Aint Translations

IMT Chapter 74: What's Wrong with That?

On Mount Changqing in Chengping Prefecture.

Atop the mountain, an old man opened his eyes.

In mortal dynasties, some officials possessed spiritual roots and could cultivate.

Those cultivating officials who did many good deeds during their lifetimes and were revered by the people could, after death, be worshipped by the people in temples and be canonized by the emperor as mountain, water, and river gods.

Unless the dynasty collapsed and the mountains and rivers changed hands, these mountain, water, and river gods could exist indefinitely.

Of course, under normal circumstances, most officials wouldn't choose this path.

Because no matter what, reincarnation symbolized new hope. After several reincarnations, one might ascend to the Great Dao but if you became a mountain, water, or river god, you would be bound to the dynasty.

And after the dynasty's collapse, you would perish completely, with no possibility of reincarnation.

Looking at the entire world, even sects couldn't exist forever, let alone the ever-changing mortal dynasties but some officials were still willing to become mountain, water, and river gods.

Because who could say for certain what would happen in future lives?

Perhaps they might perish in their second life.

Moreover, some officials truly dedicated themselves to the people and couldn't bear to abandon them.

This old man named Wei Yuan was the mountain god of Mount Changqing in the Qi Kingdom.

Wei Yuan looked toward a nearby stream.

In the stream, a white giant python was charging toward the Dragon-Slaying Sword hanging beneath an arched bridge.

The Dragon-Slaying Sword flew out, slashing toward the white giant python's body.

"Hiss!"

The white giant python's body was cut with several bloody marks by the long sword.

"Clang!"

The Dragon-Slaying Sword seemed enraged and stabbed toward the giant python's forehead.

However, she swung her long tail, sending the Dragon-Slaying Sword flying to embed itself in a rock on the shore.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Bai Ruxue hurriedly passed through the arched bridge and swam toward Siming Lake.

"This giant python has good talent."

Wei Yuan stroked his beard and nodded but this was only the first trial.

The Dragon-Slaying Swords weren't limited to just this one.

Bai Ruxue swam past the arched bridge and looked back. That Dragon-Slaying Sword indeed hadn't followed.

Xiao Mo was right, just pass each trial one by one and swim forward.

Swimming through Sixian Stream, Bai Ruxue successfully entered Siming Lake.

When Bai Ruxue soaked in the waters of Siming Lake, she felt the scales on her body gradually heating up, and the blood in her body constantly surging.

Moreover, her body seemed to be gradually growing larger, and four positions on her abdomen seemed like something was about to grow out.

Bai Ruxue remembered the lessons Xiao Mo had given her before and knew she was undergoing ancestral regression.

At each stage, her body would evolve partially toward that of a flood dragon.

When she entered the sea, she would transform into a flood dragon, also called a potential dragon. Then, as long as she survived the Nine Dragons Mysterious Thunder Tribulation, she could obtain the Dragon Thunder Liquid.

Taking a deep breath of water, Bai Ruxue passed through Siming Lake and swam into the Chunsong River.

"Why is this snake so eager in its tribulation?" Wei Yuan said in surprise.

He wasn't unfamiliar with snake clan tribulations.

Usually, snake clans would rest for a period after passing each trial.

This was the first time he had seen a white python so anxious to undergo tribulation.

"Forget it, this official should also make a move."

Wei Yuan shook his head, stopped overthinking, and prepared to intercept and kill this white python.

Admittedly, this white python seemed relatively gentle in temperament, not like other evil snakes that caused floods and devastation to all living beings on both shores.

However, if he slayed this snake within his territory, her corpse would nourish thousands of li, which would be far more beneficial than the later dragon rain.

"Rumble!"

When Bai Ruxue entered the Chunsong River, raindrops as large as beans poured down, and thunder continued roaring in the sky.

The waters of the Chunsong River kept surging.

Massive waves crashed against Bai Ruxue's body.

Although Bai Ruxue was clearly swimming downstream, the river water flowed backward, preventing Bai Ruxue from continuing forward.

In Chunsong Town, every household closed their doors and stayed inside.

Everyone watched the lightning and thunder in the sky, watched these violent raindrops.

Each person was startled, as if the world had reached its end.

"Mother, why is today's rain so heavy?"

A little girl with pigtails nestled in her mother's arms.

From childhood to now, this was the first time she had seen such heavy rain.

"Mother doesn't know either." The young beautiful woman shook her head and gently patted her daughter's back.

"Mother, Grandfather Wang said that heavy rain would bring floods. Will we be in trouble?" the little girl asked anxiously.

"No, we won't." The girl's father answered. "Our Chunsong River, over ten years ago, old Prime Minister Xiao personally supervised the river regulation and built the Chunsong Weir. Although the rain is heavy, it can withstand it. Moreover, the county magistrate has already taken officials and soldiers there. Don't worry, little one."

"Oh."

The little girl nodded.

The little girl didn't understand what her father was talking about but the little girl knew that old Prime Minister Xiao was very capable. It was because of old Prime Minister Xiao that Chunsong County became fertile land, and she could have enough to eat every year.

At Chunhe Weir, the county magistrate had already brought two thousand officials and soldiers transferred from the prefecture, carrying bags of earth and moving back and forth, prepared for battle.

"It's thanks to these projects left by old Prime Minister Xiao!"

Looking at the surging river water, the Chunsong County magistrate sighed inwardly.

Otherwise, this torrential rain would really have washed away his official hat.

"Speaking of which, how did the prefecture governor know there would be torrential rain these days?" the Chunsong County magistrate wondered, stroking his chin.

"Sir, look!"

At this moment, a county assistant beside him shouted.

The Chunsong County magistrate raised his head and saw a white python over twelve zhang long rising from within the Chunsong River!

Thunder flashed, illuminating that enormous snake head.

"My goodness!"

The Chunsong County magistrate was so frightened he fell to the ground.

In the next moment, the Dragon-Slaying Sword and Dragon-Binding Locks under the Chunsong River Bridge flew out.

Everyone saw two phantom-like old men appear.

Mountain and river fortune and people's incense offerings swirled around them.

The two respectively grasped a Dragon-Slaying Sword and Dragon-Binding Locks, stepping through the air toward that giant snake.

The two old men were respectively the Chunsong River god, Gai Sanqiu, and the Mount Changqing mountain god, Wei Yuan.

"Evil creature! Don't be arrogant, we've come to capture you!"

Gai Sanqiu and Wei Yuan manifested dharma forms over twenty zhang tall and attacked Bai Ruxue.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Just as Bai Ruxue was preparing to face the enemy, an old man's coughing sound spread throughout heaven and earth.

"Roar!"

In an instant, an ink-colored long dragon thirty zhang in length knocked the river god and mountain god to the ground.

An old man in a blue shirt appeared in the air, looking calmly at the mountain and river gods.

"Xiao Mo!" Gai Sanqiu stood up, recognized the visitor's appearance, and said angrily, "You are a human sage of the mortal world, holding the position of prime minister, yet you're helping an evil creature walk the river!"

Xiao Mo raised his head, hands clasped behind his back, rain soaking his blue shirt.

Between heaven and earth, only the old man's calm voice was heard, "What's wrong with that?"

[NEXT CHAPTER]

IMT Chapter 73: A Mere Mortal with a Lifespan of Less than a Hundred Years!

These twenty-plus rogue cultivators had originally been searching for opportunities in a nearby ruin but when they had just emerged from the cave, they felt that surge of towering demonic energy.

They looked toward the place where thunder clouds were densely gathered, not expecting that there would actually be a snake clan undergoing tribulation.

Moreover, the opponent had just begun tribulation and already caused such celestial phenomena, which indicated that this snake had exceptional talent and even showed signs of ancestral regression.

Rogue cultivators were already accustomed to living on the edge of a blade.

Facing this tribulation-undergoing python, even though they knew the opponent's strength was formidable, they still had to try!

After all, every part of a tribulation-undergoing python's body was treasure!

If they waited any longer and were noticed by others, this python might not necessarily belong to them.

So they discussed and decided to simply go together to hunt this python, kill it, and then divide it equally among themselves.

However, contrary to their expectations, before they had even reached that lake, an old man blocked their path.

"Does this old gentleman have business with us?"

A Nascent Soul early-stage rogue cultivator named Guo Xiudan stepped forward and respectfully bowed to Xiao Mo.

Guo Xiudan examined this old man.

He didn't sense any spiritual power flowing within the other party. In comparison, what he sensed was dense mountain and river fortune.

"This is an official of the Qi Kingdom, and his rank is not low."

Guo Xiudan made this judgment.

He just wasn't clear about what this Qi Kingdom official meant.

Why had he suddenly targeted their group?

Xiao Mo bowed to them in return, "The snake walking the river is someone important to this old man. I wonder if you gentlemen could show mercy?"

A cultivator named Chen Ji chuckled, "Old gentleman, as a high official of the Qi Kingdom, you're pleading for a snake clan. This doesn't conform to your Qi Kingdom's rules, does it?"

Another cultivator said, "When it causes floods and disasters, won't your Qi Kingdom's people cry out in suffering? We're helping your Qi Kingdom."

"She is kind-hearted and will surely control herself when walking the river. Moreover, her river-walking route has various water conservancy works sufficient to cope. Furthermore, this old man has already notified all prefectures and counties to prepare in advance."

Xiao Mo explained patiently.

"So this time, there's no need to trouble you all to take action."

Guo Xiudan frowned and stopped being polite with this old fellow,

"Old gentleman, you also know that we rogue cultivators are different from those cultivators of great sects. Everything we have is won with our lives. This python crossing the river is a great opportunity for us. How can we let it pass?

I'm afraid we cannot agree with you, old gentleman. Please make way."

"I'm afraid this old man cannot yield." Xiao Mo shook his head.

Guo Xiudan frowned, "Does the old gentleman think he can block all of us?"

Xiao Mo sighed softly, "Let's try."

The moment Xiao Mo's words fell, Guo Xiudan drew his long bow, and a golden arrow feather condensed on the bowstring.

Guo Xiudan's fingers released, the bowstring twanged, and a cold light shot straight toward Xiao Mo's heart!

The entire movement was swift as a startled swan, taking less than half a breath.

However, just when the arrow tip was only an inch away from Xiao Mo's chest, it suddenly froze, as if it had hit an invisible barrier, suspended in midair.

Xiao Mo lightly brushed his sleeve, and that arrow was swept away like a candle in the wind, instantly transforming into specks of spiritual light and dissipating without a trace.

"Please leave, everyone." Xiao Mo said slowly.

"Mere mortal!" Guo Xiudan completely revealed his contemptuous side toward mortals.

So what if the opponent had mountain and river fortune protection?

In the end, he was just a common mortal with a lifespan of less than a hundred years!

Guo Xiudan drew his bow again, and layers of light rings suddenly bloomed in the void behind him!

Countless golden arrows emerged from the light rings, their tips gleaming, ready to strike.

The moment the bowstring vibrated, over a hundred brilliant golden rainbows tore through the air, bombarding Xiao Mo like a meteor shower.

At the same time, the surrounding rogue cultivators also erupted into action.

In an instant, raging flames, ice shards, poisonous miasma, dark thunder...

Various spiritual lights carrying destructive auras crashed down like an overwhelming tide.

No probing, no mercy left.

Rogue cultivators always acted like this.

Even if they looked down on their opponent in their hearts, they would still use their full strength, like a lion hunting a rabbit.

"Why must it be like this?"

Xiao Mo sighed softly and stepped forward with his toe.

In an instant, ink-colored mountain and river fortune swirled out from beneath his shoe, spreading like ripples, then surging together like hundreds of rivers returning to the sea!

In the blink of an eye, an ink-colored long dragon condensed from pure mountain and river fortune had coiled around his body, its scales and claws fierce and lifelike.

The moment the ink dragon took shape, it raised its head and glared furiously at the attacking crowd, releasing a sky-shaking roar that split the air!

Half a tea time later, of the twenty-plus rogue cultivators, only Guo Xiudan remained.

He was severely injured all over, his tattered clothes covered in bloodstains.

At this moment, Guo Xiudan was pierced through the chest by the ink dragon's claw, suspended in midair.

"How is this possible..."

Guo Xiudan looked down at his pierced chest, his eyes full of disbelief.

He never would have thought that this old fellow's mountain and river fortune was so dense, even with the blessing of human incense offerings but it was too late for regret.

As Xiao Mo reached out and pointed at his forehead, a Nascent Soul realm cultivator instantly exploded into a blood mist.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

After dealing with twenty rogue cultivators, Xiao Mo coughed a few times, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and his complexion looked even more aged.

The mountain and river fortune he had just consumed in casting spells returned to heaven and earth and couldn't be replenished in a short time.

Official arts were like this.

An official could exhaust all accumulated mountain and river fortune in a single day but to fully recover would require several months or even years.

"The remaining mountain and river fortune should be enough..."

Xiao Mo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and took a deep breath.

"Rumble!"

"Splash splash splash!"

The thunder in the sky grew more intense, and the rain became heavier, like a downpour.

Xiao Mo looked toward the direction of Ganyue Lake.

Ruxue had already swum out of Ganyue Lake and was flowing downstream along a small stream toward Siming Lake.

When Bai Ruxue left Ganyue Lake, she felt as though she had become thicker and longer, her spiritual power even more vast, and the scales on her body seemed to be transforming but Bai Ruxue didn't care about these things.

She only wanted to swim forward with all her might, quickly swim into the North Sea, and obtain the Dragon Thunder Liquid through tribulation.

As long as she obtained the Dragon Thunder Liquid, Xiao Mo wouldn't leave her.

When Bai Ruxue swam to the latter half of this stream, she saw an arched bridge.

Beneath the arched bridge hung an ancient bronze-colored long sword.

Bai Ruxue focused her mind.

Xiao Mo had mentioned this, it was the Dragon-Slaying Sword!

The closer Bai Ruxue got, the more violently the Dragon-Slaying Sword trembled, as if it might break free from its rope at any moment and stab toward Bai Ruxue.

On this Dragon-Slaying Sword, Bai Ruxue sensed the blood of her kin.

It was as if the remnant souls of her kin were constantly warning her not to approach.

That natural sense of restraint made Bai Ruxue want to retreat, her body couldn't help but tremble.

In the past, this woman who was even afraid of thunder would probably have retreated but in her mind, the phantom of a man appeared.

"Xiao Mo..."

Bai Ruxue steadied her mind and charged toward the arched bridge.

"Clang!"

The Dragon-Slaying Sword awakened, broke free from its rope, and slashed toward the white python.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

IMT Chapter 72: But Can She Really Let Go?

"Rumble!"

Thunder after thunder echoed from the sky, as if it would shatter the entire firmament.

Dark clouds continuously gathered above Ganyue Lake, as if the thick black clouds might press down from the heavens at any moment.

The daylight had already been obscured by the dark clouds.

Each bolt of lightning that tore through the sky was like a dagger slicing through the night fabric.

"Rumble!"

Another thunderclap resounded through the clouds.

In Locust Tree Village, the closest to Ganyue Lake, women hurriedly collected their laundry while men drove their chickens and ducks back to their pens.

"Wah wah wah wah!"

Babies, startled by the thunder, wailed in their mothers' arms.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, it's alright, it's alright."

A young mother comforted the child in her embrace, holding the baby tightly in her arms. She raised her head and looked through the window toward the direction of Ganyue Lake.

It had been clear and bright not long ago, so why was there suddenly thunder?

Before long, a gentle drizzle began falling from the sky.

"Village Chief, the weather was fine just now. Why is it suddenly raining?"

In the village, a sturdy man asked his village chief what was happening.

He had originally planned to go to the river to catch a couple of fish, but now it seemed he would have to delay.

The village chief stroked his graying beard, gazed at the cloud-covered Ganyue Lake, and spoke with deep meaning, "Looking at this, I'm afraid there's a snake about to walk the river."

"Walk the river?" The sturdy man was startled. "Walking the river brings heavy rain, heavy rain brings great floods. Should we call the villagers to take shelter?"

"No need." The village chief shook his head. "Previously, that Prime Minister Xiao came here and built some waterways, dredged some river channels. The water from Ganyue Lake won't overflow."

"That's right. I also saw snake clans walk the river when I was young," the village chief said, leaning on his walking stick. "But somehow, this snake's tribulation feels different. The commotion is also quite big."

Ganzhou’s Moon God Sect.

The Moon God Sect was an established sect in Ganzhou, located seven hundred li away from Ganyue Lake. The sect master was a great cultivator at the Jade Simplicity realm.

On this day, Master Ye of the Moon God Sect was sitting in meditation and self-observation in his courtyard.

Suddenly, Master Ye sensed something and abruptly opened his eyes.

In the next moment, the courtyard was empty. Master Ye had appeared at the peak of the Moon God Sect's highest mountain. He gathered spiritual power in his eyes and gazed at the thick dark clouds seven hundred li away.

"Sect Master, there's a snake clan undergoing tribulation in the direction of Ganyue Lake."

In less than half a tea time, five elders appeared beside Master Ye. An elder named Long Biao spoke.

Elder Wu Xi stepped forward, frowning, "Ordinary snake clans that have just entered the lake shouldn't cause such a big commotion. This snake clan has just begun walking the river, yet the thunder tribulation is gathering but not striking. It's truly rare."

Another elder spoke, "This python must have ancestral characteristics. Its entire body is treasure."

"The Sect Master is now at the peak of Jade Simplicity realm, about to break through to the Immortal realm. This snake's demon core will surely help the Sect Master greatly!" another one-eyed elder said excitedly.

The others nodded as well.

If the Sect Master advanced to the Immortal realm, it would be extremely beneficial for the Moon God Sect's development.

A sect with an Immortal realm cultivator presiding would be worry-free for at least ten thousand years!

"Heh heh heh."

Master Ye chuckled.

"Snake clans walking the river to transform into dragons is stealing the creation of heaven and earth. Wherever they pass, they will inevitably cause floods. If we take action, we are also acting on behalf of heaven.

However, there's no rush now.

This snake has just begun walking the river, and its strength is at its peak. Why not let some ignorant rogue cultivators go and die first, exhausting its strength, then we can make our move.

Moreover, when this snake reaches the river and its bloodline gradually purifies, its demon core will transform into a dragon core, which will be most precious.

Go and prepare well. When the time comes, this snake's flesh and blood will also nourish you all."

"Yes, Sect Master!"

Atop Clear Breeze Mountain.

Only fifty li away from Ganyue Lake.

Two women wearing Daoist robes stood at the mountain peak, looking in one direction.

"Master," Li Sisi raised her head, looking at her master beside her, and asked worriedly, "Can Miss Bai really successfully walk the river and enter the sea?"

"Successfully?"

Fu Chen slowly shook her head.

"Snake clans transforming into dragons, hundreds of birds becoming phoenixes, if it were successful, so many demon cultivators wouldn't have perished, let alone the fact that Ruxue has just entered the lake and already caused such celestial phenomena. Do you think those sects won't notice?"

Li Sisi was speechless.

Fu Chen continued, "To use their words, snake clans walking the river and undergoing tribulation is stealing the creation of heaven and earth, causing devastation to the people along the way.

In reality, this is somewhat exaggerated.

Which snake clan capable of walking the river is foolish?

The places they choose to walk the river have certainly been surveyed multiple times, striving to minimize the impact on mortal people to avoid attracting more karmic consequences that would affect their own tribulation.

So when snake clans walk the river, unless they are evil-hearted,

Otherwise, most snake clans walking the river at most damage property, rarely harming people.

Moreover, everything has two sides.

After snake clans walk the river, they will bring down a rain of dragon fortune. Ten years after they pass, where won't there be favorable weather, fragrant rice for thousands of li, and outstanding talents?

Those cultivators speak of eliminating harm for the people.

In reality, do they truly care about ordinary people in their hearts?

This is merely their excuse. They don't care about mortal people, they only care about their own gains and losses."

"But Master, although Miss Bai's river walk is difficult, hasn't Mr. Xiao's preparations over all these years been just for this one day?" Being told this by her master, Li Sisi became even more nervous.

"Yes."

Fu Chen looked in one direction.

"Forty-eight years, everything he's done is not only for the people of the world, but also for her.

So, Xiao Mo, you think that with your death, time will eventually let her let go.

But can she really let go?"

In Locust Tree Village, the rain grew heavier.

The working adults and children playing in the fields all hurriedly ran home to avoid the rain.

At the village entrance, an old man sitting on a stone stood up.

He patted the dust off his body, used the ground-shrinking technique, stepped out, and instantly disappeared from his spot.

A child looked at the empty stone, blinking his big eyes curiously.

Where did that old grandfather go? How did he suddenly disappear?

At the same time, many cultivators sensed the towering demonic energy and terrifying thunder tribulation from Ganyue Lake, knowing it was a snake clan undergoing tribulation. They all came to hunt, trying to compete for this opportunity.

Most of these cultivators were rogue cultivators.

The biggest characteristics of rogue cultivators were fearlessness of death, unscrupulous methods, and greed.

Now, with such an opportunity, even though they knew there was danger, even though they knew this snake might be targeted by other sects, they just couldn't control the greed in their hearts.

What if?

What if this snake clan walking the river was hunted by them?

Therefore, many rogue cultivators gathered together to jointly hunt this great snake walking the river.

Just when a group of twenty rogue cultivators was only ten li away from Ganyue Lake, an old man wearing a blue robe blocked their path.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

IMT Chapter 71: Ruxue Has Begun Her River Journey

Xiao Mo did not immediately rush to Ganzhou where Ganyue Lake was located.

He clearly understood that once he left, he could never return.

So Xiao Mo went to the tombstones of the village chief and Aunt Chen, and for the last time helped clean the weeds in front of their graves, placed some fruits and fresh flowers before the tombstones, lit incense, and bowed to the village chief and Aunt Chen:

"Village Chief, Aunt Chen, I'm leaving. I didn't have time to see you both before, please don't blame me. However, it won't be long before I come down too, and then I'll personally apologize to you both."

After inserting the incense in front of the village chief and Aunt Chen's tombstones, Xiao Mo picked up a clean cloth and gently wiped the dust from the tombstones.

After doing all this, Xiao Mo finally walked step by step out of Stone Bridge Village.

"Good morning, Grandpa Xiao."

Two little girls greeted Xiao Mo.

The girls were named Shen Lili and Hong Hui.

Bai Ruxue had previously treated them to osmanthus cakes.

Xiao Mo smiled and nodded, "Good morning."

"Grandpa Xiao, why didn't we see Sister Bai yesterday?" Hong Hui asked curiously.

"Sister Bai has some matters and temporarily left the village. She'll be back after a while," Xiao Mo said.

"I see." A trace of disappointment flashed in Hong Hui's eyes. She had wanted to go play with Sister Bai.

"Is Grandpa Xiao going out too?" Shen Lili saw that Grandpa Xiao was carrying a bundle.

"Yes, your Sister Bai might encounter some trouble alone, so I'm going to help your Sister Bai."

"Then Grandpa Xiao, be careful on the road, and come back early with Sister Bai~"

"Alright," Xiao Mo rubbed their heads. "Grandpa is going now."

"Goodbye, Grandpa Xiao."

"Goodbye."

After saying farewell to the two little girls, Xiao Mo walked out of the village.

"I wish to ride the wind and return."

Xiao Mo recited a line of poetry. A gentle breeze swept up Xiao Mo's body, carrying him aloft and disappearing into the horizon.

Although Xiao Mo had very little life left, as the Prime Minister of one of the ten great human dynasties and recipient of countless offerings from families, Xiao Mo's strength was comparable to the Ascension realm through his mountain and river fortune.

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Mo arrived at Qingshan City and met with Wang Ying.

Wang Ying had also become a white-haired old lady.

Xiao Mo also met Wang Ying's daughter, Zhang Qianqian.

Zhang Qianqian had long since married, and even her children had grown up.

Wang Ying's grandson was named Zhang Xuemo, a name Wang Ying had chosen. He was now twelve years old.

Xuemo, as the name suggested, Wang Ying hoped her grandson could learn from Big Brother Xiao.

Xiao Mo examined this young descendant and found he was indeed promising material for scholarship.

Before leaving, Xiao Mo patted Zhang Xuemo's head three times, giving him some literary fortune as a gift to the younger generation.

How much of this literary fortune he could grasp depended entirely on himself.

"Grandma, isn't Grandpa Xiao staying for dinner?" Zhang Xuemo asked Wang Ying.

"No," Wang Ying shook her head. "Grandpa Xiao has important things to do."

"When will Grandpa Xiao come again?" Although they had only met once, Zhang Xuemo felt that Grandpa Xiao was very kind.

Wang Ying looked outside the courtyard, "Grandpa Xiao is going to a very, very distant place and won't come back anymore."

Liusi Prefecture Governor's residence.

Governor Liu Sanyue was drinking tea and reading in his residence.

Liu Sanyue was Xiao Mo's student.

All of Xiao Mo's students shared a common trait: they all liked to study water conservancy maps and personally engage in farming.

Initially, Liu Sanyue had served as governor in a prefecture in Qingzhou but three years ago, Liu Sanyue was transferred by Xiao Mo to Liusi Prefecture in Yizhou.

Although Liu Sanyue didn't know why his teacher had done this, he felt it didn't matter.

He would serve wherever he was appointed.

"Master! Master!"

Just as Liu Sanyue was studying the Hundred Rivers Map of Liusi Prefecture, an old servant rushed in hurriedly.

"Master! An honored... honored..."

"Speak properly," Liu Sanyue glanced at the old servant.

"Master! An honored guest has arrived!"

"Today is a rest day. I'm not seeing anyone."

Liu Sanyue calmly sipped his tea and continued studying the Hundred Rivers Map.

Liusi Prefecture had many water conservancy projects left by his teacher.

He was wondering if he could make further improvements and renovations.

"Master," the old servant said tearfully, "The visitor is an old gentleman who says his name is Xiao Mo..."

"Mm, mm?" Liu Sanyue suddenly stood up. "And you're still reporting instead of immediately receiving him!"

Liu Sanyue thrust the Hundred Rivers Map into the old servant's arms and hurriedly ran to welcome the guest.

Arriving at the courtyard gate and seeing the white-haired elder, Liu Sanyue quickly stepped forward and bowed, "This student kept Teacher waiting. Please punish me, Teacher."

"You're over forty years old, and I should still beat you with a stick?" Xiao Mo smiled. "Get up."

"Thank you, Teacher. Teacher, please come sit in the courtyard." Liu Sanyue supported Xiao Mo, wanting to enter the courtyard.

Xiao Mo shook his head, "No, I'm pressed for time and won't have tea with you. There's a favor I need you to help with."

"Teacher, please speak directly! This student will do everything in his power!" Liu Sanyue said solemnly.

"Within five days, prohibit fishing in Siming Lake, allow no one to approach, and properly relocate the nearby people. During these days, provide government compensation to any people whose income is affected."

Xiao Mo spoke word by word, clearly and systematically.

Listening to his teacher's words, Liu Sanyue was very puzzled.

From his teacher's words, it sounded like floods were coming, but it wasn't rainy season recently.

"Have you remembered everything I've said?" Xiao Mo asked.

"Teacher, rest assured, this student will handle it immediately!" Although Liu Sanyue didn't know what his teacher intended to do, he would simply follow orders.

"Don't worry. Just make the preparations. Nothing serious will happen," Xiao Mo smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Yes, Teacher." Only now did Liu Sanyue truly feel at ease.

His teacher would never lie.

After Xiao Mo gave his final instructions, he turned and flew away from Liusi Prefecture.

Throughout this day, Xiao Mo used his mountain and river fortune to visit county magistrates, governors, and even prefects one by one.

They were all Xiao Mo's students.

After hearing their teacher's requests, they hurriedly acted according to his wishes.

Around Siming Lake, Chunsong River, Luo River, and Yunya River.

Those who needed to be evacuated were evacuated, and those who needed to prepare did so.

Actually, in Xiao Mo's countless calculations and years of preparation, Ruxue's river journey would have almost no impact on the people.

His actions were more about preventing any unforeseen circumstances.

The third day of the third month.

Early in the morning.

Xiao Mo arrived at a village thirty miles from Ganyue Lake.

At the same time, beside that clear, emerald-green lake.

An extremely beautiful woman in a white dress slowly set down her bundle.

The woman transformed, becoming a white giant python six zhang long, and swam into the lake.

"BOOM!"

A deep, prolonged rumble spread from the sky.

Xiao Mo raised his head, looking at the gradually gathering thunder clouds thirty miles away.

Ruxue had begun her river journey.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

HUN Chapter 120: Accidental Murder!

At the same time, she pulled out a compact Ruger LCP pistol from under the sofa and decisively returned fire in the motorcycle man's direction!

The bullet hit the wall next to the motorcycle man, sending wood chips flying!

The motorcycle man was also startled by this sudden counterattack and immediately dodged behind a large bookshelf.

"You damn bitch!"

He cursed angrily, "You think you can take me on with that little toy? Hand over the hard drive quickly, and I can let you die a bit more painlessly!"

Emily hid behind the sofa, breathing heavily. She knew she only had a few bullets left and had to find an opportunity.

She leaned out again and fired "Bang! Bang!" two shots toward the bookshelf, trying to hit the target.

The motorcycle man immediately returned fire from behind the bookshelf, shooting twice at the sofa!

"Click! Click!"

After the gunshots, both fell silent simultaneously. They were both out of bullets!

The motorcycle man immediately crouched down and began pulling a spare magazine from his pocket.

This was it!

Lin Yu'an had been waiting for this moment!

Like a leopard descending from above, he didn't take the stairs but leaped directly from the second-floor railing!

"Boom!"

His superhuman physical abilities, carrying tremendous impact force, crashed down on the motorcycle man who was reloading his magazine the instant he landed!

The motorcycle man let out a muffled grunt, his entire body sent flying, and both his gun and magazine flew from his hands.

Before he could react, Lin Yu'an quickly followed up and yanked off his helmet!

"Bang! Bang!"

Two powerful front kicks precisely struck the motorcycle man's temples and jaw! But he held back his strength slightly, knowing how strong his golden finger-enhanced physical abilities were! He was afraid one kick might cause a brain hemorrhage.

The motorcycle man didn't even have time to scream before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed like a puddle of mud, completely unconscious.

The living room instantly returned to deathly silence, the air filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Lin Yu'an looked at the motorcycle man lying like a puddle of mud and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

He flexed his wrists, which were somewhat sore from the sudden burst of action, preparing to check on Emily's condition.

Suddenly, a crisis sense stronger than when the motorcycle man had pointed a gun at him earlier struck like an ice-cold tide from behind!

He spun around abruptly, his pupils instantly contracting.

Emily had somehow picked up the silenced Glock pistol that the motorcycle man had dropped on the floor.

The black muzzle was pointing steadily at his chest across a coffee table!

"Don't move!"

Emily's voice was ice-cold and alert. Though her breathing was rapid, her hands holding the gun were steady as rock.

"Hey, calm down! I came to help you!"

Lin Yu'an immediately raised both hands, making the internationally recognized gesture indicating he had no hostile intent.

His muscles instantly tensed, ready to respond to any sudden situation.

"Help me?"

A cold, mocking smile appeared at the corner of Emily's mouth, her eyes full of scrutiny and suspicion.

"What a performance. A perfect hero-saves-the-beauty act. First appearing just when my car broke down, showing off your repair skills."

"Then appearing like a divine savior at my most dangerous moment! Are you two working together? Your ultimate goal is still that hard drive, isn't it!"

Lin Yu'an cursed internally. He really shouldn't have meddled in others' affairs!

Lin Yu'an's golden finger-enhanced neural reaction speed had already made him act!

With his instinctive danger prediction, he made a lateral leap far beyond normal human imagination, lunging hard toward the nearby sofa!

Then, before Emily could react, he grabbed a water glass from the table and accurately hit her gun-holding hand. The gun flew away.

Emily only saw a blur before a massive, oppressive force crashed into her.

Her entire body fell backward, landing heavily on the soft carpet!

Before she could react, Lin Yu'an had pinned her down with his powerful body.

His movements were lightning-fast. One hand firmly gripped Emily's gun-holding wrist and twisted outward with force. "Click!" The pistol fell from her hand and he kicked it away.

His other hand swiftly restrained both her hands behind her back, while his knee firmly pressed down on her constantly struggling legs.

"Let me go! You bastard!" Emily struggled violently, trying to knee him and twist her body.

But under Lin Yu'an's absolute physical suppression, all her resistance seemed futile.

Lin Yu'an held her immobilized, unable to move, then leaned down. His hot breath almost touched her ear as he growled in a voice suppressing anger.

"Can you calmly listen to me now! I saw that motorcycle rider following you and felt something was wrong, so I followed! Your car was sabotaged on purpose."

"That relay connector terminal was corroded by electrolytic solution with a catalyst, that's why it was intermittent! I jumped in from the second floor and saw everything, same as you!"

Feeling the hot breath by her ear, the man's unquestionable tone, and the helpless feeling of being completely physically restrained and unable to move, Emily's struggles finally gradually stopped.

Her chest rose and fell violently, the hostility in her eyes gradually replaced by reason and contemplation.

"I'll trust you for now, but I still need to call the police! If you're really not a bad person, please help me call the police."

She panted, her voice somewhat hoarse, and her face flushed red from lack of oxygen and embarrassed anger.

"Also... can you get off me first?"

Only then did Lin Yu'an realize how inappropriate their position was.

Emily was only wearing a close-fitting thin cashmere sweater and yoga pants at home, and during the recent struggle, her clothing had become disheveled.

Her originally pale face showed an unusual flush, and her eyes became somewhat meaningful.

Lin Yu'an immediately felt embarrassed and quickly got up from her as if burned, standing aside.

Emily also tidied her clothes and slowly sat up from the floor.

The awkward atmosphere didn't last long as they began discussing how to handle this mess.

"Who is he?" Lin Yu'an pointed at the unconscious motorcycle man.

"My ex-boyfriend's business partner."

Emily's expression became cold again, "We once invested money in Bitcoin together. Later, Bitcoin prices rose dramatically."

"My ex-boyfriend then died in a car accident during a trip. The police said it was an accident, but I know it must have been him!"

"Let's call the police," Emily suggested.

"Armed home invasion with intent to murder. That's enough to put him away for life."

"Alright, I'll tie him up first to prevent him from fighting back if he wakes up."

Lin Yu'an agreed. He walked to the motorcycle man's side, looking for rope to bind him.

But after searching the room for a long time, he couldn't find suitable rope.

Lin Yu'an removed the belt from his waist, preparing to use it to bind the man's hands.

Just as he bent down, before the belt even touched the man's wrists, the previously unconscious man suddenly opened his eyes wide, his body springing up like a spring, and his right hand actually held a dagger!

He immediately stabbed toward Lin Yu'an! Lin Yu'an hadn't expected him to wake up so quickly! His earlier force had been too light!

But Lin Yu'an's reaction was faster! Without even thinking, he quickly dodged the dagger attack, and his instinctive right fist shot out like a cannonball!

This time he didn't deliberately control his strength, using full force to hammer heavily on the man's temple again!

"Bang!"

After a dull impact sound, the world became quiet.

The man's body stiffened, then collapsed like a noodle.

Soon Lin Yu'an realized something was wrong! The motorcycle man's body began to twitch slightly, and soon lost all breath...

Emily covered her mouth, letting out a suppressed cry of shock.

Lin Yu'an was also stunned. He looked at his own fist, then at the motionless corpse on the floor, and a chill rose from his feet.

He had killed someone! His uncontrolled strength was enough to reach professional fighter levels!

At this moment, countless solutions flashed through his mind. Calling the police was definitely out of the question! He had no legitimate reason for entering Emily's home and killing someone.

This would never hold up in court! He had a high probability of going to prison! So absolutely, absolutely could not call the police!

He looked at the corpse on the floor, then at the only witness beside him: Emily.

A cold killing intent uncontrollably rose from his heart! If... if he also...

Emily seemed to sense the suddenly extremely dangerous aura emanating from him. Her body instinctively shrank back, her eyes filled with fear, her hand unconsciously reaching for her own Ruger pistol not far away.

How could Lin Yu'an let her succeed?

He turned expressionlessly, pretending to draw a gun from his back waist, but actually with a thought, the already-loaded Glock 19 appeared in his hand.

The black muzzle instantly aimed at Emily!

"Don't move." His voice was colder than Alaska's frigid wind.

Emily's body completely froze.

Lin Yu'an stepped forward and used his own belt to bind Emily's hands behind her back, also tying her feet together.

Then he walked out the door, first storing that black dirt bike from the yard into his space, then taking out his Zongshen three-wheeler from his space, along with several meters of huge black plastic sheeting.

When he returned to the room with the plastic sheeting, Emily's eyes were filled with despair.

She watched Lin Yu'an spread the plastic sheeting in the center of the living room, trembling all over with fear.

She thought he was going to dispose of her and that corpse like trash.

Earlier when facing the motorcycle man, she still had the courage to resist because she felt he wouldn't really kill her before getting what he wanted.

But Lin Yu'an was different. He now had a reason to kill and silence witnesses!

"Don't kill me!" Emily's voice carried a sobbing tone, completely breaking down.

"Stan and I are friends! He even mentioned you to me! Said you were a good person!"

"For Stan's sake, and George's, please don't kill me!"

"I... I can give you money! The hard drive! The hard drive is under the fireplace! Just break open the floor tiles and you'll see it! It contains the private keys for 300 Bitcoins! I'll give you everything! Everything!"

She looked at Lin Yu'an, her eyes filled with pleading, "I can also do anything for you! Aren't you... aren't your hormones very active? I... I can help you..."

Lin Yu'an looked at her coldly. Hearing her mention Stan and George, the killing intent in his heart gradually receded.

He thought of their selfless help, of how they had repeatedly praised veterinarian Emily for helping them.

Moreover, he had originally come to check on Emily's situation for Stan and George's sake, which had caused him to meddle and get involved in this incident.

To some extent, Emily was indeed innocent. If he killed Emily now, he didn't know how he would face Stan and George in the future.

He just wanted a way to permanently tie the two of them together on the same boat, a once-and-for-all solution.

He dragged the corpse onto the plastic sheet, propped it up, and forced it into a kneeling position with hands behind its back.

Then he untied the belt binding Emily's hands and feet.

He picked up Emily's Ruger LCP pistol, which was already out of bullets, and Lin Yu'an loaded one.

Then he handed this gun to Emily.

"Do you want to live?" His voice carried no emotion.

Emily trembled and nodded.

"Then take it."

Lin Yu'an pressed the Ruger pistol into her hand, then took out his phone, turned on video recording, while pointing the Glock at Emily with his other hand.

"Aim at the back of his head and fire."

Emily looked at the cold gun in her hand, then at the corpse close at hand, falling into great fear and internal conflict.

She felt this man was a demon! A demon leading her step by step into the abyss!

"You have no choice, and I'm starting to lose patience," Lin Yu'an's voice was full of threat.

Then he released the safety on his pistol, further threatening Emily.

Finally, survival instinct overcame everything. Emily raised the gun and aimed at the back of the motorcycle man's head.

"Bang!"

A gunshot rang out, particularly piercing in the silent cabin. Because of the plastic sheet wrapping, blood didn't splatter on the floor.

Lin Yu'an put away his phone, satisfied with what he saw.

Now Emily also had blood on her hands. She had become an accomplice.

With this video as leverage, this woman could never cause any trouble again.

She collapsed powerlessly to the floor, the gun sliding from her hand onto the carpet. Her entire being seemed drained of all strength and soul.

Lin Yu'an remained unusually calm. He knew this wasn't the time for sentiment. Cleaning up the scene was the first priority.

He walked to the fireplace, found a heavy iron hammer from the tool rack, then came to the location Emily had mentioned.

He tapped the stone floor tiles with his foot and indeed heard a different hollow echo from below compared to other areas.

Without hesitation, he raised the iron hammer and slammed it down hard on that stone tile!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

After several hammer blows, the hard stone tile shattered into pieces.

He cleared away the rubble, revealing a layer of cement underneath. He used the hammer to break through the cement layer, and a metal box wrapped in oilcloth and very well sealed lay quietly there.

Lin Yu'an took out the box and weighed it. It wasn't light.

He didn't immediately open it but threw it aside first, then began dealing with the motorcycle man.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

HUN Chapter 119: Veterinarian Emily

"Hello?"

Emily took the initiative to speak, her voice clear and confident. She stood about ten meters away from Lin Yu'an, maintaining a safe social distance.

"Hello, Emily. I know about you."

Lin Yu'an didn't immediately approach, but remained where he was, responding in a friendly manner.

"I'm Lin Yu'an."

"Lin Yu'an..."

Emily's gaze quickly swept over the mountain of building materials, the huge greenhouse that had risen from the ground, and the completed foundation platform. A flash of undisguised surprise crossed her eyes.

She exclaimed, "Are you planning to build a fortress?"

"Just a home," Lin Yu'an smiled.

"Sorry for disturbing your work. Actually, I came to ask for help."

She somewhat helplessly pointed toward the highway direction, "My car broke down halfway. The fuel pump seems to have some problems, working intermittently. You're the closest to here, so I wanted to ask if you have any tools I could borrow."

Lin Yu'an replied without hesitation, "Of course. Do you need me to come take a look? I know a bit about mechanics."

"Really? That would be so appreciated!" A delighted smile appeared on Emily's face.

Lin Yu'an started his Zongshen three-wheeler, carrying Emily toward the highway.

After reaching the destination, Lin Yu'an jumped down and said to Emily, "Get in the car and try starting it."

Emily sat in the driver's seat and turned the key.

They could only hear the starter motor making "buzzing" sounds, but the engine could only struggle with "puff... puff..." sounds, accompanied by irregular shaking of the car body, ultimately failing to start.

"From this sound, the ignition or fuel supply system is most likely the problem," Lin Yu'an made a preliminary judgment.

He had Emily open the hood, and Subaru's characteristic horizontally opposed engine was neatly presented before them.

Lin Yu'an didn't rush to disassemble with tools. He first bent down and carefully examined the entire engine bay, his gaze sweeping over every component.

Soon, his eyes locked onto an extremely inconspicuous spot: a wire harness bundle connected to the fuel pump relay.

He pointed there and said to Emily, "Come look at this."

Emily curiously leaned forward and saw that on the corrugated tube wrapping the wire bundle at a bend, there was a very tiny cut that looked like it had been made by a sharp instrument. Without careful observation, it would never be noticed.

Lin Yu'an took a small knife from his tool bag and carefully split open that section of corrugated tube.

Inside, a key wire controlling the fuel pump's power supply had its insulation stripped for a small section, exposing the copper wire underneath.

On that exposed copper wire, there was a layer of extremely unnatural, lightly crystallized green corrosion.

"This is..." Emily's expression became serious.

"These are traces of accelerated corrosion by electrolytic solution," Lin Yu'an's voice also became low.

"Someone used a syringe or dropper to precisely drip a small amount of highly concentrated acidic or alkaline liquid onto this exposed cut."

"The liquid corroded the copper wire, causing poor contact, which is why your fuel pump was working intermittently."

His words made Emily's face change instantly.

This wasn't an accident. This was deliberate sabotage! And the technique was extremely professional and concealed.

"Can it be fixed?" There was a trace of calm in Emily's voice.

"Yes, it's just a small problem," Lin Yu'an's tone was very calm, as if handling a perfectly ordinary matter.

He took out his portable toolbox, working skillfully and quickly.

He first used small wire strippers to completely cut the corroded section of wire, then neatly stripped fresh copper wire from both ends.

Next, he took out a "heat-shrink butt connector" very common in North American auto repair, inserted the two copper wire segments into both ends of the connector, and secured them firmly with special crimping pliers.

Finally, he took out a lighter and evenly heated this small connector.

Under the flame's heat, the insulation sleeve on the connector's exterior began to shrink, and red sealant oozed from inside, perfectly and waterproof wrapping the entire connection point.

The entire process flowed smoothly and took less than five minutes.

"Alright, try it again," Lin Yu'an said calmly.

Emily took a deep breath, returned to the driver's seat, and nervously turned the key.

"Buzz... roar...!"

Accompanied by smooth starting sounds, Subaru's horizontally opposed engine was instantly awakened, emitting stable and powerful rumbling! All warning lights on the dashboard also went out.

"My God! You actually fixed it!"

Emily turned off the engine, got out of the car, and looked at Lin Yu'an with eyes full of admiration and more complex gratitude.

"I checked for ages earlier and completely missed the problem here."

"The perpetrator's technique was very professional, designed to make it look like ordinary electrical failure. You might need to be careful about your safety recently," Lin Yu'an said matter-of-factly while packing up his tools.

"Thank you so much, Lin!"

"You not only fixed my car but also... let me know the truth. If you have time, you're welcome to visit my veterinary clinic in town. I'll buy you a drink. My clinic is at the end of that fork road in town, the biggest log cabin there."

"Alright, definitely."

After Emily thanked him again, she started her Subaru Outback and drove toward town along the highway.

Lin Yu'an came to the roadside, thinking about how to transport the containers into the camp as well.

Just then, urgent motorcycle roaring sounds came from the distance, interrupting his thoughts.

A black, heavily modified dirt bike sped past on the Dalton Highway. The rider wore all-black riding gear and a full-face helmet, making their appearance unclear.

The motorcycle didn't pause at all, directly turning onto the fork road leading to Wiseman town.

The moment the motorcycle passed by him, Lin Yu'an's sixth sense, honed through countless life-and-death trials, suddenly felt like being pricked by a needle, instantly sensing a wave of cold malice!

That malice was fleeting but extremely intense!

Lin Yu'an was certain it wasn't directed at him, so then...

Emily's figure and her broken-down Subaru Outback instantly flashed through his mind!

Artificially created vehicle failure to keep the target stranded halfway or delay her journey, this was a classic tactic!

A thought arose in his mind! This rider was going after Emily!

Lin Yu'an didn't want to meddle in others' affairs, but the phrase "We need neighbors more" echoed in his mind.

He thought of the help from Stan, George, and other simple, sincere people.

Without further hesitation, Lin Yu'an mounted his Zongshen three-wheeler!

"Roar...!"

The GB1000 engine let out a roar, and Lin Yu'an drove this red beast at full speed in the direction where Emily and that black motorcycle had disappeared!

The houses in Wiseman town were far apart from each other, and after entering that fork road, it became even more desolate.

Lin Yu'an knew that in such a place, if something really happened, Emily would be helpless and alone.

He twisted the throttle to the maximum, the three-wheeler sliding wildly on the muddy road, but with his superb driving skills, he always kept the vehicle under control.

When he saw Emily's log cabin at the end of the fork road from afar, he immediately slowed down. He saw that black dirt bike parked outside the cabin's yard!

To avoid alerting them, he stopped the three-wheeler and with a thought, stored it in his space.

Then, using the forest as cover, he silently approached the cabin.

When he reached the clinic, he found it unusually quiet.

This kind of silence made his sixth sense, which had developed conditioned reflexes to danger, buzz with alarm.

From experience, such strong premonitions often meant there were people nearby with strong malicious intent.

Emily's log cabin had its main door tightly shut, and all curtains were drawn, as if the owner wasn't home.

But Lin Yu'an's gaze locked onto a detail on the second floor: a window there was open a crack.

He circled to the side of the cabin. His physical abilities, enhanced far beyond ordinary humans by the golden finger, were perfectly demonstrated at this moment.

He stepped back a few paces, took a running start, pushed off the rough log wall with both feet, and his body instantly leaped upward.

His fingers precisely gripped the lower edge of the first-floor window sill. Using his core strength, he flipped upward like a monkey, silently climbing to the second-floor window sill, then nimbly slipped through the window.

The entire process made no unnecessary sound.

The room he landed in appeared to be a study.

He immediately crouched low, pressing his ear to the floor. The conversation from the living room downstairs clearly reached his ears.

"Emily, my patience is limited! Hand over that hard drive, and both you and I can live," a man's voice was saying.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Emily's voice, though trembling slightly, was unusually firm.

Lin Yu'an quietly moved to the stairway and looked down.

In the living room below, the motorcycle man in black riding gear was pointing a silenced pistol at Emily, who sat on the sofa.

Emily's face was somewhat pale, but her eyes showed no hint of surrender.

The motorcycle man was obviously enraged, "Stop playing dumb! Your ex-boyfriend, that damn thief! Before he died, he must have given you the hard drive and that map! I know it's here with you! Hand it over!"

"I don't have any hard drive," Emily replied coldly.

"Then you can die! I'll find it myself!" The motorcycle man roared and unhesitatingly raised his gun.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger!

"Bang!"

Emily moved! With an extremely agile tactical roll, she rolled from the sofa to the floor!

[NEXT CHAPTER]

HUN Chapter 118: "Building a Greenhouse in Three Days"

After returning to the forest land, a construction routine that belonged to him alone officially began.

He first filled professional seedling trays with substrate soil, then carefully opened several seed packages, placing cucumber and tomato seeds one by one into the holes of the seedling trays.

After completing the sowing, he used a spray bottle to thoroughly moisten the substrate, then covered it with a transparent plastic lid, creating a mini greenhouse while quietly waiting for life to sprout.

Then, while performing daily scheduled water spray curing for the concrete pile columns, he devoted most of his energy to the rapid construction of a greenhouse.

He adopted a "high tunnel cold frame" solution popular in North America for its extremely fast construction speed.

Lin Yu'an started the XCMG XC760K loader and first cleared and leveled a plot of about 60 square meters (10 meters long x 6 meters wide) in the southeast corner of the camp.

Then, he brought out a new tool and showed it to the camera, "This is a T-post driver, usually used for fence post installation on farms, but today I'm going to use it to drive ground anchors for the greenhouse."

Lin Yu'an used a measuring tape and lime powder to make precise marks every 1.2 meters along the two 10-meter-long sides of the site.

He explained, "This spacing is very important. It determines the structural strength of our greenhouse. In Alaska, we must consider the load-bearing capacity for heavy snow, so it can't be too sparse."

Next, he aligned a heavy-duty galvanized steel pipe ground anchor, 50mm outer diameter, 2.5mm wall thickness, and 1.5 meters long, with the first marked point.

Then he started the post driver.

Thud! Thud! Thud!...

Accompanied by dull yet powerful impact sounds, the hard steel pipe was driven inch by inch into the thawed ground.

Lin Yu'an used a magnetic level to constantly check the verticality of the ground anchors.

Finally, when the anchor was driven a full meter underground, leaving only half a meter above ground, he stopped.

Within just two hours, 20 ground anchors stood precisely on both sides of the site like a formation of soldiers.

After the ground anchors were installed, Lin Yu'an brought out 10 pre-customized galvanized steel arch pipes bent into perfect semicircles from the supply pile.

"These arch pipes have a slightly smaller diameter than the ground anchors, 45mm, so they can fit perfectly together."

"However, I can't complete this step alone. I need someone to help me."

While saying this, he called Stan, who quickly arrived on his all-terrain vehicle after receiving the call.

Each arch pipe had a total arc length of nearly 9.5 meters, could span 6 meters in width, and reach a center height of about 3 meters.

They aligned both ends of the arch pipe with the ground anchors on both sides and pushed down with force.

With a "click" sound, the arch pipe fitted securely onto the ground anchors.

In just half a day, a modern-looking greenhouse frame composed of 10 huge arches rose from the ground!

Lin Yu'an brought out more connectors and straight pipes. Using the connectors, he installed three longitudinal purlins measuring 10.8 meters long at the center line of the arch tops and at the shoulder positions on both sides.

This connected all the arch pipes into an extremely solid whole.

After the frame was completed, Lin Yu'an quickly made end wall frames for the north and south sides of the greenhouse using lumber.

He reserved spaces for doors and two manually operated ventilation windows.

Finally came the most critical covering. He brought out that huge roll of agricultural greenhouse plastic film measuring 14 meters wide by 15 meters long.

With Stan's help, they completely covered the entire metal frame with the huge film.

Then using professional film pressing channels and spring clips, after laying the film properly and pulling it tight, they used wavy steel wire spring clips to secure the film into the channels.

Using this method, the film was stretched very tight, like a drum skin, capable of resisting strong winds over 80 kilometers per hour.

Moreover, in winter, another layer of film could be easily added to form a double-layer insulation structure.

In just three days, a modern greenhouse miraculously stood on this wilderness!

Lin Yu'an spent another day perfecting the elevated seedling beds and drip irrigation system inside the greenhouse, and transplanted all the previously cultivated seedlings inside.

Looking at this vegetable garden that had just burst with vitality, Lin Yu'an didn't linger long.

His gaze turned to an even more massive challenge on the other side of the camp: that "White Wood Mountain" piled up from 120 giant logs.

With sixteen or seventeen days left in the concrete curing period, he had to use this time to begin preliminary preprocessing of this timber.

After completing the routine water spray curing for the concrete pile columns daily, Lin Yu'an walked toward the portable band sawmill that had been assembled.

His first task was to transport a wall log about 35 centimeters in diameter and 8 meters long from the huge timber pile to beside the sawmill tracks.

The XCMG XC760K loader, equipped with grapple attachments, easily grabbed this log weighing several hundred kilograms with its huge mechanical grapple, then steadily placed it in the sawmill's staging area.

Next, he rolled the log onto the sawmill tracks and secured it firmly with the machine's built-in clamps.

He gestured with his hand on the log's cross-section, "My goal is to flatten both the top and bottom, giving it two absolutely parallel contact surfaces to prepare for subsequent wall stacking."

"Doing this also has another very important purpose: expanding the surface area for moisture evaporation from inside the wood, thereby accelerating its drying process."

He carefully calibrated the cutting gauge, setting the first cut thickness to about 5 centimeters.

Then he pulled the starting cord of the Honda engine on the band sawmill.

"Vroom, vroom..."

Accompanied by steady and powerful rumbling sounds, the long band saw blade began rotating at high speed.

Lin Yu'an put on safety glasses and ear protection, steadily gripped the saw head with both hands, and slowly pushed forward.

"Hissss..."

The sharp blade cut into the wood with smooth, linear sounds. Large amounts of wood chips carrying the fragrance of pine resin were carried out like golden fireworks, flying everywhere in the midnight sun!

In just over a minute, as the saw head pushed from one end of the log to the other, a uniformly thick and long board was completely cut from the top of the log.

The top of the log instantly showed a smooth, flat cross-section as if planed by a giant planer.

"Well done!"

Lin Yu'an muttered in praise, then didn't pause.

He again used the loader to lift this log with one flattened side, rotated it 180 degrees so the flat side faced down, and secured it on the tracks again.

Using this perfect plane as a reference, he cut again.

Soon, both the top and bottom surfaces of this log were processed into two absolutely parallel planes.

He transported this processed first piece of standardized building material to an open area using the loader.

He didn't place it directly on the ground but first used several blocking pieces to raise it, ensuring its bottom could also ventilate.

One piece, two pieces, three pieces...

In the following days, Lin Yu'an's life entered an extremely regular but incredibly arduous cycle.

Every morning, he would first water and cure the concrete pile columns, then inspect his precious vegetable garden.

Then he would start his one-man sawmill factory and begin the day's work.

The roar of the loader and the cutting sounds of the band saw became the only sounds on this land.

Working alone, he played multiple roles: crane operator loading materials with the loader, technician calibrating cutting dimensions, and warehouse manager neatly stacking finished building materials.

His main work was processing that pile of over seventy standard logs for walls that had been debarked by his brothers-in-law, as well as some timber for interior floor joists, into lumber with flat top and bottom surfaces.

Those dozen or so premium giant logs he had stacked separately didn't need processing through the band sawmill.

They only needed precise mortise and tenon processing at both ends during subsequent construction.

These giant logs would be used as porch columns and roof ridge beams, needing to maintain their original round form to support the entire home's style.

Lin Yu'an estimated the workload.

Processing one standard wall log (8 meters long, 30 centimeters diameter), from loading through two cuts to final stacking, took about 30-40 minutes once he became proficient.

With his physique enhanced by the golden finger, under midnight sun conditions, Lin Yu'an could maintain over 15 hours of high-intensity work time daily.

On average, he could process about 12 to 15 wall logs per day, meaning 16 days would allow processing over 200 logs.

This number already far exceeded the amount of timber needing processing in his total goals.

This meant he could not only complete the task but even have spare time for more detailed preparation work. This was an extremely astonishing, completely unimaginable efficiency!

Thus, during the concrete curing period, Lin Yu'an's life entered an extremely regular cycle.

During this time, he was both carpenter and farmer, processing logs one by one into standardized building materials for constructing his home, while constantly tending his vibrant greenhouse vegetable garden.

Just as Lin Yu'an was immersed in his busy but fulfilling dual-track work, one afternoon, an unexpected visitor arrived.

A tall figure emerged from the woods. She appeared to be in her thirties, with golden-brown long hair efficiently tied in a high ponytail, revealing a smooth, full forehead.

She wore a well-tailored outdoor jacket and cargo pants that outlined the powerful and healthy curves that only years of outdoor activities could create.

Her features were three-dimensional and striking, with a pair of bright blue eyes currently carrying a hint of wariness and intense curiosity as she surveyed this construction site that had suddenly appeared in the wilderness.

Her eyes were bright, but her face carried traces of fatigue and helplessness.

This should be Emily, the town's only veterinarian that Stan and Old George had mentioned.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

HUN Chapter 117: Curing and Cabin Waterproofing

After enjoying a victory-celebrating Chinese meal, the exhausted group drank ice-cold beer, savoring this hard-won tranquility.

The midnight sun had already tilted to a very low angle, but the sky remained bright.

Old George looked at those twenty-one concrete pile columns that had just begun to set, his eyes full of craftsman's pride! He stood up, preparing to bid farewell.

"Lin, I believe you'll have a beautiful house very soon!"

Old George forcefully patted Lin Yu'an's shoulder, his face full of approval.

"Next comes the most tedious curing period. Remember what I told you, concrete strength is 'nurtured' into being."

"You need to cure these for at least twenty days. You must care for them like caring for babies, don't let them dry too quickly."

"Follow the watering frequency and rhythm I explained to you earlier. If there are any problems, call me anytime."

"Don't worry, George. And thank you. Without you, my progress wouldn't have been this fast," Lin Yu'an sincerely thanked him.

Old George waved his hand dismissively. He looked at Lin Yu'an, then at Stan, Hank, Patton, and Cody who were also preparing to leave, his expression becoming serious and sincere.

"Kid, you don't need to thank me, and you don't need to thank them either."

"You should understand something today. In Alaska, especially in places like Wiseman, no one can truly survive alone."

He continued, "I help you because I see your determination, and because I need a reliable partner to chase the dreams of my youth one more time."

"Stan helps you because he sees you as a future pillar of this community. And them..."

He pointed toward Hank, Patton, and Cody, "They came to help without asking for any compensation."

Pilot Hank laughingly picked up the conversation, "That's right, Lin. I helped you pour concrete today because I know that if my plane breaks down and needs a part, Cody will fix it without a second thought."

"If I encounter a blizzard in the mountains, Patton will be the first to rush out on his snowmobile to find me. And if my family needs any help, Stan will help without hesitation."

Mechanic Cody also nodded, adding, "Each of us masters a survival skill that others need."

"When I need supplies, I rely on Hank's plane. When I'm sick, I rely on Emily. If I want a good meal, it looks like now I'll rely on you, Lin." He winked at Lin Yu'an, drawing good-natured laughter.

Hunter Patton, the taciturn Athabascan man, succinctly summarized, "Here, you help me, I help you. Only then can we all survive the next winter together."

"Tomorrow I'll continue helping you with the foundation finishing work. Hunting season is coming soon, and I'd like to invite you to join me in hunting enough food for the village elders."

Lin Yu'an was somewhat flattered and immediately replied, "I'd be delighted! Just call me when the time comes, Patton, and I'll definitely go with you."

Stan also said at this time, "So, kid, don't think of this as us helping you one-sidedly. This is just Wiseman's way."

"Today we help you lay the foundation. Tomorrow, maybe we'll need you to drive that Chinese loader to help George clear roads blocked by blizzards. Here, we are each other's insurance."

Hearing these simple yet profound words containing survival philosophy, Lin Yu'an's heart was filled with unprecedented emotion.

He finally deeply understood the weight of what Stan had originally said, "We need neighbors more."

This wasn't just polite talk. This was the golden rule of survival on this harsh land, proven over generations.

He stood up, raised his beer, and solemnly said to everyone present, "I understand. Thank you all for teaching me the most important lesson today! To our mutual survival, to Wiseman, cheers!"

"Cheers!"

Under Alaska's midnight sun, everyone clinked glasses together.

At this moment, Lin Yu'an was no longer an outsider. He had truly been accepted as a member of this community composed of tough men and strong individuals!

Lin Yu'an insisted on giving them some Chinese liquor and cigarettes as neighborly gifts. Everyone accepted without refusing, for on this land, sharing was also part of mutual aid.

David and Mike were like recorders of time, silently documenting everything here. The two exchanged glances, both understanding the meaning in each other's eyes: this was perfect material.

After seeing off these reliable neighbors, the forest land returned to tranquility once again.

But Lin Yu'an's work was far from over. He began the task that Old George had repeatedly emphasized in foundation construction: concrete curing.

He first used a spray bottle to evenly spray a layer of water on the surface of the twenty-one concrete pile columns that had just begun to set.

Then, he found huge plastic sheets from the supply pile and covered each pile column completely.

"What is this for? Covering them with blankets?" David asked curiously.

"You could say that."

Lin Yu'an explained, "Covering with plastic sheets is to minimize water evaporation as much as possible. Concrete hardening is a hydration reaction process. It needs sufficient moisture to reach its designed final strength."

"In Alaska's current environment of long daylight hours and dry air, if water is lost too quickly, the concrete will crack and become waste."

David watched as Lin Yu'an only sprayed water on the meter-high portion of the pile columns above ground, curiously asking, "Lin, you only water the upper parts? What about the buried portions underground? Don't they need curing?"

Lin Yu'an smiled, "Good question. But for them, the earth is the best curing master."

"The underground portions are tightly wrapped by surrounding soil. They will slowly harden in a natural, high-humidity environment."

The next morning.

After completing the routine water spray curing for all pile columns, hunter Patton arrived as promised.

Their target was that mountain-like pile of crushed stone.

Lin Yu'an operated the XCMG loader, transporting large amounts of crushed stone scoop by scoop to the edge of the foundation area.

Meanwhile, Patton pushed a professional construction wheelbarrow, shuttling back and forth between the loader and foundation, precisely dumping crushed stone in every corner that needed laying.

The two cooperated seamlessly, one handling macro transportation, one handling detailed placement, with extremely high efficiency.

"Why are we going through all this trouble to lay these damn stones?" David asked while shouldering his camera and dodging flying stone chips.

"Drainage, David, drainage!" Lin Yu'an shouted back.

"This is the most important thing. This crushed stone layer ensures that any snowmelt and rainwater can quickly penetrate and drain away, rather than soaking our foundation, keeping the space below clean and dry."

According to the slight slope of the terrain, Lin Yu'an dug another deeper blind ditch around the entire foundation, outside the grade beam trenches.

He and Patton first laid a layer of professional geotextile fabric at the bottom of the blind ditch.

"This fabric prevents soil from clogging the pipes," Lin Yu'an explained to the camera.

Then they laid black perforated corrugated pipes with countless small holes at the bottom of the ditch.

They connected them with fittings into a complete loop, finally leading to a natural depression far from the campsite.

After laying the pipes, they filled the entire blind ditch completely with more crushed stone.

"This pipe system is like a moat for our foundation. Any water collecting around the foundation will be preferentially absorbed into these pipes' small holes, then drained far away."

"It ensures our foundation core area stays in the driest condition at all times."

After ten hours of intensive work, through the combined efforts of Lin Yu'an and Patton, all ground work for the entire foundation area, including trenching, pipe burial, and crushed stone laying, was basically completed.

The entire site had become a level, solid, extremely professional-looking modern construction platform.

That evening, after Lin Yu'an completed the curing work, he found David and Mike who were packing their luggage.

"Lin, are you really going to stay here alone for twenty days?"

David looked at this desolate yet vibrant construction site, asking with some concern.

"That's right." Lin Yu'an nodded.

"The upcoming work will be rather scattered and tedious, not suitable for filming. I've already communicated with Richard. The production team is giving you guys a short break. Come on, I'll drive you to Fairbanks airport."

This suggestion made David and Mike feel a touch of friendly warmth.

Lin Yu'an started his Ford Explorer and headed south toward Fairbanks along the Dalton Highway once again.

After dropping the two off at the airport and agreeing to meet there again in twenty days, Lin Yu'an didn't immediately return.

Instead, he went straight to Fairbanks' largest farm and garden supply store.

This store was the size of a large supermarket, containing everything from tractor parts to various livestock feeds.

His gaze first fell upon granular organic slow-release fertilizer designed specifically for fruits and vegetables.

He picked up the package, carefully examining the ingredient list and NPK ratios on the back.

He explained to his GoPro camera, "For greedy guys like tomatoes and cucumbers, we need to establish a good nutritional foundation for them first."

"This granular organic fertilizer has an NPK ratio of about 5-5-5, very balanced."

"It's made from a mixture of various natural materials like poultry manure, bone meal, and blood meal. It can slowly decompose in soil, providing plants with stable nutrition for months."

He put a large bag of granular fertilizer in his shopping cart, then walked toward the liquid fertilizer section.

"We also need to prepare some 'energy drinks' and 'multivitamins' for them."

He finally selected two types of highly efficient organic liquid fertilizers: high-concentration fermented fish emulsion and kelp concentrate.

He picked up those two bottles of liquid fertilizer, "Fish emulsion is rich in nitrogen and amino acids. During the plant's seedling stage, watering with this can promote rapid leaf growth and make plants strong."

"Kelp concentrate is rich in various trace elements and natural growth hormones. Using it during flowering and fruiting periods can improve fruit set rates and enhance plants' resistance to pests, diseases, and cold."

"Using these three fertilizers together, granular fertilizer as long-acting base fertilizer mixed into soil, and the two liquid fertilizers alternately applied as top dressing according to different growth stages."

"This way, we can provide these fertilizer-loving crops with a comprehensive and powerful nutritional support system from beginning to end."

After purchasing all items, Lin Yu'an set out on the return journey once again.

When he drove the fully loaded Explorer alone on that lonely highway, his heart felt no loneliness at all, only plans full of hope for the future.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

HUN Chapter 116: Initial Completion of the Cabin!

Early the next morning, a foundation engineering team officially assembled at Wood Forest Land.

Old George drove his well-maintained old Ford, with his precious concrete mixer loaded in the truck bed, arriving as promised.

Lin Yu'an had already equipped his XCMG loader with the spiral drilling attachment rented from Fairbanks.

David and Mike stood ready in formation, knowing that a truly hardcore show was about to begin!

"Alright, boys!"

Old George shouted like an experienced foreman.

"Our first goal today is to drill through all the pile holes! Lin, you operate that loader for drilling, and I'll be in charge of directing and calibrating verticality!"

"What about Stan?" David asked curiously.

Stan smiled, "My task is to call for backup. Just us two old guys can't get much done."

Now the battle against the frozen ground officially began!

Lin Yu'an piloted the XCMG XC760K, positioning the massive spiral drill bit at the first marked point on the foundation outline.

"Right here, boy, straight down!"

Old George held a long-handled level, pressing it tightly against the drill rod, his eyes narrowed to slits, ensuring the drilling angle was absolutely vertical.

Lin Yu'an steadily operated the hydraulic controls, and the spiral drill began rotating with a deep rumbling sound.

The first meter and a half through the already-melted active permafrost layer was easy, with the spiral drill sliding in smoothly as large amounts of black mud were flung out.

But when the drill bit reached about two meters deep, accompanied by a harsh "screech"!

The spiral drill's rotation suddenly slowed, and the entire loader's body began shaking! The engine made a muffled overload sound.

Old George shouted, "Hit the permafrost layer! Steady, Lin! Reduce speed, increase torque! Use pressure to push down!"

Lin Yu'an concentrated fully on operating the two hydraulic controls, feeling every bit of resistance transmitted from the drill bit.

He continuously performed woodpecker-style operations, lifting and drilling alternately, gradually gnawing away and bringing out the hard frozen soil bit by bit.

After nearly an hour of arduous work, amid the machine's roar, the first pile hole reaching five meters deep was finally successfully drilled!

Just as Lin Yu'an lifted the drill bit out and before he could catch his breath, Stan had already arrived with "reinforcements."

"Hey, Lin! I brought you backup!" Stan shouted loudly.

Three "reinforcements" jumped down from the vehicle, all wearing cheerful smiles and proactively stepping forward to shake hands with Lin Yu'an.

Stan introduced them one by one.

He pointed to the tallest man, "This is Hank, he's the town's only pilot, responsible for all our air transport and emergency rescue."

"This is Patton, he's Athabascan Indian, the town's best hunter and guide."

"And this is Cody, he works as a mechanic at the North Slope oil fields and also maintains all the generators and water pumps in town."

A pilot, native hunter, and mechanic, these three were virtually a microcosm of the "social elite" of remote Alaskan towns.

"Hello, I'm Lin Yu'an. You can call me Lin or Hermann," Lin Yu'an shook hands with each of them.

Pilot Hank smiled, "Don't be formal, Lin. Stan told us you're building a big house here."

"We're all curious and came to lend a hand today, and also see if you're really as capable as the legends say."

Old George laughed and scolded, "Alright, enough chatter! You came at just the right time, let's get to work! Finish drilling all twenty-one pile holes and making and placing the rebar cages within today!"

This crazy plan made everyone gasp, but immediately, everyone's eyes burned with fighting spirit.

With new members joining, the entire construction site's efficiency instantly doubled.

Lin Yu'an still operated the loader for the most critical drilling work.

Old George acted like a strict quality inspector, using a long measuring rod to probe to the bottom of each hole after drilling, ensuring both depth and verticality were completely up to standard.

Stan and hunter Patton took over all the physical labor.

They took turns with shovels, clearing away the mountains of mud and ice chunks piled beside each drill hole, clearing the area for the next drilling operation.

Mechanic Cody utilized his professional expertise, studying Lin Yu'an's XCMG loader with great interest.

One by one, deep pile holes continuously appeared on the land of Wood Forest Land.

While the drilling operation was in full swing on one side, the rebar cage production assembly line had also started simultaneously on the other side of the construction site!

Old George truly lived up to his reputation as an experienced foreman, not letting anyone idle.

He brought out his professional rebar bending machine and tie hooks, giving quick technical instruction to the three strong laborers.

Old George commanded, "Patton! You're strong, handle the cutting! Use that angle grinder to cut all these threaded rebars to 6.5-meter lengths!"

"Hank, Cody! You two..."

He picked up tie hooks and wire, personally demonstrating, "Watch carefully, twist your wrist like this, and the wire tightens."

"Your task is to tie these stirrups to the main bars circle by circle according to the marks I drew. Remember, it's better to be slow than loose!"

Stan voluntarily took on the most precise work.

Using the rebar bending machine, he bent the ends of the main bars into standard 90-degree hooks to ensure they could better anchor in the future concrete platform.

This temporary rebar processing factory was amazingly efficient!

When Lin Yu'an finished the third pile hole, the first perfect rebar cage had been completed by Patton and Hank working together.

However, they soon encountered an enemy more troublesome than the hard permafrost layer: mosquitoes.

In mid-June, as the ground melted, countless puddles became breeding grounds for insects.

Thousands upon thousands of mosquitoes, like black fighter squadrons, came roaring from all directions, launching frenzied attacks on these "fresh meat" sources radiating heat and sweat.

"Oh, damn vampires!"

Hank vigorously tied rebar while continuously slapping his neck.

Lin Yu'an was well prepared. From his supply boxes, he took out complete defensive equipment: high-concentration DEET mosquito repellent, head nets covering the entire head, and several coils of mosquito incense brought from China that supposedly had miraculous effects.

"Everyone, put these on!" He distributed the head nets.

Everyone immediately put on the head nets. Though they somewhat affected vision, this thin layer of mesh isolated the most frenzied harassment.

They continuously sprayed mosquito repellent on themselves, and the entire construction site was permeated with a pungent fragrance.

The battle continued! They established a rotating rest system to handle this extreme marathon lasting more than twenty hours.

In the warm tent, Lin Yu'an had set up several additional camp beds in advance, using thin wooden poles to support large mosquito nets covering all beds, with mosquito incense burning inside.

This became their "safe house" for recovering strength in turns.

Lin Yu'an and Old George, as the technical core, always held the front line of drilling, with the XCMG loader's roar hardly ceasing.

Stan, Patton, Hank, and Cody formed two groups, alternating between rebar cage production and rest.

When one group slept for an hour in the tent, the other group endured mosquito swarm attacks outside, frantically binding rebar.

"Alright! The sixth cage is complete!"

Patton shouted, and he and Hank worked together to carefully carry the over six-meter-tall, nearly 100-kilogram rebar cage with spacer blocks tied to the bottom to the freshly drilled sixth hole.

Then they slowly, vertically lowered it into the hole.

With a muffled "thud," the spacer blocks at the bottom of the rebar cage hit bottom.

Old George immediately stepped forward, using wooden wedges to fix it in the center of the hole, ensuring even protective layer gaps between it and the hole walls.

"Next one!" he shouted to Lin Yu'an.

Then he turned to Stan and Cody, who had just emerged from the tent looking refreshed, "You two, take over! Keep making cages! Speed!"

One pile hole completed, one rebar cage in place.

The entire process operated like a precision war machine, running efficiently under the never-setting sunlight of the polar day.

Time passed minute by minute, and after a full twenty hours of continuous battle.

When the last pile hole was drilled through, everyone present let out victorious cheers! Almost everyone was too tired to straighten their backs.

However, after they calmed down, Old George shouted loudly, "Don't celebrate too early, boys! We have the vertical skeleton, but we still need to connect horizontal ribs to it!"

Under his direction, Lin Yu'an again piloted the XCMG loader, switching to the bucket attachment.

Between the pile holes where rebar cages had been placed, he quickly dug grade beam trenches about half a meter wide and forty centimeters deep.

Connecting all the pile holes into a huge "L"-shaped grid.

Cody looked at the XCMG loader and said, "Lin, your XCMG loader is really good! After working continuously for more than twenty hours, not a single problem!"

"Of course, Cody, this is pure Chinese manufacturing! If possible, you should definitely get one too!"

Everyone burst into laughter, and a joyful atmosphere began permeating the construction site.

Old George looked at the twenty-one pile holes with rebar cages installed and the grade beams, wiped the sweat from his face with satisfaction, and announced to everyone!

"Well done, guys! Today we defeated the preliminary frozen ground! Everyone get a good sleep! Tomorrow we have an even tougher battle to fight!"

Lin Yu'an slept extremely soundly that night.

Even under the bright light of the polar day, the intense fatigue quickly brought him into deep sleep.

When Lin Yu'an woke up again, it was already noon the next day.

Old George hadn't gone home last night but stayed in the tent together.

Walking out of the tent, Lin Yu'an found Old George and David grilling several thick moose steaks while Mike watched nearby, drooling.

"Awake, boy?" Old George handed him a cup of coffee.

After everyone gradually assembled, Old George began announcing today's plan.

"After this meal, we start. Remember, today's work, once begun, absolutely cannot stop! Not until the last pile hole and grade beam are filled."

"Otherwise, cold joints will form between the concrete poured first and later, seriously affecting the overall strength of the pile foundation. So we must complete it in one go, within today!"

These words instantly made the previously relaxed atmosphere serious. Everyone understood that another difficult battle lay ahead.

Old George served as general commander, with Patton and Hank responsible for horizontally placing the thick grade beam main rebar at the bottom of the grade beam trenches.

The most critical step was that these main bars needed to closely pass through the sides of the rebar cages in each pile hole.

Then Cody and Stan were responsible for placing square stirrups at intervals on the grade beam's main bars and beginning to bind them with tie hooks.

David looked somewhat confused and asked, "George, I see the grade beam rebar and pile foundation rebar aren't directly tied together. Will this connection be secure?"

Old George glanced at David, then explained, "Good question, boy! This is the mystery of reinforced concrete."

"We don't need to tie every piece of rebar together. We just need to ensure they intersect spatially! The pile foundation rebar is vertical, the grade beam rebar is horizontal, they interlace and support each other."

"Soon, when concrete, this flowing stone, is poured in, it will fill all their gaps, forming a true whole!"

This clear explanation made David suddenly understand.

After several hours of intense work, the entire foundation's "skeletal network" was finally formed.

Old George started his gasoline concrete mixer, and the iron drum began clanking and rotating, sounding the battle horn!

Stan and hunter Patton again shouldered the heaviest physical labor.

They alternately used sturdy wheelbarrows to transport cartload after cartload of sand and gravel to beside the mixer.

Mechanic Cody voluntarily took over carrying cement and adding water.

He wasn't weak either, easily hoisting fifty-kilogram cement bags onto his shoulders and pouring them into the mixer with crisp, decisive movements.

Old George, this experienced mixing master, stood before the mixer holding a shovel, judging the moisture content of the sand and stone, precisely determining the quantity of each material every time.

He also controlled the water amount, the most delicate aspect of concrete proportioning.

On the other side of the construction site, Lin Yu'an performed the most critical preparation, equipping his XCMG XC760K with a standard bucket attachment.

Then, with Hank and Patton's help, he fitted construction paper tubes made of high-strength kraft paper and special adhesives over each pile hole opening, using a level for precise vertical calibration.

"What's this? Tubes made of cardboard?" David curiously approached and tapped them, finding them exceptionally sturdy.

Lin Yu'an explained, "These are specifically for concrete cylindrical formwork. After the underground pile holes are filled, concrete will continue upward, filling these paper tubes."

"Thus forming the circular pile columns we need above ground level. After the concrete sets, we can tear off the outer paper."

After all paper tubes were fitted and secured, Lin Yu'an began the manual concrete pouring process.

In the center of the construction site, they placed a huge "transfer hopper" welded from thick iron plates.

The concrete mixed by Old George's team would first be dumped entirely into this hopper, forming a temporary concrete supply station.

Lin Yu'an piloted his XCMG XC760K loader, precisely inserting the bucket into the hopper and easily scooping up a full bucket of viscous concrete slurry.

He then steadily transported this bucket of concrete to the first pile hole.

There, Hank had already firmly fixed an equally large funnel directly above the cardboard tube form.

Lin Yu'an slowly raised and tilted the bucket, precisely aiming at the funnel's opening and gradually tilting.

The viscous concrete slurry, without the slightest waste, all slid into the funnel, smoothly pouring into the pile hole and gradually rising to fill the entire cardboard tube!

Hank immediately inserted a long electric concrete vibrator into the wet concrete.

"Buzz—"

High-frequency vibration quickly expelled air bubbles from inside the concrete, making the slurry denser and tightly wrapping around the internal rebar cage, forming a perfect whole from deep underground to above ground level.

Seeing this perfect operation, David couldn't help but cheer loudly, "Oh yeah! Beautifully done! Lin! You handle that bucket more steadily than I use a spoon to drink soup!"

Mike carried his camera, excitedly running back and forth, recording the entire construction site's work.

"Hey! Lin! Don't zone out! Next bucket! Hurry! There are still grade beams to pour!"

"Hank! Vibrate deeper! Drive all the bubbles from the bottom up!"

Old George again displayed his contractor's sense of responsibility, supervising everyone's work on site.

When the eleventh pile hole was also filled with concrete, the project was exactly half done, and Old George declared a brief rest.

Lin Yu'an took chilled beer and energy drinks from the cooler and distributed them to everyone.

Everyone sat down on the ground, tilted their heads back to drink heartily, and let out refreshing shouts.

Everyone raised their beer cans.

"Cheers! To this damn foundation!"

"Cheers! To our new neighbor!"

After the brief rest, battle resumed.

The afternoon sun became more vicious, and mosquitoes became even more rampant, but everyone had no time to care.

Only one final goal remained in their minds: fill the remaining ten holes!

Finally, when the sun began setting westward again, it was already late night.

After working continuously for more than twelve hours, the last bucket of concrete was steadily poured by Lin Yu'an into the twenty-first pile hole.

When Hank pulled out the vibrator and straightened up, he used his hoarse but incredibly loud voice to shout across the entire valley!

"Our pile foundation is complete!"

"Oh—!!!"

Everyone burst into earth-shaking cheers, thinking the most difficult work was over! They hugged each other, vigorously patting each other's backs, sharing the hard-won joy of victory!

[NEXT CHAPTER]

HUN Chapter 115: The Brothers-in-Law Arrive!

Lin Yu'an brought them to his vehicle.

This was a 2020 Ford Explorer Limited edition he had ordered online through Fairbanks' used car trading website a few days ago.

Mid-level 8-seat version with added FX4 off-road package, 3.5T V6 engine, maximum output 446 horsepower. Everything cost a bit over $60,000, about $20,000 cheaper than a new car.

He also took stock of his recent bills. After investing in NVIDIA stock, he still had $560,000 in liquid funds.

$100,000 for land, around $100,000 for domestic purchases, $60,000 for the car, plus previous car rentals, living expenses, etc., totaling about $40,000, meaning he still had $260,000 in liquid funds remaining.

Fortunately, the major expenses were all taken care of. After NVIDIA's stock split in July, there would be another large cash flow coming in.

Lin Yu'an drove the Ford Explorer SUV that could fit all of them and their equipment, racing north toward Wiseman.

The muddy road leading to Wood Forest Land hadn't been maintained, so even the Ford Explorer couldn't drive directly in.

Lin Yu'an had to park the car at the rented cabin in Wiseman town, then take everyone to camp on the Zongshen three-wheeler.

The brothers-in-law were also particularly interested in the Zongshen three-wheeler. Each of them tried riding it for a stretch of road and had great fun.

Upon arriving at camp, the four brothers-in-law were immediately attracted by the scene before them.

"Wow, this band saw looks really impressive!"

Third brother-in-law Bo was most interested in machinery and immediately rushed to the assembled band saw, reaching out to spin the huge saw wheel and checking the straightness of the tracks.

Fourth brother-in-law Clay became interested in the yellow XCMG XC760K.

He jumped into the cab and touched the control levers, "Lin, is this little thing the Chinese loader you mentioned? Looks pretty powerful! Are the controls the same as the Bobcats we usually use?"

"Basically the same, very easy to pick up," Lin Yu'an replied.

Lin Yu'an arranged for them to stay in the cabin rented by the production team. After the four brothers-in-law busied themselves around the camp for a while, they rode the Zongshen three-wheeler to the cabin to rest and adjust to the time difference.

The next day, after resting for one night, the brothers-in-law quickly threw themselves into the work.

With these four fresh reinforcements joining, the efficiency of the entire "hundred-day plan" instantly increased several fold.

The originally somewhat quiet logging site with three people became a lively, even somewhat noisy construction site.

The brothers-in-law hardly needed Lin Yu'an's direction, spontaneously forming a perfect division of labor assembly line.

Lin Yu'an, as general commander and technical core, no longer needed to spend large amounts of time on repetitive physical labor, but could focus on the most important parts.

He only needed to select the most suitable trees in the forest and cut them down with his Stihl chainsaw.

The strongest brothers-in-law, eldest Wyatt and second Garrett, voluntarily took over the most exhausting log hauling work.

They took control of the portable gasoline winch, responsible for dragging the felled giant trees out from deep in the forest.

The two worked in perfect coordination, with Wyatt clearing routes and setting up pulleys in front while Garrett operated the winch in back.

Third brother-in-law Bo and fourth brother-in-law Clay were responsible for all preliminary log processing work. They loved the chainsaw's debarking attachment.

The two often competed to see who could debark faster and cleaner, then used wooden supports to stack the gleaming white logs neatly beside the camp for ventilation and drying.

David and Mike were in an excited working state every day. They had too many spectacular scenes to capture.

Through their lenses, the entire "Wood Forest Land" became a symphony composed of various engine roars, logging sounds, and hearty laughter!

Previously, Lin Yu'an alone could only process one to two trees per day with maximum effort.

But now, this McKinley logging crew, after familiarizing themselves with the process, could easily handle five to six trees per day!

There was even one day when they were in peak condition and completed the full processing of seven trees!

Beside the camp sat massive piles of white debarked logs ready for drying, growing almost daily in number, eventually forming an extremely spectacular log mountain!

David wrote in his daily filming log, "I have never seen such an efficient team. They don't seem to be working, but rather engaging in an enjoyable family competition."

"Everyone knows what they should do. Their coordination and strength made me truly understand the weight of the word 'family.'"

During work breaks, the five tough guys would sit on huge logs, take beers from the cooler, and loudly shoot the breeze.

Garrett asked, "Hey, Lin, could that Chinese three-wheeler of yours drag an adult moose next time we go hunting?"

"Dragging two would be no problem!" Lin Yu'an answered confidently.

Two weeks flew by.

With the brothers-in-law's full assistance, they miraculously completed the felling and preliminary processing of nearly seventy trees.

More than half of the planned timber had already become a spectacular white log mountain, piled at the camp waiting to dry.

According to the original plan, the brothers-in-law needed to return to Montana to handle their respective farm affairs.

On the evening before their departure, Lin Yu'an prepared to arrange a grand bonfire banquet to see them off.

Just before the banquet began, eldest brother-in-law Wyatt's satellite phone rang. It was their father Robert calling.

Wyatt answered and put it on speaker.

"Wyatt, how are things going over there?" Robert's booming voice came through the phone.

"Dad, we're doing great! And Alaska is amazing! Can't imagine that nighttime here is only a few hours each day now!"

Wyatt looked at the mountain of stacked timber and continued proudly, "We helped our brother-in-law complete more than half the work. We're preparing to head back tomorrow."

Robert on the other end was silent for a few seconds, "What are you coming back for at this time?"

"Are you going to run away after finishing half the job? The McKinley family doesn't have such quitters!"

"But Dad, the work on our respective farms..."

Robert interrupted him, "I can have the farm hands help you deal with those trivial matters."

He paused, his tone softening slightly, "Your task now is to stay there and help Hermann collect and process all the timber completely!"

After the call ended, the four brothers-in-law looked at each other, then all burst into hearty laughter.

Eldest brother-in-law Wyatt walked over and heavily patted Lin Yu'an's shoulder, grinning, "Well, Hermann, looks like we're not leaving anytime soon."

Lin Yu'an's heart was filled with indescribable emotion and warmth.

He knew this was the entire McKinley family's most unreserved acceptance and support of him as their newest member.

The originally planned farewell banquet instantly became a celebration party for the project extension.

Lin Yu'an brought out Wuliangye liquor and drank heartily with his brothers-in-law under the Alaskan starry sky!

The next day, the McKinley logging crew went full throttle again!

Everyone continued working under the polar day conditions, cutting trees, sectioning, winch transport, debarking, and stacking for drying.

Finally, in a total of one month, the five men miraculously completed the felling and preliminary processing of 120 trees!

This time, it was truly time for farewell.

Eldest brother-in-law Wyatt raised his glass, his face full of satisfied smiles, "Hermann, all the timber is here. The remaining work is up to you."

"Don't worry, Wyatt," Lin Yu'an replied with a smile.

"You've already helped me complete the most difficult part. Thank you all!"

"We're family, no need to say that," eldest brother-in-law Wyatt gave Lin Yu'an a strong hug.

"But remember, if you need help, just one phone call and we'll fly back over! The McKinley family will always be your support!"

Mike drove the Ford Explorer SUV to send the brothers-in-law on their way to Fairbanks, where they would fly back to Montana.

Mike would also pick up the delayed express delivery, precisely those two Arcteryx outfits ordered a month ago.

After the huge engine sounds and hearty laughter disappeared, the Dalton Highway returned to tranquility, leaving only Lin Yu'an and David.

Lin Yu'an rode the Zongshen three-wheeler with David to Wood Forest Land to continue today's cleanup work.

David carried his camera, circling the spectacular timber pile, shooting various close-ups and panoramic shots.

David's face was full of excitement. The material recorded over this month was enough to edit several episodes of high-quality program content.

He had already thought of the episode title: "One Phone Call and Four Brothers-in-Law Came to Help Me Cut Trees!"

He walked to Lin Yu'an's side and sincerely sighed, "Lin, this is incredible! A month ago, I couldn't have imagined this place would become like this! Your family members are simply an army!"

Lin Yu'an smiled, "Yes, they are my strongest support."

A few days after the brothers-in-law left, while Lin Yu'an was processing timber, he received a phone call.

The building materials driver he had ordered a month ago had arrived at the designated location.

After Lin Yu'an arrived on his Zongshen three-wheeler, a red heavy dump truck marked with "Arctic Star Logistics" appeared again at the familiar unloading point.

The driver was surprisingly the same experienced old driver from last time.

This time, after unloading, the driver didn't leave immediately. He curiously handed Lin Yu'an a cigarette and asked.

"Brother, what are you planning to do here? I've been running this road for fifteen years, and this is the first time I've seen someone transport so much cement and sand to this godforsaken place."

Lin Yu'an took the cigarette and smiled, "I'm planning to build a home here."

The driver was stunned, then showed admiring eyes. He heavily patted Lin Yu'an's shoulder, "Good luck to you!"

After the dump truck also disappeared over the horizon, the small mountain made of sand, gravel, cement, and steel bars stood quietly in the wilderness.

Lin Yu'an once again began the arduous "ant moving house" work.

This time, the Zongshen three-wheeler became the absolute workhorse, making trip after trip transporting building materials to "Wood Forest Land" five kilometers away.

David timely posed a question, "So now that all the building materials are ready, what's our next plan? Are we starting to process this timber with the band saw?"

Lin Yu'an shook his head, his gaze turning toward the foundation area already marked out.

"No, now is not the time yet."

"This timber was just debarked and still needs time to dry out and let moisture evaporate. This way we can minimize shrinkage and cracking after construction."

"However, we can prepare by cutting the logs into 'D' shapes in advance, meaning flattening the top and bottom surfaces."

"This both accelerates moisture evaporation speed and matches our expected construction processing method."

"But now that we've reached mid-June, the extended daylight of the polar day has melted the active permafrost layer on the ground, providing us with the best construction window."

"So it's time to find Old George for help again."

"You mean we can start building the foundation?" David's eyes immediately lit up!

[NEXT CHAPTER]

HUN Chapter 114: Cabin Construction in Progress

Lin Yu'an used his XCMG loader to steadily place a four-meter-long debarked log on the band saw's tracks and secured it firmly with specialized clamps.

Then he started the Honda GX390 engine, and the massive band saw blade instantly reached extremely high speed, emitting a "buzzing" sound!

He gripped the main head's control lever and pushed it forward steadily along the tracks.

Accompanied by a series of linear "hissing" cutting sounds, a uniformly thick board was completely cut from the log!

David rushed forward and ran his hand over the smooth cut surface, "Wow! This speed is simply incredible."

Lin Yu'an shut off the machine, also looking at the result with satisfaction.

After testing the band saw, the three of them sat around the fire in their rented cabin with the entire plan's blueprints spread on the table.

"Lin, so what's our next plan?" David asked, holding hot coffee and speaking with anticipation.

Lin Yu'an pointed to the structurally complex foundation diagram that Old George had drawn.

"To achieve this foundation construction, we still need to prepare materials and a spiral drilling attachment. These can't be found in Wiseman."

"Moreover, another container I ordered from China has now cleared customs and been transported to a rental warehouse in Fairbanks for storage."

"I need to go open it and first take out some things we urgently need, then transport the whole thing after the thaw period ends."

He pointed to the pile holes on the foundation diagram, "Also, I need to equip my XCMG loader with a spiral drilling attachment to drill through the frozen soil here. This can only be rented from a professional company in Fairbanks."

"Finally, and most importantly, the materials needed for the foundation, cement, steel bars, sand, and gravel, all need to be purchased at once from Fairbanks."

Lin Yu'an stood up and straightened his clothes, looking at David, "So, let's go. First we'll go to Old George's house to borrow his pickup and trailer."

"Then to Fairbanks to first rent equipment, then buy materials, and finally go to my warehouse to pick up goods and transport everything back here."

When the three of them arrived at Old George's house, the old man was in his rocking chair by the living room window, bathing in the precious morning sunlight of the far north.

Like all gun-loving Texas old cowboys, Old George would also fiddle with firearms during his free time.

He held an oiled cloth in his hands, carefully wiping his Remington 700 rifle, the stock already polished to a shine from his handling.

"Hey, young man, looks like you're ready to set off?"

Old George saw them and asked with a smile. He didn't get up, just gestured with his eyes toward the empty seats nearby.

"Yes, George. I came to borrow your vehicle."

Lin Yu'an got straight to the point, which was the most comfortable way of communication between him and Old George.

"Of course, no problem."

Old George stood up, steadied his beloved rifle against the wall, took out a keychain with brass accessories from inside the house, and casually tossed it to Lin Yu'an.

"Keys to my old Ford. I filled it up yesterday. That dual-axle flatbed trailer behind the yard, remember to check the tire pressure. That guy hasn't been on a long trip in a while."

With Old George's help, they worked together to hitch the huge dual-axle flatbed trailer to the rear of the old Ford.

The heavy "clang" of metal hitting metal when connecting the hitch marked the official start of this procurement mission!

"George, goodbye, we're setting off."

"Goodbye? No, I'm going with you. I should also visit old friends in the city."

The Dalton Highway was currently at its muddiest period, with an uneven road surface like an old carpet full of patches.

But experienced old drivers knew where it was safe to drive and where they wouldn't get stuck.

Old George drove his old Ford at a moderate but extremely steady speed. His decades of driving experience allowed him to easily handle every hidden pothole.

After arriving in Fairbanks, Lin Yu'an didn't rest and headed straight for the industrial district in the suburbs.

Their actions proceeded completely according to Lin Yu'an's previous plan.

The first stop was Fairbanks' largest construction equipment rental company.

Old George was obviously a regular customer here. Using his decades of experience, he skillfully bargained with the rental company manager.

"Hey, Bob, don't give me that routine. This price is prepared for those suckers from the mainland."

Old George patted the counter, "My friend here, he's building a real home in Wiseman, not coming for vacation! You need to give him a fair price."

Finally, thanks to Old George's connections, they rented a spiral drilling attachment with two extension drill rods at a very reasonable package price.

When going to the warehouse to pick up goods, David asked curiously, "Lin, are you sure this attachment's dimensions match your loader?"

"Of course, XCMG loader attachments use international standard sizes. It will match perfectly with my XCMG."

They used a forklift to load the heavy drilling attachment onto the flatbed trailer.

Lin Yu'an took the list that Old George had helped him perfect and contacted the building materials supplier through Bob's phone.

"Hello, I need to purchase a batch of materials."

"I need four tons of 425-grade Portland cement, from the newest batch."

"Construction-grade threaded steel bars, 16-millimeter and 20-millimeter, totaling over two thousand kilograms."

"Also screened dry river sand, eight tons, and well-graded crushed stone aggregate, twelve tons."

"Additionally, I need some high-density extruded polystyrene boards for pile foundation insulation and thermal blankets for concrete curing."

The supplier listened to this list and mentally calculated that this was a very standard individual house foundation order quantity.

He asked, "Sir, how do you want to arrange transportation? These bulk sand and stone materials, do you need our company's dump truck service?"

"Yes, I need you to arrange your best-performing heavy dump truck to transport everything at once to near milestone 115 on the Dalton Highway."

"If possible, I hope you can package everything in nylon bags because your truck definitely can't get to my place, so you can only leave the building materials by the roadside."

The sales manager calculated the total price and high transportation costs, then quoted a total price of tens of thousands of dollars.

After Lin Yu'an paid online, all that remained was patient waiting.

Then they came to Lin Yu'an's rental warehouse and used keys to open the container that had been transported from Haines Port with complete legal documentation.

David and Mike's cameras immediately followed inside. The container contained neatly stacked wooden frames, plastic boxes, and wooden crates.

Lin Yu'an pointed to a wooden crate, "This contains a silent diesel generator with 20 kilowatts of power."

"As the weather gets hotter, food storage will need refrigerators, and daily use of lights, appliances, kitchen equipment, and more power tools will increase."

"Places needing electricity will become more and more numerous. Just relying on those few solar panels won't provide enough power."

"Wow! This guy is really a big fellow!" David exclaimed.

After moving out the generator, Lin Yu'an took several well-sealed engineering plastic boxes from another corner of the container.

"What's this?"

"Seeds."

Lin Yu'an opened a box with packages labeled cold-resistant Chinese cabbage, black soil green beans, and highland purple-skinned garlic.

"I also prepared some vegetable seeds. It's now late April, and May planting season is coming soon. This timing can't be missed either."

After completing this whirlwind procurement and pickup, everyone set off on the return journey.

The flatbed trailer now only carried the spiral drilling attachment and the diesel generator.

Three weeks passed, and it was early May.

The polar day had also arrived, and the ground was experiencing peak snowmelt, becoming completely muddy.

Lin Yu'an's hundred-day plan was progressing rhythmically, but the impact of the melt period was quite significant, seriously affecting his efficiency.

On this polar night evening, after finishing a day of exhausting work, he promptly dialed the weekly routine video call.

On the screen, Aliya's beautiful face quickly appeared. She was holding their daughter Olivia, who was already getting sleepy.

Seeing her husband in the video who was obviously thinner and showing fatigue on his face, her eyes were full of heartache.

"Honey, you look too tired."

Aliya's voice was full of concern. She tried to make her tone sound calm, but her care overflowed.

"You can't keep pushing yourself alone like this. You'll exhaust yourself! The plan can go slowly. We're not in a hurry. Summer is still very long."

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Everything is going according to plan."

Lin Yu'an smiled and adjusted his posture, trying to make himself look more relaxed.

"It's just that the workload is really heavy, but seeing more and more wood piling up near the camp every day gives me a great sense of accomplishment! Today I completed two more trees."

Just then, in the video background, a burly figure suddenly squeezed into the frame. It was Aliya's eldest brother Wyatt.

He took over the phone, the screen shook, and then second brother Garrett, third brother Bo, and fourth brother Clay all crowded over. Four distinct faces instantly filled the small phone screen.

"Lin, stop being stubborn."

Wyatt spoke, his voice as steady and powerful as always.

"You work every day, and Aliya worries about you every day. We've already discussed it with her."

Lin Yu'an was somewhat puzzled, "Discussed what?"

The most hot-tempered second brother-in-law Garrett directly took over, shouting loudly at the screen.

"We McKinley men don't let our brother-in-law suffer alone in the wilderness!"

Third brother-in-law Bo also chimed in, "We've already arranged the work on our respective farms. Each of us has made time for a full two weeks. Next week, we're flying over to help you."

Looking at the non-negotiable expressions of his brothers-in-law on screen and Aliya's reassuring smile beside them, a huge wave of warmth instantly surged into Lin Yu'an's heart.

He originally wanted to say "I can handle it myself."

But when the words reached his lips, they became the simplest and most sincere two words, "Thank you."

A week later, at Fairbanks International Airport.

Lin Yu'an stood at the exit and quickly saw those four extremely conspicuous figures.

Wyatt, Garrett, Bo, and Clay were each wearing thick work jackets and jeans, with indestructible Timberland boots on their feet.

Each carried a large backpack, and when they walked out of the corridor, that powerful aura belonging to real working tough guys made the well-dressed tourists around them unconsciously make way.

David and Mike excitedly recorded this scene of the lumberjack team assembling.

David said excitedly to Mike in a low voice, "Zoom in! Film their expressions! This is real family reality TV! Not those fakes acting in Beverly Hills!"

"Hey! Hermann!"

The brothers-in-law saw Lin Yu'an and quickly walked forward. Without excessive pleasantries or small talk, each gave him a solid hug.

The other brothers-in-law also came forward and punched him, with force that made even Lin Yu'an wince.

They patted his back heavily, then let go and looked him up and down, "You kid, you really did lose weight, but you still look pretty solid."

"You did well, Lin. But now, leave the heaviest work to us!"

[NEXT CHAPTER]

HUN Chapter 113: The Covenant of Dall Sheep Hunting

"How is it?"

Old George proudly patted the solid body of the band saw, his eyes looking at it like he was looking at his own child.

"This guy has been with me for almost ten years. I gave it a more powerful Honda GX390 engine and installed an automatic lubrication system myself."

"As long as you feed it wood, it can spit out lumber of any size you want, with an error no more than two millimeters!"

Lin Yu'an's eyes also showed interested light as he stepped forward to carefully examine every detail of the band saw.

After touring the equipment, Old George turned around and looked at Lin Yu'an again, his face bearing the smile of an old fox.

He spoke, "Alright, young man, now let's talk about conditions."

"My sawmill, mixer, and the experience of these old bones can all help you."

"I won't charge you money, that's too boring. I don't lack that bit of money in my lifetime."

He paused and proposed a very "Alaska-style" condition.

"In exchange, I want you to accompany me in doing something that I'm no longer capable of."

His gaze turned toward the distant, rolling Brooks Range.

"I want you to accompany me to the mountains for hunting after the July thaw ends. My target is a mature Dall sheep!"

"Not just any sheep, I want the kind that lives on the steepest cliffs, the most cunning ram king with the most beautiful horns."

"These old bones of mine haven't climbed those cliffs for several years now. My knees won't allow it, but my marksmanship hasn't declined!"

"I need a strong young fellow like you to help me carry equipment, search and observe, even track the target."

He looked at Lin Yu'an with burning eyes, "I want that pair of the most beautiful, complete ram horns to hang on the wall above my fireplace."

Old George's gaze turned to his wife's photograph on the wall, "This was my wife's wish before she passed. She always wanted to hang a pair of Dall sheep horns above the fireplace."

"If possible, I hope that at my funeral, the priest can tell everyone that 'Old George fulfilled his wife's last wish before she died.'"

Lin Yu'an looked at the longing for his wife in the old man's eyes and immediately understood that this was not just an exchange condition, but also an entrustment and trust.

He answered concisely and forcefully, without the slightest hesitation, directly extending his right hand, "George, rest assured, I have an Alaska resident hunting license, and all the tags are complete."

"Let's make it a deal. When the July thaw ends, we'll set off!"

"Haha! Good lad! It's settled then!"

Old George firmly grasped his hand, and Lin Yu'an's first "Far North Covenant" was thus established.

At the same time, a temporary "foundation engineering team" was officially formed at this moment.

They immediately began discussing specific construction plans.

Old George took out paper and pen, drew a professional pile foundation layout diagram, and listed the approximate quantities needed for sand, gravel, 425-grade cement, and threaded steel bars.

"Portland cement, construction-grade threaded steel bars, 16-millimeter and 20-millimeter ones, eight tons of dry river sand, and well-graded crushed stone."

"You'll need to transport all these materials from Fairbanks."

"Then you need to drill through two meters of active permafrost layer and go four or five meters deep into the permanent frost layer. Your loader can handle that."

"However, you'll need a spiral drilling attachment. You'll have to go back to Fairbanks to rent one."

When all matters were settled, it was already getting dark.

Lin Yu'an and Stan said goodbye to Old George.

Tonight, Lin Yu'an, David, and Mike planned to stay overnight in their rented cabin rather than return to camp.

Stan rode his all-terrain motorcycle, easily racing across the snowy ground.

Lin Yu'an drove the Zongshen three-wheeler with David and Mike sitting in the rear cargo bed.

When they came, they still found riding in the three-wheeler novel and interesting.

But now, as the sun set and temperatures plummeted, the bone-chilling wind poured into the open cargo bed from all directions, and the situation became completely different.

"Oh, my God, Lin! Aren't you cold at all?"

David's voice shook like a sieve in the cold wind as he tightly wrapped himself in his designer down jacket, but still felt the cold air penetrating everywhere.

"I'm fine," came Lin Yu'an's voice from the front.

"Fine?"

Mike couldn't help but join the conversation, "I feel like my bones are going to freeze! We're wearing down jackets rated for minus thirty degrees!"

Stan, on his all-terrain motorcycle nearby, heard their conversation and burst into loud laughter that echoed particularly loudly in the open wilderness.

"Hey! Hollywood boys! Those clothes of yours are for drinking coffee in the city. What Lin's wearing is the real deal for working!"

David looked at Lin Yu'an's composed figure, then at himself and Mike shivering with cold, and finally faced reality.

Shivering, he pulled out his satellite phone and, in the weak signal, called the production team's logistics.

"Hans, Arcteryx down parkas, buy two! And matching pants! Rush order! Send them to Fairbanks by the fastest courier! Mike and I are going to freeze to death here!"

Stan laughed even more heartily, "Lin, well done. George is a stubborn character. I can see you're very much to his liking. If he's willing to help you, it means he's already accepted you."

"Dall sheep are no easy prey. The places they live are more dangerous than bear territory. When the time comes and you need help, count me in."

"Thank you, Stan." Lin Yu'an nodded, his heart also filled with warmth.

Returning to the cabin and lighting the fire, David and Mike immediately sat by the stove to warm up.

David, having recovered, looked at those two sets of blueprints and asked curiously, "Lin, today was really a day of huge gains! We met George and borrowed a portable band saw."

"So what's our next plan? Is your 'hundred-day plan' completely achievable now?"

"You're right, David. Today's gains were significant."

"Tomorrow's task is to safely transport the portable band saw back to our 'Wood Forest Land.' Then, large-scale timber processing work will officially begin!"

"We must seize every day and turn all the wood into qualified building materials before the ground thaws and summer arrives!"

"You wouldn't want to still be facing Alaska mosquitoes in the forest during summer, would you?"

The next day, before dawn, Lin Yu'an came to Old George's house again.

He planned to transport the portable band saw while the road conditions were not yet so muddy in the early morning.

"George, can this machine be disassembled? I want to transport it in batches."

"Of course. Its track section consists of two-meter standard components that can be disassembled with hand-twist bolts. The main head and engine can also be separated. The heaviest main head is only about a hundred kilograms."

Lin Yu'an first used professional socket wrenches to skillfully disassemble the band saw's tracks section by section.

"First trip, we'll transport the tracks."

He and David worked together to lift the four two-meter-long steel tracks onto the three-wheeler's rear bed and secured them firmly with professional ratchet tie-down straps.

Lin Yu'an drove the three-wheeler alone, easily making a round trip on the muddy dirt road, transporting all the tracks back to camp.

The most difficult part was transporting the main head.

This big guy, which integrated the saw wheel, lifting system, and various precision components, weighed only about a hundred kilograms but had an irregular shape with a difficult-to-grasp center of gravity.

It took Lin Yu'an, David, and Mike working together to steadily place this main head in the center of the three-wheeler's cargo bed.

"Lin, what do we do when we get to camp? Can you unload it by yourself?"

"David, did you forget about my loader?"

"Haha, I almost forgot you have that big miracle tool."

For this transport trip, Lin Yu'an drove extra carefully.

He put the three-wheeler in the lowest gear, the engine roaring steadily and powerfully like a tireless old ox, moving slowly but steadily through the mud.

This time, Lin Yu'an deliberately wanted to test the limits of this three-wheeler, so he didn't use his space to intervene.

After spending more than half a day, when all components of the band saw had been safely transported to "Wood Forest Land" and initially assembled by Lin Yu'an, all three tough guys were quite tired.

Lin Yu'an took out the pork belly buried in the cooler and decided to make a meal of braised pork to reward the hardworking camera duo.

Actually, they could have completely refrained from helping, but they still actively helped, which warmed Lin Yu'an's heart and made him take note of their contribution.

"Alright, you two worked hard today," Lin Yu'an clapped the dust off his hands.

"To celebrate our new progress and to reward you, I'll cook something delicious for dinner!"

David and Mike's eyes immediately brightened, and David dramatically clutched his stomach, "Oh, Lin, say that again! I feel like I can already smell the aroma!"

Lin Yu'an smiled without saying much and walked directly to his supply boxes.

From a cooler, he took out several pieces of pork belly well-packaged in vacuum bags and flour, all of which he had purchased in Fairbanks.

Then he took out a special spice box containing star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, dried chilies, rock sugar, and a bottle of dark soy sauce brought from China.

He brought out that huge Chinese iron wok with integrated stove and started the fire to heat the pot.

"Lin, what are you making? Boiled pork?" David asked curiously like a food show host, constantly questioning from the side.

While using a long spoon to skim the foam constantly rising in the pot, Lin Yu'an explained, "This is called 'blanching' in Chinese cuisine."

"Its main purpose is to remove blood and impurities from the meat and eliminate the fishy smell."

When the water in the pot boiled again, he removed all the meat pieces, poured out the water, heated the pot, and added oil, then threw in a handful of rock sugar.

"Now, this is frying sugar color, which gives the dish its beautiful color."

He continuously stirred with a spatula as the rock sugar quickly melted in the hot oil, changing from pale yellow to amber.

Lin Yu'an poured all the previously processed pork belly back into the pot, quickly stir-frying to ensure each piece of meat was evenly coated with a layer of shiny caramel color.

Next, he threw all the spices, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, and dried chilies into the pot all at once, then drizzled a large amount of soy sauce along the edge of the pot.

Lin Yu'an added sufficient boiling water to cover all the meat pieces, planning to add cut potato chunks before serving, covered the pot, and let them stew slowly.

While doing all this, he also took out flour and yeast, dissolved the yeast in warm water, then mixed it with flour and kneaded it into a smooth dough.

He placed the dough in a large basin, covered it with a damp cloth, and put it beside the cast iron stove to ferment.

Lin Yu'an vigorously kneaded and degassed the fermented dough on a simple cutting board.

Then he divided it into evenly sized portions and individually kneaded them into smooth, round, and plump steamed buns.

He set up a steamer on another large iron pot and placed the raw steamed buns inside.

Half an hour later, Lin Yu'an lifted the pot lid.

The originally small dough pieces on the steamer had transformed into plump white steamed buns that looked full of elasticity.

A pot of red-bright, tender braised pork with potatoes was also ready, and together with the steaming hot buns, they were brought to the simple dining table.

David picked up a piece of braised pork, "Lin! This stuff is so delicious! This is better than what I've had at Michelin restaurants!"

"Try this, Chinese bread, dip it in the sauce," Lin Yu'an handed him a hot steamed bun.

David followed his example, tearing open the soft steamed bun and dipping it full of the red, thick braised pork sauce from the plate.

"Incredible! Simply incredible! This tastes like God's blessing!" David shouted with his mouth full.

Mike said nothing, holding a piece of braised pork in his left hand and half a steamed bun in his right, his mouth stuffed full, just giving Lin Yu'an thumbs up repeatedly.

Lin Yu'an looked at their exaggerated reactions and said with a smile, "It's not that exaggerated. In China, this is just a very ordinary home-cooked dish with the most basic staple food."

This meal was not only a reward but also Lin Yu'an's way of expressing gratitude and building friendship.

At the dinner table, the relationship between the three men, catalyzed by good food, moved a step closer from simple work partners toward true friends.

After dinner, following a brief rest, Lin Yu'an didn't stop.

By the light of the vehicle headlights, he began assembling the band saw, a process that once again demonstrated his solid mechanical engineering foundation.

He first carefully aligned each track section with a spirit level before joining them into a straight base.

Then he steadily installed the main head on the tracks, carefully adjusting the clearance of each roller to ensure the main head moved smoothly on the tracks without the slightest wobble.

Finally, he installed a brand new band saw blade and conducted final repeated adjustments.

The next morning, the band saw's first test cut officially began amid everyone's anticipation!

[NEXT CHAPTER]

HUN Chapter 112: Construction Method for Permafrost Foundation

Lin Yu'an immediately took action, putting on his Arcteryx down parka and starting up his Zongshen three-wheeler.

Stan mounted his snowmobile, while David and Mike sat in the cargo bed, experiencing their first ride in this vehicle from China.

The group formed an unusual convoy and drove toward the depths of Wiseman town.

Old George's log cabin was larger and tidier than Stan's, with a well-maintained vintage Ford pickup parked in the yard.

On the other side of the yard, under a huge tarp, the outline of a large machine was faintly visible.

An old man with silver hair but still robust physique was splitting wood in the yard, this was Old George.

"Hey, George! I brought a new neighbor to meet you!" Stan shouted from far away.

Old George stopped his work, straightened up, and scrutinized Lin Yu'an getting down from the three-wheeler with sharp eyes.

"Stan, is this the Chinese kid you mentioned?"

Old George's voice was loud with a slight Texas accent, obviously he had also moved here from the mainland United States.

"Hello, Mr. George, you can call me Lin or Hermann." Lin Yu'an stepped forward proactively, extending his hand.

Old George shook hands with him, with quite a firm grip.

"Just call me George. I heard from Stan that you're planning to build a big house on that lousy land by the river?"

"Yes, sir, just getting ready to start." Lin Yu'an smiled and didn't immediately bring up borrowing equipment.

He turned around and took out two items from a waterproof box in the back of his Zongshen three-wheeler.

They were an elegantly packaged pack of "Zhonghua" cigarettes and a bottle of Feitian Moutai liquor.

"Mr. George, for this first visit, these are small gifts I brought from China. I hope you'll like them." He handed over the cigarettes and liquor.

Old George raised an eyebrow, a flash of surprise and curiosity in his eyes.

He took the heavy bottle of Moutai and examined the Chinese characters he couldn't read at all, then picked up the cigarette pack, attracted by the bright red color and design.

He smiled. This direct goodwill was somewhat unexpected but not unwelcome.

"Ha, gifts from China? Alright, I like your style, bringing gifts when you visit. Come in."

He didn't refuse, directly accepting the gifts, then turned to lead them toward his log cabin.

Stan showed a knowing smile on the side.

Entering Old George's warm log cabin, the fireplace was burning brightly.

Old George generously brought out five thick glass tumblers and opened a bottle of his treasured bourbon whiskey.

Lin Yu'an opened the cap of the Moutai bottle, and a complex, mellow sauce aroma instantly filled the air.

Old George's nose twitched as he leaned in to smell, showing an interested expression on his face.

The five men shared drinks, chatting from hunting to fishing, from the hard days working in oil fields when young to amusing stories from the Wiseman community.

Lin Yu'an didn't rush to get to the point, but as a newcomer to the community, shared his experiences and listened to the stories of the two old tough guys.

After several strong drinks, the atmosphere became warm and harmonious.

Old George developed a strong interest in this steady, polite Chinese young man who could hold his liquor.

Finally, he took the initiative to speak, "Alright, kid, let's talk business. Stan says you've run into trouble? Related to that big house of yours?"

Lin Yu'an knew the time had come to discuss serious matters.

He nodded and said sincerely, "Yes, George. I'm currently facing two major difficulties."

"The first difficulty is timber processing. I want to mill the logs into building materials with flat tops and bottoms, but I lack a portable band saw."

"The second difficulty, and the more critical one, is driving foundation piles in permafrost. I'd like to learn more about local solutions."

"I know you're an expert in this field with over twenty years of rich experience, so I'd like to consult with you on how to build a solid foundation in permafrost."

Hearing this, Old George's face showed a truly heartfelt proud smile.

Lin Yu'an continued, "Then Stan told me you have the best portable band saw in town."

"So I hope to get your help and rent your band saw for a period. Of course, I'll pay a rental fee that satisfies you."

After listening, Old George sipped his drink and didn't answer immediately.

After finishing that sip, Old George laughed heartily, "You've asked the right person, kid. Alright, pour me another cup of that... whatever you call that stuff!"

"After this drink, I'll take you to see my baby and have a good chat about how to deal with this damn permafrost!"

In Old George's log cabin, the drinking was in full swing.

As the conversation deepened, Old George's face frequently showed genuine smiles.

It was the kind of smile that experienced veterans have when they meet a worthy junior.

George drained the remaining bourbon in his glass with satisfaction, letting out a contented sigh as ice clinked against the glass.

Then he fixed those still sharp eyes on Lin Yu'an and said, "Kid, let's talk about this damn permafrost."

Old George leaned back in his chair, the old leather sofa creaking in complaint.

He crossed his arms, and his entire demeanor instantly switched from a jovial drinking buddy to a meticulous senior engineer.

"Since you have a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, tell me, in a place like Wiseman, what's the average depth of seasonal active permafrost layer?"

"Don't give me some rough numbers you found online. I want depths that can be used in engineering with safety factors considered."

This question was very professional, directly hitting the core of the problem.

David immediately perked up, signaling Mike to focus the camera on the two men, on that table occupied by whiskey and maps.

He instantly realized this scene was no longer simple neighborly chat.

It would be a collision of knowledge and experience, the kind of content that gives viewers satisfaction! The premium content the show needed most!

Lin Yu'an didn't hesitate for a moment. He didn't even need to recall, those data seemed already carved in his mind.

He answered steadily, "According to the geological report I found from the U.S. Geological Survey for the Koyukuk River basin, combined with past meteorological data models."

"The active permafrost layer in this area has an annual average thaw depth between 1.5 to 2 meters."

"But that's the average. In some south-facing slopes affected by river moisture, or areas with sparse vegetation and more abundant summer sunlight, maximum thaw depth might reach 2.5 meters."

"So for absolute safety, any permanent foundation pile bottom must be driven to at least 3 meters depth to effectively anchor in the stable, reliable permafrost layer below."

"Good answer, I can see you've done your homework."

Old George's eyes lit up as he raised his glass for another sip of whiskey.

He hadn't expected Lin Yu'an's homework to be so thorough. Clearly, he was seriously treating the matter of settling in Alaska.

Old George threw out the second question, "So facing this situation, what do you think is the best foundation solution?"

"Many contractors like to dig straight through the permafrost layer and pour a huge, thick concrete foundation. What do you think?"

"No, that would be a disaster. Deep excavation would completely destroy the thermal balance of the permafrost layer below."

Lin Yu'an shook his head, his tone very certain in rejecting this seemingly direct solution.

"Come summer, external heat would continuously conduct down through the massive concrete foundation acting as a thermal conductor, causing irreversible melting of permafrost around the foundation!"

Then he picked up a pencil from the table and quickly drew a clear structural sketch on paper.

This action excited both David and Mike, and the camera immediately gave a close-up.

"I believe the best solution should be elevated independent pile foundations, that is, raised pile foundations."

He pointed to the sketch and explained, "Drilling should be done at each load-bearing point, such as the four corners of the house and intersections of load-bearing walls, using spiral drilling equipment."

"Based on the estimated total weight of this house and local geological conditions, this anchor depth must reach at least 4 to 5 meters."

"This provides sufficient frost grip to resist house settlement and tilting."

"Then on top of these concrete piles, use adjustable-height steel connectors to establish a platform at least half a meter above ground."

"Then build the entire cabin's floor framework on this completely elevated platform."

He drew air circulation arrows on the paper, "This way, the house is completely separated from the ground, and cold air can circulate freely under the house."

"It neither transfers internal house heat to the ground, causing permafrost melting, nor is affected by frost heave forces from surface frozen soil in winter."

After hearing Lin Yu'an's clear and logical exposition, the scrutiny in Old George's eyes completely turned to appreciation.

"You kid, you really know something."

"You're completely right, more knowledgeable than many contractors who come here and only know how to follow blueprints."

"But..."

"Theory doesn't solve hands-on problems. Alaska's summer looks beautiful, but for concrete, it has its own troubles."

"The polar day here lasts two months, with daily sunlight exceeding 20 hours. Sometimes temperature rises quickly. How do you prevent concrete from setting too fast and developing shrinkage cracks?"

Lin Yu'an thought for a moment, "The concrete surface can be covered immediately after pouring, such as with plastic film."

"And after initial setting, continue spraying water for moist curing, keeping the surface wet to slow water evaporation."

"But regarding at what wind speed and temperature to start spraying, and the frequency of spraying, I indeed lack local practical experience. This is exactly what I most want to consult with you about."

"Very good, kid, at least you know to maintain moisture."

Lin Yu'an's humble yet confident attitude, demonstrating theoretical knowledge while honestly acknowledging practical shortcomings, completely won Old George's respect.

In America, especially in places like Alaska, people respect experts, but they respect pragmatists who dare to admit what they don't know and humbly seek guidance even more.

"Hahaha!" Old George burst into hearty laughter again.

He stood up and patted Lin Yu'an's shoulder forcefully, the impact so strong that Lin Yu'an could feel the sincerity.

"Buddy, you're great! You've done your homework. In Alaska, what we fear most are know-it-all idiots who only get themselves killed. You're excellent!"

He turned to Stan, "Stan, this time you brought an interesting guy."

"Come! I'll show you my baby."

Old George led everyone out of the warm log cabin to the huge tarp on the other side of the yard. He untied the ropes and pulled the tarp aside with one motion.

A Woodland Mills HM126 portable band saw, painted orange and black and appearing extremely well-maintained, appeared before everyone.

Its track was nearly eight meters long, assembled from several two-meter standard sections, with various sizes of band saw blades, both new and used, neatly hanging nearby.

Not far away, there was also a small concrete mixer!

[NEXT CHAPTER]

HUN Chapter 111: The Legendary George

Lin Yu'an showed no panic at all. He released the clutch, and the winch stopped pulling.

He quickly walked to a previously positioned turning pulley, disconnected the steel cable from its original straight-line route, and hooked it into the pulley fixed to a large tree on the side.

He started the winch again. This time, the steel cable exerted force from the side, and the front end of the massive log was cleverly pulled to one side, precisely bypassing the rock.

He said to David who had caught up, "See now, the direction of the pulling force has changed."

"That's amazing!" David watched in astonishment.

Throughout the entire transportation process, he constantly utilized the terrain and pre-positioned pulleys to adjust the log's forward route.

David and Mike became his temporary assistants, and both were quite interested in this novel experience.

"David, help me watch that pulley over there. If the steel cable is about to jump out, give me a shout!"

"Mike, watch your footing. That slope over there is steep!"

After nearly two hours of arduous effort, that heaviest and longest twelve-meter main beam was finally successfully dragged to the lumber storage area beside the foundation.

When Lin Yu'an unfastened the choker chain from the log, both his and David's foreheads were covered with fine sweat.

"Alright, the most difficult one is done."

Lin Yu'an caught his breath but didn't rest for long.

He said to David, "We need to pick up the pace. Before dark, we must transport all the remaining sections back and complete our goal of one tree today."

Over the next several hours, Lin Yu'an displayed amazing efficiency.

With the experience from the first attempt, transporting the subsequent four-meter short sections became much faster.

Lin Yu'an began continuously repeating the process of positioning steel cables, dragging, and dismantling.

By evening, when the last log of the day was transported and placed in the storage area, Lin Yu'an's "hundred-day plan" first day was completed perfectly with the cutting and hauling of one giant tree.

They returned to the tent and filled the massive cast iron stove with firewood, continuing to keep the entire shelter warm.

To replenish the day's enormous physical exertion, he decided to make a hearty dinner.

"David, Mike, don't turn off the camera yet. I'm going to start cooking, which can also be recorded as material."

Upon hearing this, David immediately got up from his cot and pulled Mike to stand in front of Lin Yu'an outside.

They saw him taking out flour, moose meat, and various bottles and jars of seasonings they'd never seen before from the supply boxes.

In front of the camera, he kneaded dough, then chopped the onions bought in town, mixing them with seasonings.

Then he rolled the dough into thin pancakes, sprinkled them with chopped onions and brushed them with oil, rolled them up, then rolled them out again.

Finally, he set a wok on the cast iron stove, brushed it with oil, and placed the scallion pancakes in to cook.

"Sizzle!" The sound of the pancake hitting the hot pan instantly released the aroma of cooked dough.

Soon, scallion pancakes with golden, crispy exteriors and distinct internal layers came out of the pan.

Meanwhile, the large integrated pot-stove outside continued stewing steaming hot moose meat and potatoes, this simple dinner in the Alaskan wilderness.

"Oh my God, Lin!"

David bit into a large piece of crispy scallion pancake and closed his eyes in bliss.

"This... this Chinese pizza tastes incredible! How did you think to make it like this?"

Lin Yu'an smiled, "I didn't think it up. In China, this is a very common homestyle cooking method."

After dinner, David and Mike were so tired they could barely keep their eyes open, and Mike quickly fell asleep.

But Lin Yu'an and David didn't rest immediately, the two continued filming.

Lin Yu'an took out professional tools and began meticulously maintaining his Stihl chainsaw.

For professional chainsaws, daily maintenance after work is crucial.

He first removed the outer casing and used a small brush to carefully clean away the wood chips accumulated on the cooling fins and air filter.

Keeping the air filter clean at all times is essential, otherwise it affects the engine's air intake efficiency, causing power loss.

Then he removed the guide bar and chain, washing away residual resin and dirt with kerosene.

Finally, he took out a round file and a metal angle gauge with angle markings.

He used the "angle gauge" to hold a cutting tooth, then used the file to push forward at a fixed angle, one, two, three strokes.

When David replaced Mike in recording Lin Yu'an's chainsaw maintenance with the camera, looking at those massive logs beside the camp, he raised a new question.

"Lin, now that the wood is transported here, but to stack them into walls, I see that many log cabin timbers have flat top and bottom surfaces, like building blocks. How do you do that?"

"And all this wood needs to be debarked, right? This looks like another major project."

Lin Yu'an put down the chainsaw in his hands and answered, "That's right, before stacking, I still need to complete the debarking and flattening work."

"What you're talking about is a more mainstream construction method now, processing logs into flat-topped and bottomed 'D' shapes or squares, which stack faster and more stably."

"But to complete this work, cutting with chainsaw attachments alone is still too inefficient. We need more professional equipment."

"If I had a portable band saw, that would be the real miracle tool for turning these round logs into standard building materials."

"As for the debarking work, that's much simpler."

Lin Yu'an walked to the supply boxes and took out a precisely structured metal attachment.

A blade head like a small planer that could be fixed to the front of the chainsaw guide bar, with two rotatable planer blades on top.

"This is a chainsaw attachment debarker. It uses the chainsaw chain's power to drive the blades to rotate at high speed, peeling bark like peeling an apple, with efficiency dozens of times that of manual draw knives."

He said to David, "Tomorrow, my Stihl chainsaw will transform. It will no longer be just a tree-cutting tool, but will become a multifunctional debarker! Wait until I demonstrate it for you tomorrow, and you'll understand."

The next morning, after eating a high-calorie breakfast in the warm tent, Lin Yu'an's hundred-day plan officially began its second day.

Today's task wasn't just pure physical output, but also included skilled timber processing work.

He didn't immediately walk toward those massive logs transported back yesterday, but first returned to his supply pile and took out a precisely structured metal attachment.

David and Mike immediately followed and began filming.

Lin Yu'an displayed one of the attachments in front of the camera, "This is the chainsaw debarker, which allows us to quickly remove bark."

Lin Yu'an first skillfully removed the original guide bar and chain from the Stihl chainsaw, then steadily and quickly installed this debarker attachment.

The entire installation process took only a few minutes, and he was as skilled as a veteran carpenter.

He started the modified chainsaw, the engine's roar sounded again, walked to a four-meter-long wall log, and gently aimed the high-speed rotating debarker head at the rough bark.

"Whirr..."

Accompanied by a sharp friction sound, large chunks of bark and white wood chips were instantly thrown off, revealing the white and smooth wood underneath!

Lin Yu'an controlled the chainsaw, moving at a steady speed slowly from one end of the log to the other.

Wherever he passed, the rough bark was "shaved" off layer by layer, like a giant automatic pencil sharpener peeling a pencil.

Soon, the bark of a four-meter-long spruce log was completely stripped clean.

"That's about right, this counts as properly debarked." Lin Yu'an turned off the chainsaw and examined the smooth wood surface.

David's voice was full of amazement, "This is faster than me peeling potatoes! If using traditional tools, peeling this one log would probably take an entire afternoon, right?"

"Yes David, if using traditional tools, efficiency would indeed be slower."

"So this is the charm and significance of modern machinery. It can free us from repetitive physical labor and allow us to focus more on technical work."

Over the next several hours, he used the same method to debark all the logs transported back yesterday.

Beside the camp, several white logs emitting the fresh scent of pine resin suddenly appeared.

Just as they were discussing the day's subsequent plans, the sound of an engine approached from far to near.

The visitor was their old friend Stan! Today he was driving a four-wheel all-terrain vehicle, obviously making a special trip to check on Lin Yu'an's progress.

When he saw the mountain of white debarked logs piled beside the camp, even his usually impassive face showed obvious surprise.

"Lin, your progress looks very rapid, even the bark is stripped."

Stan jumped down from the all-terrain vehicle, walked to a processed log, and ran his hand over the smooth wood surface, seemingly looking for any overlooked details.

"Just normal progress, Stan. Want some coffee?"

"Of course."

Everyone sat by the fire, and Lin Yu'an took the opportunity to present his dilemma to this "local expert."

"Stan, I've encountered a problem. I want to process this wood into flat-topped and bottomed styles, but I lack a band saw."

Stan smiled, as if waiting for exactly this question.

"I was just about to talk to you about this. On my way here, I was thinking you'd definitely be planning how to build your house next."

He took a sip of hot coffee, and his tone became serious.

"Lin, it looks like your woodwork is beautiful, but what about the foundation?"

Stan hit the nail on the head, pointing out the biggest challenge of building houses in the far north: "permafrost."

"On this kind of permafrost, if you can't handle the foundation problem properly, your log cabin will fall apart within two years."

David's heart tightened as he immediately realized this was another enormous challenge worth documenting!

Lin Yu'an remained calm and nodded, "You're right, Stan. This is also my biggest headache for the next step."

"I've researched it. I need to drive deep piles below the active permafrost layer and create an independent foundation."

"But this project, especially the concrete material transportation part, would be difficult to handle with just me and this small loader."

"My original plan was to wait until summer comes and large vehicles can get in, then find others to help."

Stan put down his coffee cup, looked at Lin Yu'an, and said slowly.

"You don't need to wait that long. There's an old buddy in town named Old George. When he was young, he was a professional in construction, worked on the North Slope oil fields for twenty years."

"No one understands how to deal with the permafrost here better than him."

Stan paused, a glint of amusement flashing in his eyes, "And he's got a portable band saw that he treasures like a baby, which is exactly what you urgently need right now."

This information energized both Lin Yu'an and David!

Stan stood up and brushed the dust off himself.

"Come on, kid, stop wrestling with these logs. I'll take you to visit him. It's time for you to meet other neighbors."

"Whether he'll agree to help you and lend you his precious sawing machine depends on your own skills."

[NEXT CHAPTER]

WIZ Chapter 120: Big Shopping

Witch Kitchen, table number 5.

Locke thought for a moment. He could divide the Crystal Palm Fire Lotus into three batches and deliver them in three installments.

He could first open one hundred acres of magical fields, then plant the first batch of Crystal Palm Fire Lotus. With the magic stones paid by the academy, he could easily make full use of the plantation in his hands.

Already opened magical fields must be maintained with resources, otherwise they would gradually degrade and become barren.

But these were matters for later.

Locke nodded, "Alright, Senior Zack, I can sign this contract. However, I must wait until the academy pays me the complete 20,000 magic stones before I can sign this contract."

"Please don't take offense, I'm being cautious."

This was to prevent the academy from defaulting on him.

Suddenly creating some delay, trapping him and forcing him to breach the contract.

Although the probability of such a thing happening was relatively small, he had to guard against it.

He needed magic stones to expand his plantation, and also needed to use this batch of magic stones to maintain the consumption during the advanced meditation method's novice benefit period.

Zack smiled knowingly, "Of course."

"Being thorough is a good quality." He stood up, "I'll bring the magic stones and contract together tomorrow. I need to go busy with other things now."

After the three said their goodbyes, they left the Witch Kitchen together.

In the afternoon, Locke went to the Healing Hand Treatment Center and worked with Andrew and Axi to handle several patients who were afflicted with rather troublesome curses.

Then, in the evening he returned to his residence, took a bottle of Stardust Tears Potion and a bottle of Weeping Blood Nightshade Potion, then lit Four Seasons Fruit Core Incense in the incense burner.

Next, Locke sat on his bed and drank down a bottle of Energy Potion.

Locke sighed, "Meditation really requires taking potions."

"The more you take, the more powerful you become. You just need to use Deep Purple Jade to purify mana, otherwise your head will become pointed."

He sat cross-legged on the bed, his breathing began to slow, his mana fluctuations gradually approached the World Tree, entering a mysterious and profound special state.

...

The next day, early in the morning, Zack brought twenty thousand magic stones in a spatial ring and brought the contract.

Both parties signed the contract.

Just like that, Locke officially obtained a magical plant procurement contract from Lilith's Cottage Academy.

Both were very happy. Locke got the resources he needed most, while Zack could earn contribution points from this.

As long as Locke's magical plants performed well later, he could even get certain subsequent rewards.

After all, he was the one who discovered and was responsible for purchasing Locke's magical plants.

After signing this contract, the two formed certain common interests. Zack became much closer to Locke, saying warmly, "Breeder Locke, I'll be going now."

Locke nodded, "Alright."

After Zack left, Locke looked at the heavy pile of magic stones in his spatial ring.

He immediately went to Chimera Trading Market, and first spent 7,200 magic stones plus all his savings at potion shops to purchase all the magical resources he needed for his remaining month of novice benefit period.

A second-class wizard apprentice service staff at the potion shop seemed to rarely see someone buy so many potions at once, paying over ten thousand magic stones.

At this moment, his head was a bit dizzy as he commanded two half-elf slaves in the shop to push a small cart with all the potions placed on it.

"Master Augustine, these are all the potions you purchased."

"And the Four Seasons Fruit Core Incense."

Locke nodded slightly, coldly saying, "Mm, help me put them all in my spatial ring."

After leaving the potion shop, he went to Lijin Secret Language and used his Platinum Star membership privileges to spend 4,000 magic stones purchasing an advanced breeder package sufficient for one hundred acres of magical fields.

The same quantity of basic breeder package would only cost 2,000 magic stones, but the basic breeder package only contained basic nutrient solution, basic nutrient soil, and ordinary rapid growth gel, which could no longer meet Locke's usage needs.

Crystal Palm Fire Lotus was already considered a relatively high-level magical plant, so it was impossible to mass-produce it using such a basic package.

The advanced breeder three-piece package consisted of high-grade nutrient soil, high-grade nutrient solution, and high-grade rapid growth gel.

Similarly, Locke also spent 100 magic stones purchasing a large quantity of farming tools, all of which he put into his spatial ring.

As for those materials like nutrient soil and nutrient solution, the spatial ring couldn't hold them, so the shop would send people to deliver them this afternoon.

Under Locke's shopping spree, he easily spent 11,300 magic stones.

The 20,000 magic stones in his hands hadn't stayed warm for long before most of them were spent.

In exchange, he had used this batch of magic stones to purchase large quantities of magical resources.

In the Lijin Secret Language shop, Yuri carefully helped Locke check for omissions, "Dear Locke, you're still missing sulfur crystals. Palm Fire Lotus needs soil mixed with certain sulfur crystal fragments to sprout. You don't need too much, but you definitely need some."

Locke was even more familiar than her, "Mm, I need about 1 ton."

Yuri smiled, "1 ton of sulfur crystals costs about 300 magic stones. I'll just give it to you as a gift. You're now a valued customer of our shop, I think Lady Irina would also agree to give you this discount."

Locke smiled at Yuri, "Then thank you."

He saved another sum of money.

Three hundred magic stones was quite a lot, enough to process three medium-quality enchanted items.

Locke thought for a moment, "Yuri, I also need to rent one of your shop's small weather control devices."

"The rental fee is one thousand per month, right?"

Weather control devices were equipment jointly created by First-Circle weather masters from the Evocation School and wizards from the Alchemy School, which could completely control the weather in a relatively large enclosed area and precisely manipulate every climate change detail.

The artificial sky on the wizard ship before used this type of equipment, but that was a large weather control device, while Locke's plantation currently only needed a small weather control device.

Palm Fire Lotus sprouting required maintaining a constant temperature of just over 40 degrees Celsius, so he needed to borrow a weather control device and use interdisciplinary power to cultivate Crystal Palm Fire Lotus.

Yuri nodded, "Good, I'll arrange it for you immediately."

Just like that, Locke spent another thousand magic stones.

This was even though he was too lazy to directly purchase those very simple herbicide, insecticide, and fungicide potions because he was a potion master's assistant.

These things were different from high-grade rapid growth gel, they didn't need frequent and large-scale use. One bottle mixed with water could be used on more than ten acres of magical fields.

Supporting disease and pest control potions for this level of magical plants, with his current level, he could brew casually because the difficulty was too low.

Much lower than the difficulty of configuring high-grade rapid growth gel.

To mass-produce high-grade rapid growth gel would require a pharmaceutical laboratory using large-scale preparation technology.

Locke silently calculated his expenses, as he still had a major expense of purchasing slaves that he hadn't spent yet.

"Let me manage this month first, I'll figure out next month's expenses next month. As long as I control costs well, it should actually be sufficient."

"It's just that I have too many other places that need money, I'm afraid expenses might be higher than income. That would be troublesome."

"I still have 7,700 magic stones left now. That's actually quite a lot."

"I've already submitted my Crystal Palm Fire Lotus for the preliminary round of the White Wizard Association breeder competition, don't know the results yet. If I pass the preliminaries, I'll need to immediately prepare magical plants for the finals, which is another expense."

"The pharmaceutical laboratory might also need money. Learning Minor Viridian Potion also requires money." Locke calculated in his mind, "Originally I thought getting so much money this time, I could buy extensively, but now it seems it's still not enough."

"At most I'll buy one more high-grade enchanted armor for protection, everything else will have to wait for now."

Locke thought of the archaeologists in Chimera Trading Market, and the cat-girl in his hands. Oh right, continuing to research ancient bloodlines also required money.

But Locke always felt that if he continued researching in this field, he might achieve relatively significant results.

He still needed to invest certain resources into it.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

WIZ Chapter 119: Large Order

The bustling Chimera Trading Market, Witch Kitchen.

Seasoning chefs proficient in the taste modification magic sub-category of the Enchantment School were in the kitchen, adding finishing touches to the dishes they had made themselves.

Adding many specific Enchantment School magical effects to adjust the taste of dishes, creating delicious flavors that ordinary people could never produce.

A steak enchanted with the 0.5-ring enchantment magic [Tri-Color Salt Grains] was brought to the table, elegantly placed in the center of the dining table where Locke, Yuri, and Zack, the academy procurement officer, were seated.

A second-class wizard apprentice seasoning chef opened the iron cover on the tri-color salt grain steak platter, and steaming hot vapor immediately rose up.

The red, yellow, and blue tri-color salt grains were exquisitely beautiful.

The fresh steak was infinitely delicious.

"Three masters, this is the famous dish of our Witch Kitchen, Tri-Color Salt Grain Steak."

"Without booking seven days in advance, you normally can't eat this. This single dish costs fifteen magic stones. However, I can't refuse to give Master Zack face, so I could only immediately come out and personally make the best Tri-Color Salt Grain Steak for you three masters."

"The red salt grains are taste enchantment crystals materialized from anger emotions, with a spicy taste; the yellow salt grains are taste enchantment crystals materialized from happiness emotions, with a sweet taste; the blue salt grains are crystals condensed from sadness emotions, with a fresh and salty taste."

Seasoning chef Julian smiled cleverly, "The three can be eaten individually with the steak, or combined freely at the same time. The beef flavor seasoned with happiness, sadness, and anger emotions has an endless aftertaste that makes many wizard apprentices who have eaten it linger and return."

"Please enjoy slowly, three masters."

Zack nodded at her, quite coldly saying, "Mm, you may go."

Zack was a tall, thin man wearing a close-fitting tailored black robe, not wearing a wizard hat.

He appeared very thin, which made the prominent hooked nose on his face very conspicuous.

Zack turned his head toward Locke sitting across from him and Yuri sitting beside him, showing them a gentle smile.

"The dishes made by these seasoning chefs are indeed exceptional, but they have one flaw, they easily spoil your taste buds, making you unable to live without them afterward."

Locke nodded slightly. He tasted a bite of this steak, and indeed the flavor was amazingly stunning and memorable.

Zack and Yuri had known each other for a long time, because both Zack and Yuri were students of Halen Vera.

However, Yuri was a marginal figure among the marginal figures, while Zack, though not quite a core student, couldn't be considered a nobody on Halen Vera's side either.

Zack asked Yuri, "Junior Burns, I've been keeping an eye out for you recently regarding your aging curse problem."

"There happens to be such an opportunity recently."

"From several recent private gatherings of Teacher Halen Vera's students, I heard some news that supposedly Virdantia University will be sending some students and several formal wizards here soon for a short-term potion studies exchange and learning."

"Perhaps you can use this opportunity to find someone to help you solve your aging curse. You can try it. Such a complex problem as yours might attract the research interest of the potion masters from Virdantia University."

Yuri Burns' eyes lit up, "Really? That would be wonderful."

"No matter what, thank you, Senior Zack." She quickly calmed her emotions.

After all, she had been tormented by such meaningless hope too many times before, each time ending only in disappointment.

Locke looked at Zack. Zack was undoubtedly much better informed than him. Having Halen Vera's established vast network of relationships and various gatherings with fellow students, it was perfectly normal for him to know such news that Locke had never even heard of.

Locke asked, "Exchange meeting?"

Zack looked at Locke with a smile and nodded. "Yes, wizard organizations whose levels don't differ too much in certain fields will regularly hold exchange meetings to share knowledge and insights with each other, better improving the overall level of the white wizard societies in the southeastern quadrant in certain aspects."

"This prevents knowledge from being confined to some small corner and remaining unknown."

"In this regard, the black wizards are different." When Zack mentioned black wizards, his expression became unpleasant.

"If that group of black wizards didn't rely on having a large number of archaeologists among them, doing things like digging graves and searching for ancient ruins, they would have long ago lacked sufficient power to oppose us white wizards."

"They kill each other, have no principles, no values, and more people die from internal strife than die in wars."

Zack undoubtedly valued Locke's attitude more.

In his eyes, Locke's three works in Lijin Secret Language were undoubtedly the best proof of Locke as a genius breeder.

As one of the academy procurement officers in his main position, Zack naturally valued Locke highly.

Zack lifted a cup of coffee and took a sip, smiling at Locke, "Speaking of which, recently our academy higher-ups have also planned an operation. Although we white wizards have relatively weaker individual combat abilities compared to black wizards, we can act in groups."

"The effect is higher."

"The academy recently organized a group of first-class wizard apprentices who, in the heartland of the Blood Curse Court, poured large amounts of Viridian Potion into their water sources."

"Then, the academy higher-ups had the weather masters from the Evocation School use those water sources mixed with Viridian Potion to create hurricanes, torrential rains, and typhoons in the heartland of the Blood Curse Court."

Zack suppressed a laugh, "Now the heartland of the Blood Curse Court has rain mixed with Viridian Potion falling every day, and all the soil in the farmlands has basically been 'polluted' once over by our potions."

"It's said that the vampires on the Blood Curse Court side are now hiding in their houses, not daring to go out. They're afraid that once they go out, they'll be drenched by rainwater mixed with Viridian Potion..."

"They also don't dare to randomly absorb human blood, because the humans' food absorbed Viridian Potion components through the soil, making the blood of humans who ate that food also mixed with Viridian Potion components."

"Hahaha..."

"It's really satisfying." Zack seemed to think of something and covered his face, "Sorry, I lost my composure."

"Breeder Augustine."

"You don't know how much grievance we've suffered recently. This operation has made the Blood Curse Court higher-ups still jumping with anger, it's really satisfying."

Zack became serious. "But soon the Blood Curse Court's retaliation should come, the academy needs to prepare for war."

"Therefore, a new batch of academy procurement has been launched. I'm responsible for the magical plant direction procurement."

"Honestly, your Crystal Palm Fire Lotus is of very good quality. This new variety of Palm Fire Lotus has approximately twice the power of the original. Transportation has also become much safer."

Zack said to Locke, "That's why I wanted to meet face to face with such a genius breeder as you. And to thank you for this work."

Zack raised his coffee cup toward Locke.

Locke steadied his mind. He knew the crucial moment had come.

He was currently short on money and needed large amounts of resources to perfectly utilize the one-month novice benefit period of the advanced meditation method.

And the greatest hope for solving this was this procurement.

Zack said, "I want to reach a large contract of at least twenty thousand magic stones with you. I'll pay the magic stones in full at once. Similarly, you must provide me with 4,000 Crystal Palm Fire Lotus plants that meet quality standards within the next three months."

"Is that possible? If so, I can sign the contract with you now and pay you twenty thousand magic stones the next day."

Zack considerately said, "You can use this money to expand your plantation, open new magical fields, and increase your Crystal Palm Fire Lotus production."

Locke thought for a moment. To deliver 4,000 Crystal Palm Fire Lotus plants within three months would require opening at least one hundred acres of magical fields.

He actually did have a medium-small plantation of one hundred acres, otherwise he really couldn't take on this task and sign this contract.

If it still wasn't enough later, he might be able to borrow a few acres of magical fields from others for emergency use.

Locke looked at the contract Zack handed over. The breach of contract penalties were quite severe. After all, the academy's money wasn't easy to take.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

WIZ Chapter 118: Academic Clique

Locke also understood why they needed to recruit so many students from outside their network of relationships.

Nothing else.

Just finding people to take the blame.

By recruiting so many second-class wizard apprentice helpers who could ostensibly be called assistants, even if experiments really went wrong, when the White Wizard Association and academy higher-ups came to investigate, they could immediately push out these dozen or so 'assistants' from the pharmaceutical laboratory, saying it was their responsibility.

With Halen Vera's powerful network of relationships, Anglon could handle this matter smoothly, while those second-class wizard apprentices without backgrounds had no ability to resist and could only take the blame for no reason.

This way, Anglon and the others would be safe and sound.

But those second-class wizard apprentices who took the blame for no reason would undoubtedly have their futures affected, and might have their path cut off in potion studies.

But obviously no one would consider this matter.

The unremarkable-looking Terry Calvin nervously watched Locke, as if waiting for some kind of verdict.

Learning potion studies originally required consuming large amounts of resources, and she had also fallen into this kind of scandal.

This interview could be said to be her last chance.

If this didn't work out, she could only give up potion studies and focus on studying plant magic.

Locke tapped the office desk surface with his fingers, beginning to think and weigh the pros and cons.

He glanced at the poor resumes of those second-class wizard apprentices before, and then at Terry Calvin's resume. Undoubtedly, Terry Calvin was the most suitable, and it could even be said that she had at least been trained very professionally in Anglon's pharmaceutical laboratory.

She even had experience working in a medium-sized personal pharmaceutical laboratory.

Of course, she also had flaws, her resume had blemishes.

'I need to ask Teacher Sophia whether the problems with this person would affect my pharmaceutical laboratory's ability to pass the approval process. If it affects it, then forget it, I can't lose a watermelon just to pick up a sesame seed,' Locke thought. 'But if it doesn't affect it, then it's equivalent to me finding a bargain.'

'Most likely it won't affect it. After all, she's just an assistant, the approval process mainly targets me and the personal potion formulas I register.'

"Everything else is just additional accessories. These assistants and helpers, in the approval process, are no different from the equipment in my pharmaceutical laboratory to those academy higher-ups responsible for approval."

Locke looked at Terry Calvin, his tone no longer cold, with a bit more warmth, after all she might very well become his assistant. "A second-class wizard apprentice assistant's standard monthly salary is approximately ninety magic stones per month."

"But you're carrying some responsibilities that belong to others, so I can only pay you sixty magic stones per month, what do you think?"

Locke felt he was being quite fair.

After all, Terry Calvin serving as his pharmaceutical laboratory assistant had additional benefits, namely that as long as she worked here for more than a year, it would be almost equivalent to cleaning her resume once.

Next time she looked for related work, it wouldn't be as difficult as it was now.

Moreover, recruiting her might cause him some small troubles, so her only getting two-thirds of the salary was very reasonable.

If his situation weren't special, if his wizard mentor also had networks of relationships, he wouldn't even recruit assistants from outside, but would directly recruit his junior brothers and sisters.

That would be more reliable.

So meeting him was also Terry Calvin's luck, not all first-class wizard apprentices who established personal pharmaceutical laboratories would recruit from outside.

Moreover, sometimes some positions might even be like Anglon's pharmaceutical laboratory, recruiting you just to have you take the blame.

Terry Calvin gratefully bowed to Locke, performing a courtesy. "Thank you, Master Augustine."

"Thank you for giving me such an opportunity, I will repay you with hard work."

Locke didn't care much, saying to her, "It's not completely confirmed yet, I need to confirm that the problems with you won't affect my pharmaceutical laboratory."

A flash of guilt crossed Terry Calvin's face.

Locke said, "Go outside and tell them I've already recruited someone, have all the people outside disperse."

Continuing the interviews wouldn't have much meaning.

The efficiency of external recruitment was relatively low.

Many second-class wizard apprentices unrelated to potion studies all wanted to come try their luck, what if Locke happened to have other work positions suitable for them?

There were even second-class wizard apprentices bold enough to forge resumes.

Their average professional quality was also substandard.

Locke had encountered Witch Sophia, so it was equivalent to receiving the best one-stop foundational service in potion studies, breeding studies, and plant magic all the way.

But most students in the academy, the knowledge they learned, apart from the fixed public course portions provided by the academy, other knowledge was fragmented and pieced together from various sources.

Their potion studies knowledge couldn't possibly be up to standard, unlike Terry Calvin before him, who had at least received certain professional training.

So speaking of it, in Terry Calvin's previous position, you couldn't say she necessarily suffered a loss.

If others hadn't made her take the blame, she wouldn't have had the opportunity to receive relatively professional potion studies training.

Terry Calvin walked out of the house with a slightly excited mood, then conveyed Locke's meaning to the second-class wizard apprentices outside.

The second-class wizard apprentices outside all seemed quite regretful.

But there was no other way, so many people were actually competing for one position.

After completing the interviews, Locke walked to the neighboring wooden house laboratory. Yesterday he had bought another set of the most basic simple standard cauldron equipment.

"Potion studies is a discipline combining theory and practical operation." Locke took the formula and began thinking. "Let me first use some cheap substitute materials to start practicing brewing Minor Viridian Potion."

"As long as I can stably brew Minor Viridian Potion, just treating others would allow me to earn quite a few magic stones."

Locke busied himself in the laboratory with the most basic equipment and practice materials for half the morning. Near noon, a second-class wizard apprentice helper from Lijin Secret Language respectfully came to visit and brought news from Yuri Burns.

"Master Augustine, Manager Burns asked me to come invite you to have a meal together at the Witch Kitchen."

"Manager Burns said that joining this meal will also be Master Zack, the first-class wizard apprentice responsible for academy procurement. Master Zack is very satisfied with your Crystal Palm Fire Lotus, but wants to meet you personally to discuss specific details of the academy procurement contract face to face."

"What do you think, will you go? Or should we arrange another time?"

[NEXT CHAPTER]

WIZ Chapter 117: Interview

"Next." Locke sat on the sofa in the reception room, coldly watching these second-class wizard apprentices leave or enter the house.

He held their submitted materials in his hands.

Most of their resumes left him somewhat unsatisfied.

Although the main purpose of recruiting this second-class wizard apprentice was to meet the standard requirements for the personal pharmaceutical laboratory's approval process, if he was going to hire someone, they should at least be able to do some work.

But among this batch of people who came, the vast majority of second-class wizard apprentices came with an attitude of wanting to learn, and many had never even been exposed to potion studies.

Locke rubbed his forehead. 'It must be because I spread the news too hastily.'

Locke looked at the dozen or so resume materials he had already received. 'There are still some second-class wizard apprentices who have been exposed to potion studies and have a little bit of relevant experience.'

'Let me pick through them, perhaps there are some useful ones.'

Locke recalled what Witch Sophia had said, that if he had many senior and junior brothers, it would be very easy to find second-class wizard apprentice assistants who perfectly met his requirements.

Each formal wizard at Lilith's Cottage had an extensive network of relationships around them, including friends of formal wizards, students of formal wizards, students of students...

Within this network of relationships, second-class wizard apprentices would more easily find those cost-effective jobs.

And first-class wizard apprentices would also more easily find assistants who met their required standards.

Unfortunately, Witch Sophia was a newly promoted formal wizard who hadn't yet built up such deep-rooted networks of relationships through years of accumulation, so she couldn't provide any help in this regard.

Those second-class wizard apprentices who left the house were immediately surrounded by people waiting outside as soon as they stepped out, asking about their interview experiences and situations.

A second-class wizard apprentice who had just walked out of the house shook his head with a bitter expression.

"I thought the newly promoted first-class wizard apprentice would be easy to talk to, but as soon as I went in, Senior Augustine asked me several professional questions, and I couldn't answer any of them. It looks like I have no chance of getting through."

"I've been really short on money lately, I don't even have magic stones to buy learning materials for meditation methods. I heard that the Blood Roar Arena is hiring feeder assistants, I'll go try interviewing there."

The second-class wizard apprentices who had originally surrounded him asking about interview experiences mostly shook their heads immediately upon hearing this.

"Forget about it. I heard that the Blood Roar Arena had another feeder assistant die last month, bitten to death by a crazed scorpion-tailed lion. Jobs there are indeed easier to find, but that's because so many people die there, the cost-effectiveness is too low."

"Yes, you can't risk your life just to earn a few magic stones. The Blood Roar Arena has a bunch of mixed-blood magical creatures with impure bloodlines, their temperaments are completely unstable, some are basically mentally ill, you never know what action will enrage them."

Among these second-class wizard apprentices, one was studying in the beast taming magic sub-category direction, and upon hearing this, he had a different opinion.

"It's not as exaggerated as you're making it sound. I'm a student in the beast taming magic sub-category direction within the academy, you're all spreading it too dramatically. Although it is a bit dangerous, it's not really life-threatening."

"It's just that some people don't have relevant professional skills, and during interviews, they over-package themselves, making my senior students mistakenly think they really understand this field, which leads to so many accidents."

Someone muttered, "Which interview doesn't require us to package ourselves a bit. I haven't seen other positions with such high accidental death rates."

A wizard apprentice shouted, "Stop chatting, quick, Senior Augustine is calling for the next person to go in!"

"Everyone don't push, we need to queue up!"

Inside the house, in the reception room.

Locke sat on the sofa, looking at the female wizard apprentice standing in front of him with her head down and shoulders hunched, somewhat nervous, who was relatively short and plump like a winter melon, with freckles covering her face. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Hmm?"

"You once served as a first-class wizard apprentice's potion assistant?"

Terry Calvin nervously said in a small voice, "Yes... yes, no... no, although that's what's written on the resume, I actually just did menial work for that pharmaceutical laboratory."

"I don't count as an assistant."

"At that time, that pharmaceutical laboratory hired more than ten second-class wizard apprentices, all just helpers. That was Senior Anglon's pharmaceutical laboratory, his assistant was someone else, also a student of Master Halen Vera."

When Terry Calvin mentioned Anglon's name, fear, lingering dread, and a flash of resistance crossed her face.

Locke keenly caught her facial expressions and frowned slightly.

Because he had heard the name Halen Vera many times, he was a formal wizard with considerable seniority at Lilith's Cottage.

He even had the opportunity to become one of the seven Senior Advisors.

But he refused, saying he didn't want to be separated from the grassroots opportunities of directly teaching students. Besides doing research, his greatest hobby might be teaching and educating people.

But Halen Vera had many students under him, so there shouldn't have been any need for his most important student Anglon's personal pharmaceutical laboratory to recruit so many second-class wizard apprentices from outside.

After all, these second-class wizard apprentices also needed to be paid salaries. Even though individual salaries weren't much for a first-class wizard apprentice, the combined salaries of more than ten people would still be a considerable expense.

Locke thought of something and asked, "Why did you leave? Among the helpers recruited with you at that time, how many were Master Halen Vera's students, and how many were recruited from outside?"

Terry Calvin was extremely nervous, saying, "Almost none were Master Halen Vera's students. I left because of an experimental accident..."

"Because I violated regulations in my operations, I was forced to resign... But Master Augustine, I have mastered mana centrifugal extraction method, and also three types of magical flames, wood element magical flame, fire element magical flame, and wind element magical flame."

"I'm also very proficient in the basic knowledge and fundamental operations of potion studies. So I'm very useful, please give me a work opportunity, I'm even willing to accept a lower salary."

Terry Calvin looked pitiful with some tears in her eyes. "I really love potion studies."

"I want to continue walking down this path..."

Obviously, because she had been dismissed from Anglon's pharmaceutical laboratory, she had encountered many obstacles on this path, with a difficult road ahead.

This situation was irrelevant for Locke, who was a first-class wizard apprentice and potion master's assistant, at worst he could just open his own pharmaceutical laboratory. But for a second-class wizard apprentice, a resume with blemishes would undoubtedly make it impossible for her to find similar related work at Lilith's Cottage in the short term.

Moreover, Locke immediately understood why Anglon could repeatedly violate regulations conducting wizard apprentice experiments, even harming several wizard prospects, without any consequences.

This itself seemed very strange.

Lilith's Cottage was so strict about checking this aspect, yet Anglon could still cause trouble.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

WIZ Chapter 116: Hiring Experimental Subjects

Next, Locke spent the entire morning busy at the Healing Hand Treatment Center, and after returning in the afternoon, he studied Minor Viridian Potion for three hours.

In the evening, Locke began using the advanced meditation method for his practice.

To take advantage of the first month's benefit period, Locke directly maximized all resources, consuming a bottle of Stardust Tears Potion while using Four Seasons Fruit Core Incense and Energy Potions for an entire night of meditation.

This way, his daily magic stone expenditure reached 400 magic stones, while his current savings were only 5,500 magic stones.

This was his original savings plus the income from last month's plantation output.

His current plantation could earn 3,700 magic stones per month.

According to this calculation, Locke could sustain approximately thirteen days of such full-resource consumption before running out of money.

This month's plantation output would only be settled at Lijin Secret Language at the end of the month.

The fees for treating wizard apprentices at the treatment center would also be settled uniformly at month's end.

So Locke was actually facing a temporary financial crisis.

If he continued like this, he would have to pause his full-resource use of the advanced meditation method, missing the one-month newcomer benefit period for using advanced meditation methods.

Alternatively, he could only go outside to sign loan contracts, but non-academy loan contracts generally had frighteningly high interest rates, while academy loan contracts had very cumbersome procedures.

In Locke's residence.

Locke instructed the three gray dwarves and two cat-girls to clean his house while taking a bite of the apple in his hand.

"This one-month newcomer benefit period cannot be missed. Many first-class wizard apprentices miss it due to lack of money, causing them to spend the next year or even several years making up for missing this one-month newcomer benefit period."

"Forget it, I'll meditate with full resources every day for now. If I run out of money, I'll figure it out then. I'm now a potion master assistant and breeding assistant, so I can definitely find ways to make money quickly."

Speaking of which, he wasn't really lacking resources anymore.

At least most first-class wizard apprentices without backgrounds would likely directly miss this one-month newcomer benefit period.

Or they would sign high-debt contracts, leading to a series of debt bankruptcies, getting trapped by others and losing even more miserably, only able to work for others in vain.

Locke recalled that during work this morning, Axi had told him an interesting story about a wizard apprentice at Lilith's Cottage who carelessly signed a high-interest loan contract. When repayment time came and he couldn't pay on time, he had to keep signing more high-interest loan contracts.

This resulted in robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Later, after credit bankruptcy and the complete collapse of the repayment chain, he was forced to sign a labor slavery contract requiring him to work for others for free for fifty years.

Locke felt that people who signed such contracts, though not slaves in name, were essentially no different from slaves.

Basically debt slaves.

In white wizard society, once someone became such a debt slave, it was basically social death. All social relationships would actively sever ties with them, no longer approaching them, falling from heaven to the depths.

Locke refocused and continued his meditation.

After one night, his mental power grew from 227 to 235. With all resources maximized and during the newcomer benefit period, he had gained a remarkable 8 points of mental power in one night.

The next day, Locke was energetic, a side effect of taking Energy Potions. He looked at himself in the mirror, wearing a fitted white wizard robe with a perfect physique and tall, slender form.

He adjusted his attire, then turned to open the door.

Today was the day he would recruit second-class wizard apprentices and experimental subjects publicly.

To get a pharmaceutical laborotary approved through proper procedures, he needed at least three third-class wizard apprentices, one second-class wizard apprentice, and one potion master assistant.

Only then could he begin the process.

To apply for a personal pharmaceutical laboratory as quickly as possible, he needed to gather personnel quickly.

Locke had already brought in Witch Sophia's three students, his three junior disciples, but still lacked one second-class wizard apprentice.

Unfortunately, his friends Lorne and Pierre were still third-class wizard apprentices.

Their advancement speed was actually the advancement speed of most people at Lilith's Cottage.

His own speed was actually among the extreme minority, after all, he was second in his cohort.

The person who advanced faster than him was a Child of Elements, the only Child of Elements in his cohort.

Not every class of new students would have a Child of Elements.

Wizard seedlings with Child of Elements qualifications would be frantically competed for by all wizard organizations in the southeastern quadrant. Sometimes, even ten years might pass without a single Child of Elements enrolling.

Locke opened the door to see Pierre already standing outside.

Pierre seemed to have been waiting at the door for a long time.

Seeing Locke open the door, Pierre's eyes immediately brightened, then he looked at Locke somewhat guiltily and said, "Locke, I came after receiving your letter. Will you really pay me one hundred magic stones per month, even more than Senior Anglon gives me?"

Locke nodded, then frowned with displeasure. "You don't need to be restrained when coming here. Just knock on my door directly next time."

"We're friends."

Pierre said emotionally, "Then Locke, is it safe being your experimental subject?"

"I still have parents at home. I don't want them to hear news of my death..."

Locke invited him to sit inside. "Don't worry, if it weren't safe, I wouldn't use it on you. I can honestly do animal experiments and commoner experiments first."

"The potions I give you, I'm already certain of their effects. It's just to produce a report. Your low magic resistance constitution is the most convincing."

"Here, here's the pen. I'm not forcing you. If you refuse, I can find someone else."

Locke placed the contract and pen in front of Pierre, who was sitting on the sofa.

Thinking of the one hundred magic stones and his relatively close relationship with Locke, Pierre immediately picked up the quill pen. "I'll sign it, I trust you, Locke."

"That's one hundred magic stones per month! I don't know how many magical resources I can buy with that."

Pierre quickly signed his name on the contract with a few strokes.

After he finished signing, Locke collected the contract and said, "Pierre, I'll have my servants serve you some delicious food. I still have a simple interview to conduct, so I won't entertain you for now."

Pierre said, "Oh, oh, oh... alright."

At this time, there were already scattered second-class wizard apprentices standing outside Locke's door.

They had all received the recruitment information that Locke had spread and came to participate in interviews to join Locke's newly created personal pharmaceutical laboratory.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

WIZ Chapter 115: Minor Viridian Potion

Wizard Edwin, Witch Sophia, an elderly female formal wizard, and a middle-aged male formal wizard all arrived at the second floor together.

The middle-aged male formal wizard swept his gaze over the office that had become a complete mess and said expressionlessly, "That wizard seed from the Blood Curse Court went too far. Under our very noses, he made a complete mess of the treatment center."

Axi opened her mouth to explain but was stopped by a look from Wizard Edwin. Edwin showed a slight expression on his face, turned to look deeply at Locke, and said to Witch Sophia, "Sophia, this student of yours is quite good, with decent combat talent."

"This is relatively rare among white wizards."

Witch Sophia glanced at Locke, her gaze lingering for a moment on the wounds on Locke's body, especially the wound on his neck where flesh was missing. A flash of concern passed through her eyes, then she said, "Yes, this point is indeed good."

"The other students actually performed well too. We white wizards can't compete with black wizards in combat experience, but the opponent's curses didn't directly cause much harm to our side, and all the students could immediately find corresponding curse-breaking potions."

"This point is very good."

"Locke, right from the start of your battle, we had already noticed what was happening here. It's just that Wizard Edwin suggested we observe the reaction capabilities of the students present, so we didn't intervene."

Locke nodded.

Witch Sophia seemed to want to tell him that he had actually been safe all along, that she had been watching the entire battle from nearby.

Wizard Edwin said seriously, "Overall, it's still very inadequate. Future wizard wars will only become more intense. After all, the Blood Lord of the Blood Curse Court had his advancement hopes severed by our academy's dean. This is an indelible hatred."

"You still need to strengthen your vigilance and adaptability. It's not impossible for enemy infiltrators to penetrate the Healing Hand Treatment Center."

"Today it was a first sequence wizard seed, tomorrow it could be a formal wizard from the enemy side."

Following Wizard Edwin's admonishment, all the first-class wizard apprentices present, whether sincerely or not, nodded in agreement.

Witch Sophia walked toward Locke, quietly letting an emerald-colored potion slip from her wizard robe sleeve into Locke's palm.

"This is apprentice-level Viridian Potion, essentially a simplified version of Viridian Potion. It's a new product from my small improvements, which I call Minor Viridian Potion."

"Drinking it can break all the curses on your body and heal your injuries."

The three formal wizards present immediately glanced at Locke and Sophia.

The first-class wizard apprentices couldn't help but be stunned, then looked at Locke with somewhat envious eyes.

One must know that none of the First Circle wizards present had proactively given free potions to let their students break curses and heal injuries.

However, Sophia was a formal wizard, and whatever she wanted to do was her own business.

So no one dared say anything.

Andrew and Axi exchanged glances, and Axi said in a low voice, "Locke has such a good relationship with his wizard mentor."

Andrew whispered, "Lady Sophia should have just advanced to formal wizard not long ago. Locke should be her first student."

Wizard Edwin began a long lecture scolding the first-class wizard apprentices and demanding they strengthen their vigilance, while Witch Sophia simply pulled Locke to another room on the second floor.

In the room.

Witch Sophia smiled at Locke and said, "This is the front line. How is it? Can you handle it?"

Locke said, "Thank you, teacher. I'm fine."

"Teacher, it seems the war between the Blood Curse Court and our academy is very intense. This was quite an eye-opening experience."

Witch Sophia smiled, "You did very well this time."

"The magical plants you have seem to have special improvements. When those formal wizards were observing the battle just now, they asked me about this information. I told them you're also a breeding genius."

Something occurred to Witch Sophia, and a satisfied expression appeared on her face. "Your talent in the field of breeding is indeed rare."

"Although those formal wizards didn't say it outright, they all somewhat envy me for having you as a student."

Witch Sophia said, "Next, I'll gradually transfer some of my cursed patients to you. You can help me treat them."

Witch Sophia pondered, "Treating these cursed individuals requires purchasing many potions from pharmaceutical laboratories and potion shops. You can try practicing some potion formulas yourself."

She handed Locke a set of materials.

Locke accepted them. "This is the formula for Viridian Potion? Teacher?"

Witch Sophia shook her head and smiled, "No, you're wrong."

"This is my simplified Viridian Potion formula. The Viridian Potion formula is already a semi-public formula that many potion masters can brew, but this simplified formula is my own invention."

"You can learn it. It will benefit you greatly. Using this to treat those curses will be much simpler, reducing the pressure of learning other additional potion formulas and learning costs."

"I don't want you to go astray in your potion studies direction because you're helping me."

Witch Sophia said, "You can treat most patients with Minor Viridian Potion. The original Viridian Potion itself is the best potion for dispelling curse magic."

"For the small number of patients who can't be treated with Minor Viridian Potion, you can spend magic stones to buy specific effective potions. I can reimburse you."

Witch Sophia thought for a moment and said, "I won't charge you for the Minor Viridian Potion formula. How about this, we'll split the treatment fees fifty-fifty. What do you think?"

Locke had no objections.

He knew that those other first-class wizard apprentices probably couldn't split treatment fees equally with their wizard mentors.

From what Axi had revealed, the lion's share of benefits went to their wizard mentors, and they could only get scraps.

After all, since these cursed patients were all assigned by their mentors.

It was equivalent to having customers assigned by their mentors, so naturally the major benefits should belong to their mentors.

The key point was that their wizard mentors likely had more than just one first-class wizard apprentice, so naturally there were more monks than porridge.

Moreover, Witch Sophia had also given him a Minor Viridian Potion formula, which was already very good for him.

Locke nodded solemnly, "Alright, teacher. Just leave it to me."

"I'll learn Minor Viridian Potion as quickly as possible."

If this was the case, he could soon earn his first sum of money through the Crystal Palm Fire Lotus procurement orders and treatment fees here, then establish his first pharmaceutical laboratory to gain the qualification to sell his first private potion formula, Memory Ointment.

This way, he could earn his second sum of money.

Memory Ointment could enhance memory and had some effect even on first-class wizard apprentices.

Any wizard apprentice could use it, with an extremely wide range of use, far exceeding the target customers of his previous three magical plants.

As long as he was allowed to sell it publicly, he could quickly earn large amounts of magical resources needed for daily magic study at the first-class wizard apprentice stage!

[NEXT CHAPTER]

WIZ Chapter 114: Enemies and Friends

Hussein's blood claws were enhanced with numerous curses. These curses penetrated Locke's surface magic resistance through the blood line on his scratched skin and entered his body.

They caused status effects on him.

The Thousand Sores Curse made wounds appear across Locke's body surface, the Bleeding Curse made Locke bleed continuously with even small wounds bleeding heavily, and the Pustule Curse made one pustule after another grow on Locke's skin.

These curses were reducing Locke's mobility, making the claws of the semi-vampire controlled by Hussein get closer and closer to Locke's throat.

But at this moment, the muzzle of the Corrupt Soil Mayfly Flower Cannon floating behind Locke aimed at the face of the semi-vampire controlled by Hussein.

Hussein thought briefly, then decided not to dodge. After all, this wasn't his real body. 'Mayfly Flower Cannon is a relatively rare plant-based magic. I didn't expect this young first-class wizard apprentice to know this magic, but this spell's effect is more supportive and won't cause immediate lethal damage to me.'

'At most, the fungi will damage my nerves and make my limbs uncoordinated. The vampire body itself has extremely high resistance to this kind of damage.'

A hint of killing intent appeared in Hussein's eyes. 'He must think I'll dodge, but I won't. Trading injury for injury, this puppet will be wounded at most, but he will definitely die.'

'I still profit.'

'It's his lack of combat experience.'

The blood claws of the semi-vampire controlled by Hussein fell on Locke's neck, tearing off a piece of flesh. At the same time, he was also hit by the Mayfly Flower Cannon.

Locke covered his throat and quickly retreated. He felt some more powerful curse entering his body through the wound.

It was taking root and sprouting inside him, developing rapidly.

"But I did hit him."

"The companion magical plant for the Mayfly Flower Cannon isn't traditional Corrupt Soil Taro, but Corrupt Soil Taro King. Corrupt Soil Taro is already a relatively rare magical plant, not to mention my upgraded Corrupt Soil Taro. He shouldn't have expected the fungal spore toxicity to be so powerful this time."

Locke noticed that the semi-vampire had stopped attacking him.

In fact, after Hussein's controlled semi-vampire was hit by the Mayfly Flower Cannon's spore shell, the semi-vampire's nerves were immediately invaded by fungal spores.

Then, these fungal spores began changing his cognition, creating hallucinations, essentially completely rearranging this puppet's control interface.

Up, down, left, and right were all reversed. If not for the partial magic immunity effect of the vampire constitution, the puppet's eyes probably wouldn't be able to distinguish between enemies, people, and objects.

Even Hussein needed time to familiarize himself with this control system.

This created a situation where he had deprived the seven first-class wizard apprentices present of their vision, while Locke's Mayfly Flower Cannon caused his puppet's cognition to become chaotic.

Both sides temporarily reached a stalemate.

Time passed quietly. Locke's vision slowly recovered, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief. He had won.

The special fungal spores' spell toxicity of the Corrupt Soil Taro King had defeated the opponent's vision-depriving magic trap.

What shocked Locke, however, was seeing that the puppet with completely modified cognition had basically recovered normal walking ability and had relatively correct directional cognitive ability.

Probably in another ten seconds, it would completely adapt to the cognitive changes caused by the fungal spores' spell toxicity.

Hussein, this black wizard's combat talent, was too strong.

The next moment, the six first-class wizard apprentices who had recovered immediately attacked the puppet controlled by Hussein, whose mobility was greatly reduced. Several spells fell on him.

Most were plant magic that restricted movement, such as root entanglement, as well as banishment magic.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, they completely restricted this puppet's mobility and used dispel magic to interrupt the vampire transformation curse's continuous transformation.

Andrew strode forward and poured the special formula potion for Multiple Self Curse, Dryad Dispel Potion, into his mouth.

This Frozen Tower student immediately threw his head back in pain, letting out agonized wails.

His shadow on the ground actually showed two shadows at the same time, each with subtly different facial features.

Obviously one shadow was his, and the other shadow was Hussein Quinn's.

Hussein Quinn's shadow laughed heartily. "Alright, alright, you potion sellers do have some skill."

"I haven't suffered such a big loss on the white wizard side before."

"This time you really did drive me away and successfully saved a first-class wizard apprentice who had become a puppet of my curse."

"Potion sellers, you people all deserve to die."

"Someday, my curses will be unsolvable by anyone." The shadow turned to look at Locke. "Also, interesting white wizard, I remember you."

"Your combat talent is... not bad. Next time we meet, I'll personally take your brain as a trophy for my collection."

Andrew sneered. "You black wizards are destined to fail."

"Just like this time. Lilith's Cottage will completely eliminate you Blood Curse Court pests."

"I really hope you sheep have that kind of ability. I quite dislike the Blood Curse Court too." Hussein's shadow laughed heartily. "Before leaving, let me give you something. Breaking my curse requires paying a price."

"Do you know? The most interesting thing about magic is that it always continues in another form."

The Multiple Self Curse energy that had been dispelled by the Dryad Dispel Potion and scattered in the air actually all gathered into Hussein's shadow.

The shadow opened its mouth as if drinking down those curse energies, gathering them in the shadow's throat. Then in the next instant, the shadow exploded, actually attempting to cast a collective curse on everyone in the entire office.

"He's going to self-destruct! Quickly drink Bear Spirit Bile!" Locke had already taken out all his stockpiled Bear Spirit Bile Potions from his astral ring and was frantically pouring them down his throat.

The exploding shadow moved along the ground, attacking the shadows of everyone in the office, momentarily covering everyone's shadows.

One minute later, Locke was bent over coughing, spitting out the Bear Spirit Bile Potion that had caused nausea from drinking too much too quickly.

The other first-class wizard apprentices were in similar conditions to Locke.

Everyone had been frantically drinking potions earlier and was now vomiting from nausea.

Locke looked up to see Andrew and Axi approaching him. The three of them looked at each other and smiled helplessly.

The three of them had contributed the most in the battle just now. Because they were closest, they had developed the kind of friendship that only emerges from fighting together.

Axi smiled helplessly. "We really are in a sorry state. I'm Axi Pera. Thank you both so much just now, especially... you."

Axi looked at Locke.

Andrew also nodded. "Let's be friends. I'm Andrew Gra. You two have quite a few curses on you that need urgent treatment. By the way, brother, I don't think I've seen you around before."

Locke said, "I'm Locke Augustine. I just became a first-class wizard apprentice and potion master assistant this year."

Andrew nodded. "I see. Then you're really impressive. Axi and I have both been first-class wizard apprentices for almost ten years."

"If we had faced that kind of targeting just now, it would have been very troublesome."

Locke said, "I was lucky."

There was also the fact that Hussein didn't know the specific effects of his two completely new magical plants, mistaking them for two magical plants he knew, thus making incorrect judgments.

Information itself was a form of power.

Axi suddenly became serious. "The formal wizards are coming. Our battle just now must have attracted their attention."

"We've made such a mess here. A scolding is unavoidable. I hope they don't make us pay for damages."

[NEXT CHAPTER]

WIZ Chapter 113: Photophobe Ritual Text

Massive light prisms shot toward that Frozen Tower wizard apprentice, but in that instant, the wizard apprentice's pupils suddenly transformed, becoming multiple pupils, each connected to the others, all turning bright red in color.

Then, this Frozen Tower student's body was instantly transformed by the curse magic upon him into a semi-vampire body. He leaped into mid-air.

In this office, like a bouncing ball, he moved extremely fast against every wall, giving Axi's Shattered Light Floating Seeds no chance to hit him.

Andrew was somewhat panicked. "How is this possible? He only used his consciousness to follow the Multiple Self Curse and invade that wizard apprentice's mind. Why does he still retain such powerful magical force?"

"Right... he used vampire transformation curse to convert that wizard apprentice's own magical power into vampire physical enhancement. So he's borrowing that wizard apprentice's magical power. Someone capable of doing this has magical attainments that are extremely rare even among curse masters..."

The bellflower between Andrew's fingers tried to fire a shot at the enemy. Immediately, the Sonic Flower Cannon produced violent vibrations, making Locke, who was standing beside him, want to cover his ears.

That instant of sonic vibration caused documents around them to flutter through the air.

But it was useless.

The Sonic Flower Cannon completely missed its target, hitting nothing, instead blowing a hole in the office ceiling, directly connecting the second and third floors.

The next moment, Andrew's chest was slashed with a huge wound by blood claws, spraying blood as he was knocked backward.

The instant the blood claws made contact with him, Andrew seemed to hear a low voice chanting curses in his ear, then countless voices like those of the dead echoed that low voice, singing cursed incantations in his ears.

A series of low-level curses fell upon him: Thousand Sores Curse, Paralysis Curse, Bleeding Curse, Vomiting Curse, Ugliness Curse...

Andrew didn't even have time to stop the bleeding. He directly grabbed a pile of detoxification potions from the nearby shelf and stuffed them into his mouth.

In the office, several potion master assistants hurriedly cast spells trying to stop him. Most spells missed, with only a few grazing the edge of the semi-vampire.

One potion master assistant even used the Enchantment School's negative energy particle-oriented spell Touch of Negative Energy in his panic, trying to make the semi-vampire lose mobility and slow his speed.

As a result, the semi-vampire neither dodged nor avoided, directly taking the spell hit, then being enhanced by this debuffing spell with increased speed, not slowing down but becoming even faster.

Negative energy spells only strengthen vampires.

"Thank you." The semi-vampire hung upside down from the ceiling, spreading a pair of black bat wings, mocking, "Your white wizards' combat experience is truly terrible. If my main body came here, it would only take ten breaths to kill you all."

"What should I do? I originally just wanted to come here for a consciousness fusion experiment. But now, I don't know what to do instead."

"Then I'll just kill a few potion masters first. Remember, the one killing you is me, Hussein Quinn, the first sequence wizard seed of the Blood Curse Court!"

Seeing the result of the six potion master assistants fighting him, Locke couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

White wizards weren't good at combat to begin with. They spent most of their time on research.

And potion master assistants were precisely the least combat-capable among white wizards, because everyone spent most of their time researching potions.

Unlike Evocation School wizards, who had specialized combat roles.

Blood Curse Court members, from wizard seedlings onward, were already accustomed to killing. They competed for all available magical resources through slaughter, battle-hardened, their personalities gradually becoming twisted in the process.

They revered the law of the jungle.

When these two sides fought, his side was truly being demolished. During combat, someone even cast enhancement magic on the opponent!

Who could have anticipated that?

These first-class wizard apprentices definitely all had stronger magical power than him, because they'd been first-class wizard apprentices much longer than him. Their spell power was also above his, but the problem was that if you couldn't hit your target, it was all useless.

Moreover, vampires had immunity to most magical damage. Only a few specific spells could harm them.

Only a few spells could kill them.

Locke's mind raced. The vampire's advantage lay in super-high mobility. With super-high mobility and partial magic immunity, they had tremendous operational space to fully utilize their combat experience.

He had to find a way to restrict that semi-vampire controlled by Hussein.

But previously, the opponent had already seen his Omen Mandrake Vines' invisibility ability. Trying again against someone who had fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood definitely wouldn't work.

The reason the opponent wasn't immediately targeting him was knowing that among all these first-class wizard apprentices, his magical power was the weakest.

So he wasn't the priority target for elimination.

Just as Locke was thinking this, he suddenly saw the semi-vampire controlled by Hussein raise exaggeratedly sharp blood claws like scissors and lunge toward him.

At the same moment, the traces left by the semi-vampire controlled by Hussein when jumping against the walls earlier all lit up with bright red blood glow, forming a mysterious ritual pattern.

So Hussein had been deliberately laying down ritual magic while controlling the semi-vampire to jump around the office, not just dodging spells.

In an instant, all seven first-class wizard apprentices, including Locke, lost their vision.

Andrew roared, "It's the Photophobe Ritual Text!"

"A magic trap that will make us lose vision for thirty seconds. That first-class wizard apprentice, you must hold on until we can support you!"

Locke felt speechless. That was a full thirty seconds.

And they wanted him to hold on.

Among these seven wizard apprentices, he should have the weakest magical power, since he'd only become a first-class wizard apprentice less than six months ago, while many of the first-class wizard apprentices present had remained at this stage for over ten years.

The opponent wasn't following the logic of immediately eliminating the strongest, but targeting him first.

Hussein's gaze concentrated. He also didn't know why he was targeting this weakest first-class wizard apprentice, but his intuition told him to do so now.

So he did.

His ability to survive the cutthroat competition in the Blood Curse Court's mountains of corpses and seas of blood had often depended on this kind of mysterious intuition.

Therefore, he directly trusted his intuition, used his carefully prepared magic trap to control everyone, and his first target was the first-class wizard apprentice with the weakest magical power present.

Also the person he'd met twice before.

Hussein's blood claws fell toward Locke's neck, but the next instant, Locke actually tilted his head and dodged, only getting a blood line on his neck, though it was just a surface wound.

Hussein was stunned. 'Without vision, he can still dodge my attack? No wonder my intuition told me to kill him first. He's quite different from those potion sellers.'

The semi-vampire's blood claws directly attacked Locke continuously, targeting his eyes, throat, heart, or even groin, every move lethal, every move shameless.

On the other side, Locke relied on his left hand's Gentleman Orchid's airflow sensing ability to narrowly avoid Hussein's attacks each time.

'I can't just keep dodging. I must actively attack, or I won't last these thirty seconds. If I'm even slightly slow, I'll immediately be torn apart by his blood claws.'

'My foundation is insufficient and my magical power is low, but that's nothing. The opponent only has one consciousness, one puppet. His magical power isn't really much higher than mine, perhaps even weaker.'

'In terms of methods, I'm not lacking either.' Locke directly took out the level 7 synthetic magical plant Corrupt Soil Taro King from his astral ring. 'I don't need to be intimidated by his reputation.'

'What Blood Curse Court first sequence wizard seed, he's just a black wizard. I'll kill him right now.' Locke's heart beat rapidly. In this critical moment, he actually became slightly excited, as if enjoying this battle.

Hussein frowned with displeasure. His gaze caught Locke's subtle expression change, which wasn't fear, but eagerness to try.

This was very rare for a white wizard.

But for Hussein, it was like an insult. For him, a first sequence wizard seed of the Blood Curse Court, to strike so fiercely and have his opponent show no fear, even appearing prepared to respond properly.

Ridiculous.

Did these potion sellers think they could be his opponents?

[NEXT CHAPTER]

WIZ Chapter 112: Hussein Quinn

The first characteristic was typical consciousness jumping, where if you spoke about the east, he would talk about the west, without any logic.

The second characteristic was that the person would lose mobility, lying on the ground unable to move. This was probably why this patient was brought here, as this condition could easily be mistaken for a paralysis curse.

But there should also be a third characteristic, that in the instant of external physical contact, emotions would easily turn to rage, displaying violent tendencies that weren't part of the original personality!

But why didn't the patient before him show rage when his body was touched?

This couldn't possibly be a Consciousness Splitting Curse.

Locke instantly realized this, and his thoughts rapidly deduced: if this wasn't a Consciousness Splitting Curse, then what was it?

'The main treatment method for Consciousness Splitting Curse is treating nerve damage, enhancing surface magic resistance, and attempting consciousness fusion. Right, the key point is consciousness fusion.' A flash of inspiration struck Locke's mind.

Damn it, wasn't the treatment taboo for Multiple Self Curse precisely the prohibition of consciousness fusion treatment methods?

Because once consciousness fusion occurred, it would worsen the original Multiple Self Curse, leading to complex situations that exceeded the original curse due to potion treatment.

According to the materials he'd just read, this was also one of the Blood Curse Court's curse techniques, using the erroneous judgments of Lilith's Cottage potion masters to intensify the curse effects on victims.

One must know that once a Multiple Self Curse was forcibly subjected to soul unification, there was no telling what would happen to this wizard apprentice. He might become a dangerous, raging killing machine, beginning indiscriminate magical attacks on those around him, extremely dangerous.

This was no longer just an ordinary treatment error.

Realizing this, when Locke saw Axi and Andrew about to pour the Twin Flower Soul Condensing Potion into the mouth of that Frozen Tower first-class wizard apprentice, he immediately shouted to stop them, "Wait!"

The two paused and looked back at Locke with displeasure, but their movements didn't change.

Both were experienced potion master assistants who were completely confident in their judgment, naturally without any doubt, and Locke didn't have time to say more.

The two had already placed the potion bottle at the wizard apprentice's lips. The wizard apprentice's eyes shifted, flashing a sinister look, but he happened to lower his head, concealing this well.

But the next moment, both Axi and Andrew became furious, because they discovered that their bodies had somehow been bound by Locke's magical vines.

Locke used Green Grasp, directly grabbing both of them and pulling them toward himself.

Everyone in the office was stunned for a moment. They hadn't expected anyone to use magic in this office, much less that Locke would attack his own people.

Two first-class wizard apprentices, white wizards, they had no combat experience, so when the invisible Omen Mandrake Vines wrapped around them, neither immediately used magic to break free.

Axi shrieked, "What are you doing? Are you crazy? Attacking your own people? You'll receive severe punishment from the academy leadership!"

Andrew was also extremely angry, turning to glare at Locke. "You better be able to explain this clearly, or I'll definitely send you to the white wizard prison."

Axi angrily raised her right hand, revealing a magical plant dandelion hidden beneath her sleeve, a Wind Feather Dandelion, the companion magical plant for the spell Shattered Light Floating Seeds.

Shattered Light Floating Seeds was plant-based magic that combined partial light magic sub-direction from the Evocation School.

From between Andrew's right hand fingers emerged a bellflower, the companion magical plant for the spell Sonic Flower Cannon.

Obviously both were preparing to counterattack.

In the office, other potion master assistants tried to mediate. "What happened? Aren't we all on the same side? What kind of conflict requires this? That first-class wizard apprentice, quickly release them both. These two have more substantial magical power than you, you'll suffer greatly this way..."

But Locke couldn't spare attention for them anymore. He only used Green Grasp to form three vine and leaf shields in front of himself for protection, while using the third vine to grab the Twin Flower Soul Condensing Potion that Axi had accidentally dropped and was falling through the air.

At the same time, the Frozen Tower wizard apprentice who had been lying on the hospital bed suddenly sat up, revealing an extremely sinister expression, an expression that could only be shown by someone who had fought through thousands of cycles of killing in the world of death.

Full of murderous intent, as if viewing human life as worthless.

He reached out his right hand to grab the Twin Flower Soul Condensing Potion in mid-air, but came up empty. Locke's Omen Mandrake Vine had beaten him to it, taking the potion first.

At that moment, all the potion master assistants in the office realized something was wrong, all looking toward that Frozen Tower student.

Axi and Andrew also stopped their plans to attack Locke, turning to look at the Frozen Tower student who had suddenly made that strange movement.

Andrew muttered to himself, "That's impossible. Consciousness Splitting Curse would cause the victim to lose mobility, becoming someone to be slaughtered at will. How could he actively compete for the potion, unless... wait, why didn't his emotions turn violent?"

"My earlier judgment was wrong." Cold sweat dripped down Andrew's back at this moment. He looked at Locke gratefully, finally understanding why Locke had suddenly used magic to pull him away. "Thank you, I really misunderstood you just now. Thank you for stopping me from making a basic mistake."

Axi also felt afraid in retrospect. She looked at Locke with surprise and uncertainty. "Thank... thank you."

Locke released them both, and at the same time, he felt the Frozen Tower wizard apprentice looking at him with malice.

That familiar feeling appeared again.

That feeling of being watched...

The Frozen Tower wizard apprentice stared at Locke and curved his lips. "It's you again."

"Potion master assistant? When I last saw you, you had just become a first-class wizard apprentice. Your advancement speed is quite fast."

"You've ruined my plans this time. I was originally planning to use your potion master assistants' Twin Flower Soul Condensing Potion for an experiment, to see what wonderful changes might occur if I fused my consciousness with this wizard apprentice's personality. Unfortunately, you interrupted me. I can't buy Twin Flower Soul Condensing Potion in the black wizard territories."

"You interrupted one of my experiments."

Locke immediately realized who he was. "You're the one who manipulated the Corpse Explosion Technique before."

Axi immediately stepped forward, pointing her Wind Feather Dandelion at him with a disgusted expression. "Vile black wizard, potions aren't meant to be used that way. Twin Flower Soul Condensing Potion is for condensing souls. People like you deserve to die."

The next moment, she used Shattered Light Floating Seeds on the Frozen Tower student.

The Wind Feather Dandelion released countless light-point-like dandelion seeds, like laser fragments, forming a rainbow light that rushed toward that Frozen Tower student.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

WIZ Chapter 111: Consciousness Splitting Curse

Locke followed the treatment center workers into a large office on the second floor prepared for first-class wizard apprentices.

In this office, there were six first-class wizard apprentices, and they all wore potion master assistant certification badges on their wizard robes. Several of the first-class wizard apprentices even had honor badges for developing new potion formulas on the hems of their robes.

These six first-class wizard apprentices were all students of the three resident potion masters at the treatment center.

At this moment, they all glanced at Locke as he walked in with the workers, but immediately returned their attention to what they were doing.

This was also the first time Locke had seen such a high concentration of first-class wizard apprentices in one place.

Even in the public classrooms, first-class wizard apprentices rarely gathered together for a single class.

Of course, it might also be because he was Witch Sophia's first student, without any senior or junior fellow disciples.

Other first-class wizard apprentices might not be like him. But the advantage was freedom, with no one usually managing him.

The worker bowed to Locke and said, "Senior Augustine, please wait here for now. The treatment center is very busy, and there will be work requiring you soon."

"The first floor is mostly handled by second-class wizard apprentices, but the main treatment plans all need to be managed by you first-class wizard apprentices. The second floor is mainly your responsibility, though of course the specific operations are still assisted by us junior students."

"You can first look at the materials to quickly understand our treatment center."

Locke nodded briefly, "Alright."

Since he had just entered the Healing Hand Treatment Center and temporarily had nothing to do, Locke cautiously began observing the conditions of the patients in this office, as well as reading through the public materials recorded by the treatment center.

"Someone has already compiled the common curse magic of the Blood Curse Court," Locke said with satisfaction as he looked at the materials.

Even if taken outside, this material could be exchanged for quite a few magic stones.

Not to mention anything else, this was practically a comprehensive curse magic manual, carefully categorizing the differences between various curses, curse characteristics, transmission methods, malignancy levels, and countermeasures.

Most curses had specialized potion formulas for detoxification, but the most feared were those blood curses or powerful curses without specific antidote potions. There were also newly invented curses for which potion formulas hadn't been developed yet.

Locke pondered, "By actively degrading existing curses, new curse magic can be created in a short time, bypassing treatment plans that already have specific effective potions. This creates enormous pressure for the white wizards. Correspondingly, our potion master assistants need to fall under the continuous pressure of developing new potion formulas."

"For those in the Blood Curse Court, this is indeed a method. Hussein Quinn probably thought of it this way."

Upon hearing this, a female potion master assistant not far from Locke immediately looked up at him, her eyes showing slight displeasure, as if she felt Locke's thinking approach was too close to those black wizards.

Following her gaze, Locke's attention fell on the victim she was treating, a first-class wizard apprentice from another wizard organization.

He wore the academy badge of Frozen Tower.

However, at this moment, the Frozen Tower first-class wizard apprentice's eyes were somewhat unfocused, and when speaking with the female potion master assistant, his speech logic showed obvious jumps.

The female potion master assistant asked, "The potions to treat you will cost quite a bit of money. Do you want to sign a loan contract? The treatment process requires you to prepay at least two thousand magic stones. Do you have this money?"

The Frozen Tower first-class wizard apprentice replied, "Oh, I have... I have magic stones. But six thousand is too expensive. What potion costs so much?"

The female potion master assistant frowned. "I said you need to prepay two thousand magic stones, not six thousand magic stones."

"And I'm telling you, most of the magic stones you give go to my wizard mentor, and the remaining small portion I have to split with the pharmaceutical laboratories and potion shops. I can only take an extremely small portion. Don't think we earn much."

The Frozen Tower first-class wizard apprentice answered while shaking his head, "Oh, it's two thousand magic stones. Two thousand magic stones are too heavy, they'll crush the servants."

Locke noticed that this Frozen Tower apprentice's mental state seemed abnormal.

The female potion master assistant obviously noticed this too. She looked puzzledly at this curse magic victim, "I misunderstood him. His cognition is severely confused, and it has a tendency to worsen over time."

"His speech logic has been severely damaged, and his thinking cognition shows serious jumps. Although he wasn't hit by a blood curse, it's still a rather malicious curse."

"Is it a Stupor Curse, Multiple Self Curse, or Consciousness Splitting Curse?"

A male potion master assistant nearby, upon hearing this, reminded her, "Axi, the Stupor Curse only makes the victim emotionally depressed with decreased mobility and no executive ability, and its characteristic feature is pupil dilation."

"The Multiple Self Curse would cause him to babble incoherently, but I don't think he's doing that. I think this is more likely the common Consciousness Splitting Curse."

"Give him ten consecutive Bear Spirit Bile Detoxification Potions to increase his surface magic resistance. Then have him continuously take three Sea Slug Mucus Potions to repair his brain nerves, followed by one Twin Flower Soul Condensing Potion to consolidate his consciousness. That should cure this curse."

"And the price of these potions should be covered by two thousand magic stones. The downside is that after drinking so many potions, his magical power will be severely degraded in the short term, and it will affect his future potential."

The female potion master assistant named Axi nodded in agreement. "Andrew, your thinking is always more agile than mine."

"Let's not worry about his future potential for now. If we don't cure him now, he might spend his whole life as a madman."

Axi said, "Andrew, help me get the Bear Spirit Bile Potion and help me pour it down his throat."

The two then worked together to control the Frozen Tower first-class wizard apprentice and began treating him according to their previous plan.

Listening nearby, Locke couldn't help but nod. He also thought Andrew's treatment plan was very good, so he quietly learned by observing.

But when Locke saw that first-class wizard apprentice being controlled by Axi and Andrew like a wooden puppet, his heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he felt a strange sensation.

It was as if ignoring something would lead to a malicious incident.

Wait a moment.

Locke quickly looked down at the three Omen Mandrake vines that had been wrapped around his right hand and maintained in an invisible state.

At this moment, all three Omen Mandrake Vines had turned completely red!

That was a serious warning to their master.

Someone in this office had serious hostility toward him, and judging by the situation, it seemed to contain killing intent.

Locke quickly scanned his surroundings, then locked his gaze on that Frozen Tower wizard apprentice. He suddenly realized what felt wrong.

In the materials he had just read, it showed that the Consciousness Splitting Curse was a common curse of the Blood Curse Court, and this curse had several characteristics.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

📅 August 15 (UTC +8) - Chapter Releases

For Pledged Members:
Necromancer, What the Hell Is A Type 055 Summon? — Chapters 111 to 120
Wasteland Border Inspector — Chapters 101 to 106
My Father Is Superman, But I'm Just An NPC? — Chapters 91 to 96
I Run A Prison In America — Chapters 11 to 20

For Free Members:
Necromancer, What the Hell Is A Type 055 Summon? — Chapters 67 & 68
Wasteland Border Inspector — Chapters 67 & 68

My Father Is Superman, But I'm Just An NPC? — Chapters 57 & 58
Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems — Chapters 57 & 58
American Hunting: Starting From Alone In The Wilderness — Chapters 57 & 58

We Agreed On Experiencing Life, So Why Did You Immortals Become Real? — Chapters 33 & 34
God's Imitator — Chapters 33 & 34

Daily Divination: From Market Rogue Cultivator To Immortal Venerable — Chapters 19 & 20
I Run A Prison In America — Chapters 1 to 10

PRI Chapter 20: CIA, I Really Want to Make Progress

[Angelina Castro]

[Identity: CIA Senior Agent]

[Rating: 55 (Level A)]

[Loyalty: 30 (Initial Value)]

[Skills: Advanced Driving, Intermediate Marksmanship, Intermediate Disguise, Intermediate Judo, Expert-Level Network Technology]

[Weakness: Likes cosmetics]

"What the hell?" Lind was very surprised after reading the panel.

At first, seeing A-level, he thought the system had malfunctioned. But after seeing "agent," he felt the system was more like cheating on him.

How the hell did he draw an agent?

Of course, even if she was an agent, she wouldn't betray him. Rather, it was like he was cuckolding the CIA.

But why would an agent come to prison to work as a secretary?

Lind thought about it and suddenly relaxed his brow.

It didn't seem like a bad thing...

If he could contact the CIA through Angelina, wouldn't that be perfect!

After all, the Mexican drug trafficking organization Gulf Cartel was now eyeing the prison covetously, so why not find a big brother to lean on?

Although even if the CIA knew about the drug organization's intentions, they might not necessarily take action, but what if they arrested Osiel in advance? Wouldn't his crisis be resolved!

Of course, the prerequisite was that the CIA wouldn't pursue Lind's various harsh exploitation in the prison.

But honestly, this kind of thing really didn't need to worry him, because all the major private prisons were basically the same, just competing to see who had the lower bottom line.

There were plenty of people sending prisoners to plantations to pick cotton, and he didn't see the CIA stopping them.

As long as it wasn't treason or selling national intelligence, mere corruption and exploitation, fleecing some government wool, the CIA was too lazy to care.

After all, Agent Smith also received quite a substantial benefit fee from the government every year.

If he could connect with the CIA through this line, he might be able to settle many shady dealings with money.

They probably wouldn't refuse the opportunity to take benefits either.

Everyone needed to make progress!

Thinking of this, Lind was delighted and quickly called his old drinking buddy Jimmy.

This guy's father was a media tycoon in Texas with extensive connections and resources.

"Jimmy, do me a small favor."

"What? You were kicked out of the house?"

"You fucking dared to sleep with your stepmother? Are you crazy!"

"Fine, then come to my place."

After hanging up, Lind was speechless about Jimmy's behavior.

This guy really had terrible sexual preferences. It was one thing to go after mature women, but he actually set his sights on his own stepmother.

The key was that you should do it secretly.

Fooling around in a room at a banquet and finally getting caught in adultery by his father and his business partners.

This really stirred up a hornet's nest.

His father beat him half to death and imprisoned him at home.

He had barely managed to escape.

After receiving Lind's call, he agreed to find connections to post recruitment information for George.

However, in exchange, Jimmy planned to come to the prison to stay for a while in a couple of days.

Lind shrugged, expressed indignation at the decadent lives of American tycoons, and agreed to Jimmy's request.

Of course he could stay in the prison, but he'd have to pay!

After sleeping alone in the villa for one night, Lind set off directly back to the prison the next day.

After handling some routine affairs, Lind interviewed several more guards.

They were Cole Hamilton, a C-level guard who was good at fighting and had been a boxer, and Hahn Baker, a D-level guard who was good at marksmanship.

Currently, including the ones he had just interviewed and approved, there were a total of 10 ordinary guards in the prison.

But among them, only 1 was C-level, 3 were D-level, and the remaining 7 were all E-level.

The D-level guards were Carter, Cohen, and the newcomer Parker.

Lind wanted to replace them all with D-level or above guards, but after thinking about it, it was too extravagant.

Too many high-level guards would actually be a big burden on the prison's personnel expenses.

After all, capable people always charged higher prices.

Since the prison didn't currently have profitable business, Lind had to abandon this idea.

Instead, he created a completely new tier system.

Lind planned to divide the guard team into several different levels, from junior to senior: E-level, D-level, and C-level.

Currently, B-level and above guards could serve as supervisors, but when there were more guards in the future, B-level guards could only be team leaders.

Only A-level guards could be section supervisors.

As for S-level and higher, he wouldn't consider them for now.

Even if he drew them now, Lind estimated he couldn't afford to hire them.

A prison that could only hold 300 prisoners was really too small.

The first thing he needed to do next was to use Avery's connections to apply for military orders from UNICOR (Federal Prison Industries) in the name of the state Department of Corrections + Border Prison, turning the military helmet blueprint into cash.

Besides this, he also planned to apply for some low-cost commodity orders.

For example, masks, T-shirts, gloves, desks and chairs, crates, and other items. These things had extremely low production costs and didn't require spending big money to build production lines. You could just buy one that other factories had eliminated.

The only problem was that profit margins were also relatively low, mostly around 20%, mainly relying on economies of scale to make money.

But Lind's Border Prison didn't have that many prisoners.

Therefore, after calculating the costs and profits of these items, Lind finally decided to purchase a headphone accessory processing production line.

Headphone wires and plastic shells were very cheap, and the technical threshold was low.

As long as he hired a few technical instructors and several senior workers to teach the prisoners basic welding and assembly, production could start immediately.

Moreover, military headphones had very expensive procurement prices. Headphones that cost less than $5 to produce sold for over $15.

Lind found this price profit outrageous and wondered how much kickback Agent Smith was taking.

But even accounting for kickbacks, the prison could still earn over 50% profit.

So Lind decisively contacted Avery to have him help connect with Federal Prison Industries.

Soon, Federal Prison Industries called.

After simple information inquiries, Federal Prison Industries informed Lind that they would send someone in January to audit Border Prison's management and production capabilities.

At the same time, they told Lind that if he wanted to stably obtain military orders, he'd better join the ACA and get certified.

Thanks to their reminder, Lind realized that Border Prison hadn't joined the ACA yet.

ACA stood for American Correctional Association. It was both an industry association and a national prison regulatory agency.

Only by meeting ACA standards could you obtain ACA certification.

This certification could help prisons gain advantages when facing lawsuits from prisoners regarding cruel punishment, lack of medical care, and other issues.

"Since the prison passed ACA certification, how could it punish prisoners?"

Although this logic was complete bullshit, it was indeed what American prisons most commonly said to judges in court.

Moreover, when CCA went public in 1986, they also said, "The company's facilities practice ACA standards and reduce the number of civil litigation cases."

In fact, one of CCA's founders, Horton, was originally the chairman of ACA, and he had been actively promoting prison privatization.

Lind was well aware of these matters. Although he was very indignant (envious) about these guys' abuse of public resources for private gain, since he planned to make money, he naturally had to go with the flow and join their ranks.

As long as he joined the ACA, he would have an endorsement, be able to receive military orders, and then make big money through the prisoners.

So Lind didn't stop for a moment. Within a week, he visited multiple factories and finally settled on the headphone production line.

What he ordered included an injection molding machine, an SMT pick-and-place machine, an AOI inspection machine, an acoustic testing machine, and an automatic packaging machine.

These were all essential equipment for producing headphones, totaling $400,000.

However, Lind definitely couldn't come up with that much money at the moment, so he took out another bank loan.

After all, when you had many debts, you didn't worry about more.

Border Prison was a quality asset, so the bank wasn't afraid that Lind couldn't pay back the money.

A week later, the production line began formal installation.

Border Prison's factory area finally had a use.

While waiting for the production line installation, new employees and a new batch of prisoners also arrived at the prison.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

PRI Chapter 19: A-Grade Secretary and Guard Tower

Border Prison had lost one guard and two prisoners.

By all rights, this should have been a big deal. Even in America, where shootouts happened every day, it should at least have made state headlines.

After all, a riot in a private prison could serve as evidence for many people to attack state government officials.

However, everything that happened at Border Prison didn't cause any ripples.

Because Avery and the police concluded after investigation that: one prisoner killed another prisoner over an argument, then fled in fear of punishment, attempting to escape.

During the escape, he attacked a guard and was shot dead on the spot.

The unfortunate guard who was killed while shooting the prisoner was naturally George Edmond.

As for the prisoner riot, that was nonsense.

That night, no prisoners or guards were harmed, and there were no signs of destruction in the cell block.

Except for the power outage in the monitoring room being too much of a coincidence, there was no evidence to prove that a riot had occurred at Border Prison.

So this incident didn't make any waves in Texas.

But privately, Avery questioned Lind plenty.

Because Lind had clearly said the prison was under control, yet such a violent incident still occurred!

This made him very passive.

However, seeing that Lind had produced another two stacks of Franklins, Avery calmed down, had his special team help them handle everything, and returned to Huntsville.

Having finally dealt with prison affairs, Lind gave himself a break and returned to the Edward family villa in Val Verde.

He hadn't been home in a long time.

Previously, he was worried that leaving the prison would cause things to spiral out of control, so he slept on the office sofa every day.

Now that things had come to a conclusion, he naturally needed to relax.

For example, finding a few big ocean horses to have some fun with.

Unfortunately, after looking at all the ocean horses soliciting customers on the roadside, his originally active thoughts died down again.

Ugly was one thing, but he also felt they weren't very hygienic.

Lind had a cleanliness obsession.

He also didn't want to catch any diseases.

He could only say that small places had limited resources. When he had the opportunity, he'd still need to go to big cities to broaden his horizons.

As for now, he should first draw his rewards.

In the villa's living room.

Lind, who had showered, sat on the black leather sofa with his legs propped up on the marble coffee table.

He looked at the system panel. His deterrence value had just exceeded 100.

This was all thanks to the riot incident. After Lind killed George, he led the guards to suppress all the prisoners.

When he announced Casas's death, all the prisoners' fear levels shot up significantly, and their eyes became much clearer.

Indeed, death was the best medicine.

Then he announced that all prisoners were stripped of their rights to exercise and watch TV.

Starting that day, all prisoners had to pay $10 per day for each bed!

No money?

Then they didn't deserve to sleep on beds and would sleep directly on the floor.

But the floor also had a fee!

$5 per day!

This money would be settled before the prisoners were released.

If they couldn't pay?

Then they would sign a loan agreement with the prison until they paid back the money and completed the agreement. Or if they couldn't pay it back, they would be prosecuted by the court again and sent back to prison.

Just kidding, these prisoners were always jumping around and trying to escape. How could Lind easily let them off?

This was a perfect opportunity to implement new rules.

Besides this, for the next month, prisoners would also have to earn back their rights to watch TV and exercise through labor.

Once they earned back their rights, they could earn wages through labor to pay for their bed fees.

However, Lind set the basic wage for each prisoner at 50 cents per hour of labor.

Sleeping on the floor wasn't too difficult, but if they wanted to sleep on a bed, they'd have to work hard for 20 hours a day or complete more difficult tasks.

This was already quite generous.

You should know that private prisons like CCA gave prisoners an average wage of only 86 cents for 10 hours of work!

There were even prisoners who had to sleep standing up because there weren't enough beds.

That was exploitation to the extreme.

Lind felt he still wasn't capitalist enough, which made him incompatible with other prisons.

However, besides this, he also added many additional fee items to the prison.

For example, if you wanted to hear the TV sound, you had to pay extra for headphones, $3 per day.

If the food didn't suit your taste and you wanted something else, you had to pay extra, $5-20 per meal.

If it was cold and you wanted a thick blanket, you had to pay extra, $5 per week.

If you wanted to shower a little longer or exceeded shower time, you also had to pay extra, $1 per minute.

It could be said that Lind redesigned a comprehensive fee system for the prison, covering all aspects, and planned to conduct a three-month trial on the current 40 prisoners.

If these fee items were exposed, there would probably be a bunch of reporters swarming in, angrily denouncing Lind as harsh and violating human rights.

But in fact, in American prisons, such fee items really weren't anything unusual.

CCA had done it, and other prisons had done it too.

Things like prisoners being sued and sent back to prison after release because they couldn't pay back large debts owed to the prison were countless.

Often a few months' sentence would turn into more than ten years because of loan debts.

In comparison, Lind was already very merciful.

Who said he didn't respect human rights? Didn't he give prisoners the right to earn compensation through labor?

Moreover, under his management, racial equality was no longer empty talk.

It was true that black people had to work, but white people had to work too!

So Lind didn't think he was harsh. He thought he was simply a philanthropist fighting for equal rights.

Thinking of this, he drained the wine in his glass, then spent 100 deterrence points for a ten-draw.

A-Grade Secretary [Angelina Castro]

"Wow!" Lind hadn't expected to get something big on the first draw.

C-Grade Guard [Gian Dickinson]

B-Grade Maintenance Worker [Luke Nash]

Skill [Intermediate Marksmanship]

Skill [Advanced Wing Chun]

Production Line Blueprint [Military Helmet]

Building Blueprint [Guard Tower]

Item [Small Sedative Spray x2]

Item [Bulletproof Vest x1]

Item [Bulletproof Shield x1]

"What a harvest." Lind couldn't help but smile looking at this string of notifications.

Besides the urgently needed staff, what surprised him most were the two blueprints.

Military helmet and guard tower.

The former could be used to prepare production lines based on the materials and craftsmanship on the blueprint to make money.

The latter could be used to directly find construction companies to modify the watchtower according to the blueprint to guard the prison.

After all, knowing that the Gulf Cartel had targeted him, Lind also felt a strong sense of crisis.

Since he refused to collude with drug dealers, he had to be prepared for their assassination attempts.

So strengthening his power, recruiting more guards and arming them to protect himself became a key item on his plan list.

Fortunately, he still had time.

Lind put away the blueprints and placed the bulletproof vests and shields in the trunk.

Then he replaced his intermediate combat skill with advanced Wing Chun.

Everyone's skill slots had limits. He could currently only equip 8 skills.

So for the same type of close combat skills, one was enough for him.

After changing skills, his panel became:

[Lind Edward]

[Identity: Warden]

[Rating: 39 (Level C)]

[Skills: Advanced Wing Chun, Intermediate Marksmanship, Advanced Horsemanship, Intermediate Driving, Basic Weakness Assessment, Basic Force Intimidation, Basic Speech Eloquence]

He hadn't broken through to B-level, which was different from Lind's expectations.

After all, James only had two advanced skills.

Could there be hidden differences between skills?

Lind harbored this question as he looked at the A-grade secretary Angelina Castro's panel.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

PRI Chapter 18: Double Kill!

In fact, on the very day George and Casas were conspiring, Lind had already received the news.

Because Andy had reported to him about all of George's activities.

Including his meeting with Casas in the exercise yard, his back-and-forth movements between the central monitoring area and the cell block, as well as his desire to replace the duty guards.

Lind truly hadn't expected that Andy would have the talent to be a secret agent.

He was able to monitor George so thoroughly.

After hearing about George's behavior, Lind also made corresponding deployments and prepared for the worst-case scenario.

That was what to do if George once again let all the prisoners out.

Fortunately, the other doors in the cell block had multiple layers of protection that couldn't be opened with a single key.

So he and James speculated about the passages that might be opened and finally determined the most likely location, which was the corridor from the cell block to the main building.

Now it seemed everything was under control.

However, there were still two people.

Casas and George.

They had disappeared after the riot, probably wanting to find Lind directly and take control of him.

Reality was indeed like this. George and Casas came to the area above the warden's office through the rooftop, and the two jumped onto the balcony and entered the office.

"Where did Edward go?" George looked at the empty room and frowned.

Casas casually picked up a fruit knife with exquisitely carved patterns from the desk, playing with it while saying, "Are you sure this bastard won't run away?"

"Even if he runs, he shouldn't be this fast." George looked around and suddenly felt that the curtains by the window seemed a bit bulky.

He gave Casas a look and slowly paced over.

Then with one hand holding a gun and the other suddenly pulling open the curtains.

"Whoosh!"

The curtains fluttered, revealing a riot shield standing upright against the wall.

Seeing this, both George and Casas felt disappointed.

However, the next second, Lind wearing gloves charged out from behind another curtain and kicked George's knee.

"Damn." George was shocked and about to resist when Lind's iron fist struck his eye socket.

"Ah!" He screamed, and the gun in his hand was directly snatched away by Lind, who turned and aimed it at Casas rushing forward.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Casas was hit three times in the leg, chest, and head, dying on the spot.

"Fuck, Edward, what, what are you doing!" George was so frightened he froze.

He hadn't expected Lind to directly kill Casas!

Lind looked at Casas who died with his eyes wide open and whistled.

So this was what killing felt like?

A bit uncomfortable, but more than anything, satisfying.

Because he had killed a drug dealer, he felt no psychological burden whatsoever.

He looked at the incredulous George and said, "I just did what you guys wanted to do."

"I didn't want to kill you, Edward!" George defended, "We just wanted you to give up your prison shares!"

"Oh?" Lind crouched down and took the fruit knife from Casas's hand, "What do you want the shares for? Who are you getting the shares for?"

"I..." George opened his mouth, not knowing how to begin.

Lind raised the gun at him.

Facing the threat to his life, George quickly spilled everything, "I was getting the shares for Travis. He promised me a large sum of money, as long as I got the shares!"

"Travis, that's the construction contractor, right?"

"Yes."

"But you still haven't explained why you want the shares."

"To use your prison for smuggling."

"Smuggling? You mean drug trafficking." Lind smiled knowingly, looking at George who was panicked at having his thoughts exposed.

"Yes, drug trafficking." George knew he couldn't hide it and could only confess honestly, "Travis's construction company is just a front. Actually, it's a company that Osiel Cárdenas Guillén uses for money laundering."

"Osiel is the head of the Gulf Cartel, and his influence is enormous."

"So Edward, you can't kill me. Right now, only I can save you."

When Lind heard the name Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, he didn't react at first, but when he heard Gulf Cartel, he immediately remembered where he had seen this name.

It was in a 2024 newspaper, about news of Osiel's upcoming release and return.

This guy was the head of the Gulf Cartel and one of Mexico's most notorious drug lords.

Because it was this guy who single-handedly established the violent organization mainly composed of special forces, Los Zetas.

This organization was fond of beheading operations with extremely cruel methods, using the letter Z as their code.

The later Z40 and Z42 were the heads of this organization.

Lind hadn't expected to get involved with this organization.

"Casas was also a Gulf Cartel member. Now that you've killed him, Osiel won't let you go."

George, to save his life, could only reveal the identity of his behind-the-scenes backer.

"You can save me?" Lind asked.

George nodded frantically, "That's right, we can continue cooperating. As long as you give us shares, we can let you continue as warden and give you dividends every year!"

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"You don't need to do anything, Edward. Just let our people take over the prison. We can sell hundreds of millions of dollars worth of drugs every year. You just need to sit in your office and you'll have a huge income!"

George tried hard to tempt Lind.

But in his heart, he was thinking that once Lind agreed, he would cripple this guy and imprison him.

"So you also killed old Edward." Lind suddenly threw out a question.

Unexpectedly, George was stunned, "It wasn't me. I didn't kill old Edward. He committed suicide."

"Are you trying to fool a ghost?" Lind pressed the gun barrel against his head.

"It really wasn't me!" George loudly defended, "I talked with old Edward. He actually intended to sell part of the prison shares to relieve financial pressure. We had almost reached an agreement! I didn't expect him to suddenly die. I was also very surprised!"

"What about Casas?"

"Impossible! How could Casas make it look like hanging when he kills people!"

This statement wasn't wrong. When Casas killed people, he would only slit throats or behead.

"Edward, listen to me. Even if you kill me, it won't help. There will be others who come after you. They have plenty of guns. You can't fight them. Even if you stay in prison your whole life, you can't escape their assassination."

"They act without restraint, killing whoever they want."

"Only cooperation, really, Edward."

After George finished this string of words, he gasped for breath, waiting for Lind's reaction.

Lind put the gun down on the desk, and George secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why did you have to target me?"

"You can only blame the prison's location being too good, too close to Mexico. If we can make it work, we'll save a huge amount of transportation money every year."

Lind suddenly understood and nodded.

"So now besides you guys, are there other Gulf Cartel members in the prison?"

He stared at George, "If we're going to cooperate, we need to be honest."

"No more. The others don't know about this." George answered decisively.

Getting his answer, Lind came in front of George and crouched down, patted his shoulder, and said slowly, "George, thank you for your answers."

"Let me give you some advice."

"In your next life, don't be a drug dealer."

After saying this, Lind quickly raised his hand and thrust the fruit knife fiercely into George's neck.

"Hiss!"

Blood gushed out from his neck like a cheerful little fountain.

George's eyes widened, helplessly touching his neck. He wanted to open his mouth to curse angrily but could only spit out large amounts of bloody foam.

"Ugh ugh..." He fell to the ground, feeling his life drain away bit by bit, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier until his consciousness was shrouded in darkness.

After killing the man, Lind took off his gloves and stuffed them in his pocket.

He looked at the mess in his office and sighed, "I said it before. What I hate most in this life are drug dealers."

[NEXT CHAPTER]

PRI Chapter 17: Prisoner Riot and Sedative Spray

The guards on night duty generally stayed in the central monitoring area.

Because patrols weren't constant, but rather every three hours.

From the cell block to the prison cells, then from the cells turning to the bathroom and other places.

So when George and Cookwa weren't patrolling, they stayed in the monitoring room chatting.

Until midnight at 12 o'clock.

"Tap tap tap."

Accompanied by the crisp sound of leather shoes, the light from the flashlights in their hands constantly moved about, checking the condition of each prisoner.

After finishing a round through the cell block, George suddenly patted Cookwa's shoulder and said with a pained expression, "My stomach feels terrible."

Cookwa asked with concern, "Are you okay, George? Do you need me to get some medicine?"

George waved his hand, "No, I think I ate something bad tonight. Fuck, I need to go to the bathroom. You go patrol the shower area first."

"No problem, leave it to me." Cookwa nodded, watching George stagger away from the cell block.

Then he turned and walked toward the bathroom.

Just as George stepped out of the cell block entrance, he suddenly straightened his back, and the pained expression on his face disappeared.

Then he quickly walked to the electrical switch box near the central monitoring room and used a key he had prepared in advance to open it.

Looking at the rows of switches related to the monitoring system before him, George reached out and pulled.

The dozens of screens in the central monitoring room immediately went dark.

However, since no one was in the monitoring room at the time, no one discovered this.

George looked around, saw that the plan was going smoothly, turned his head and walked straight back.

The cell block was completely quiet at this time. Cookwa had already gone to the bathroom, and the second floor cell block was empty.

Only the mottled tree shadows under the moonlight danced menacingly on the ground like demons about to emerge from hell.

In this quiet atmosphere, the sudden sound of a door opening rang out.

It was Casas.

Using the key George had given him, he opened his cell door.

He walked out of the cramped space and casually threw the key on the ground, making a series of clear collision sounds. Immediately after, as if receiving a signal, pairs of eyes suddenly stared over from inside the cells.

Casas grinned, about to speak, when he suddenly heard heavy footsteps.

George ran over, "Let's go, Casas. I'll take you to find little Edward."

"No hurry, George." Casas showed a bloodthirsty expression on his face and pointed to the other cells, "Let all my little brothers out."

George frowned, "What do you want to do? Are you planning another riot? This is creating unnecessary complications!"

"Bullshit." Casas jabbed George hard with his finger twice, "I'll only say this once. Let them out! I want to wash this prison in blood!"

"Fuck, this isn't what we agreed on!"

"Then do as I say! Otherwise I'll kill you first!" Casas glared and pulled George in front of him.

George stared at the fierce red bloodshot veins in his eyes and couldn't help but feel afraid.

He raised both hands, "Fine, I'll go get the keys."

"I'm coming with you." Casas followed George to the key room and took out all the cell keys.

Then the two returned to the cell block and let everyone open their own doors.

After most of the prisoners had come out of their cells, Casas dragged the injured Negan out of his cell.

"Today we are all accomplices."

"If anyone tries to escape, they'll end up like him!"

After saying this, in full view of everyone, Casas used a knife to slash Negan's throat.

"This is the fate of traitors!"

Then he jumped onto the railing and roared, "Now, it's time to leave this damn prison!"

"Let's burn this shithole to ashes!"

"Burn it to ashes!" Casas's followers shouted along.

"Burn it to ashes!!" The other prisoners were also swept up and began shouting.

After shouting, Casas led the prisoners charging toward the cell block entrance.

George on the side had already opened the door, and the prisoners rushed directly from the cell block entrance into the interior of the prison building.

Meanwhile, Cookwa, who had just finished patrolling the bathroom and was planning to return to the cell area, witnessed the prisoners rioting with his own eyes. He was so frightened that his legs shook and he collapsed behind the gate.

He frantically grabbed his radio, switched to the emergency channel, and shouted with a trembling voice, "Prisoner riot! Riot!"

"They've rushed out of the cell block!"

...

"Warden, they've rushed out of the cell block!"

In the corridor passage, James was currently wearing body armor, holding a radio, reporting to Lind, who was also wearing body armor.

Behind the two men stood Cohen, Parker, and two other fully armed guards.

Besides their guns, they were also holding two canisters of conspicuous sedative spray.

After hearing James's report, Lind asked, "Are you certain their route is fixed?"

"That's right. All the main doors have been locked tight, the bars outside the windows are all closed. They can only come through the second floor passage."

Hearing this, Lind no longer hesitated. He drew his baton and shouted, "Then what are we waiting for! Everyone, don't hold back! Pin all the prisoners down hard in this corridor! I want them to know what despair means!"

"Yes!" James decisively agreed and led Cohen, Parker and the others charging into the corridor.

Before long, the two groups collided.

Seeing the fully armed guards who seemed to have anticipated this, the prisoners were obviously stunned.

But immediately the people in front were pushed forward by those behind.

"Go die!" A prisoner bared his teeth and swung his bare fists at James.

James dodged to the side, then immediately smashed his baton down on the prisoner's nose bridge!

"Crack!" Blood splattered.

The prisoner covered his nose and fell to the ground, then James brutally gave him several more blows with the baton.

The next moment, more prisoners rushed over.

They used their bodies to block James's baton and fought with him.

Fortunately for the guards, Cohen and Parker also joined the battle.

Batons and fists danced together, blood and teeth flew in unison.

The crackling batons beat the prisoners until their skin split and flesh tore, while the prisoners' wave after wave of attacks made it difficult for the outnumbered guards to resist.

Seeing more and more people, James directly took out a tear gas canister from his waist and threw it into the crowd.

In an instant, thick fog filled the corridor.

The prisoners, with their eyes and noses irritated, bent over and involuntarily cried and sneezed.

However, one tear gas canister couldn't control all the prisoners, and some still tried to rush through the corridor.

So James shouted to the guards behind him, "Use the sedatives!"

Hearing this, the guards immediately brought out their trump card.

Two guards could be seen holding the gun barrel with one hand and cradling an orange canister with the other, wearing gas masks, aiming forward and opening the switches.

Instantly, two three-meter-long streams of thick fog sprayed out from the nozzles.

The prisoners hurried to dodge, but lacking protective measures, they had no way to control their breathing.

The sedative quickly entered their bodies through their respiratory tracts.

Soon after, the prisoners suddenly found their bodies becoming weak, as if they had been fighting on a big ocean horse for three days and three nights.

Their heads felt soft, feet soft, hands soft, legs soft, and finally they fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

The guards, seeing the prisoners collapse in droves within ten seconds, nearly dropped their jaws in amazement.

"This is too powerful!" Cohen exclaimed in amazement from the side. He had originally thought the warden had only given them ordinary pepper spray, but now it seemed countless times stronger than pepper spray.

"Stop spraying!" James was also shocked by this effect and quickly called for a halt, afraid they would use it up too quickly.

Then he looked at the panicked prisoners on the other side of the corridor and roared, "Guys! Now it's our turn to give them a profound lesson! Charge over and take them down!"

"Take them down!"

[NEXT CHAPTER]

PRI Chapter 16: George's Desperate Gamble

The day after the state corrections search was completed, at noon.

Avery bid farewell to Lind with his special team.

After the two police armored vehicles left, Lind returned to the prison building.

At this time, his task list had been updated.

[Task 1: Earn $500,000 within 30 days to repay the first loan installment. Reward: Random assembly line blueprint]

[Task 2: Suppress a prisoner riot. Reward: Advanced Maintenance skill]

[Task 3: Resolve the strike issue. Reward: Sedative spray can ×2 (Completed)]

[Task 4: Pass the state corrections inspection. Reward: Covert electronic surveillance ×5 (Completed)]

Lind opened the drawer and found that the so-called covert electronic surveillance referred to five thumb-sized 360-degree surveillance cameras.

These cameras could not only record high-definition video but also audio.

They were much better than the cameras currently used in the prison.

However, the quantity was somewhat limited. After thinking about it, Lind planned to install one each at the prison area gate, inside the prison area, outside the office, in the cafeteria, and in the laundry room.

But to install them, he'd need to find a maintenance worker.

Lind instructed HR to call Jim over and also told HR to continue posting job listings in the newspaper.

He needed to quickly expand the guard team and replace some unqualified guards.

While Lind was busy with recruitment matters, George stood outside the wire fence of the exercise yard, watching the prisoners chat and boast in small groups.

He wore an ill-fitting blue guard uniform, holding a baton in his hand, occasionally tugging at his pants to suck in his belly.

Since coming to Border Prison, today was his worst day.

"Damn that son of a bitch Edward." George spat on the ground, then looked around.

When he found that other guards weren't paying attention to him, he quickly walked to one side and approached Casas.

Casas was sitting on the ground at the time.

Although his body showed no visible injuries, he was exhausted to the extreme.

Having endured 6 hours of "Texas TV" and 24 hours of cold air confinement, no matter how fierce he was, he couldn't muster any energy.

Seeing George approach, Casas couldn't control his emotions and cursed, "Fuck! Where the hell did you go! Why didn't you tell me that idiot warden was going to search!"

George quickly gestured for him to be quiet, "Keep it down, Casas! I had no idea he would do that!"

"He tricked me into going to the state corrections to deliver a check!"

"But when I came back, he demoted me."

"This guy had it planned all along!"

Casas was still relentless, "Stupid pig! Is your brain filled with shit?"

"Enough!" George knew he was in the wrong and simply said directly, "Our plan is exposed, Casas. Although I don't know how he found out, Young Edward obviously doesn't trust me anymore."

"So what?"

"So let's just kill him." George abandoned his previous plan.

Hearing this, Casas was stunned, then sneered, "I knew it, your plan was unreliable from the start! Let's do it my way."

"No, no, no." George carefully looked around the situation nearby and continued, "I don't mean actually kill him."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Casas kicked the wire fence hard.

"Calm down." George laid out his entire plan.

"We don't need a dead man, we need a puppet."

"Next, I'll find an opportunity to let you out, then take you to Young Edward's office."

"After that, you break his hand or leg and force him to sign the transfer contract."

Casas said angrily, "Why not kill him? I want to cut off his head!"

"You can't do that. Travis can't open a prison himself, even indirectly owning a complete prison won't work! The FBI will target us. Young Edward is our best shield."

After explaining, George took out a small key and threw it on the ground, then kicked it through the wire fence.

"This is your cell key. This time we must be fast and not give Young Edward time to react."

"Fuck." Casas cursed and complained but didn't refuse the plan, "You'd better be quick!"

"Don't worry."

George turned around and saw a guard nearby walking toward him, so he quickly picked up his baton and struck the wire fence, "Get lost, you garbage, don't try to buddy up with me!"

Casas spat at him, then quickly walked away.

...

In the afternoon, George patrolled the prison area, constantly looking for the right opportunity.

However, because James had replanned the guards' patrol schedule, he couldn't find an opening.

Having no choice, he approached Andy Cock.

This guy he had completely looked down upon before was now his captain.

He swaggered around the prison every day and always liked to find fault with other guards.

George didn't want to deal with him, but had no choice since Andy was responsible for the daily duty roster.

During mealtime, George took his tray and sat across from Andy.

"Andy... Captain." He smiled without warmth, looking very reluctant.

"Is there something, George?" Andy forked a piece of chicken into his mouth.

"A small matter. I want to adjust my duty schedule." George forcefully displayed a friendly attitude.

He said, "I need to accompany my wife to a party the day after tomorrow, so I want to switch to tomorrow night duty."

"Tomorrow?" Andy frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head, "But tomorrow is already arranged for others."

"Don't be like that, Andy." George persuaded, "I helped you before, don't you remember? That time your mother was sick, I gave you leave, so now you should help me too."

Andy shrugged, "Alright, then I'll have Carter replace you tomorrow."

"Thanks, Andy." George became happy, quickly finished the food on his tray, got up and left.

Andy watched his departing figure and spat hard on the ground.

The next evening, several cars drove out of the prison gate one after another.

"Thanks for your hard work today, George." Andy changed out of his guard uniform, put away his gun, then walked out of the prison area gate.

"No problem." George stood at the door, smiling and waving.

"Bye, George."

"See you tomorrow, George."

After his colleagues left one by one, George turned back to look at Cookwa, who was on duty with him.

This was a young black man whose shiny bald head glowed under the lights.

"I'll take care of patrol tonight, you can rest in the control room."

"Really?" Cookwa was a bit surprised.

"Of course, I can handle these prisoners alone." George had a confident expression.

Cookwa thought about it, then shook his head, "Forget it, James said patrol must always be done by two people together."

George wanted to persuade him more but was afraid Cookwa would become suspicious, so he could only nod, "Alright, then we'll go together."

After speaking, he began thinking about how to get rid of this guy.

[NEXT CHAPTER]