Learn one small skill every day

When the people on the ship saw Bai Miao's group's ship, they didn't show much wariness or curiosity.

Some people even smiled and waved to them.

Soon, a small steamship sailed toward Bai Miao and the others.

When the two sides were about ten meters apart, an old man with dark skin, dressed in linen clothes, spoke up from the other boat:

"@D@@HD?"

Seeing that Bai Miao and the others did not react, the other party said again: "!＃@￥K"

Bai Miao wanted to use linguistics to analyze what the other person was saying, but he couldn't even understand the meaning of a single word, so it was almost impossible for him to deduce the language.

After the other person spoke for the third time, Bai Miao realized he could understand them: "Where are you from?"

Judging from their lip movements, it wasn't a translation; they were indeed speaking in a language that Bai Miao could understand.

"Right, right, I can understand this now."

Bai Miao quickly agreed before the other party could switch to a fourth language.

Do people in this area speak several languages?

Bai Miao felt somewhat ashamed.

“Esperanto, it seems you come from a very far place. People in this region generally speak Parva.”

The old man laughed: "Welcome to St. Monument!"

So kind?

Bai Miao had assumed that everyone on the island was a religious fanatic, but he was surprised to find that the old black man was so reasonable.

"We're traveling around the world looking for something we lost. Could you let us dock on the island first?"

"Of course, friends from afar, it seems this is your first time meeting the people on the island, but we in Stern have already met quite a few outsiders."

Chapter 106 Conspiracy

At the enthusiastic invitation of the old black man, Bai Miao and the others went ashore and landed on the island.

The old black man's name was Marcellus Lou, and he was an ordinary boatman on the Strand.

His daily work involves fishing at sea.

Furthermore, Bai Miao also learned that the area where these fishermen gathered was actually rarely visited by outsiders. Normally, they would dock from the other side of Stemmen, where there was a large port. Whether it was trade or political exchanges, they would all enter and exit through that large port.

"Mr. Lu, you've encountered many outsiders, meaning that this kind of interaction is quite common? Are there other landmasses nearby?"

Bai Miao initially thought that the civilizations on each island were isolated, but now it seems that they have social circles among themselves.

And their first reaction to encountering outsiders is not to be wary, but to warmly welcome them.

Either Stern is very confident in its own strength, or the exchanges between different islands in this world have been full of goodwill from the very beginning.

They were independent of each other, separated by the ocean, and their cultures and technologies were unfamiliar to each other.

Is it really impossible for a "dark forest" scenario to occur?

"There is another country two thousand nautical miles ahead in the direction of sunrise, and another country three thousand nautical miles ahead in the direction of sunset."

It’s quite far.

The Endless Energy could arrive in a few days if it traveled at full speed, but with the steamships these fishermen had, it would probably take several months, during which time they would have to worry about fuel.

"Friends, you've traveled such a long way, would you like to grab something to eat? The grilled snail fish, a specialty of Sterling, is delicious."

Bai Miao shook his head: "Thank you, but we don't need to eat. We come from a city with a development level of 5. A traitor stole our city's treasure, and we have been ordered to come and retrieve the relics that belong to our city."

Bai Miao made up a reason, partly to tell the old man that his group was not alone and that there was a highly developed city behind them, and partly to provide a reasonable excuse for his group to ask questions later.

However, Bai Miao has no immediate plans to tell the old man what he is looking for.

Wang Xiang listened quietly from the side, not interrupting the conversation. It wasn't until Bai Miao introduced the group to the old man that Wang Xiang asked, "Mr. Lu, hello. I noticed that most of the buildings around here are made of stone and wood, but your ships are covered with steel plates. Why aren't the houses designed the same way?"

After being reminded, Bai Miao also noticed the inconsistency between the two.

The old black man's boat appeared to be made of steel, but in reality, only the outermost layer was steel; the interior was mostly made of wood, with only the power unit being made of steel.

This also resulted in the ships looking patched up and dilapidated.

However, the construction of the houses appeared orderly, with no trace of steel or metal visible inside or outside, as if they had suddenly regressed from the steam age to the Stone Age.

It is simple to the extreme.

"Our little fishing village is just the very edge of the Strand, and we don't have that much money to buy iron... The fishing boats were lent to us by our lord, not our own. We have to hand over 8% of the fish we catch to the lord. If you could go to the city, you would see many houses with steel plates on their exterior walls, and the wealthier families would have a gear, a symbol of wisdom and technology, embedded in their roofs."

"Those noble houses are even more amazing creations, made entirely of steel!"

When talking about architecture, Bai Miao couldn't help but mention the giant steam engine he had seen before arriving.

Marcellus said with some longing, "That's the heart of Stemen, the place where the king lives. We fishermen don't have the chance to go to the city of Kard to pay our respects; we can only catch a glimpse of it from afar while we're fishing."

Cade, the capital city of Stram, is located in the very center of the island and is the core area of ​​Stram.

But when asked about the origins of the steam engine, and about the politics, economy, and culture of St. Petersburg, Marcellus shook his head, indicating that he did not know.

"Is there anything else you would like to discuss with Mr. Lu?"

Bai Miao looked at the others.

The first indigenous person I came into contact with was a fisherman. The advantage was that he wouldn't pose a significant threat, but the disadvantage was that he didn't have much information about me.

Information transmission is difficult in this era, let alone how much knowledge fishermen, who live on the margins and are at the bottom of society, can possibly know.

Wang Xiang didn't ask any additional questions, nor did he want to waste any more time on the fishermen.

At the very least, you should go find the lord.

Seeing that no one else asked any questions, Bai Miao decided to continue.

"Mr. Lu, could you introduce us to your lord?"

"Ah, lord, of course that's no problem. It's just that the only way to contact you is through the fishermen, who are responsible for collecting the daily catch. I can have them relay the message."

Marcellus said with some regret, "The fishermen have already come today, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow. If you don't mind, I can find some friends to arrange accommodations for you tonight."

Bai Miao politely declined, planning to return to the ship tonight to settle down.

Bai Miao did this not for his own safety, but for the safety of these fishermen.

Upon hearing that metal was valuable, Bai Miao was quite afraid that these fishermen would try to take advantage of his boat.

They hope that cities with a development level of 5 can keep them in check.

After seeing Bai Miao and the others off on the ship, Marcellus returned home to find his house filled with people. They were smoking pipes, smacking their lips, and asking, "Marcellus, have you found out who these outsiders are? Can you take them out? I think their ship is made entirely of metal; it'll definitely fetch a good price if you sell it!"

Another burly man with a thick beard said in a deep voice, "It'll only fetch a little money from selling the metal. I just took a look, and this ship doesn't even have a single gear. I really don't know how it was built!"

"These outsiders don't realize the importance of gear technology. Of course, we can't make everyone understand the greatness of gears. In short, can they do it? If they can, brothers, throw them into the sea to feed the fish tonight!"

Marcellus frowned: "The things on them are too strange to understand, but they claim to be from a city with a development level of 5. By their standards, Stemen is just a kingdom with a development level of 4."

Marcellus's words provoked fierce opposition from the crowd: "What?! These outsiders are so arrogant! Damn it, we have to teach them a lesson and show them that Stern is a city with a development level of 5!"

“That’s right! We must spare their lives, at least let them witness the development of Strømsgod before killing them. I want them to admit that Strømsgod’s development is far superior to theirs!”

A strange competitive spirit arose among the group.

"Those outsiders seem to be looking for stolen relics, but they didn't say anything specific. However, the fact that they were able to travel from Esperanto to Stern in such a small boat makes me think it's best not to make a move. We can't tell how powerful they are yet, and if they catch a sea monster, we won't be able to handle it."

"But... they plan to meet with the lord tomorrow, then it won't be good for us to make a move. Anyway, the usual rule, let's decide by vote whether or not to take this chance!"

As the vote ended, nearly half the people in the room raised their hands, indicating their support for taking action.

To them, a ship made entirely of metal was no different from a large piece of gold.

Chapter 107 Strange Equipment

"Captain, this fisherman is testing us."

Back on the ship, Wang Xiang gave Bai Miao some advice.

At this point, Bai Miao had already confirmed that the security crew member named Pent was the one who knocked on the door.

Of the other eight people who are still alive, this Pent talks the most and is actively interacting with himself. If you can't see that, you've lived in vain.

However, Bai Miao still did not reveal his identity. Zhao Ling's ability to kill five people with just a few words shocked Bai Miao.

"I know, they seem... excited to see outsiders? I guess this isn't the first or second time they've robbed outsiders like this."

It's quite similar to the mill village I encountered in Qingqiu Kingdom; it's a sophisticated honey trap.

If you ate that grilled fish with snails that they mentioned earlier, it's either poisonous or you'll have to pay a high price.

Bai Miao's Qi-observation technique couldn't discern anything about the fisherman, because Marcellus was so dark-skinned that the dangerous aura emanating from him was completely invisible.

"No one should sleep tonight. Stay alert. If necessary, you may be allowed to use one round of ammunition to show them its power."

Ammunition is precious, but it's perfect for showing off your strength.

Of course, Bai Miao was also very eager to get his hands on the gun and wanted to test just how powerful it was.

That's a 20mm diameter!

"Yes, Captain!"

As the sun gradually set, Bai Miao turned off his lights and brought his boat to the shore, where it drifted slowly, propelled by the waves.

Bai Miao activated his Qi Observation Technique, keeping his gaze fixed on the coastline, not daring to look up.

Based on past experience, or rather, with sufficient mental strength, Bai Miao felt that using the Qi Observation Technique to look at this steam engine would reveal something very bad.

Although there's no need to worry about your mental energy dropping to zero, why make yourself miserable?

In the distance, a group of red lights appeared.

Whether it was the night vision provided by the armor or the aura-gazing technique, Bai Miao could see a group of armed fishermen rushing menacingly toward his location.

"Their hospitality isn't very friendly."

Bai Miao led the charge out.

Bai Miao was extremely agile, and with the 50% bonus from the Silence buff, his agility reached 30 points, leaving almost all the crew members behind.