Lost in thought, he glanced over at the bamboo baskets in the cave, and an idea sparked.

’I could weave a frame from bamboo strips to act as walls. That would not only save a ton of bark rope, but it would also maximize the coverage from each stalk of bamboo.’

’Then I can just gather some large leaves—like tobacco leaves, banana leaves, or even split-leaf philodendrons—and stuff them into the gaps of the bamboo wall. Wouldn’t that be enough to keep out the wind and rain?’

’As for the roof... bamboo slats would work, but is there anything like straw that I can use for thatching...’

’Wait, couldn’t I just use bamboo leaves? How did I not think of that!’

Guada Bamboo was already larger than ordinary bamboo, and its leaves were longer and wider, too.

’Besides, I have to chop off the branching leaves anyway when I cut down the bamboo. It’s a waste to just throw them away, so I might as well try using them for the roof.’

’If that doesn’t work, I can always use them to cover the floor or put them under my bed.’

After finalizing his to-do list for the next day, a wave of relief washed over him, as if he had just accomplished something monumental.

He extinguished the fire and, as usual, took out a glowing ember to store in the bamboo tube on his shelter’s ceiling, burying the rest under ash.

He barred the wooden door and lay down comfortably.

...

「The next morning.」

Dawn was just breaking.

Lin Chen had already followed the stream to the hillside covered in Light Wood.

He scooped up a handful of dirt and rubbed it between his palms like chalk. Gripping the bamboo knife tightly, he settled into a firm horse stance. He twisted at the waist and rotated his torso, channeling power from his legs, through his core, and into his arms, focusing it all on the knife’s edge.

CRACK!

With a crisp snap, a deep gash appeared on the surface of the Light Wood tree.

He pulled the bamboo knife out and carefully inspected the blade. It was completely undamaged.

’This knife is even better than I imagined, and the Light Wood is easier to cut than I expected. I should be able to use these logs for the four load-bearing corner posts.’

He swung the bamboo knife, and it whistled through the air.

Don’t be fooled by its lightness; the knife was surprisingly sturdy. It had already cut down a dozen or so bamboo stalks and cleared plenty of weeds and thorns without any issues.

However, since it had been fashioned from half a bamboo stalk, he had to use some finesse when chopping wood to ensure the knife didn’t snap in half.

He leaned in for a closer look at the notch in the Light Wood trunk but couldn’t see any obvious difference between its insides and that of ordinary wood.

He swung the bamboo knife again, this time with a little less force.

CRUNCH.

Another sharp crack, and the blade bit deeper into the original gash.

’Talk about being all bark and no bite!’

’No wonder they say Light Wood is one of the most widely used building materials. The ease of felling alone makes it so much simpler than ordinary wood. Add in its fast growth and light weight... back in the days before machinery, it was truly the best type of wood for hauling by hand, bar none.’

After several more swings, he had finally carved out a triangular notch about two knuckles deep.

He had deliberately chosen a relatively thin Light Wood tree. A thinner trunk meant its fibers were less dense, so he wouldn’t have to cut as deep. This would not only save a great deal of time but also make it much easier to transport.

He moved to the other side of the tree, raised his foot, and gave the trunk a few powerful kicks just above the notch.

The trunk swayed but stubbornly refused to fall.

Unfazed, Lin Chen lifted his bamboo knife, hacked at the notch a few more times, and then kicked it again.

After a few more rounds of this, the Light Wood tree finally gave way under its own weight and came crashing down.

Fortunately, it fell directly against another Light Wood tree. Its full weight pressed down, forcing the second tree to lean at an angle of more than ten degrees.

Lin Chen’s eyes lit up as an even more efficient method occurred to him.

He hurried over to the second Light Wood tree and began chopping at the trunk on the side it was leaning toward.

He deliberately adjusted his position so that his chops were aligned with a third Light Wood tree a short distance away.

This time, after only a dozen swings or so, the second Light Wood tree gave a great groan. Unable to bear the combined weight, it crashed down in the direction of the notch, landing right on the third tree.

’I’m a genius!’

Lin Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead and, brimming with enthusiasm, headed for the third tree with his bamboo knife in hand.

After spending a little over half an hour there, he had felled a total of six Light Wood trees.

But soon, he was faced with a new problem.

’How am I going to haul these back to the shelter?’

The Lightwood Forest was right next to the stream, which was convenient. All he had to do was get the logs to the other side, and from there, it was a downhill walk to the Tobacco Forest.

It sounded simple, but the actual distance was anywhere from a few hundred meters to a full kilometer.

No matter how light it was, it was still wood. And with a length of five or six meters, it was bound to be...

Hm?

Lin Chen tentatively tried to deadlift a log. To his surprise, before he’d even put his back into it, his legs straightened up effortlessly, as if under no strain at all. His forearms barely registered any significant weight.

’It’s this light?’

The information in his head had told him that Light Wood was the world’s lightest timber, but calculating a tree’s actual weight required precise measurements and calculations; it wasn’t something you could estimate by eye.

He’d assumed this five- or six-meter-long log would weigh at least a hundred kilograms. But in reality... it felt like it wasn’t even fifty.

Light Wood grew quickly, capable of reaching a height of five to six meters in just one year. Because of this, its diameter was the primary factor determining its weight.

He used his hand to measure it; the log’s diameter was a little over twenty centimeters.