Chapter 168 The Flame of Productivity is Sprouting

The winter nights came earlier than usual. As dusk sank into the snow-capped valley, people who had finished a day's work gradually arrived at the open space in front of the abandoned hotel.

The villagers who were good at carpentry used the wood provided by the players to build a shed here to protect against wind and snow, and set up several simple stoves and pots under the shed, and cooked dinner with the help of the professional players who came to help.

Today's main ingredient is pumpkin.

At the suggestion of everyone, [Small Fish Cake Juice] decided to cook pumpkin porridge, the local people's favorite food, so he took a group of NPCs who were responsible for helping out to prepare the food. They peeled the pumpkin, removed the pulp, chopped it into large pieces, steamed it in a steamer, and then mashed it. They were very busy and happy.

[Little Bunny Juice] was giving some bad ideas and even suggested adding some pine cones and chili peppers into the pot... Fortunately, he was stopped by the little devil players who were also looking forward to tonight's delicious food.

Nuts are easier to deal with.

The pumpkin porridge with chili pepper tastes so strange just thinking about it.

"Stop messing around. I have to deliver a bowl of pumpkin porridge to the Demon King later. If you are free, why don't you help me deliver the pumpkin peels to the Beast Ranch." Looking at his friend who was still waiting on the side and unwilling to give up, [Small Fish Cake Juice] who covered the pot said helplessly.

The pumpkin peels were not wasted; the Beast Ranch on the edge of Beifeng City had already bought them from the NPC warehouse, intending to use them as feed for cattle.

Nothing was wasted, including the melon pulp.

The newly opened oil press factory in Beifeng City had already reserved this batch of kitchen waste in advance, and several women helping nearby were sifting the pumpkin seeds out of the pumpkin pulp.

At that time, these melon seeds will be pressed into oil.

"I just want to give everyone some protein..." The little rabbit put away the venison in his hand and changed the subject, "By the way, are you still running errands for that demon king? How much has your favorability increased?"

"Two or three thousand? Anyway, it feels like it's always going up, but there's no indication of the upper limit..." Xiao Yu Gao Juice tilted his skull head and said, "It feels like a bottomless pit."

"Pfft! Isn't that just empty talk?!" The little bastard almost spit out juice and said indignantly.

Xiao Yu Cake Juice smiled embarrassedly and said shyly.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not doing quests for the sake of friendship anyway... and don't you think it's interesting? This game allows you to order NPCs to do things! And, I can feel it, the feeling of gradually becoming important."

She didn't just become important in the eyes of one or some NPCs. She could clearly feel that as she completed more and more tasks, her role in the entire virtual community became more and more important.

Although cooking delicious food is not a particularly great thing, when other players encounter troubles, they will subconsciously think of asking her for help.

The same goes for other NPCs.

She is just a nobody in real life, but here she suddenly felt the sense of accomplishment that only a "five-star chef" can have.

This is also a kind of business fun.

Looking at the little fish with a satisfied smile on his face, the little rabbit sighed helplessly, threw the venison in his hand on the table beside him, and picked up the basket of melon rinds.

"You are too easily satisfied."

Fish Cake Juice said with a happy smile.

"Thank you."

"Well, don't be polite. It's not the first time I'm running errands." After throwing down these words, the little rabbit holding the basket ran away like a rabbit disappearing in the forest.

When it was completely dark, the steaming pumpkin porridge was finally out of the pot. The chef, [Small Fish Cake Juice], and the villagers who helped him distributed it to the hungry people.

The tempting aroma wafts in the air, whetting people's appetite and evoking their thoughts and homesickness for the winter days of the past.

Looking at the full bowl of pumpkin porridge, the former adventurer Brook, who was sitting on the tree stump, suddenly felt that the pain accumulated in his biceps suddenly shifted to his nose bridge.

He always felt that something was missing this year, and the recent days of wandering left him no time to think about it.

It was not until now, when he held a bowl of piping hot porridge in his hands, that he finally realized what it was.

He found his home again!

Not far away, the hunters who went out hunting came back from the nearby forest, led by the minions of the Demon King.

Their cloaks were covered with a layer of white snow, and their noses and faces were frozen red, like snowmen emerging from the forest.

But having said that, each of them had a happy smile on their face.

Today's harvest is quite gratifying.

With the help of the little devil, they can see the situation in the forest at a glance, and no matter how the prey runs, they can't escape their eyes.

In order to ensure that they would be able to eat meat in the future, they even let go of some smaller wild deer and only picked the big ones.

A group of children were running around in the open space, giggling and chasing the little devil. The noisy noises 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 hunters sitting in front of the fire, a man with a full beard asked with a smile.

“How was the harvest today?”

"It's quite amazing," the hunter grinned and said proudly, "I have never caught so many prey in winter! You should have come with us!"

In winter, many prey hide in their nests and don't come out. In the past, we were lucky enough not to have worked in vain. It would never fill up a cart like today.

certainly.

This is also related to the rich resources of Silver Pine Forest.

If it were in the Duskwood, not only would there be fewer prey there, but each one would be as cunning as the ratmen, and you would often be able to battle wits and courage with them for a long time.

The bearded man said with a smile.

"Hunting doesn't require so many people. The lumberyard needs more manpower... It's hard to imagine how they stockpiled so much wood."

"Maybe there are monsters eating that stuff? Since it was arranged by the Demon King, I think he must have his own intentions," the hunter then looked at Shep who was concentrating on drinking porridge, and continued with a smile, "Speaking of which, what about you? Shep, how is the ranch going?"

This guy was the first one to find a job yesterday, and many people were envious of him.

Hearing someone talking to him, Shep raised his head, smiled and said.

"It's OK. The first cowshed has been built. The farm owner said that he will buy some cows tomorrow and asked me to help take care of them. Although I suggested that he wait until the coldest time is over, he seems impatient, so let him do as he pleases... There are also advantages to buying now, the price is cheaper, but you have to be careful of the animals getting sick."

As Shep was talking, the people sitting around the fire all had surprised expressions on their faces.

The reason why they were surprised was not because the Demon Lord's minions actually had the means to buy livestock from nearby villages, but because of the speed at which this guy built the cowshed.

“It’s already been built?!”

“So fast?!”

"Saint... Lord Demon, how did you do it?"

Seeing that everyone looked like they had never seen the world, Shep couldn't help but feel very proud in his heart, and said with a hearty smile.

"It's not snowing today, so the construction progress is indeed faster. And it's not a complicated job. Just build the fence and put up a shed... Oh, you will never guess what I saw - a magic-driven nail gun!"

At this point, he gestured the shape of a short-barreled flintlock rifle in the air with his hand and continued in an excited tone.

"That thing looks like a sawed-off cane, and it's said to have some sophisticated underworld writing carved into it. Although I don't really understand what underworld writing is, it's damn easy to use! Just pull the trigger and the nail will fly out and nail the two wooden boards together, quickly, accurately, and steadily! You don't need a hammer at all, and you don't have to worry about hitting your hands!"

"Without a hammer?!" The man sitting next to him looked at him in surprise, shaking his head in disbelief, his tangled beard sweeping left and right like a broom, "How can it be nailed firmly?"

"That's right! How is this possible?!"

“This is outrageous!”

The other people around him had the same expression. Some laughed at Shep for bragging without thinking, while others shook their heads in disbelief.

"Everything I said is true! What good would it be if I lied to you?" Seeing that no one believed him, Shep, who was originally so proud, suddenly became anxious and wished he could go back and get the thing to open the eyes of these ignorant guys.

Unlike those who shook their heads in disbelief, the hunter holding the pumpkin porridge did not doubt it, but touched his chin thoughtfully.

"That thing you're talking about sounds like a musket... But I've never heard of using a musket to hammer nails. What does that thing consume?"

He had just come back from hunting with the devil's minions, and he knew very well that those guys were really capable.

For example, they would bury a small but powerful explosive in the ground, detonate it to scare hibernating prey out of their caves, and then the little demons flying in the sky would track the prey's footprints.

That is why he was not surprised at all that the devil's minions would take out something he had never seen before. He was just curious about how that thing was used.

Seeing that someone finally believed what he said, Shep blushed and quickly gestured with his fingers, explaining to the hunter.

"Nails and magic crystals! Just these two things! Now that you mention it, that thing does look a bit like a musket, but it makes much less noise than a musket! Oh, and I seemed to hear a sound of air leaking... Maybe it compressed the air in some way and then squeezed the nails in!"

"Magic crystal?!" A man who looked a little more educated at the side widened his eyes and repeated in disbelief, "How is this possible? It's actually a magic crystal!"

He used to be a lamp maker who made candles for the lord, and he had seen the magic crystal lamp in the lord's castle. He would never forget the brilliant light it gave off.

He still remembered that the servant in the castle told him with arrogance and pride that the crystal-like lamp was a masterpiece of the dwarves, and that it used a technique similar to inscriptions, and was said to be worth as much as its weight in gold! That statement might not be true.

But judging from the proud expression of the servant, it was enough to prove that magical instruments using magic crystals were still quite rare in the Kingdom of Ryan.

He was not the only one who was surprised. The older herbalist next to him also showed an expression of disbelief and sighed.

"By the devil... they actually used a magic device on you!"

Seeing the two of them so surprised, Shep was also startled. He subconsciously weakened his voice and asked in a low voice.

"Is that thing called a magic device?"

He didn't expect that thing to be so valuable.

Thinking about how he used that thing to build things during the day and then threw it away at the construction site after use, sweat broke out on his back involuntarily.

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After returning, he would definitely find an expensive box, put it away carefully, and treat it like a treasure!

Looking at Shep with a frightened look on his face, the older herbalist nodded, sighed and said.

"I heard that those that consume magic crystals are... Of course, there are also some that are said not to require magic crystals, but require the user's own magic power."

When he said this, there was still an expression of disbelief on his face, and he added another sentence after this one.

"Why would they give you something so valuable? And just let you use it like that?"

There was another half sentence that he kept in his heart and didn't ask.

That is "Why!"

"I don't know... the master even left his tools here with me and didn't take them away until I finished the work," Shep swallowed nervously and continued, "but thanks to that thing, I finished three days' work in just one day! Maybe... he wanted me to finish faster?"

The lamp maker and the herbalist looked at each other and couldn't help asking.

"Compressing three days' work into one day... is that thing really that magical?!"

Everyone was amazed and started talking among themselves.

But at this point, no one doubted what Shep said. After all, building the cowshed within one day was indeed ridiculously fast.

This cannot be explained by just saying it's a sunny day!

A construction worker who had just sat down next to the fire not far away happened to hear what they were saying and couldn't help but turn his head and interject.

"It's nothing, it's just a nail gun... We've seen more powerful ones when we were working."

The lamp maker widened his eyes in surprise.

"Is there anything more powerful?!"

Seeing that everyone's attention was focused on him, the builder's vanity was greatly satisfied, and he said with a smile on his face.

"You know that kind of cement made of volcanic ash, right? The lords used it to fill the cracks in the wall. Here, they just used wooden boards to surround a grid, inserted iron rods in the middle, and then poured the mixed mud into it. Once the wooden boards were removed, it became as hard as bricks! To be honest, I have been a bricklayer for so many years, but this is the first time I have seen this construction method."

"Me too..." Another construction worker also had a look of deep emotion and continued, "And they have several iron rods inserted into each grid... I really don't know where they get so much iron!"

The blacksmith next to him interrupted.

"Iron? That thing is steel! It's made in a big boss's furnace. I'm responsible for helping them do this job!"

"Don't you think the cement is more surprising?" The construction worker who spoke first interrupted and muttered, "There is a mine nearby. I'm not surprised to see iron and coal, but where is the volcano?!"

Just when everyone was puzzled, a young man interrupted in a low voice.

"Maybe... the raw material isn't volcanic ash at all."

The builder was stunned and stopped talking.

The other people around him were also stunned, and they all looked at him.

"Isn't the raw material volcanic ash?"

"What is that? Mud?"

Being stared at by so many eyes, the young man felt embarrassed and spoke ambiguously.

"I don't know either...but I saw that the raw material seemed to be some kind of stone. They smashed it into pieces and dragged it into a huge furnace, about the same size as the one used to make steel. After it was burned, it turned into ash. Oh, and they used a special hammer to smash those things, the kind that had its own power."

No one paid attention to the second half of his sentence.

After all, everyone here has heard of a gun that can shoot nails, so a self-powered hammer doesn't seem to be anything surprising.

In contrast, there is a surprisingly large amount of cement made from stone.

In the Dusk Province, cement is largely controlled by the dwarves of Brass Pass, and like other precious metals, is the latter's main export commodity.

Although no one here knows how much cement actually costs, it must be very valuable since even the lord is reluctant to use this material.

Here, the devil's minions not only used cement instead of stone, but also used it to build houses for them who had just wandered here! It was as if the devil not only had the magic to turn stone into gold, but also made bowls out of gold for these poor people to eat...

There is no need for others to think about it, they themselves feel it is a waste!

Shep, who had been silent for a long time, sighed and said.

"Perhaps this is the legendary alchemy..."

The hunter sitting next to him nodded in agreement.

"I heard that the Demon King is a necromancer... That Lord should be able to do it, right?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the bearded man next to him complained.

"Are you stupid? There's no need for that gentleman to personally handle such a small matter. His subordinates can handle it!"

The hunter blushed and defended himself.

"That's what I mean... Since the Demon King knows these things, his minions will certainly know them too!"

Everyone was talking at once, sharing what they had seen and heard throughout the day in the camp, as well as the incredible gadgets of all sizes that they had seen while working for the Devil's minions.

If they hadn’t communicated with each other, they wouldn’t have known the truth. Once they did, they discovered that this cemetery was even more amazing than they had imagined.

Nail guns are child's play.

Their steel was not forged but extruded and cut into shape, and 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 shovels to plow the ground, and underground spiders digging ore and moving earth...

The rumors became more and more mysterious and outrageous, and people's admiration and respect for His Majesty the Demon King grew from a trickle to a torrent.

"I'm really worried about the lord here..." Brook, who was wiping his sword, couldn't help but say as he listened to everyone's vivid descriptions.

"Why worry about that miser?" Shep sneered and said gloatingly, "I want to see him sweating now!"

"That day will come," the hunter nearby said with a smile, "I bet that when this winter is over, when he sees that there is a city-state behind him that is loyal to the devil, he will not only be sweating profusely, but he might even piss himself on the spot!"

"Hahaha!"

Everyone burst into laughter, but some people shook their heads rationally.

"That's exaggerated. There are only about two or three hundred people here, and the wall is only two or three meters high, and it's made of wood. If I were him, I really wouldn't take this place seriously."

"Two or three hundred people are just now, there will be more people here soon!"

The hunter smiled and patted the man on the shoulder, then faced the people sitting around the fire and continued in a firm tone.

"Don't forget how they drove us here!"

(End of this chapter)