was about to die.
He jolted awake, gasping, only to realize it wasn't a snake at all.
Kelly had wrapped around his arm like a stuffed toy, her head buried in her chest.
Leo shoved her away and sucked in air desperately. When Kelly groggily woke up and he was about to yell at her, she complained instead.
"Aren't you tired?!"
She looked annoyed and yawned.
"What do you mean 'aren't you tired'?! You were hugging me! I almost suffocated!"
Kelly curled her lip, completely unimpressed.
"That's it? You woke me up over that? Don't bother me unless you rub yourself on me and actually finish."
She wiped drool from her mouth, flipped him off with the same hand, and went right back to sleep before Leo could react.
Leo said nothing. He lay back down.
Less than twenty minutes later…
Grinding teeth.
Snoring.
He covered his ears.
Then—
Tsunade started snoring too.
Even louder.
Leo: "..."
He suddenly missed Erina.