Chapter 21 A Narrow Encounter: Lin Family Security's First Practical Drill
Although the first smelting attempt ended in failure due to insufficient furnace temperature, it did not dampen Lin Yue's ambition to rush into the Iron Age.
On the contrary, his experience of failure made him realize the crux of the problem even more clearly—the blower! The blower! And that damn blower! And that ugly-cute but not very good at keeping things warm!
"We absolutely have to build a bellows!" Lin Yue rubbed his hands together, looking at the [Basic Principle Diagram of the Animal Hide Bellows] provided by the system—a version dictated by Shi Quan and optimized by the system. "And the furnace needs improvement too! We need better refractory materials! And we need to thicken the insulation layer!"
However, whether it was the large, flexible pieces of animal hide needed to make the bellows, or the more refractory clay and high-quality stone needed to improve the furnace, they would have to go out and collect them again.
Thus, the Lin family's treasure-hunting team regrouped!
The members remain the same: Lin Yue, the main treasure hunter and map navigator; Gray, the combatant and physical damage dealer; and Xiao Fen, the mascot and mobile alarm.
Uncle Shi Quan, whose legs are still not very agile, stays behind at the restaurant to look after the place and also points out various improvements to the furnace blueprints.
Their target this time was the clay pit where they had previously discovered high-quality magnetite, and a deeper area into the mountains and forests. They hoped to find more high-quality ore and refractory clay, and also see if they could get some animal hides to make bellows, perhaps by hunting a large, tough-skinned wild boar? Lin Yue said it was just a thought.
Along the way, Lin Yue continued to chatter on and on with Gray about the design principles of the bellows:
"Gray, look! The key to this bellows is its piston structure! By using a one-way inlet valve and outlet, a simple pull and push generates a continuous and stable airflow! It's much more efficient than blowing air with our mouths! Once it's finished, our furnace temperature will definitely skyrocket!"
Gray remained a silent listener, but Lin Yue noticed that when he spoke about certain aspects of combat techniques or trap-making,
For example, when using wind direction to create smoke or digging camouflage traps, Gray's eyes would become noticeably focused, and he would even occasionally ask one or two simple but incisive questions.
"This guy... seems to be particularly sensitive to things related to combat?" Lin Yue muttered to himself. "He looks like an honest, simple farmer, but his combat intuition... tsk tsk, not simple at all."
He recalled Gray's ability to withstand falling rocks with his bare hands, his clean and efficient skills during hunts, and the calm and composed demeanor that set him apart from ordinary wanderers...
This Gray is definitely not as simple as he seems! Maybe he's a guy with a story to tell?
Just as Lin Yue was lost in thought, Gray, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped, lowered his body, and made a "warning" gesture.
Lin Yue immediately shut up, pulled back the frolicking Xiao Fen, and cautiously observed his surroundings.
All that could be heard from the ravine not far ahead was a cacophony of voices and the sound of metal striking stone!
There are people! And it sounds like there are quite a few! And they're...mining?!
Lin Yue and Gray exchanged a glance, both seeing the seriousness in each other's eyes.
They cautiously made their way to the edge of the ravine, hid behind the bushes, and quietly peered inside.
In the ravine, seven or eight burly men, dressed in rags and with fierce expressions, were gathered! They looked like vagrants or mercenaries, holding crude pickaxes and hammers, frantically digging at an exposed rock face!
The rock wall they were excavating... was none other than the place where Lin Yue and his group had previously discovered high-quality magnetite!
"Holy crap! These guys are mining our mine?!" Lin Yue almost jumped up! That was their hope for entering the Iron Age! How could they let these unknown guys beat them to it?!
Gray's face darkened, and he gripped the bone spear tightly.
The group had obviously spotted Lin Yue and his group too! One of the burly men on lookout shouted, and everyone stopped what they were doing, turned around, and looked at the direction where Lin Yue and Gray were hiding with hostile eyes!
"Hey! You sneaky guys over there! Come out!" A burly man with a thick beard, who looked like the leader, shouted menacingly, carrying a rusty iron pickaxe.
Lin Yue's heart skipped a beat. They'd been discovered! And the other side outnumbered them and were armed! A direct confrontation was definitely outmatched!
what to do?
Retreat? But what about this mining site? Just hand it over to someone else? Lin Yue was unwilling!
In a moment of inspiration, he quickly recalled some unorthodox methods that Shi Quan had previously taught him and the [Basic Trap Making Guide] provided by the system.
Got it!
He lowered his voice and quickly said to Gray, "Gray! Listen to me! We'll do this..." He pointed to the surrounding terrain and made a few gestures.
Gray immediately understood, nodded, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.
Lin Yue took a deep breath, then stepped out from behind the bushes, feigning composure. He raised his hands and put on an innocent smile: "Brothers! Don't misunderstand! We're just passing by! Just passing by!"
He also brought Xiao Fen out, letting it use its big, watery eyes to charm the other party and try to lower their guard.
The bearded leader sized Lin Yue up and down, noticing his tattered T-shirt and the furry little creature in his arms. A hint of contempt appeared on his face: "Just passing by? Hmph! I bet you're here to steal the mine, aren't you? This magnetite mine was discovered first by our 'Black Rock Gang'! If you know what's good for you, get lost! Otherwise, don't blame us for being impolite!"
"Black Rock Gang?" Lin Yue sneered inwardly. Gang? With your bunch of ugly, deformed people, you're more like a wasteland scavenging team!
He maintained his smile, though: "Brother, you're joking! How could we dare! This ore is rock hard, and we don't even have any decent tools. How could we steal it? We'll leave right now, we'll leave right now!"
With that, he grabbed Gray and turned to run away.
"Wait!" the bearded leader called out to them. "You two look so delicate, and you even have a little pet. You don't seem like the type to survive in this godforsaken place. Do you have some kind of hiding place?"
His eyes scanned the surroundings greedily. "Tell me! Hand over all the food and water you've hidden! Otherwise..." He brandished the pickaxe in his hand, the threat clear.
They really were trying to rob us!
Lin Yue's heart sank; it seemed that this matter could not be resolved peacefully today!
He secretly gave Gray a wink.
Just as the bearded leader and several other burly men lowered their guard and were about to step forward to interrogate him, a sudden change occurred!
Gray suddenly let out a low growl and pounced out like a cheetah! The bone spear in his hand thrust straight at the bearded leader's lower body at an extremely tricky angle!
This move was fast and ruthless, unlike anything an ordinary homeless person could do!
Caught off guard, the bearded leader hurriedly used his pickaxe to block!
"clang!"
The bone spear clashed with the iron pickaxe with a crisp sound! Gray's strength was immense, actually causing the bearded man to stagger back two steps!
At the same time, Lin Yue wasn't idle either! He quickly pulled out a small bag wrapped in a large leaf that he had prepared beforehand from his pocket and threw it forcefully into the middle of the group!
The small package scattered in the air, and the contents inside, a mixture of sulfur powder and dried grass clippings, immediately dispersed as the wind blew!
Immediately afterwards, Lin Yue took out his precious flint and steel and struck it hard against a pile of dry branches and leaves on the ground!
Sparks flew! The dead leaves were instantly ignited!
The flames ignited the sulfur powder that filled the air!
"boom!"
A thick plume of yellowish-green smoke, with a pungent odor, suddenly rose up, instantly engulfing the group!
"Cough cough cough! What the hell is that?!"
"My eyes! I can't open my eyes!"
"This smoke is poisonous! Spread out!"
The group was choked by the thick smoke, coughing incessantly, their vision obstructed, and their formation thrown into disarray!
"Now! Gray!" Lin Yue shouted.
Under the cover of the smoke, Gray had already pounced into the crowd like a ghost! His bone spear flew up and down, and although he didn't kill directly, each strike accurately hit the opponent's joints, wrists, and other vulnerable parts, rendering them unable to fight!
What surprised Lin Yue even more was that Gray actually displayed some extremely exquisite footwork and blocking skills in the melee!
He always manages to evade attacks with minimal cost and quickly find opportunities to counterattack! This is definitely not ordinary fighting! This is clearly combat skill honed through systematic training!
"What exactly did Gray do before?" Lin Yue stared in disbelief.
While Gray was displaying his prowess, Lin Yue wasn't idle either. He grabbed Xiao Fen and quickly set up several makeshift tripwire traps at the entrance to the ravine, then lit several smoke bombs mixed with damp leaves and chili powder, creating even greater chaos!
The burly men of the "Black Rock Gang" were originally a rabble, poorly equipped and poorly trained. Now, choked by the thick smoke and disoriented, and being beaten to a pulp by Gray, this "hidden master," coupled with their fear of the unknown in this cursed land, they quickly crumbled!
"Retreat! Retreat quickly! Something's strange about this place!" The bearded leader was the first to give in. He covered his eyes and scrambled to escape!
As soon as he reached the entrance, he was tripped hard by the tripwire set up by Lin Yue and fell face-first to the ground!
The others were also terrified, dropping their tools and fleeing in all directions, crying and screaming!
Just then, a roar full of majesty and rage suddenly came from above the mountain valley!
"Hey! Where did this petty thief come from! How dare he cause trouble here!"
Suddenly, Uncle Stone Fist, the honorary foreman of Lin's Restaurant, appeared on a huge rock above the ravine, leaning on his cane! Although he had difficulty walking, he was full of imposing presence! He was also holding several stones the size of human heads in his hands!
He spotted the slowest, unlucky guy, swung his arm around, and hurled the stone in his hand!
"Whoosh—whoosh!"
The stone whistled through the air and struck the unfortunate man's backside with the precision of a cannonball!
"Awooo—!"
A scream echoed through the valley! The unfortunate fellow was sent flying, rolling several times on the ground before coming to a stop; his buttocks were probably already bleeding.
Uncle Stone Fist's precise stone-throwing skill completely shattered the mental defenses of the remaining few people! They scrambled and disappeared into the depths of the mountains without looking back!
In the ravine, all that remained were a mess of tools, a few tattered backpacks that had fallen off while running too fast, and the unfortunate guy who was groaning on the ground clutching his buttocks. He soon forced himself to get up and run away despite the excruciating pain.
A potential conflict was successfully resolved by Lin Yue's wisdom, Gray's strength, and Uncle Stone Fist's remote support!
[System Notification: Successfully repelled the invading 'Black Rock Gang'. Gained a small amount of experience points. Loot seized: 3 low-quality iron pickaxes, 2 worn-out iron hammers, and a small amount of unidentified debris. The core resource point [Magnetite] is now safe.]
[Warning: This conflict has exposed security vulnerabilities at 'Lin's Restaurant.' Please improve your defensive measures and enhance your self-defense capabilities as soon as possible.]
Lin Yue looked at the mess on the ground and breathed a long sigh of relief. Although the process was a bit thrilling, he had finally won! And he had even gotten a lot of tools for free! Although they were of poor quality, they were still better than stones!
He walked over to Gray and patted him on the shoulder: "Gray! You're something else! You've been hiding your true abilities! Those moves you just made were so cool! You... you've trained before?"
Gray, panting, shook his head, a complex mix of emotions flashing in his eyes, seemingly lost. "...I don't know. My body...moved on its own."
[System Notification: Partner 'Gray' has triggered [Combat Instinct (Beginner)] during battle. This is suspected to be related to his bloodline or past experiences. Details to be unlocked.]
It seems Gray isn't a simple character after all.
He looked up at the top of the ravine and gave Uncle Stone Fist a thumbs up: "Uncle Stone Fist! Your 'Stone Fist Technique' is amazing! It's like hitting a target from a hundred paces away!"
Uncle Stone Fist snorted smugly and stroked his thick beard: "Hmph! Back in my youth, throwing stones at 'Earth Dragons' was no problem! Dealing with these petty thieves is a piece of cake!"
Lin Yue: "...", do you not even think before you start bragging?
However, regardless of the circumstances, although the conflict was resolved without serious consequences, it served as a wake-up call for Lin Yue.
This cursed land was not as isolated as he had imagined. All sorts of forces and dangers could come knocking at any moment.
They must improve their strength as soon as possible! Not only do they need to create better tools, but they also need to strengthen their defenses! And... train Gray's combat skills? Or... see if they can trick Uncle Stonefist into giving them some more life-saving tricks?
A note from the author:
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