Chapter 23: Plan Takes Shape
Jiang You's knowledge of the Spider Spirits was extremely limited, and she knew almost nothing about their history and culture. Without sufficient evidence, she would never assume the worst.
Besides, all living things have an instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm. To force a group of giant magical spiders to suppress their nature and become law-abiding, and to have their descendants adhere to these creeds for generations, suppressing their instincts and starving themselves, even completely forgetting their own magical origins... such a huge sacrifice, the reason is probably not a simple gender dispute.
The need to bear children consumes the magical energy within the katydids, leading to a depleted and unbalanced magical power and exacerbating the risk of alienation and transformation. The spider spirits' long-term avoidance of magic has reduced their magical resistance and exacerbated their tendency to be disturbed by magic.
Combined with the latest discovery that spider spirits need soul fire to replenish soul energy, if we reason back along these phenomena, Jiang You can roughly picture the ancient appearance of spider spirits in his mind: they were probably some kind of undead magical creatures at the beginning, and in addition to daily food, they also needed to eat the soul energy of living things.
However, spider spirits lack the liches' ability to draw soul fire, and naturally cannot distinguish between the energy of the soul's essence and the superficial power of emotions. They devour their food by swallowing both soul and flesh. This crude, brutal, and bloody way of survival will likely be abandoned through continuous evolution.
Jiang You felt that, much like all the classic stories about monsters, the spider spirits of this world had perhaps also undergone an evolution from monsters to humans: they could no longer accept the fact that they could eat humans, and at present, they could not find a better way to obtain soul energy. Unable to replenish their positive magical energy, they were easily contaminated by negative energy. In desperation, they completely abandoned all magical energy, and continued to go further and further down the path of self-restraint and the bondage of others.
However, deeply influenced by modern dialectical thinking, Jiang You knew that sticking to one path would inevitably lead to problems. The spider spirits might have good intentions, but they couldn't go against their natural instincts and evolve a physique that didn't require magical energy to survive. Suppressing their instincts and restricting themselves was only a temporary solution, not a fundamental solution.
Once the energy is consumed to the limit, the spider spirit will either die or go berserk and become a demon. This is the inevitable outcome.
Jiangyou couldn't yet tell what the elders' motives were for tightening the reins on the weavers, as described by Alexi. On the bright side, perhaps they'd encountered a future where their tribe was out of control and were struggling to find a way out. Or perhaps, while following the ancient teachings of their ancestors, they'd simply tasted the sweetness of power over others...
This sense of power that can surpass others is also a powerful emotional energy. Perhaps the elders survived by absorbing this energy, but they also lost themselves under the influence of this power.
In order to change the imbalance of magic in the bodies of the cicadas or even within the tribe, they have to be slowly nursed back to health, replenishing the positive soul energy that the spider spirits have long lacked, and then gradually improve their magic resistance... However, at this current stage of exploration, Jiangyou feels that it is not appropriate to publicize this matter for the time being.
Firstly, Alexi is a rebel who was expelled from her tribe. Without tangible results, what she says may not be accepted by her tribe members. Secondly, even if all her tribe members accept this theory, relying solely on the scattered soul fire reserves of Jiangyou, it is impossible to rescue the cicada tribe from its predicament. Instead, it will make them doubt themselves and question whether the suffering they have endured in the past is worth it... In serious cases, they will experience a complete collapse of values and beliefs.
If he fails to handle the situation with caution and creates a whole group of giant spiders that wantonly demonize and eat people, then Jiang You will become a sinner for all eternity.
She can't bear this responsibility.
However, Jiang You also wanted to help solve the problem of the spider spirit clan.
"The problems within your tribe won't be solved overnight. We need to work on them gradually. First, settle down and make some money making tofu, which will earn you some soul fire. Once we have enough soul fire reserves, I'll call Dr. Bird's Beak from the Witch Forest and go with him to your tribe. We'll see if we can offer free medical treatment to help those most seriously ill."
After Takumi explained the pros and cons to Alexi and clearly proposed a solution, the cicada gradually calmed down. "Indeed, what you said makes a lot of sense."
Jiangyou watched Alexi calm down, weigh out the correct amount of gypsum powder, and successfully make tofu pudding, so he felt relieved.
Alexi made three buckets of tofu pudding in a row, two of which were used to continue making tofu, and one was transported back to the brewery using levitation to be sold as breakfast today. When Jiangyou returned to the shop, Tux had just finished work.
"Done!" Tukes put the hammer back on his belt and pointed to a metal box against the wall at the end of the corner of the bar. "Here, go try it! Here's the key."
There are three keys in total, corresponding to three different boxes. The one on the left is the cash box of the vending machine, the middle one is the clue box, and the one on the right is the goods cabinet.
Takumi opened several boxes and looked through them one by one. Inside the box was a knob that could be turned left or right to adjust the weight. The scale was clearly marked, with a scale from 1 to 10. In other words, this vending machine could only sell a certain item priced at 10 nikos or less.
"To adjust the price, just turn the knob."
Jiangyou thought about it. Making alkaline croutons individually would be time-consuming and laborious, but with Xiaolong around, she had to make several servings every day. And each serving would leave about 300g of leftover croutons. Cutting these croutons into bite-sized pieces, sprinkling them with barbecue seasoning, and grilling until crispy, then wrapping them in a paper bag, they made a perfect snack.
In her past life, the bread cubes sold in milk tea shops and snack shops weighed around 30-35g per bag. Baking three servings of toast a day meant thirty bags of bread cubes. Adding the leftovers and seasonings to this small amount wouldn't cost much, and since it was recycled, it could be sold for just one nickel.
This price was just enough to attract clients, allowing them to act as cover for the real informant. Andrei's investment would be recouped if he received even a single piece of useful intelligence. If he could apprehend the robbers and seize the stolen goods from their lair, Andrei could reap far more than just a few nickels.
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