Post-Apocalyptic Survival Modpack

Chapter 8, Section 08: Rogue

To this day, Wang Ji still doesn't know what happened that led to him and his two uncles being hunted down.

But one thing is certain: the capital city is full of malice towards him at this moment.

Throughout the journey, listening to Ryder's stories about Imperial University and his praise for the increasingly open atmosphere of the capital—especially upon seeing the magnificent Four Towers of Miracles—Wang Ji truly believed that this place could provide him with a safe environment for development.

Join a certain academy, become a disciple of a certain teacher, and gradually explore abilities and such.

Just before entering the city, Ryder was still talking about these things, saying that his teacher knew the universally acknowledged strongest sorcerer, the Imperial Temple Archmage, and that the Archmage might be able to directly recruit Wang Ji as a disciple.

Ian's thoughts were simpler. He believed that Wang Ji would be given important responsibilities after entering the capital, and soon the people of the whole world would be able to eat their fill and no longer suffer from hunger, and various upheavals would be calmed down.

It seems that both of their plans have been shattered.

There are no such beautiful visions and futures; the reality is that they almost lost their lives there.

Ian and Ryder's fate remains unknown.

"There shouldn't be any problems in the short term..."

Wang Ji pondered.

That group's main target was themselves.

Neither of the uncles should be killed before the person who has caught them or wants to catch them runs out of patience.

But that doesn't mean they're safe. They're probably still suffering, being tortured or something.

If it gets too late, they might not be able to hold on and might just give up.

and so--

Wang Ji decided to chop down the tree first.

There's an old saying that goes, "To get rich, start by cutting down trees."

After leaving the capital, Wang Ji went into a grove of trees and began his own development.

Thump thump thump thump...

With a series of rhythmic knocking sounds, a piece of the not-so-thick tree in front of them was knocked off.

wow-

With a piece missing from the bottom layer, the entire tree collapsed with a crash.

"There is no levitation."

Wang Ji paused for a moment, glanced at the fallen tree, continued to dissect the branches and trunks, and then "standardized" the logs that had been knocked down.

He had discovered this while digging underground: even if the blocks he knocked down were the same type, they couldn't be stacked.

Wang Ji also had some speculations about this.

In the game, all items of the same type are made exactly the same, without the slightest difference.

But reality is different; everything in reality is more or less different.

Therefore, when you start digging for blocks, each block will occupy one inventory slot.

However, Wang Ji soon discovered that his crafting menu had a built-in conversion function similar to a 'mineral dictionary', which could convert similar items into 'standard' items that could be stacked according to a unified standard.

That saves trouble.

[Mining time!]

[Hot Topics]

[Upgraded]

Once freed from external surveillance and environmental constraints, Wang Ji immediately began to develop rapidly and methodically.

Chop down trees, dig up rocks, toss the rarely used wooden pickaxe into your backpack to gather dust, and then continue digging for rocks.

There aren't many mines in this area.

After digging for half a day, carrying a backpack full of stones, Wang Ji fell into deep thought.

This isn't a game where you can just find a spot and dig vertically down to mine minerals.

To secure a stable source of minerals, you first need to find a mineral vein.

Clearly, there are no wild mineral veins near the capital.

Although the empire has only recently unified the world and may lack understanding and control over resources around the world, it shouldn't be so bad that it can't even see the resources near its capital.

Whether it's mineral veins or other resources, they should have been fenced off and developed long ago; there's no way he'd be digging for them.

Developing nearby is still somewhat difficult, and it's also impossible to go into the city to inquire about resource points. The group that wants to arrest him is probably still keeping an eye on him in secret.

"This place is a bit desolate."

It was desolate, at least for Wang Ji.

It can't develop at all.

Wang Ji tidied his backpack slightly and decided to leave.

From now on, it's a journey I'll be on all by myself.

There are still quite a few villages and towns near the capital.

A week later, Wang Ji arrived at a small town that looked fairly well-organized.

The speed was even faster than when they arrived. Wang Ji had discovered long ago that he didn't actually need to sleep; for him, sleep was just a way to skip the night, or a habit to kill time.

Even if he doesn't sleep, his body and mind won't suffer any damage.

And, apart from not needing to sleep, he won't feel tired as long as he's full.

Therefore, Wang Ji has been traveling non-stop for the past few days, which has made his travel speed no slower than the three of them riding horses some time ago.

However, there is a downside: his satiety level drops very quickly, forcing him to search for food while traveling.

Sometimes, if you're lucky, you can hunt down some larger animals, get some meat, and incidentally obtain some leather-crafted clothing.

But most of the time, luck wasn't so good. Most of the time, Wang Ji could only catch insects to roast and eat, or dig up some familiar vegetable leaves to gnaw on, anything that could increase his satiety.

At this point, we must mention that the furnace is truly a wonderful thing.

Wang Ji discovered that the food baked in his furnace was cooked to perfection, the only drawback being that it had little flavor.

'If only there were seasonings, even just the most basic coarse salt.'

Sometimes Wang Ji would miss the roast chicken he ate two or three months ago.

Once we rescue my two uncles, we'll have them marinate the meat first, then roast it in a furnace; it'll taste even better that way.

With these thoughts in mind, Wang Ji stepped into the unfamiliar town before him.

At this moment, Wang Ji did not look well; in fact, he looked rather strange.

He was wearing a leather jacket and pants, and leather boots. The clothes and boots looked very well made, so they must have cost a lot.

This outfit makes a child look like a little adult, and this "little adult" looks travel-worn, clearly having traveled a lot.

Some might wonder if the child stole the clothes from some lord and is on the run.

But upon closer inspection, you'll notice that his clothes fit him perfectly, clearly tailor-made, not stolen from someone else.

Moreover, the child's demeanor was quite unusual, rather composed, which was not typical for a child of that age.

Various unusual signs caused some people with ulterior motives to temporarily suppress their thoughts and refrain from harming the child.

However, not everyone is so good at observing.

This world has never been very peaceful.

"Kid, take off your clothes and boots, and you'll avoid a beating."

In a corner where few people passed by, Wang Ji was harassed by three thugs.

Clearly, his expensive-looking clothes got him into trouble.

Even in Wang Ji's eyes, these were just some tattered clothes that he casually made and wore.

"Is that so? Then I'll return that to you. Hand over all your valuables, and that will save you from death."

The response to the thugs came from a young, innocent voice.

However, the words he uttered sounded less naive.

"Hahahahaha-"

This remark caused the three of them to burst into laughter.

How dare a little kid, unarmed and penetrating, threaten three adults like us?
One of the thugs stepped forward, brandishing his fist, and said with a hostile expression:

"You brat, you better pray your skin isn't thick enough, or I'll give you..."

Swah——

"what--!!"

As the sword tip slashed across the ground, the thug suddenly screamed, clutching his waist and staggering to the ground.

Suddenly, Wang Ji pulled out a stone sword and launched a sneak attack.

The other two stared in horror, taking two steps back in unison.

They clearly saw that a stone sword appeared out of thin air in the child's hand. It really appeared out of thin air and was definitely not hidden beforehand—there was nowhere on his body to hide such a large stone sword!
"A magician! He's a magician!!"

One of the two still standing realized what was happening, screamed, and immediately turned and ran away, while the other knelt down on the spot, muttering words of begging for forgiveness.

Even the dumbest person these days would understand that a master of magic is not on the same level as an ordinary person. Even the weakest master of magic would be greeted politely by the wealthy families and minor nobles in town.

finished...

The kneeling thug, who was screaming in pain as he was being hacked to pieces, stopped screaming when he heard about the magician and held his breath.

Wang Ji was unable to say anything for a moment, but he gained a new understanding of the situation in the empire.

After thinking for a moment, he sheathed his sword.

This ability to conjure weapons out of thin air once again shocked the two people beside him, further confirming Wang Ji's identity.

Wang Ji repeated his previous words, saying, "Hand over all your valuables as compensation for the emotional distress I suffered. Do you have any objections?"

The two shook their heads quickly, and the one on the ground gasped for breath as he aggravated his wound from shaking his head.

Seeing this, Wang Ji continued, "Whether you listen or not, whether you feel disdain or not, I still have to advise you: stop being thugs and robbing others. Do something honest and earn your keep through your own labor."

"Also, when you get back, remember to tell your accomplice who ran away to come find me himself, or I'll go find him."

(End of this chapter)