Gray led the newly organized workforce out into the bright Georgia sun. Before breaking ground on the new boundaries, he opened his shop and purchased two more silver M16A2 rifles with infinite ammunition. He walked over and handed one to Rick and the other to Shane.
"Go crazy," Gray said. "Clear out the outer perimeter space of any walker you find."
Rick and Shane gripped the sleek, silver rifles, their eyes gleaming. Gray instantly activated his Wraith Sight, and he systematically mapped out the dense woods and fields beyond their immediate fence line. Spotting a cluster of targets, he began calling out the exact coordinates. Rick and Shane, backed by their newly injected Deadshot marksmanship, walked around the perimeter dropping every stray walker that dared shuffle near their borders.
With the security team keeping the outer lines completely clear, Gray walked over to the original cow enclosure. He pulled out a few cans of spray paint and began pacing out the blueprint for the massive new trench they needed to excavate for the expanded livestock sector. It took him about an hour, but when he finished, the newly marked enclosure was a staggering four times larger than the previous patch.
The survivors grabbed their iron tools and began digging into the hard, compacted Georgia clay, but they quickly struggled and sweated under the heavy resistance.
Deciding to make the grueling labor significantly easier while testing out some more specialized gear, Gray opened his shop. He browsed the Minecraft tool catalog and purchased a single Netherite Shovel. He walked down into the trench line and handed the dark tool to Oscar, who was currently wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Try it with this one," Gray instructed.
Oscar looked at the strange, dark metallic shovel with a deeply confused expression, but he shrugged and jammed it into the dirt using the exact same physical effort he had been applying to his standard shovel. His eyes instantly went wide as saucers. The Netherite blade slid cleanly into the dense, packed earth like a hot knife cutting through soft butter. He didn't feel a single ounce of physical resistance.
"Whoa," Oscar breathed, lifting a massive chunk of earth effortlessly. He looked at the shovel as if it were sorcery. "Man, this thing is weightless."
Seeing Oscar methodically throwing dirt out of the trench without breaking a sweat, Gray quickly bought four more Netherite shovels and distributed them to the rest of the digging crew. Backed by the physics-defying tools, the brutal excavation work was completely finished in no time. By the time the noon sun sat high overhead, the massive boundary trench was perfectly hollowed out.
Already familiar with this process, Gray seamlessly opened his store, filled the trench with bulk tons of heavy gravel, and once compacted, he put down a massive new line of towering Rust Stone Walls. He then removed the inner walls of the smaller original enclosure, officially merging the space and giving the cattle a massive pasture to roam.
Seeing that they still had plenty of sunlight left in the afternoon, Gray marched over to the next designated sector and marked the ground for the agricultural zone. This first plot was going to be a temporary testing ground, designed solely to cultivate Minecraft seeds so he could check their precise growth mechanics and see exactly how long it would take for a harvest to fully mature.
By the time the evening sun finally hid behind the thick trees, the prison boasted two massive, beautifully fortified outer enclosures. The workforce walked back toward the main cell blocks, completely exhausted, their muscles aching, but massive smiles painted their faces as they looked back at the incredible progress of their hard work.
The moment they pushed through the doors into the main cell block corridor, a breathtaking, fragrant aroma hit them. A massive, literal feast was already laid out on the long tables. Carol stood by the counters, wearing a proud grin. She had utilized her master culinary skills to prepare a staggering amount of food, and nearly every single plate was piled high with beautifully cooked, savory meat dishes.
Gray looked at the sheer volume of food, raising an eyebrow. "Where did all this meat from, Carol?"
Carol smiled, wiping her hands on her apron. "Hershel butchered one of the cows a few days ago. We still have a massive amount of fresh meat stored away inside that big freezer you set up for us."
"I see," Gray nodded, thoroughly impressed. He turned his focus toward Hershel, who was resting at one of the tables. "Hershel, let me ask you something. If we want to store all the meat from the cows outside, how big of a walk-in freezer are we realistically going to need?"
Hershel paused as he mentally calculated the logistics. "Well, son, it entirely depends on how you plan on storing the product. If we butcher the meat down into standard commercial cuts immediately, it would require a relatively smaller freezer box. But if you want to keep them preserved as hanging carcass sides, we are going to need significantly more space."
The old farmer thought about it for another long moment before giving a precise estimate. "I'd say we need a minimum footprint of 16 feet by 32 feet, with a ceiling height of 10 feet, paired with a heavy-duty, structural overhead meat rail tracking system to smoothly slide the carcasses around."
Gray nodded. "Tomorrow morning, I'll install that exact setup right out in the courtyard. We can start butchering the current cows to clear out the layout and make plenty of space for the new livestock I'm going to place in the pasture."
Hershel let out a low sigh, looking a bit overwhelmed. "I'm going to need some serious hands for that, son. Otis and I alone simply cannot handle that volume of heavy physical labor in a single day."
"Don't worry about it," Gray replied. "I'll use my transference to give a few of our people professional butchering skills so they can help you run the entire operation tomorrow."
With the logistics locked down, the group finally dug into the feast. Within seconds, a series of intense, awkward reactions rippled through the dining hall. The moment the survivors tasted Carol's master-grade cooking, the sheer, explosive burst of flavor sent several people gasping, shuddering, and moaning near-orgasmic bliss, their faces flushing red as they clutched their forks. Gray just kept his head down and ate his meal, well-aware of how powerful Food Wars recipes could be on regular people.
Once the thoroughly intense dinner concluded, everyone eagerly took long, hot showers using the newly functional plumbing and happily retired to their cells for a peaceful night's rest.
Gray walked back to his personal RV and opened his system interface to check his gold balance. He used the laptop calculator and noticed that his next upgrade would officially become available at 5:00 AM. Since he wasn't feeling particularly tired and his Batman-peak physique meant he had a lot of energy, he opened the system shop and spent a small fraction of his change on a layout of heavy-duty commercial outdoor gym equipment.
He materialized the racks, pull-up bars, and heavy iron free weights in a secure section of the courtyard. Stripping down to a tank top, Gray threw himself into an intense, grueling workout routine. Because his physique was already naturally optimized to the absolute pinnacle of human capability, he didn't work out to build muscle, he did it purely to burn off his restless energy and test the limits of his stamina. He pushed his body through three straight hours of non-stop, high-intensity lifting and calisthenics before finally feeling satisfied. At one point during the night, a few of the restless survivors, like Shane and T-Dog, even walked out and joined him.
Going back to the RV, Gray took a quick final shower and climbed into bed early. He set a loud digital alarm clock he had purchased from the shop for 40 Gold, closing his eyes as he drifted into a deep sleep.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The loud alarm blared right on cue. Gray snapped his eyes open, sat up in bed, and immediately pulled up his glowing system interface in the dark cabin. It was exactly 5:00 AM. His Gold balance was a bit over the 50 billion mark. Not wasting much time, he purchased the next upgrade.
[New Upgrade]
(50B Gold) 763,200,000 Gold/Hour
[New Hourly Rate]
3,054,796,926 (1,527,398,463) Gold/Hour
Gold: 232,410,156
Since it was only 5:00 AM, the vast majority of the community was still fast asleep inside their cells. Gray used the quiet downtime to browse the shop and purchase the exact skills he would need to distribute later today. He bought the Advanced Medical, Advanced Rancher, Advanced Farmer, and Advanced Butcher skills for a mere 40,000 Gold.
Next, he searched for the commercial walk-in unit. He easily located a model with the exact 16' x 32' x 10' specifications Hershel had mapped out, purchasing it for 100,000 Gold. He walked past the bridge connecting the cell blocks and spawned the massive unit directly against the reinforced concrete wall of their residential block. He scaled the roof of the new unit, purchased two Ultimate Solar Panels, a battery, and ran the fiber conduits directly into the freezer's independent inverter. The moment he flipped the master breaker, the massive refrigeration system hummed smoothly to life, rapidly dropping the internal temperature.
Satisfied with his early morning work, Gray extended his massive white wings and launched himself straight up into the crisp morning air. He spent the next two hours casually soaring above the Georgia tree line, thoroughly enjoying the peaceful, liberating sensation of high-altitude flight as the sun began to peek over the horizon.
The moment the sun fully illuminated the courtyard, Gray touched down smoothly and approached the survivors as they stepped outside. It was time to build his specialist teams. He stepped up to Big Tiny, shook his hand, and transferred the Rancher and Butcher skills. Next, Beth and Otis received Advanced Medical skills. Morales, who already possessed plumbing expertise, was injected with Advanced Electrical and Butcher skills to maximize his utility for the heavy lifting later in the day.
Glenn approached him next, eager to pull his weight. Instead of transferring Deadshot's Marksmanship right away, Gray shook Glenn's hand and injected him with Advanced Butcher skills. Glenn blinked, looking thoroughly confused as a mountain of culinary anatomy flooded his mind. "Uh, why butchering, man? I thought I was protecting this place."
"We need all hands on deck for the cattle processing first," Gray explained casually. "As soon as we're completely done with that, find me, and I'll give you something incredible to help protect this place."
Moving down the line, he gave Axel and Maggie their Advanced Farmer and Butcher skills since the actual agricultural fields weren't fully established yet. Finally, he approached Hershel and gave him Advanced Medical skills to elevate his veterinary background. In total, Gray spent 1,200,000 Gold on the transfer costs, but it was worth it. Every community member held professional expertise in their designated trades.
After the group finished a quick breakfast, Gray led Axel and Maggie out to the newly fortified agricultural sector to demonstrate the seed mechanics. He pulled a bag containing 10 Minecraft Wheat Seeds from his inventory. Using his Netherite shovel, he dug out a block-perfect, one-by-one hole in the dirt. Next, he purchased a Netherite Hoe and struck the surrounding grass. The second the tool connected, the wild weeds completely vanished, transforming the soil into a perfectly tilled, dark brown agricultural grid.
Gray pulled out his Bottomless Water Bucket and held it over the hole until it was filled to the brim with crystal-clear water. With the water source set, he carefully pressed the ten wheat seeds directly into the tilled soil surrounding the water block.
Axel and Maggie watched the entire display with intense, unblinking fascination.
"Keep a close eye on these seeds," Gray instructed his two designated farmers. "I want you to meticulously catalog and log exactly how long it takes for them to sprout out of the dirt, and track their growth rates until they're fully ready for a harvest."
He then handed them the Netherite shovel, hoe, and Bottomless Water Bucket. "Use these tools to do the exact same thing all around this sector. Here is a bulk bag containing 100 Wheat Seeds, 10 Potatoes, 10 Carrots, 10 Melon Seeds, and 10 Pumpkin Seeds. Plant each variety in separate, organized sections and log their independent growth rates. Once you're completely done seeding the fields, head over to the courtyard if you want to help Hershel with the butchering."
Leaving the farmers to their work, Gray marched over to the massive, newly expanded ranching pasture to set up the new livestock. He opened the system store and purchased a pair of standard Minecraft cows. He half-expected the living animals to materialize directly on the grass in front of him, but instead, two pixelated Spawn Eggs dropped cleanly into his hands.
Gray stepped into the pasture and tossed both eggs onto the ground. Instead of spawning blocky, pixelated Minecraft models, the eggs shattered to reveal a pair of completely normal, hyper-healthy, and real-world cows. 'Huh, I guess this is better than pixelated animals, ' Gray thought.
Big Tiny walked over, tilting his head in utter bewilderment. "Uh, Gray... those just look like standard cows to me, man. What's the big deal?"
"Watch this," Gray smiled.
He opened the store, purchased two bundles of Minecraft wheat, and fed one stalk to each cow. To Big Tiny's absolute, jaw-dropping disbelief, the two clearly female cows instantly huddled close together, a burst of glowing red hearts momentarily floating above their heads before a fully formed, healthy calf suddenly popped out into the grass beside them.
"What the fuck was that?!" Big Tiny shouted, taking a frantic step back.
Gray just shrugged nonchalantly. "They bred."
Big Tiny rubbed his eyes. "But... but they're both female, man! That's physically impossible!"
"Yeah, well, that's just how it is. Don't think too much about it," Gray replied smoothly. He repeated the exact same process across the pasture, spawning and instantly breeding pairs of Chickens, Pigs, and Sheep. Out of curiosity, Gray tried feeding the animals standard real-world food, but the spawned creatures completely refused it, ignoring it until he offered them Minecraft crops.
Turning around, Gray noticed Dr. Jenner standing near the pasture fence line, staring at the rapidly multiplying animals with a deep expression of scientific curiosity.
The sight of the scientist instantly triggered a memory in Gray's mind. He pulled up his system panel and looked over his inventory slots. His gaze locked onto a preserved spot resting quietly in his storage. The corpse of Candace Jenner.
Gray shifted his gaze toward his current, astronomical gold balance, watching the numbers tick up by Billions of gold every hour. The resurrection syringe was no longer that expensive. He didn't need to wait any longer. The infrastructure was built, the lab was online, and the community was safe.
Gray closed his interface, his face firm with determination. It was time to bring Edwin's wife back to the land of the living.[1]
[1] I don't plan on abusing this item, at most, I will bring back Dr. Jenner's wife and maybe Hershel's dead wife, stepson, and nephew.