Wasteland Development Diary

Cui Mao was tall and sturdy, with deep-set eyes, wearing a black robe over leather armor. He had a flintlock pistol and a short knife at his waist, and a crossbow on his back.

His face was dark, and he wore a felt hat. There was a sizable burn scar on his neck, but he didn't seem to mind showing it.

Zhou Yi estimated that he was less than thirty years old, and his spirit was completely different from the people of Mao Gu Town.

Good nutrition is needed to build a good physique.

"I am honored to be received by you, the master of this place."

Cui Mao gave a humble smile: "I was originally in Chicken Head Town to the west. I heard that the people of Mao Gu Town are good at digging things up everywhere, so I came to see if I could find some rare little gadgets."

"I didn't expect there to be a hero like you here, who not only has a monster guard but also built a sound and special camp. This trip is truly worthwhile and eye-opening…"

Zhou Yi interrupted the merchant's polite rambling: "Let's trade first."

The other party was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

Cui Mao was driving a Bactrian camel, which carried two boxes. He placed the boxes on the ground and pulled them up to reveal a small shelf.

Under the diamond-shaped lamp, Zhou Yi examined the goods on display.

The left side of the shelf was mainly tools, with various sizes of sickles, scissors, and knives, as well as iron needles and hooks. Below were several stacks of different colored linen cloths, and two white balaclavas with eye holes sewn from multiple layers of cloth.

On the right side of the shelf were some small cloth bags, emitting the aroma of spices.

Two books were placed at the bottom. The thickest one on top had a wooden cover without any writing, but it had a picture of a little person in a bottle. This represented the mark of the Alchemist Society, and it was likely the 'Dead Sea Atlas'.

At the same time, Zhou Yi heard the merchant's thoughts read by the Kestrel's [Bird's Eye View].

——My right hand is already itching, eager to fight… The reaction isn't even this strong when facing the captain. What level of enhancer is this person?

——The information error is too great. I can't subdue him alone.

——But… if I retreat, the hundred or so people in Mao Gu Town will be completely abandoned. I must test him and obtain more information.

Zhou Yi was a little surprised.

He originally thought that this Cui Mao was a member of a bandit gang, but from what he thought, it seemed that they were not the same group.

The Kestrel also gave further scanning results: "This person's right arm has been enhanced, with special strength. Based on his exhibited physical characteristics and behavior, I suspect he may be a Knight."

A Knight among the enhancers?

Zhou Yi asked in his mind: "How is enhancement done?"

The drone replied: "Most Knights will do partial body enhancement, some on their arms and legs, and some on their heart and bones. This is to give them greater resistance to blows and destructive power, so they can directly compete with other Light-Nano species in their machines."

"The technical means are quite diverse, making it impossible to judge."

The efficiency of communication with the Kestrel was extremely high, allowing a large amount of information exchange to be completed in an instant.

Zhou Yi withdrew and turned his attention back to Cui Mao: "May I ask, what are these two books about?"

Cui Mao took out the books from the bottom of the box and introduced them: "The one on top is a hand-copied 'Dead Sea Atlas' after the Alchemist Society's revision last year, but it has many corrections and stains, which makes it a flawed product, so it could be leaked out."

"The price is 10 jin of copper, which is 100,000 mushrooms, but I can't carry that many dried mushrooms, so I can only ask to exchange it for other equivalent items. It would be best if it was exchanged for precious metals such as gold and silver, which are light in weight."

Zhou Yi had learned about it from Gong Zheng.

Copper is a higher-level currency unit than mushrooms, but Mao Gu Town basically doesn't use it.

Although the exchange rate varies slightly from place to place, generally, 100 (mushrooms) = 1 copper (about 5g) is the standard price. Converted, 1 jin of copper is equal to 10,000 mushrooms.

Because cave mushrooms have poor satiety and nutrition, the residents of Mao Gu Town need to eat 70 to 100 mushrooms a day. The price of this flawed version of the 'Dead Sea Atlas' would take a person three years of not eating or drinking to afford.

Books are quite expensive.

Cui Mao took out the thin book at the bottom and promoted it: "And this one is the 'Simple Tool Manufacturing' produced by the Craftsman's Guild, which talks about the methods of manufacturing various simple tools and detailed exploded diagrams. If there are raw materials, you can create tools such as axes, chisels, picks, shovels, and scissors according to the steps and blueprints on it."

"This one is cheaper, only 3 copper."

Zhou Yi took the book and flipped through it.

The book cover had a symbol of a crossed hammer and wrench, representing the Craftsman's Guild.

It used comic strips to depict the manufacturing process, so even illiterate people could understand it.

This book really wants to teach people how to make tools, but the prerequisite is a problem.

The required wood and stone can be processed by oneself, but the creation of related iron parts can hardly be done by an ordinary person alone.

Zhou Yi opened his bag and took out two copies of Storybook he had read.

"How about trading with this?"

Cui Mao carefully looked at it, with surprise on his face: "This, this is… Dead Sea Scrolls!"

"Did you get it from the Dead Sea? It's so rare to be preserved so completely. But this is not an equal exchange. The value of the Dead Sea Scrolls is limitless, but even the simplest scroll is worth 1 gold…"

He hurriedly rummaged through his pockets, took out two gold nuggets from them, then weighed them with a small portable scale, signaling Zhou Yi to look at the numbers on it.

"Look, this is 2 gold, which is 10 grams of gold. I only have this much on me. The book is for you, plus this gold, is that okay?"

The Kestrel read the thoughts of this Knight.

——This person just directly took out the Dead Sea Scrolls… He should be testing me.

——Which organization is he a member of?

——I have never seen such a person before. Using samurai crabs as guards, acting alone, generous, and the two electromechanical lives on the oasis seem to be hired by him. Strange, too strange. I need to observe him more.

"Deal."

Zhou Yi nodded, and with a gesture, Gong Zheng took the gold from Cui Mao and took the two books.

"Goodbye, I won't see you off."

Seeing Zhou Yi turn his head and walk into the house, Cui Mao was dumbfounded. He quickly said, "Sir, please wait."

Zhou Yi turned his face: "Anything else?"

Cui Mao took a deep breath and said solemnly: "Excuse me for disturbing you. To be honest, I am a Knight of the Third Squadron of the Tianjin Knights. I am currently stationed in Sand Harbor with the Third Squadron, responsible for local defense tasks."

"I came here in disguise because I received news that a foreigner in Mao Gu Town built a camp with a legion of Light-Nano species monsters under his command. So I came to investigate secretly to check for dangers."

"But based on your conversation and the wealth you have shown, you don't seem to be the kind of person who sells people and experiments with living people in alchemy. May I ask your name?"

Zhou Yi said: "Zhou Yi, Chairman of Wasteland Development Company."

He couldn't help but mutter in his heart.

Tianjin Knights? I wonder if they will perform allegro and sketches.

"You belong to…"

"I used to be an individual scavenger."

Zhou Yi skipped over it in one sentence: "I worked for many years by myself. I didn't want to drift around anymore, so I decided to find a place to start a business, so I chose here."

Cui Mao's smile froze.

This Tianjin Knight said again: "Your strength is unfathomable, making my hands itch. I wonder if you would be willing to spar with me?"

Zhou Yi nodded: "I can."

Cui Mao's eyes lit up with excitement.

"But there is a condition."

Zhou Yi raised his right index finger: "After the fight, I have something to ask you."

The other party nodded: "I will tell you everything I know."