I, Stone Golem, only want to forge.

The device Murphy was going to make wasn't anything complicated.

It's an ice crystal excavation device consisting of a few spiders and a central console.

Those little spiders would automatically collect the nearby ice crystals and send them to the main station.

Inside the main station was a modified mountain core, with a magic compression device connected to it.

The ice crystal liquid extracted from the ice crystals can be compressed and then dispensed through the tanks next to the counter.

The ice crystals themselves will be discharged from the discharge port of the main station.

It moved the finished equipment to the back of Lynn's truck and entrusted them to take the goods to the village first.

He then decided to go with Srui to the Kulun River to investigate the situation.

……

Soon, Murphy and Siri arrived at a dock.

But strangely, the once bustling and noisy port was now incredibly deserted.

Only a few ships docked for repairs and a handful of scattered workers remained.

Even these workers were only there to look after the goods and ships that were placed at the shore.

Siri slowed his pace slightly, finally stopping and turning to look at Murphy.

"Something's not right; there are too few people."

"Oh." Murphy nodded, seemingly unconcerned about it.

He simply looked around with curiosity at the boats moored on the shore.

These vessels are likely small to medium-sized, and this is probably their last fare.

The flood season is just around the corner. Large ships have long journeys and carry large amounts of cargo, so even the shortest and fastest journey will take three or four months.

It's impossible to complete a round trip before the end of the flood season; most people will stop working one or two months in advance, or go to another region.

Only these small and medium-sized boats remain, and they may make one last one or two more trips.

Since there are no large ships competing with them for goods, the amount of supplies they need is not actually much less.

Therefore, this period is often when the number of small and medium-sized ships is the largest.

Small and medium-sized ships, of course, cannot be repaired as meticulously as large ships.

The essence of it is like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each displaying their unique abilities.

Those who could use magic used magic, those who could use living beings used living beings, and there were even some steamships from the dwarves docked at the shore.

The sight of these ships laid out for comparison gave Murphy a lot of inspiration and ideas.

As a stone man living in a cave, it seems he has never really seen a boat before.

So, compared to figuring things out on your own, having these ready-made examples to refer to is a very good thing.

Seeing that Murphy had fallen into deep thought again, Sridharma knew that he was thinking about his ship, so he naturally couldn't disturb him over such a trivial matter.

So he left ahead of time and randomly found a worker next to the goods.

He took a pack of dry cigarettes out of his pocket, stepped forward and handed it over, then asked with a smile.

"Boss, why is this place so empty today? Did something big happen?"

The worker suddenly saw a tall, composed old man walking towards him, and felt a mixture of doubt and anticipation.

He had been adrift at sea for so long and had dealt with all sorts of people.

It was immediately obvious that this old man was different from others, especially since he was accompanied by a stone figure when he arrived...

He pondered for a long time, thinking it might be a boss who needed cargo, or perhaps the boss of another cargo ship.

However, after thinking for a long time, he still couldn't figure out the other person's identity.

However, the person opposite him offered him a cigarette and addressed him respectfully as "boss."

Although he was even more puzzled, he still felt somewhat pleased and smiled politely.

"Hey, there's no boss here, just an ordinary crew member..."

After saying that, he took the cigarette and put it in his mouth. Siri didn't want to reveal his identity, so he quickly took out a match and lit it for him.

The worker took a small puff before slowly speaking.

"There aren't many people around here, mainly because of this strange illness! It was alright a few days ago, with a few crew members catching colds and getting sick one after another, but that's normal... Everyone makes a living on the water, and it's normal to get sick after suddenly coming to land for a few days and not being used to it!"

He held the cigarette between his fingers, his facial muscles twitching slightly for a moment, the rough skin and wrinkles on his face twisting together.

As if in doubt or fear, he revealed an extremely distorted expression.

"How come everyone suddenly got sick this morning... wait, suddenly they all got sick? What's even stranger is that those who are usually the most capable on the water are the most seriously ill..."

After speaking, the worker looked Sri up and down, seemingly thinking that Sri's neat and presentable clothes meant he was an educated person.

After thinking for a while, he pulled out a crumpled but clean tobacco pouch from his pocket.

He took a cigarette from inside and handed it to Sri.

"Hey bro, have one too. I used to get this from up north, it's really strong! Even though it's not rolled very well."

Sri initially wanted to refuse, but upon hearing that it came from the north, he hesitated for a moment before taking it and holding it in his mouth, though he didn't light it yet.

"Then you won't be polite."

The worker chuckled a few times after seeing the goods had been given away, before finally asking a question.

"Brother, judging from your demeanor, you seem like a smart man, a knowledgeable and insightful person. There's something I'd like to ask you about..."

After lighting his own cigarette, Sri nodded to signal the worker to continue.

The worker didn't hesitate and immediately nodded, recalling the symptoms he remembered one by one.

"I don't know if you've ever seen a strange illness where the whole body feels cold, and the areas with more blood vessels and veins turn red or purple, and even ice forms between the hair and fingers."

Siri's pupils contracted sharply, his eyelids twitched slightly, and the fingers holding the cigarette tightened a little, causing a few cigarette shreds to fall out.

However, he quickly calmed himself down, took a couple of breaths, and then spoke slowly and deliberately.

"This is called frostbite, which often occurs in the north but is less common in the south. It is considered an aggravated form of typhoid fever."

"Cold-related illness? In the North!!"

Upon hearing those two words, the worker immediately stood up excitedly and exclaimed in surprise.

The other workers in the distance, whose eyes had been fixed on this spot, exchanged glances upon seeing this scene, and then looked around.

There were no robbers or thieves around, so they all gathered around to see what was going on.

Sri ignored them and raised his hand to signal the workers to be quiet.

Siri pressed his hand down, and the worker was instantly calmed down. He swallowed hard, took a few breaths, and then asked a question.

"Dude, what does this mean? The flood season hasn't even started yet, how can there be a cold wave so soon? There's north wind and some kind of frostbite... We still have several orders coming in for other rivers, is this for real?"

"From your description, that's the situation, but I'll have to go and see for myself to see for myself."

"That's easy, that's easy. We live nearby, shall I take you there?"

Seeing that Sri had a real point, the workers became more respectful, bowing and agreeing repeatedly.

"Mr. Murphy, would you like to come with me?" Sri asked.

The worker was taken aback, looked around, and finally could only fix his gaze on the stone figure.

Does this stone figure even have a name?

He's even called "sir"?

"Dude, are you kidding me? How can a stone man have a name?"

However, before he could even ask a question, the stone man in the distance actually nodded at Sri!