Wasteland Development Diary

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Zhou Yi tried to load the flintlock gun with lead bullets, but not only could he not ignite the fire, the hammer also frequently jammed, making it all sorts of difficult to use.

After fiddling with it fruitlessly for over an hour, he gave up and turned his attention to the stack of papers.

The papers were covered in dense symbols written with a charcoal pencil, many of which looked like simplified sketches describing specific items, reminiscent of pictographic writing.

Zhou Yi, although able to converse without barriers with people from this era thanks to the White Suanni, could not understand these texts.

He suddenly thought that, since Red Kestrel was a rescue drone, it might have the capability to recognize distress symbols and might be able to understand them.

"The text is recognizable."

Zhou Yi breathed a sigh of relief at the drone's response.

Red Kestrel translated the new humans' script into old humans' Chinese.

Now it was confirmed, the dead person's name was Yang Si.

Yang Si's notes contained not only textual descriptions but also drawings.

His sketching skills were quite solid, depicting the various parts of the pistol and providing a cross-sectional detailed diagram of two types of bullet heads.

The Black Circle Bullet was a common lead solid bullet.

The Blue Circle Bullet was different. Inside it was a layer of special substance that, when exploded, could summon a shadowy monster.

These monsters would attack the area where the bullet exploded, causing all sorts of creatures in the area to fall into a drowsy dream state.

This was called a "trapped dream bomb."

The diagram below also came with notes, warning that one must cover the mouth and nose when shooting—or wear protective gear and hold their breath until the monster disappeared, otherwise they would also fall into deep sleep.

It was like a copied user manual.

These bullets must have been a weapon of enhancers.

Zhou Yi looked over the other items in the box, and the second thing that caught his interest was that badge.

The copper badge was finely crafted, with a bottle containing a tiny person engraved on the surface, and the back had some inscrutable symbols. It seemed to represent certain identity.

Zhou Yi called over Ajin and asked if he knew the badge.

"This... the tiny person in the bottle, it's from the Alchemist Association."

Ajin looked surprised, "This is the first time I've actually seen a real badge. But this thing, only Alchemists among enhancers are qualified to possess. Master, you can even find this?"

Zhou Yi asked, "What is the relationship between the Alchemist Association and enhancers?"

"I also heard it from those elders." Ajin scratched his head, "Enhancers are high-level professionals among humans who can combat various monsters, possessing all sorts of abilities and weapons."

"The most common professionals are Knights, Alchemists, and Archers."

"Knights have mounts or vehicles, allowing them to move at very high speeds in the wild. They are very mobile, very capable in battle, and they act in organized groups, as the Knight Order. They first banded together to fight against raiders, and after driving away and exterminating many raiders, the Knights gained control over many of the trade routes between cities."

"As the Knight group grew stronger, they took on more functions; guarding, combat, extermination, hunting, trade transport, and so on... They were also the first to confront the Guangna Species directly in battle."

"The Knight Order itself also has rich combat experience and their own group codes of conduct, and they are highly respected by everyone. Almost every city will have a Knight Order stationed there."

When talking about the Knight Order, Ajin's eyes lit up.

"Alchemists read and write, they are knowledgeable scholars, and 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 rainfall, some can heal and save people, some can cause monsters to go mad and worship..."

"The last are the Archers, the long-range attackers."

Ajin made a bow-pulling gesture, "Legend has it that Archers can shoot monsters at the foot of a mountain directly from the mountaintop. They possess the most sophisticated long-range weapons, the ace killers against powerful monsters. Mostly, Archers have combat experience with Knight Orders or hunting teams, and it takes hunting a large number of monsters to train one, so they rarely appear in public."

"There are other kinds of enhancers too, but that's the three types that have come through Mao Valley Town."

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

Not a member specialized in combat.

For dealing with ordinary people, the flintlock pistol in Yang Si's hand was more than sufficient, but he just couldn't imagine facing the siege of samurai crabs and the barrage of flying knives.

Zhou Yi thought quietly to himself.

The raider gang that ruled Mao Valley Town from the shadows likely had other enhancers backing them.

If they knew their place, there would be no trouble; if they caused more issues, then it would be time to completely take down this nefarious power.

Zhou Yi flipped through his journal, crossing out the line about returning to Land.

He penned two new plans meticulously.

— Build a headquarters and start reclamation in the surrounding areas.

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

To rebuild the familiar human civilization environment, he needed to take it one step at a time.

Samurai crabs couldn't do farming; he'd need to recruit people from Mao Valley Town for agricultural work. But to accomplish all this, he must first ensure the area was safe and stable.

It was time for him to fly his own flag too.

Zhou Yi announced to the employee Ajin next to him, "Starting today, our Wasteland Development Company is officially established, and you are now an employee of our company. From this day forth, call me Chairman."

"Wasteland... Development Company?"

Ajin was somewhat puzzled, "Chairman, what is Wasteland? What are we developing?"

"Wasteland refers to abandoned land, which we need to put to use. Building houses is one of the development directions."

Zhou Yi explained, "Isn't Mao Valley Town short of food? Our next step is to plant crops here, so that people nearby can have enough to eat."

"Are you talking about planting mushrooms?"

Ajin's eyes lit up.

Zhou Yi asked him if there were any other grains available, but Ajin simply shook his head, saying even the large market towns to the west didn't have such crops.

For now, it seemed they could only plant mushrooms.

He asked further, "Ajin, do you have any recommendations for experienced mushroom farmers? It's important they're reliable and diligent, everything else is negotiable."

The young man from the market town thought for a moment, "There's Uncle Cao who's good with people and knows how to farm mushrooms, and then there's Feng."

"Uncle Cao is the best at growing mushrooms, although he has a bit of a temper. But during times of famine, he always shares his mushrooms with everyone. Feng raises Mao Valley Worms, but to nourish the worms well, he's also skilled at farming mushrooms, since they're food for the Mao Valley Worms. He lives with the worms every day."

Zhou Yi said, "Bring them to me, I'll have a chat with them, and if there are no problems, they can start working. They'll have the same benefits as you."

"With food and accommodation provided, plus meat—they'll definitely come!"

Ajin suddenly remembered something, "Chairman, there's another person, Mr. Gong, who might not know how to farm mushrooms, but he can identify them, and he's the only one in town who can read and write."

"He used to apprentice with Alchemists for a few years and knows a little bit about everything. He can treat illnesses, find medicinal herbs, and identify monsters and various objects. A lot of the things we find are first taken to him, so he can tell us whether they're valuable or not."

"Mr. Gong is a reliable man."

Zhou Yi had some impression, "The one who previously thought your wound was no issue?"

"Yes... Mr. Gong has saved many lives, but he definitely can't compare to you." Ajin had been misdiagnosed by the man, yet he still spoke on behalf of Mr. Gong.

Zhou Yi thought about it, having an intellectual around wasn't easy; it might be good to bring him over for a look.

"Add him to the list as well."