Survival of the Nation: My luck was a tiny bit worse.

Yes—that makes perfect sense.

After thinking about it carefully, Ou Yun realized that it really was true.

Although he lived two lifetimes in the real world and could barely be considered to have enough to eat and wear, he still suffered a bit in his old age.

I never expected that life in the forbidden area would be better than in the real world—and by a significant margin!

He silently finished the pancake, took a sip of water, and stood up: "Alright, let's see how your Abyss Forge is doing."

"Well..."

Chen Hao composed himself and switched to work mode.

The three Pakistani soldiers have spent almost the entire past ten days revolving around the furnace.

Hassan also used all his skills and techniques.

The entire furnace base is octagonal and sits on a flat stone platform, giving it a truly epic architectural feel.

The furnace chamber is circular, and its inner wall is coated with a fine layer of clay, leaving grooves for assembling the furnace core.

The flue on the top of the furnace has been built, and the chimney is straight, pointing directly to the sky.

Apart from the two core components, the furnace core and the energy core, all other work that could be done has been done.

Hassan patted his chest and said that as long as the furnace core and energy core were in place, they could start the fire immediately, just waiting for his elder brother and the others to return in triumph.

Ou Yun laughed upon hearing this, put his backpack on the table, and said, "Let's do it now!"

*

At this moment, the Pakistani and Xiong Guo, who had helped Chen Hao finish his work, realized that Ou Yun and the others had returned.

"My goodness, brother, you guys were gone for so long this time! Did you encounter any danger?"

"No, no, it's all old news."

"Big brother, I think I saw you bring two hyenas with you when you came back..."

"Yes, I've never seen such a big hyena before...!"

"They weren't brought back. I clearly saw my brother ride them back."

"Holy crap...? They came back riding hyenas?"

Ou Yun waved his hand and said that these were all minor matters.

"Let's get down to business!"

"oh oh!"

Hassan and Alexander silently wiped their sweat; was this already considered a minor matter...?

When the Storm Core was pulled out, the entire stone platform trembled.

Inside the fist-sized sphere, purple lightning pulsed continuously, briefly resonating with all the metallic objects on the table.

Even Chen Hao's glasses tilted slightly.

Hassan instinctively took a half-step back upon seeing this: "This is the core of the storm?"

That's really scary!

"It's okay, it's normal."

Leng Ruolan said, "Just don't get too close."

Then comes the Abyss Crystal.

As soon as those few crystal fragments were taken out, a thin layer of frost immediately formed on the entire surface of the stone table.

Purple light shone from inside the crystal and projected onto the stone walls of the furnace.

At the same time, the patterns on the stone wall, drawn one-to-one with the blueprints, also lit up.

Chen Hao was extremely excited: "This is it! It's exactly the same as described in the blueprints!"

The assembly process is not too complicated.

Although the blueprints look complicated, once you match the parts together, it's as easy as putting together building blocks.

Simply put, it's about putting the furnace core into the groove, the energy core into the slot—and then sealing off the energy channel between the two components.

Hassan picked out a piece of iron ore with the highest purity from the ore pile, melted it into molten iron in an ordinary furnace next to him, and then carefully poured it into the seam of the energy channel.

After the molten iron cools, it turns into a bright silver seal that tightly locks the furnace core and energy core to the furnace base.

The final step has been completed.

"Are you ready?"

Chen Hao took a deep breath and placed his hand on a knob on the outside of the furnace.

That's right.

That knob is the fire control button shown on the drawing!

Leng Ruolan stood to the side carrying a bucket of water and nodded to Ou Yun.

Ou Yun: "Let's go."

Chen Hao pressed the knob and turned it clockwise.

"Buzzing..."

Suddenly, a very rhythmic humming sound emanated from within the core of the storm.

Purple lightning burst from the core surface, spreading along the metal seals on the energy channels all the way to the furnace core.

"clatter!"

Inside the furnace, a ring of purple flames suddenly ignited.

Ou Yun stepped forward and peered inside the furnace through the observation hole.

Damn it, isn't this just a gas stove?!

At that moment, the three of them simultaneously heard a national announcement:

[Congratulations to Chinese players Ou Yun, Leng Ruolan, and Chen Hao for successfully forging the hidden item: Abyss Forge!]

[The Dragon Kingdom receives a national fortune reward: the probability of triggering a 10,000x multiplier increases by 10%! All citizens' physical fitness increases by 10%.]

[Dragon Kingdom receives an extra reward: Deployment Master!]

[Dispensing Master: All items crafted in the Abyss Forge can be dispensed at a 10,000x multiplier, with the probability based on the 10,000x multiplier probability for your country.]

Meanwhile, the three people from Xiong Kingdom and the three people from Pakistan also heard the notification:

[Congratulations to Pakistani players Hassan, Farhan, and Haishan; and to Xiong Nation players Alexander, Ivan, and Maxim for successfully assisting the Chinese players in forging the Abyss Forge!]

[Pakistan and Russia receive national fortune rewards: the probability of triggering a 10,000x multiplier increase increases by 5%! National physical fitness increases by 5%!]

Everyone immediately exclaimed "Holy crap!"

"This furnace is that powerful? It can trigger a 10,000x multiplier?"

With a trembling hand and an excited heart, Chen Hao said, "Then wouldn't our country... wouldn't it..."

Unable to calm down, Leng Ruolan was trying her best to remain composed. "W-Don't rush, let's see what this furnace can make first..."

Meanwhile, the three people from Pakistan and the United States had already begun to weep bitterly.

"A national reward!"

"Heavens above! What have we done to deserve this...?"

"Waaaaah, we didn't do anything, how did we get the national fortune reward...?"

"I never expected there would be such a reward in the forbidden area..."

"Waaaaah, Brother Dragon Kingdom..."

The viewers in the live stream were also very excited:

"Alright, alright, it seems our players are no longer satisfied with just acquiring supplies from the forbidden area!"

"Good grief, they're just going to start manufacturing supplies, huh!"

"Holy crap, this thing has no cooldown? Infinite forging? That's insane!"

"The Dragon Kingdom has almost notified Earth. I wonder when the Dragon Kingdom's players will be able to dominate the forbidden area!"

*

After the excitement subsided, it was time to get down to business.

Nine people stood around the stove, their expressions serious, ready for battle.

Chen Hao's glasses were still reflecting light, making it impossible to see his expression.

He pinched a small piece of iron ore and threw it into the furnace.

"when!"

Soon, the iron-gray color on the surface of the ore began to change.

The impurities melted and fell off first, while the pure iron part became red and soft, and the whole piece of ore slowly turned into molten iron in the purple flame.

Then Chen Hao turned the knob, and the size of the purple flame changed visibly, and the melting speed of the iron ore increased significantly.

The firepower can be adjusted.

And it's easier to control than I imagined.

Leng Ruolan looked at it for a while, then asked, "Is there any explanation for the bone armor fragments?"

Chen Hao then remembered, and quickly picked up a small piece from the prepared materials box next to him, carefully preparing to put it in—

Ou Yun, watching from the side, couldn't resist the urge and chuckled, "Brother Chen, shall I give it a try?"

"Well……"