Post-Apocalyptic Survival Modpack

Chapter 47: The Caravan?
Wang Ji carefully examined the world map.

There are still many settlements between the northern mountains and the capital, mostly small towns and villages, and they are mostly built near the main roads marked on the map.

This is somewhat similar to the roadside towns he knew, where you could always find one every so often.

There aren't many people in a town, maybe a few thousand.

These towns are basically self-sufficient, have various basic living facilities, and occasionally engage in trade with nearby towns.

As a former village and town administrator, Ryder has a lot of experience in this area.

Trade is like blood vessels; the closer to the center of an empire or a prosperous area, the faster, more powerful, and more frequent the flow.

There was a lot of interaction between the capital city and the surrounding towns, and news spread very quickly.

The farther and more remote the place, the slower it is.

For example, the place that Ryder used to manage, which is Wang Ji's hometown, was almost at the end of the trade line, as inconspicuous as a capillary. It might take one or two years to learn about news such as the backwardness of the capital and current affairs.

But at least there is some flow.

So what about the northern mountain range where we are now?

It's basically completely necrotic and blocked.

After some discussion, a new plan was decided.

The territory is about to resume external contact activities.

Just do it.

A few days later, an armed caravan was formed.

All members are equipped with enchanted magic steel armor, magic steel weapons, and enchanted bows.

These are equipment so powerful that even an ordinary person wearing them could stand still and take on ten opponents at once.

Those currently wearing these clothes are all citizens with certain skills or who have received some training, totaling sixty people.

In addition to powerful equipment, each of these citizens also wore two disposable low-level spell rings, which were made by Ryder and Morin together.

These two were also constantly busy.

For the past two months, Ryder has been managing his territory while learning alchemical techniques known as sorcery and forbidden arts.

During this period, he would take some time each day to familiarize himself with the various instruments and equipment in the alchemy lab, intending to pick up what he had learned in the past and put it to use again.

Meanwhile, Morin once again took on the role of assistant, systematically learning alchemy from Ryder.

Under Ryder's unreserved guidance, Morin made rapid progress—which was also inseparable from his extraordinary sensory talent.

If we compare the various operations at the alchemy table to a surgery, then Morin is the surgeon with X-ray vision, and everything is transparent to him.

All the spell rings in the caravan were engraved by Morin alone.

Wang Ji couldn't help but say, "So this thing can be sold wholesale?"

Upon hearing this, Ryder shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, no, no, no, no, he was an accident."

“Normally speaking, being able to release a low-level spell using one’s own magic without relying on any medium is enough to be called a low-level sorcerer, which is already quite rare.”

"But Morin has no difficulty learning any spells; he can now use almost all types of low-level spells."

"Moreover, the speed of rune inscription is several times faster than that of the low-level sorcerers I have ever seen. The technique is rough and swift, yet it has never made a mistake."

"Most importantly, he doesn't even look tired, which is a very strenuous job."

As he spoke, Ryder couldn't help but sigh, "There are differences even among lower-level players."

"Is that so?"

Out of curiosity, Wang Ji went to the alchemy workshop and found Morin, who was studying there, and asked him to make a few practical rings.

Examples include common one-time shields and the ability to unleash lightning.

Then they began conducting small experiments.

The shield ring only provides ten shield points; it will shatter after being used up.

As for the lightning... it's more like a thin arc of electricity than lightning, and the damage isn't very high, around seven or eight points, not even enough to break through Wang Ji's defense. That's about the limit for low-level characters.

It wasn't a huge help to Wang Ji, but it was a significant improvement for the caravan that was about to set off.

After leaving the alchemy lab, Wang Ji arrived at the city gate and found Ryder once again.

At this moment, Ryder also put on a full set of Felsteel armor, along with a weapon and a spell ring.

Yes, he personally led this business trip.

While Wang Ji was away for a short while, Ryder had already instructed the caravan members to prepare everything needed for the journey.

Horses and carriages, along with a pile of goods on the carriages—basic products that had long since overflowed from the territory.

Such as all kinds of fresh meat and vegetables, as well as various leather products and woolen products.

According to market evaluation standards, they are all top-quality goods, and they are basically in high demand in the market.

There's no worry about sales; as for the safety of the caravan, whether it will be targeted by anyone, etc...

As things stand, there's nothing to worry about.

This caravan can be called a caravan, but you could also call it an elite armed magic corps.

If the other side is willing to trade, then they are trading partners; if they prefer violence, then a typical town can be taken down within half a day.

However, being a merchant was only a side purpose, or rather a disguise; they had many other tasks to complete.

The caravan set off.

Before setting off, Wang Ji also put an extra Immortal Realm Teleportation Portal in the car and gave Ryder some instructions on how to use it.

Simply place the Celestial Realm Teleportation Gate, record the coordinates with a Celestial Realm Pearl, and then embed it into the teleportation gate to activate the teleportation function.

Wang Ji can teleport there at any time.

After watching the caravan leave, Wang Ji returned to the town and began to think.

Portals are indeed convenient, allowing you to move between different places at any time, but they are still somewhat lacking in information dissemination.

The main difference is that if you don't actively use it, you'll never know what the other side is like.

"It would be great if there was something that could synchronize information in real time."

Just like... the internet.

With this idea in mind, Wang Ji found Mo Lin, who was still studying, and had a discussion with him.

"That's a very interesting idea, I think we should give it a try!"

Morin was quite interested, but soon he was stumped. He said:
“I still haven’t learned enough. Mr. Ryder said I’ve only completed a year’s worth of courses.”

"Real-time communication—I can't find anything that can achieve a similar function in what I've learned. Wait... I remember something called a resonance ring; maybe that could be a research direction."

Morin rubbed his head: "Hiss—I feel like something's missing. There's so much I haven't learned..."

"Don't rush."

Wang Jifei stood up, patted Mo Lin on the shoulder, and said, "I will study this matter with you."

With time no longer a pressing issue, Wang Ji began to study on his own.

He began to seriously study the principles of various mechanical and magical tools, making each 'black box technology' transparent.

As this research progresses, the progress bar seems to be stirring again and starting to grow.

Cognition…

Learning, comprehending, researching, and creating new things—isn't that also a kind of innovation in cognition?
Wang Ji has found a new direction.

A method to continuously acquire cognitive points.

That is to continuously enhance one's knowledge, understand the true principles of things, and exercise one's thinking in order to update one's understanding of the world.

(End of this chapter)