Chapter 168 The flame of productivity is germinating
The winter night is earlier than usual. As dusk sinks into the snow-covered valley, people who have finished their work day gradually arrive at the open space in front of the abandoned hotel.
The villagers who are good at carpentry used the wood provided by the players to build a shelter here to protect them from the wind and snow, and set up several simple stoves and pots under the shed, and cooked dinner with the help of professional players.
Today’s main ingredient is pumpkin.
At the suggestion of everyone, [Little Fish Cake Juice] decided to cook pumpkin porridge, the local favorite delicacy, so he took a group of NPCs who were responsible for busy preparing the dishes, peeled the pumpkins, chopped them into large pieces, steamed them in a steamer, and then pureed them. They were very busy.
[Little Rabbit Juice], on the other hand, came up with a bad idea and even proposed to add some pine cones and chili peppers to the pot... Fortunately, he was stopped by the little devil players who were also looking forward to tonight's delicious food.
Nuts are not so bad.
Pumpkin porridge with chili peppers, the taste is quite strange just thinking about it.
"Stop making trouble, I will send a bowl of these pumpkin porridge to Lord Demon King later. If you are free, why not help me send the pumpkin peels to the Beast Ranch." Looking at his friend who was still eager to wait aside, the [Small Fish Cake Sauce] covered the pot and said helplessly.
The pumpkin peel is not wasted. The Beast Ranch located on the edge of Beifeng City has bought it from the NPC warehouse and intends to use it as feed for cattle.
Not even the flesh of the melons was wasted.
The newly opened oil pressing factory in Beifeng City has reserved this batch of food waste in advance, and several women working next to it are sifting out the pumpkin seeds from the pulp.
At that time, these melon seeds will be squeezed into oil.
"I just want to add some protein to everyone..." Little Rabbit Juice put away the venison in his hand angrily, and changed the subject and said, "By the way, are you still running errands for that Demon King? How high is your favorability level?"
Two. Three thousand? Anyway, it feels like it’s been rising, but there’s no indication of what the upper limit is…” Little Fish Cake Juice tilted the skull’s head and said, “It feels like a bottomless pit.”
Xiaoyu Cake Jue smiled sheepishly and said shyly.
"It doesn't matter, I'm not doing quests for favorability anyway... And don't you think it's quite interesting? This game can also order NPCs to do things! Also, I can feel it, the feeling of gradually becoming important."
It doesn't just become important in the mind of one or some NPCs. She can clearly feel that as she completes more and more tasks, her role in the entire virtual community becomes more and more important.
Although cooking food is not a particularly great thing, when other players are in trouble, they will subconsciously think of asking her for help.
The same goes for other NPCs.
She was just a little transparent in reality, but here she suddenly felt the sense of accomplishment that only a "five-star chef" can have.
This is not a pleasure of business.
Looking at the little fish with a satisfied smile on his face, the little rabbit sighed helplessly, dropped the venison in his hand on the table beside him, and picked up the basket containing the melon rinds.
"You are too easily satisfied."
Xiaoyu Cake Juice said with a happy smile.
When it got completely dark, the steaming pumpkin porridge finally came out of the pot, and [Little Rabbit Juice], who was in charge of the spoon, shared it with the villagers who were helping out, and distributed it to the hungry people.
The alluring smell is overflowing, arousing the greed in people's stomachs, and also arousing people's longing and homesickness for the past midwinter.
Looking at the bowl of pumpkin porridge, former adventurer Brooke, who was sitting on the tree stump, suddenly felt that the pain accumulated in his biceps suddenly moved to the bridge of his nose.
He always felt that something was missing this year, and the wandering around in the past few days left him no time to think about it.
It was only now, when he was holding a bowl of scalding hot porridge in his hands, that he finally realized what it was.
He has found his home again!
Not far away, the hunters who went out for hunting, led by the Demon King's minions, came back from the nearby forest.
Their cloaks were covered with a layer of white snow, and their noses and faces were red from the cold, like snowmen emerging from the forest.
But having said that, each of them had a cheerful smile on their face.
Today’s harvest is quite gratifying.
With the help of the little devil, the situation in the forest can be seen clearly, and the prey cannot escape their eyes no matter how hard it runs.
In order to ensure that they could eat meat in the future, they even let go of some smaller wild deer and only picked the larger ones.
A group of children chased the little devil and ran around in the open space, giggling and laughing. The noisy sounds diluted the heavy atmosphere a lot.
Several hunters put their hunting tools in the warehouse, then went to get a bowl of steaming pumpkin porridge, and sat by the fire not far away.
Looking at the hunter sitting in front of the fire, a man with a beard on his chin asked with a smile.
"How is today's harvest?"
"It's quite amazing," the hunter grinned and said proudly, "I have never caught so many prey in winter! You should come together!"
In winter, many prey hide in their nests and cannot come out. Usually, it is good that the work is not in vain, and it is far from filling up a cart like today.
Of course.
This is also related to the rich products of Silver Pine Forest.
In the Dusk Forest, not only are there few preys there, but they are also as cunning as ratmen, and they can often battle wits and courage with them for a long time.
The man with the beard said with a smile.
"Hunting doesn't require so many people, and the lumberyard needs more manpower... It's really hard to imagine how they hoarded so much wood."
"Maybe there are monsters eating that food? Since it is the arrangement of the Demon King, I I think he must have his intentions." The hunter then looked at Shep who was immersed in eating porridge, and continued with a smile, "Speaking of you? Shep, how is the pasture?"
Yesterday, this guy was the first to find a job, and he made many people envious.
When he heard someone talking to him, Shep raised his head, smiled and said.
“It’s okay, the first cowshed has been built. The owner of the farm said that he will buy some cows tomorrow and let me help take a look. Although I suggested that he wait until the coldest time to go there, he seemed to be unable to wait, so let him do whatever he wants... There are advantages to buying at the right time, the price is cheaper, but you have to be careful about the animals getting sick. While Xie Pu was talking, everyone sitting in front of the fire had surprised expressions on their faces.
The reason why they were surprised was not that the Demon King's minions actually had a way to buy livestock from nearby villages, but the speed at which this guy built the cattle shed.
Seeing that everyone looked like they had never seen the world, Xie Pu couldn't help feeling proud and said with a hearty smile.
"It's not snowing today, so the progress of the construction is indeed faster. And it's not a complicated job in the first place. Just finish the fence and build a shed... By the way, you will never guess what I saw - a magic-driven nail gun!"
When he said this, he gestured with his hand in the air to shape the shape of a short-barreled flintlock gun, and continued excitedly.
“The shape of that thing is like a sawed-off cane. It is said that there are some precise Hades engraved inside. Although I don’t know what the Hades are, that thing is really useful! Just pull the trigger, The nails can fly out and nail the two boards together quickly, accurately and steadily! No need for a hammer, and you don’t have to worry about hitting your hands!” The man looked at him in surprise, shaking his head in disbelief, and sweeping his tangled beard from side to side like a broom, "How can that be nailed firmly?"
"Everything I said is true! What's the point of lying to you?" Seeing that no one believed it, Shepton, who was still proud at first, became a little anxious. He wished he could go back and get the thing to open the eyes of these ignorant people.
Different from those who shook their heads in disbelief, the hunter holding the pumpkin porridge did not doubt it, but touched his chin thoughtfully.
"The thing you're talking about sounds like a musket... But I've never heard of people using muskets to drive nails. What does that thing consume?"
He just came back from hunting with the Demon King's minions, and he knew very well that those guys did have something.
For example, they would bury a seemingly small but powerful explosive on the ground, detonate it to scare hibernating prey out of their caves, and then use little demons flying in the sky to track the footprints of those prey.
It was precisely because of this that he was not surprised at all that the Demon King's minions would pull out something he had never seen before. He was just curious about how the thing was used.
Seeing that someone finally believed what he said, Shep, who blushed, quickly pointed his famous fingers and explained to the hunter.
"Nails and magic crystals! Just these two things! As you said, that thing is indeed a bit like a musket, but the movement is much smaller than a musket! By the way, I seem to hear the sound of air leakage... Maybe it compresses the air through some method, and then squeezes the nails in!"
"Magic crystal?!" The man on the side who looked a little educated widened his eyes and repeated in disbelief, "How is this possible? It's actually a magic crystal!"
He used to be a lampmaker who helped the lord make candles, and he had seen a magic crystal lamp in the lord's castle. And the bright light emitted by that thing was something he would never forget for the rest of his life.
He still remembered that the servants in the castle told him with arrogance and pride that the crystal-like lamp was a masterpiece of the dwarves, with technology similar to inscriptions used in it. It was said to be worth the same weight of gold!
That sentence may not be true.
But judging from the proud expression of the servant, it is enough to prove that magic tools using magic crystal are still quite rare in the Kingdom of Lane.
He was not the only one who was surprised, the older herbalist beside him also had an expression of disbelief and said with emotion.
"My Lord... They actually gave you a magic device!"
Seeing the two of them being so surprised, Shep was also startled, his voice subconsciously weakened, and he asked in a low voice.
"Is that thing called a magic weapon?"
He did not expect that thing to be so expensive.
His back was sweating involuntarily when he thought that he had used that thing to build something during the day and then left it at the construction site after use.
After he returns, he will definitely find an expensive box, put it away carefully, and offer it like a treasure!
Looking at Shep with a frightened face, the older herbalist nodded and sighed.
"I heard that those who consume magic crystals are... Of course, there are also some who say that they do not need magic crystals, but require the user's own magic power."
When he said this, he still had an expression of disbelief on his face, and added another sentence after this sentence.
"How come they gave you such an expensive thing?
That is "Why!"
"I don't know... that gentleman even left the tools here for me and didn't take them away until I finished the work," Shep swallowed nervously and continued, "But thanks to that thing, I finished the three days' work in only one day! Maybe... he wanted me to work faster?"
The lampmaker and the herbalist looked at each other and couldn't help but ask.
"Condensing three days' work into one day...is that thing really so magical?!"
While everyone was amazed, they all started talking among themselves.
But at this point, no one doubts what Shep said. After all, being able to build the bullpen in one day is indeed ridiculously fast.
This cannot be explained by a clear sky!
Beside the fire not far away, the construction worker who had just sat down happened to hear their words and couldn't help turning his head and interjecting.
"What's this? It's just a nail gun... We have seen more powerful guys when we were working."
The lampmaker's eyes widened and he said in surprise.
"Is there anything more powerful?!"
Seeing that everyone's attention was focused on him, the construction worker's vanity was greatly satisfied, and he said with an upturned corner of his mouth.
“You know that cement made of volcanic ash, right? The lords used it to fill the cracks in the walls. When they got here, they just built a grid with wooden boards, inserted iron rods in the middle, and then poured the mixed mud into it. When the wooden boards were removed, it became as hard as bricks! To be honest, after so many years of working as a mason, this is the first time I have seen this. A construction method. "
"Me too..." Another construction worker also had an expression full of emotion, and continued, "And they have several iron rods inserted in each grid... I really don't know where they got so much iron!"
The blacksmith next to him interrupted.
"Iron? That thing is steel! It was made from a boss's furnace, and I am responsible for helping them do this work!"
“Don’t you think what’s even more amazing is the cement?” The construction worker who spoke first grabbed the conversation and muttered, “There are mines nearby. I’m not surprised that there are iron and coal, but there are no volcanoes?!”
Just when everyone was puzzled, a young man interrupted in a low voice.
"Perhaps... the raw material is not volcanic ash at all."
The construction worker was stunned and stopped talking.
Other people around him were also stunned and looked at him.
"The raw material is not volcanic ash?"
"What is that? Mud?"
Being looked at by so many pairs of eyes, the young man felt embarrassed and said ambiguously.
"I don't know...but I saw that the raw material seemed to be a kind of stone. They smashed it and dragged it into a huge furnace, which was about the same size as steel. After it was burned, it turned into ashes. By the way, they also used a special hammer when they smashed those things, the kind with its own power."
No one paid attention to the second half of what he said.
After all, everyone here has heard of the gun that shoots nails, so there seems to be nothing surprising about the self-powered hammer.
In contrast, cement made of stone is surprisingly much better.
In the Dusk Province, cement is basically controlled by the dwarves of Brass Pass, and like other precious metals, it is the latter's main export commodity.
Although everyone here does not know how much cement is sold for, the material that even the lord is reluctant to use is still very expensive.
But here, the devil’s minions not only used cement instead of stone, they even used it to build houses for them who had just wandered here!
This is like the Demon King not only turning stone into gold, but also using gold to make bowls for poor people like them to eat...
No need for others to think about it, they themselves feel ruined!
Shep, who had been silent for a long time, said with emotion.
"Perhaps this is the legendary alchemy..."
The hunter sitting next to him nodded in agreement.
"I heard that the Lord Demon King is a necromancer... That Lord should be able to do it, right?"
Hhis voice had just finished, the man with a beard beside him complained.
"Are you stupid! There is no need for the adult to take action on such a trivial matter, his subordinates will take care of it!"
The hunter's face turned red and he defended himself.
"That's what I mean... Since the Demon King knows these things, of course his minions can too!"
Everyone was talking about it, sharing what they had seen in this camp all day, and the incredible gadgets they saw while working for the Demon King's minions.
But everyone didn’t know it unless they communicated with each other. Once they communicated, they discovered that this large cemetery was even more amazing than they imagined.
The nail gun is all child’s play.
Their steel is not forged, but extruded and cut into shape. Their cloth was not woven by human hands, but by steam-driven machines at incredible speeds.
There are also crops growing in the house, stone men pushing buckets to plow the ground, and cave spiders digging ores and carrying earth...
Various rumors are getting more and more mysterious and outrageous, and everyone's admiration and admiration for His Majesty the Demon King has also changed from a trickle to a torrent.
"I feel really sorry for the lord here..." Brooke, who was cleaning his sword, couldn't help but said after listening to everyone's vivid descriptions.
"Why are you sweating for that miser?" Shep sneered and said gloatingly, "I just want to see him sweating all over his body right now!" , when he saw that there was a city-state loyal to the Demon King behind him, not to mention sweating, he might have peed on the spot!”
"That's an exaggeration, there are only two or three hundred people, and the wall is only two or three meters high, and it's still made of wood. If I were him, I really wouldn't take this place seriously."
"Two or three hundred people are just now, and there will be more people here soon!"
The hunter smiled and patted the man on the shoulder, faced the people sitting in front of the fire, and continued in a determined tone.
"Don't forget how they got us here!"