Post-Apocalyptic Survival Modpack

Chapter 50: Villages Surrounding the City

That being said, the operation against River Bend City cannot be completed in a short time.

However, having at least learned the general strength of the opposing side, Wang Ji began to make targeted preparations.

To be honest, in his opinion, the power in this region is not strong at all. In this vast territory of the north, there is not even a single high-level magic user.

It seems that all the high-ranking officials are clustered in the center of the capital.

I don't know if it is a good thing or a bad thing.

Stepping through the Immortal Realm teleportation portal and returning to Rift Valley City, Wang Ji began mass-producing a large army of mysterious metal puppets.

After crafting several puppets, Wang Ji suddenly had an inspiration.

"What if it were made from magic steel?"

Compared to the Mystic Ingot, this thing is harder, but its magical affinity is slightly inferior.

Without hesitation, Wang Ji immediately began experimenting with the magic steel.

First, give the magic steel 'human' shape, then add a little bit of spiritual 'soul', and then give it the ability to 'move'.

A moment later, a new puppet not recorded in the magic manual was successfully created.

Magic Steel Golem.

It has 50 more health points than the Mysterious Puppet and moves faster, but its self-repair speed is slower.

But it's not a big deal, since everything is pretty slow anyway, and we can't expect this self-repairing ability to influence the course of a real battle.

After the experiment was successful, Wang Ji immediately began wholesaling the puppets and even did some sorting.

The Magic Steel Golem is primarily used for combat, while the Mystic Golem is more for functionality and support; both are roughly the same cost.

With the assistance of alchemical golems, the production of new golems, cores, and upgrade components becomes very easy. Wang Ji only needs to perform key steps, while the golems will automatically complete the other simple repetitive tasks.

Before long, a whole bunch of new magic steel golems were standing on the ground.

Wang Ji attached cores and combat upgrade components to each of them, adding another layer of metal padding to the already incredibly hard iron lumps, making their punches even more powerful.

Some of them are also equipped with the function of launching arrows, but the power is not great, just like mini darts. But the good thing is that it can generate its own ammunition and does not need to be equipped with anything else.

At this moment, looking at the Magic Steel Golem's 250 health points, Wang Ji was a little envious.

His main body still has a pitiful 20 health points, which means he has more shields and his armor is tougher than the puppet's, making it harder for him to lose health.

Thinking of this, Wang Ji then thought of the knight's alchemical modification technique.

Within the territory, only Ryder and Morin might possess this technology. Once these two have thoroughly researched the forbidden technique, Wang Ji plans to test it on himself first.

For power, even if it means sacrificing humanity...

Wang Ji was suddenly taken aback.

So, I guess I'm a human being?

He stood in front of the mirror, gesturing with a ruler.

He's grown taller.

Born naturally, we grow over time, we get hurt, we are made of flesh and blood…

They should be considered human.

Shaking his head, not dwelling on the issue too much, Wang Ji continued to increase military preparedness.

As time goes by, everything gradually changes.

Winter is coming to an end soon.

The new year is here.

On this day, Morin burst out of the alchemy lab, excitedly approaching Wang Ji to tell him about the breakthrough in resonance technology.

The principle is to transmit symbols through crystal resonance and special arrangement operations, and it is now possible to transmit text over a certain distance.

By setting up relay base stations, this distance can theoretically be increased indefinitely. However, there may be some delays if the distance is too far, but the problem is not too big.

This is a qualitative breakthrough.

From then on, the various territories could begin to communicate information without delay.

The raw materials for resonant communication devices are not expensive, and base stations are easy to set up.

Backed by a mountain range rich in minerals, the territory has never lacked materials. Whether it's communication devices or base stations, they can easily wholesale large quantities.

After adding the recipe to the crafting table, Wang Ji immediately made a bunch of them and gave a copy of the first version of the Resonance Communicator to each territory leader and Ryder.

After this winter, several more territories were added, mostly through expansion led by Ryder.

The teleportation interface of the Immortal Realm Gate is no longer completely black; instead, several points of light have appeared, each representing a territory.

The points of light are connected by rays of light, twinkling in the void like constellations.

Perhaps one day, this place will be filled with stars.

Upon receiving the communicator capable of transmitting text, Ryder couldn't help but exclaim in amazement:

"This is a groundbreaking innovation."

"There are many people who can do this kind of technology, even I can, but very few people can think of doing it."

"Even for those high-level magic users, the most advanced form of communication is using spells to send messages."

Territorial expansion has temporarily halted this winter.

By this time, nearly half of the villages and towns in this area had been incorporated into Wang Ji's territory.

Continuing to expand is not a problem militarily, but it is somewhat lacking in administrative capacity, and it will become difficult to manage if it continues.

But some people are working on solving this problem.

Recently, Ian and a group of people began compiling unified teaching materials to aid in the expansion and assimilation of their territory, as well as education for the people.

The content includes, but is not limited to, literacy, arithmetic, general magical knowledge (mainly about Wang Ji), and education on territory concepts. Each textbook is submitted to Wang Ji for review before it is completed, which can be considered as a form of approval.

After reading the new textbook, Wang Ji could only say that he would argue with anyone who said Ian was uncultured.

This uncle simply hasn't been able to find a suitable job.

Now he has it.

After dealing with these matters, Wang Ji routinely inspected his territory and read the reports. Recently, something rather interesting happened.

It's about a new town called Windmill Town, a town with a very high rate of duplicate names, governed by an 'administrator' appointed by the Empire.

In terms of geographical location and resources alone, this town is nothing special.

But unlike others, the town's administrator was actually a genuinely kind person who cared about people's livelihoods.

This is really rare.

Wang Ji saw some of Ryder's traits in this young manager.

In fact, the two had a lot in common. As a businessman, Ryder talked with the Windmill Town management for a long time.

As it turns out, kind people are always willing to open their hearts. The manager welcomed the caravan's arrival and not only did not suppress it, but also thoughtfully reminded the caravan to be careful of the nearby lords and to try not to reveal their identity as outsiders.

While talking, he was still trying to find a way for Ryder to join a guild or a large family, pay some protection money to be registered under their name, or he could stamp Ryder's name, but the latter would have limited impact and might not work.

Ryder inquired about the man's background.

I learned that this manager also came from Beijing University. It is said that his qualifications were just enough to get in, and after graduation, he was stuck in a limbo, with no one recruiting him, but he still had some ability.

These days, there aren't many educated people, and the territory is short of people to manage it. In the end, based on the principle of making the best use of resources, it was thrown here to manage grassroots villages and towns.

When I first arrived, the situation here was indescribable. The houses were dilapidated, food was scarce, and the local customs were also questionable. The townspeople were not welcoming of this parachuted-in manager, and he even discovered that his belongings had been stolen after walking just a few steps.

But now... at least based on what the caravans have seen, the residents don't have any bad things about him; his reputation is quite good.

Ryder hesitated about how to handle this territory.

After obtaining Wang Ji's opinion and consent, Ryder chose to try recruiting.

The Windmill Town administration was greatly shocked. Due to their concerns about war and turmoil, they initially wanted to refuse, but due to the situation, they had no choice but to sit down and listen carefully.

When he heard that Wang Ji was a born sage, that his territory was rich and prosperous and that the residents lived happily, he did not believe it at first and asked to observe it for himself before considering whether to join.

No, it shouldn't be said whether he'll consider joining or not. Although it's cruel, it's a decision he can't make.

All he could consider was whether or not he would resist—if all of this was just a lie about expansion and rebellion, then he would rather die than submit.

As a result, yesterday, after inspecting the situation in each territory, the manager immediately swore allegiance.

He said this was his ideal world.

He called the king "the wise king" and was willing to risk his life to protect everything that was now.

After reading the report, Wang Ji couldn't help but fall silent and sigh softly.

"That's unacceptable."

But... 'Wise King', huh.

This reminded Wang Ji of some concepts from his memory. Someone had proposed a philosopher-ruler who possessed superhuman energy, could maintain his energy indefinitely, and grasped the truth, understanding the essence of justice and kindness.

Wang Ji can maintain his energy level, but as for what comes next... he's unsure if he's qualified or if he has the corresponding understanding.

All I can say is that as long as he's alive, this territory won't descend into chaos.

As for how long he could live, Wang Ji was unsure and didn't really want to try dying.

With the addition of Windmill Town, the territory entered a period of digestion.

Winter is over.

As the ice and snow melt, tender shoots emerge from the earth beneath our feet.

On this day, Wang Ji activated the Demon Infusion Altar, created an Awakened Spirit Treasure Pickaxe, and then arrived in Hell, directly digging through the upper bedrock.

After accumulating over the winter, the amount of blue ice is enough to pave a long stretch of the Hell Highway.

During this period, it was thanks to Artisan Soul that tools with the 'precise collection' effect could be wholesaled; otherwise, Wang Ji's experience would not have been enough.

Normal ice melts when exposed to high temperatures, but only nine normal ice blocks are needed to create a 'floating ice', which has the property of not melting.

Nine ice floes can be combined to form a piece of 'blue ice'. Blue ice not only does not melt, but it is also more solid, smoother, and colder.

Blue ice is so cold that when a stream of lava touches it, it is immediately solidified into basalt, while the blue ice itself remains unchanged.

This is the main roadbed of the Hell Highway.

In fact, floating ice can also be used to pave roads. It can also withstand high temperatures, emit cold air, and help ordinary people travel through hell.

However, the ship's speed on ice floes is not as fast as on blue ice, only 40 m/s, while it can accelerate to 72 m/s on blue ice, almost half the speed of the other, making blue ice more convenient.

Construction of the Hell Highway has begun.

The people brought the blue ice to Hell, and were dumbfounded when they looked at the vast and endless bedrock.

But when I think about how it was created by the lord, it makes sense.

With the first piece of blue ice laid down, the extreme heat in hell was alleviated, and the work went smoothly afterwards.

The Nether Portal began to be used frequently, with people constantly carrying blue ice in to pave the road, and soldiers taking turns standing guard to protect the road workers and fight against the terrifying but actually surprisingly fragile Nether creatures that spawned from time to time.

Multiple tasks are proceeding smoothly.

In the alchemy lab, Wang Ji looked at the bedrock in his hand, unsure of what to do.

This thing has an indestructible property, but it was dug down by the Awakened Spirit Pickaxe with an even stronger property.

The latter's feature depth is clearly greater than the former's.

Since digging down the bedrock, Wang Ji has studied it for a long time, but he hasn't figured out anything. It seems that this thing can only be used as a building material that only he can destroy, and it can't be used for anything else.

However, something similar already existed in the Mystic Age: the 'Guardian Glass'. This glass possesses a protective law that no one except Wang Ji can break.

Unable to figure out the solution, Wang Ji could only put it aside for the time being and continue to attend to other matters.

Several more months passed.

As Wang Ji grew another year older, a new expansion of his territory began.

With previous experience, this operation went much more smoothly.

With a wealth of intelligence gathered from former lords and village administrators, the situation in the entire northern region is now almost transparent.

By mid-year, all major transportation routes and information channels in the vicinity had been covered by Wang Ji's territory, and everything was under his control.

Unbeknownst to them, River Bay City had been surrounded by surrounding villages and towns.

(End of this chapter)