IMC Chapter 82

Not long after the Ru Su’s merchant caravan left, the construction progress of the Tesla tower finally approached completion. Shu Bao had already distributed the crystal ball-shaped lights early on, instructing the tribesmen to hang or place the lights inside their homes.

Since they didn’t know what the effect would be, only one light was allocated to each wooden house, but this was enough to spark the curiosity of the Xia Wang tribesmen. Although they still could not understand what the Tesla tower was for, after waiting for so long, everyone was filled with anticipation for its completion.

The long construction progress bar gradually reached its end, and the tribespeople couldn’t help but look up often, hoping to see it finished at any moment. However, the progress seemed to crawl along at an especially slow pace. Even with constant glances, it ultimately failed to be completed before nightfall.

As such, even though everyone wanted to see it, they couldn’t. They all returned to their wooden houses to rest, preparing for that evening’s defensive battle. The patrol team continued to carry torches as they patrolled the camp; everything was as usual, nothing particularly special.

But around ten o’clock at night, the silent, dark camp suddenly brightened. In the center of the tribe, the Tesla electric tower had replaced the magic academy as the tallest structure in the tribe. Of course, this was mainly due to the tower’s tall, slender spire.

At that moment, the spire was wrapped in a transparent spherical energy field, within which purple electric arcs flickered from time to time as if containing countless bolts of lightning.

At the same time the power tower was completed, all the rooms in the camp instantly became bright, with light streaming through the windows, almost illuminating the entire tribe.

The tribespeople’s exclamations echoed continuously. Moments later, a large number of them emerged holding electric lights. When they saw the lights in each other’s hands and looked up at the faintly visible purple arcs above the tower, they finally understood the purpose of the tall structure.

The electric light had indeed transformed into little suns, just as the deity had said. They were suns that could be held in their hands.

“I never knew it could be so bright at night!”

“It feels like the stars in the sky have dimmed!”

“Being inside the house at night looks just like during the day!”

…

People excitedly gathered together, discussing the magical phenomena brought about by the electric lights. They had never imagined that one day they could use something that should only belong to the gods.

The thrilled crowd continued to discuss for quite some time until the time approached midnight, and then they gradually dispersed, preparing for the evening’s defensive battle.

Families who wouldn’t be fighting tonight also finally could not resist and turned off their lights, falling into a deep sleep. Yet, before drifting off, smiles lingered on everyone’s faces.

The Tesla electric tower itself was not bright. Once the energy field stabilized, the purple lightning became harder to see; it stood there like an invisible giant, quietly observing.

For the first time, Shu Bao experienced the magic of unlimited energy and wireless power transmission. The electric lights were unbound, able to be carried and used anywhere, anytime. Moreover, this was only the most basic of electrical appliances. Perhaps next, he could consider finding a genius to connect the existing buildings in the base to power.

The patrol team swiftly discarded their torches, opting instead to carry electric lights for their patrols. The bright illumination made their vision clearer and the night no longer seemed frightening.

At midnight, the chaotic world arrived as expected. The Xia Wang tribespeople had a particularly strong desire for battle that night. Defending within the protective shield was no longer satisfying for them; they even took the initiative to strike outside the fence.

The emergence of electric lights piqued not only the tribespeople’s curiosity but also that of the magical beasts, forest giant wolves, Yinzi, Feng Shou, and even the lazy big white cat. However, with the limited number of electric lights available, the magical beasts decided to determine the final distribution of the lights based on their hunting abilities.

Thus, that night could no longer be referred to as a defensive battle for the Xia Wang tribe; it had instead transformed into a day of harvest. The Xia Wang tribespeople couldn’t stray too far from the base, while the magical beasts were unrestricted. Led by Yinzi, they frolicked about, hunting the magical beasts of the chaotic world.

This even resulted in a sharp decline in the number of magical beasts around the tribe in the following days, making the tribespeople’s defenses feel somewhat less engaging.

While the electric lights seemed to have little impact, their influence on the tribespeople was subtle yet profound. The most noticeable change was that everyone’s sleeping hours were pushed later. At night, people had more time to learn other skills or finish up unfinished tasks.

The overall resting time of the Xia Wang tribe was shorted. Some people lost track of time, learning directly at the magic academy until it was time to guard the city, while others followed carpenters to the wood processing factory to learn furniture-making. There were even those who intended to cultivate both magic and martial skills, spending their days at the magic academy and their nights at the military training grounds.

The learning efficiency of the tribe members significantly improved. As time went on, they gradually discovered that the magical electric tower was far more powerful than they had imagined. This was because, soon after, other items began appearing in their lives, such as self-heating electric heaters, kettles that could boil water on their own, and iron plates for grilling meat…

In short, those metals had merely changed shape, and they became capable of self-heating! Gradually, the machinery at the wood processing factory started to move on its own, causing the carpenters to be startled for a while before they quickly adapted to this more convenient and efficient method of wood processing.

Some simple and easy-to-make furniture made the tribespeople’s lives even more convenient, and everyone found themselves in a state of overwhelming happiness every day.

Shu Bao also did not expect Tesla to be so thoughtful, having researched such practical items without even being told. As the blueprints unlocked one by one, the small tribe increasingly took on a modern vibe.

The changes in the Xia Wang tribe on that day left the spectators astonished. A large number of researchers flooded into the livestream, hoping to replicate the so-called Tesla electric tower of infinite energy, but not a single person succeeded.

“This is impossible! It violates the law of conservation of energy!”

“How could that thing generate electricity just by sitting there?”

“That electric tower, while called an electric tower, is actually more like an energy conversion tower that transforms all the natural energy nearby into stored electrical energy.”

…

The audience in the live stream watched the spectacle while the professionals focused on the essence of the matter. However, the true nature of the Tesla tower puzzled them; its structure was entirely beyond their existing scientific understanding.

In comparison to the bald scientists, the audience was much more straightforward and blunt. Some praised Shu Bao’s luck, while others believed that his development, which violated the laws of the times, would inevitably backfire.

However, at this moment, Shu Bao’s attention was no longer on the electric tower because he had been receiving messages from Ru Su one after another. He was happily organizing a team of flying magical beasts to retrieve the population of the base.

After completing the last technological task, the basic requirement for the next task was for the base population to reach five hundred people and have 125 wooden houses. Shu Bao did not want to cap the population this time; especially after the base acquired electricity, he needed to develop rapidly. Otherwise, when the weather warmed up, the Long tribe would surely come looking for them!

“Be careful on the road; not a single person can be left behind. If you see anyone else along the way, feel free to bring them back!” Shu Bao instructed the high priest leading the team.

“Rest assured, Lord Deity! I understand your intentions!” The high priest was well aware of Shu Bao’s thoughts and promised to fulfill the mission.

Thus, shortly after Ru Su left, another team set out from the base. This was just the first rescue team. Soon, there would be a second and a third rescue team. Shu Bao had also realized that during this transitional season, the number of wanderers outside was at its peak.

Whether for the purpose of rescuing people or developing the base, it was always a good thing to bring back more individuals. There were quite a few flying magical beasts in the bracelet space, so forming several rescue teams to search in the snow was feasible.

Within a month after Ru Su’s departure, the rescue teams had brought back nearly a hundred people. Fortunately, the wood processing factory in the tribe had been powered, and the machinery had been modified, greatly improving the efficiency of building wooden houses. Otherwise, those brought back might have ended up sleeping on the streets.

The individuals brought to the Xia Wang tribe were initially timid, bewildered, and even panicked because they could not comprehend what they saw. Why were there such tall buildings? Why could the people here ride on fierce beasts? Why was a mouse chasing a giant dragon?

Shu Bao put away the feather duster, gave up the chase after Yinzi, and worked hard to calm his emotions. He smiled kindly at the newcomers. “Hi! Welcome to the Xia Wang tribe. We will provide you with food and shelter. Please rest assured; we do not eat human flesh.”

The crowd, “…”

Although they found it somewhat frightening, they had no choice but to stay since they were on the verge of starving to death.

Soon, they were glad they made this decision because they discovered that the Xia Wang tribe was the tribe of the gods, filled with incredible things. They even learned that they could possess magical abilities through studying!

They had never known that the world could be so magical, so beautiful. For the first time, they realized how special they were. Just as the deity had said, each of them was unique!

As they shed their weak bodies in the Xia Wang tribe, winter snow melted, and all things revived, they were filled with fighting spirit, ready to welcome the new year.

After the snow melted, the first thing Shu Bao did was expand the tribe’s territory. The increase in the tribe’s population had made the living areas crowded. Considering that there would be even more people and buildings in the future, expansion was inevitable.

What Shu Bao did not expect was that Tesla was also very interested in participating in the base planning. According to his suggestions, the base expanded toward the direction of the river and the flatter areas. Furthermore, Tesla casually provided Shu Bao with a design for a water tower!

Yes, after achieving electrical freedom, Tesla had already set out to attain water freedom. This expansion meant that the base would undergo a significant transformation because they needed to construct underground water channels.

“I’m very skilled at underground work; don’t worry, I know how to dig!” When it came to digging holes and pits, Shu Bao felt that no one in the base was more professional than he was. With full confidence, he made a guarantee. Tesla nodded in agreement and then turned back to dive into the research center.

Shu Bao immediately jumped up and dove underground to examine the soil conditions beneath the base. Occasionally, he would push up a small mound of dirt that popped up to the surface to study the layout above.

After Shu Bao finished his inspection and jumped out from the dirt pile, he brushed off the soil that clung to him and said, “Earth mages, follow me; we’re going to dig pits! Metal mages, bring some metal to start making pipes. It needs to be corrosion-resistant metal. Water mages and fire mages, work together and heat up more water for bathing.”

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