# Chapter 8: Doomsday Fortress
The Doomsday Fortress had a total height of 53 meters, nearly equivalent to a 20-story building. The main control room was located on the topmost level, with a curved window nearly four meters long at the front, providing an unobstructed view ahead.
Looking down, the ground resembled a green carpet spread out, and the nearby oxbow lake brought a sense of tranquility. It was a decent food source — there should be plenty of fish in the lake.
After enjoying this natural scenery for a moment, Su Xiao turned his gaze to Li Xiniwei, the former leader of this fortress.
"How many vassals are needed to ensure the normal operation of this fortress?"
Su Xiao picked up his utensils, eating his dinner while negotiating.
"At least 100 vassals are required, and this fortress will only obey my commands."
Li Xiniwei had calmed down. He realized that Su Xiao genuinely seemed to want to negotiate with him.
"Is it feasible to replace the vassals with pig-headed men?"
"Impossible. Pig-headed men haven't received education; they can only do simple, crude work. Otherwise, I wouldn't need to hire workers to operate the active ore washing and refining machinery."
As he spoke, Li Xiniwei picked up a document containing salary statistics, proving he wasn't lying.
"I don't care about the origin of the pig-headed men, but I want to know how you vassals ensure the population of pig-headed men."
Su Xiao had to confirm one thing — that the pig-headed men had a massive population base. Otherwise, he could only change his plans.
Through Li Xiniwei's narration, Su Xiao learned the general situation. Both female and male pig-headed men had normal reproductive capabilities. Their reproductive cycle was similar to humans or vassals, requiring a gestation period of 9 to 10 months to produce offspring.
This was both lengthy and unstable for the vassals, so the "Life Factory" came into existence. All pig-headed men were born in the "Life Factory." Female pig-headed men were mostly responsible for textile work, while male pig-headed men handled mining, arena combat, or other manual labor.
Initially, to be safer, the vassals planned to deprive most male pig-headed men of their reproductive abilities. After experimenting on a dozen subjects, they found it wouldn't work. These pig-headed men, after losing their eggs, became weak and listless when doing hard labor, like frostbitten eggplants.
This greatly affected the vassals' interests. As a result, although the pig-headed men were oppressed, they retained their core dignity as males, even if every one of them was an old virgin.
Li Xiniwei wasn't clear about the specific situation at the "Life Factory." He only knew that the production there was very abundant.
The vassals had worried about the pig-headed men rising up in rebellion and had considered using biochips as insurance, but all of this was defeated by profit.
The benefits brought by pig-headed men were too great. With just one purchase, you could get a laborer who worked 16 to 20 hours a day, requiring only the cheapest food as payment.
Under the temptation of this profit chain, controlling the number of pig-headed men? Impossible. And implanting chips into pig-headed men's brains? The price of one biochip was roughly equivalent to the price of 12 to 19 pig-headed men.
Although implanting biochips was safer, it would skyrocket the value of a single pig-headed man by nearly 20 times. When this law was proposed, it nearly caused an explosion within the vassal ranks.
Throughout the entire profit chain of breeding, selling, and purchasing pig-headed men, everyone had thought about hiring a few strong scavengers to eliminate those old men at the Tribunal.
After a round of verbal battles, the law was amended. Pig-headed men used for guard duty and arena combat had to be implanted with biochips, while those engaged in manual labor did not need them.
As for the total number of pig-headed men, the vassals had also set limits, but that was only for reference.
The actual number of pig-headed men had already exceeded the maximum limit set by the Tribunal by several thousand times. This was the terrifying consequence of combining profit with greed.
After learning this information, Su Xiao knew his plan was feasible. The most important thing now was to stabilize the situation. Development was paramount. If he could develop, he could confront anyone. If he couldn't develop, he would be driven out of this world.
Su Xiao put down his utensils and seemingly casually asked, "You just said it would take over a hundred vassals to maintain the normal operation of this fortress?"
"That's right."
Li Xiniwei's answer wasn't calm. This was the attitude he should be showing.
"You also just said that only you can control this fortress."
"Yes."
"So, if I want to control this fortress, I have to keep you alive?"
"If you understand it that way, I can't help it, but that's the truth..."
"Haosiman, drag him out and kill him. Take him far away."
Su Xiao's expression remained unchanged as he spoke. The pig-headed man Haosiman, waiting outside the door, strode in. He was about 2.6 meters tall, weighing over 240 kilograms — tall and strong. He picked up Li Xiniwei like a child.
Li Xiniwei's expression showed he hadn't reacted yet. They had been negotiating so well just a moment ago. Why the sudden change of heart? This was faster than turning a page.
"I'm telling the truth. If you don't believe me, why did you come to negotiate with me? Only I can control the Doomsday Fortress. Over 100 vassals are also necessary..."
Li Xiniwei tried to continue explaining, but unfortunately, since Su Xiao ignored him, Haosiman was even less likely to listen. Haosiman's only thought now was to find a place outside and beat Li Xiniwei to death.
As he was being dragged out of the main control room, Li Xiniwei appeared panicked on the surface, but inside he was as steady as an old dog. He had leverage that could save his life — at least, that's what he thought. But when Haosiman tied him to a steam pipe, holding a water pipe wrench nearly a meter long, aiming at his head to find the right spot to strike, Li Xiniwei panicked.
A moment later, a shaken Li Xiniwei sat back down at the wide solid wood table. His slicked-back hair was soaked with sweat, and his legs wouldn't stop trembling.
It turned out that some seemingly ruthless oppressors, when facing death themselves, would have their fierce exterior torn away, revealing a heart trembling like a quail in the rain.
"I was just joking with you. Continue with what you were saying earlier."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Li Xiniwei's trembling hand reached into his bosom and pulled out a pocket watch-like ornament. When opened, instead of a watch face, there was dark red flesh tissue, with a ruby-like heart beating inside.
"This is the fortress's core, the key to controlling it."
Su Xiao took the fortress core. The moment it touched his hand, he received a notification from the Reincarnation Paradise.
[Notification: The Hunter has obtained the core key of the Doomsday Fortress.]
[You will become the new commander of the Doomsday Fortress. The following is the fortress's data.]
Name: Doomsday Fortress (Living Entity).
Level: T5 (Fortress levels range from T0 to T5).
Total Population: 683 (643 pig-headed men, 40 vassals).
Active Energy Reserve: 750 points (convertible to 750 kg of active ore).
Premium Food: 50 units.
Inferior Food: 142.7 units.
Fresh Water: 25 units (can be replenished from nearby water sources through filtration devices).
...
Below were numerous other fortress parameters. Su Xiao glanced at them and ignored them — he wasn't a professional in this area and couldn't understand them.
This fortress was evolvable, capable of advancing from T5 to T4, but this required consuming a large amount of active energy, i.e., active ore.
In addition to active ore, one also needed to go to one of the three fortress cities of the vassals to purchase a [Cataclysmic Transformation Solution] of the corresponding model to assist the fortress's transformation.
A large amount of active ore plus the corresponding model of cataclysmic transformation solution would allow a T5 fortress to evolve into a T4 fortress, thereby gaining stronger external defenses, a larger size, and the ability to house more population.
This would create a virtuous cycle: more population meant faster mining speed, which meant more resources, which meant the ability to develop to the next level.
Whether it was upgrading the fortress scale or buying more pig-headed men from the "Vassal Alliance," the key was active ore. Only by continuing to mine could development proceed.
However, while the pig-headed men were mining, although the main yield was active ore, there would occasionally be unexpected gains.
Su Xiao suddenly realized that he had become a mine owner. Whether mining was enjoyable, he didn't know — he had never done it himself — but having others mine for him was indeed a pleasant feeling.