IMC Chapter 74

Although Shu Bao had promised the high priest to make another leather skirt, it wasn’t something that would happen immediately. Upon returning to the tribe, Shu Bao was immediately caught up in busyness. The first task was to lay down the blueprints for the Magic Academy, and then construction began in full swing.

During the past year and a half, the Xia Wang tribe members hadn’t been idle. The tribe had accumulated a vast amount of resources, including a significant stockpile of metals, which had previously been scarce.

After the blueprints were laid out, the tribe members, undeterred by the cold weather, immediately began transporting wood and stone. Each person carrying materials would make an effort to pass by Shu Bao, either pretending to greet him casually or staring intently at the mouse. Their behavior gave the impression that they were trying to scrutinize every single whisker on the mouse’s face.

After feeling awkward for a while, Shu Bao quickly adapted and even started to stand up straighter and lift his head, allowing the tribe members to get a clearer look.

Since the location of the Magic Academy didn’t differ much from the original plan, the amount of materials that needed to be transported was not large. While the people were busy, Shu Bao took another stroll around the tribe to understand the current situation.

To Shu Bao’s surprise, the tribe’s wood processing factory had actually reached the conditions for an upgrade. Of course, not all buildings had upgrade capabilities; at least, the tents remained just tents. Not only had they not been upgraded, but many had worn out significantly over the past year, with many showing signs that they needed repairs.

It was only because Shu Bao had been away from the tribe for a while that these new statuses hadn’t been unlocked. The moment Shu Bao returned to the base, these statuses immediately became visible.

The Xia Wang tribe members were puzzled by the icons that suddenly appeared on the tents, though they did recognize the animal skins on the icons.

“Tents that have worn out can be repaired by adding more animal skins. You can place some skins inside the tents,” Shu Bao explained to everyone.

Upon hearing this, the tribe members immediately went to the warehouse, brought out some animal skins, and distributed them to the tents displaying red animal skin icons. Once enough skins were placed, Shu Bao clicked on the repair option and made the repair permissions public. From then on, any tribe member could repair items or buildings in need of maintenance.

In addition to the tents, icons also appeared above the wood processing factory, showing wood, stone, and iron.

Wood and stone were not a problem, but when it came to iron, the high priest was a bit reluctant and sought Shu Bao’s opinion. Shu Bao asked the high priest to follow him to the warehouse, where he revealed the materials obtained from the Chaotic World. In an instant, the warehouse was filled with various storage boxes.

“These with the silver icons are various metals, the ones with the wheat icons are food and seeds, and these are magical tools and the wands, swords, and other weapons we collected at the time. Later, everyone can come and pick out some suitable weapons and armor. And these…”

After following Shu Bao around, the Grand Wizard was utterly bewildered. He and the tribe members had thought that the deity hadn’t brought anything back this time, but they hadn’t mentioned it out of concern for the deity’s feelings. They never expected that the deity had actually brought back so many things!

After recovering from his shock, the high priest couldn’t help but exclaim, “With all these good things, it seems the deity got a good price for that dragon cub!”

Shu Bao: “…” The mouse definitely did not do that!

“These were all gifts from a place called the Empire in the Chaotic World. Besides these, there are also many magical beasts and beast eggs. Jinzi is staying in the Chaotic World to help Lan Qing open a tavern and mine, while Yinzi is in this bracelet. We can take it outside later and release it,” Shu Bao briefly explained the origin of the materials to avoid any misunderstanding that they were gained by selling the dragon.

The high priest looked at the deity’s furry little wrist, clearly surprised that Yinzi could be stored in a small bracelet. However, given the many magical things about the deity, he didn’t dwell on it and readily accepted the deity’s explanation.

Since resources were no longer an issue, the high priest immediately organized a team to transport materials to the wood processing factory. Fortunately, the tribe had ample supplies, and everyone was wrapped in thick furs. However, the furs were crudely made, bulky, and not very effective at keeping out the cold. To prevent frostbite, Shu Bao regularly had the tribe members take turns resting and warming up.

Although the tribe members repeatedly insisted that this was the warmest winter they had ever experienced and that they could work continuously, Shu Bao still rejected their request.

The Xia Wang tribe members were deeply moved. This was the deity they had been waiting for all along. They were confident that no other tribe’s deity was as compassionate as theirs.

Since the workload for the Magic Academy was relatively small, the blueprint for the academy was completed first. Shu Bao placed the materials he had collected into the project, clicked on the build option, and observed the progress bar. He estimated it would take about two days to complete.

As for the wood processing factory, the resources required for the upgrade were even more than what was needed for the initial construction. Fortunately, they had enough materials, and all that was required was to transport them to the blueprint area. By evening, the transportation was completed. Shu Bao clicked on the upgrade option, granting the high priest the authority to oversee the upgrade. He also informed the high priest that if Shu Bao were to leave for an extended period again, the high priest could manage the upgrades of any buildings that were eligible.

The high priest nodded solemnly, assuring Shu Bao that he would not disappoint the trust placed in him and would manage the tribe well.

The upgrade progress bar for the wood processing factory moved much faster than that of the Magic Academy, and it was expected to be completed in a day. By this time, it was late, and the tribe began preparing dinner. Unlike in summer, during the winter, most people choose to take their food back to their tents to eat. However, today, even with snowflakes falling from the sky, the tribe members stayed at the altar to have dinner with their deity.

Seeing the enthusiastic people, Shu Bao felt it would be inappropriate to take his roasted grasshoppers back to the mission hall, so he stayed with the others, sharing a meal in the cold wind with a silly smile on his face. After finally finishing the meal, Shu Bao hurriedly urged everyone to return to their tents to rest, which earned him even more admiring looks from the tribe.

After sending everyone off, Shu Bao breathed a sigh of relief and then scurried back to the mission hall. Before going upstairs to rest, he made sure to check the mission board.

The technology mission was still stuck at the requirement of having a population of 100, but the magic mission had refreshed.

【Collect 100 pairs of gluttonous ant antennae, Reward: 1x Magical Beast Breeding Ground】

This reward made Shu Bao’s eyes light up—it was like someone offering a pillow just when he needed one! Although magical beasts could be hatched and raised inside the bracelet, the space was somewhat cramped and chaotic. Having the ability to manage them on a larger scale would be much better.

Moreover, based on the example of the Magical Plantation, the Magical Beast Breeding Ground would likely be a building that integrates hatching, raising, and harvesting, with a spacious interior and the potential for upgrades.

Ever since the upgrade function was unlocked, every upgradable building had gained an experience bar beneath it. The experience bar for the Magical Plantation was also nearly full. The slow progress was mainly due to the limited variety of magical plants that the Xia Wang tribe could cultivate after Shu Bao left, causing the upgrade to take longer.

Shu Bao thought that if he planted the new seeds he had brought back and harvested them, the Magical Plantation would definitely be ready for an upgrade. It seemed that he would be quite busy in the coming days.

With the magic line developing so smoothly, it only made the technology line seem even more neglected. Population is arguably the most critical resource in the early stages of a base’s development, and it seemed that a certain population threshold was necessary for technological advancement. Considering this, the Long Tribe had indeed gained an early advantage.

After pondering for a while, Shu Bao figured that after a year, the neighboring Long Tribe should have developed as well. Perhaps it was time to engage in some friendly tribal trade.

Moreover, according to the high priest, there were now two more tribes nearby. As long as the price was right, they should be able to buy some population!

Satisfied that he had solved the population problem, Shu Bao happily bounced upstairs to sleep. Lying in his cozy bed, the mouse stretched lazily and quickly fell asleep. Just before drifting off, he had a nagging feeling that he had forgotten something important, but he couldn’t recall what it was at the moment. “No worries,” he thought, “I’ll figure it out tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, in the bracelet space, Yinzi was rolling around and wailing, but it still couldn’t find a way out. In the end, it had no choice but to sleep in the same space as the snacks, making sure to hold its mouth shut with its paws to prevent any sleep-eating.

The next day, Shu Bao got up and went to find the high priest to learn about the current development of the Long Tribe and whether there were any nearby markets for trade.

“The Long Tribe has a strange weapon,” the high priest explained. “It’s more powerful than a fireball. When it’s released, it explodes and burns, making a very loud noise…”

As the high priest described it, Shu Bao became increasingly surprised. In just one year, could it be that the Long Tribe had already developed gunpowder? That seemed incredibly fast!

“In addition to the Long Tribe, there’s another strange tribe. Their bodies are made of steel, and they carry something that emits a beam of light. It can attack, cut through stone, and even melt steel. Some of them don’t even walk—they can fly in the sky…”

Shu Bao: ??? What kind of bizarre tribes are these? Why does this sound like robots?

“The other tribe, the Tiger Tribe, is similar to us. No, they’re actually much worse off than we are. But their deity can control wild beasts, so they’ve attracted quite a few people. As for the market, there is one, but it’s outside the Long Tribe. To trade there, you have to pay a fee in materials. We haven’t gone because we didn’t need anything, but the next market day is in about ten days.” The high priest reported on the situation with the three nearby tribes and the market, curiously awaiting Shu Bao’s next instructions.

During Shu Bao’s absence, though they were frequently harassed, the tribe never lacked supplies. The Long Tribe’s weapons were powerful, but the necromancer army that Shu Bao had summoned was invincible at night. During the day, they had the protection of the big white cat, the high priest, and Mu Bao’s attacks, so the Long Tribe never managed to gain the upper hand.

“Get ready. In ten days, we’ll go for peaceful trade and bring back some people. I’m sure the Long Tribe will be as generous as the Empire. Oh, right—Yinzi!” Shu Bao suddenly remembered, a bit embarrassed, and released Yinzi from the bracelet.

As soon as Yinzi emerged, it sneezed twice before it could even start complaining. The winter chill was a bit too much for it, but after some consideration, it decided it would rather stay in the wide, open world outside than be cramped together with the snacks.

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