Building My Empire in the Frozen Apocalypse (Riley Carter) novel Chapter 99

Chapter 99 Hawkeye Security

Chapter 99 Hawkeye Security

The screen split cleanly into four live feeds.

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Up in the left corner, the snowy waste outside the gate stretched out under an infrared filter- clear enough to spot the heat glow of a snowshoe hare digging a burrow way off in the distance.

The top–right quadrant showed the courtyard in crisp detail, every blade of wheat in the raised planter swaying in a lazy breeze.

“Beep–beep!”

A soft alarm chimed from the tablet, and a red pulse lit up along the edge of the display.

In one of the feeds, Neeko had shifted into a small white cat and was chasing a fallen leaf across the yard. The system had automatically locked onto her movement, outlining her with a bright yellow tracking box.

“Motion detected. Security alert.”

“Now we’re talking,” Riley said, snapping her fingers.

With this kind of setup, she wouldn’t have to sleep half–awake anymore. If anyone stepped within a hundred feet of the camp, the tablet would vibrate and sound off.

This was what a modern shelter was supposed to feel like.

“Security level just went through the roof.”

First, she added herself and Neeko to the approved list for all four camera angles. Feeling a whole lot better, she tucked the tablet away.

“Neeko! Break’s over! Let’s go grab some coal.”

“Okaaaay!”

*****

Ten minutes later, they stood at the entrance of the abandoned mine shaft.

She’d been here just yesterday, but today everything felt different.

Wearing her Strider’s Knee Pads and Quality Skis, Riley glided into the mine entrance like she

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Chapter 99 Hawkeye Security

was hitting fresh powder on a slope.

“I seriously don’t feel any strain.”

Riley tested her legs, stretching them out.

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The knee pads gave off a subtle, warm support, almost like they were helping carry her weight. That light, effortless feeling was borderline addictive.

She reached the section she’d been working the day before.

“Time to put in the work.”

Riley hefted her pickaxe.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!”

Sparks flew in the dim tunnel.

One swing, two, ten…

She brought the pick down over and over in a steady rhythm, and a good chunk of the coal seam crumbled away in front of her.

“Obtained: High–Grade Anthracite ×25”

She finally paused to check her stamina bar.

“Stamina: 88/100”

“Huh.”

Riley was genuinely surprised.

If this had been yesterday, that many swings would’ve drained at least fifteen points off her stamina, and her arms would be burning. But now? It had barely dropped three.

And as she stood there catching her breath, she could actually watch her stamina tick back up on its own.

Was this the Endurance modifier kicking in?

Riley felt a rush of satisfaction. The amount of coal she could gather in a day had just skyrocketed.

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Chapter 99 Hawkeye Security

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But next to Riley, Neeko was the real star of the show–a human excavator if there ever was

one.

Hard hat secured, Neeko lifted her pickaxe and went at the wall with single–minded focus.

“Thud! Thud! Thud!”

Rock shattered. Chunks of coal rained down around her.

The best part? As someone from this world, Neeko didn’t run on a “stamina bar.” She worked on pure physical energy. As long as she was well–fed, she could keep swinging until her body needed fuel again.

After mining awhile and gathering close to a hundred units, Riley started to feel the monotony settle in. She took a seat on a rusty mine cart nearby, drinking some water and resting.

Meanwhile, Neeko was still going strong–clunk, clunk, clunk–with a small mountain of coal piling up behind her.

Watching Neeko work so hard, Riley actually felt a twinge of guilt, like she was taking advantage of her friend’s nature.

“Neeko, you need a break? Getting tired yet?” Riley called out.

Neeko paused and glanced back. Something like a smile touched her features. Then she held up a huge piece of anthracite like a trophy and brought it over to Riley.

“Not… tired! It’s fun! Funny!”

Alright then.

For her, maybe tearing into rock walls counted as recreation.

Riley took the coal, her conscience clear.

Two hours later, Riley checked her inventory.

Between her own digging and Neeko’s relentless mining, she’d piled up over four hundred units of High–Grade Anthracite–plus around fifty lumps of Associated Iron Ore.

“Completely full. My inventory’s about to burst again.”

Even after her last organizing spree, she’d had plenty of open slots, but each stack had a limit- now a single slot maxed out at a hundred units.

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Chapter 99 Hawkeye Security

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Riley had to tell Neeko to stop. It was a good problem to have–being so loaded with resources you literally couldn’t carry more.

*****

By the time they got back to camp, it was past noon.

Riley’s first move was loading coal into the fuel chamber of the Basic Elemental Altar.

After the Level 4 camp upgrade, the altar’s energy needs had gone up.

“Fuel Consumption: 20 units of Coal/day (or 100 units of Wood)”

Twenty units a day meant about six hundred a month.

Riley glanced at the 400–plus units left in her inventory, plus the seemingly endless vein still sitting in the mine. As long as the coal held out, she wouldn’t be running low anytime soon.

“Energy independence? Check. For now, at least.”

Riley dusted off her hands.

Since she couldn’t possibly use it all herself, it was time to make it work for her.

Especially after Pineapple Beer mentioned that a Server Merge was on the horizon. Market values were bound to swing wildly once that happened, and competition would get way more intense.

Right now, she needed to stack up as many unique and rare items as possible–to build her options before things changed.

Riley pulled up the Server Channel.