Chapter 11 The Little Man in the Bottle

Chapter 10 Shattering at a Touch <TOC> Chapter 12 Choices

Translator: SumTLMan

Zhou Yi tried to load lead bullets into the flintlock pistol, but not only did it fail to ignite, the hammer frequently jammed, making it cumbersome to use.

After fiddling with it for over an hour without success, he gave up and turned his attention to that stack of papers.

The papers were densely covered with charcoal-drawn symbols, many resembling simplified sketches of specific items, giving off a hieroglyphic feel.

Zhou Yi could rely on the White Suan Ni to converse freely with people of this era, but he couldn’t understand these writings.

He suddenly thought that since Red Falcon was a rescue drone, it might have the ability to recognize distress signals, so perhaps it could understand.

“This script is recognizable.”

The drone’s response made Zhou Yi breathe a sigh of relief.

Red Falcon translated the new human script into the old human Chinese.

It was now confirmed that the deceased was named Yang Si.

In the notes left by Yang Si, there were not only textual descriptions but also illustrations.

His sketching skills were quite solid; he drew the various components of the pistol and made detailed cross-sectional diagrams of the two different colored bullets.

The black-ringed bullets were ordinary solid lead bullets.

The blue-ringed bullets were different. Inside, there was a layer of special material that, when exploded, could summon a shadowed monster.

These monsters would attack the area where the bullet exploded, causing the creatures in that area to fall into a comatose dream state.

This was called the “Dream Entrapment Bullet.”

Below were annotated diagrams, reminding that when firing, one must cover the mouth and nose——or wear protective gear and hold one’s breath until the monster disappears, otherwise, one would also fall asleep.

It seemed to be a copied operations manual.

These bullets were likely the weapons of the Enhancers.

Zhou Yi flipped through the other items in the box; the second thing that caught his attention was that badge.

The surface of the copper badge was engraved with a bottle containing a little man, and the back was inscribed with some symbols of unknown meaning. The craftsmanship was exquisite. This item seemed to represent a certain identity.

Zhou Yi called over A Jin and asked if he knew about the badge.

“This… the little man in the bottle, it’s the Alchemist Association.”

A Jin showed a surprised expression: “It’s my first time seeing a real badge. But this thing, only Alchemists among the Enhancers are qualified to possess. Master, you can even find this?”

Zhou Yi said: “What is the relationship between the Alchemist Association and the Enhancers?”

“I heard this from some elders.” A Jin scratched his head with his hand: “Enhancers are advanced professionals among humans who can fight against various monsters, possessing all kinds of abilities and weapons.”

“The most common professionals are Knights, Alchemists, and Hunters.”

“Knights have mounts or vehicles and can move very quickly in the wild. They are highly mobile and powerful in combat, and they act in groups organized as Knight Orders. They initially banded together to fight against marauders. After expelling and eliminating many marauders, the Knights took control of the transportation routes between many cities.”

“As the Knights grew stronger, they took on more roles: guarding, fighting, eliminating threats, hunting, trading and transportation, etc… They were also the first group to fight the Light Absorber species head-on.”

“The Knight Orders themselves have rich combat experience and their own group behavioral codes, earning much respect from everyone. Almost every city has a Knight Order stationed.”

When talking about the Knight Orders, A Jin’s eyes sparkled.

“Alchemists can read and write; they are knowledgeable scholars. Only those recognized and granted an identity badge by the Alchemist Association are Alchemists. Their abilities cover various aspects; some can change the weather, causing wildfires and rainstorms, some can heal diseases and save people, some can drive monsters mad or make them worship…”

“The last are the Hunters, who are long-range attackers.”

A Jin mimicked the action of drawing a bow and shooting an arrow: “It’s said that Hunters can directly kill monsters at the foot of a mountain from the top. They have the most sophisticated long-range weapons and are the ace killers against powerful monsters. Hunters generally have combat experience from Knight Orders or Hunting Groups and need to hunt a large number of monsters to be trained. They rarely show up publicly.”

“There are also some other Enhancers, but the ones who have been to Grub Grain Town are these three types.”

Zhou Yi suddenly realized that he had killed Yang Si, who was an Alchemist.

A non-combat specialist.

To deal with ordinary people, the flintlock pistol in Yang Si’s hand was more than sufficient. He just didn’t expect to face the encirclement of Warrior Crabs and a barrage of flying knives.

Zhou Yi pondered silently.

The marauder gangs that secretly ruled Grub Grain Town probably had other Enhancers backing them.

If they were sensible, they could coexist peacefully; if they caused more trouble, he would completely eradicate this criminal gang.

Zhou Yi took out his diary and crossed out the line about returning to the mainland.

He wrote down two new plans, stroke by stroke.

——Build a base camp and develop the surrounding areas.

——After finding rice and wheat, start planting to achieve self-sufficiency in rice and noodles.

To rebuild a familiar human civilization and social environment, it must be done step by step.

Warrior Crabs couldn’t farm, so he had to recruit people from Grub Grain Town to do agricultural work. But to accomplish all this, he first had to ensure that this area was safe and stable.

It was time for him to establish a banner.

Zhou Yi announced to the nearby employee, A Jin: “Starting today, our Wasteland Development Company is officially established. You are an employee of our company, and from today, call me Chairman.”

“Wasteland… Development Company?” A Jin listened with some confusion: “Chairman, what is wasteland? What do you want to develop?”

“Wasteland is abandoned land. We need to make use of it; building houses is one development direction.”

Zhou Yi explained: “Isn’t Grub Grain Town lacking food? Our next step is to plant crops here so that people nearby can have enough to eat.”

“You mean, grow mushrooms?” A Jin’s eyes lit up.

Zhou Yi asked him if there were other grains, but A Jin just shook his head, saying that even in the large towns to the west, there was no such thing.

For now, they could only grow mushrooms.

He then asked: “A Jin, do you have any experienced mushroom growers to recommend? The important thing is that they are reliable and work diligently and carefully; other aspects are negotiable.”

The young man from the town thought for a moment: “Good people who also know how to grow mushrooms, I know Uncle Cao and Brother Feng.”

“Uncle Cao is the best at growing mushrooms, but his temper isn’t very good. However, during times of famine, he always shares his mushrooms with everyone. Brother Feng raises Grub Grain Worms, but to raise good worms, he’s also an expert in growing mushrooms because mushrooms are the food for Grub Grain Worms. He lives with the worms every day.”

Zhou Yi said: “Bring them over; I’ll talk to them. If there’s no problem, they can join. The treatment is the same as yours.”

“Room and board included, plus meat, they’ll definitely come!”

A Jin suddenly thought of something and said: “Chairman, there’s another person, Mr. Gong. Although he doesn’t know how to grow mushrooms, he can identify them, and he’s the only person in town who can read and write.”

“He once apprenticed under an Alchemist for several years and knows a bit of everything. He can treat illnesses and find medicines, can identify monsters and various things. Many things we pick up are first shown to him to see if they’re valuable.”

“Mr. Gong is a reliable person.”

Zhou Yi recalled: “Is he the one who previously thought your wound was no problem?”

“Yes… Mr. Gong has saved many people, but he definitely can’t compare to you.” Although A Jin had been misdiagnosed by him, he still spoke on behalf of Mr. Gong.

Zhou Yi thought about it. It wasn’t easy to have an intellectual in this place; it wouldn’t hurt to bring him over.

“Then include him.”

Chapter 10 Shattering at a Touch <TOC> Chapter 12 Choices

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