Chapter 55: System Restoration
Lu Qingyan’s figure vanished into the night.
Chujiu closed the door, a wave of curiosity washing over him once again: Just what kind of person was Lu Qingyan?
This man seemed to know an incredible amount.
Take that strange box, for instance.
On the very second day after waking up, Chujiu had chased after him, asking how best to handle the "box" and "the thing inside the box."
Lu Qingyan had said that he had already used his supernatural ability to strip the item inside of its "activity," reducing it to a mere pile of black ash that posed no further threat.
As for the "box" itself, once Chujiu had fully recovered his health, they could examine what material it was made of.
Unfortunately, when Chujiu later turned the box over and over in his hands for a long time, he could not discern any clues.
When he mentioned this to Lu Qingyan yesterday, the man was not impatient at all, merely saying that perhaps if they encountered something similar in the future, they would recognize it.
Composing himself, Chujiu returned to his studio to continue reading the [Forge Facility Blueprints] sent over by the blacksmith squirrel.
To be honest, the blacksmith’s facility blueprints were drawn with exquisite detail; the dimensions and structure of every single component, right down to the required materials, were marked with utmost clarity.
Yet the more Chujiu looked, the more bewildered he became, until he finally had to exclaim in wonder: What kind of dwarven dark technology is this?!
Chujiu did not have an intimate understanding of "metal smelting," but he possessed at least some basic concepts.
He knew that even in ancient Blue Star, whether in the Huaxia region or Europe, "metallurgy and manufacturing" was by no means an easy task.
Take iron smelting as an example: because pure iron has a melting point exceeding 1500°C, ancient techniques simply could not reach such temperatures and were unable to melt iron the way modern processes could.
Aman wept uncontrollably, tears and snot streaming down his face as he sobbed, "I know, so, so... I will work harder. I want to become, become a grown-up who can see right through them and stop them."
......
Why was this man able to account for even this? It was as if... he understood him deeply.
It was the growth notification for the spirit beasts.
Hey, hey, I am supposed to be a lover of peace.
Little Canned Goods was unwilling to hear too much about Lu Qingyan, let alone inquire any further.
The only item that was completely out of stock and whose source of collection remained entirely unknown was the [Earth Fire Prime Stone].
At this, Aman’s tears began to flow: "That day, that day, I was the one who led those people to the road signs and told them where you lived. I was also the one who told them that you weren't in the village..."
After the monster attack last time, everyone in the village already knew that Chujiu's "pets," including this "tree-shaped pet," were extraordinarily capable anomalous beasts. Chujiu no longer worried about others discovering the spiritual beasts' peculiar traits, so he simply and openly let Gurulu fly out freely.
The system, which had been suspended for a long time, began to chime with notifications one after another, though it was impossible to tell how much backlog had accumulated:
Before the system recovered... he needed to make as much preparatory work as possible!
I'm getting rich, I'm getting rich!
!
The reasons for the rewards ranged from [Defending the Pioneer Cabin] to [Repairing Roads], and from [Helping the Chestnut Sprite Purchase Pottery] to [Encouraging the Bean Village Villagers]...
He pulled out a wooden board and a charcoal pencil, listed out the materials required to build the forge item by item, noted the environmental requirements, and checked them off line by line.
Before this good-for-nothing made amends for his faults, it was best not to report this matter to the guild leader just yet.
*
The small river flowing past Bean Village had a drop in the wasteland section, but once it entered the section of Bean Village—especially the part where villagers fetched water and fished daily—the current became extremely gentle.
"If it weren't for me..."
Chujiu: "...... Eh?"
That evening, just after Chujiu finished bathing the little ones and was wrapping up Little Canned Goods, who had been spacing out frequently of late, he suddenly heard a long-lost notification tone:
Chujiu squatted down and said earnestly, "Aman, this is not your fault."
*
*
[It has been many years since anyone has harvested a new Earth Fire Prime Stone. It was once rumored that this miraculous ore could still be found deep within the earth's core.]
Today, Chujiu simply wanted Gurulu to accompany him to see if these elevation changes were sufficient to build a waterwheel.
However, the flames of an esper infused with spiritual power were different.
Chujiu clenched his fist, thinking that once the system restoration was complete and he could use active skills, he would follow the subterranean river downstream and search for this underground world!
What had he done after that?
Thinking of this, his eyes curved into crescents as he extended his arms, gesturing toward Little Canned Goods with a "come here and let me give you a hug" motion.
How had he managed to have so little contact with him?
The dwarven beastmen utilized an ore called [Earth Fire Prime Stone]. By simply manipulating this stone, they could effortlessly obtain whatever smelting temperature they desired!
With such a water current, building a waterwheel was naturally out of the question.
Judging from the breakdown, the single item [Building "Chujiu's Little Shop"] alone had contributed 2% to the pioneering progress.
He had been too fuzzy-headed before sleep to remember where he had ever seen the phrase "deep within the earth's core," but now everything was crystal clear!
The next morning.
Just as the chestnut sprite could control the dodo birds, the dwarven beastmen could control this type of ore.
After another long moment, Chujiu heard Little Canned Goods's voice, carrying a hint of grievance: "At that time... when I saw you lying motionless in the carriage... I was so scared."
"As for the rest... do as you see fit."
That subterranean river was the path to the subterranean world!
The volume of the water flow was subject to seasonal changes. Now being early winter, the riverbed's width and water storage capacity were distinctly different from summer, so Chujiu needed to understand the river's condition in other seasons to avoid misjudgment.
Aman had been crying with swollen eyes and wanted to find Chujiu, but Lu Qingyan had stopped him.
Therefore, a waterwheel and irrigation channels would definitely be necessary.
Fortunately, Chujiu possessed the passive skill [Fairy Tale Interpretation].
Sleeping was still the most useful thing to do!
Encouraged by this thought, Chujiu forgot all about his fatigue.
After walking for a while, Chujiu heard the little sapling say, "Gurulu, Gurulu, I'll fly ahead and take a look! I think that spot should be big enough!"
Tonight, Little Canned Goods did not return to its canned cat bed, instead taking it as a matter of course to lie right on Chujiu's pillow.
"I knew those three brothers were used to doing this kind of work and wouldn't bungle things when paid to do a job, but I never expected them to be so short-sighted as to try and make a quick score in the village first, attempting to steal all that honey..."
......
Phew... It had been so long since his mind had felt this clear!
Checking through to the end, Chujiu confirmed:
As a result, the gray-haired man smiled again: "If you go looking for trouble with Bean Village now, do you think the patrol guards are all easy to mess with?"
In the eyes of humans, the [Earth Fire Prime Stone] was merely a pitch-black, entirely featureless rock, devoid of light or heat, and far less valuable than a piece of iron ore.
Whether on Blue Star or in this otherworldly realm, in metallurgical technology, figuring out how to achieve a high enough temperature to melt metal and how to keep the "furnace" at that temperature remained both the most fundamental and the most difficult parts.
......? Unclear?
If only... if only I could be this strong too, how wonderful that would be.
The gray-haired man remained leaning back, his expression gloomy.
The system prompted in succession that spirit beasts No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 had all triggered growth.
"I figured since those three brothers always do this sort of thing, taking money to do jobs without slipping up, but who knew those three would be so narrow-minded, actually wanting to loot the village first and grab all those honey supplies..."
System restoration meant active skills could be used, and they could finally set off toward Sanctuary Valley!
As he waited anxiously with bated breath, the notification sounded:
Hmm... plenty of quality timber left.
He lay down next to Little Canned Goods, rubbing his forehead against the little fellow's soft fur: "Go to sleep now."
Little Canned Goods rolled twice toward Chujiu, pressing its cat face against Chujiu's cheek and rubbing affectionately: "Meow!"
What kind of new map was this?
More thrilling than the upgrades was the fact that the system had finally been repaired!
Once Gurulu flew off, Chujiu heard Aman whisper softly: "Brother Chujiu..."
Either reduce iron ore into "sponge iron" through a chemical reaction at temperatures between 800°C and 1000°C, and then literally forge it through "thousands of hammer strikes" to obtain shaped ironware; or use temperatures between 1100°C and 1200°C to take advantage of the property where iron absorbs carbon at high temperatures—making the melting point of carbon-iron alloy much lower than that of pure iron—to obtain liquid "pig iron," which is then used to cast ironware.
Not only that, but Chujiu also discovered that the use of the [Earth Fire Prime Stone] was accomplished through the racial talent of the dwarven beastmen.
The long-nosed man shook like a sieve, kneeling on the ground and begging for mercy without a pause, babbling that he was willing to pay any price to slaughter Bean Village right now, and that he was ready to serve the True God for the rest of his days...
The gray-haired man raised a hand and twirled the gemstone ring on his index finger: "Useless trash."
Chujiu: ......
Yet he had to admit: that fellow had accomplished what he had wanted to do but failed to achieve.
Deep within the earth's core, huh...
When he previously went to Emerald Town to order a large iron pot, Chujiu had noticed that the blacksmiths used the first method. Even though the espers here possessed fire-type abilities, the flames they emitted could not exceed 1100°C.
The leather for making the bellows? No problem.
"First of all... even if they hadn't sneaked in ahead of time, they would have had to sneak in at night to cause destruction anyway."
Anyway, with plenty of pioneering points now, let's just keep doubling them and see how high they can pile up in the end.
Chujiu and the roaring rabbits had all claimed that it was he who had brought Chujiu back.
Next came various pioneering point rewards.
[Host has unlocked a new title: "The Unyielding." When non-human sentient beings are in negative states such as despondency, depression, or despair, shouting your title aloud may lift their negative states.]
Chujiu patted his head: "Mm, that's the spirit."
Little Canned Goods rested its chin on the pillow, its feline face wearing an unprecedented look of melancholy.
What an absolute piece of trash...
When the small river flowed into this region, it did indeed have a few minor drops.
Two days later.
System, don't go too far! Little Canned Goods worked so hard to save people, could that really not outweigh "accepting an assigned job"?!
Chujiu carefully recalled every illustrated encyclopedia card he knew; none of them had ever mentioned such a location.
"Don't forget, those espers still have other uses. Do not inappropriately set yourself against them."
At that time, his only thought had been to bring Chujiu to a place of safety.
Chujiu was indeed rather surprised; he hadn't expected such a tiny little shop to generate such a high pioneering progress rating.