Chapter 19 With Money Comes Capriciousness <TOC> Chapter 21 Dead Sea Abomination
Translator: SumTLMan
In the following two days, a sudden strong wind swept across the sky. Sandstorms raged from day to night, forcing everyone in the company to stay indoors, waiting for the extreme weather to subside.
Inside the container house, Cui Mao had his right arm in a sling hung around his neck.
Unlike ordinary people, he kept a different schedule, adhering to the old tradition of rising at sunrise and resting at sunset.
Zhou Yi asked him: “Is that how all Tianjin Knights are?”
He replied: “No.”
“Mr. Zhou, I belong to the external defense group of the Third Squadron, so I operate during the day. Usually, I venture outside the city to investigate, observe the latest movements of nearby Light Absorber species groups, and alert the city in advance to avoid sudden disasters. Besides that, I also receive some dangerous reconnaissance missions… But depending on the actual situation, my schedule can be adjusted at any time.”
Zhou Yi smoothly brought up the key point: “Grub Grain Town is not under the jurisdiction of Sand Port. You are employed by Sand Port; why did you come here?”
“I received a tip from an informant saying that unidentified individuals were appearing in Grub Grain Town, bringing many monsters. They might use Grub Grain Town as a target for human alchemical experiments. Such a public incident had happened in Sand Port before, causing many casualties. So this time, upon receiving the information, I rushed over.”
As he spoke, Cui Mao frowned: “Now that I think about it, it was people from Ji Chang who deliberately released false information to lure me over to probe your reality. They are very wary of you and want to drag the Third Squadron into this to stall you…”
Zhou Yi thought to himself, it seems this group is really anxious.
They must be at some critical juncture now.
However, Cui Mao knew only this much; he realized he was deceived only when he fought with Zhou Yi.
Zhou Yi steered the conversation back to the Enhancers he was interested in.
“Do the Tianjin Knights and the Dead Sea Knights operate in different areas? Or do they overlap?”
When it came to his own profession, Cui Mao was quite talkative.
“Mr. Zhou, the knight orders now each have their own areas of operation. In fact, after at least 300 years of development, the differences between knight orders are much greater than they appear.”
“Take our Tianjin Knights, for example. Our base is ‘Jin City,’ which is the territory and jurisdiction of the Tianjin Knights. Externally, the Tianjin Knights also accept some employment tasks, mainly city defense and maintaining order… Our order has always had a good reputation and cooperates with many cities.”
Listening to his description, Zhou Yi had a general understanding of the Tianjin Knights.
They are professional soldiers and police, who can be hired to protect cities and maintain internal social order. For a city, both groups are indispensable.
“But some knight orders are different.”
Cui Mao said with a smile: “For example, the Bounty Knights, the name of their order is self-explanatory. They specialize in undertaking various bounty tasks, including clearing regional bandits, expelling large plundering groups, and hunting some dangerous monsters. Essentially, they are bounty mercenaries.”
“The Rail Knights, they build and maintain many tracks, and through these tracks, they can travel quickly between cities. These tracks and rail vehicles are their specialty. They mainly engage in cargo transportation and escort.”
Zhou Yi listened with surprise.
Controlling the railways?
In this wasteland era with inconvenient transportation, the Rail Knights must be quite profitable.
“Then there’s the Mechanism Knights. They are skilled in manufacturing, repairing, and maintaining various devices and fortifications, possessing a large team of alchemists and craftsmen. For example, for the construction of watchtowers and fortresses in some cities, drainage, irrigation, and sanitation projects, they would be invited to plan and build. Besides that, they also produce various equipment for sale.”
Cui Mao took out the flintlock pistol from his waist, holding the barrel and handing the handle to Zhou Yi: “This is the ‘Knight’s Firearm’ made by the Mechanism Knights.”
Zhou Yi held the gun handle and examined it.
It was almost identical to the pistol confiscated from Yang Si, both bearing a “Y” mark, except this one had the serial number 8029, and the wooden gun handle was polished very smoothly.
“Ordinary craftsmen can also grind and make firearms, and the appearance may not be much different. However, the core technology of the Knight’s Firearm lies inside where you can’t see, it can use special bullets.”
Cui Mao pointed to the muzzle: “Inside, there is a special structure. Besides using gunpowder to fire ordinary lead bullets, it can also use some enhanced bullets, achieving effects like armor-piercing, paralysis, stun, and poisoning.”
“There are even a few bullets that come with some skills, capable of instantly creating powerful destructive force. But the stronger the bullet, the higher the grade of firearm needed to withstand the high-intensity power explosion.”
“Is this the anti-counterfeiting serial number?” Zhou Yi pointed to the “Y” and asked him.
“Yes. It’s mainly used to track the trajectory of the Knight’s Firearms. The Mechanism Knights manufacture these weapons and only sell them to Enhancer groups, generally not retailing them. Every gun and every box of bullets is recorded with the buyer to avoid abuse, which also reduces the pressure and risk on the Mechanism Knights themselves.”
Zhou Yi understood.
So the Dreamtrap Bullet that could summon shadow creatures was like this.
Next, Cui Mao talked about the Dead Sea Knights.
“The Dead Sea Knights operate in another direction. They appear on the surface of the Dead Sea and cooperate with some powerful Light Absorber species groups. Coupled with their control of a large number of sea vessels, they take the Dead Sea as their main activity area. They dive into and salvage some relics under the Dead Sea, selling some of the strange items and creations they obtain, including Dead Sea manuscripts and Dead Sea brews.”
“They are very powerful and can quickly reach many cities using ships. All parties are unwilling to offend them.”
Zhou Yi thought to himself, that makes sense.
The Dead Sea Knights control the sea routes.
With Ji Chang backing them, no wonder even the Tianjin Knights have to investigate carefully.
“In addition, there’s a knight order that cannot be left unmentioned.”
Cui Mao added: “The Mount Tai Knights.”
“Unlike other knight orders, they can communicate with the dead, enter and exit the netherworld, travel through time, and are said to be able to roam the Divine Era briefly, and even bring the dead back to life. The Mount Tai Knights are also the most mysterious and unpredictable knight order…”
This time, Zhou Yi was truly surprised.
The previous knight orders were still understandable.
But how come the style of the Mount Tai Knights is completely different?
Entering and exiting the netherworld?
Resurrecting the dead?
Roaming the Divine Era?
Traveling through time?
Zhou Yi became extremely interested in this knight order.
If there’s a chance, he must find a way to contact the Mount Tai Knights.
If they are just a marketing group pretending to be mystical, then forget it.
But if it’s real, maybe he can find clues about the destruction of previous human civilizations.
Various thoughts flashed through Zhou Yi’s mind.
Just as he was about to inquire more about the Mount Tai Knights, the voice of Red Falcon sounded in his head again.
“Alert, alert.”
“Iron Horse was attacked outside the Mushroom Forest. There are more than thirty enemies, including four Enhancers.”
Zhou Yi was furious.
He had finally invited agricultural experts to farm, and they were attacked by these hooligans as soon as they arrived.
The local gangs are really impolite!
“Grab your weapons!”
At his command, a large number of Warrior Crabs emerged from the Dead Sea, holding various weapons, and marched in mighty formations to the front lines to provide support.
Chapter 19 With Money Comes Capriciousness <TOC> Chapter 21 Dead Sea Abomination